After about six months of testing, Facebook has decided to start rolling out a new feature on mobile that automatically plays sound for videos in your News Feed, thanks to "positive feedback" from test users. As far as I'm concerned, they have been testing with the wrong users, because auto-playing sound is by far worse than auto-playing videos ever could be.
A few days before Christmas last year, we saw the first glimpse of HoloSuit, a new motion controller by startup Kaaya Tech. This full-body motion controller is designed as a tracksuit with sensors that can be used to control devices such as a computer or Microsoft HoloLens, and now it's getting ready to start production, with an upcoming Kickstarter campaign planned to go live soon.
You've probably heard the old joke about how Ford is an acronym for "Found on Road Dead." Well, the Detroit automaker on Monday announced a new and much better way to help you find your parked vehicle, as well as a whole host of other features—just use your smartphone.
Auto manufacturers are slowly starting to debut models with Google's new Android Auto software baked into the dashboard console. Starting with the 2016 model year, we should see vehicles from Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, and many others sporting the new software.
Picture this scenario—you're using your phone in a dimly-lit room, then you move to an area with a lot more ambient light, and Auto Brightness kicks in within a few seconds to ramp up the backlight. That's the way it should be, right? But then you move back to the darker area, and your phone takes 30 seconds before it decides to dim back out. Pretty annoying, isn't it?
Auto-correction is a double-edged sword if I ever saw one. It's great because I'd have an abundance of typos without it, yet it's extremely frustrating (and embarrassing) when it doesn't actually work. Just take a look at the very recent example below from Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul. Funny for us, embarrassing for him. I have a particularly difficult time typing on small keyboards (i.e. fat-finger syndrome), so disabling auto-correction on my Samsung Galaxy S4 is a no-go. I'm willing to ris...
You've seen the Samsung Fingers and the Emoji Translator, and I know you spent a good part of the day catching Pokémon, but now that April Fool's Day is officially upon us, the flood of gags has reached a tipping point. Here's the best of what we've seen today.
Who doesn't hate Auto Correct? There's nothing worse than hitting 'Send' only to realize that your phone betrayed you by changing a word so that your message doesn't even mean the same thing anymore—especially when it's going to someone like your boss or parents.
If the intake manifold on your car is leaking, you probably have a gasket problem. In this video Emmy-winning auto mechanic Scotty Kilmer will teach you how to replace the intake manifold gasket on your car, including prepping the new one with brake cleaner, of all things.
One of the trickiest parts of auto repair is getting access to the part of the car you actually need to fix. In this video, you'll learn how a new tool called a borescope allows you to inspect and repair sections of your car that were very hard to access before.
CDs and DVDs are fragile pieces of tech. They can easily get scratched or mussed, making them harder for your computer or other electronics to read. But you can clean the scratches with just a few things you can find around the house - like toothpaste!
Need a primer on how to set up automatic color correction within Avid Media Composer 5? Watch this helpful video guide. Whether you're new to Avid's popular non-linear editor (also known as "The Avid") or are a seasoned digital video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with Media Composer 5, you're sure to enjoy this free software tutorial. For detailed instructions, and to get started using Avid 5 yourself, take a look.
See how Lightroom 3 allows you to apply auto lens profile corrections directly to raw and non-raw images. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular photo application or a digital photography professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with Photoshop Lightroom 3, you're sure to be well served by this free video software tutorial. For more information, as well as to get started using Lightroom 3 yourself, take a look!
Check out this clip and learn how to take total advantage of your adventures with Grand Theft Auto IV's Ballad of "Gay Tony". This final episode for GTA IV is sure to be a fun one and with these tips you will get the most out of it. This video is a travel guide to base jumping, cage fighting and dance offs. Good luck!
After Effects Apprentice Video Tutorial #3 Chris and Trish Meyer | 03/01- 11:36 AM
See how to make a bytelight from memory chips and a lamp with KipKay and MAKE Magazine! Find out how to make a high-tech mood light from a fluorescent lamp and a bunch of old memory chips! Kipkay loves his gadgets! This is perfect for mood lighting.
Whether your scavenger hunt is for group competition or just fun, add a tech twist and let the games begin.
This software tutorial shows you how to use the Knoll Light Factory Pro plug-in for After Effects. Knoll Light Factory Pro is the industry's favorite tool for creating lens flares, sunsets, photon torpedoes, stars and other effects. It offers a custom lens editor, auto tracking, alpha channel support, and pinpoint control over dozens of settings. If you haven't used the Knoll Light Factory Pro plug-in yet, watch this After Effects tutorial and get started.
It's a chair. It's a musical instrument. Eureka! Techno-guru Brian of tech makeover show My Home 2.0 builds a pipe organ chair, a (very) old-school invention that you can play just by sitting down. Sit back and enjoy this silent movie DIY!
This tutorial video will teach you to make your very own wall harp. The techno-gurus of tech makeover show My Home 2.0 made this digital wall harp using a MidiTron and infrared sensors that track your hand movements. To see complete instructions, more great DIY projects, and their latest state-of-the-art home makeovers, visit:
Plunk! When your mobile device takes a swan dive, act fast with this Tech Triage first-aid guide to cell phone revival.
This edition of NCIX Tech Tips will show you the steps to install a new hard drive for your PC. He'll also talk about other alternative large capacity storage solutions that don't require opening up your PC.
This tech tip shows you how to set up your mountain bike to achieve optimal performance on the trail. This is a very instructive close up video.
This video tech tip shows you how to repair a broken mountain bike chain while on the trail.
This year's I/O was all about bringing Android into the future and onto new devices. On top of announcing the upcoming "L" release of its mobile OS, Google showcased Android Wear, Android Auto, and Android TV.
We've all been there. Stranded in a large lot or parking garage, braving the rows upon rows of identical cars in an endless concrete landscape because, for the very life of us, we can't remember where we stashed the very ride that brought us there.
An important part of routine auto maintenance is replacing your engine's air filter. This video shows how to remove the old air filter and install a new one on a 2002-2008 Dodge Ram truck. A clean air filter improves your truck's fuel efficiency.
Add a little comic book superhero to your Grand Theft Auto game! This video shows you the Superman mod for the game, where your character runs around dressed like the classic Superman, in blue and red Spandex. You can download the mod here or here. The download is completely free and perfectly safe for your computer.
The patient in this auto maintenance video is an 04 Mazda van that surges at idle but works perfectly otherwise. This video will give you a quick tip on diagnosing this idle surge problem before you start replacing parts.
360 degree panoramic viewers are a staple of all kinds of websites from real estate to auto sales. This video will teach you how to create a a 360 degree view that will display on your website using Flash CS3 and Actionscript 3. Don't restrict your users to just one photo, let them see all of whatever you're showing them with the tools your learn in this video.
Most Lego guns require you to feed ammo, or at least cock the gun, every time you shoot. Not so with this model. This video features step-by step instructions and a demonstration of how to build a semiautomatic Lego rubber band gun quickly and easily. Never lose a Lego rubber band gun war to your friends again with the increased firepower of this semi-auto Lego shooting machine.
Learn how to use the Antares Pitch correction plug-in when working in Pro Tools 8. Whether you're new to Digidesign's popular DAW or a seasoned audio pressional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the Pro Tools 8 workflow, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, and to get started tuning your own vocal tracks in Pro Tools 8, watch this free video guide.
From Grand Theft Auto, to Medal of Honor, to Tenchu, many great game franchises got their humble beginnings on the PSX. Download these games to your jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch, and never be without them again.
Geoff walks us through getting the "Chain Reaction" Achievement in GTAIV.
Make a Tesla turbine blade out of CDs. This i a super cool, high tech science project from Green Power Science. Turn your junk CDs into something very interesting.
This is an easy homebrewers project for carbonating beverages in PET bottles with a CO2 regulator setup. You can get all these parts at an auto parts store. This is a clutch thing to use for making beer or cider. This keeps beer fresh!
Here is the Weekend Project: The Bytelight, a mood light from Kipkay and Make Magazine. Build a cool mood light out of obsolete sim memory chips from recycled old computers.
Simple steps to make a Hot Wheels USB key with working wheels. Mod this classic hobbyist favorite or kids' collector toy into a high tech portable flash drive carrier. You insert the flash drive or USB key into the body of the toy Hot Wheels race car and voila! A very cool dongle to backup your files. Great for rolling across a conference table!
You may have lost your files but you needn't loose hope, too. In this episode of Lab Rats TV, Andy and Sean show you how to recover your deleted data (and your marriage!) using oranges. For detailed instructions on recovering your own lost data, take a look at this tech how-to.
This video tutorial demonstrates how you–yes, you–can use the C programming language and the HI-TECH IDE to program PICs on a Mac (with a little help from Microchip PICKit1). For more details about programming your own PIC microcontroller under Mac OS X, simply press play!
