"Add oil, rice and bake in an oven on low heat" sounds like the start of a recipe, but it's actually one of the many semi-legitimate fixes for broken or damaged smartphones (or other similar gizmos). Surprisingly, the crazy fixes can even match the crazy stories of how people break or damage them. The following is a somewhat light-hearted list of fixes for smartphones that we have complied for your reading pleasure. Some have come from the technical support desks of the manufacturers and some have come from individuals who claim success. While we wish you success in your own fixes, we still have to say: try this at home and you do so at your own risk.

In the same way a good mechanic can keep an old car running like new, an experienced, technical-minded person can usually extend the life of an older computer, or boost the performance of lesser components. They can also usually configure a no-name brand computer to work just as well if not better. A good operating system optimized properly will work for most general tasks (business work, surfing the Web, music, etc.), even if the hardware is a little dubious. I made a similar assumption when I purchased a generic tablet running Android 2.1 on eBay, thinking I'd save some cash by taking matters into my own hands. Man, did that assumption come back to bite me, hard. Read on to find out how.

After being on television for almost 40 years, it's no wonder Doctor Who's fanbase is so large. Beyond all that sweet time traveling, though, are the cool gadgets. Seriously, the Doctors are like time-bending Bat-men, and the new gadgets for 2010 run from "hey, that's actually practical" to full-on geeky gadget bliss. The best part? Some of them you can actually buy! Oh, and hey, the gift-giving holidays are upon us — convenient.