Gadget Hacks Features
How To: Modify a voice transformer into a music effects pedal
A "voice changer" can be rewired so that you can play a pre-amped instrument through it like an effects pedal. It makes some relatively freakish sounds and is much more interesting this way. You can still use a microphone to talk through it but now you can rock out through it as well. Watch this video circuitry tutorial and learn how to modify a voice transformer into an effects pedal for musical instruments.
Opinion: Google Glass Patent Reveals Traditional Frames, but Design Isn't Only Challenge Facing AR Smartglasses
Just when you thought Google Glass was dead, it turns out there may be a second life for the often ridiculed device that won't relegate it to the staid confines of factories and repair jobs.
News: Announcement, Release & Preorder Dates for the Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+
Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ are excellent smartphones that wowed critics and consumers alike. So, it's only natural that Samsung's followup, the Galaxy S9 and S9+, would garner significant anticipation. While we don't know everything about these devices quite yet, we do have guesses to some key points of interest, including when the device will be announced and even released.
News: Apple's iOS 13.6 Public Beta 3 Adds Minor Updates for iPhone
Apple just released the third public beta for iOS 13.6 today, Tuesday, June 30. This update comes three hours after the release of iOS 13.6 dev beta 3, which is the version of the beta made specifically for developers. Both betas come eight days after Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 14.
News: Here's Why Apple Getting Rid of the Headphone Connector Is a Terrible Plan
More proof is emerging that the iPhone 7 won't include a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and damn—it is not pretty. These third-party Lightning-to-3.5 mm dongles were spotted on Chinese site Tama, and they give us a glimpse into a horrifying future in which we have to attach one of these clunky monstrosities to an iPhone just to connect a set of standard headphones.
How To: Research Your Family Tree Online
Are you interested in beginning research of your family's history? I began this journey about 3 or 4 years ago and here is what I found. I've done almost ALL of my research online, and gotten farther, faster and more comprehensively than anyone else who has researched my family the old fashioned ways. This is the kind of thing that technology is made for. Here's how to use it.
How To: Manage widgets and icons on a Motorola Droid X smartphone
In this clip, learn how to manage your widges and icons on a Droid X cell phone. Whether you're a proud owner of the Moto Droid 2 Google Android smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
JUST IN: Finally! Flash Video Plays on Android (NOT iPhone)
Flash video. It's what all smartphone users have been waiting for. Why has it taken sooo long? And why is Apple still resistant?
Apple AR: Assisting the Technically-Challenged Is Easier With Vuforia's New App
If you're a regular reader of this site, there's a good chance friends and family turn to you as their volunteer technical support staff.
How To: Set a custom ringtone for a contact on a BlackBerry Curve 8520
Learn how to add a custom ringtone or ring tone for one of your contacts on your Curve 8520. This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're the proud owner of a BlackBerry smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For detailed information, including step-by-step instructions, take a look.
Market Reality: Augmented Reality Continues to Disrupt Mobile via Facebook, Starbucks, Swarovski & Others
Augmented reality was recently named the "Mobile Disruptor of the Year" for 2017 by Mobile Marketer, but the technology is showing no signs of slowing down as we head into 2018. In fact, the technology appears to be gaining momentum.
News: DIY Private-Knock-Knock-Knock Cipher
The secret hideout - a thing of the past, a childhood luxury, an adult-less adventure. Those were the days. And remember the secret knock? The only way in. You either knew it or you didn't. The only way to keep the kids in and the grown-ups out.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.3 Public Beta 1 for iPhone, Includes Updated TV App with Subscription Channels
If you're a public beta tester, your Thursday just got awesome. Apple just released the first public beta for iOS 12.3 today, March 28. This update comes right on the heels of the first developer beta for 12.3, which itself released just one day ago. Thanks to that release, we know that this update contains a new TV app with updated layouts, Apple TV Channels subscriptions, a new logo, and more.
Dev Report: Machine Learning Agents Come to Unity
As we have seen previously with the likes of SethBling's Mar I/O videos and other examples, video games seem to be a great source for training AI neural networks. Augmented reality and machine learning are part of a collection of technologies that seem to be growing toward a point of maturity, and that will likely cause them to be intertwined for the foreseeable future. As developers, machine learning will definitely change the way we create software in the coming future. Instead of going lin...
News: This IG Account Will Expose Your Staged Camping Pictures
Don't even think about posting a fake camping picture to Instagram because this account is committed to calling you out. The account entitled @youdidnotsleepthere is exposing fake pictures posted by travel bloggers to its over 36,000 followers.
Market Reality: Snoop & Mark Ronson Hit AR, DreamWorld & Mad Gaze Launch Wearables, & Google Tests Mobile Hand Tracking
Before smartglasses makers can dream of taking smartglasses to mainstream consumers, they must first determine the right mix of form, function, and price that will drive customers to buy into what they're hoping to sell.
How To: Upload a video onto metacafe
A visual tutorial on how to upload a video to www.metacafe.com
News: Cast Your Own Personalized News Station Pulled from Local & National Sources to Your TV
With Chromecast-capable applications slowly seeping into the market, it's difficult to find useful ones that we might use on a daily basis.
Apple AR: Authentic Robot Commanders Make for a Scary Yet Satisfying ARKit Experience
Augmented reality has an incredible way of integrating things into our world that we can typically only see in movies like ghosts in a haunted house or Sharknados. However, a new experiment made with Apple's ARKit has changed the game in realistic augmented reality characters.
How To: Setup the Motorola Droid Bionic Android smartphone for the first time
So you just got back from the local Verizon Wireless outlet with a brand new Droid Bionic Android smartphone from Motorola and you want to figure out how to go through the wizard at the start. Setting up the smartphone for the first time can be a bit confusing, but this guide from Motorola should help.
News: Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Public Beta 6, Features New Siri Voices & Battery Health Calibration for iPhone 11 Line
Apple seeded software testers iOS 14.5 public beta 6 today, Wednesday, March 31. The update includes a new battery calibration for iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, as well as two new Siri voices.
How To: Create shorthand link aliases
If you like to share websites via email, are a writer who needs to share email in her stories, or just need to make a quick written note of a website address, you need to know how to use web address shorthand. Some URLs can be hundreds of characters long and therefore too tedious to reproduce in writing. To make an easier-to-communicate link, you'll need to use a URL minimizer, like TinyURL. Learn how with this address-minimizing how-to!
Market Reality: Level Ex Closes $11 Million in Financing, While Gaze Coin Seeks $12 Million through ICO
According to Digi-Capital, investors poured $1.8 billion into augmented and virtual reality companies over the last 12 months, including $300 million in the third quarter. These investments are not made without a means to monetize products and services.
How To: Customize your unlock slider on a jailbroken iOS device
The process of changing your iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone unlock slider is a little lengthy, but is easy if you watch this step-by-step guide. Once your iOS device has been jailbroken, you'll need to install the 'Winterboard' app and have access to photo editing software such as Photoshop. There are also three different files in iOS for each of the different screens:
News: Apple's iOS 13.5 Release Includes COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Face ID Updates & New FaceTime Option
Apple released iOS 13.5 for iPhone on Wednesday, May 20. The update came just two days after the company seeded beta testers iOS 13.5's GM (golden master), the build everyone would get if all went well. While only available to beta testers, the GM is the same software as iOS 13.5's stable release.
Market Reality: Businesses Invest in the Expansion of AR Services & Content Creation
As augmented reality gains popularity, the demand for delivering related services and generating content increases. This is demonstrated by a pair of investments from the past week, one in the expansion of a technology lab and another in the form of seed funding for a content studio.
How To: Use a home computer as a wireless adapter for your Xbox 360
Get onto Xbox Live using your home computer. This tutorial shows you how to use your PC as a wireless adapter for your Xbox. All you need is a home computer with a spare ethernet plug and an ethernet cable. This tutorial shows you the rest.
News: ThirdEye Reveals X2 Smartglasses Design & Retail Partnership with b8ta
Smartglasses maker ThirdEye has announced that its X1 model wearable will be updated by the slimmer, as yet unreleased X2 model. Both devices will be promoted and sold through its partner, brick and mortar technology retailer b8ta.
How to Build a Burrito Bomber: The "World's First Airborne Mexican Food Delivery System"
Everybody loves burritos. E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y.
How To: Perform self repair for HP iPAQ 510, 512, 514 series
Check out this tutorial and learn how to disassemble the HP iPAQ 510 series and repair the various parts.
News: Can Google Flights Really Get You the Best Price Possible?
I hate flying for two reasons. Firstly, I'm afraid of heights and turbulence is absolutely hellish. Secondly, I hate overspending on airfare. Flying can be unnecessarily expensive, especially if you don't plan ahead or must deal with inclement weather. Nevertheless, the travel season is almost here and we're always looking for the cheapest, most convenient flight. But what service actually provides you with exactly that?
Market Reality: Samsung Prototype, Mastercard App, Plus Vuzix, 0Glasses, & Pacific Future AR Wearables Shown Off at CES
In years past, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) mostly dabbled in the future as far as the long-term vision for augmented reality was concerned. This year, however, objects in the future are much closer than they appear.
News: Banks Arrive Late to Instant Money Transfer Scene, Just After iOS 11
After 6 years of development, the big banks seem to be ready to combat Venmo on the money sending frontier, but now it might be too late.
News: Gear 360 VR Camera Set to Accompany Galaxy S7; Announcement Date Set
Samsung trademarked the name Gear 360 a few weeks ago, and today it has been confirmed that the Gear 360 is a spherical virtual reality camera that will accompany the much-anticipated Galaxy S7.
News: How You Can Put Street Art Legend KAWS & Even That Mysterious Alien Utah Monolith in Your Own Home via AR
Sure, you could leave a random monolith in Utah and get some notoriety for your street art. Or, you can let others put your art anywhere they'd like with augmented reality so they can appreciate it where they are.
News: ARKit App WiARframe Wants to Be the Destination for AR Prototyping & Discovery
A new app for iPhones and iPads gives developers a sandbox for testing their AR experiences and sharing them with the world.
How To: Protect your Facebook profile by changing your privacy settings
Want to change your Facebook privacy settings? This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're completely new to the Facebook's popular social networking site or simply require a small amount of clarification on how to perform a particular task on Facebook, you're sure to benefit from this helpful video guide. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
Market Reality: Apple Cultivates Chinese AR Devs, Minecraft Earth Beta Arrives, & a Brief History of AR in Marvel Movies
This week, while Apple was the subject of thinly sourced reports that it had canceled development of its oft-rumored smartglasses, the Cupertino was actually laying the foundation for its AR hardware future with a new initiative focused on mentoring Chinese developers in mobile AR development.
News: Apple Hides Augmented Reality Surprise in Invite for Next Big Event
Apple's augmented reality teases just keep on coming from the halls of its Cupertino labs. The latest comes in the form of an invitation to Apple's next public-facing event.
News: New York Times Delivers Augmented Reality Content to Magic Leap One Starting with Guatemala Volcano Feature
When Magic Leap One owners unbox their new devices over the next few months (or, if they are lucky, days), they will have some familiar augmented reality news content to consume.