Since launching Google Lens as a a Pixel-exclusive feature in 2017, Google has not only expanded the availability of the tool to Android and iOS, but also built upon its functionality. Now, in addition to translator, tip calculator, personal shopper, and tour guide, Google has ...more
This covers displacement mapping in a WHOLE new way in the Maya Zbrush workflow. Using Alpha grabs in Zbrush you are able to displace geometry in Maya.
Chronology in Microsoft Word is convenient when it comes to organizing your documents. Thankfully, you don't have to manually edit the document to put things in alphabetical order! This video shows you how to do it in a few clicks. Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007 both allow you ...more
Friendship bracelets are a simple gift that can really show someone how much they mean to you. What better way to tell someone you made something especially for them than personalizing it? In this tutorial, learn how to tie an 'alpha pattern' onto your woven bracelets. This v ...more
This video series is all about alphas in Zbrush! Step away from learning how to sculpt in Zbrush, and learn how to work, in-depth, with alpha mattes. If you don't know what an alpha is, this is a GREAT place to start. PART 1: What is an alpha PART 2: Using primitives with alph ...more
This video tutorial for Adobe Premiere CS4 for beginners demonstrates how to add some simple effects to your videos using this powerful video editing program. Included are how to add alpha glow to a video, how to select a keyframe, and how to make videos move from side to side.
The best sangria I ever had in my life was made by a Spanish friend for my birthday party. The ingredients included a giant box of Franzia red, one bottle of Bombay Sapphire Blue, one cup of sugar, a liter of 7-Up, and some cinnamon sticks. She put everything but the 7-Up in a ...more
One of the oldest, most abstruse, downright incomprehensible commands in Photoshop, Calculations lets you merge two channels to create a new alpha channel. Learn it: It's the backbone of masking. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editing software or a seaso ...more
The Xposed Framework has an official repository for downloading modules which can be easily accessed by searching the Download section in your Xposed Installer app. But not every module is available on the Xposed repo — in fact, many unique and interesting modules are only hos ...more
A great free video training from tasktutorial on how to create a cool movie text effect in Flash. Start by creating the text; type in "cool", rename the layer and lock it. Now type "movie" and rename the layer. Type in "effect" and rename this layer as well. Now focus on the f ...more
Check out this tutorial of how to create moving curtains in After Effects. You create a set of curtains that opens up to reveal footage placed behind it. You can render the clip out with an alpha channel and always have a curtains clip ready to reveal some footage. Whether you ...more
The first thing you need to do in this mission on Battlefield Bad Company 2 is to hop out of the copter and get in the sand buggy and head to your marked location. You'll need to locate and head to each station on the map: Bravo Base Station, Charlie Base Station, and Alpha Ba ...more
CyanogenMod has always been on the forefront of ROM customization, and its newest release, CyanogenMod 12, is no exception. In the newest nightlies, they have included an updated version of their Theme Engine, which allows you to effortlessly change the way your entire system ...more
DayZ is a first-person shooter game for Windows that places you in a vast post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies and other players that are all out to get you. Famous for its realism, DayZ has garnered a cult following and influenced many subsequent games in the genre. But ...more
The third developer beta for iOS 13 has been out since July 3, and while devs have had fun exploring all the new features, those of us on the public beta have sat on the sidelines running the public version of dev beta 2. But we don't need to wait any longer, as Apple just rel ...more
If you're a fan of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, this video's for you. Sydney is the Drag Queen capital of Australia. We wanted to find out if any dude (now matter how masculine) could be transformed into a convincing Drag Queen. So we brought hairy alpha male Mitch, out from ...more
There's no doubt iOS 13 has dominated the talk around the Apple community this month. Since the announcement and release of the first developer beta, we iPhone users have had a treasure trove of new features and changes to explore and discuss. Now the fun continues with iOS 13 ...more
Using three layers of alpha transparent PNG files, we can can create a pseudo 3-dimensional looking background for a web page using the parallax effect. This video screencast covers how to do that from start to finish. Since Internet Explorer 6 and under do not support alpha t ...more
It's been an eventful week for Google+. Facebook decided to up its game and start rolling out several major updates intended to address privacy concerns. We got a glimpse into the future of Google+ via an insightful discussion between +Bradley Horowitz and +Tim O'Reilly. And G ...more
Mobile World Congress is a four-day event that is both a showcase and conference starring prominent figures in the mobile industry. Oftentimes, OEMs will use this event to announce new products for the upcoming year — and this year shouldn't be any different. Here are all the ...more
Last year, Motorola released their Moto G5 Plus, a fantastic mid-tier machine that earned praise from both reviewers and consumers. Starting at $229, it was well-built and inexpensive considering everything Motorola managed to jam into it. This year, Motorola is looking to rep ...more
In this clip, you'll learn how to animate textures with the alpha channel in Cinema 4D. Whether you're new to MAXON's popular 3D modeling application or are just looking to get better acquainted with Cinema 4D and its various features and functions, you're sure to enjoy this f ...more
Minecraft is the surprise indie hit of 2010 and it's still only in Alpha! And one of the mainstays of the name, "mining" is a key element to not only survival but advancement in the game and the construction of bigger and better items, tools, armor, buildings, ect. If you're c ...more
The days of trundling hoops, hopscotch and painted wooden rocking horses are long since past. The latest trend in toys? Biofeedback. Electroencephalography. A decade into the 21st century, the toy market is awash in products that incorporate functional neural sensors. One suc ...more
This video shows in detail and with annotations how to add plugins as sources in XBoxMediaCenter. With these plugins, you can watch selected media content from the web without browsing the websites with the computer. You browse through the items as if they were on the hard dri ...more
The cosmetics brands are among the earliest adopters of augmented reality, using virtual try-on tools to preview shades of makeup before buying. But, on Monday, fashion brand Christian Dior took a different approach, using Facebook's Spark AR platform on Instagram to deliver ...more
We started with our system manager in the previous lesson in our series on building dynamic user interfaces, but to get there, aside from the actual transform, rotation, and scaling objects, we need to make objects out of code in multiple ways, establish delegates and events, ...more
Potbellies don't have to happen as we age, according to two studies done on twins published online in the International Journal of Obesity. The studies, led by senior author Ana Valdes, from the University of Nottingham in the UK, found that weight gain and belly fat were not ...more
We use our smartphones every single day. They're a part of our daily routine, and as a result, we've gotten really good at using them — especially when it comes to typing very quickly. But just how fast can you type on your iPhone? Can you match your speed on a physical keyboa ...more
Want to learn how to mask text using gradient in Flash? In this 3 minute video, the viewers will learn just that. First of all, create the text that you want to mask. Next, prepare the gradient that you will be masking your text with, remember to set alpha to zero. Select the ...more
Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. Minecon 2011 went really well. If any of you World Members attended, please post about your experience to the community corkboard. The opening ceremony was amazing! Here's a video o ...more
Since its launch in 2001, Wikipedia has become the number one reference site on the web, used by anyone and everyone, written by anyone and everyone. With over 18 million collaboratively written articles, there's backgrounds and descriptions on practically everything—if it exi ...more
On average, it takes three seconds to move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse, then click once and move your hand back to the keyboard. While the time wasted my sound trivial, it can add up quickly throughout the day. Seconds can become minutes wasted and can make it di ...more
The relationship between developers and publishers in the video game industry has always been awkward. Many great game developers such as Bizzare Creations, Clover Studio, and Bullfrog Productions have been disbanded due to corporate shenanigans involving their publishers and ...more
Minecraft may seem like a game for just hardcore gamers and computer nerds, but it's totally not. It can hook anyone and everyone, from casual gamers to online addicts to total newbies—it can even turn its users into serial killers. And now, Notch and his Mojang crew have made ...more
There are a lot of fantastic video games out there. Indie Games Ichiban's bread and butter is making sure that you steer clear of the bad ones and embrace the good. But really, the biggest goal here is to help everyone have more fun. To that end, today a game is not recommende ...more
On July 3, Apple pushed out iOS 13 developer beta 3 for iPhone, and there's a lot found hidden within. A new FaceTime setting, more Arcade details, full-page scrolling screenshots everywhere, a noise cancellation option in the Control Center, and a new markup tool — and that's ...more
Alright, calm down and take a breath! I know the object creation chapter was a lot of code. I will give you all a slight reprieve; this section should be a nice and simple, at least in comparison. In this series on building dynamic user interfaces, what we are eventually crea ...more
Microcontrollers like ESP8266-based boards have built-in Wi-Fi, and that's really cool, but what's even cooler is that certain pro models of the D1 Mini also have a port where you can connect a directional antenna. This can give you exceptional range, but if you were to just p ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to make 2-layer stencils in GIMP. First, cut out the background before you begin. Now, right click on your main layer and then select "add alpha layer". After this, select the magic wand tool and delete all the white areas on the outside of the p ...more
Black Mirror, Netflix's technology-horror anthology, never fails to provide thought-provoking entertainment centered around emerging and futuristic technologies, and the third season's second episode, "Playtest," delves deep into the worlds of mixed, augmented, and virtual rea ...more
Every day of the week, WonderHowTo curators are hard at work, scouring the web for the greatest and most inspiring how-to videos. Every Friday, we'll highlight our favorite finds. Get Snooki's signature rhinestone glasses and look Halloween is just around the corner, and it' ...more
XDA recently reported on a leaked version of the upcoming Pixel 4's camera app. By testing the app, they were able to find upcoming Pixel 4 features like a new Night Sight mode that can photograph stars. Well that leaked version has leaked itself, so now you can install it on ...more
This is a two-part series to locking down the computer to provide maximum protection. Even though this guide will sound intrusive, we are talking about reality here. Extreme measures must be taken to protect our computers, especially when we have confidential documentation or ...more
Hack Ninja Saga. The flash-based game Ninja Saga is a role-playing game involving… you guess it… NINJAS! Check out this video tutorial so you can learn how to hack Ninja Saga (06/17/10). Unlearn various jutsu to take them off your character sheet so you can learn other jutsu ...more
We all have apps that we use most frequently, or system preferences that we're regularly adjusting. Whether it's Netflix or a new game that you're hooked on, there are times when you want quick and easy access versus searching for them, even if they're on your home screen. In ...more
While Google isn't ready to commit to a wide release of the AR walking navigation mode for Google Maps, the company has begun testing the feature with members of its Local Guides crowdsourcing community. As a result, I've had the opportunity to test an alpha build of the feat ...more
There's no question about it—Skype is one useful program, but has always been lacking in the mobile department. On your desktop, Skype works just fine and all of its options are available for usage. However, the same cannot be said for Android. On Android, you can't even chang ...more
You've found the perfect photo for your presentation but the background is the wrong color or worse, a cheesy image. Well, if you're creating your presentation in Keynote '08, you can just remove the unwanted background using the alpha tool! See how in this tutorial from Apple.
Using the overview screen (aka recent apps) is a simple way to jump back to a previous task to continue where you left off, but as you use more and more apps, jumping back to that initial task isn't really that "recent" with all of those new tasks stacked on top of it. Now, th ...more
For 2019, Sony is trying to shake its failures of the past and start fresh. Following the unsuccessful Xperia XZ series, Sony is changing the name of their flagship to a single number: Xperia 1. With the name change comes a few upgrades, one of which is its new look. Secondly, ...more
Welcome back, my hacker novitiates! A short while ago, I introduced you to regular expressions. Regular expressions are a language that is particularly useful for finding complex text patterns in streams of data. Although first developed for Perl, regular expressions are use ...more
This Zbrush 3.1 tutorial covers using layers and Alpha Shapes and a plugin named imageplane3 by Marcus at Pixologic.com to create a shield in Zbrush. You should already know the basics of working in Photoshop. NOTE: This link is to a Flash version of the first 5 minutes of thi ...more
Friendship can't be bought with money or gifts, but an existing friendship can certainly be bolstered by some handmade wrist wear. While you can totally hit up Claire's and purchase their twosome friendship bracelets, the special letter-embellished bracelet in this video is so ...more
Many designers love hot, glowing looks. However, the After Effects Glow plug-in is available only in the Professional edition, and is not all that intuitive to use. This two-part module demonstrates how to use the same plug-in to get two quite different looks: "inside" glows f ...more
Beta testing for Apple's big upcoming iPhone update, iOS 13, is well underway. So far, each of the four beta versions we've seen brought new features and changes to the table, many of which were never even mentioned by Apple during WWDC in June. Now, it's time to do it all ove ...more
The first developer beta for iOS 13 is available to install on iPhone models, but the process for doing so may be a bumpy ride. Apple has not included configuration profiles for the developer beta yet, and many developers are having issues installing iOS 13 even with macOS 10. ...more
Burning mouth syndrome is not very common, but if you get it it really, really sucks. Symptoms include an extreme, burning sensation in your mouth, including on your tongue and gums. This first aid video will run you through remedies to burning mouth syndrome. While you shoul ...more
Scars can make you feel self conscious. Luckily, there are steps we can take to reduce their appearance without surgery. So, avoid the operating room and check out this video - its full of useful tips for hiding and eliminating your scars. You Will Need • Silicone gel or shee ...more
To do fading in flash, first drag an image onto your main window. Shrink it down so it fits on the window, then right click your image and hit copy frames, then come out to frame 15 and hit paste frames. Right click in the middle of the set of frames and hit "Create motion Twe ...more