Hasta La Gadget!

Given Apple’s track record of adopting newfangled technologies — you know, like SD slots — we’re going to go ahead and assume Steve Jobs & Co. aren’t planning on adding a 3D display to the iPad anytime soon. Now that you’ve swallowed that distasteful dose of reality, NewSight Japan is inviting you to mod it yourself in a way thankfully doesn’t involve performing open-heart surgery on your magical slate. The solution — whose name we can’t decipher on the company’s Japanese website — combines software with a film placed over the display (not to worry, this won’t impede mulltitouch gestures). Unfortunately, it doesn’t flip 2D images to 3D, so those operating sans a 3D-enabled camera or conversion software are apt to be sorely disappointed. That said, it’d fit right into a utopian universe where 3D movie downloads were the norm.

Continue reading NewSight Japan uses film, software to give the iPad a 3D display… sort of (video)

NewSight Japan uses film, software to give the iPad a 3D display… sort of (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News  |  NewSight Japan  | Email this | Comments

Meet any seasoned techie, and they’ll likely spin whimsical tales of computing’s early days, and the challenge of finding a practical use for a device with seemingly limitless potential (you know, like feeding your cat while you sleep). A new product from SparkFun promises to bring this old-school awesomeness into the smartphone age: introducing IOIO (pronounced yo-yo), a breakout box that enables any Android 1.5+ device to control electronic circuits from within Android’s applications. Designed in collaboration with Google, Spark’s PCB connects to your phone over USB, working its magic through a Java library that hooks into your apps. This DIY paradise will begin shipping in a few weeks, and can be yours for $49.95 on pre-order. We’ve already witnessed some clever mods with IOIO, and when it sent a real alarm clock ringing, we couldn’t help but smile. Crack one yourself after the break.

Continue reading SparkFun intros IOIO for Android, a hack-free breakout box to get your mind spinning

SparkFun intros IOIO for Android, a hack-free breakout box to get your mind spinning originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Microcontrollers, Electronics & Robotics, Android Community  |  SparkFun  | Email this | Comments

With the right Arduino board, an R/C race car, a couple paperclips and the MacGyver spirit, we imagine most anyone can hack together a creative remote control these days… but how many can open-source an HTML5 web app that’ll do the deed from any tablet, phone or PC? Gaurav Manek crafted just such a thing, and he’ll demonstrate it for you on an Apple iPad in the video immediately above. What’s more, he’s also got a Kinect hack that uses Microsoft depth camera (with Code Laboratories’ NUI SDK) to control the very same with the wave of a well-placed hand — we’re already envisioning fisticuffs should he and a lab partner try for some head-to-head racing action. That said, you don’t need to wait for an illustrious creator to have all the fun. Why not download his source code at our links below and give it a go yourself?

Man steers R/C car with his hands, not to mention an HTML5-based web app (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack A Day  |  Gaurav Manek  | Email this | Comments

If your foremost dream is to jack into a dystopian cyberpunk reality where hackers play with human brains (and you also happen to love Japanese anime), you’d best book your flight to Tokyo right now — a Shibuya department store has set up a basic cyberspace simulator straight out of Ghost in the Shell. That’s the film Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society, to be precise, which just got a stereoscopic 3D re-release in Japan this week, and in its honor creative services company Kayac set about constructing a high-quality Kinect hack. Microsoft’s depth camera tracks the lean of your body, while the honeyed virtual reality is projected onto a pair of nearby walls, and it’s your objective to slap the Tachikoma tank silly without falling over yourself. Get a peek at what it’s like to play with in the video above.

Kinect dives into anime cyberspace, dares you to catch cute robot tanks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CrunchGear  |  BMCL (Vimeo)  | Email this | Comments

You knew this was coming — it was only a matter of time — and here it is, Apple’s latest creation sans the iOS 4.3 chains. The development community credits @comex with installing Cydia on this white iPad 2, and he’s apparently already hard at work on a public jailbreak. According to his Twitter feed, the hack required a brand new exploit, as previous bugs were squashed in iOS 4.3. We’ll keep you posted on when the hack’s ready for you to use, too.

[Thanks, Henrique and Vassilis]

iPad 2 jailbroken, no ETA on public release originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  @chpwn (Twitter), @comex (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments