How 3D works

The third dimension is taking over your local cinema. It's assimilating your HDTV. It might even be popping out of your next smartphone.

And yes, it's creeping into PC gaming, too. It's the next big thing and it's 3D.

Of course, if we're talking PC gaming, then the term 3D is a little confusing. On PC Format, we've been soaking up the 3D gaming groove for nearly two decades, but that's 3D graphics painted onto a 2D screen.  read more »

"Watching a movie in 3D is simply a better way to watch a movie. It's like black and white versus colour," said legendary director and producer George Lucas this week, becoming the latest person that I respect to prostrate themselves before the altar of 3D spouting nonsense.  read more »

Iconic director George Lucas has insisted that the best way to watch a film is in 3D, as Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace arrives in 3D cinemas.

Although the first of the prequels is a long (long) way from being the fans' favourite movie, there is still huge excitement at the prospect of seeing some of cinema's most enduring characters in a new way.

With 3D still hugely divisive, many directors have thrown their weight behind the technology including Lucas who insists that it pulls movies on in the same way as colour enhanced the viewing experience.  read more »

The Pirate Bay has begun offering 'physible' downloads through its website – files which have all the digital ingredients to make physical objects.

3D printing may be seen as an expensive hobby at the moment, but the Pirate Bay has seen an opportunity in the market and is now offering digital files for 3D printers through the 3D Printing Section of its site.  read more »

The rumours, leaks and speculation on the Samsung Galaxy S3 are never ending and we've laid eyes on extremely suspicious spy shots from a Chinese website.

The latest shots offer up a handset quite different to what has been talked about thus far. It sports a peculiar S-shaped bend in the 4.6-inch 3D screen which looks to be highly un-ergonomic, but hey maybe it's the future.

It also suggests the 3D screen will use Super AMOLED Plus technology and have a 1280 x 720 resolution. Our question though, how does 3D work on such a ridiculously curved display?  read more »

HTC has developed a fix for a security bug that has seen some HTC Android phones leaving the Wi-Fi passwords of networks they are connected to vulnerable.

Yikes, we hear you cry, for the security glitch allows any Android app on that handset to call up the network's details and send usernames, passwords and SSID information to a remote server.  read more »

Unless you have spent the last few days trying to float your social network for billions of dollars, you're probably looking for something to pique your interest right now.

That's why we've tracked down 10 utterly engrossing stories from the world of tech that may not have made it to full article status but are still worthy in their own little way.  read more »

Nikon has unveiled two superzoom compacts designed with the needs of travel, sports and music concert photography in mind.

Both the Nikon Coolpix S9300 and S6300 offer high-resolution 16MP CMOS sensors, extensive zoom ranges and Full HD shooting.

Coolpix S9300

The 16-megapixel S9300 packs a wide array of features into a camera body that's just 30.6mm at its widest part. Chief of these is the 18x optical zoom, which offers an equivalent focal range of 25-450mm.  read more »

Sony is looking to make massive changes in its loss-making TV sector by introducing passive FPR (Film Patterned Retarder) panels to its television range.

This is according to a report by the Korean Times, which has it on good authority that Sony is looking to LG Display to supply it with 3D panels after its move away from a joint venture with Samsung.  read more »

AMD HD3D technology: what's it all about?

Stereoscopic 3D might not be to everyone's tastes, but it's certainly a lucrative business.

For the past few years Nvidia has enjoyed a virtual stereo 3D monopoly on the PC with its 3D Vision technology, but AMD has belatedly entered the ring with its own technology called HD3D.  read more »