Gadget Hacks Features
News: These Apps Know Your Age, Gender, Emotions, & More
I think it was 1986 when I first discovered my love for making computers say stupid things out loud. My older brother got a Commodore 64 for his birthday, which came bundled with software that would speak out any term you typed in—and boy, that computer sure made a fool of itself after my five-year-old imagination got a hold of the keyboard.
How To: Use the camcorder app on the iPhone
Two to Three Minute App Reviews gives an introduction to operating the camcorder app on the iPhone. Open the app, which opens just like your camera app. Tap the "record" button to start recording your video. When you are finished recording your video, tap the "stop" button, which will bring up your recently recorded videos. Choose the file you have just recorded. To export the file to email or save to your iPhone, tap the "export" button.
News: This Is Why All Augmented Reality Startups Suck
People fundamentally distrust magicians. And they should. The illusions they proffer are just that, illusions meant to astound rather than tangible interactions and results that have weight and meaning in our real world. Our lizard brains know this, and, no matter what the outstanding feat of "magic" presented, we nevertheless hold fast to our survival-based grip on the truth: we just saw simply "can't be real."
News: "This Guy Has My MacBook"—A Tale of Evil, Redemption & the Power of the App
This Guy Has My MacBook is a gripping tale for iOS nerds far and wide, documented via interaction designer Joshua Kaufman's tumblr. When Kaufman's MacBook was stolen from his apartment in Oakland, CA, on March 21, 2011, he quickly activated Hidden, a previously installed app that enabled Kaufman to collect photos of the thief, as well as screen shots of the computer in use.
How To: Make a car photo light up in a picture frame
Hack a car photo to be a really awesome decorative object for your home or office at a very low cost. It's also really fun to make! All it takes is a few LED lights and a 9V battery.
How To: Get iLLumine, a cool Winterboard theme, free for a jailbroken iPhone or iTouch
One of the first things that you have to / should do after jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod Touch is going out and finding a theme for it that you like to replace the Apple UI you just bypassed. One of the best Winterboard themes that you can get is the iLLumine theme, which comes with many icons and works great. This video will show you how to get it on your jailbroken iDevice for free. All you need is this source on your phone: http://podulo.com/ and you're ready to go!
News: Startup Illumix Brings Mobile Horror Franchise Five Nights at Freddy's into Augmented Reality Gaming
A little over a year after emerging from stealth, augmented reality gaming startup Illumix has launched its first title using a familiar formula, but with a new twist.
News: Apple Released iOS 12.1.3 Developer Beta 3 — See What's New
Attention all iOS software developers — Apple just released iOS 12.1.3 beta 3 today, Monday, Jan. 7. This is the first update in quite some time for beta testers, as Apple released 12.1.3 beta 2 nearly three weeks ago. While we don't expect beta 3 to offer users a monumental upgrade to iOS, it's still an important update nonetheless.
How To: Create & send text messages on a Motorola Droid phone
Need a primer on how to send and receive SMS text messages on the Droid? This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're the proud owner of a Motorola Droid Google Android smartphone or are considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this hands-on guide. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
How To: Connect your laptop to the internet from a WiFi spot
This video demonstrates how to connect your laptop to the internet from a WiFi spot. From the people who brought you the Dummies instructional book series, brings you the same non-intimidating guides in video form. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to connect your laptop to the internet from a WiFi spot, For Dummies.
HowTo: See Yourself In the Third Person (No Drugs Necessary)
Ever wonder what you look like to someone else as you walk, talk? How it looks from above, behind, or to the side? Seeing yourself in a video flattens the experience into two dimensions, but this wireless camera rig experiment from Instructables member BigRedRocket brings it into the third dimension:
News: DIY Trombone Flamethrower Hurls Flames AND Carries a Tune
What do you get when a musician (who also happens to be a pyromaniac) has too much time on his hands? A WonderHowTo hero and mastermind behind the hack of the ages.
How To: Speed Up Phone by Uninstalling Unnecessary Apps in Sony Xperia Z2
This video will show you how to remove or uninstall unnecessary apps in your Sony Xperia Z2 phone. The Uninstalling unnecessary app will speed up your phone a little and create space for other apps. This is very easy to employ. So please watch the video and follow all the steps to employ it in your phone.
News: Apple Releases iOS 12.1 Beta 5 to Developers
Check your Settings, software testers — Apple released the fifth iOS 12.1 beta on Monday, Oct. 22, just seven days after seeding the fourth beta to both developers and public testers alike. While this initial update is only for developers, we expect Apple to subsequently release the public beta within hours of this post.
Proof of Concept: HoloLens App Shrinks a Room Down to a Miniature 3D Map
Sky Zhou, also know as Matrix Inception on YouTube, is no stranger here on NextReality. We loved his Pokémon concept game for HoloLens, as well as his D3D Keyboard that lets HoloLens users leave notes around the house. He just can't seem to stop creating cool mixed reality apps, and he's already got another one in the works.
How To: Autocorrect Only Fixes Mistakes, but This Android Keyboard Helps Prevent Them
My reliance on autocorrect has made me a horrible speller. I take it for granted that it'll catch all my mistakes, but it only ends up making matters worse (especially when it inadvertently makes correct words wrong). So instead of relying on autocorrect to fix typos, why not try to completely prevent mistakes from happening in the first place?
How To: Stop Panic Selling & Impulse Buys by Hoarding Your Cryptocurrency in Coinbase's Vaults
As cheesy as it sounds, #HODL became a thing for a reason. A lack of discipline when dealing with cryptocurrencies can lead to impulse buys and panic selling, and ultimately, depleted funds. Luckily, Coinbase has a way to safeguard your cryptocurrency savings to not only protect them against thieves, but to also help you resist the urge to sell off your investments.
News: How Virtual & Mixed Reality Trick Your Brain
Our brains do a magnificent amount of work to process visual stimuli, but they aren't difficult to fool. Optical illusions can trick our minds into believing what we're seeing is real, even if it's not—and virtual and mixed reality technologies take advantage of this little loophole in our brain to help us accept the unreal.
How To: Enable the Hidden Facebook Chat and Notifications Feature in Firefox 17's Toolbar
As enjoyable as Facebook can be at times, it can also be a great distraction and even better deterrent of getting work done. A quick "Oh, let me check my notifications" can turn into hours and hours of Facebooking, and before you know it, you're already on your 7th Wikipedia page, all thanks to that status your friend posted. The reason I mention this is because Firefox's new 17.0 update includes many features, but the one that's been making the rounds online is the integration of Facebook Me...
How To: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 8 Beta 3 for iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch
The newest version of iOS 8 beta is now out. Almost three weeks ago, in the iOS 8 beta 2 release, we saw podcast integration, full-screen caller ID, new assistive touch toggles, and a "disable all" button for app notifications, among other things.
How To: Lock and unlock your BlackBerry Storm
The BlackBerry Storm did not come with a lock/unlock option. Here are some directions on how to download an application to make it possible.
How To: Turn a Chromebook into Google TV
The Google Chromebook may be simple, but it is not limited. Watch this video to see how the Chromebook works as a kind of rudimentary Google TV when hooked up to a large monitor. This easy mod will let you enjoy your Cr-48 Chromebook in a whole new way.
How To: The Easiest Way to Transfer Files Between Different Cloud Service Accounts on Android
With limited storage options available on the Nexus 5, cloud storage can definitely come in handy. But sometimes, with the seemingly endless options of cloud services for us to choose from, our online data can get a bit disorganized.
How To: Make a homopolar spiral motor
The homopolar spiral motor is one of the simplest and most easy to make motors in the world. This video shows you how.
How To: Over 4 Million Snapchat Accounts Have Been Compromised—Is Yours One of Them?
Just days after news spread that Snapchat could be exploited by spammers, an anonymous group of hackers have released the private information of over 4 million users of the popular photo-sharing application.
How To: Bypass school filters and get on any site you want
Sick of your school dictating what websites you can visit and which you can't? Learn how to bypass school web filters and get on any website of your liking with help from this free video. Surf the web with total freedom in just a few simple steps! Bypass school filters and get on any site you want.
News: Apple's iOS 13 Developer Beta 3 Available for iPhone, Packed with New Features & Changes
On July 3, Apple pushed out iOS 13 developer beta 3 for iPhone, and there's a lot found hidden within. A new FaceTime setting, more Arcade details, full-page scrolling screenshots everywhere, a noise cancellation option in the Control Center, and a new markup tool — and that's just a few of the new features.
News: Google Calendar Gets a Huge Makeover & New Features (APK Inside)
It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update.
How To: Whip Your Tunes into Shape with CyanogenMod's Apollo Music Player for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
With over 8 million active users, CyanogenMod is definitely the most popular ROM for Android devices, which explains why venture capitalists invested $7 million last month for future development.
How To: Download and play music on an Amazon Kindle
Watch this CNET Quick Tips video to learn how to add your own MP3s for background music on the Amazon Kindle. Some readers just like to listen to music as they read, and the Kindle makes that easy. It's as easy as dragging and dropping your digitla music files onto your Kindle from your computer.
News: HoloLens App Muralize Combines Art & Technology—From an All-Female Developer Team
One thing you'll find a lot of in the Windows Store for HoloLens is demos and mockups, but very few projects are as fully realized and fully-functioning as Muralize. Created by Magnopus, an all-female development team, Muralize first appeared in the Windows Store in late-November of 2016, and makes it easy and fun to create real-life murals using a HoloLens.
News: Preview a 3D House in Mixed Reality Before It Gets Built
Would you like to know what your next house is going to look like? With the HoloLens, you can just plop a hologram down in an open outdoor area and find out.
How To: Silence Notifications & Shutter Sounds in Your Galaxy S6's Camera
Some variants of the Galaxy S6 will allow you to silence the camera shutter sound with an option in the app's settings menu. But this is not true of all models, plus there's an additional annoyance—when you're filming video and you get a notification, you'll actually hear this tone on the final recording.
NR50: The People Leading Augmented & Mixed Reality's Head-Mounted Displays
A new technological movement without the technology itself is just an idea sitting and waiting. Once the technology is present in the equation, movement forward can begin. This is how many of us see the head-mounted displays (HMDs) and smartglasses that have recently entered the augmented and mixed reality market — or are coming out in the next few months. This is a movement that will sweep over the world, changing everything in its path, and these are some of the people behind it.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the New Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung unveiled their new flagship device, the Galaxy S4, at a live event in New York City today. Here's a quick rundown of the specs and all of the new features that you can expect when you finally get your hands on one (whenever that will be). The GS4's Specs
How To: Remove scratches from any DVD
In this Household Hacker experiment, we'll demonstrate how to completely remove scratches from your CD or DVD media.
News: How Face Tracking & Augmentation Technology Works
Thanks to Snapchat, we're all familiar with face swapping and augmentation thanks to some clever, fun technology. But that's just the beginning, because this kind of augmented reality can do so much more.
How To: The 5 Best Social Networking Windows 8 Apps (for Free)
Many social networks have become a part of our daily routine. Checking Facebook or sending out a Tweet are things millions of people do every single day. So, one would think that having a great app offering for Windows 8 would be a no-brainer. But, and this is a huge but, there are still no official Twitter or Facebook apps for Windows 8.
How To: 10 Ways to Make "Netflix & Chill” Nights Better with Android
If you're having a "Netflix and chill" night, the last thing you want to worry about is finding something to watch—after all, you have better things planned for the night.
How To: Un-Delete Text on Your iPhone with One Swipe
So, you undid something you typed on your iPhone. Maybe you used the new gesture in iOS 13 to do so. Maybe you shook your iPhone, on purpose or accidentally, to trigger the traditional undo method. Either way, you want your text back, or to redo your edit, and you aren't sure how to do it. Luckily, it's as easy as a swipe.