News: Microsoft Demonstrates Holograms with Phase-Only Displays
Microsoft Research has published a technical paper reviewing their work with near-eye displays for virtual and augmented reality to project phase-only holograms.
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News: Unity & Microsoft Are Giving Away $150,000 for HoloLens Apps & Loaning Out HoloLens Developers Kits
At the Microsoft Build 2017 conference in Seattle this past week, 3D application and game platform Unity, partnering with Microsoft, launched a contest that drives HoloLens developers to realize their ideas into a full-fledged application and possibly win money for it.
News: Your Google Pixel Will Become a Zombie Phone in 2019
Sad news for fans of Google's fantastic Pixel line. Google confirmed today that the Pixel and Pixel XL won't be getting any software or security updates past October 2019. What does that mean for you? Well, your Pixel might start acting a little ... weird soon. Should we run to Georgia and join the ricktatorship before that happens? Get the Pixel 2 when it's ready for launch? Or maybe ... we wait things out and grab the next Pixel after that?
News: The Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime Is Now Available
With all the hype surrounding the recent Galaxy S8 release, it can be easy to forget Samsung makes other smartphones. But let's be real here; $726 isn't cheap. If you're someone who doesn't want to drop that kind of cash on a smartphone — or who doesn't feel your device needs all the bells and whistles that come with Samsung's premium line — the new J3 Prime might be right for you.
News: Snapchat's New 'World Lenses' Are More Than Fun; They Open Up the Possibilities of AR
Snap Inc. is no stranger to augmented reality. In fact, AR has been the Snapchat app's most popular feature, as face filters continue to update and change the way we communicate with each other. But in a new move, Snap Inc. is showing its commitment to improving AR and its real-world integration with its updated world lenses.
News: Researchers Find 'MasterPrints' That Can Bypass Your Phone's Fingerprint Scanner
Hackers are good at what they do—some can even use the way you move your phone to guess a 4-digit PIN in five attempts or less. That's why most of us with compatible hones use the fingerprint scanner. It's just much more secure. Or is it?
News: Neurable Planning to Bring Brainwave Controls to AR Headsets Later This Year
Within the coming months, software startup Neurable plans to introduce the next paradigm in virtual and augmented reality: the brain–computer interface (BCI).
News: Microsoft Releases Snapchat-Like Photo Editor on iOS
Microsoft, even being Apple's fierce competitor, is no stranger to producing iOS apps—in fact, they've made 94 of them. But their latest iOS app may be their silliest yet: a goofy photo editor named Sprinkles.
News: Shopping for a New Couch? Amazon Wants You to See It in Your Home (While You're Still in the Store)
Amazon has been toying with the idea of opening physical retail stores for some time now, even opening old-fashioned bookstores in select locations and teasing cashier-less convenience stores. But the online retailer has some new ideas in the works, including implementing virtual and augmented reality into retail home stores.
News: Watch a Demo of Leap Motion's Mobile Hand Tracking in New Video
Leap Motion, an augmented and virtual reality control system, has proven to be a force of nature when it comes to pushing hand-tracking tech forward. Now they've released a video showcasing their "Blocks" demo, which is already integrated into the reference headset kit designed by Qualcomm for VR companies "to take and sell their own branded devices with."
Developer Spotlight: AfterNow's Creative Approach to UX Design & IoT in Mixed Reality
If you have a HoloLens, you can now control the lighting throughout your home or office via holographic controls using the free Hue Lights app in the Windows Store. The app, made by California-based AfterNow, works with the Philips Hue colored lighting system and is much more polished than the prototype we saw in January.
News: Full-Body Motion Controller HoloSuit Coming Soon to Kickstarter
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.
News: Surface Studio & HoloLens Used Together in New 3D Detailing & Visualization Tool
An interesting new use-case for the Microsoft HoloLens appeared in a YouTube video from Washington-based DataMesh last month. In it, you can see the HoloLens working in conjunction with the Microsoft Surface Studio, Surface Dial, and Surface Pen for 3D model detailing and visualization in real time.
How To: How Much RAM Will You Need in Your Next Android Phone?
Each generation of smartphones ushers in a new set of top-of-the-line specs, with processing power, battery size, and display resolution growing by the year. These headlining features get the most press, but there's one unsung hero that has the potential to make the biggest difference when it comes to real-world performance: RAM, or random-access memory.
News: Brenda Freeman Leaves Behind TV & Film to Join Magic Leap as CMO
Today, December 7, it was officially announced that Magic Leap has found their replacement for the recently departed Brian Wallace. Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz has tapped Brenda Freeman, former EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of National Geographic Channel, as their new Chief Marketing Officer.
News: Life-Size Gummy Chicken Might Be the Creepiest Jelly Candy Yet
We've seen many things get gummy-ized over the years—worms, insects, Coke bottles, glass cleaner, Legos, brains, Nutella, and even tiny LEDs—but nothing compares to YouTuber and WonderHowTo favorite Grant Thompson, aka The King of Random, who made one helluva creepy gummy chicken that's just as big as the real deal.
News: Taqtile's HoloMaps Gives HoloLens Users Ability to View, Scale & Draw on 3D Maps
HoloMaps, an application by Seattle-based Taqtile, is available for free on the Windows Store. Taqtile, whose Vice President of Product Management was Microsoft's former Director of Business Development, is one of the few partners currently in the Microsoft HoloLens Agency Readiness Program. This interactive 3D map they have created, powered by Bing, offers more than just a top-down view of the world on the HoloLens.
How To: Get Facebook's Geo-Restricted Snapchat Clone 'Flash' on Any Android Phone
Facebook released a new app in November 2016 that aimed to compete directly with Snapchat, but it was only officially available in Brazil—and still is. The app, called "Flash," is so much like Snapchat that it's not even the slightest bit of a stretch to call it a clone.
News: Ugly Lies the Bone Mixes Virtual Reality with a Live Stage Play
We've already seen how VR can have some therapeutic benefits, but not the dramatized version. A play called Ugly Lies the Bone emotionally examines how war veterans can heal (or at least treat) their PTSD using virtual reality.
How To: Feel Alive Again with Maca Root
I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that has googled "Why am I always tired?"... and I'm definitely not alone when I say that all of the advice I've found so far is useless:
News: Finally, Real Proof That the iPhone 7 Will Come with a Headphones Lightning Adapter
We've been hearing rumors for months now that suggest Apple will be getting rid of the 3.5 mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7, which will presumably be replaced by an adapter that connects your earbuds directly to the Lightning port. But finally, thanks to Vietnamese site Tinhte, we now have some hard evidence to back up this claim.
News: Mixed Reality Tears Complex Data Off the Page & into 3D
If you've ever made graphs and charts, you know it can be a struggle to represent a large amount of data. It's something that just doesn't work very well on a flat surface. In virtual and mixed reality, however, the data can exist all around you.
News: EtherWars Brings Real-Time Strategic Space Battles into the Living Room
If you want to quickly understand EtherWars, imagine a game like StarCraft where you build out your base on your living room floor instead of on a computer screen. Before we had computer games to help us imagine what space wars might feel like, we played with toy ships and used our imaginations. EtherWars combines those two elements by replacing toys with holograms that actually react to your choices.
News: Complex Hand-Tracking Is the Key to Better Mixed Reality Interfaces
Keyboards and mice work fine for computers, but in a holographic environment you'll want to do more than just point, click, and type. While we can still benefit from these input devices, complex hand-tracking methods are necessary for the evolution of mixed reality user interfaces.
News: HoloHear Is Like Google Translate for Deaf People
Deaf people primarily communicate through sign language, so understanding spoken languages can prove challenging. To bridge that gap in communication, the HoloHear team built a mixed reality app at a Microsoft HoloLens Hackathon in San Fransisco that translates the spoken word into sign language.
News: This App Streams Custom Holograms from a Computer to the HoloLens
The Microsoft HoloLens has a good amount of content available, but it's fairly limited in terms of what you can customize. You can access a built-in library of holograms, but if you want to create your own you have to do that with code.
News: This Advanced Diver's Helmet Takes AR to the Depths of the Ocean
The headsets of tomorrow offer some amazing possibilities in both gaming and work, but what we've seen so far only begins to scratch the surface. The US Navy saw the potential to use augmented reality in a helmet to provide divers with an incredible amount of information we have so far only seen in Hollywood movies.
News: vTime Brings Human Interaction to Virtual Reality
One of the major criticisms of virtual reality, and much modern technology in general, is the antisocial nature it creates. But vTime wants to overcome the isolating nature of VR headsets with a virtual hangout space for you and your friends.
News: Your iPhone's Lock Screen Is Getting Better Widgets, Notifications, & More in iOS 10
Your iPhone's lock screen is about to get a major upgrade in iOS 10, as shown off by Apple at WWDC '16, and it will make dealing with notifications and apps a breeze. The new lock screen has been fully redesigned to give users better and faster interaction with the apps they need. It's also snappier and more aesthetically pleasing with notifications no longer darkening the wallpaper.
News: Sign Up Now to Join the Exciting Pokémon Hunt in Augmented Reality
Want to actually catch 'em all? Pokémon GO has long-teased the opportunity to hunt for Pokémon in the real world through augmented reality, but few have had the opportunity to actually see it in action.
News: Google Trips Is Like Yelp, TripAdvisor, & Your Itinerary All Rolled into One (Download Inside)
According to sources, Google has been working on a travel app for some time, and now it has a name: Google Trips. Google Trips aims to be the all-in-one place to go for travel information about your trip. It hasn't been officially announced, but from the leaks that have come out so far, think of it like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and your itinerary in one.
News: There's a Flaw in Waze That Lets Hackers Spy on Your Movements—Here's How to Fix It
It's a given that if you're driving, you or someone you know has Waze as a go-to on their smartphone. The Google-owned crowdsourced navigation app is one of the best for avoiding traffic, roadblocks, and even cops.
News: MIT Tech Protects Your WiFi Without Passwords
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have created Wi-Fi technology that identifies where you are, which may eliminate the need for passwords.
How To: Create a Gamertag in Google Play Games
Android's Google Play Games app has let you track your feats and accomplishments in the games you play for quite a while now, but for some, the immersion experience might be broken after you finish dominating a game only to see your regular-ass name from your Google account on the leaderboard.
News: Simple Man-in-the-Middle Script: For Script Kiddies
This Is for the Script Kiddies: This tutorial is about a script written for the How to Conduct a Simple Man-in-the-Middle Attack written by the one and only OTW.
How To: Raise Your Slow Cooker Game with These 10 Essential Tips
A slow cooker can be both your culinary companion and your go-to gadget in the kitchen. That's right: the idea of slow cooking is no longer for Southern housewives or purveyors of the Ladies' Home Journal anymore. The times, they are a'changing!
CES 2016: LG Shows Off Its Newspaper-Like Flexible Screen
LG literally rolled out a prototype of its cutting-edge flexible display at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. The company showed off an 18-inch screen with 1,200 x 800 pixel resolution that you can roll up like a magazine or newspaper and take with you. And while an 18-inch HD screen that rolls up is already pretty impressive, LG plans to build them up to 55 inches and beyond, with 4K resolution.
How To: 6 Unique Android Launchers That'll Get You to Ditch Your Stock Home Screen
I'm often reluctant to use a home screen launcher other than the stock one on my Android. Once you're well acclimated with something, complacency sets in, welcoming change with much resistance. Well, my friends, I have seen the error of my ways...
How To: Refill an Air Duster Can with a Bicycle Pump
In this life hack video, I am going to show you how you can refill your air duster can with a bicycle pump.
How To: Get Real-Time Effects That Describe the Weather Outside on Your Android's Wallpaper
Living in Southern California means I don't really have a need to check the weather all that often. But every now and then, I'm caught off guard by a particularly chilly or hot day—no one wants to be the only person walking around with a T-shirt and sandals on a rainy, 50-degree day.