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Want Glasses-Free 3D on Your iPad 2?

Cody Lee ∙ April 11, 2011

We've shown you some pretty sweet iPad 2 hacks recently, but this one takes the cake. A couple of guys from the EHCI Research Group have managed to create basic 3D graphics on the iPad 2, using the front facing camera. Confused yet?

The technology is called head tracking, and has become fairly common verbiage among tech websites. Essentially your head movements can be captured and turned into commands for applications or controls for games.

These guys obviously didn't get the memo. They have decided to use head tracking to present 3D graphics on Apple's latest tablet. Their software uses the front facing camera to judge your position in relation to the iPad, and then it manipulates the graphics accordingly.

We track the head of the user with the front facing camera in order to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. Such spatially-aware mobile display enables to improve the possibilities of interaction. It does not use the accelerometers and relies only on the front camera.

Still not impressed? You've got to check out the video below. Although many critics have brushed 3D technology off like a passing trend, companies like Nintendo are starting to take it seriously. But do we really need it in the iPad? If nothing else, this has to be one of the coolest non-jailbreak hacks I've seen.

It's currently just a tech demo, and has yet to be decided if/how it would be implemented in user software.

Would you want 3D graphics for your iPad 2?

[macstories]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQQEcfkHoE

Rumor: iPhone 5 Production Won’t Start Until September

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

The latest in iPhone 5 rumors claims that Apple won't be starting mass production of the iPhone 5 until September, which corroborates previous reports that Apple won't be unveiling the device at WWDC this summer.

If production doesn't start until September, Apple could be waiting to unveil and announce ship dates for the next gen iPhone at their annual September event. Although iOS 5 will be previewed this summer, there could be an official launch of Apple's new software alongside an iPhone 5 announcement later this year...

iOS 4.3.2 Scheduled to Drop in the Next Week

Alex Heath ∙ April 11, 2011

iOS 4.3.1 has been out for less than a month, and Apple is already planning on releasing 4.3.2 in the coming week. According to BGR, iOS 4.3.2 will address minor bugs and several issues concerning the iPad.

The folks at BGR have already gotten their hands on 4.3.2, and they claim that Apple will push the update for all iDevices in the next seven days...

Amazon Running iPhone 5 Advertisements

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 11, 2011

I'm all for planning a good strategy, being proactive, and all of those other productivity buzzwords.

But when a product hasn't even been announced, let alone released, I think advertising an unannounced product that you had no hand in creating might be going too far.

That's the circumstance that Amazon finds themselves in right now, because if you perform a Google search for "iPhone 5" it'll return iPhone 5 advertisements that point to Amazon.

So what exactly happens when you click the link? Where does it take you?

The GeoHot Versus Sony Shenanigans Are Over as George Hotz Settles With Sony

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 11, 2011

Well, that didn't exactly resemble a grand finale at a fireworks show, but it provided some good water cooler discussion during its peak.

The George Hotz aka GeoHot Versus Sony litigation is done. It's over folks, it's time to take your ball and go home.

This afternoon, Sony -- no doubt grinning ear to ear from their "win" -- posted an update on their blog that outlined some of the settlement terms...

Will We See Carbon Fiber on Future iDevices?

Cody Lee ∙ April 11, 2011

Apple made some big splashes with their all aluminum MacBook designs a couple of years ago. The original iPhone was even covered in the popular metal. It appears that aluminum is so 2007, as reports are circulating this morning that Apple is looking to go carbon fiber.

It's certainly not anything new, Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with carbon-fiber enclosures for quite some time. Back in 2010, Apple won a patent on improved composite materials that hinted that they were researching the use of carbon-fiber composites in electronic devices. Could we see the light weight material in future Apple products?

iOS 4.3.2 Update Should Fix Verizon iPad 2 3G Problems

Cody Lee ∙ April 11, 2011

We reported a few days ago on a developing story about the Verizon iPad 2. It seemed as though some iPad models, with the Verizon 3G service built in, have been having issues connecting to Verizon's network.

If you are one of the ones suffering from the problematic tablet, perk up. Popular tech site BGR has gotten their hands on the latest version of iOS, and has some great news for Verizon iPad users.

One of our Apple sources has just let us know that Apple's iOS 4.3.2, due within the next week or so, will fix the issues we've been hearing about with some Verizon iPad 2 models.

The site goes on to say that the new update should also fix a couple of FaceTime and WebKit vulnerabilities. But the good news is, it sounds like a fix is on the way for all of the folks struggling with 3G connectivity woes.

What I'm wondering is if an iPad 2 jailbreak is on the way, will Comex and participating parties wait until after 4.3.2 goes live before releasing anything?

If you remember Comex had previously found an exploit for the iPad 2, but the glitch was patched by Apple in the iOS 4.3.1 update. We will let you know as soon as we have more information.

Hopefully this doesn't delay the iPad 2 jailbreak anymore than it already is, what do you think?

Apple Needs to Make an iOS Password Manager

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Let's be honest, passwords are a pain to remember. Once you start racking up multiple online accounts, it can be difficult to keep track of all your logins.

There are several apps out there that act as password managers. iPassword takes things a step farther by acting as a virtual wallet and storehouse for any and all of your private information.

iOS has needed its own password manager for a long time, and hopefully we'll see a system "Keychain" in iOS 5...

Steve Jobs Authorized Biography Will Release in Early 2012

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

iSteve: The Book of Jobs is an upcoming biography of perhaps one of the most eccentric figures to ever come along in the technology sphere.

Sure, there have been plenty of behind the scenes biographies in the past -- some of the good, and some of them utter rubbish -- but this is an authorized biography of a man that's known for enjoying his privacy.

What convinced Jobs to go through with the book deal? It probably has a lot to do with the man who is penning the words on paper, Walter Isaacson...

Troubleshooting Cydia: Problems with Broken Repos

Alex Heath ∙ April 11, 2011

I had a scary experience last night. As I was searching for a certain tweak in Cydia, I noticed that I wasn't getting the results I was looking for. So I searched for a few more apps and tweaks, and I kept getting no results. I thought about it for a minute, and then realized that every item I had searched for was from the BigBoss repo.

I've recently upgraded to the iOS 4.3.1 jailbreak, and I haven't gotten to play around with my main iPhone setup that much yet.

To my surprise, the BigBoss repo was broken in Cydia. BigBoss is a pre-installed repo in Cydia, so it's very odd that it wasn't working. The good news is that there's a way to re-add default Cydia repos without re-jailbreaking the iPhone...

MobType – An Interesting Take on the iPhone Keyboard

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Yesterday we ran a story about the state of Apple's current text input technology in iOS. While their keyboard is extremely popular, consumers lack any alternative method of text input. Though there currently doesn't appear to be any App Store solution at the moment (pending ShapeWriter return), jailbreakers do have an alternative.

That's why we jailbreak our iDevices, right? To have other options besides what Apple deems appropriate for their hardware? Anyways if you're sporting a hacked iPhone or iPod touch and have been looking for something different than the typical boring keyboard, you might want to check out MobType...