Learn the elevation card trick with this instructive how-to video. Fascinate friends with your ability to magically make cards rise up and out of a deck as if levitating. You Will Need: • A spectator • A deck of elevation cards • A table Step 1: Have a spectator pick a ca ...more
Since the rise of private property and industrial production, modern capitalism has been on a undeniable crash course with Mother Nature. It's no so much that we'll end up murdering the entire planet, but just that the planet will quietly smother us with a pillow of famine, he ...more
Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough is more time consuming than Jamie Oliver's "cheat's pizza", but it's quicker and simpler than the more traditional dough recipes. The rise time is only two hours, and the kneading is minimal. I still prefer Jamie's pizza, but I sense this is be ...more
You're never going to see a project from me that involves straight pipe. You would have when I was a kid, but after too many years in the construction industry, I need to see a good finish. If the project doesn't look slick, I don't want to say I did it. I have to say right o ...more
D.I.Y.: Start Your Own Cassette Label! By adam_schragin on Aug 4, 2008 at 10:56am in DIY Let’s say you’ve got the itch to start your own label. You’ve got the typeface all picked out, the clever name ready, and an idea of what sort of music you’d like to showcase. What you d ...more
There are seemingly endless photography apps for the iPhone—it is perhaps one of the most popular arenas for application developers. We've covered a few in Giveaway Tuesdays, but nothing comprehensive. We would be remiss to omit the two most popular frontrunners—Hipstamatic ( ...more
Unless you're a high-schooler building a nuclear fusion reactor, the hardest part of a science investigatory project often is coming up with a good idea. You want it to be cool yet feasible, novel but still useful. That's why Ai-ni Bautista's science project on making liquid ...more
Just about every household gadget we own runs on 1.5 volt batteries of one size or another. Wouldn't it be great if you could reuse all of those dead AA, AAA, and D batteries after they've passed on? It turns out you can make a simple circuit called a "Joule Thief" to reanimat ...more
The noble board game has stalwartly staved off elimination in the face of more technologically advanced video games for four decades. Try as they might, video games just can't seem to surpass them as an easy-to-use diversion for large groups of seated indoor people. Since the ...more
If you're between the ages of 20 and 40, then video arcades probably hold a special place in your heart. Whether you all but lived in one (me), wished you could, or detested those with a liking for them, there's no denying that arcades were a ubiquitous part of American cultur ...more
In 1965, the world was a different place. There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo. Or Stumbleupon, for that matter. In 1965, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was The Sound of Music. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the pos ...more
If you're like me, you were disappointed when NASA cut their human space flight program. No longer could children and adults in dead-end jobs dream of someday walking on the surface of the Moon or drinking floating globules of water through a straw. Homo sapiens as a species a ...more
Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our tutorials, post to the community corkboard, and come play on our free server! Hello, it's iDwarf again! Last week's redstone trap competition was a HUGE success. We had at least 30 entries! But before we get to showing off the winners ...more
Many windows users, if not all, run into a virus infection once in a while. This is unavoidable when using Microsoft's operating system. Without digressing too much, the fact that Windows is such a popular OS with no controlled software sources makes it easy for viruses and ma ...more
Bring a little magic and wonder into the lives of those around you with this easy magic trick. The best part is all you need is an envelop, pen and someone willing to reveal their age and birthday. Make sure to play up the suspense. Amaze friends and family with your astoundi ...more
In this online video series learn from expert magician Brandon Nowasky as he teaches magic tricks, fundamentals, and techniques such as the two detectives, trick break, glide technique, the rising card, envelope prediction, the double lift, and how to control a card for a tric ...more
Baking bread might feel intimidating in advance. The fear to screw it up can make one chicken out and instead keep buying bread as usual at the store. Personally, I am very picky about which bread to eat, and learned over time that home baked bread bits them all when made prop ...more
If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?" Many of the top names in the industry from the 2018 edition remain the same, but their positions have shuffled. The p ...more
In case you thought the long and unfortunate story of ODG was over, hold on, there's one last chapter to tell. As we reported in January, ODG's remaining patent assets were put up for auction, but the buyer was never revealed. However, we now have a pretty good idea of where ...more
The legal drama surrounding Chinese startup Nreal and Magic Leap continues, and now we finally have an update. For months, Magic Leap's legal team attempted to contact Nreal and its founder, Chi Xu, with little success. But that all changed a few weeks ago. Don't Miss: Magic ...more
While "Baby Yoda" from The Mandalorian threatens to overshadow it, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters next week, which means it's time for Disney and Lucasfilm to ramp up its promotional strategy. And there's little surprise that augmented reality is part of ...more
As much funding as Magic Leap has secured, another round of funding will still catch headlines. However, the latest funding solidifies the company's strategy for succeeding in the consumer segment of AR. Meanwhile, it looks like Facebook is ramping up its efforts to get its o ...more
Baby, it's cold outside, but, with some help from Snapchat augmented reality, Gucci is thawing our wintery hearths with a virtual trip to the tropics. On Wednesday, Snapchat launched a Portal Lens for Gucci designed to mirror the brand's Gift Giving advertising campaign featu ...more
Sometimes the demos for Apple's ARKit are so good that it almost looks like magic. A recent demo, in particular, shows exactly what kind of magic tricks you can perform using the ARKit. The demo was posted by @LaanLabs on Twitter. Laan Labs creates apps and are known for thei ...more
With many of the companies working in augmented and mixed reality focused on the Augmented World Expo, the finance side of the industry has been relatively quiet. However, a pair of reports today signal that investors should remain happy for the foreseeable future. Both repor ...more
For the augmented reality hardware industry to progress towards the consumer segment, display technology needs to get better. Investors recognize that, and they are showing AR display makers the money. This week alone, AR display maker Akonia Holographics gave its investors a ...more
We recently ran down several hidden features on the Galaxy S9 — items that are buried deep within the settings menu that can be tricky to find. One thing that many users cannot find is the option for a black navigation bar. Unfortunately, this option does not exist in Samsung' ...more
Magic? Camera tricks? Did someone build an egg inside the bottle with tweezers as if it were a ship? Nope. This is way easier. Basic science. As simple as a vacuum. The matches in the bottle burn up the oxygen. This creates a negative pressure environment, or vacuum. Voilà ...more
Despite the hype and potential of immersive computing, the augmented reality industry is showing that it is not invincible, as another AR hardware maker, this time Osterhout Design Group (ODG), is reportedly going out of business. On Tuesday, asset liquidator Hilco Streambank ...more
We already know that Magic Leap is working with Hollywood motion capture legend Andy Serkis on a new immersive content experience but, so far, all we've heard are descriptions of the work. Well, now the mystery is over, and the character of Grishneck, who Magic Leap mentioned ...more
It is almost indisputable that smartglasses and head-worn displays are the future of augmented reality. However, at this precise moment, they are still a very niche market. Those who have been in the presence of a HoloLens, Meta 2, or Magic Leap One have witnessed how powerfu ...more
The NBA Finals is underway, and now basketball fans with iPhones and Android devices can get closer to the action for free than they ever could with expensive courtside tickets. Now available on the Google Play Store after debuting on the iOS App Store last year, the latest v ...more
Around this time in 2016, the predictions for the next year had reached something of a consensus: 2017 would be the year of augmented reality. But a funny thing happened on the way to the future — nothing much, really. At least not for the first half of the year. It seemed cl ...more
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 ...more
The HoloLens opens up new, digital locales within our physical world, so it was only natural for the HoloLens Challenge to ask developers to create a portal into one. One developer rose to the task and gave life to wall art, turning it into an interactive game called Future Bo ...more
While the pope himself may not be Steampunk, you might be amazed at what is: the coronation stove. For those who don't know, it's been a tradition for a very long time to signal the election of a new pope (or the lack of a new pope) via colored smoke. More specifically, once ...more
Not many people fly kites anymore. Most of us don't have the patience or attention span because, let's face it, we're used to smartphones and other gadgets that have games and apps galore to entertain us. Heck, you can even fly a kite on them if you really want. Though, there ...more
Mobile gaming has exploded in recent years, with experts predicting 2.4 billion global mobile players by the end of 2019. It already accounts for 47% of the worldwide gaming market, besting console and PC. No wonder we've seen the rise of gaming smartphones, a class of phones ...more
The rise and fall of Meta, the Silicon Valley-based augmented reality startup that looked to challenge the likes of Microsoft's HoloLens, and others, took just six years. Now, as the story of the company draws to a close, we finally have some deeper insight into what exactly ...more
If you've gone anywhere near a television in the US in the last 48 hours, you've probably seen some of the reports of Hurricane Florence and its devastating wind and rain making its way toward the Carolina coast. But if you're not a weather nerd, with your eyes locked on The ...more
Despite the rise of music streaming, the experience of immersing oneself in the artwork and lyrics of old school albums is alive again, as sales of vinyl records and CDs have outpaced digital downloads for the first time since 2011. Now, the latest album from Amsterdam-based N ...more
A market research report, posted on February 27, 2017, forecasts that the image recognition market will grow to nearly $40 billion worldwide by 2021. The market, which includes augmented reality applications, hardware, and technology, generated an estimated $15.95 billion in 2 ...more
Microsoft's enjoyed being the only mixed reality headset on the block for a little while, but the Meta 2 intends to join the party very soon. According to UploadVR, in a couple of weeks they'll begin shipping alpha versions of their headset with improved hand tracking. Don't ...more
In the last few years, the HoloLens has become a popular tool for use in medical procedures and training. But recently, the Magic Leap One has gained momentum in the space as well when it comes to medical use cases. The latest medical app for the Magic Leap One, the CHARM (sh ...more
Magic Leap and Samsung are putting their money where their augmented reality plans are, with the former acquiring an AR collaboration technology and the latter funding a waveguide display maker. Meanwhile, Lenovo and startup Tilt Five are preparing their own augmented reality ...more
While Leap Motion has given makers a DIY solution for building their own augmented reality headset with Project North Star, a self-described "AR wonk" has taken the blueprints one step further by creating an untethered version. Noah Zerkin, a research and development project ...more
The long, long, loooong wait finally ended this week for the augmented reality community as the Magic Leap One was finally released. The Florida-based company has loomed over the industry for years promising something big, and now the AR cat is finally out of the bag. Now we g ...more
In any business, there are a number of questions companies must answer in order to get customers to buy a product or service. The same holds true for companies selling augmented reality headsets. How do you sell the devices? For Magic Leap, the answer may include physical ret ...more
Gonorrhea infections reached a peak in 1975, then decreased until 2009, when infection rate started rising and has increased each year since. With the rise of antibiotic resistance, those numbers are only going to get worse — unless we find new treatments against the bacteria. ...more
One of the best qualities about fresh bread (such as sourdough) is a thick, crispy crust—which is easy to create in a commercial oven, but can be tricky for home cooks to replicate. Luckily, the the trick to baking a professional-style crust is a simple one—just bake your loaf ...more
The next time you're out camping, whether it's outdoors in the wilderness or right outside in your own backyard, try this hack out for an effortless campfire all night long. While there is definitely some prep work involved, it's well worth it if you don't need a huge bonfire, ...more
I have a theory that chocolate chip cookies are the gateway drug to cooking. The recipe is easy, no special equipment is required, and at the end, you get warm, fresh-from-the-oven cookies that are simply irresistible. It's how I got hooked on baking and cooking, and anecdotal ...more
Hello! I want to share a few hints about staying literally cool when the temperature of the air outside rises incredibly. So, if you're in a very hot area, please continue reading! Step 1: Watch or Read the Weather Forecast I suggest you keep track with everyday weather fore ...more
Smartglasses startup Nreal enjoyed some highs and endured some lows this week, as the company landed a product placement with Kevin Bacon but then faced production issues related to the coronavirus outbreak. But Nreal wasn't the only company dealing with the virus, as some of ...more
The international profile of augmented reality startup Nreal continues to quietly rise thanks to gradual updates and various strategic branding opportunities. Among the latest and most prominent is the appearance of none other than Hollywood legend Kevin Bacon using the Nreal ...more
With the files on our devices getting more important as the years go by, the need to keep things organized continues to rise. The longer you have a device, the messier the internal storage might become. Having a file manager would be extremely useful in this situation. You cou ...more
The hype around augmented reality has risen to a fever pitch over the past two years, and if this week's selection of business news stories are any indication, the din is about to get down right deafening. That's because the Microsoft's follow-up to the original HoloLens is a ...more
Augmented reality startup Nreal was a hit at this month's CES event, with some even calling the device a worthy challenger to the Magic Leap One. However, the company's path to success in the US may not be as smooth as it first seemed, as gaming giant Epic Games has lodged a ...more
Smartglasses and AR headset makers like Microsoft, Magic Leap, and Google (and aspiring AR wearables makers like Apple and Snapchat) need display components for their products, and LetinAR is among the companies ready to supply those components. The Korean startup has just cl ...more
A new app for iPhones and iPads gives developers a sandbox for testing their AR experiences and sharing them with the world. Available now in the iOS App Store, wiARframe, a free app with no in-app purchases, enables developers to create their content via a web-based tool des ...more