Gadget Hacks Features
News: Drake Drops Shoppable AR Lens on Snapchat to Push Fans to New Album on Apple Music
Hip-hop artist Drake once rapped that "goin' online...ain't part of (his) day," but that's not stopping him from promoting his new double album, Scorpion, via augmented reality on Snapchat.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 10 (Scaling Objects)
An incorrectly scaled object in your HoloLens app can make or break your project, so it's important to get scaling in Unity down, such as working with uniform and non-uniform factors, before moving onto to other aspects of your app.
News: Samsung, Not Apple, Makes the Best Social Media Phones (& We Can Prove It)
We recently set out to find the best phones for people whose primary usage revolves around social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Samsung, Apple, and Google were the three brands that made our top five, and while the latter only had one finalist, the two bigger OEMs had a pair of phones each. What struck us, however, was that Samsung's phones edged out Apple's not once, but twice.
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: The Math Says You Should Stop Buying Current Flagship Android Phones
We're all feeling the impact of the economic recession underway due to the coronavirus. With millions of Americans filing for unemployment benefits, now more than ever should we focus on the best deal rather than the best model. And in no industry is that more evident than smartphones.
News: Magic Leap Adds Master of 'The Matrix' Bullet Time Effect to Secretive Product Team
After announcing another massive round of funding to the tune of $502 million, Magic Leap is adding another powerful weapon to its creative arsenal: John Gaeta, the man who helped develop the iconic Bullet Time effect for The Matrix series of films.
News: This Mini Indoor Weather Station Can Reproduce the Conditions Anywhere in the World
If you've spent most of your life in one geographic location, you're probably pretty familiar with the weather there (unless you're a hermit). If you live in a tropical climate (and haven't done much traveling), maybe you've never even seen snow.
News: Augmented Reality App Created by NYU Students Can Translate Sign Language in Real Time
While Magic Leap may have plans to eventually introduce sign language translation for smartglasses in the near future, students at New York University have demonstrated that such a feat is possible today with a smartphone and a prototype app.
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: Search for and install apps on the HP TouchPad using the HP App Catalog
The HP App Catalog features thousands of apps ripe for downloading and installation on HP's webOS tablet--the TouchPad. Take a look at this guide to find out how to search for apps using HP's version of the app store. The walkthrough will even teach you how to install them, so get ready for a few rounds of Angry Birds!
News: HoloToolkit's Expanded Spatial Mapping Capabilities on HoloLens Now Open Source
For those of us that were blown away by the spatial mapping and user experience in Fragments and Young Conker, the version of spatial mapping that came stock in the HoloToolkit was lackluster at best. It became apparent really quick that to get an amazing presentation would require some heavy shader knowledge and some badass mesh culling skills, at the very least.
How To: Forward your Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail
Learn how to set up email forwarding using Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.
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.)
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.
News: Live-Stream Your AR Looks with ModiFace's New Makeup Platform for Facebook & YouTube
ModiFace, the makers of Sephora's Virtual Artist app which allows users to try on multiple different combinations of makeup through augmented reality, has just bumped up its augmented reality strategy. The company is now including a live-stream option for all those personal makeup trials you've been secretly admiring from the comfort of your own phone.
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.
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.
Opinion: Apple's New Credit Card Is an Essential Piece of Its Impending AR Smartglasses Rollout. Here's Why
On Monday, Apple unveiled its Apple Card, the company's boldest move yet toward becoming a truly mainstream mobile payments company. And the product has vast implications for our augmented reality future, some of which may not be immediately obvious to many.
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!
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.
How To: How Your Smartphone Can Get You Fit in Just 7 Minutes a Day
We all want to be healthy, but in practice, it can be tricky, especially from the fitness angle. Our lives seem busier and busier, which makes hitting the gym quite the challenge. What if we told you there was a real way to work on your fitness in the comfort of your own home — in just seven minutes a day? All you need is a chair, a wall, and a 7-minute workout app.
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.
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: 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.
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.
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: 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: 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.
Gaming: The 7 Best Paid Trivia Games for Android & iPhone
Trivia games are among the most entertaining ways to learn factoids and interesting info you may have never known about before. They're also the perfect genre to enjoy with friends and family, as they're particularly great at breaking the ice to make for a more memorable time together.
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.
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?
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.
News: This Extremely Offensive Insult Generator Dishes Out Disses for You on Your Galaxy Note 2
I can't begin to tell you of the many times my friends and I get into arguments that eventually lose any semblance of structure, becoming shouting matches where we just lob the stupidest, meanest insults we can fathom.
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.
How To: Search for a Copyright Free Images in Google Advanced Search
This video will describe you how to search for a Copyright free image. Google advanced image search gives you the opportunity to find free images from any category. Copyright free images are free to use in personal even as commercial purpose. Watch the video and follow the steps.
How To: Stop SVCHOST.EXE from using 100% of the CPU on a Windows XP PC
Want to stop SVCHOST.EXE from eating all of your Microsoft XP computer's processing power? It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this home-computing how-to from the folks at Britec can present a complete overview of the process in just over five minutes. For more information, including step-by-step instructions, take a look.
How To: Install Opera Mini on the LG KF600 Venus mobile phone
This innovative handset makes user convenience its priority. Created with the aim of overcoming the limitations of existing mobile phones, every function is available through a flexible layout of navigation keys. Fixed keypads are a thing of the past with the LG KF600 Venus cell phone.
News: I Spent a Full Day Working in the Magic Leap One & Discovered the AR Office of the Future
Why do you need augmented reality? Because enterprise, they say. And while that's certainly true for several disciplines, there's still that mainstream use case hanging out there waiting for users to discover beyond the realm of enterprise and gaming.
How To: The Must-Have Keyboard Feature You Never Knew You Needed
In addition to sharing emojis and GIFs, most of us also probably share various types of links through email or text, whether it be for a Google Maps location, a bar or restaurant on Yelp, or an awesome song on Spotify.