Gadget Hacks News
News: This Wearable AR Gear Could Change Cycling Forever
Cyclists of the world, new AR glasses are here to improve your rides. Possessing 2 GB RAM, a quad-core CPU, GPS, 16 to 32 GB of storage, an accelerometer, camera, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer, Bluetooth, speaker, WiFi, and a mic, these aren't your regular UV-blocking sunglasses. Called the Everysight Raptor AR glasses, these shades project all of the information a cyclist could need to optimize their rides.
News: Clay VR Has Gesture Recognition Using Just Your iPhone
If you don't know Clay, you're probably going to want to. According to their website, Clay VR's goal was to not only expose users to the world of AR/VR, but fully immerse them in it. Clay does this by allowing users to feel like they were touching the objects in virtual worlds in order to make the virtual worlds feel more natural and real.
Netflix 101: How to Change the Size, Font & Color of Subtitles & Captions on Android
Whether you're hard of hearing, watching a foreign movie, or just like reading along when you're watching a TV show or film on your smartphone, Netflix includes captions and subtitles that you can use. Best of all, if you don't like the way the default captions and subtitles look (color, background, font, or size), Netflix has your back.
News: No More Texting-While-Cycling, 'Safe Lock' Blocks Your Network While Riding
Cycling accidents are more common than you think. In the past month, two men have been hit and killed while cycling in New York City. I even saw a cycling accident occur yesterday morning here in NYC. It's dangerous enough to be cycling in populated areas, it's made worse by people wanting to text while riding.
News: Can You Hear Me Now? Probably Not if You Have T-Mobile
If you're on T-Mobile, you've probably had a rough morning. Reports are coming in saying that the carrier's LTE network is down in cities throughout the country.
News: Augmented Reality Treasure Hunt Allows You to 'Snatch' Up Free Beer
Free beer and AR? What could be better? Amstel, a Dutch beer brand, has launched an innovative sampling campaign using an AR app called "Snatch." Snatch is a treasure hunt gaming app, and if you win the game, your prize is 10,000 free pints of Amstel beer, redeemable at Mitchell & Butler pubs.
News: AR Sneakers Are a Thing Now
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger and fashion label Anrealage have teamed to produce the world's first augmented reality sneakers. The shoes — called the Anrealage Monte Z — look like a regular pair of sneakers until you view them through Anrealage's new AR app. Once viewed through the app, they become unlike any pair of sneakers that have ever existed.
News: How to Disable Netflix Auto-Play from Within the Mobile App
It's really easy to binge-watch episode after episode, and that's exactly what Netflix wants us to do. Before you can even think twice, the next video is playing and you're stuck wallowing in the abyss of unintentionally marathon-viewing your new favorite TV show, and there's nothing you can do. Except there is something you can do — and it's as simple as disabling one little feature.
News: Stop Netflix from Eating Your Data While Streaming
If you don't have any home Wi-Fi, like to watch videos on public transportation, or just always find yourself streaming Netflix when there are no hotspots available, your cellular data is probably gobbled up fairly fast. For limited data plans, watching the next episode of your favorite TV show could mean overage charges on your cellular bill, but it doesn't have to.
NR50: Next Reality's 50 People to Watch: Tony Parisi
Tony Parisi, the global head of VR/AR at Unity Technologies, has been passionately working with virtual and immersive spaces for a long time. And while the internet world we live in now is very different than when Parisi was co-authoring VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) — an early attempt at creating 3D environments that would work in a web browser — some of the questions that were assumed answered are being asked again.
News: Now You Can Add Backdrops, Voice Filters & Even Links to Your Snaps
Snapchat has added three new features, letting you personalize your snaps more than ever. One of those is links, which was not allowed at all before. The other features allow for greater personalization of snaps, with both visual and auditory choices.
ARKit Roundup: More Fun Uses for Augmented Reality & Your iPhone Keep Popping Up
Developers are really having a field day with Apple's ARKit, announced last month. Since it's release to developers, videos have been appearing all over the Internet of the different ways that developers are getting creative with the ARKit using iPhones and iPads.
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.
News: BBC VR App Lets You Travel Planet Earth II from Your Phone
The BBC's Taster VR app released July 5 is providing new experiences visible on both iOS and Android, and one of the releases is a VR version of Planet Earth II. It is viewable on YouTube and works properly when viewed with a mobile VR headset.
News: Siri's Samsung Rival Won't Launch in the US Anytime Soon
Bixby — Samsung's voice-activated digital assistant — has been delayed again because the software still can't recognize English. Although Samsung claims Bixby can execute 15,000 tasks, it appears it's inability to master English is a major obstacle that's preventing its full release in the United States.
News: Layar AR Creators Want Their Company Back, Believing Blippar Is Ruining It
With augmented reality making its way into the mainstream, consumers have been expecting a company bloodbath for a while now, one that will have a ton of casualties. Blippar has been expected to be one of those casualties due to the reported loss of millions of dollars earlier this year. Now, their situation might be made worse as the creators of the Layar app, Raimo van der Klein and Martin Lens-Fitzgerald, are rumored to be asking for their company back.
News: Nokia & Xiaomi Agree to Explore AR Collaborations in New Partnership
A new cross-licensing patent deal signed by Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will bring increased collaboration between the two companies. One area of focus in which both Nokia and Xiaomi have already agreed to work together is augmented reality.
Brief Reality: Home Audio Speakers Could Soon Project Holograms
One inventor wants to bring augmented reality to internet radio and home audio speakers. Meanwhile, a leading consumer electronics company has opened up access its deep learning tools for building augmented reality apps. In addition, analysts examine how augmented reality will impact the design and construction and profile the top developers in augmented and virtual reality.
News: Get into Concerts with Ultrasonic Sounds from Your Smartphone, No Ticket Necessary
Imagine walking up to enter a live event — but instead of pulling out a physical or mobile ticket to get admitted — you pull out your smartphone which lets out an ultrasonic sound tailored for you that lets you into the event.
Fyre Starters: Meet the 15 Stars Whose (Undisclosed) #Spon Brought the FTC's Wrath on Instagram
Now that Fyre Festival co-founder Billy McFarland is charged with fraud, this is the perfect time to list off those top 15 influencers who promoted tickets to the disastrous event to their loyal followers, right?
News: DownToDash Helps You Hang Out with Other College Students
DownToDash, an app from an NYC-based startup, connects students to other students who want to hang out the same way they do. The social networking app has gained increasing popularity since its launch in October 2016 and looks ready to become even more available. The app was founded by Sama Jashnani and Anuja Shah, both recent students themselves.
News: Samsung Could Lose Grip on OLED Monopoly Thanks to Google & Apple
The race is on to break Samsung's near-OLED Monopoly. Google joined the race back in April, reducing their reliance on Samsung's OLED's by supposedly investing about $880 million into using LG's OLED's for their Pixel phone screens. Now, Apple's stepping up with a rumored $2.5 billion investment into LG's OLED Display initiative for their phones too.
News: Curve's Newest Feature Lets You Go Back in Time
Mobile wallet Curve just released a new feature that lets you correct past mistakes. Sounds incredible, right? Unfortunately, the mistakes you can erase aren't things like forgetting to do an assignment in school, screwing up a job interview, or, well, your ex. However, you can switch the card you want to use to pay even after you've paid with Curve, and that's still pretty cool.
News: Use Facebook Messenger to Interrogate This Chatbot for Game of Thrones Spoilers
Winter is here, which means we have a lot of questions about the coming season of Game of Thrones. It's hard finding someone who cares enough to listen to you rant about why Jon Snow is the rightful ruler of Westeros. It's also hard to figure out who exactly everyone is and is related to since there are over 150 major characters on the show. We're all getting a little antsy waiting for the new season, so to hold us over a new bot has rolled out 'G0TB0t' on Facebook Messenger. Specifically, it...
News: Ubisoft Proves They're Serious About AR Gaming at United Europe 2017
Though the Microsoft HoloLens' release to the consumer market is still a distant thought at the moment, Ubisoft is preparing for the future with the unveiling of AR video game prototypes.
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: US Army Outfits Soldiers with Augmented Reality Headsets
Modern warfare takes on a more literal translation with the advent of new augmented reality displays revealed recently by the US Army to improve soldiers' situational awareness on the battlefield.
News: Can't Make It to San Diego Comic-Con? Twitter Has Your Back
Comic-Con International: San Diego, better known to you and I as "San Diego Comic-Con", is coming very soon; and if you're like me and live far, far away from San Diego (sigh), Twitter is now offering a helpful alternative to keep you in the loop at this year's event.
News: What Is Social Media Day?
If you haven't been on any sort of social media all day — which I seriously doubt — then you might not have heard that today, June 30, is Social Media Day. It's been trending on Twitter, but has also been making appearances on Instagram and Facebook. While major influencers are talking up a storm about this, most people are simply asking "what is social media day?"
News: You Can Now Support Our National Parks by Using Apple Pay
These past few days have brought more bad news for our national parks. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke confirmed that there will definitely be big cuts to national park budgets. This comes after Donald Trump's budget request revealed a call for $300 million cuts to national parks.
Review: Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow Is ... Fun?
I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow has charm. The original writers are attached to this project, and that shows in the humorous dialogue between characters.
News: Motive.io Opens Early Access to Location-Based AR Development Tool
About a year ago, a certain watershed mobile augmented reality game based on a familiar video game franchise was released into the wild. Today, a number of imitators and emulators have introduced their own location-based games with hopes of similar success.
News: Google Play Store Lets You Know What's New About Your App Updates
If you haven't heard yet, Google is revamping the Play Store with version 8.0. While it so far doesn't seem to have any life changing features, there are ones that certainly will make your life easier, like their new updates feature.
Market Reality: Augmented Reality Companies Strike Deals for Funding, Manufacturing & Retailing
Four augmented reality companies made deals this week to grow their businesses. Two companies, TechSee and Car360, completed funding rounds, while DAQRI signed with a production partner and Decalomania landed a prime spot with a top retailer.
Building Next Reality: The Terms You Need to Know to Work in ARKit
In the first part of this series, we looked at the surface detection that is provided by the ARKit. We looked at how it worked and covered some of the tools that could help us determine what is not working; when it doesn't. Now let's take this to the next step.
Review: Reigns — Game of Thrones Meets Tinder
Reigns recently went on sale on the Google Play Store (sorry, iPhone users), and that inspired me to give it a go. I've wanted to try this one out for a while now, but the steep price tag kept me away. ($2.99 is a lot for me, okay?)
News: Win Part of $225,000 Making a Mixed Reality Game with the Return of Dream.Build.Play
Microsoft is bringing its developer incentive challenge Dream.Build.Play. After a five-year hiatus, Microsoft has announced the 2017 edition of the game development contest with the largest prize pool yet of $225,000.
News: Finally! These 5 MLB Stadiums Now Accept Apple Pay
Baseball fans can now leave their wallets behind at specific stadiums throughout the country. A new upgrade by Appetize to the foodservice and retail technology used at ballparks means you can now use Apple Pay to make purchases at 5 Major League Baseball stadiums.
News: Apple Pay Makes Children's Debit Card App Safer & Easier
Parents rejoice, Apple Pay is making it much simpler for your kid to use Greenlight, the MasterCard for kids app.
Review: Altered Beast — The Standard for Porting Games to Mobile
When I booted up my second Sega Forever title, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sonic 1 was fun, but the controls weren't great. Touch screen controls can be excellent when the game is designed for them, but retrofitting a game designed for a physical controller to be played on a smartphone, well, sometimes is a bit disastrous.