Gadget Hacks Features
How To: Hold a Building in Your Hand
Aaron Betsky, director of the Cincinnati Art Museum and previous director of the Netherlands Institute of Architecture, reports on the world's first postage stamp to employ augmented reality. Dutch advertising agency Gummo, the NIA and the Dutch postal service teamed up to present five unbuilt models by different Dutch architecture studios in 3D form. When held in front of a webcam, the illusion of a 3D building is projected in your hand. By slowly moving the stamp, you can experience the vir...
Instagram 101: Turn Off Stories from Brands & Followed Hashtags
Instagram integrated Stories back in 2016, and it flew right by Snapchat as a whole, becoming a bigger success itself than the whole entire Snapchat app. Still, the constant bombardment of information can be tiring in Instagram, so much so that you may want to mediate what Stories are shown to you. Fortunately, there's a way to do just that — without unfollowing accounts or hashtags.
How To: Save Hundreds of Wasted Hours with Gmail's "Canned Responses" Tool
Time is money, and if your job requires sending out hundreds of generic emails—think "Thank You" notes and sales pitches—you could save days of work by creating templates stored within your Gmail called "canned responses."
News: The World's Most Badass Printer (Operated by LEGO Chicks)
Well, not just chicks. A couple LEGO dudes, too. (Oh, and a horse). All I can say is, I'm head over heels in love. With a LEGO People operated, felt tip pen printer. B3ta forum member Squirrelfantasy spent about three weeks building his LEGO printer, which uses a felt-tip pen in place of an ink cartridge.
How To: Send a multimedia message on the iPhone / iPod Touch
Fairly recently Apple introduced Multimedia Messaging on the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing people to send pictures and other media through text messages. What does this mean for users? Well, if you want to take a picture of yourself eating a hamburger and then send it to your vegetarian friend, you can!
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.
News: What the IP67 Dust & Water Resistance Rating Means for the iPhone SE (2nd Generation)
If you're considering purchasing Apple's new 2020 iPhone SE, which brings many modern components into the compact body of an iPhone 8, you should know what its dust and water resistance rating means. Just how dirty and wet can the iPhone SE get without breaking any functionality?
News: Unity Beta 2019.2 Adds Face, 2D & 3D Image Tracking to AR Foundation
Fresh off of shipping version 2019.1 in April, Unity has already dropped the beta of 2019.2, and it has a bunch of new AR Foundation toys to test.
News: Bitcoin Cash Is Now Available on Coinbase
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has officially arrived on Coinbase, which means you can now easily buy, sell, send, and receive the digital currency without having to manually set up a wallet or trade on an exchange like Poloniex. This addition has boosted the price of BCH, which is currently trading at around $3,400 a coin.
How To: Watch All the 2016 Oscar-Nominated Films Online
Even though the 88th Academy Awards have come and gone, there's a good chance you still haven't seen all the films that were nominated—or even those that won big.
News: Magic Leap's Biggest Problem May Not Be Legal Fights but a Major Battery Charging Issue
While everyone was marveling at the latest drama over at Magic Leap involving employees last week, a major rumor listed in one of the reports, related to the company's flagship device, was mostly overlooked.
How To: Make Your Nexus Organize Itself & Dynamically Adapt to Your Daily Needs
Ask a thousand Nexus owners why they chose their device over an iPhone, and after getting an earful of Apple hate, you will likely hear a clear pattern in their responses, namely, the freedom to customize their phones.
News: Jurassic World Augmented Reality Game Wants to Be Pokémon GO for Real Dinosaurs
Following in the augmented reality footsteps of Pokémon GO, Universal Studios has decided to give us an AR version of Jurassic World.
News: Snapchat & Facebook Kick Off the World Cup with Augmented Reality Effects
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup underway in Russia, soccer (aka "football") fans worldwide can show support for their favorite teams and players in augmented reality via Snapchat and Facebook.
News: Get Ready to Play Fantasy Card Games in Mixed Reality
Card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and the like have offered engaging fantasy worlds for players—but not without significant help from their imaginations. Video games and cartoons may have helped build these worlds, but mixed reality finally offers an opportunity to make the player's imagination real.
News: Meta Cuts Ribbon on New AR Workspace
Meta CEO and founder — and Next Reality 50 member —Meron Gribetz unveiled a new operating environment for augmented reality called Meta Workspace for the audience at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, California, today.
News: Bringing the Shortcut Key to Android Is Easier & Cheaper Than You Think
Taking pictures, sharing your location, and making calls are easy enough to do with an Android device, but for the most part, they all require your screen to be on with some sort of swiping and pressing actions. Dedicated shortcut keys are virtually non-existent on any modern day phone, but their utility is something that can be very useful.
How To: Forward your Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail
Learn how to set up email forwarding using Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.
News: Preorder & Release Dates for the iPhone XR, XS & XS Max
The world finally received its first official look at the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, Apple's 2018 suite of smartphones, on Wednesday, Sept. 12. If you're someone looking to get their hands on one, two, or three of these new iPhones as soon as possible, you'll need to know all of the important dates so you don't end up missing out to others ahead of the line.
How To: Extend your iPhone's battery life
Can't stand your iPhone going dry so quickly? Take a look at this tutorial and learn how to extend your iPhone's battery life. Gary Rosenzweig takes a look at some techniques to help you stretch the iPhone battery so it lasts through a long day.
News: How to Use Speech-to-Text & Other Voice Commands in Google Docs
Google launched voice typing for Google Docs last Fall, and followed that up about six months later with voice commands that let you format and edit text as well. You can do things like select text, apply format settings like alignment and headings, and add and edit tables—all with your voice.
News: Now You Can Even Try on Nail Polish in AR Before You Buy via This App for iOS & Android
Augmented Reality beauty tools have become quite popular lately, and while CoverGirl's didn't exactly turn heads, the new Wanna Nails app by Wannaby looks like a great tool for anyone who uses nail polish.
News: 12 Android Features We Want to See in iOS 12
I love my iPhone, but it would be a lie to say there aren't some Android features I wish would find their way to iOS. While iOS has plenty of its own advantages, Android has pulled ahead in many other areas. With iOS 12 coming later this year, we're hoping Apple takes a hint from Google and adds some of these awesome features to the iPhone.
News: Nextdoor Brings Private Social Networks to a Neighborhood Near You
Social networks like Facebook and Google+ are great for staying connected with family, friends and coworkers—even fans. But sharing and communicating with practically anyone in the digital realm has alienated us from most of the flesh-and-blood beings we see everyday—our neighbors. How well do you know your neighbors?
How To: Change home screen icons on an iPod or iPhone
In this how to video, you will learn how to change the home screen icons on an iPhone or iPod Touch. First, go to the website to download the icons you want. Once these are downloaded, download and install WinSCP. Open this program and select edit. Find your IP and wi-fi address and place your IP, user name, and password in. Log in and then go to your Applications folder. Go to mobile slide show and look for the icon files for the application you want to change. Drag and drop the new icon fil...
News: July 4th Sales Mean Big Savings on iPhone SE
This Fourth of July, stock up on hot dogs, ice cream, and smartphones. Yep, this Independence Day is a surprisingly good time to get your hands on the iPhone SE. If you're interested, head to your nearest Best Buy to check out this major deal. (Or wait for the iPhone 8 to come out ...whenever that will be.)
How To: Use application multitasking in Apple's iOS 4
Learn how to multitask when running iOS 4! Apple's new iOS 4 for the iPhone and iPod Touch brings with it a host of new features. While that's certainly a cause for celebration, there's also, believe it or not, a downside: learning how to take advantage of them. Happily, the web is awash in helpful video tutorials like this one which make the process a pleasure (and a simple one at that).
News: WayRay Wows Auto Industry with AR Navigation Tech
Until self-driving cars become mainstream, augmented reality might be the next big technology to hit your dashboard.
How To: Make a digital color organ with high-powered LEDs
Collin of MAKE is back with another inspiring project. You may remember his analog light organ. Well, he's decided to upgrade and make his light organ a digital one. One thing to watch out for is the amount of heat emitted by high-powered LEDs, but as long as you find a way to dissipate the heat, this will work out just fine. Watch, and don't forget to read the thorough instructions before building this!
How To: Play 'WWE Tap Mania' on Your iPhone or Android Before It's Officially Released
Every now and then, it's refreshing to play a game that doesn't involve much thinking. Sega is set to bring us just that, as a new game called WWE Tap Mania has soft launched for iOS and Android in the Philippines.
News: Intel Labs Chief Reveals the Secrets to Taking Augmented Reality Mainstream
Because augmented reality is still so new to so many people, there are a number of would-be experts opining online, often repeating basic facts anyone with a spare 15 minutes can find on their own. That's why it's important to point out when someone delivers what could be considered the ultimate cheat sheet for ramping up your AR IQ if you're unfamiliar with the finer points of the space.
News: We've Found the Best Black Friday 2017 Deals on Phones & Accessories So You Don't Have To
Black Friday is fast approaching, and just like every other day-after-Thanksgiving, there will be too many tech deals you won't want to pass up. If you've been saving up all year just for this sometimes-chaotic shopping holiday, we'll help you figure out the best tech sales to take advantage of and when, whether it's Black Thursday, Black Friday, or Black Friday weekend.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Public Beta 5 for iPhone
Apple released the fifth public beta for iOS 13.4 on March 10. The update comes three hours after the release of developer beta 5, and exactly one week after iOS 13.4 public beta 4.
How To: Completely erase personal data from your Apple iPhone
In this helpful electronics tutorial video, you can learn how to erase data and information from your Apple iPhone. This how-to video makes erasing data from your iPhone easy and is especially helpful for new iPhone owners.
How To: Build an analog internet meter out of an Arduino Ethernet Shield
The internet has created amazing new standards for how closely information can be followed. If you want a portable analog unit that will monitor one important piece of online info continuously and have some DIY electrical knowhow, watch this video. It will show you how to use an Arduino Ethernet Shield to make an internet meter to monitor email, stocks, and other online info on a simple analog display. You will need to know some PHP to make this work.
How To: Never Forget Your Grocery List Again — Make Google Home Remind You When You're at the Store
If you have some experience in the Google world, you'll know that Google Assistant has had location-based reminders since it dropped nearly two years ago. Before that, Google Now offered the same feature. Even with that precedent, you've never been able to ask Google Home to remind you to, say, pick up eggs when you reach the grocery store. That is, until now.
News: All New Samsung Galaxy S5 Active Leaked (Updated)
With rumors of the Active and Prime versions on the immensely popular Galaxy S5 circling the web for the past few weeks, today, we've got some clear proof of the upcoming Active variant.
Exclusive: Hands-On with North's New Focals Smartglasses & Flagship Store in New York City
On Tuesday, the smartglasses startup known as North finally took the wraps off its Focals product, but in a very unique way: The team simply opened a couple of stores and invited the public in.
News: 5 Major Problems Magic Leap One Faces on Day One
The mysterious technology product teased via an eccentric TED Talk nearly five years ago has finally been revealed, and it's called the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition. After all of the non-disclosure agreements, furtive comments from CEOs and insiders given early access to the device, and a seemingly never-ending string of hints dropped by the company's CEO, Rony Abovitz, on Twitter, we finally have a real look at the product.
News: SyFy's New 'Happy!' AR App Gives You a Flying Unicorn Voiced by Patton Oswalt as an Imaginary Friend
If you've ever wanted to hang out with a flying unicorn that sounds like actor/comedian Patton Oswalt, get ready to get Happy!