#techbeat

Amazon has jumped on the 3D printing bandwagon by creating its first 3D printing shop!  In the on-demand Amazon shop, products can be purchased, customised, ordered, 3D printed then delivered right to your door.  The shop launched Monday and you can get many items including iPhone cases, home decoration, toys and even a bobble head that looks like you.

But here’s the catch.  Amazon does not do the actual printing.  They have joined forces with 3D printing professionals to start the ball rolling.  Companies like Sculpteo and 3DLT to name a couple, are using  Amazon to sell their own products.

Product photos are available along with grayscale 3D images that you can rotate.  However, the 3D images are jerky and not the best and zooming in or out is not allowed.  Still, you can get the gist of what you are purchasing.

[Image via noisecannon]

SOURCE: http://mashable.com/2014/07/28/amazon-3d-printing-store-2

If you are one of those people who can’t wait to get their hands on anything Apple related before its official release date – and you just so happen to also be a developer – you might appreciate this bit of news, in case you missed the first beta announcement a few weeks ago. Apple has now made available the beta 2 version of their upcoming iOS 8 software.

Apple releasing the beta version(s) of their software before it releases to the public isn’t anything new at all – they do it so developers can get their apps updated before the release, and also so they can help them to pinpoint any bugs or issues with the software.

If You’re Not A Developer…Beware

As Apple noted in their official release of iOS 8 beta 2, the early software is intended specifically for developers, and not for the casual fans who just want to see what the new iOS has to offer. In fact, they even included a warning which states that those who download the software must also belong to the Apple Developer Program – if non-developers install the new iOS, it could cause their phones to stop working.

If you’d like to enroll yourself in Apple’s Developer Program, you can do so here at a cost of $99 a year.

The term Glasshole has been defined as “someone who doesn’t use Google Glass in a socially acceptable manner.” It seems that Google is keen to quash the idea that anyone wearing Glass would be socially unacceptable and therefore has published a list of DO’s and DON’TS for people donning the wearable device.

The tech company put the etiquette guide together after collecting feedback from its hoard of Explorers, who are currently testing Glass. The recommendations make for an entertaining, if not hilarious read, with some suggestions stating the obvious. For example, one of the DO’s says “explore the world around you”, suggesting that you actually look around and use the device rather than stare at the floor!

The DON’TS provide a little more insight into how wearers of Glass have become labelled as ‘glassholes’. The advice from Google includes do not “be creepy or rude”, suggesting that you explain to people what the device does and offering to give them a quick demo.

My personal favourite has to be: do not “Glass-out”, which apparently means not “staring off into the prism for long periods of time” because you will look pretty wierd.

You can check the full list out for yourself here. Share any ideas you might have for some DO’S and DON’TS for Glass wearers.

[Image via Mashable]

SOURCE: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-explains-to-glass-users-how-not-to-be-a-glasshole/

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you could’ve had all of your friends around you right at that very moment to offer you advice? Me neither. Here’s an example: you’re on a blind date and you have no idea what you should talk about, or how you should answer a tricky question – surely friends could be invaluable in that kind of a situation, right? Sadly, we can’t physically carry all of our friends in our pockets to bring out whenever we need a piece of advice. And, even if we could, it might be a little intimidating for your date.

Even though we can’t physically carry them around, we can carry them via our smartphones, and no I am not suggesting that we can text or call them whenever we want to. Thanks to a brand new iOS app called Crowdpilot, all the advice we need is just a button click away. People will either love or hate this app, but regardless of where they stand, it does have some noteworthy and unique features.

The Perfect Advice For Any Situation

For the small cost of free, Crowdpilot will help you get live advice for almost any situation. As you can see in the image above, there are 7 different social situations you can pick. And, just as there are different situations to choose from, you can also choose who you’d like to receive advice from – you can choose your Facebook friends, random people in the public, or, you can even hire someone for $0.99.

Here’s how it works – you pick your audience, your situation, and then you tell everyone what you would like help with, such as: I need help getting to know someone on a first date. Then, all you do is lay your phone on the counter and its microphone will transmit your conversation to everyone you’ve selected to listen in on it. From there, they can send you real pieces of advice in real-time.

While this sounds like a novel idea, it seems like it would require those who use it to constantly check their phone, which would more than likely get annoying to the person across the table from you. Not to mention, who has time to just sit and listen to other people’s conversations all day? One last question – do you let the other person know you’re using the Crowdpilot app or just try to be discreet?

What do you think? Is this worthwhile or just a total waste of time?

[Image via BestTechie]