Ever been told that
you should fully discharge your battery to prolong its life? Or that
jailbreaking your phone is illegal? Or that you should wait for the newest
Intel processor because it’s going to be “so much faster”? These are tech myths
we hear all the time, and likely spread to our friends - but most are just a
waste of your time (and in some cases, they can actually harm your gadgets).
Here are some of the worst offenders.
10. Better Hardware
Specs = Better Gadgets
If you’re waiting
to upgrade your gear until the next big processor comes out, or until the
latest Android phone with even more RAM appears, you’re probably wasting your
time. These days, most hardware specs don’t even matter that much. Processors
have more power than most users will ever need, and phones come out so often
that by the time your dream phone comes out, another one will have already been
announced. There are exceptions to these rules, of course - both for computers
and smartphones - but in general, stop crying over your current device and just
upgrade. You’ll be a lot happier once you do.
9. Lossless Music
Sounds Better Than MP3
While bitrate can
make a difference in your music, there’s a pretty big misconception that as
long as you have a good ear, you can hear the difference between lossless files
and MP3. It takes a lot more than just careful listening - you’d need a very
fine-tuned ear, some really high-end speakers, and a specific type of music,
like classical or jazz. Don’t believe me? Take an ABX test with your own music
files and find out for yourself. You may be surprised at the results. Of
course, that doesn’t mean you should junk all those FLAC files - they’re still
ideal if you want to convert that music to a new format later on.
8. Android Task
Killers Are Necessary For Good Performance
Not only have we
Android users perpetuated this myth, but lots of hardware manufacturers and
mobile phone carriers will recommend you use a task killer to lengthen your
battery life and speed up your phone. Not only will they do nothing for your
battery life, but most are designed to solve problems that don’t actually exist
(like running out of RAM). If you experience performance boosts with a task
killer, it’s because you’re killing a task that’s either gone awry (in which
case you’re better off just rebooting your phone) or because you’ve downloaded
a poorly written app (in which case you should uninstall it). Task killers can
cause other problems with your phones, and you shouldn’t use them unless you’re
using a very, very old phone with very, very outdated software. Check out our
explainer on task killers to learn more, and if you want to speed up your
phone, check out these other tried and true methods instead.
7. Jailbreaking
Your Phone Is Illegal
The US Copyright
office has officially said that jailbreaking is completely legal to do with a
device you own, as long as you aren’t using it to pirate apps, of course. That
said, there are a lot of ways you’re probably breaking the law without
knowing it, so read up on those if you’re curious. But if you were holding back
on jailbreaking your phone, now would be a great time to check out all its
awesome, legal benefits.
6. Mac Users Don’t
Need To Worry About Malware
Mac users have
often touted their computers as “more secure” than Windows PCs, which is a very
hotly-contested issue - some say OS X’s Unix underpinnings make it inherently
more secure, while others claim it’s only because the Mac isn’t a big target
for viruses. Either way, it’s important to note that while viruses aren’t as
widespread as they are on Windows, Macs are far from immune - in fact, we’ve
already seen a few instances of real Mac malware. Don’t let your choice of OS
obscure the fact that safe browsing and common sense are the best protection
against viruses and other malware. After all, just because that email virus
didn’t infect you doesn’t mean you didn’t pass it on to your other
Windows-using friends.
5. You Should Buy
An Extended Warranty For New Gadgets
No matter how
careful you are, we’ve all broken at least one gadget in our lives - and it may
have tempted you to buy an extended warranty the next time. However, extended
warranties aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Sometimes they only cover half
the things that could go wrong, or sometimes the chances of your device failing
are just plain slim. Instead, you’re better off setting up an extended warranty
fund for yourself - as long as you aren’t really clumsy, you’ll probably
come out ahead in the end.
4. You Should Fully
Discharge Your Laptop Battery Every Time
Battery life is always at a premium these days, and
you’ve probably heard a whole host of tricks for keeping your battery in tip
top shape. This particular myth - that you should fully discharge your battery
every time you use it - is left over from old nickel cadmium batteries that
suffer from a memory effect no longer present in modern lithium batteries.
Today’s batteries take less maintenance, but there are still some good ways you
can prolong its lifespan, so check out our guide to battery care for more info.
3.
Password-Protected Wi-Fi Networks Are Safe From Hackers
So you’ve heard
about how important security is on public Wi-Fi networks, but a lot of people
are still misinformed about what really constitutes a public network.
Just because your network’s protected with a password doesn’t mean it’s secure.
In the case of home networks, it means it’s secure from outside hackers, but if
you head to a coffee shop or hotel, that network is still public. Anyone
with a password can still connect to the network (like other coffee shop
patrons) and potentially sniff your traffic. So, unless you’re
at home, always protect yourself when connected to Wi-Fi - you never know who
else is connected.
2. Peerblock Will
Keep You Safe And Anonymous On Bittorrent
A lot
of BitTorrent users are looking to cover their tracks these days, and most are
doing so by enabling encryption and using something like PeerBlock to keep
unwanted eyes from watching their downloads. However, this does not make
you anonymous in any way - encryption only keeps your ISP from throttling you,
and PeerBlock is not even close to being foolproof. If you really want to stay
anonymous, you have to use a VPN or a proxy service like BTGuard. You
can also use a private tracker, which offers other benefits as well, but still
isn’t quite as secure as other methods.
1. [Insert Tweak
Here] Will Speed Up Your Computer
These are some of
the worst myths out there. Everyone’s always looking for a quick, free way to
drastically increase their computer’s speed, and a lot of them are loads of
baloney. At best, they’ll do nothing, and at worst, they can actually degrade
performance. If you really want some speed boosts, upgrade your hardware, or at
least make sure you’re performing regular maintenance. With proper care, you
should never need to do a clean install of Windows again.
Source :
http://www.gizmodo.com.au
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