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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.
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 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 ($4.99) Receipts Pro is a valuable tool for anyone who needs to keep track of receipts. It's a flexible app with advanced features like custom receipt fields and repeating receipts. It'll let you take a picture, save a voice memo and add other attachments like an email to a receipt. Receipts Pro helps you keep track of your money by letting you assign a receipt to an account and a category, too. This information then can be used to generate reports and graphs which show you where your money is being spent. All reports can be saved as a PDF, Excel or CSV file and uploaded to Box, Dropbox and other cloud services. Wikinvest Portfolio HD (Free) Wikinvest is a stock portfolio manager that lets you import and track your accounts from Etrade, Schwab, Ameritrade, Fidleity, and other brokers. It updates nightly, so you always have the latest information on your investments. Wikinvest includes tools to chart your portfolio's performance, both on its own and in comparison with major indices. Pair this with the Bloomberg app for stock news and you have the right tools to maximize the return on your investments. Have any other finance favorites you'd like to tell us about? Leave us your comments below to let other TUAW readers know what is keeping your personal finances in the black.
Last-minute apps for Christmas Eve
With the clock ticking down the hours until Santa arrives, here are some last-minute holiday apps to load on your iPhone or iPad as you go out caroling, do last-minute shopping or visit your friends and family: Santa's Big Helper ($.99): This has a number of features, and if you're looking for one good Christmas app, this is the one to grab. It has a Santa tracker, a naughty/nice list, the ability to write to Santa for those last-minute Christmas wishes, ask questions and more. FOOD52 Holiday Recipe & Survival Guide ($3.99): If you need a guide to hosting a holiday party or a good recipe for a family gathering, this app is great for doing everything from making pie to crafting a gingerbread house. There are eight suggested menus that will make fighting the crowds at the grocery store a bit easier, and you can follow community links to get help from other people. And if it's too late to take advantage of the app this Christmas, it'll be on your iPad for the next holiday season. For other cooking apps, take a look at Epicurious (free) and How to Cook Everything ($9.99 for full app, free for essentials), which are always great go-tos for recipes. A Charlie Brown Christmas ($.99): We took a look at this iPad app in November, and it turns the classic Peanuts special into an interactive storybook that brings a new dimension to the story. If A Charlie Brown Christmas is part of your Christmas Eve traditions, then it's worth the download and is currently on sale for $.99. Christmas Carols ($.99): You're out singing Christmas carols tonight and suddenly forget the words to "The First Noel." Instead of humming along awkwardly, pull out this app and look up the lyrics to a number of carols. It might not help you carry a tune, but you'll at least know the words. Cards (Free): It's Christmas Eve. You open your mailbox to find a Christmas card from your great aunt, and you realize you've not only forgotten to send her one, but you're out of Christmas cards and she doesn't use the Internet. Pull out your iPhone, grab a photo of your Christmas tree and quickly use this app to create a last-minute Christmas card. It won't get to your great aunt until next week, but it's the thought that counts ... right? You also might enjoy the new Postcards on the Run, which was one of our Daily iPhone apps this week.
5 iOS Apps for Skyrim
Skyrim is an action, role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios that's filled with magic, potions, and dragon shouts. The game follows the main character's quest to defeat Alduin and the other dragons that returned to Skyrim. It's the fifth installment in the Elder Scroll series and one of the best so far. If you're a Skyrim fan, here are five apps that'll improve your alchemy skills, level up your character and help you find all the powerful weapons you'll need to slay some dragons (as well as Storm Cloaks or Imperials, depending on how you view the war). All prices are USD. Dragon Shout (Free; universal) Dragon Shout is a simple Skyrim map application. It launches with a blank map and you get to fill it in as you travel and complete quests. You need a free account if you want to add markers, and you can sign up for one within the app. Once you have an account, you can start adding markers to the map and give them a name, description and custom icon. A journal feature keeps a running list of your markers for future reference. All your markers are stored in the cloud and shared across devices. You can choose to keep your markers private or share them publicly. It isn't implemented yet, but Dragon Shout will eventually let you share your public markers with the Skyrim community. You'll also be able to chat with other people who are using the app. Dragon Shout shows promise and will shine when the community features are enabled. It's available for free, so you have little reason not to download it. Guide for Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Fast Leveling, Money, Master Spells, Unique Weapons and Armor ($1.99; universal) Guide for Elder Scrolls Skyrim is a general guide to all things Skyrim. It has tips on how to level up spells, increase your smithing skills and master the art of enchanting. Instead of text-based instructions, the guide often shows a YouTube video within the app. You can literally watch and learn. The app also has a long list of unique weapons and unique armor (armor, rings, shoes, etc). The list will tell you where each item is located, what quest you must take to earn the item, and its effect. There's one small oversight with the effect attribute, though. The effect is listed for the armor, but not for the weapons. So if you look up the Sanguine Rose, the guide won't tell you the staff summons a Dremora Lord to fight on your behalf. I talked to the developer, and this is something that'll be added in a future version of the app. The app has a nice UI and is an excellent first effort. It works on the iPhone and the iPad, which is perfect for the video clips. Skyrim Alchemist ($0.99; iPhone only) Skyrim Alchemist does one thing and does it well. It helps you find the ingredients you need to mix up potions. The Alchemist app lets you find ingredients or find effects. It's broken up into 4 panes -- the top lets your browse ingredients and the bottom lets you browse effects. When you select an ingredient at the top of the app, it will show the effects of that ingredient on the top right. When you click on the effect the top, the bottom wheel will scroll and show you all the other ingredients that produce that effect. It's a fantastic resource for making potions and works exceptionally well on the small screen of the iPhone. You can also use it on the iPad at 2X view. Unofficial Guide for Skyrim ($1.99; iPhone only) If you could only afford one app, then you should spend your money on the Unofficial Guide for Skyrim. The app has a tabular UI that's somewhat plain, but the app makes up for it with information. The Unofficial Guide has detailed quest walk-throughs and information on races, skills, perks, locations, and achievements. There's also a FAQ for commonly asked questions. You should think of the app as a well-organized, information-packed Skyrim wiki on your iPhone. It's formatted for the iPhone's screen, but it works on the iPad, too. MAppZ- Skyrim edition ($1.99; universal) MAppZ- Skyrim edition is a map-based app that's similar to Dragon Shout. What sets MAppZ apart from its competition is its pre-filled information. When you launch MAppZ- Skyrim edition, you are greeted with a map filled with noteworthy locations. Each location has an icon and tapping on the icon will bring up its name. Unfortunately, there is no description. You will have to search outside the app if you want more information on that marker. Similar to Dragon Shout, you can add custom markers to the map and save them for future use. You can also submit them to the database for inclusion on the map. There's also a search feature that'll let you find both pre-filled locations and the custom markers you added. MAppZ also has a nice UI and an easy-to-use menu bar which makes it a pleasure to use. At $1.99, it's another must-have for the Skyrim player. %Gallery-141441%
5 Apps to make your holiday shopping easy
Thanksgiving is done and Black Friday is behind us. Now, it's time to get serious with your holiday shopping. Here are a few apps that will make your holiday shopping easier, maybe even fun (all prices are USD). Santa's Bag- Christmas Gift List ($0.99) Santa's Bag- Christmas Gift List is an app to help you make your list and check it twice this holiday shopping season. The app includes a much-needed screenlock passcode so you can keep your list safe from prying eyes. The lists imports names from your contacts and lets you sort your gifts by recipient, store or status. You can add a status to your gifts like To Buy, Purchased, Wrapped or Given. It even tracks how much you spend and lets you backup your data to Dropbox in case something happens to your phone. Delivery Status ($4.99) Delivery status is a package tracker for the iPhone and iPad that help you manage your online purchases. The app lets you input tracking numbers manually or import them from online retailers like Amazon. The app will give you a summary of all incoming or outgoing packages and lets you know how many days until they are delivered. You can view the tracking details and locate the package on a map. If you sign up for a free Junecloud account, you can sync the tracking data between multiple devices. Deals & Steals from SlickDeals (Free) Deals & Steals is a quick and easy way to see all the deals that land on Slickdeals. Slickdeals is a large community-based website that gets most of its deals from a very active online forum. The forums are a source of hot deals and buying advice so you can find out if that item on sale is a winner or a loser. Xpense Tracker ($4.99) Xpense Tracker is a receipt-tracking app that'll store your holiday shopping receipts. You may not want to remember how much you spent on your gifts, but this information is invaluable if you need a receipt for warranty purposes or if someone needs to make a return. It does a lot more than just track receipts, which means you can use it outside the holiday shopping season. It also has a business slant and includes mileage tracking and support for a client list. Simon Malls (Free) The Simon Malls app has location and event information for over 300 malls in the US. The app has store listings and interior maps so you can make your way from store to store with ease.
5 apps for Black Friday
It's time to get your plastic out, and your game face on as Black Friday is almost here. The busiest shopping day in the year is two days away, and we have singled out five apps that'll help you find the best deals. Black Friday from DealNews (Free) When it's not Black Friday, DealNews is one of the best websites for finding deals on everything from clothes to cameras. On Black Friday, though, DealNews has one of the best apps to track individual deals as they are announced. Besides deals, the app also lets you add deals to a shopping list, search for specific products and even pull up online deals from a retailer's website. The best non-deal feature is the app's ability to find local stores so you'll know where to go when that HDTV hits a rock bottom price at Best Buy. Be sure to watch TUAW's Steve Sande interview Dan de Granpre from DealNews on today's episode of TUAW TV Live. TGI Black Friday (Free) TGI Black Friday is an app that focuses more on the ad scans from Black Friday promotions than individual deals like its DealNews rival. Each retailer's ad is scanned and available as a downloadable PDF. You can view sale items on a store-by-store basis or by browsing through categories. You can also search for items and save them to a shopping list. When you are done, you can email your shopping list to you or a loved one. You can also share the deals on Facebook or Twitter. Road Tripper (Free; US$1.99 ad-free) Road Tripper is a basic route planning app. It lets you add multiple points onto a map and save the route between them. It'll let you add all your shopping destinations, so you can plan the best way to travel from the mall to Target and then to L.L. Bean. Once your route is planned, you can print your map or send it via email. You can also share it on Facebook. The app is available for free, but includes advertisements. A US$1.99 in-app purchase will remove these ads. Google Shopper (Free) An essential part of shopping on Black Friday is making sure you get the best deal. Even if you have planned every last detail of your shopping trip, you will inevitably stumble upon an item that you want, but did not know was on sale. To make sure you get the best deal, you should use Google shopper to check prices at competing retailers. The app lets you scan or photograph your sales item and pulls down pricing information from Google's online shopping search engine. Your Favorite Retailer's App (Free) Most major retailers have an iOS app that'll let you find sales information, store locations and inventory. Most apps will let you make purchases that can either be shipped to your doorstep or held at your local store. Before you start shopping on Friday, you should fill your phone with the app from your favorite retailers. Stores like Best Buy, Target and Walmart are some of the top choices for Black Friday shoppers. Apple also has an app that'll let you browse its Black Friday sales, place online orders and arrange for in-store pick up. It will even let you checkout on your own when you are in a busy retail store.
5 apps for Thanksgiving
Whether you're ready for it or not, the holiday season is upon us. One week from today, many of us in the US will be pushing ourselves away from the Thanksgiving dinner table, sated and ready to do some serious shopping on our iPads. To get you ready for the holiday of turkey, football, and giving thanks for what you've got, here are five apps that are sure to get you in the holiday spirit. iCookbook 2.0 Part of the Thanksgiving tradition is cooking up an amazing feast for family and friends. iCookbook (on sale for US$4.99) has recently been updated to version 2.0 and it's now the app to have in the kitchen. This universal app has always had thousands of recipes for you to try out, but it's going to be your cooking buddy from now on. The developers at Publications International recently added voice commands to the iPhone version -- you can now avoid touching your iPad or iPhone screen with those greasy hands by speaking commands to move to the next step of a recipe, start or stop a timer, and more. The app is also awesome for those who may be tired of squinting at recipes, since it now has a "Prepare mode" that provides an enhanced display of a recipe for easy viewing. Have a TV in or near the kitchen? Great, since the app now has AirPlay support as well. If you're not thrilled about having your iOS toy in the messy kitchen while you cook, you can print your recipes to any AirPrint-compatible printer. iCookbook 2.0 provides free updates monthly as well as special recipe packs that are available through in-app purchase. Cocktails HD Sometimes the holidays can be a bit stressful with all of the family dynamics, and you want nothing more at the end (or beginning) of the big get-together than a good stiff drink. That's where Cocktails HD (sale priced at $0.99) comes in handy. It comes loaded with over 600 drink, wine and food recipes, a complete guide to bar tending, and new drinks are added on a regular basis in free updates. The app can also be handy for drinking games (please drink responsibly, though!), with a "random shake" mode that displays random drink recipes with a shake. If you do over-imbibe, do not drive. Instead, use this bonus app -- Taxi Magic (Free) -- to get a ride home or call a taxi for Uncle Bob, who just started dancing the lambada with the Christmas tree. College Football Scoreboard Plus It may be considered a little rude to be eating your Thanksgiving feast in front of the TV, so here's a way that you can keep up on the latest college football scores without committing a social faux pas. College Football Scoreboard Plus ($0.99) gives you up to the minute scores of all the games, schedules of what's coming up next, news about your favorite teams, and even a scrolling ticker of scores. It's perfect for sneaking a peek at what's happening -- just put the iPhone in your lap and keep looking pensive, and they'll just think you're reflecting on the meaning of Thanksgiving. Black Friday by BradsDeals While the guys may be in their tryptophan-induced daze after chowing down on a pound of turkey, the ladies are probably scheming for the Black Friday shopping on November 25. One way to plan on getting the best deals is to use an app like Black Friday (free) by BradsDeals. The app (2010 version shown above) lets you plan out your shopping itinerary by store and product, and includes a ton of Black Friday ads for most major retail chains. Get those deals all lined up for Black Friday, and you'll be ready to get up at 3 AM to start your annual shopping assault. Gratitude Journal The oft-forgotten part of Thanksgiving is the "giving thanks" piece. Regardless of your religion or lack thereof, it's a good time to think about being grateful for what you have and helping those who aren't as fortunate. A few years ago, I did a review of an app called Gratitude Journal Your Positive Thoughts ($0.99). The idea is that each and every day, you just write a short note about what you're grateful for. It doesn't have to be anything incredibly earthshaking -- maybe you're grateful that a friend called you, that you're healthy, or that you ate a really good meal last night. By looking over the good parts of your day, this app can really provide a way to focus on the positives in your life and make you happier. Gratitude Journal also includes nice quotes that will help to keep feeling positive about life in general.
