Ask Gadgetator: 3D on Tablets

Ever had something you wanted an extra opinion on. Or maybe you just want some help getting along in this ever complex world of technology. Here's your chance to Ask Gadgetator. Send any tech related questions to gadgetatorblog@gmail.com, and type "Ask Gadgetator" in the subject line, and your question may be featured in a Ask Gadgetator post.

This question comes from "technologyftw" and deals with 3D on phones and tablets.

Question: What do you think of 3D on the G-Slate? Should tablets move towards head-tracking 3D or the kind of 3D on the Evo 3D and Thrill 4G. -technologyftw

Answer: 3D itself seems sort of gimmicky. It’s great in theaters, and okay on a 50 or 60 inch television. Smaller than that, just doesn't really work well. The most obvious reason that 3D gets better as it the picture gets bigger, is because 3D really needs to fill your field of view.

In real life, your entire vision is seen in 3D. This seems natural. Once you get it down even to a theater size, It seems less natural, because the 3D you are seeing onscreen is different that the 3D that the chair in front of you is. “Artificial 3D” is more 3D seeming than what you see in real life. Therefore the sudden change from artificial to natural 3D can look unnatural.

Television 3D is worse. With a theater, at least it fills up the majority of your field of view. With a TV, it only fills up a small part of your field of view, so the transition between artificial and natural 3D is less natural looking.

Once you get down to the 3 or 4 inch screens on a phone, or even the 9 or 10 inch screens on a tablet, the 3D just won’t look as good. It barely fills your field of view, and therefore just doesn’t look natural.

Movie theaters, 3D is good, TV’s, it’s okay, but on a phone or tablet, 3D is just a gimmick to make you buy the product.

My answer to your question is that tablets should not move towards head tracking or any other kind of 3D, and should stick with the good old two dimensions that we have grown to know and love.

Mac OS X Lion is Out: How to Get It

Click here to see why you'd even want Mac OS X Lion.

After many rumors, Mac OS X Lion, Apple's latest edition of their Mac operating system, is finally out. And if you have a Mac computer of any kind, you probably want to upgrade to the newer, better OS. The good thing is, it's never been easier. Or cheaper. Unlike previous versions of Mac OS X, Lion is only a $29.99 download, and you basically get licenses for as many computers as you want.

Firstly, you must make sure that your Mac is compatible with Lion. To do this, click on the small Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen, a menu will come down, and select "About This Mac". A box will appear. Look under the "Software Update" button where it says "Processor". If the processor you have is a Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon, then your Mac is ready to Lion it up. Almost.

About This Mac

Next, while staying on that same About This Mac screen, is to check if your operating system is ready to upgrade. Immediately above the "Software Update" button it will show a version number. If your version is 10.6.8, you can skip to the next paragraph, if not, read on. If the version number is starts in 10.6. but is not 10.6.8, click the "Software Update" button below. This will update your Mac to the latest version of OS X Snow Leopard. If your version number starts with anything besides for 10.6, you have to get Snow Leopard, (Version 10.6) by buying it for $29.99 here. Once you've upgraded to Snow Leopard, you are ready to go.

Click here to open up the Mac OS X Lion page, and click "View in App Store". If you are running the latest version of Snow Leopard, that should bring up the Mac App Store, in which you can simply click "Buy". Mac OS X Lion is a pretty large download, so it could take a few hours, or even more. When done downloading, follow the instructions shown on the screen, which should be pretty straightforward. When you are done, you'll have Lion.

Hoped you enjoy. Any problems with the install? Have any other questions? Pop me a comment below, and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Amazon Announces Kindle Textbook Rentals

One of the major things that is keeping students around the world paper-free, is the fact that textbooks just aren't available on electronic devices. Well, weren't. Amazon, the creator of the popular Kindle eReader device, announced today that they would be launching a textbook rental service, and claims that students can save up to 80% on their textbooks.

"Today, Amazon.com announced the launch of Kindle Textbook Rental," Said the Amazon.com press release, "Now students can save up to 80% off textbook list prices by renting from the Kindle Store. Tens of thousands of textbooks are available for the 2011 school year from leading textbook publishers such as John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Students can find details about the program at www.amazon.com/kindletextbooks"

The Kindle textbooks can be rented anywhere from 30 to 360 days, so students really have flexibility. Also, like other Kindle books, these are, as Amazon.com calls it, "Rent once, read anywhere". This means that you can read a Kindle textbook on, of course, the Kindle device, as well as the Kindle app for iPhone, Android, and even for the Mac and PC.

This seems extremely convenient, however, although Amazon is claiming prices up to 80% than hardcover books, that is not countering in the fact that many people can sell used textbooks after using them, and earn back a percentage of what they paid originally.

Do you think it's worth the convenience to lose the reselling value? Are you going to be using this new Kindle feature? Let me know by simply commenting below. Thank you.

5 iPhone Apps you Need: App 5

This is the last post in a series of five. Read the fourth post here.

I don't have to go over it again. But I will. So you're managing your money, cooking, listening to music, and traveling to the Chumbe Islands, now that you've done all this, you probably want to sit down and relax. And share pictures of your new-found stacks of money, your beautiful onion soup, you dancing around to that new band you just found out about, and of course, the wonderful vacation you just had. There's an app for that.

Instagram, recommended by my friend AJ Goren of TechLand, is available, for free, from Instagram.com. Instagram allows you to take photos with your iPhone or iPod touch's camera, and, after putting the photo through one of the many vintage filters, post it for all to see.

Instagram is not only a way for you to share photos, it's also a great way to find beautiful photos that others have taken, either by following a specific person, or by just browsing the popular section. You can also easily export your photos to Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter.

One of the biggest parts of Instagram is the filters. Although you can keep a photo "normal" there are also many filters that make the photo look like it was taken before today's technology existed.

You can download Instagram at Instagram.com, or directly from the AppStore. I hope you enjoy Instagram, and I hope you enjoyed this entire five part series.

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5 iPhone Apps you Need: App 4

This is the fourth post in a series of five. Look out for the fifth on Thursday, July 14th. Read the third post here.

Now that you're cooking, managing your budget, and listening to music all at the same time, it's time you took a break and traveled to Chumbe Island in Zanzibar (Where else?). Now, when someone goes to Chumbe Islands, they want to do it right. The right flights, the right hotels, and the right rental cars. All at the right price. Kayak is here to help.

From Kayak.com, this free app allows you to look for hotels, flights, rental cars, as well as keep track of your trip with their My Trips feature, although some features require a free Kayak.com account.

When you first launch the app, you see a list off features to take advantage of. You can look for hotels, flights, and rental cars, as well as look at your planned trip agenda (which you set by emailing your booking conformations to Kayak). You can also track flight times, get price alerts on rates, and call airlines directly from the airline directory.

Although Kayak does not do the booking itself, it allows you to book a hotel, flight, or rental car either directly from the company, or through a few booking services.

If you're traveling anytime soon (even if it's not to Chumbe Islands), you might want to check out Kayak. It's free, and you can learn about it from Kayak.com, or download it directly from the AppStore. Free's always good, so check it out.

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5 iPhone Apps you Need: App 3

This is the third post in a series of five. Look out for more every Tuesday and Thursday. Read the second post here.

So, in this series we have dealt with money management, as well as cooking. Now we're heading on to something less important in everyday life, but still something done by most people in the world, and that is listening to music. There are thousands of apps in the AppStore that are designed for doing just that. Some are paid services, some you just pay for the app, and some are completely free. This one app, called Pandora, is available for free from Pandora.com, and is one of the best apps dedicated to listening to music.

Pandora allows you to type in a song, an artist, or a genre, and it will automatically create a "radio station" based on what you entered. The station might play the song you entered first, and then go on to something of a similar style, or something by the same artist, every song has a thumbs up or thumbs down button, and Pandora will learn, as you go along, what kind of music you like.

Pandora has a clean and simple interface, one that looks very iOS-like. However, the only negative of Pandora is the ads. Advertisements appear when you open a station. Audio ads also come up every few songs played. If the ads really bother you, you can sign up for a premium account, and completely eliminate the ads.

Pandora is a great, free way to listen to music, and discover new artists and tracks too. If you aren't already using it, no better time to start. It can be downloaded from the Apple AppStore. You can also find out more at its website.

There are two more posts to this series, that's two more apps, any of which can be your suggestion. Leave a comment below telling me about your favorite iPhone App, and it might make it to the next post in this series. Plus, if you leave your name, and any website you want me to plug, I'll put it in in the post. Comment below!


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5 iPhone Apps you Need: App 2

This is the second post in a series of five. Look out for more every Tuesday and Thursday. Read the first post here.

Search on Epicurious

The first app was one that helped you with your finances, something that really applies to everyone. This app will also help you with something you can't avoid: eating. Of course you could eat in some restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and supper every day, but if you want to go the cheaper route, you've gotta cook. This free app from Epicurious.com will help you do just that.

I find it really fun to stop once in a while and cook. And for that you need recipes. And for that you need Epicurious. Epicurious.com has been around for a while, and packs in thousands of recipes, as well as articles, cooking videos, and user polls. The Epicurious app only deals with the recipes, but it does it well. Very, very well. The Epicurious app allows you to look for recipes by many categories, including the basics: lunches, dinners, and sides, but there are also some sometimes more useful categories, including I Cook like a Pro, I can Barely Cook, and Quick and Easy. 


Another cool feature is the advanced search option, where you start off choosing a main ingredient from a list of many options, listed in alphabetical order. You can then choose a meal or course, a cuisine, dish type, season or occasion, and even dietary consideration. All of this is presented in a beautiful and intuitive way, and is really fun and easy to use.

Epicurious is available at it's homepage, as well as on the iTunes AppStore. Thanks for reading, I have to go check on my Devil's Food Cake.

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Amazon.com Offering Buy One, Get One Free Video Games

It's July 4th. Independence day. You are probably grilling some burgers outside, getting ready for a party, or planning to see some wonderful fireworks tonight. Although that's all good and fun, when it's done, some of you might just want to curl up with a good first-person shooter. Amazon.com, the widely popular online marketplace, wants to help you out.

From today, July 4th, 2011, until Saturday, July 9th, Amazon.com is offering a list of games and and gaming accessories which are all available on a buy one get one free basis. The special deal doesn't apply to every video game on Amazon, but there is a nice selection of around 270 games and gaming accessories to choose from.

To take advantage of this deal, just put two of the select items in your cart. The deal will be applied at one off the last stages in the checkout process, and will deduct the price of the less expensive item from the total price.

This is a great deal, and although not everything in the list of 270 or so items is something you'd actually want, you're sure to find a charm (or two) in there somewhere, and who doesn't like free? Make sure to go to the Amazon video game page by the end of this week, and catch this Independence day deal. Happy 4th!


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Gmail gets New Look, How you can get it Too

It seems that Gmail, Google's free email service, is taking on the new look that Google.com got recently. It seems that this new red/grey look that Google.com, Google Maps, Google Calendar, and now Gmail, are all getting, is in celebration of Google's newly announced social network, Google+ (Google Plus).

Although Google+ is in an invite only stage, it is not a secretive project, and so we do know that Plus was the first service to receive the new Google look, so we can assume that Plus was the origin of the new theme.

So know that you know why Gmail looks different, you probably are wondering why it doesn't look different. Any change can scare users, so, at least for now, the new Gmail theme is a choice. In my opinion, a good choice, which is why I'm going to give you the simple steps to make this choice.

1. Log on to your Gmail account at mail.google.com. 
2. Look in the top right corner of the screen, where you will see a gear logo. Click on that.
3. A few options will come down. Click on Mail settings. 
4. A settings page with many tabs will appear, close to the right of the page, you will see Themes. Click on that.
5. The bottom row of themes will have Preview and Preview (Dense) in them. Dense is more compact, but both of them will give you the new look. Choose one, and click.
6. Viola! You are now seeing the Gmail's new look. Enjoy!

(To undo, follow these same steps, but instead of clicking on Preview or Preview (Dense), choose another theme.)

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