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iOS 8 Camera app: Smart Adjustments

When iOS 8 appears later this month photographers will get new and intuitive editing tools. One important update to the Camera app is what Apple calls Smart Adjustments. The adjustments can be grouped into three categories: adjusting light, adjusting color, and fine tuning. After you capture your image you can edit it from the Photos app or, as usual, select your last photo taken right from the Camera app. Once you are in edit mode, you'll see a button that looks like a volume control that controls the smart adjustments. To adjust the light, you swipe up and down a series of miniature renderings of your photo sliding up to lighten, down to darken. Once you have the brightness about where you want it, you can continue to edit or save the image. Adjusting color is similar. You can make the color very saturated or take it all the way to monochrome, simply by swiping through a number of small thumbnails. Both the lighting and color adjustment screens also have a drop-down menu that allows even more detailed adjustments. Once your image is monochrome, for example, you can change the tone which may enhance the sky and clouds, increase contrast, and change other parameters. It's all pretty intuitive, as long as you are willing to look at the screen and select the buttons that present more options. One new feature is added to the real-time view when you are taking pictures. If you tap on the display to set exposure and focus, a light bulb button appears, letting you swipe up and down to adjust the brightness of the image before you take the picture. It's nice for eliminating highlights in bright sun or bringing up the brightness when lighting is low. Of course there are many apps that offer a myriad amount of adjustments and filters, but Apple is trying to get as many editing tools into its basic Camera app as possible while trying to keep it simple. In my testing of iOS 8 beta 5 I'd have to agree -- you can certainly do a lot more with the built-in Camera app, giving you a greater range of adjustments and letting you be more creative.

Knock those pins down with Bowling Paradise 2

Bowling Paradise 2 is a new version of an old favorite of mine, Bowling Paradise. This version is a free universal app that requires iOS 6.0. You will also find a version optimized for the iPad. Both have wonderful graphics, are easy to play and offer users a number of options and opportunities to personalize their games. Once you sign up using a simple user name and password or through your Facebook account, you can choose different modes of play, 1-4 players head-to-head or one player against the computer. The app offers five different locations to bowl: Paradise Beach, Space, where the ball flies rather than rolls; Desert, Sky Island, and Space Challenge where your abilities are really tested by moving pins. Once you have made those selections it's time to bowl. The game is simple: a flick of your finger sends the ball on its way towards the pins and if you are sufficiently skilled you can get a strike. As part of the options available you can choose to put spin on the ball by swiping left or right, tilting your device to the left or right, or a combination of both. So you can hook the bowl just like the pros do. Bowling Paradise 2 also provides you the chance to move your ball to the left or right on the lane to give you a better angle for those single pin spares. Move to the far right to get the seven or to the far left for the elusive ten pin. Other options available in Bowling Paradise 2 are the ability to customize your bowling ball and the bowling pins. You receive six different options for each. The app's graphics are very good and it sets off a spectacular fireworks display at the end of each game and the higher the score the bigger and brighter the fireworks. You will find realistic physics at play in the game impacting the roll of the ball and the flight of the pins after being hit. Pro versions of the universal app and the iPad app are available for US$1.99. The paid version offers seven locations rather than five by including Scientific Lounge and Undersea featuring beautiful coral, sea creatures, and a unique environment. You also receive ten choices for both bowling balls and pins instead of six. Whichever version of Bowling Paradise 2 you choose I believe it will provide you lots of enjoyment and a real challenge.

PDF forms for iOS is powerful but needs better instructions

PDF Forms, a universal iOS app, has just about everything you need to edit, annotate, and even sign PDF forms. The US$8.99 app is as full-featured a PDF manager as I have seen, with many features other PDF apps just don't have. Imported documents can come from iTunes, Google Drive or Dropbox. The app allows you to easily fill out PDF forms, sign legal documents, and add comments via text or even images. When you are done, the app can send those PDFs via email, Dropbox, Google Drive or they can be printed via AirPrint. PDF Forms is really powerful! I didn't find myself wanting for any particular feature, but in terms of learning what the app can do, it is a bit messy. The help file is a whopping 36 pages long and there is no quick start guide. When I tried to figure out how to add my signature, the on-screen instructions were simply wrong. It suggested I tap a save button that didn't exist. There was a 'done' button which worked correctly, and it is described in the manual. Another potential issue is the set of large buttons on the bottom of the main screen. When you press them, nothing happens. In actuality, they are targets, and you drag files there for printing, emailing and duplicating. PDF Forms does run well. I imported some PDFs via Dropbox and they were easy to annotate with drawings or typed comments. Adding a signature was easy, and after it was added it could be moved and re-sized. As noted, you can also load any graphic from your camera roll. Overall, the app is very handy and I encountered no bugs. I wish it supported more cloud services directly, and I'd sure like to get the in-app help issues straightened out, but the app itself is excellent. Other similar apps that are well thought of include PDF Expert 5 ($9.99), iAnnotate PDF ($9.99) and PDF Pro (free) which has a reduced feature set compared to the others. PDF Forms requires iOS 6 or later and it is optimized for the iPhone 5 screen. I like the app very much -- the user interface just needs to be more intuitive.

Nokia says they are giving iOS mapping another try

Nokia had a pretty bad experience with its Here Maps on iOS late in 2012. I reviewed the app back then and found it wanting in almost every way. Now the company tells the Wall Street Journal it's ready to try again with a new, improved navigation app for iOS. The app will come from the part of Nokia that Microsoft did not buy. Nokia has been very active in mapping for years, usually in business settings. But Nokia executive Sean Fernback told the Journal that the company wants to be in the consumer space. He added that he thought people were looking for an "alternative to Google and Apple navigation apps", and the Nokia app will let users fully download maps so the app can be used when there is no data connection. Google and Apple do something similar, although Apple's implementation gives users very little control over what is cached. I'm not sure consumers are clamoring for another mapping solution. Google Maps is wildly popular, and after a really rough start, more people seem pleased with Apple Maps, especially the way it integrates with Siri. The new app, which doesn't have a release date, will be based on the Here mapping technology that the old app was based on. Nokia expects the app to roll out before the end of this year. When I tested the original incarnation, the points-of-interest database was very thin, and the satellite photos were out of date compared to Apple and Google. Competition is always good, but Nokia stumbled pretty badly the first time out. I'll review the app when it appears and see if Nokia has learned any lessons.

Apple will reject any wellness apps that store private health data in iCloud

Given recent events surrounding the security of cloud-storage accounts, Apple is keen to reassess any updates to iOS. The company has revealed that any Healthkit apps storing a user's private wellness data in iCloud will be flat-out rejected from the App Store. That same info, gathered by apps using the Healthkit API, is under even further restrictions when it comes to advertising and data-mining, as well. As 9to5Mac spotted, if an application uses the data for reasons other than "improving health, medical, and fitness management, or for the purpose of medical research," the app won't survive. This is just another bit of evidence from Cupertino as to why it rejects applications from the App Store. The thumb-downs go for other possibly less-nefarious aspects as well, including what happens with collected keyboard-activity data. If you're interested in poring over the updated list of terms yourself, Apple's got you covered. We recommend pouring a frosty beverage, though -- reading the full roster could take until September 9th. [Image credit: Associated Press]

The Journey Down: Chapter Two is a must have

The Journey Down: Chapter Two is a paid game (US$4.99) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It requires iOS 6.0 or later, and is optimized for iPhone 5. It is a third person, point and click adventure game that is well thought out and executed. This is the sequel to The Journey Down: Chapter One that was released in 2012. The lead character, Bwana, along with companions Kito and Lina, head to Port Artue. Bwana explores the city, and he encounters some colorful characters on the second leg of his quest for Underland. The user interface is intuitive and allows you to create folders to save profiles. Make sure to keep a sharp eye peeled for random items in each scene. As Bwana collects items along the way, he gets to use them to help proceed to the next episode. You can drag and drop an item from the user interface screen to the active scene in order to use it. I appreciated the fleshed out characters, which made it easier to relate to them. I also found them humorous at times. Kudos to the casting as the voice acting talents were amazing. The voices matched their character, so it made the scenes and story that much more believable. There were three characters that stood out. Bwana befriends Andiswa, who works for the mayor in Port Artue. Andiswa assists Bwana because he gave her a calendar of St. Armando where she wants to eventually live. Another character, the bartender is an intriguing fellow that Bwana has some important conversations with. Finally, ride Reynolds is by far the coolest cab driver in all of Port Artue. Ride's personality is funny, amusing, and flashy. When Bwana encounters Ride Reynolds, he offers to barter for his services due to an urgent need for his ride. The graphics are absolutely beautiful and detailed. Port Artue is jaw dropping when you see it for the first time. The rain looks so realistic, along with the flickering firelight, and the wet cobblestone streets are just a few of the beautiful things you'll see along Bwana's new journey. The graphics help to immerse you in the world so you're completely hooked. I enjoyed the jazz fusion music soundtrack because it's pleasing and not obtrusive. I liked it so much that I decided to checkout music further on the Band Camp site I discovered. My favorite track is "Bwana, On The Run." I'll be honest, sometimes game music can be quite repetitive and annoying, but Simon D'souza does an excellent job of mixing it up so that does not happen. The visuals, gameplay, music, and story makes this game a must have for your iOS devices. If you loved The Journey Down: Chapter One, then you will definitely love the follow-up. I highly recommend you purchase The Journey Down: Chapter Two for US$4.99 because you will not regret it.

See what time it is around the world with Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter

Although the included Time app from Apple is useful enough, Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter (free with in-app purchase) goes Apple a few steps better. The attractive GUI features the ability to rename locations, so you can call a place "Mom and Dad". The app displays the time differential in hours for all the locations you enter, and a 'quick check' mode lets you look up a date and time anywhere in the world, converting it to your local time. I could see that being useful for business calls in different time zones. As the day moves along, the colors of the GUI change to reflect the time of day. The app is ad supported, and when you open the app a full page ad comes up that has to be dismissed, which I judge mildly intrusive. A in-app purchase of U.S. $4.99 removes the ads, but I think that is a bit too expensive. I'm getting along with the free version, and if the developer would lower the purchase price to $0.99 I think he would get more takers. Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter is a nicely done app. It's more useful that what Apple provides, and has a nice look and feel. The app requires iOS 7 or later. It seemed to work fine using iOS 8 beta 5, so I don't foresee any issues going forward. Another app with similar features is World Clock Time Zone. It's free too but has a $1.99 in-app purchase which removes the ads. The screens are a little more cluttered, so I prefer Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter for quick ease of use.

Ninja Bunny - The Bad Egg Adventure is a short lived trip

Ninja Bunny - The Bad Egg Adventure is a free game for iPhone and iPad that's available for iOS 4.3 or later. It pits the hero, Ninja Bunny against the villain, Bad Egg and his army of robots. My expectation of this game was a little mixed after reading about it on the App Store. Ninja Bunny is dropped into various environments where he runs and jumps through an assortment of obstacles that never seem to stop coming at you. The controls only allow you to jump up and throw ninja stars at your enemies. The actual gameplay is short lived at times. I didn't like that it takes three taps to get back to the new game. It was tad bit confusing because you don't restart on the same screen you were previously on. Additionally, each time you die Bad Egg's annoying maniacal laugh can be heard. The amount of enemies and obstacles on the screen at one time made it difficult to progress, so a good amount of persistence and determination are necessary when playing this game. When you kill an enemy, you'll see a gold coin appear above them, so you have to quickly jump to collect them. When you accumulate more coins, you'll have the option to visit the coin store to load up on items to add to Ninja Bunny's arsenal. You can use coins to buy costume upgrades and weapon upgrades for Ninja Bunny. The costumes vary in color, but don't appear to give Ninja Bunny any powers. The weapons available for purchase are ninja throwing stars, ice, fire, steaming poo, and a piggy bank. As Ninja Bunny progresses, he gains power ups that gives him a crazy out of control ability such as Adrenaline Rush which speeds Ninja Bunny up so he can fly by the enemies. The downside to Adrenaline Rush is it typically ends in his demise due to lack of control because it makes it difficult to make the jumps in time. Ninja Bunny can smash through a crate, grab a tank, and he's unstoppable for brief amount of time. The tank is a lot of fun because it fires ordnance at the enemies and obstacles to help clear the path. I enjoyed the funny graphics of silly characters like the flying Dracula, a zombie dinosaur, flying robots, and a lot of other fast flying and running enemies you'll encounter. The various settings such as Total Recall, Ice Ice Baby, Wall of China, Ancient Scars, and The Evil Dead, are pretty cool that they drop Ninja Bunny into. Overall, I would recommend Ninja Bunny - The Bad Egg Adventure if you want to be challenged in short bursts and don't have time for a long drawn out game play.

Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 wireless speakers review for Mac and iOS

A little while ago I reviewed the Sonos Play:1 speaker. I was thrilled with how the speaker packed a real punch in sound, performance and design. Over the last few weeks I've had the addition of the the Sonos Play:3 (US$299) and Play:5 (US$399) to add to the Play:1, creating a truly wireless sound system for three rooms in my flat. Design The Play:3 and Play:5 take ques from the Play:1's design and appearance, but get respectively larger in size and sound performance. Like the Play:1, both the Play:3 and Play:5 come in black or white. The speakers have a minimalist appearance that allows either to settle into any room of the house, without looking out of place or intrusive. The Play:3 has 3 speakers powered by 3 Class-D digital amplifiers. There's a single tweeter, two mid-range drivers and a novel bass radiator that uses energized air volume from within the Play:3 to generate low, bass frequencies. It really works, too. The Play:3 can also be placed horizontally or vertically, with rubber feet to suit either orientation. Better still, the Play:3 automatically adjusts its own EQ depending on its orientation, to make sure you're getting the best sound out of it. The Play:5, on the other hand, ups the speaker count. There are 2 tweeters, 2 mid-range drivers and a dedicated sub-woofer handles the bass, each powered by a dedicated Class-D amplifier. The Play:5 also offers an analogue, 3.5mm input, something that the Play:1 and Play:3 are noticeably lacking. Like the Play:1, the Play:3 and Play:5 can be paired with an additional, respective model to create a truly stereo sound-stage. Performance There's no doubt that, as much as I love the Play:1, placing the Play:3 alongside it revealed its weaker points. Compared with the Play:1, the Play:3's extra speakers and amplifiers add extra warmth, breadth and depth to whatever you put through it. Of course, the Play:3 is double the size of the Play:1. Also, the Play:3 costs $100 more than the Play:1, so it makes sense that the Play:3 sounds $100 better. I think it appropriately does. I had a similar experience placing the Play:5 alongside the Play:3. Compared with the Play:3, the Play:5 has more subtlety and breadth in the higher-end as well as a natural warmth from that sub-woofer. With Sonos' Loudness feature turned off (simply put, a feature that lifts the lower end to compensate for low volume), it was even clearer that the Play:5 has more to deliver, thanks to that additional tweeter and sub-woofer. The Play:5 also has a much wider stereo sound-stage thanks to it's larger form factor. Once more, it stands to reason that for $100 more than the Play:3, the Play:5 comes out on top. Teaming up all three speakers was a joy. Having perfectly synced music in three different rooms in the house was a pleasure. Likewise, to play different tracks in different rooms at the same time was also a real boon. The Sonos Bridge handled it all flawlessly, with no dropouts or stutters. I discussed the Sonos iOS and Mac apps in my Play:1 review. After a few more weeks of using it, I still feel there are some frustrating niggles. A newly discovered frustration was that certain features are missing from the Sonos app that are standard in native music players. For example, with Spotify in the Sonos app, I missed features like recommendations, playlist and profile search results and Spotify Radio. To me, that illustrates how the Sonos app will always be slightly lacking in features that native music players will continually be adding. It's going to be impossible for Sonos to keep up with the addition of new features in every music player. However, the Sonos app does cover the basics and, for most, the essentials. Furthermore, the more I used the Sonos app, the more apt I became at getting what I wanted out of it. Conclusion Sonos offers rock solid wireless delivery of music in your home. For wireless music delivery, you need not look further than Sonos. Adding to the Sonos system is exceptionally easy, and for getting your music around your house, much better than independent systems in each room. The only question is which Play speakers do you go for? I absolutely loved the Play:1 when I tested it, but it's clear that things improve with the Play:3 and and even more so with the Play:5. Naturally, at a price. Walking away from the Play speakers, I really felt each speaker delivered fantastic value for money in their respective class. Basically, you won't be disappointed, no matter which Play speaker you go for. However, if you can choose, I'd suggest that for everyday use, where you're looking for a soundtrack to what you're doing, the Play:1 and Play:3 will absolutely hit the spot. But for those moments, or rooms, where you want the best Sonos has to offer and the most from your music, the Play:5 is the speaker to go for.

Internet Movie Database for iOS adds features, takes a few away

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) is the best resource on the web for all things movie or TV. Reviews, biographies, production details, trailers -- you name it, IMDB has it. IMDB has launched an updated version of its app for iOS, and added some welcome new features. Looking for showtimes has been improved, TV listings are deeper, and when you search for an actor to see what episodes of a show they have been in, you now can see all of them rather than just 5. On the other hand, the "on DVD/Blu-ray" feature of app has been scrapped because Amazon, the owner of IMDB, wasn't happy with the information provider. IMDB has also lost a previous feature to link to its web presence from the title and name page due to Apple submission guidelines. Overall, the update is a solid one, but you'll have to find some alternatives to the features that were removed. DVD and Blu-ray Disc availability, for example, can be found on the Amazon site. The IMDB app is universal, and requires iOS 7 or later. Happily, the update seems to work fine under iOS 8 beta, so I don't foresee any issues when iOS 8 launches next month.

Check out Nav Camera if you need precise location info for photos and video

Nav Camera (US$3.99) is an innovative app that uses navigation, augmented reality and display overlays to tell you where you are, your altitude, the direction you are facing and more. The information appears on your image in real time and it's possible to save it all to your photo library. Nav Camera is going to find a home with surveyors, engineers, architects, sportsmen, and military and police agencies. When you view your image in Nav Camera, it has a time stamp, position, altitude, GPS Datum and compass bearing. The app also supports custom notes, which can be a project name or any other pertinent information you want to add. Using the app is easy enough. All the controls are superimposed over your live image, and you can select stills or video and make color decisions about the displayed data overlay. Nav Camera also features colored filters that are applied in real time to preserve night vision. Certainly there are many other apps that will show your position and display other metadata like camera exposure information, but Nav Camera doesn't require another app to view the data -- it simply overlays it on your images. This is not an app for the casual photographer, but people in some of the technical, military and law enforcement trades are going to be quite excited with the capabilities Nav Camera offers. I used it on a quick photo trip to document my location and time, then took my actual photos with my DSLR. Nav Camera also offers one in-app purchase for $2.99 -- it's a datum pack that helps professionals get their location and altitude from the iPhones on-board sensors even more precisely. The app is designed for the iPhone or the iPod touch and requires iOS 7 or later. I ran it on iOS 8 beta 5 without incident. There's a lot of power here, for not a lot of money.

Germanium is addictive humility

Germanium, developed by Edamame, and compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch (iOS 7.0 or later), is entertainment stripped down to the core. In the app store, the description promises a 100 second challenge that, "will utterly destroy every bit of gamer pride in you." It almost mocks you stating that it was only cleared twice during pre-release testing, then points out the simple tilt controls and basic graphics, even describing itself as "exceedingly simple." Listed in the iTunes store for $1.29, it's well worth trying out this highly addictive, if frustrating game. In and of itself, this is a very simple game. Even the title screen, which contains the title, "Start game," and "Touch to start" is stripped bare. The goal of Germanium is simply to guide a white ball past colorful blocks, and survive for 100 seconds. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Each new color of block presents a new and different challenge as time goes on. The tilt control is very fluid and reactive, making it easy to keep control of the ball. For about the first fifteen seconds, I figured I would easily conquer this challenge, then, over the course of the next thirty, everything went downhill. Both sides allow the ball to go off-screen to the left and appear on the right and vice versa, helping to avoid the more colorful, daunting blocks as they increase in number, movement and size. It was extremely fast-paced, frustrating, addictive, and fun all wrapped into about 40-60 seconds at a time. The only negative I experienced was at about 50 seconds in, my iPhone screen would automatically dim. This is easily fixable by either touching your finger to the screen, or disabling Auto-Lock in the general settings. For only $1.29, the highly addictive Germanium is well worth the price. A short, concise distraction that won't run over 100 seconds is perfect for a handheld device as a way to kill time. Of course, any game that willingly calls out prospective players is definitely begging to be beaten.

Simplicam is a new entry in the home monitoring derby

More and more companies want to help you monitor your home or apartment via your iPhone or iPad, and Simplicam has a new system that is attracting some attention. Simplicam provides a camera that works with your home WiFi, free iOS apps to monitor that camera from anywhere, and a sophisticated software/server based system that keeps recordings of movement in the hours and even offers face detection so the family dog won't set it off, but a person entering your house will. Specifications 720p HD Quality output Powered by a wall-USB connection cable Infrared night vision Motion and sound detection with alerts 107 degree field of view iOS software allows settings changes, and camera off/on remotely Once there is an intrusion that video can be reviewed and forwarded Video is SSL encrypted Camera comes with wall mounting bracket or tiltable desktop stand Design Highlights The camera itself is small, weighing just 6.7 ounces. It can tilt to almost any angle, even looking straight up. The iOS software is easy to use. Launch the app and you will see live camera output and a timeline that shows any activity in the house. You can move easily between events and watch any activity. Setup and Use Setup was not as easy as I had hoped. The included instructions show a computer and mobile setup, but don't indicate that you don't have to do both. I tried setting the camera up with my MacBook Air and the laptop simply failed to recognize the camera. I was later told there are some issues setup when using a MacBook Air. Setting up via smartphone or iPad was easier. Press a button on the back of the camera with the Simplicam app running on your device, and a QR code appears on the iOS device screen. Show that code to the camera and the setup is automatic from there on. When I first got the camera running, the image from it was pink. It looked like a white balance issue, but it sorted itself out without any intervention from me, and then the colors were accurate and the picture was sharp. The iOS app lets you trigger alerts by sound, movement or both. It will also detect a person in the house, so your dog or cat won't cause alerts.The face detection feature seems to work well, but understand that face detection is not face recognition. It will detect a person, but not tell you who they are. If the person is wearing a mask or has their face obscured, the face detection will likely not work. In my tests, the face detection worked reliably with regular people walking in and out. A burglar with a mask might not register. Night vision looked very good: although the image is black and white, I could see into every corner of a dark room with good focus and detail. Simplicam also supports two-way audio. You can talk to people in the house, and they can respond. Buying the system The camera alone is U$150.00, either direct from Simplicam or as a bundle from Amazon. The Amazon bundle is $200.00 and includes one year of one day recording services. The camera does not require any kind of subscription, but you will likely want one. With the camera alone you get remote live streaming and event notifications. With a subscription (there are three plans) you add Face Detection and the ability to schedule on-off times and view recordings remotely. Plan 1 is $49.99 a year, and lets you review the last day's recordings, saving one hour of clips. Plan 2 lets you review the last 11 days of recordings, and saves up to three hours of clips. That's $139.99 a year. A third plan lets you review 21 days of recordings, and save up to five hours of clips. That plan is $229.99 annually. Conclusion The Simplicam system is a solid entry in the home monitoring business. The setup is easy, other than the glitches noted. The Simplicam is a direct competitor to the popular Dropcam camera, and it is a little cheaper. Dropcam is also $149.00 for the camera, and a Pro HD edition is $50.00 more. The cloud-based recording plans are similar, but with different pricing. The cheapest Dropcam plan is $99 a year, but gives you seven days of video to review and 168 hours of storage. The deluxe option offers 30 days of video, and 720 hours of recordings at $299.00 annually. Dropcam gives you more storage, but costs more. You can get into the Simplicam system for less of a financial outlay. There are some differences between Dropcam and Simplicam. Dropcam supports activity zones, letting you fire off an alert when something happens in a specific area the camera covers. Simplicam doesn't have that, but does have face detection, which I think is more useful. The cost of home monitoring is dropping, and the Simplicam package is an attractive option. If you want something really inexpensive, there are things like the iCam app ($4.99) for iOS, which mates with just about any webcam, and you can monitor from anywhere. There aren't any fees for monitoring but you can make a small contribution to help with the bandwidth costs. The iCam system also supports sound and motion detection. The updated iCam Pro is free, but to see your camera if you are not on the same LAN you need a one-time $9.99 subscription that never expires.

FireScribe for iPhone lets you share colorful animated messages

FireScribe (US$0.99) is a cute app for sending something beyond a typical text message. The app creates fireworks against any background you choose, then spells out your custom message in pyrotechnics, letter by letter. You start be selecting a background. It can be from your camera roll, Facebook, or from a gallery included with the app, or you can take a fresh photo from within the app. Type your text, and then the app will render the video. From there it saves it to your camera roll for sending via email or Apple Messages. The videos are pretty compressed and are 12-15 seconds in length. I wouldn't want to send a fireworks message on a regular basis, but they are attention getting and easy to create. Of course the app is most appropriate around certain fireworks-friendly holidays like Independence Day here in the US, but really it works anytime. Your text sits on the standard fireworks lattice that such displays in the real world use. I'd also like to see an option to lose the lattice and just have the fireworks float unattached. FireScribe requires iOS 6 or greater. It's not universal, but it will run on any iDevice. If you are a frequent messenger you might like it, and the people I sent some FireScribe messages to were pretty happy and surprised.

iPod touch stolen, used by war vet for prosthetic hand control

The opinion people have about thieves in general is pretty low, but a thief who broke into the truck of 27-year-old Afghanistan war vet Staff Sgt. Ben Eberle deserves loathing of a special kind. The thief took an iPod touch especially configured with an app called i-limb, used to control a prosthetic hand like the one seen above that was worn by Eberle. Eberle lost both legs and his right hand in a bomb blast three years ago, and has been using the prosthetic with the help of i-limb and the iPod touch. Using the pinky on the prosthetic hand to manipulate the app, Eberle can adjust the hand in an amazing number of ways. The hand and the app -- and the iPod touch -- all work together as a unit. While the iPod touch is only worth about US$240, San Antonio, TX police say that the thief could be charged with felony theft between $20,000 and $100,000. That's because the prosthetic hand is essentially worthless without the iPod touch and will have to be replaced at a cost of about $75,000. The iPod touch has a special logo on the back of it from the manufacturer, Touch Bionics. San Antonio Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest of the thief, so if a reader happens to see the unique iPod touch, they can call 210-224-7867 with a tip and possibly help a vet recover some of his dexterity.

Star Walk 2 mostly improves on the original

Star Walk 2 (US$2.99 with in-app purchases) is a solid update from the original award winning Star Walk astronomy program. This new version has a re-designed interface with the look and feel of each element beautifully crafted and drawing you into the inner workings of the app. One of the horizon views contains a lake -- the water looks realistic and the reflection of the stars and planets sparkle, giving a tranquil feel. Animation seems smoother in this version, and I particularly liked the 3D views of some objects. a a example, Messier 33 -- a galaxy relatively near to us -- can be rotated on screen and viewed from any angle. You can also do this with many comets, man-made satellites, and even constellations. The augmented reality view remains as a holdover from the original app. Orient your iPhone or iPad toward the sky and the app activates your camera so you can see charted objects appear superimposed on live sky objects. It's a great way to explore the night skies. You can scroll a list of objects visible on any night and from any location on earth. Tapping on an object name displays popups that give you information on the object, a Wikipedia link for more details, and a 3D option if there is one for that item. It's all very smooth and worked without problems. The app also contains a soundtrack and specific sounds for specific controls, but I found them irritating and turned them all off. If I'm outside, I'd rather hear the crickets. Star Walk 2 is universal this time around, so one purchase allows you to load it on any iDevice. The downside is that some content that was free in the original Star Walk is now an in-app purchase. Satellites, comets, a deep sky objects are now part of an extra pack. All the extra content bundled is an additional $1.99. I would have much rather seen a small price increase from version 1 that covered the extra features, which most people will want anyway, than in-app purchases. Some features from Star Walk are missing, like an event calendar and views through a finder scope. The developers say an imminent update will return the missing features. Star Walk 2 is an impressively good looking app, but it's a bit thin on data unless you buy the add on packages. The original Star Walk app remains in the app store, and if you have it and upgrade I'd keep the old version around until all the features it contains migrate to Star Walk 2. Star Walk 2 requires iOS 7. It runs on any Apple iDevice as noted, but I liked it most on my iPad for the extra size and readability. Star Walk 2 is a terrific introduction to astronomy for young and old. It's also handy for serious stargazers for observing planning.

Bringing the boom: our love affair with portable audio

Pic Navi shows you the 'when' and 'where' of your iPhone photos

Your iPhone tags photos with all sorts of information: your location, the time and date the photo was taken, even exposure information. This tagging function can be turned on or off under Privacy > Location Services in your iPhone settings. Surprisingly, you can't see the tag information on the iPhone itself, but it is available in iPhoto and other applications on a Mac or PC. Pic Navi (free, ad supported) makes it easy to browse the photos on your iDevice and see each photo with a date and time displayed. Tapping the compass button in the app displays a map of the location where the photo was taken and tapping the pin on the map provides directions to get back to that spot. Moving between photos is easy. Just swipe left or right and the metadata is displayed automatically. Pic Navi worked very well. An in-app purchase for US$2.99 gets you the Pro version, which allows you to share the locations by email, Twiiter or Facebook. With the Pro version, you're also allowed to change the font and color of the time and date stamp, and the ads are removed. I was satisfied with the free version and did not find the ads to be intrusive. There are some other apps with similar features, like Photo Investigator (free with in-app purchases), but I like the ease of use of Pic Navi. Pic Navi is a universal app, and it requires iOS 7 or later. It provides a function Apple doesn't on the iPhone, and many photographers will find it useful.

HotPads helps you search for rental properties

If you are thinking about moving but don't know where to start, HotPads might be just for you. The free app uses your current location to find what rental properties are near you, or you can search any area of the country. HotPads was recently acquired by Zillow, and now has a lot of new, powerful tech built in. The app lets you compare the rental price for a property to see if it is competitively priced. Street View from Google has been added so you can check out the property and neighborhood, and most listings have multiple photos of the interior and exterior. Other features in HotPads include a rent vs. buy calculator, and a tap-to-call button to put you in touch with the owner of the property or realtor. You can also search for homes within a particular school district, and see what public transportation options are nearby. The app also hides places you have looked at and are uninterested in, which is pretty handy. HotPads does not require a signup unless you want to save searches. If you do sign up, your information is not shared with third parties. Using the app is simple. There are filters you can apply to any search, such as making sure that a listing is recent, finding only listings that have photos, or finding out if dogs or cats are acceptable to the landlord. HotPads puts a lot of information at your fingertips. The free price is right, and if you are moving to a new apartment or home across town or across the country, HotPads is worth a look. The app requires iOS 6 or later. It's universal, and optimized for the iPhone 5.

Manning or Brady? Peterson or McCoy? You decide with the new NFL app

Millions of Americans anxiously await September 4th. That's when the National Football League kicks off its 2014 schedule and begins a four-month journey of joy and anguish for Fantasy Football players. So now is the time to prepare and get ready for the months ahead. The NFL has launched the latest version of its NFL Fantasy Football-Official NFL.com Fantasy Football App which is a free download for both the iPhone and iPad. It requires iOS version 7. This latest version offers lots of player information, statistics, injury reports, trends, and analysis. In addition, new features include Game Center where you can view in-season matchups, and a quick place to find NFL scores and information on any additional leagues where you are participating. Two other new features show up in this version, a 24/7 Draft Lobby that allows you to join and draft whenever you want and 24/7 Mock Drafts to provide you with the chance to practice your draft strategy. I found that setting up a new league and entering my team were easily accomplished using the app on my iPhone, however you are not allowed to edit the league settings from the app. For that you have to go to the NFL fantasy web page, find your team, and then make changes in the league settings such as rosters, scoring, trades, waivers, etc. According to the site's support staff, more management tools will be added to the app in the coming months. Once you sign up and register your team, NFL.com sends you an email with a link to your league's web page where the settings are easily changed. Once you have set up the league, it's time to get others to join you and hold your player draft. The app supports live standard draft and auction drafts. In the auction drafts team managers have a set amount of money and bid on specific players in each round. Additionally, the app allows for Autopick drafts. Each team manager can preset his or her rankings of players and the website will pick players for that team based on those rankings. The app allows you to use a variety of social media sites to send out invitations and updates including Yahoo!, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others. So there should not be any problem keeping team managers informed and up to date. The NFL app is just one of many similar fantasy football management apps. Others include Yahoo, ESPN, Rotowire, Footballguys, and CBS. The Rotowire and Footballguys apps cost US$4.99 while the others are free. All offer similar information and features including drafting choices, player stats and projections, injury updates, and the opportunity to set up your own league or join others. So if you already are part of a fantasy league you can check out the NFL.com Fantasy Football app to see if it's better than what your league currently uses or if new to the fantasy football world download the app and get started. Remember just two weeks to go before the season begins.