Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
News: Add Eye Tracking to Your Existing Mixed Reality Devices with Pupil Labs
Germany-based Pupil Labs has jumped into the UX and control deep-end with a range of products that allow the user to add eye tracking to not only their existing augmented and virtual reality head-mounted displays but computers as well. This type of technology can add a new depth to the way we control devices.
News: Blippar Brings Facial Recognition AR Profiles to Mobile App
Mobile augmented reality developer Blippar has updated its mobile app for iOS and Android with an augmented reality face profiles feature based on the company's real-time facial recognition engine.
News: Game Dev Superstar Leaves Windows Mixed Reality Team to Return as GM of Bioware
Casey Hudson, the one-time project director for games like Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic and the original Mass Effect trilogy, has announced his return to his former home, Bioware as the General Manager. Of course, that also means he is leaving his role at Microsoft Studios as Creative Director, where he was reportedly working on both Xbox One and HoloLens projects.
News: HoloLens Assists in Live Surgery
Numerous examples exist of doctors and surgeons using HoloLens to plan surgeries. The device has even been used to view reference images during a procedure and stream it to a remote audience. Until recently, it has not been used to augment the surgeon's view of the patient during a live surgery.
SoundCloud 101: Manage Your Notifications for a Better User Experience
It's never fun when you install an app and then proceed to be bombarded with constant notifications. The SoundCloud app, while great in other regards, tends to have a bit of an issue on this front.
News: A Really Cheap Augmented Reality Headset Is Coming Soon
Mira Reality unveiled the Mira Prism yesterday and people immediately got excited about it. The Mira Prism uses no electronics besides your iPhone and it works pretty simply. You have a semi-transparent screen in front of your face. Once you open the Mira app on your phone, you just slide it into the Prism and your screen will be reflected across your vision. The Prism seems to be fairly similar to the HoloLens and Google Glass.
News: No Wallet, No Problem! Now Pay for Parking with Your Phone in NYC
Paying for street parking in New York City just got so much easier. Instead of searching for loose change or hoping you didn't forget your wallet, you can use a device you always have with you: your phone.
Apple AR: Play Beer Pong Anytime with Augmented Reality Game
Beer pong is a classic game created by college kids to drink and have a good time. However, the process of setting it up is messy and takes a while. Luckily, a demo has introduced an app coming soon where you can play an augmented reality version of beer pong using Apple's ARKit.
Apple AR: Animated Charts Will Make Your Business Meetings More Engaging
It's certain that the release of Apple's ARKit is going to be game changing for businesses. This demo video was created by YouTube user hdsenevi who used the ARKit to create a simple bar chart. The chart has adjustable settings, allowing the user to make each bar larger or smaller and change their colors. Not only that, but there is an "animate" option.
How To: Get VLC's Dark Mode on Android & Save Your Eyes at Night
When you're playing videos, the actual content should be the focus, not the media app's interface. But with VLC's default theme on Android, the bright orange-and-white motif shocks your eyes in a dimly-lit setting and draws your attention away from what really matters. Let's change that.
How To: Disable Notification Previews for All Apps in iOS 11
I couldn't live without seeing previews of certain notifications on my iPhone, but there are definitely some that I'd like to hide, either because they're annoying or because I don't want anyone else to see them. Previously, you could only disable notification previews for Apple apps such as Mail, Messages, Photos, and Wallet, but in iOS 11, you can disable previews for every single app on your iPhone.
News: Augmented World Expo Sets the Example for What an AR Conference Should Be
I have spent a good portion of this year traveling between cities and various emergent technology conferences and events. Most of these events have been really good, but in terms of augmented and mixed reality, the Augmented World Expo, in its eighth year running, definitely stood above the rest.
News: Estee Lauder's Latest Project Uses AR to Find Your Perfect Lipstick
Lazy makeup enthusiasts, this new service is what you've been waiting for! Makeup giant Estee Lauder's latest project incorporates augmented reality to help customers test out their lipsticks without even getting out of bed. The company collaborated with Modiface — a group that creates AR services for the beauty industry — to produce a new Facebook Messenger chatbot that uses customers' cameras to let them virtually try on the brand's Pure Color Lipsticks.
How To: Save Cellular Data by Using Wi-Fi Only for FaceTime Audio & Video Calls
This may not matter to you if you only FaceTime from your iPhone occasionally, but if you're FaceTiming every day on a limited data plan from your cellular provider, you're going to want to conserve as much data as possible by making sure that you're connected to Wi-Fi only — especially if they are video calls.
News: Tinder's New Update Puts the Emphasis on Looks
If we're being honest, very few people go on Tinder to fall in love with someone's personality. Oftentimes, the only reason they'll look at your bio is to make sure there are no red flags.
News: You Can Now Record Multiple 10 Second Snaps Continuously with New Update
Snapchat is rolling out some awesome new features in their update today. The major update comes just two weeks after the company's premiere of backdrop, snap shopping, and voice clip features. They rolled out two new features this time, Multi-Snaps and the Tint Brush.
News: Google Glass Enterprise Edition Open for Business
Perhaps in tribute to the season premiere of Game of Thrones, Google Glass is demonstrating that what is dead may never die, as Alphabet's X (formerly Googlex) has revealed that the Enterprise Edition of the smart glasses are now available to businesses.
News: NBA's Sacramento Kings Unveil New Uniforms via Augmented Reality
Though the Golden State Warriors won the crown as the NBA's best team again this season, the Sacramento Kings continue their rule as the sport's technology leader, debuting their new uniforms from Nike through augmented reality today.
News: Leap Motion Closes $50 Million in Series C Funding
Augmented and virtual reality motion tracking leader Leap Motion, Inc. announced that it has secured $50 million in Series C funding to fund expansion into new territories and industries.
Apple AR: VR Developer Captures Movements of Artist & Projects Mimicking Digital Avatar
A new demo has given a hint about what's going to be possible in the world of mixed reality, thanks to Apple's ARKit.
News: New Unity Beta Brings with It Much Needed New Features
At the end of June, Unity 2017.1, the newest version of the popular 3D development engine, went live. And with that release, it brought out some very cool new features like Timeline and Cinemachine, to name a few. Now, for those of us that develop with Unity and follow the beta program closely, these features are not new at all. What is more likely the case is that we have spent a good deal of time using these features for a few months and even possibly helped iron out a few bugs.
How To: Find Out What Music Is Trending on SoundCloud Right Now
SoundCloud is a really interesting alternative to Spotify and Pandora in that it will never really give you the exact mainstream song that you want. If you're looking for new up-and-coming artists that are making some wonderful alternative remixes to mainstream music, then SoundCloud is the right music streaming app for you.
Super Mario Run 101: How to Conserve Battery Life While Playing on Android or iPhone
If there's one thing that iPhone and Android users can agree on, it's that playing mobile games can drain your battery like nothing else. But it doesn't always have to be this way. If the game you're currently addicted to is Super Mario Run, there are two settings you can change to greatly reduce battery drain on any phone.
How To: Create Playlists on SoundCloud to Help Organize Your Music
The nice part about creating a song playlist is that it's essentially like your own customized album. You can organize all your different music tastes into one large collection or separate them into each of their own genres.
News: Social Fresh CEO Jason Keath Explains Why AR Will Become a Massive Business Platform
Innovation Congress starts tomorrow, but its creator, Jason Keath, spoke to Next Reality today about the future of augmented reality.
News: Today Is World Emoji Day & Apple's Giving Us All Gifts to Celebrate
As we all know, and certainly have marked on our calendars, it's World Emoji Day! Considering that over five billion emojis are sent daily on Facebook Messenger alone, emojis deserve to be celebrated, and Apple's doing just that. On this monumentous day, the tech giant is gifting us all with images of its newest emojis. From dinosaurs to headscarf-clad women, the releases are sure to please emoji fanatics throughout the world.
Apple AR: Our World Meets Minecraft's with AR Scanner
This is one of the coolest applications of Apple's ARKit that we've seen so far. The 3D software product studio gradientspace has created a Minecraft 3D scanner using ARKit.
Apple AR: Game Company Creates Playable Augmented Reality Arcade Machine in Their Office
The gaming company Ivanovich Games has created a sort of "game-ception" using Apple's ARKit. They have designed a Steam-powered playable arcade machine game called "Operation Warcade" which can now be projected into real life using augmented reality, creating a true "go inside the video game" experience.
News: If the Rumors Are True, Amazon Could Be Developing a Messaging App
Is there anything Amazon doesn't do? Whether it's video streaming, creating a brick-and-mortar bookstore, or even purchasing Whole Foods, you name it, and Amazon's probably doing it — well.
Apple AR: Prepare to Rage in Real Life with Augmented Reality 'Flappy Bird'
You will soon be able to play an AR version of one of the most frustrating mobile games of all time, thanks to Apple's ARKit.
News: Children Can Now Go on an AR Adventure at Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport's most recent arrival isn't a flight, but rather an interactive children's game featuring augmented reality technology.
Apple AR: Get Up Close to Our Solar System Using AR
Our universe has never been closer thanks to Apple's ARKit. YouTube user Jenil Kansara has been playing around with ARKit features and created a solar system in his room.
News: Lucasfilm Looks to Lenovo for Star Wars Augmented Reality
The Force is strong with Lenovo, who is working with Disney and Lucasfilm to deliver an augmented reality headset and lightsaber handle for the forthcoming Star Wars: Jedi Challenges game.
Apple AR: Become Pac-Man with Immersive Augmented Reality Game
There have been many classic games that have been rebooted thanks to Apple's ARKit, including Tetris, but none have been quite so immersive as this one. YouTube user KobiSnir has created an augmented reality Pac-Man game where you are Pac-Man, dubbed "ARMan."
Apple AR: Learn to Dance at Home Using AR App 'Dance Reality'
Two salsa dancers who also happen to be programmers are soon releasing an app called Dance Reality, made with Apple's ARKit. Through this app, you will be able to practice your dancing with augmented reality as your teacher right from your iPhone.
Super Mario Run 101: How to Unlock Toad
Though not quite as agile as the world famous plump plumber Mario, Toad, the lovable fungus, is still one of the most fun characters to use while playing Super Mario Run. Thankfully, he is also by far the easiest character to unlock in the game, requiring no special tasks to complete.
YouTube 101: How to Live Stream from Your Phone
YouTube's mobile live streaming feature is great for connecting with your audience in a more personal way than traditional videos provide. Audiences can view and respond to content in real time, and creators can do the same. While unfortunately not available to everyone — you need at least 100 subscribers — live streaming is possible, even with your smartphone.
News: Dalux Adapts Augmented Reality to Mobile for Construction Industry
HoloLens developers have created some useful solutions for visualizing building models and viewing construction plans overlaid on the job environment.
News: Zappar Pitches Baseball AR Mini-Game for Wise Snacks
Wise Snacks wants baseball fans to reach for potato chips instead of peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and it's calling augmented reality out of the bullpen to close the deal.
Have You Seen This?: The New & Improved Windows Mixed Reality Portal
For those of us on the fast ring of the Windows Insider Program — Microsoft's continual beta program for the Windows operating system — the constant updates can be a bit of a pain. But there is a trade-off. We get to try the new features long before they come out to the public. So if you like to see the new shinies before everyone else, and don't mind the sometimes two or three major updates in a week, then this is definitely the option for you.