If you don't like the alert sounds that came with that new app you just downloaded, they're actually pretty easy to change—and you don't even need to jailbreak your phone. Here's how to do it.

Note that unfortunately, this only works with non-Apple apps that use their own alert tones. If the app is using a tone that came with the iPhone (like Google Voice's app does), you'll need to be jailbroken to change it. Jailbreaking isn't that hard though, so if you haven't given it a shot, try it out and download previously mentioned PushTone to make the entire process super simple. If you don't want to jailbreak, here's how to change an alert tone.

1. Download and install iExplorer. This program will let you browse your iPhone's file system and change the files contained within, including the custom alert tones that come bundled within each app.
2. Plug your iOS device into your computer and start up iExplorer. It may take a second to start up, so just let it sit while it loads.
3. Find the app whose notification you want to change in the left sidebar and double-click on it. Head into the sub-folder with the app's name. For example, if we're looking to change Sparrow's notification sound, you'd go into com.sparrowmailapp.iphoneapp/Sparrow.app.
4. Scroll through the list of files until you find the file you want with a .caf file extension. These are going to be the notification sounds the app uses. Find the one you want to change, and note its filename.
5. Next, find the file you want to use as the tone for that app. You can either get these online, take them from another app, or make your own using software like Audacity. Whatever you do, make sure its in the same format as the tone you're replacing. If the tone you're replacing is in .aif format, just convert your new tone to .aif using your audio converter of choice. If it's in .caf, convert your tone to .aif and change the file extension to .caf.
6. Rename your desired tone so its filename matches the one you want to replace. Then, just drag it into iExplorer to replace the app's default tone. You should get a prompt asking if you want to delete the original. Click OK to confirm.
7. Lastly, remove your device and close iExplorer. You should find that your app now uses your new tone!

You'll want to keep your customized tones on your computer somewhere for safekeeping, since the app will replace them with the defaults whenever it updates. It isn't the easiest solution, but it's pretty nice to have the option if you don't want to jailbreak. Check out the video above to see the tutorial step-by-step.

Photo remixed from VikaSuh.

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. Photo by Tess Watson.

8. Android Task Killers Are Necessary for Good Performance

Not only have we Android users perpetuated this myth, but lots of hardware manufacturers and cellphone 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

While jailbreaking your phone will definitely void your warranty, people have been going around saying it's actually illegal to do—which is 100% false. The 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. Photo by °Florian.

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. We've talked about a ton of them before, so brush up on your myths before you go trying to speed up your PC. 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.

Mac only: Windownaut overhauls window management on your Mac so you can arrange your windows in a multitude of ways, customize the functions of its title bar buttons, and lots more.

There are a lot of apps that manage your windows in similar ways—like Divvy, Cinch, and ShiftIt to name just a few—but Windownaut takes a new approach, adding tons of other features to your windows and their title bar buttons. With Windownaut, you can:

• Move and resize windows using modifier keys instead of having to click on the title bar or window edges.
• Snap windows to any screen edge or corner, maximize, center, or move to a new space via drag-and-drop.
• Snap windows to any screen edge or corner, maximize, center, or move to a new space via a custom keyboard shortcut for each position.
• See all your possible window layouts for an individual window by right-clicking on the green "traffic light" button.
• Show the current window's document in the Finder by right-clicking on the yellow "traffic light" button.
• Quit the current application by right-clicking on the red "traffic light" button.

The traffic light features are all customizable as well: you can swap them between buttons, add modifiers, and even make them the default actions for those buttons when you left-click on them (who uses the green button anyway?). The whole app is extremely powerful and customizable, so if you feel held back by other window management applications, you might find what you're looking for with Windownaut.

Windownaut is a $4.99 download for Mac OS X with a free 14-day trial available. It works on both Snow Leopard and Lion.

Windownaut | via Cult of Mac

OS X 10.7: properVOLUME adds more robust sound controls to your menu bar in OS X Mountain Lion, allowing you to switch input and output sources, control volume, and check your levels, all from one simple drop-down.

In essence, it provides quick access to most of the worthwhile features in the Sound Preferences, just integrated into your menu bar. The app is $2.99 in the App Store (though blog One Thing Well has some promo codes you may want to try out). If you don't feel like dropping, you may alternately want to familiarize yourself with this built-in shortcut: Option-Click OS X's default Sound icon in your menu bar to view an alternate menu from which you can switch input and output devices or open the Sound preferences. It's not quite as handy, but it's also 100% free.

properVOLUME | Mac App Store via One Thing Well