The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.
Engineer Anthony Levandowski has officially been kicked off Uber's driverless program by a judge as the company's legal war with Waymo continues.
UPDATED 5/4/17: SI has stated that they won't be augmenting its Swimsuit Edition. Although, this could be a sign that the company may do so in the future. If they already have all the tech set up for the latest feature, then they are already half way ready to augment other SI editions. So get ready SI fans and download the designated Life VR app, because you are going to need it to point it at these specially marked SI pages.
Perhaps one of CyanogenMod's greatest features was its built-in theme engine. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done and gave users a unique look. Now that CyangenMod is defunct, and the developers behind its successor, LineageOS, have confirmed they won't be continuing the theme engine, users have to find another way to theme their devices. No need to fear, though, Substratum is here.
Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. This week's column is led by two companies cashing in on visual inputs.
Samsung's new personal assistant, Bixby, is making its debut on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. In addition to taking voice commands and performing visual searches, a new Hello Bixby feature predicts what you might want to do next with an integrated home screen feed. All of these features look nice, but if you're not ready to shell out at least $750 for a new phone, you'll be glad to know that Hello Bixby just leaked.
Apple's anxiously awaited iPhone 8 with a 5.8-inch OLED display is all set to launch this September, alongside the iPhone 7s variants. However, according to MacRumors, which cites information from a number of Barclays analysts, stock will be very limited, and most won't ship until late in the fourth quarter.
While augmented reality is mostly in the minds of consumers in the form of Pokémon GO, AR has been popular behind the scenes, with AR companies marketing it as a tool to help business operations become more efficient. This business-to-business market is the target of the new app DOTTYAR, which "provides 3D visualization tools for augmented reality viewers."
Apple is combining internal and external talent in an effort to give them in edge in the augmented reality market, though we still don't know what form their foray into alternative realities will actually take.
In Bhopal, India, a place nestled in between the royally pink city of Jaipur and the dry (i.e., alcohol forbidden) state of Gujarat, is a team of developers determined to make a fully driverless car suitable to the complexities of Indian traffic. An algorithm elaborate enough has yet to be made by any other company, but is the fundamental key to handling the intuitive habits of Indian drivers, the often intense and gridlocked traffic, and the country's vast expanse of jarring roads.
In a race to make self-driven cars mainstream, Intel announced today that they've bought Israeli microchip technology company Mobileye for $15.3 billion, setting the stage for Intel to dominate a large portion of the driverless market.
It looks like Chris Urmson has spent the six months since he left Google's Self Driving Car Project trying to build a get-rich-quick self-driving unicorn, along with Sterling Anderson, formerly with Tesla Motors. At least that is one of several scandalous accusations in a Tesla lawsuit aimed at the pair, and their secretive startup Aurora Innovation, LLC.
If your phone has an unlocked bootloader, you can use Fastboot commands to flash factory images. That may sound like a bunch of technical jargon, but when it comes down to it, this is the best method for updating a rooted device, fixing a bricked phone, reverting to stock, or even getting new Android updates before everyone else.
There's a new operating system on the horizon, and this one's so big that it may actually live up to its galactic moniker. Andromeda, a merging of Android and Chrome OS, has the potential to bring Google to the ubiquitous status that Microsoft's Windows enjoyed in the '80s and '90s.
Traditional root ad-blockers like AdAway and AdBlock Plus have no effect on YouTube anymore. Until now, if you wanted to get rid of the commercials that play before your favorite videos, there have only been two ways—either by paying for a YouTube Red subscription, or by using an Xposed module to modify the YouTube app itself and force it into not showing ads.
New releases of iOS are always pretty exciting. I remember the anticipation buildup of iOS 7 before it was announced at WWDC 2013, as it was expected to be a complete game changer compared to previous versions—and it was.
Being able to customize the look and feel of your device is the main reason a lot of folks choose Android over iOS. And perhaps the single biggest way to visually overhaul your phone or tablet's UI is to apply an icon pack, which can liven up your home screen with bright colors or make things look a bit more classy with a sleek, minimalist style, for instance.
Now is the time to act if you've been in the market for some must-have Android apps but felt like the price was a little out of your range. The Google Play Store is running a sale so you can pick up some high-quality paid apps—including the popular Nova Launcher Prime and Poweramp Music Player, among many others—for just $0.99 each. While there are quite a few solid apps here you should try—and with a two-hour refund window, why not try them all—here are our favorites you should seriously con...
When you have some form of lock screen security enabled, Android makes sure that you don't have to fumble around to enter your pattern, PIN, or password before you can call 911 in an emergency. It does this by adding an "Emergency Call" button to the bottom of the screen—but as handy as this may sound, most of the time it's more trouble than it's worth.
Those of you who have been a part of the Null Byte community for even a short while know that I sincerely and firmly believe that hacking is the most important skill set of the future.
At first glance, caviar doesn't seem overly appealing to the masses; not very many people would be willing to spend upwards of $1,000 on a tiny spoonful of salty sturgeon eggs from the Caspian Sea. Caviar truly is the ultimate symbol of luxury and fine dining.
When I was a little kid, I was obsessed with shells. And while most of my shell collection came from combing the beach for treasure, some of it came from a different source: dinner. Whenever my parents had fresh clams or mussels, I would take the leftover shells, soak them overnight in soapy water, and add them to my collection.
Many of Google's stock Android apps are some of the best options out there—especially now that they've all been made over with Material Design. But generally, as these are pre-installed system apps, they cannot be used on non-Nexus devices.
Most new Android devices come with at least one feature that helps control navigation, music, and more through voice-controlled, hands-free communication. While they usually don't end up being completely "hands-free," these apps do stop people from using both hands to perform tasks on their smartphones while driving, therefore distracting them less overall.
CyanogenMod continues to be the most popular custom ROM for a good reason. Their team of developers always stay on top of the latest trends, and ensure that their software is packed with nice tweaks and awesome features. One such feature is an audio equalizer that allows you to fine-tune your device's various sound outputs. It's got a great interface, and works with any app that calls on Android's default audio mixer.
Welcome back, my future hackers! After my first tutorial about doxing, I decided I would dive a little bit deeper into the world of social engineering. In this tutorial we will learn some basic social engineering techniques to get into a company building, find out more information about the company's security, and maybe even exploit the company's computers if you get the chance.
Beginning with KitKat, I've been used to customizing every aspect of my Android phone, but with the release of Lollipop, there is quite a bit of catching up that developers need to do. Most customization features, like quick settings rearrangement and theme support have already been ported over, but any type of lock screen customization has been noticeably absent.
I first became acquainted with this dish when I worked across the street from a Chinese restaurant. After that I ordered it every time! Now that I don't work by there anymore I don't get to eat it but I sure do still crave it! So I researched and tried a couple recipes and this was my favorite. Hopefully this version lives up to your expectations.
The camera in CyanogenMod, CameraNext, takes some pretty impressive shots when compared to those offered by HTC Sense and Sony Xperia, but it doesn't have many of the features that make it a real competitor. Even the Color OS version of the OnePlus One has received better reviews when comparing low-light shots, which implies that it's not the camera sensor that's lacking, but the software.
Starting with the original HTC One and now present on the new Nexus 6, dual speakers allow for smartphones to pump out true stereo sound. OnePlus, however, kept their speakers on the bottom of the device and use different sound drivers for each to produce great sound quality, although it's still mono. While there are mods out there that can further increase the volume of the OnePlus One, none of them can produce true stereo sound.
There's a common bug that affects many Samsung Galaxy S5 users, myself included. The software that drives the fingerprint sensor can randomly fail to load, leaving you without one of the most unique features of your beloved smartphone.
When Android 5.0 rolls out to the Nexus 5, several changes and new features will come along with it. The over-the-air update is already rolling out, and if you don't want to wait, you can get it right now.
It wasn't too long ago that I showed you how to unlock the LG G3 bootloader and install TWRP, and while the process was extremely easy, the custom recovery can look a little intimidating to new users. Even long-time users who know how to navigate it find it boring to look at, as TWRP has had the same basic aesthetics since its creation.
As much as app developers would like to simplify things with icons and visual cues, text is still a huge part of a smartphone's interface. Much of our media consumption is text-based, and while Google's Roboto font is a beautiful typeface, a little variety here and there certainly wouldn't hurt.
While there isn't a "Camera Roll" anymore in iOS 8 for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, the photos that were once in it are not missing—they're just not as convenient as they once were. In the upcoming iOS 8.1 update, Camera Roll will be making a comeback, but we've found something better that you can use right now—even after Camera Roll returns!
Depending on who you ask, the OnePlus One smartphone has so far been either a bit of a letdown or a rousing success.
Of the sixty or so "must-have" apps that are installed on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, there's only one that I need to use and hate with a passion. Skype. Whenever using it, I'm consumed by dropped calls, mic issues, poor quality, and random crashes, among other things—and I'm not the only one.
The weather widget on the main home screen of a fresh-out-of-the-box Galaxy S5 is meant to show off the screen. Super-high contrast and crisp definition on the individual blades of grass in the background let you know that the phone you're holding has one helluva display.
The new preview build of Android is out, and it looks good. But if you're not quite ready to install Android L on your phone, there's still another way to enjoy some of these new visual elements on your Nexus device.
Google's Calendar service is one of the best out there. Just because of Google's web presence, your Calendar is available to you on almost any platform, so you never miss an appointment.
