5apps
Latest
Five apps to help you manage your essential spring activities
Days are getting longer, temperatures are rising and spring is finally in the air. Here are several iOS apps to help you handle the major activities of the season including spring planting, spring fever, spring cleaning, spring vacation and the dreaded spring allergies. Garden Tracker - Bumper Crop (iPad, $3.99) Garden Tracker is an iPad planner for your backyard garden that'll let you record the location of the plants that you planted. If you don't have a green thumb, you can choose to grow your own virtual flowers and send them as a bouquet using the Flower Garden app from Snappy Touch. Chimani's National Parks (iOS Universal, Free) The Chimani's National Parks app provides you with a ton of information on National Parks, monuments, battlefields and other historic sites in the US. There's also a passport feature that lets you track the National Park system places that you visit. An optional news add-on ($1.99 IAP) will give you daily park traveler news, which could be helpful when you have spring fever and want to get some serious outside time. If you are looking for a place to stay, then check out this Camp & RV accommodation guide from Allstays. HomeRoutines (iOS Universal, $4.99) HomeRoutines is a housecleaning task manager that lets you schedule your common household chores. You can group tasks according to how often you do them (daily, weekly, monthly) or by zones within your house. A new seasons feature lets you set aside jobs that are suitable for spring cleaning. It's a flexible manager that can be adapted to work with popular cleaning routines like FlyLady or Organized Home. Tripomatic Trip Planning (iPhone, Free) Tripomatic is a travel guide app with information on more than 30,000 attractions worldwide. The app lets you plan out your trip and receive information about attractions that are on your route. Tripomatic also has an offline component so you can make changes to your itinerary while offline and sync the changes when you hop back online. The Pill Book (iPhone, $3.99) The Pill Book is one of the most popular consumer-focused drug guides in the United States. Now available for your iPhone, the app allows you to track medications for multiple family members, setup reminders for your medications, and browse through a wealth of drug information. It's a perfect reference for spring allergy sufferers looking for some medicinal relief from their seasonal symptoms.
Five apps to follow college basketball during the NCAA March Madness tournament
March is the month that college basketball takes center stage for sports fans. The NCAA selects its finest Division I teams and they battle it out until one team takes the title. It's an adventure if you can stay glued to your TV, but most of us have other commitments that take us away from the action. Folks with an iPhone or iPad can still keep up with games in their spare time thanks to a variety of sports and March Madness apps in the iOS App Store. Apps like BuddyTV and Grokr have been updated to support the March Madness tournament and will help you keep up to date with the game schedule on TV and the results of each game. There are also a handful of dedicated sports apps that'll let you watch the action live on your device, track the winners and losers in each bracket and more (all prices are USD). PocketBracket, iPhone, $0.99 PocketBracket is a March Madness app to create brackets that are scored and ranked throughout the tournament. You can also create public or private pools for people to join. To keep track of the tournament, PocketBracket has game schedules, scores and other stats. March Madness Live, iOS Universal, Free This is the official app to watch the March Madness games live on your iOS device. Unlike previous years where you could pay a fee to watch the games, the 2013 version of the app is tied to your cable TV account. Sportsfans, iPhone, $0.99 Sportsfans is a social location app that lets you find local sporting events, sports bars and tailgating parties. It's not specific to March Madness, but it will let you find March Madness tournament parties. theScore, iOS Universal, Free theScore is your go-to app for keeping track of March Madness scores. With a focus on alerts, the app lets you know when a game begins, when it ends and gives you the halftime score. It also alerts you when there is an upset in progress so you can jump on and catch the action. Thuuz iPhone, free Thuuz is an app that tracks the hottest sporting events and alerts you as they are happening. The sports feed in the app shows the latest scores, the best games and your friends statuses. You can tap on a game and see the score and all the stats.
Five apps for business card scanning
Persistent critters, those little analog cardboard rectangles. Even with the option to scan QR Codes, email vCards or bump phones to swap contact information, the venerable business card keeps on trucking -- and keeps on making it challenging to leap from analog to digital information. If your career or avocation takes you to meetings, trade shows or conferences, chances are you too have a pile of to-be-dealt-with business cards that could stand a good digital shakedown. Here's our five apps rundown of a few good choices for handling business card scanning on the go. SHAPE's Business Card Reader: Last year, we noted that the US$4.99 Business Card Reader expanded its offerings with an iPad version of the app. BCR delivers capable scanning and OCR (using libraries licensed from high-end scanning developer ABBYY, which has its own app suite as well), with a good verification step to make sure that the recognition is matching the actual card data. BCR can quickly export scanned data to your device address book, match LinkedIn connections, and in the latest version it hooks directly into the CRM tools of Salesforce.com for marketing and sales pros. Evernote Hello: I wasn't all that taken with the first version of Evernote's free meet-and-manage contact app; it was buggy, and it seemed awkward to ask a new acquaintance "Mind if I take your picture so I remember you?" Things have definitely changed for the better with January's version 2 release. In addition to manual entry and Hello-to-Hello audio contact sharing (very cool, I recommend giving it a try), the beautifully designed app now supports business card scanning -- temporarily free for both regular and premium Evernote users, although at some point down the road the regular user scan allowance may be curtailed or changed to IAP. Evernote's expertise with text recognition and knowledge of the iPhone's camera capabilities seems to have paid off, as Hello is now delivering some of the best and quickest scan results I've seen. My favorite feature is the heads-up display that automatically detects the card and gives you instant feedback on getting the best image ("use a shallower angle," "center the card," "hold the phone steady," etc.); as soon as Hello thinks it's got the shot, it captures the scan automatically. If it can't auto-detect, it falls back to manual mode, but most of the time with a light card on a dark background it nails it in one try. Within a few seconds, the data is detected, and if you're signed into LinkedIn via Hello, the card will be matched with that contact immediately. Hello also links a "meeting" note to give context to the encounter, rather than leaving a bare contact without metadata. Some minor quibbles aside (you can't edit the Hello notes in either the desktop or iOS versions of the regular Evernote app, for one), Hello is a winner. Without a firm date or pricing for the end of the free scan trial for non-premium Evernote users, my recommendation is to use it while you can. LinkedIn's CardMunch: With more than 2 million cards processed already, the free scanning app from your friendly neighborhood social network for professional use has simplicity and volume on its side. Assuming you already use LinkedIn's connection ecosystem, CardMunch's scanning speed and off-device processing make it great for dealing with a lot of cards in batch mode, and you can make notes on each scan before it's recognized on the back end. Of course, the trade-off of the cloud processing step is that you can't easily OCR cards on the plane on the way home without forking over for some WiFi. Also, checking for errors is a two-step process since the scan and the data return are a few minutes apart -- but CardMunch tends to make fewer mistakes than other apps, so that's not a big drawback. WorldCard Mobile: When I last checked out the $6.99 WCM app a year ago, it stood up well against competitors like CardMunch and BCR. Since then, the app has added QR Code scanning with support for both vCard and meCard formats, iOS 6 compatibility, support for double-sided cards, batch scanning, duplicate search and direct synchronization with Google contacts. WCM's interface is still in need of some redesign TLC, but for rapid and accurate scanning, it's a good choice. Note that WCM also requires you to tap a small button on the screen to take a card photo, while other apps let you tap the whole screen or auto-detect the card (Evernote Hello). NeatCloud and NeatMobile: If you're in the habit of keeping all your print-to-digital documents in the Neat ecosystem driven by one of the company's desktop scanners, you're already comfortable with the OCR and filing capabilities of the platform. What's new is that Neat is extending your scanned repository into the cloud and onto your iPhone, with the NeatMobile / NeatCloud combination app and service. NeatCloud gives you on-the-road access to your scanned docs, and in turn the NeatMobile app allows you to scan back to that pile of data from wherever you happen to be. This sync isn't a free service, however; monthly plans start at $5.99 for individual users. As such, the mobile app doesn't worry much about handling address book sync or other standalone features; the workflow is that you'll do that processing back on your Mac or PC with the downloaded scans. Neat's app does a solid job of scanning business cards in standalone mode, but for true accuracy with a human touch the optional NeatVerify pass submits your scan for a once-over by a person to make sure everything is in the right place. NeatVerify credits are linked to your NeatCloud account.
Thanking the Academy: Five Apps for the 2013 Oscars
If you're eagerly awaiting the 85th Academy Awards airing this Sunday on ABC, you may find one of these five apps useful before and during the show -- and all of them are free. Good luck to the nominees! Oscars The official app for the event. It's pretty much a US-only affair, and isn't perfect, but it's a handy way to learn more about the nominated performers, creators and films. You can also fill out a virtual Oscar ballot and share it on Facebook. I found it was a somewhat better experience than the mobile version of oscar.go.com (which pushes you to download the app anyway). Of course, the app really kicks into gear on Sunday night; it will provide Backstage Pass live streams from the red carpet, control room and backstage to deliver a "second screen" experience as you watch the big show. Fair warning: the streams are all sponsored by Samsung, so you may be subjected to a certain amount of iPhone-needling. Stitcher The streaming radio service has been amping up the original content lately, and it is now promising exclusive red carpet coverage on Sunday. If you haven't tried Stitcher and you want a different take on the show, this Sunday is a good time to give it a try. Live From the Red Carpet Speaking of red carpet coverage, E! has been at it for a long time. While I haven't used this one, the app has a perfect rating on the store. If you are a red carpet junkie, this is probably going to make you happy until the show starts. Awards Hero: Oscars Edition Awards Hero is not just a database of Oscar-related info; it's also a quick way to get a voting pool going with your Facebook friends. If you're looking for some friendly competition over who picks the most winners, this is your app. IMDb As the world's foremost online repository of movie information, this one seems pretty obvious. Settle disputes, look up actor histories and lots more with the original "Internet Movie Database." Awards Guide is prettier, however.
Five apps filled with fun facts about US presidents
Learn more about the presidents of the United States on President's Day with these five educational and enjoyable apps. America's Presidents [iPad, US$4.99] A guide to the presidents that walks you through the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The app has a lot of wonderful art as well as some history. Presidents vs. Aliens [iOS Universal, $0.99 and OS X, $1.99] Presidents vs. Aliens is a fun game designed to increase your knowledge of presidential history. Answer questions and earn powers to defeat the incoming aliens. Each level unlocks another president until you've collected all 44. Made by the developer of the popular Stack the States geography app. An OS X version is available in the Mac App Store. If you are looking for a presidential game that's more fun than factual, then check out Uncle Slam and let your presidents do some boxing. The White House [iOS Universal, Free] Use the official White House app to stay apprised of current news. You can use it watch live streams of presidential events and browse through photo and video archives. Presidents Revealed [iOS Universal, $1.99] Learn quirky facts about our presidents in a "who did it" type of narrative. Great illustrations and an abbreviated audio version make this a stand-out app. Britannica Kids: US Presidents [iOS Universal, $0.99] Meet and greet the 44 US presidents in this app designed for kids. Includes presidential profiles, a rendition of "Hail To The Chief" and interesting facts on presidential places like Camp David. If you prefer a similar app that's less like an encyclopedia, then check out Disney American Presidents.
Five apps for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is only a few days away, so now is the time to grab a box of chocolates and secure a bouquet of roses for your loved ones. For a special twist on this holiday, check out our list of Valentine's Day apps that'll help you share your love both today and each day going forward. Lovendar [iPhone, US$1.99] Lovendar is a private list-sharing app that lets you share your thoughts, date ideas, gift list and more with only your significant other. Use it to be as routine or as racy as you want. M.A.S.H. Valentine [iOS Universal, Free] The classic MASH (mansion, apartment, shack, house) game is now on your iOS device with this special Valentine's Day edition. See who you will date on Valentine's Day, where you will go and how the night will turn out. You can also check out the original version that predicts who you will marry, where you will live and how many kids you will have. Twist [iPhone, Free] Twist tracks your location and lets your family and friends know when you will arrive at your destination. Don't leave your loved one alone at a restaurant, waiting and wondering where you are -- use Twist to let your date know that you will be a few minutes late. Minus [iPhone, Free] Minus is a new social networking app that lets you meet, greet and share photos with other people near you. It includes unlimited photo sharing, texting and messaging. To deter stalking, Minus only grabs your location data when you open the app and doesn't share your exact location. Rebtel Re:Beat [iPhone, Free] Why give chocolate hearts when you can give someone a personalized recording of your own heartbeat? Rebtel Re:Beat lets you record your heartbeat as a message that you can share on Twiter, Facebook or via email. It is definitely for the person looking to give something out of the ordinary.
5 apps for Super Bowl Sunday
It's Super Bowl weekend, so bring on the football, food and fun. Like most people, you likely will watch the game with snacks in one hand and your iPhone or iPad in the other. You probably already have the official NFL apps on your phone and your Zite football news all setup. So here are five additional apps to help you prepare your Super Bowl snacks and enjoy your Sunday night reveling in front of the TV. Football Party Game [iOS Universal, $4.99] Football Party Game is a trivia game that you play with the guests at your Super Bowl party. Each person answers a series of questions as the game goes on and is awarded points for each correct answer. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins! Foodie Recipes [iPad, Free] Foodie Recipes is a recipe app that offers cookbooks filled with seasonal recipes. Recipes are handpicked by the Foodie bloggers and editors. The latest version adds 40 new recipes like baked pizza dip and chili con queso that'll liven any game day parties. Super Ads: Super Bowl Commercials [iOS Universal, $1.99] Watch more than 200 Super Bowl commercials on your iPhone or iPad. Share your favorite ads via email, Facebook and Twitter. Football Squares [iOS Universal, $0.99] Who doesn't enjoy the competition of a football pool on Super Bowl Sunday? Use the Football Squares app to invite your friends to make their picks for the big game and see who comes out on top. Sportsmanias [iPhone, Free] Sportsmanias is a relative newcomer that combines sports news, team information and tweets from the top sports journalists.
Five apps to add style, substance and snapshots to your social endeavors
Are your social profiles too numerous to count? Do you get caught up reading other people's status updates for hours? Would you shudder if you couldn't post to Facebook or Twitter? If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then you need to check out our five socially oriented apps below. Tweetfier [OS X, US$1.99] Tweetifier is a simple OS X app that keeps track of your mentions and followers on Twitter. It's meant for users who want to keep track of conversations without having to launch a full Twitter client. Whims [iPhone, Free] Add some flair to your status updates, posts, texts and messages with Whims. The tool includes a variety of beautiful fonts so your style can shine through your words. Stitch It! [iPhone, $0.99] Stitch It! is a screenshot stitcher app that lets you compile your text messages into one seamless image. Capture your entire conversation and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or your blog. PicIT24 [iPhone, Free] PicIT24 is for the social sharer who wants to make the most of their post. The app limits you to one update per day, so you can really capture the heart of the moment and not just spew drivel all day. Friend Check [iPhone, $0.99] Friend Check lets you track new friends and see which friends no longer follow you. Besides the day-to-day stats, Friend Check also provides snapshots so you can look back at your relationships at a certain point in time and reminisce about that time.
Five apps to keep you happy and healthy this year
Struggling to keep those New Year's resolutions to stay fit and eat nutritional foods? Find some new inspiration to stay happy and healthy with one of these five iOS apps below. Juice (iPhone, Free) Juice is a daily energy and activity tracker that lets you enter your daily routine so you can see which behaviors are draining your energy. Healthy Out (iPhone, Free) Whether you're looking for low carb meals or vegetarian dishes, Healthy Out will help you find local restaurants that meet your dietary needs or nutritional preferences. Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson (iPhone, US$2.99) Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson uses meditation to help you relax and get to sleep. Great for insomnia. This is one of many apps in the Andrew Johnson series that'll help you relax and decrease stress in your life. Spinning Indoor Cycling & Heart Rate Training (iOS Universal, Free) Spinning lets you track your spinning cycling workouts and other cardio activities. Gorilla Workout (iOS Universal, $0.99) Gorilla Workout is a daily workout app with detailed exercises and accompanying videos to help you to perform each move with the maximum burn. Once you complete a regimen you can share your results on Facebook or Twitter.
5 Apps: The best camera apps for blind and visually impaired iPhone users
After yesterday's post showing Tommy Edison's video demo of Instagram from a blind user's perspective, we thought it would be helpful to check with an expert and get some suggestions on other camera-centric apps for blind iPhone users. Today's 5 Apps guest post is from Chancey Fleet, an adaptive technology instructor at Jewish Guild Healthcare. -- Ed. With the right apps, the iPhone's camera solves a slew of problems that blind people have traditionally relied on bulky, single-use devices to handle. For the vexatious wad of unidentified cash in a pocket, purse or wallet, there's LookTel MoneyReader. This US$9.99 app uses object-recognition technology and the iPhone's bright LED flash to recognize currency almost instantaneously, even in low light or in a moving car. MoneyReader is savvy enough to recognize several different countries' bills, including the US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. Object recognition is also at the core of OMoby, which is designed as a visual search engine for products. This app excels at identifying tiny, identical-feeling toiletries; sugar packets; and, if you get your hand in the frame, "hand." OMoby is a free app, serving as a technology demo for the IQ Engines "visual intelligence" search API for developers. Any blind person will tell you that rumors about the death of hard-copy print are exaggerated: from restaurant checks to office memos, there's still plenty. Blindsight's TextDetective captures document images and turns them into plain text, which can be read with Voiceover using speech output or Braille. The process takes only seconds and provides great results if you have a clearly printed document, good lighting conditions and a steady hand. (The first "reading machine," created in 1976 by legendary inventor and new Google staffer Ray Kurzweil, cost $50,000 and weighed 350 pounds. TextDetective costs $9.99. iPhone not included.) Although several apps are purported to identify colors, they do a mediocre job compared to standalone devices like the ColorTest, which occlude all light around the object being tested, report patterns by playing fluctuating tones and recognize hundreds of shades. Trying to sort laundry? Digit-Eyes updates the classic strategy of labeling clothes. Traditionalists do this with anything from safety pins to metal Braille tags: Nancy Miracle, Digit-Eyes's designer, suggests you do it with washable bar codes, which cue the Digit-Eyes app to play back an audio recording or text note you've made that corresponds to the specific code for each item. The $19.99 Digit-Eyes app also looks up commercial bar code information, complete with package directions and nutrition facts; it also allows a user to print QR codes with embedded text. For blind workers who need a serious tool for fast and accurate inventory management, Ms. Miracle has helpfully reviewed two Bluetooth laser scanners from Serial-IO that read bar codes more quickly and in more diverse lighting conditions than does the iPhone camera. [We reviewed Digit-Eyes on TUAW in 2010. –Ed.] No matter how much technology you have, it's a fact of life: sometimes, you just need to borrow a pair of functioning eyeballs. VizWiz can help with that. Simply take a photo, type or speak a question, and a web volunteer will get back to you -- usually within minutes -- with an answer. You can also opt to post your picture and question to Facebook, if you dare. You can read more about Chancey and her experience of navigating New York City in this feature story on WNYC.
Five apps for the last-minute holiday shopper
Holiday shoppers, your time is almost up! There are only a few days left until deliveries cease and the stores shut down for Christmas. Here are five apps to make this last-minute shopping frenzy a little easier on you and your wallet. Clutch (iPhone, Category: Lifestyle, Free) Clutch is your one-stop shopping app for the remaining people on your gift list. You can add people to your gift-giving list and then use the daily deals, price comparison tool or coupons to save money. You can even buy a gift from within the app and have it delivered directly to your loved one's doorstep. ReturnGuru (iPhone, Category: Productivity, Free) ReturnGuru lets you enter receipts on your phone and track their return dates. The app supports physical and digital receipts, so you can keep track of almost every item you buy. The app will alert you when the return period is about to expire. Parking Meter Pro (iPhone, Category: Utilities, Free) Parking Meter Pro will help you navigate a busy shopping mall and its parking garages. The app marks the spot where you parked and lets you add either a picture or a note to help you remember your location. You can also set a timer, if you are paying for your time parking at the mall. Point Inside Shopping & Travel (iPhone, Category: Navigation, Free) Point Inside is your personal navigator when you are inside the mall. The app includes complete directories and interactive indoor maps of over 1,250 malls across North America. There are also location-aware offers, deals and coupons that'll help you save money while you shop. DropGifts (iPhone, Category: Social Networking, Free) Gift cards are a nice alternative when you can't find a gift or are running out of time to buy one. DropGifts is an iOS app that'll let you send a gift card to your Facebook friends. It includes high-profile gift cards like Gap and Barnes & Noble. If you don't want to use an app to give a gift, you can always give the gift of an app now that Apple has restored that feature to the App Store.
7 apps to help you battle the crowds and save some money on Black Friday
It is Thanksgiving here in the US today, which means tomorrow is Black Friday -- the busiest shopping day of the year. On Black Friday, retailers kick off the holiday shopping season with deep discounts on popular items, and shoppers swarm stores looking for fantastic deals. Below, we have listed some of our favorite Black Friday apps, along with a few others that'll make your shopping experience a bit easier. Black Friday App from Dealnews (iPhone, Free) The Black Friday App lets you browse ads from dozens of major retailers. You can also create shopping lists, access your shopping list at dealnews.com, do price comparisons, receive store alerts and share your favorite ads. Black Friday from FatWallet (iOS Universal, Free) The Black Friday Deal Finder for 2012 pulls deals in from bargain hunting website FatWallet. Similar to the Dealnews app, the Fat Wallet app lets you create wish lists, share deals via email and text and receive alerts when a new ad is posted. It also has an impressive search feature that lets you search and sort deals by store, category, brand and price range. TGI Black Friday (iOS Universal, Free) Similar to the Dealnews and Fatwallet apps, TGI Black Friday has shopping lists, push notifications, price comparisons and search. You can also share deals via Facebook, Twitter or email. You can't go wrong with any of these three Black Friday apps, so just pick one (or all) and go shopping. CheckPoints (iPhone, Free) If you are going to go shopping, you might as well earn some extra gifts for your hard work. CheckPoints is a reward system that lets you earn points for scanning products when you are in a store. There are also games within the app to help you earn even more points. Once you've built up a treasure chest of points, you can redeem them for iTunes gift cards, Amazon gift cards, gadgets and more. Apple Store App (iPhone, Free) Apple fans should be ready to fire up the Apple Store app on Black Friday and do some shopping during Apple's Black Friday sale. Apple rarely discounts their products, so be sure to take advantage of this holiday sales event on Friday. Gift Plan (iPhone, $2.99) Before you go shopping, you should have a game plan and know which person is getting what gift. Gift Plan from Glasshouse apps is the perfect solution for creating gift lists for your loved ones. You can setup profiles that store sizes, personal tastes and gift ideas for each person on your list. MotionX GPS Drive (iOS Universal, $0.99) MotionX GPS is one of the top mapping and navigation apps for iOS. For Black Friday shoppers, MotionX has multi-stop routing that'll let you plan out your shopping route in advance and a parking spot marker so you can find your car in a sea of automobiles.
Five apps that are wicked fun for Halloween
It's Halloween, which means it is time for scary movies, zombie costumes and bags stuffed full of candy from trick-or-treating. Below, you will find five apps that are perfect for this horror-filled holiday. Dead Trigger (iOS Universal, Free) Dead Trigger is a gory arcade shooter that'll have you slaughtering zombies with weapons like a Colt 1911 and a classic chainsaw. The latest version of the app supports the iPhone 5 and includes a new haunted graveyard. Best of all, this zombie smashing fun won't cost you a penny. Smash Your Food HD (iPad, $2.99) You don't want your kids smashing zombies, so you can have them smash their food instead. Fun and not frightening, Smash Your Food lets you pick a food and pound, smash or crush it. It's not all about destruction as the app also shows the nutritional value for each item you are about to pulverize. An updated version with more smashy is here. Cartoonatic (iPhone, Free) Cartoonatic is a video recording app that adds cartoon-style effects and catchy soundtracks to your videos. The effects are added in real-time so you can see your final video while you are recording it. The app was recently updated with a set of Halloween-themed content, so you can add some spookiness to your recordings. Zombies, Run! (iPhone, $7.99) Just because you're a fitness fan and not a gamer, it doesn't mean you have to miss out on the zombie apocalypse. All you have to do is install Zombies, Run!, an immersive running and audio adventure game. In the game, you are one of a handful of survivors and must collect supplies to rebuild your base and avoid hordes of zombies. Put on your sneakers, plug in your headphones and listen to the story unfold as you run and collect materials. The app tracks your run using GPS and lets you view and share them online. Grimm (iPhone, $0.99) Grimm from Robox Studios is a dark-themed platformer that has you navigate a baby in a stroller through a series of puzzles. You are hunted down by the villainous Mr. Grimm as you try to reunite the baby with his parents. The dark graphics give the app a macabre feel that fits in perfectly with Halloween.
Apps and tips for coping with Hurricane Sandy
All of us in the northeast US (which includes myself and TUAW colleagues Megan Lavey-Heaton, Dave Caolo and Kelly Hodgkins) are keeping a wary weather eye on the approaching maelstrom that is Hurricane Sandy. While we continue to hope for minimal impacts to life and property, it's overwhelmingly likely that millions of people will be facing days or weeks of power outages, constrained transportation and other serious challenges. As we noted last year with the approach of Irene, there are several apps and simple tips that can help keep you safe and secure in emergent conditions. Of course, the most important advice is also pretty simple: follow the instructions of local authorities with regard to evacuations, road closures and travel restrictions. On the app front, the big kahuna is Hurricane HD from Kitty Code, which provides up-to-the-minute storm tracking detail. It's a paid app that tracks all named storms in the Atlantic and Pacific; given that it's the tail end of the season, mostly what you'll get from it post-Sandy is historical info until next time around. True weather nerds may prefer to pick up Base Velocity's RadarScope, which delivers high-resolution radar data from around the US to your Mac or iPad. Also on your Mac, Zipline puts an RSS ticker of weather data on your desktop for immediate alerts. (Base Velocity's development partner WDT makes the handy iMap Weather Radio app, which delivers location-specific weather alerts for thunderstorms and other hazards.) Our in-house weather maven Mel Martin recommends CaneCast as an alternative to Hurricane HD, with similar storm tracking and warning alert capabilities. Mel also likes Emergency Radio Free, which provides thousands of live feeds to NOAA weather reports and emergency/local first responder scanner broadcasts; and the Hurricane Safety Checklist Lite app. Cnet points out ICE Lite, which allows you to quickly file all your "In Case of Emergency" info in one place for first responders or medical personnel. Don't put all your eggs in one app basket, though: you can use Evernote, Dropbox, iCloud notes or Google Drive to easily transfer some of your vital info to the cloud. Then, print out a copy and keep it in your wallet or glove compartment. ABC's Joanna Stern notes that both the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the American Red Cross have helpful apps available for the iPhone. FEMA's app includes contact information for emergency services and recovery assistance; the Red Cross app gives instructions on preparing an "go bag" as well as the locations of support/evac centers. You can also use the Red Cross app to send an "I'm Safe" social media alert to Facebook and Twitter, although if your phone is working you can probably just post directly to those services yourself. Before the storm hits, follow Scott Beale's advice: Always Be Charging everything with a battery in it. In the event of power outages, the vintage technologies may hold out better than modern digital versions: a battery-powered radio and landline phone may remain operable when TVs and cellphones don't. Keeping your iPhone charged, however, is a plus if it's feasible; it can provide emergency communication, navigation and a slew of other capabilities. As a bonus, a tethering plan may be able to provide bandwidth for your computer even if your home ISP connection goes down. You can charge an iPhone or iPad from a laptop, or from an uninterruptible power supply; low-capacity models can be had for under $100, which will give you just enough time to gracefully shut down your computer, or happily provide juice for mobile gadgets for much longer. Best Buy actually has all the APC models on sale now, which means they'll likely go fast. Remember that you need to charge your UPS before the power goes out. Kelly H. recommends turning off your UPS and unplugging all your drain-inducing gear as soon as the power cuts out, then turning it on only to charge the iPhone or iPad. If you're using a generator for backup power, Kelly strongly recommends not plugging your delicate electronics (MacBook Pro, etc.) directly into the generator output, unless you have a pure sine wave inverter providing clean AC power. Put a surge protector or UPS inline to keep that "dirty power" from frying your laptop. Aside from minimizing your iPhone power drain by turning off unnecessary services and Wi-Fi (no point in searching for a network if the access point's offline), you can charge your phone from a backup battery or a hand-crank charger. Plenty of companies are offering AC-chargeable battery packs, including Zagg, PowerStick, Belkin and countless others. When you're looking for a power pack, keep in mind that an iPad needs a 2A USB port (twice the power of a normal USB port) for full-speed charging, although it will trickle-charge fine from a standard port. Putting some elbow grease into the equation, we turn to the cranks. Eton's power products include chargers that can give you enough juice for a five-minute call after some vigorous cranking. Its line that's co-branded with the American Red Cross includes the Rover pocket-sized crank radio, which includes weather bands, USB charging and a LED flashlight for about $50; it's available at Radio Shack and other electronics retailers. For your Mac, back it up -- and consider shutting down and unplugging ahead of power outages if you think they're likely. If you're using Time Machine and Mountain Lion, keep in mind that you can set up multiple, auto-rotated backup targets, so get a solid backup of all your machines on a drive or two and then tuck them away in the floodproof safe (or even better, on a shelf at a family member's house on high ground). If you've got a cloud backup via CrashPlan, Backblaze, Carbonite or Dolly Drive, make sure it's current. In New York City, residents can register for SMS and voice alerts from the city's 311 information system by signing up for NotifyNYC. The NYC Office of Emergency Management's alerts can also be found on Twitter at @NotifyNYC. In other areas, check your local emergency management website to make sure it's accessible on your mobile devices. You can also track all the Sandy updates via our sister site Skye at weather.aol.com. Wherever you are this weekend, stay safe! Please let us know how you're weathering the storm via our comments, Twitter or our Facebook page. Image from NOAA-NASA GOES-13 satellite, Sandy at 5:55pm ET 10/28/2012
Five iOS apps to help you say goodbye to summer, hello to fall
For many people here in the US, summer is quickly coming to a close. School is back in session, summer vacations are done and the temperatures are getting a bit cooler. It can be hard to leave behind the fun of summer, so we've put together a list that'll help you say goodbye to the warm, sunny weather and hello to fall. Foliage Leaf Peepr (Free) Fall means foliage and Yankee Magazine's Leaf Peepr is one of the best iPhone apps for tracking foliage changes, especially in the Northeast.The Leaf Peepr app helps fall foliage fans find the best and brightest colors in their area. Users can also make foliage reports (called Peeps) by posting photos, writing comments and rating the foliage status for their location. Ski Safari (US$0.99) For some people, fall is the season between water skiing and snow skiing. Yes, we realize Ski Safari is not a ski simulation, but the iPhone and iPad game will entertain you with its winter-themed fun until the real snow starts hitting the ground. Lego Halloween Creationary (Free) Besides foliage, Fall also means apples, pumpkins and Halloween. Get ready for some spooky fun with this build-and-guess game from Lego. Each round starts with creepy Lego object and you have to guess what's being built. The faster you guess, the more points your earn. Photo Wall Pro ($2.99) Now that summer is over, you likely have a phone filled with photos. Don't let those precious memories just sit there; make them into a collage with an app like Photo Wall Pro. The collage maker allows you to send your creation off as a postcard or share it with family and friends. NFL Fantasy Football (Free) Last, but far from least, is football, which kicked off earlier this week. If you haven't started yet, now is the time to download this Fantasy Football app from the NFL and start managing your virtual team. [Image from flickr/muffinman71xx]
Five apps (and more) for the summer road trip
The Independence Day holiday week is upon us, and millions of American families are heading out on the open road. Where past generations depended on paper maps and Mad Libs, the march of technology has given us new tools for kids and parents alike. Our five-plus apps for road trips are accompanied with standbys and alternates to match up with your specific travel needs. Got other favorites or recommendations? Give them a shout out in the comments. When I was young, in the pre-cellphone days, our road trips with other families included walkie-talkies or CB radios to help coordinate bathroom stops or route changes. Even with iMessage and hands-free headsets, there's something to be said for the one-button convenience of push-to-talk -- just ask the crowd of satisfied and loyal Nextel users who depend on the technology every day. Three popular apps that simulate the PTT experience on the iPhone are Voxer, HeyTell and Zello (all free). All the walkie-talkie apps offer one-to-one or group voice chat at the press of a virtual button. Voxer's got Facebook integration and a rapidly growing userbase, plus photo and text sharing (and some hefty funding); Zello's got a simple UI including "one big button" for PTT conversations with the other cars in your convoy; and HeyTell's got geographic indicators for your chat partners plus in-app purchases for fun items like voice changers. Any one may save you some dialing and phone calling while you're looking for your next pitstop, so consult with your fellow vacationers and settle on the one you like. Eyes on the road, please! If you want to automatically alert your friends or family at your destination that you're making progress, check out the free En Route! or the $0.99 just-released iETA. Both apps will automatically update your selected contacts with your expected arrival time and optionally share your location as you go. Other options in this vein: Glympse, Google Latitude or Apple's Find my Friends app. Want to make sure you've got solid 3G or LTE coverage where you're headed? Reader Chris suggests his $2.99 Coverage! app, which consolidates multiple carrier maps into one convenient view. Getting there is half the fun, and getting distracted along the way is at least 15% of the fun. Roadside America for iPhone ($2.99 + IAP) delivers a mapped guide to the silly and serious attractions that make a road trip memorable. Buying the app unlocks a single region of the US & Canada, with a $1.99 option in-app to purchase additional regions or $5.99 to unlock them all permanently. You can track your attraction visits, upload photos, get sunset alerts to time your visits to scenic sites, and of course get directions/hours and phone numbers. Not to be confused with the one and only Roadside America miniature village in Shartlesville, PA, which is absolutely mandatory if you're taking I-78 through southeastern Pennsylvania. Speaking of I-78, I'm positive that my wife and I have made the same mistake at least four times on that highway -- taking an exit for lunch at Friendly's only to find that it's a five-mile winding drive to get to the restaurant, when there's one right off the highway two exits further on. The solution may be iExit for iPhone and iPad (now on sale for $0.99, usually $1.99), which gives you a list of all the amenities and dining options for up to 100 exits on down the road. You can sort your iExit results by type (hotels, gas, fast/slow food, coffee) or identify favorite outlets for more filtering choices. iExit also comes in $0.99 Food and Hotel versions (not much point in buying them while the main app is on sale, though) plus a free Lite version; the Lite version only shows what's coming up at the next exit. There's a similar free app called RoadAhead that Mel reviewed last year; on my next highway drive I'll compare it to the Lite version of iExit and see which one stacks up better. Hat tip to CNN for Roadside America and iExit. Of course, the king of the American road guide castle is the venerable AAA Triptik. Readers of a certain vintage may remember the paper strip maps from AAA with manually highlighted routes, mileage indicators and approved motels & restaurants marked along the way. Triple-A has also changed with the times, as seen in the AAA Triptik Mobile app (free). Integrating maps and navigation details from NAVTEQ, the app simulates the experience of the old paper Triptiks by letting you shake your iPhone (or press an onscreen button) to announce the next navigational maneuver; not exactly turn-by-turn, but not bad. It also lists AAA-approved hotels, restaurants, campgrounds and more. You can also get navigational help and geosearch from the built-in Maps app, naturally, and from apps such as Mapquest (free) and MotionX GPS Drive ($0.99 plus subscriptions). AAA's separate, free Roadside app is also a must-have for members, as it ties into the complimentary roadside service and towing options from the association. If you'd rather document your journey with a photo journal, there are apps for that too. The latest entry is the free Rough Guides Trip Lens, incorporating technology from the HipGeo trip journal app. Trip Lens gives you an Indiana Jones-style map path with your photos along it, even if you took them far away from WiFi or cell towers -- the geocoded photos are cached and uploaded when you're back in range. You can share or send photos, see other shots taken nearby, and give family or friends a custom URL where they can follow along with your travels. Keeping pointed in the right direction is one thing; keeping everyone from boredom-induced road coma is another thing entirely. BoingBoing points out the social trivia app Trivi.al, available in ad-supported or paid ($2.99) versions. Compete against other quizmasters around the country to see who's got the fastest finger and the sharpest recall... and watch the miles fly by. Being on the road means being away from your familiar -- and presumably secure -- home and work WiFi networks. To keep your mobile connections protected on Random Truck Stop Network, a VPN is a good idea. The commercial VPN service Hotspot Shield secures your data with a bonus; compression routines squeeze your data requirements down so that if you're stuck using your 3G or 4G connection, you can minimize the amount of your quota that gets chewed up. Hotspot Shield subscriptions for a single iOS device run $0.99 a month or $9.99 per year, but there is a current deal via Parallels that gets you protection for up to five computers and five iOS devices for a year for $39.95. Finally, when you do step away from the car for a few minutes of sunbathing, you'd better know how much UV you're absorbing before you burn (sticking to the car seat = an uncomfortable ride). Katie Couric's blog, of all places, points to the UV Safe Timer app (free). This tool takes the actual weather at your location into account when computing your sun exposure, along with your activities and skin type. A timer alerts you when you're due for a reapplication of sunscreen. And wear a hat! Photo by C.G.P. Grey | flickr cc
Five apps that'll help you celebrate the Easter holiday
Easter is just around corner which means it's time for spring flowers, lovely dresses and time with family and friends. Below are five apps to help you celebrate the Sunday holiday. If you have any suggestions of your own, please add them to the list (all prices are USD). Wood Puzzles Easter Color HD ($0.99) Wood Puzzles Easter Color HD is an iPad app that features 15 different Easter-themed puzzles. The puzzles are your standard wood puzzles with colorful, chunky pieces that are perfect for the younger set. Easter Egg Coloring Book (Free) The Easter Egg Coloring book is a finger-painting app for children that chock full or rabbits and eggs for your child to color. It's cutesy and will keep your children busy coloring for hours. Olive Tree Bible Reader ($0.99; bibles and study guides available as in-app purchases) If you are a Christian, then you should consider adding Olive Tree Bible Reader to your list of must-have apps. It has a variety of bibles and study guides that you can add to your iPhone or iPad. Use it to bookmark and then review those passages that celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. iCookbook ($4.99) Eggs and candy are a big part of Easter, but we can't forget about the all-important Easter brunch or dinner. If you need some cooking tips or recipe ideas, then go no further than iCookbook. The cooking app features 2,000 recipes with detailed instructions and stunning photos. The app has some compelling features like voice command which lets you use your voice to work your way through a recipe, set timers and more. Egg Dyeing 101 from Martha Stewart ($0.99) Egg Dyeing 101 from Martha Stewart was on our list last year and is back again for a second round. The app has detailed instructions on how to cook and dye Easter eggs as well as fun crafts that you can do once the eggs are done. It's 99-cents and worth every penny.
Five apps to help you file your taxes (updated)
With only a few weeks before taxes are due -- the federal deadline is on April 17, and many states have followed suit -- plenty of Americans are scrambling to file before the clock ticks away. We've gone and found five apps that will help you make Tax Day, and waiting for that refund, a bit easier. TurboTax SnapTax (Free, but has in-app purchases) This app from Intuit allows those who are eligible to file with the simple 1040-EZ to do their taxes straight from the iPhone. Snap a photo of your W-2, answer the questions and hit the button to zip your return to the IRS. While the app itself is free, actually filing a return costs $24.99. TurboTax 2011 (Free, but has in-app purchases) Those who use TurboTax for their taxes can now do so via the iPad. The app itself is a free download, but like all of Intuit's products, filing the return will cost you. Those who have used TurboTax in the past will find the interface familiar. Filing returns starts at $49.99 for federal taxes and $39.99 for state. H&R Block Mobile (Free) This app from H&R Block allows you to check your Federal return status. It also allows you to create checklists for doing your taxes and estimate your refund, and it provides access to a tax help center that allows you to look up questions, define tax terms and more. And, if you throw up your hands in defeat, the app also provides directions to the closest H&R Block location. If you're a 1040EZ filer, you can use H&R Block at Home 1040EZ Tax to file for free. Receipts Pro - Expense Tracking with Reports ($4.99) Receipts Pro keeps track of all your business expenses as you make them so you're not struggling to recall them when doing your taxes. The app lets you take photos of your receipts and organize them into groups or categories. Custom fields can be used to attach tax or payment information to each receipt. An overview graph helps you keep track of spending and a reporting feature lets you print up a detailed list of expenses. IRS2Go (Free) Finally, we have the app developed by the IRS itself. Like other apps, it will allow you to check refund status. You can sign up to get tax tips emailed to you, how to contact the IRS, and you can follow the IRS Twitter feed from it. However, it does not provide access to tax code, forms or the sort of tools found in Tax Central. Still, if you feel more comfortable using the official app to check your refund status rather than Intuit or H&R Block, this app is not a bad way to go. [Kelly Hodgkins contributed to this post; updated to reflect separate apps for H&R Block]
5 Apps for Mardi Gras
With Lent peeking around the corner, there's still time to get down, celebrate, and indulge before fasting, abstinence, and penitence. In that spirit, here are a bunch of last minute apps to help you seize the day...and the pancakes. If you're lucky enough to be around New Orleans, follow your favorite Mardi Gras parades with the WWL-TV Experience Mardi Gras app (Free). This handy mobile app offers schedules, routes, events and more for the Mardi Gras partier. It uses integrated GPS coordinates to let you know what's happening right around you. Can't get down to New Orleans? You can try out a virtual Mardi Gras! ($0.99) experience instead. This game allows you to "hop on your float, wear a purple crown, and be the King of Mardi Gras!!" The goal is to "keep the crowd happy" by throwing cheap trinkets at them. The game is rated 4+, so TUAW rather suspects that the traditional method of asking for trinkets will not be shown in-app. Brush up your Hip Hop skills with Dance Video: Hip Hop Dancing ($2.99). On sale this week for 50% off its normal price, this app helps teach the basic hip hop steps, "wave", "crip step", and "old skool" moves like the "running man". Of course, TUAW staffers admonish you not to try dancing with a gut full of pancakes. Looking for a few last minute recipes? You might want to check out Gourmet Live (Free). This lifestyle apps includes new and classic recipes, interviews with celebrity chefs, and more. It may be your best chance to indulge in high-caloric yumminess for a while. Finally, in the sincere spirit of Shrove Tuesday, we bring you Pancakes (Free). We were totally won over by the beautiful app description: "Pancake is a game of how you can cook delicious pancakes. We cook a lot of delicious pancakes. How to Play: Within the time limit, or compete for a delicious pancake how many burn." We think you'll like the app description too.
Five apps to help you track your finances
It's January, which means you're probably thinking about your finances for the upcoming year. Tax season is right around the corner. There might be employment changes coming or large purchases on your mind. Here are five apps to help you keep track of your money as it goes in and out of your wallet. iBank ($4.99) iBank is an all-purpose financial organizer for the iPhone that keeps track of your checking, savings, credit card and cash accounts. It lets you enter purchases on the fly and has some nice features like split transactions and multi-currency support. It can be used as a stand alone app or as a companion app that syncs to iBank for the Mac. iBank lets you sync multiple devices so you and other members of your household can always have up-to-date financial information on your handset. TaxCaster (Free) TaxCaster is a tax calculator for the iPhone and the iPad from Intuit. The app lets you add in W2 income, business income, withholdings, deductions, tax credits and more. It's one of the most feature-filled tax estimators I've used and does an accurate job of estimating your taxes. The app uses sliders so you can easily adjust the values and see how it affects the amount you owe (or will be refunded). Loan Calculator Pro ($0.99) If you have a house, car or a personal loan, then you should have an app like Loan Calculator Pro on your iPhone. The app lets you enter in the terms of a loan and produce an amortization table to see how long it will take you to pay it off, how much interest you'll pay and so on. It includes a "what if" scenario so you can see how your loan will change when you make extra payments. You can also track your loans and add in payments as you make them. Receipts Pro ($4.99) Receipts Pro is a valuable tool for anyone who needs to keep track of receipts. It's a flexible app with advanced features like custom receipt fields and repeating receipts. It'll let you take a picture, save a voice memo and add other attachments like an email to a receipt. Receipts Pro helps you keep track of your money by letting you assign a receipt to an account and a category, too. This information then can be used to generate reports and graphs which show you where your money is being spent. All reports can be saved as a PDF, Excel or CSV file and uploaded to Box, Dropbox and other cloud services. Wikinvest Portfolio HD (Free) Wikinvest is a stock portfolio manager that lets you import and track your accounts from Etrade, Schwab, Ameritrade, Fidleity, and other brokers. It updates nightly, so you always have the latest information on your investments. Wikinvest includes tools to chart your portfolio's performance, both on its own and in comparison with major indices. Pair this with the Bloomberg app for stock news and you have the right tools to maximize the return on your investments. Have any other finance favorites you'd like to tell us about? Leave us your comments below to let other TUAW readers know what is keeping your personal finances in the black.
