GeekSugar

I'd Take My "Looking Glass" With Me Everywhere

GeekSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:29 PDT

I have come to realize how handy it is to have an iPhone attached to my hip at all times. Because of its fast Internet and cool apps, I can find almost anything, anytime, anywhere. But realistically, as awesome as it is, my iPhone can't tell me absolutely everything. It certainly can't show me how to get to my three o'clock meeting via a 3D-floor plan, scan objects for fingerprints, and wirelessly transfer photos from my computer.

But if this picture into the future above is any indication, we might be able to learn things we never have before with something called a "Looking Glass" – similar to the "Magical Windows" discussed months ago – which seems to be a mobile computer complete with a camera, scanner, touch screen, WiFi accessibility, and photo analysis - all in one sleek device in a form we all know and (most of us) love.

View 3 Photos ›

To see why I would be the first on my block to pick up my own "Looking Glass", read more. Just imagine sitting down to lunch with the girls, and whipping out your "Looking Glass" to find out how many calories are in that basket of onion rings, or holding up the device to the stars, and having it tell you what constellations are in your sky. Amazing, right? I thought so, too. Here's to the future. Source

Best Apps and Tools For Serious Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:21:19 PST

Serious photography requires a serious camera, but that doesn't mean you have to be chained to a laptop or desktop to process them. Paul Pierson, app designer and photo nerd, tossed his laptop aside for six months in order to find out if the iPad and iOS apps could handle a professional photo work flow. He found that the iPad is actually quicker and more efficient in processing photos than the traditional setup of a computer and Photoshop software, not to mention a lot less expensive.

At this year's Macworld, Paul shared some of his favorite tools and apps to help you create a love match between your DSLR and iPad. First tip? Get a Card Reader from Photojojo ($30) so you can get those beautiful images captured on your DSLR to your iPad and, thus, your camera apps. Duh. Also you'll probably want an iPad with lots of storage - 64GB ($700), please.

Load up your iPad with the apps below for professional photographers, and experiment with more than one to create stunning images with less equipment.

Sunseeker ($5) - Helps you find where the sun is, or it will be, with the help of augmented reality. Great for landscape photos.

ioShutter ($70, coming Feb. 12) - Turns your iPhone into an intervalometer. This tool plugs into your iPhone and SLR, allowing you to fire your SLR again and again with the app and help you create beautiful time-lapse sequences.

Ollo Clip ($70) - This clip-on lens gives your iPhone or iPad an advantage with three different lenses built right in - fish-eye, wide angle, and macro.

ACDSee Camera Flash ($1) - Brings out details in underexposed images.

Snapseed ($5) - Won Apple's App of the Year because of its variety of filters, edit tools, and selective adjust tools like edge detection that applies changes to objects within the perimeter.

Ready for more? See the rest of the list after the break.

6 Ways to Sit Less Every Day

Health — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:03:42 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Sarah Kehoe

Need help being less sedentary? Here are the best ways to sit less and move more, from easiest to hardest.

Pace on the phone
Invest in a two-way speakerphone, a superlong phone-to-ear cord, or a quality headset so you can be more mobile while you chat.

Even if you simply stand while on the phone, you'll naturally shift from leg to leg.

Health.com: Little Ways to Lose Big Pounds

Putter after eating
Or take a quick walk postmeals. The fat levels in your bloodstream are highest after eating, and simply moving around afterward increases the activity of lipoprotein lipase, which spurs your metabolism.

Opt for bar seats at restaurants
Sit on the front third of the bar stool. Spread your feet just wider than hip distance, so they're supporting a fair bit of your weight, and gently roll your hips forward, arching your back slightly.

This position is called "perching" - it maintains an S-shape in your spine and distributes your weight more evenly.

Health.com: 20 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

Leave the seat at home
Whether you're going to a concert, tailgate, or park, don't bring a chair.

You'll find that if you don't have one, you stand the whole time or naturally move back and forth between your blanket and standing, says Marc Hamilton, PhD, a microbiologist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

More suggestions for giving up the chair after the break.

Acer Rolls Out Its Own Cloud Storage and Transfer Service: AcerCloud

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:15:16 PST

Cloud storage comes in handy when you want to access photos, video, and documents away from home. While there are lots of options when it comes to storing your goods in the cloud, Acer is planning to take on the iClouds and Google Docs of the world with its new cloud storage platform called AcerCloud.

Providing a secure and personal connection, AcerCloud connects all of your devices - from mobile phones to desktop PCs - allowing you to see your pics, vids, and Office documents (including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel) from anywhere. This free service works with Windows PCs and Android devices starting in Q2 of this year (Windows Mobile compatibility expected in Q4).

In order to access documents and media on the go, you'll first need to download the three AcerCloud apps - Clear.fi Photo, Clear.fi Media, and AcerCloud Docs - on your Android device. From there, you'll have a secure connection between your mobile device and your home PCs or laptops, even if your home computer is asleep or turned off. AcerCloud cashes your media and documents, so you'll always have access. Bonus: if you make changes to any docs from one device, the results are almost immediately available to view on your other devices. Snap a pic from your phone, and you'll instantly see it on your home computer; sorta like Eye-Fi, but with a longer leash.

AcerCloud is free for all Acer customers and is expected to go live in North America and China in Q2, with worldwide availability in Q4.

11 Ways to Print Instagram Photos

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:34:01 PST

Instagram is the easy way of creating dreamy iPhone photos in a flash. The filters work their magic so well that nearly every picture comes out looking like a keepsake. Making those memories permanent can be just as easy with these tools for turning Instagram photos into a lasting work of art.

PostalPix - Use this iPhone app to print four-inch squares from your Instagram library for only 30 cents each. Fast shipping, matte finish, professional quality resolution, and the convenience of mobile shopping make this our first stop for Instagram prints. They even sell just-right square 4-inch wooden frames.
CanvasPop - Those filtered photos are worthy of an at-home gallery. Create a high-resolution 12-inch square or 20-inch square stretched canvas print for the temporary price of $30 and $60, respectively. Buy multiple canvases for an artful wall vignette.
Printstagram - The company offers multiple ways to print Instagram photos, but the 20-by-40-inch posters will make the most stunning addition to a living room wall. Between 50-400 photos are arranged in a clean grid on thick, archival paper for $25.
Blurb - Haven't looked at a photo album in a while? Blurb brings back what now seems like an antiquated way of sharing photos with a modern, Instagram twist. Softcover books with 20 pages of Instagram photos runs $11 and a hardcover is $22. Christmas present, perhaps?
Postagram - A fun way to show people you're thinking of them, Postagram mails a postcard with popout Instagram photo and message to friends for 99 cents each. A thoughtful alternative to a birthday e-card!

Three more ways to print Instagram beauties after the break.

Pigeons: Future Leaders of Tomorrow?

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:15:26 PST

They know you call them winged rats and they're sick of it. So pigeons are stepping up their game, taking back their name and proving they have a level of smarts city dwellers never knew about.

Re-creating an experiment from the 1990s that originally tested monkeys' ability to rank numbers from lowest to highest, researchers from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, discovered pigeons could be trained for the same task.

The study included a year of arithmetic training for the pigeons included using different shapes, sizes, and colors of items to learn the abstract rules of ordering groups of one, two, or three. The researchers advanced pigeon math training to include the numbers six and nine, with the birds selecting displayed screen images in the right order just as before with the lower numbers.

Bow down, pigeon naysayers, as it's only a few more years of training and studies before the urban birds move on to computer science and start crafting the next hot mobile OS.

iGadgets Top American Kids' Holiday Wish Lists

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:45:16 PST

Searching the web for the best gift ideas for the youngest recipients on your holiday shopping lists? Look no further than one brand - Apple. Turns out children's tastes don't vary much from the design-conscious adults in their lives when it comes to the perfect present, according to a survey by Nielsen that polled kids ages 6 to 12. Nearly half, 44 percent, to be precise, of all children polled said an iPad is what they hope will be hiding under wrapping paper this year.

Apple's other mobile devices, the iPod Touch and iPhone, round out the top three gadgets on American kids' wish lists, showing just how loyal the demographic is to their brand of choice. Teenagers 13 and up also list the iPad as their number one must-have, but show their more, relatively, traditional side with a computer and ereader as their number two and three gift wants.

Of course, the products on these top three lists come at a price that may not fit all budgets. An iPad 2 starts at $500; the iPod Touch is $200; and both the Nook and Kindle ereaders are priced just under $100. Do you think kids' desired gifts of 2011 are extravagant or just right for the time of year?

10 Gadgets You Should Skip

Bundle — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:15:29 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Bundle story here on Savvy!

Gadgets are supposed to make our lives easier. Take smartphones, for example, which have given us countless applications and the ability to do just about anything on the go. And then there are the gadgets that are either pointless, or on its way to becoming obsolete. Here are 10. First up:

Expensive Headphones

You don't need studio-quality headphones unless you're a record producer, and online reviews of expensive headphones have shown that a lot of people can't tell a lot of difference between a $50 pair and a $200 pair. I own a pair of headphones that I use at work that cost less than $30, and have done an excellent job of blocking out noise when I'm trying to focus.

Popcorn maker

Why spend $30 or more on an electric popcorn maker when a microwavable bag does the trick? Unless you're pumping out popcorn like a movie theater, this kitchen gadget is just taking up space in your cupboard.

Digital Camera

Once upon a time, digital cameras were powerful enough to make Kodak film a thing of the past. Now, everyone has high quality camera options on their smartphones, and digital cameras are becoming obsolete. If you really want to take great photos, a digital SLR is the way to go, but for everyday photo-taking, your phone will do just fine.

High tech toys

Do you or your child really need a $450 robotic dinosaur walking around your house bumping into things? Didn't think so.

Read on for more gadgets you should skip.

6 New and Nifty Features of iOS 5

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:43:27 PDT

Alongside Apple's Tuesday unveiling of the iPhone 4S, the new mobile operating system iOS 5 was revealed, which adds 200 new features to compatible Apple devices. Many of the new additions will look familiar to Android users (like the Notification center) or could have been a download from the App Store. Apple's inclusion of the embedded features creates what it considers to be the "world's most advanced mobile operating system." The iOS 5 software will be available on Oct. 12 as a free software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

What's so great about this new operating system? Here are six cool features that will make the upgrade worth your while.

iMessage - Integration of a messaging service in iOS 5 gives all users text message capabilities via WiFi or 3G. Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you can now send unlimited text messages to other devices using iOS 5. It includes group messaging and automated synching across all your iOS devices. Hopefully this will be the end of pricey texting plans.
Notification Center - Android users are already familiar with a similar Notification Center feature, which sends all push notifications into one central location on your device. Any new notification appears as an animation at the top of the screen and can be swiped down for more details. Notification Center even shows up on the lock screen so you're always in the know.

Four more cool features of iOS 5 after the break.

3 Ways to Keep Cell Phone Hackers at Bay

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:40:33 PDT

We protect our house with keys and an alarm system, our banking with passwords and pin numbers, and our computers with spam and virus filters, so why do we leave our cell phones open and exposed? Celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Prince William, and Blake Lively are just a few unlucky victims of cell phone hacking. Since we increasingly put more personal information on our phones, including photos, emails, current location, and finances, you might want to consider downloading these services to protect your cell phone from malicious hackers. See how to protect your phone.