Sometimes mining and crafting gets boring. The thrill of hunting mobs, exploring strongholds, or the Nether is often much more satisfying and appeals to the RPG nerd in all of us. Well, Mojang took the hint and as part of the 1.9 release, there will be potions, more mobs, othe ...more
Kong can be used to manipulate more than just your drum sounds. Learn how to use Reason's Kong as an external effect with this official video guide from Propellerhead. Whether you're new to Propellerhead's virtual music studio application, Reason, or their newer DAW app, Recor ...more
Create eye-popping backgrounds with the After Effects CS5 Fractal Noise effect! Learn how with this brief video guide. Whether you're entirely new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software, new to AE CS5, or just looking to pick up a few useful tips and tric ...more
In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to create a shiny metallic text effect in Photoshop CS5. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editor or a seasoned designer looking to better acquaint yourself with the new features and functions of the latest iteration ...more
In this free video Photoshop lesson, we learn how to create a simple wine glass photo effect. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editor or a seasoned designer looking to better acquaint yourself with the new features and functions of the latest iteration of ...more
In this video tutorial, we learn how to use the canvas textures and bristle brushes in Adobe Photoshop CS5 for an organic, old-media effect. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editor or a seasoned designer looking to better acquaint yourself with the new fea ...more
This clip provides an overview of how to create a dancy rhythmic gate effect in Ableton Live 8. Whether you're new to computer recording, new to the Ableton Live DAW (digital audio workstation) or just looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from t ...more
Learn how to a create a fancy, dancy multi-band rhythmic gating effect in Logic Pro. Whether you're new to computer recording, new to the Apple Logic DAW (digital audio workstation) or just looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free vid ...more
Want to add a sunset effect to a given digital image? This clip will teach you what you need to know. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various fea ...more
In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to use Photoshop to generate Scarface-style poster art. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features ...more
In this clip, you'll learn how to create a glowing beam of light in Adobe Photoshop CS3, CS4 or CS5. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various feat ...more
In this quick Vegas-user's guide, you'll learn how to create a typewriter effect. Whether you're completely new to Sony's popular nonlinear editor (NLE) or are a seasoned digital video professional simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to be well ser ...more
Interested in creating a digital bokeh lens effect in Adobe Photoshop? This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its var ...more
In this tips tutorial, you'll see how you can use Reactor's dynamic features to simulate a simple cloth using constraints and a randomic wind force in the scene. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint ...more
Learn how to achieve a stunning glass text effect. Whether you're new to the GNU Image Manipulation Program, GNU's popular free graphics editor, or a seasoned designer just looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're certain to enjoy this free video software tutorial. ...more
See how to create a simple, colorful colored lighting effect within Adobe Photoshop. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular graphics editor or a seasoned design professional looking to get better acquainted with the industry-standard app, you're sure to benefit from this free s ...more
Learn how to use After Effects CS5 to create a simple growing vine animation. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with CS5's new features, you're sure to be wel ...more
Want to add a lens flare effect to a video sequence? With Adobe After Effects CS5, it's quite easy. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with CS5's new features, ...more
In this image editing software tutorial you will learn how to create clear plastic type or acrylic type effects in Photoshop. Learn how to use Layer Styles in Photoshop to great effect to create clear plastic or glassy type. Create clear plastic or acrylic text in Photoshop. C ...more
This software tutorial shows you how to create a tech-stylized page transition in Flash CS3. See how to take advantage of timeline effects to turn a normally time-consuming transition effect into an easy job. Learn how to use masks in Flash to produce an endless array of cool ...more
This 3ds Max tutorial covers how to use a look at constraint. This could be done more rigorously with expressions but to quickly test an effect the look at constraint is a great technique. See how to use the animation constraint look at constraint when modeling in 3D Studio Ma ...more
This software tutorial will show you how to work with motion guides in Flash. This lesson is great for beginning Flash users since it covers some of the basic tools in Flash, effect modes and keyframes. Learn how to use the motion guide to make a car follow a path in Flash CS3.
This software tutorial shows you how to create cartoony blood effects in After Effects CS3. This isn't going to be realistic looking blood, but if you want to learn how to create a blood or fluid effect using standard After Effects tools and the CC Mr Mercury filter.
This software tutorial shows you how to chroma key in Windows Movie Maker. Chroma keying requires having green screen video footage. Once you have footage you can use the chroma key effect tools in Windows Movie Maker to put subjects in different background. See how easy it is ...more
The prank begins with a 21 CANNON Salute wake up call! As the victim jolts up in bed the bed will raise up and the victim will fall onto a water slide flowing with raw sewage. As the victim slides down the slide, bumps on the slide with knock him in the balls. We'll have fire ...more
Want to create a force field effect within a video project? This clip will show you how it's done using only stock After Effects CS5 plug-ins. Whether you're entirely new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional, new to AE C ...more
In this clip, you'll learn how to use layer styles, blending modes and cell pattern effect to create a fun, glamorous pre-roll sequence in Adobe After Effects CS3, CS4 or CS5. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video pr ...more
Want to know how to quickly create a reflection effect in Photoshop CS4 or CS5? This clip will teach you what you need to know. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the p ...more
Want to know how to create multi-colored iris effect in Adobe Photoshop CS5? This clip will teach you what you need to know. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the prog ...more
Want to create a Warhol-style pop-art effect in Adobe Photoshop? This clip will teach you what you need to know. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seasoned professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its ...more
See how to create a realistic depth of field effect with Mental Ray in 3ds Max 2010. Learn how to add it to a scene, working with its parameters, and how to control it to achieve desired results. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artis ...more
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to convert VHS tapes to DVD. Users will need a computer with an analog input or an external converter. If the computer has an analog converter, simply connect the RCA cord from the VCR to the computer. If the computer does not have an ...more
Check out this video from Chemical Reaction Tutorials (CRTutorials). If you love filmmaking, prop making, editing and everything else that goes along with making movies, then you'll want to see what Adam has to say about teleportation. Adam explains how to create a Goku telep ...more
Gloobus Coverflow is a new program on Linux that lets you view all of your files without actually opening them! It's very similar to Apple's Quicklook, but is made for Linux. New to Ubuntu Linux? This computer operating system could be a bit tricky for beginners, but fret not ...more
Last year, Lytro released their first light field camera to help photographers have more control over focusing. This innovative and revolutionary camera allows users to change the depth of focus of a photograph after the picture is taken. Video: . These depth-of-field-changeab ...more
The latest software update to the Amazon Fire Phone packed a lot of new and enhanced features, one of which makes the Carousel (a favorite feature of mine) much more useful. The Carousel is the Fire Phone's "home screen," offering you upfront access to your most recent apps. ...more
Amazon's first venture into the wireless phone market was a crash and burn moment — and that's us being kind. Their FirePhone went down in flames almost instantly, no pun intended. It was an average-at-best device sold at an artificially high price to arouse consumer interest ...more
I'll be honest—I've never been a huge fan of camping. It's not that I have anything against nature, I'm just partial to showering and sleeping in my own bed. In fact, the only part of camping I've ever really enjoyed is sitting around a campfire. Outdoor fires are perfect for ...more
Smart home speakers, such as Google Home and Apple HomePod, are must-have accessories if you're trying to turn your home into a smart home. While HomePod is made to be used with the Apple ecosystem, the less-expensive Google Home can also be used with your iPhone — in more way ...more
If you've ever tried to record a Snapchat video of a song playing in your car, you know that it's impossible to do if the song is playing on the same device that you're Snapchatting with. I connect my iPhone to my car stereo via Bluetooth to play music, but if I try to record ...more
Researchers have created a possible replacement for traditional camera lenses, using an "optical phased array" to function as both a lens and sensor of a camera. The project from researchers at the California Institute of Technology is the first ever camera that works without ...more
Although more and more smartphones are introducing portrait modes with their cameras, there are still plenty of devices out there — especially devices older than one or two years — that do not. While your particular smartphone might not offer you that bokeh effect, Instagram c ...more
When you drive along the deceptively sedate streets of Silicon Valley, there are few hints that all those nondescript office parks and low-rise buildings contain the very future of the planet, but they really do. On a recent trip to tech's epicenter, I found that out firsthand ...more
The default Camera app on your iPhone can take some pretty incredible photos during the day. Newer iPhone models can even make nighttime shots look good. But you can't just point and shoot if you want to capture some pretty spectacular fireworks photos on July 4th, New Year's ...more
Video: . At a certain moment in our lives all of us wanted to be a fire fighter. To simulate that effect, we created a super-awesome siren. With two 555-timer chips and lots of trail and error, we were able to create this awful noise. We're sorry for all headphone users ...more
As Facebook, Apple, Samsung, and others offer augmented reality selfie effects and content that challenge its platform, Snapchat has continued to innovate with its augmented reality capabilities. The latest example, released to the app's Carousel on Monday, is a Lens that rea ...more
Samsung has announced that their latest flagship device, the Galaxy S5, will ship with over $500 worth of exclusive, pre-paid, and discounted subscriptions from leading mobile content and service providers. Dubbed Galaxy Gifts, Samsung is hoping to entice new and existing cus ...more
Apple released Portrait mode for the iPhone 7 Plus in the iOS 10.1 update, which creates a simulated bokeh effect that blurs out the background and makes the subject pop out in the scene. It's still technically a beta feature since Apple does have some kinks to iron out, but i ...more
This week has been quite a successful one for Google, thanks to non-stop news coverage of their developer-focused I/O conference. Now, there's even more reason for the buzz as they've just announced that Project Ara, their modular smartphone that could revolutionize the indus ...more
Have you ever noticed how your home screen and lock screen wallpaper moves underneath your notification, app icons, really anything on display? It's a cool effect, but to some, might be a bit jarring. On top of that, it also uses up precious battery life. If you're sick of see ...more
At this point, we've seen Samsung's vision for Android Oreo on both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. Just last month, Samsung opened its Oreo Beta Program for the S8 to the public. A few days ago, we obtained and detailed a leaked beta build of Oreo for the Note 8. While both ...more
For photographers, the "plus" in the iPhone Plus models used to mean optical image stabilization, but now that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both have OIS on board, that "plus" has moved onto something else—the dual-lens camera. Actually, the new dual-lens setup on the iPhone ...more
The pumpkin is everyone's favorite cucurbit come Halloween time, and while there are only a few types of Halloween-friendly pumpkins out there, there is definitely no shortage of what you can do with them. You can carve faces into them, perform brain surgery, make them sing, ...more
Welcome back, my hacker apprentices! My recent posts here in Null Byte have been very technical in nature, so I thought that I'd have a little fun with this one. Have you ever had an annoying neighbor whose dog barks all night, who has loud parties that keep you awake, or who ...more
For this project, I sacrificed some of my kids' clothes and a can of tuna to make some high-quality fire starter! Here's how to make a great batch of char cloth to add to your emergency survival kit. Video: . WARNING: This project should not be attempted without adult supervis ...more
The Pixel 2 is a solid upgrade when compared to the 2016 model, but we've reached a point where the latest generation of a smartphone is never leaps and bounds better than the last. It's hard to justify dropping nearly a grand on a phone when it doesn't improve your situation ...more
If you have personal information stored on a Kindle Fire tablet, be warned that Amazon has removed encryption support for Fire OS 5. So if you have stuff on these devices...maybe a risque book, or private notes, or pictures you'd rather not let out to the world, now would be t ...more
Welcome back, my novice hackers! Before we try to attack a website, it's worthwhile understanding the structure, directories, and files that the website uses. In this way, we can begin to map an attack strategy that will be most effective. In addition, by knowing what files ...more
Goertek's AM3D offers world-class audio processing software that powers millions of high-end devices around the world. Their biggest advancement is likely Virtual Surround Sound, which can make two speakers sound like a full 5.1 setup. You normally can't get these features on ...more
The camera situation on the all new HTC One is a little daunting. The M8 has not one, not two, but three camera lenses built in. First, there's the 5 megapixel selfie machine up front, then around back, there's the new Duo Camera with a refined UltraPixel sensor. HTC has done ...more