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How To: Blank Squares Filling Up Control Center? Here's How to Remove Them or Fill Them Up on Your iPhone
Your iPhone's Control Center is your main hub for quick access to controls like brightness, volume, Wi-Fi, and Do Not Disturb, but if you're using iOS 14, there may be a bunch of screen real estate taken up by blank squares. If that wasted space is bothering you every time you just want to use your flashlight, there's a quick way to get rid of those empty tiles for good.
News: Snap Showcases Storytelling Power of Spectacles 3 Wearable with Film by LA Artist Lauren Halsey
The latest generation of Spectacles aren't AR smartglasses per se, but Snap is intent on demonstrating that the wearables are capable of storytelling powered by augmented reality.
How To: The Trick to Taking Night Mode Time-Lapses on Your iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max
Good time-lapse videos capture cities, nature, and other long-running events in a way normal photos and videos simply can't. Your iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max can make time-lapses look even better, thanks to Night mode. But it isn't exactly intuitive or even clear on how to enable the feature since, unlike with Video mode, you won't find a Night mode icon to use.
How To: Make Your iPhone's Camera Remember Your Last Used Exposure Compensation Value for Later
Your ability to control exposure in the Camera app is much better in iOS 14. Instead of setting the exposure for a single shot, you can also lock an exposure compensation value for an entire session while you take photos and videos. A session ends as soon as you exit the app, but you can also remind your iPhone to use your last used ECV the next time you open Camera.
How To: Control Focus & Exposure Separately in Your iPhone's Camera for Pro-Level Photos
While iPhone cameras these days are downright impressive, the same can't be said for the Camera app. In true Apple form, Camera is as simple as possible, forcing you to go third-party for pro-level features. With iOS 14, however, Apple adds a little extra professionalism, allowing you to lock focus and exposure separately.
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.
How To: Learn to Code with a Bundle That Fits Your Schedule
It can feel hard to find time for just about anything these days. But if you really sit down and think about it, you likely have a little more free time in your day than you might actually imagine. The average person has about 4.5 hours of total leisure time over the course of a week.
How To: Turn Your Pixel 5's Camera Cutout into a Notification LED
The Pixel 5's beautifully slim and symmetric bezels don't leave much room for extra hardware like a notification LED. But with the Ambient Display feature and an inventive app, you can turn the display cutout for the front-facing camera into an animated notification indicator.
How To: Set Custom Wallpapers for Individual WhatsApp Chats So That Each Thread Has Its Own Look
One of WhatsApp's best features is being able to change the default wallpaper for all chats. There's no reason to stick to the default WhatsApp backgrounds when you can be texting over an image of literally anything. In a newer WhatsApp update, you can go a step beyond that by setting custom wallpapers for individual chats, personalizing every text thread you have.
How To: Bring Back the Squeeze Gesture for Google Assistant on Your Pixel 5 — No Root Needed
The Pixel 5 is a bit of a departure from previous Pixels. Gone are the Pixel 4's Soli-based Motion Sense gestures, the Pixel 3's dual front-facing speakers, and the glass back panel of previous generations. But perhaps the most notable omission for long-time Pixel users is the lack of a squeeze gesture to trigger the Google Assistant.
How To: Pick Different Chat Wallpapers for WhatsApp's Light & Dark Modes for Even More Control Over Your Theme
If you're like me, you enjoy using your phone's dark theme at night and light theme during the day. When switching from dark to light and vice versa, many of the UI elements in supported apps adjust accordingly, but you have no control over what does and doesn't change. WhatsApp, on the other hand, does give you some granular control by letting you pick a chat wallpaper for each theme.
News: Apple Releases iOS 14.3 Public Beta 3 for iPhone
Apple released iOS 14.3 public beta 3 today, Wednesday, Dec. 2. The update comes three hours after Apple released 14.3 developer beta 3, and 15 days after Apple released iOS 14.3 beta 2 for developers and public beta testers. The latter introduced a change that bypasses the Shortcuts app when using a custom icon on the home screen.
News: Apple Releases iOS 14.3 Developer Beta 3 for iPhone
Apple released iOS 14.3 developer beta 3 today, Wednesday, Dec. 2. The update comes 15 days after Apple released iOS 14.3 beta 2 for developers and public beta testers, which introduced a change that bypasses the Shortcuts app when using a custom icon on the home screen.
News: Varjo Follows in Apple's Footsteps with LiDAR Depth Tracking in XR-3 Headset
Apple no longer has an exclusive province to LiDAR for the purposes of augmented reality. This week, headset maker Varjo unveiled its new VR-3 and XR-3 headsets, the latter of which includes LiDAR sensors and stereo RGB cameras to enable depth sensing and inside-out tracking of real-world environments for "pass-through" mixed reality experiences.
News: Looking Glass Responds to Sony's Holographic Display with Consumer-Friendly Looking Glass Portrait
In response to Sony unveiling its own holographic display back in October, Looking Glass Factory CEO Shawn Frayne quickly penned a letter welcoming the electronics mainstay to the field, with a post-script teasing the reveal of their own for December of 2020.
How To: Send & Receive SMS/MMS Text Messages from Your iPhone on Any of Your Other Apple Devices
One of the best reasons to enter Apple's ecosystem is iMessage, where you can communicate more securely with other Apple users and send and receive chats across all of your connected iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac devices. While those blue bubble conversations sync across devices, the green bubbles — SMS and MMS texts — remain on your iPhone alone unless you change a setting manually.
How To: Get a 'Select All' Button for Webpages in Safari on Your iPhone
It should be simple to select and copy all text on a webpage in Safari, but it won't work as it does in other apps. Usually, you can press-and-hold down anywhere on a page and choose "Select All" from the edit menu, but that functionality is disabled in Safari and WebKit-based browsers by default — including in the latest iOS 14 version. Luckily, there is a workaround to getting a "Select All" button back.
How To: HD & 4K iPhone Videos Play Back in Low Res? Do This to Watch Them in Their Full Original Quality
One of iCloud Photo's biggest perks is its ability to store large video files taken with your iPhone, so you can fill up your iPhone's storage with other items. That said, when you play back those videos, you may not be watching the footage in its original quality. Instead, they may be low-res versions. To view the high-quality originals — or to make sure that's what you see — just follow this trick.
News: Universal Studios Japan Powers Up Mario Kart Ride at Super Nintendo World with AR Headsets
Next year, fans of Mario Kart will be able to experience the game in real life with the assistance of augmented reality.
How To: Save an Extra 40% Off This Cyber Monday Mac Bundle ft. Parallels Pro
You're on your computer a lot, so it only makes sense that you download the best apps and software for it. The Official Cyber Monday Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Pro & Luminar 4 is available for only three weeks at an additional 40% off the sale price of $69.99. Just use the promo code CMSAVE40 at checkout.
How To: Don't Miss These 10 Cyber Monday Deals
Get your holiday shopping done early with these deals on software, e-learning classes, and gadgets. These Cyber Monday goodies include something for everyone at a can't-miss additional 20–70% off sale prices.
How To: Block Shortcuts Notifications from Showing Up Every Time You Run an Automation on Your iPhone
There are a lot of cool shortcuts you could run on your iPhone, but in iOS 13 and iOS 14, you'll likely see a notification any time you try to run an automation. Shortcuts should feel seamless when their actions are performed, and getting a banner alert each time one initializes takes away the seamlessness of it all. But there is a way to block them.
News: Dreamworks Delivers A Furry AR Selfie Lens on Snapchat for Release of 'The Croods: A New Age'
The movie theater business is hurting due to the pandemic, but that hurdle is actually the perfect set of circumstances for movie studios to lean hard into augmented reality marketing.
How To: Change the Status Bar Icons on Your Google Pixel
Android's status bar is ever-present. It sits at the top of almost every screen in every app, making it the most prominent part of your Pixel's theme. So it only makes sense that Google would give you a way to change the icons it uses.
How To: Apple Saves Your Siri & Dictation History — Here's the Easy Way to Delete It
Apple has an excellent reputation for its privacy and security policies. That said, it isn't a perfect reputation. Take Siri, for example. The helpful iOS assistant isn't just communicating with you — Apple saves and listens to a history of your Siri interactions. If you don't want Apple storing your Siri history forever, there's something you can do about it.
How To: Get Started with Python with This One-Hour Course for Just $14.99
If you have information technology or computer science aspirations — even white hat hacking — then Python is a programming language you absolutely have to be familiar with. According to a recent survey of industry experts, Python is the fastest-growing language in the developer field. It's also one of the most sought-after skill sets among employers and is responsible for some of the best hacking tools.
How To: Scan Websites for Potential Vulnerabilities Using the Vega Vulnerability Scanner in Kali Linux
Withstanding an attack from a motivated hacker is one of the most important responsibilities a system administrator must undertake. This is especially true for websites that may contain sensitive customer information and a high volume of users. So it's important for a sysadmin to take proactive measures to find and fix vulnerabilities in their websites.
News: Snapchat's Spotlight Confirms That the TikTok, Instagram Social Media War Is On — And AR Is the Next Battlefront
In the realm of social media, all roads lead to one destination: cracking the code of continuous partial attention dopamine hits. We learned this back in the days of Vine, before Twitter foolishly killed it. And I pointed my lens at the emerging trend back in 2016 when I highlighted Musical.ly for Mashable, just before it was snapped up by China's Bytedance for $1 billion and merged into what is now TikTok.
How To: The Best Black Friday Deals on iPhone Accessories
The holiday season is here! Whether you're gift shopping for the iPhone owners in your life or just trying to save some money on your own purchases, Black Friday can deal out the discounts. This year, you'll find great prices on iPhone accessories of all kinds — all Thanksgiving week long — whether you're buying gear for an iPhone 12, X, or 7, there's something here for everyone.
How To: Adjust the Perspective of Pictures in Google Photos
Imagine tilting the top of your phone away from you — it becomes a bit of a trapezoid, right? The top will appear smaller since it's further away, and the bottom will appear larger since it's closer to you — in other words, the perspective is all off. The same can be said of the pictures you take with an awkwardly-positioned phone.
How To: All the Ways Guided Access Can Help While Gaming on Your iPhone
You can't get the same gaming experience on your iPhone as you would on a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or gaming computer. The processing power is less, the controls inadequate, and there are many on-screen distractions, all of which make mobile gaming less enjoyable. While you can't fix many of these issues, there is a way to prevent some problems, and that's thanks to Guided Access.
How To: Auto-Change Your iPhone's Background with MacOS Big Sur's Dynamic Wallpapers
Three new wallpapers showed up in iOS 14.0, each with dark and light versions, while iOS 14.2 added eight more. Each iPhone also has live wallpapers catered specifically for it. However, none of Apple's wallpapers are dynamic. That means they won't change automatically based on certain conditions, such as what time of day it is. MacOS's do, though, and you can get those working on your iPhone.
Opinion: Why Facebook Forcing Instagram AR Filters into a Unified Platform Is Bad for Our Smartglasses Future
Quietly, while the rest of the world was engaged in pandemic and political concerns, a few weeks ago Facebook casually upgraded its Spark AR platform with what it calls Unified Effect Publishing.
How To: Extract Bitcoin Wallet Addresses & Balances from Websites with SpiderFoot CLI
While there are completely legitimate reasons to use Bitcoin, it's also used by terrorists, drug dealers, and other shady people that need to be investigated. That's where SpiderFoot comes in, which has a command-line interface to search for Bitcoin wallet addresses on a website and query the balances associated with them.
How To: 10 Coding, SEO & More Courses on Sale Right Now That Will Turn You into a Pro Developer
This holiday season, give yourself a gift that will keep on giving: a new web development skill. Whether it's to secure lucrative freelance work in the new year, bolster your résumé, or have fun with some frankly outrageous discounts on online course bundles right now (up to 99% off), there's nothing better you can do with your free time. Your future (pro coder) self will thank you.
How To: 13 Black Friday Deals on Courses That Will Beef Up Your Hacking & Programming Skill Set
It's Black Friday time, and in 2020, that means a lot of online deals to make up for more stores closing on Thanksgiving, as well as everyone avoiding in-person shopping because of the coronavirus. But while you may wish to grab a better 65-inch 4K TV, the new PlayStation 5, or some hacker hardware on sale, Black Friday is also the best time to invest in your programming and cybersecurity education.
News: Google Gifts 5G Android Smartphones with 'The Mandalorian' AR App
With the new season of The Mandalorian underway, Google has launched a new AR app that enables some Star Wars fans to connect with virtual characters in between new episodes.
News: HBO Rolls Out 'His Dark Materials' AR Experience To Bring Characters to the Real World
In this year of everything going virtual and remote, it makes even more sense now that Hollywood is leaning heavily on augmented reality. In this case, it's HBO using AR to promote its highly-acclaimed original programming.
How To: Save 50% on a Lifetime Subscription to the #1 Top-Grossing Language-Learning App in the World
There's no denying that adding more programming languages to your arsenal is crucial to boosting your career, but learning a new language in the literal sense is just as enriching and mentally stimulating. Not only will you be smarter — those who know more than one language are known to have better reasoning, problem-solving skills, and creativity — but it'll also open you up to more job opportunities.
How To: Learn a New Language Over the Holidays with the World's Most Popular Language App
What better way to spend the holidays this year than learning a new skill? Give yourself a lifelong gift (literally) with this incredible deal on a lifetime subscription to Babbel Language Learning - now on sale with 50% off, for just $199 (regular price $399).