apps - page 77

Let’s face it: Chess is pretty geeky. Then again, so is the iPad (c’mon, it is). Blend the two though, and you’ve got…well, let’s just say that playing chess on an iPad at your local coffee hangout is a Wookie’s fingernail-width less geeky than insert-hyperbolic-geek-stereotype-here.

Who cares though; with its portability, large screen and potential to reach all 600 million chess players around the world, the iPad is the ultimate gadget for playing electronic chess, and the free Social Chess app is the way to play.

Ever since it first landed in 2010, iPad users have been clamoring for a native port of the great Mint.com app, which allows people who use Intuit’s great personal finance tracking service to watch their spending and savings on the go. Mint.com’s website worked, but just barely: it was really designed with a desktop experience in mind.

Well, the wait’s finally over. Mint.com has just been updated to a universal app, and the iPad version is just a gorgeous piece of work.

My original plan when downloading this app was to use it as the basis for a little light humor.

“Sorry readers, can’t write another word, my phone is telling me to go and kiss someone.” That sort of thing.

But after downloading it, I made a terrible mistake: I actually tried using it. It turns out When Should You Kiss is the worst thing I’ve seen on iOS for a long, long time.

We’re all looking forward to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, which will be released on Monday, October 24. But if you’ve been keeping an eye on the news over the past couple days, you’d have already seen some interesting stories from the book.

One of those details Steve’s initial opinion on third-party apps for the iPhone. In the beginning, Steve was opposed to third-party apps, and wanted developers to create web apps that could be used through the device’s mobile Safari web browser. According to Apple board member, Art Levinson, “Jobs at first quashed the discussion” of allowing apps on the company’s debut smartphone.

Coming up on 15 years ago, I tied my first tie with the help of a tiny little Geocities web page, and if I had to pinpoint one moment when I first realized the true extent of the ocean of digital information at my finger tips, it would be that one.

I wonder if TieSight will prove to be an identical sort of watershed moment for some other pimply teenager headed out on his first ‘fancy’ date… not for the web, but for the App Internet. It’s just that wonderful.

Last week was just a little more sweet than bitter for Apple devotees who also happen to be fitness junkies. That’s because Abvio’s trio of fitness apps — Runmeter, Walkmeter and Cyclemeter (which we’ve raved about) — have been granted two big upgrades, namely iOS 5-style notifications, and something we’ve been waiting a long time for: the ability to gather data from ANT+ dongles like Wahoo’s Fisica.

The newest app to grace the Deals.CultofMac.com hub is a nifty little tool called Disk Drill Pro. This is a sort of app that you hope you never have to use, but is a lifesaver when it’s called to the line of duty. In almost any situation Disk Drill Pro can assist in recovering lost data on your Mac. It has patented technology to deep-scan your hard drive and find files you thought were gone forever. Currently, the app is on sale at deals.cultofmac.com for $30 (that’s 66% off its usual $89 price-tag).

Today we’re holding a giveaway for 2 app codes of Disk Drill Pro. You have to actually play to win the giveaway though, so here are the rules for the contest:

Well, this is certainly unexpected. Apple may have kept secret a big change to the App Store that they’ll announce at the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event tomorrow: app rentals.

Over a year ago, when Skype’s iOS app was finally upgraded with the ability to work as a backgrounded app, it was a big step in the direction of untethering voice communications from the telcoms. Today marks the next big step in that direction, as both Skype’s iPhone and iPad app add Bluetooth support.

The option to purchase additional content within iOS applications seems to have been plagued by an error for at least 10 hours now, with in-app purchases “failing in a big way,” according to one report. iOS developers who rely on the income they receive from in-app purchases are beginning to lose their patience with Apple.

Here’s something for the iPhone photography freaks out there. It’s called Piece, and it just does one thing: slices your photos up into tiles.

The music options on the iPhone have sure gotten exciting over the last few months. First Apple unveiled iTunes Match, then Spotify launched their app in the US, and now Turntable.fm has brought their amazing social music experience to the iPhone. Earlier this morning Turntable.fm released their new iPhone app that enables users to listen to Turntable.fm DJ Rooms wherever they go.

Smule’s MadPad is a crazy finger-tapping box of fun for your iThing, guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Once your kids get their hands on it, it will soon drive you insane, but never mind: it’s worth it.

I tend to travel a fair bit, and when I’m not flopping down on friends’ couches (which happens more than I should probably admit — thanks guys), I often turn to Bill Shatner’s pugnacious figure and punch it, firing up the Priceline app to find a killer deal. And now that it’s a universal app, it’s even better on the iPad.

Wait, is this a joke?

The people responsible say no, but still: I have my doubts.

For fans of simple, elegant desktop wallpapers on the Mac, make sure to check out the newly-released Simple Desktops app in the Mac App Store.

Based off the simpledesktops.com website, the Simple Desktops app for the Mac sits in the menubar and allows you to easily cycle through wallpapers featured on the site.

There’s a treat for photography fans this morning, with the launch of the British Journal of Photography‘s official iPad app.

The studio behind the famous Halo game series, Bungie, has released a new game for the iPad. Crimson: Steam Pirates is a free game in the App Store that takes you on a pirate’s adventure of sinking ships while defending your own. Ahoy!

Unix geeks everywhere rejoice; GeekTool is now available in the Mac App Store. In case you didn’t know, GeekTool is a very powerful system preferences module that lets you do all sorts of cool things to your Mac’s desktop.

Want a live clock displayed on your Mac’s desktop? How about a weather widget? CPU usage? GeekTool is for you.

Did you know that you can pause an app download from your iDevice’s springboard? It’s incredibly easy, and we’ll show you how.

In the first of its kind, an iOS developer recently paid $50,000 to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint charging child-oriented apps collected personal data without parental knowledge. Broken Thumbs Apps, sells several games, such as Zombie Duck Hunt, Truth or Dare, and Emily’s Dress Up.

Amazon has released a new iPhone app for college-bound students that offers online price comparisons for textbooks. As the school year beings, finding a good deal on class textbooks can be tricky.

The new Amazon Student app lets users scan the barcode of a textbook and determine its trade-in value. Users can also buy new and used textbooks from Amazon.com and have them shipped from within the app.

Having gotten used to carrying a task management app in my pocket for some time now, I’d struggle to get through the day without my trusty to-do list. But for a group of amnesia patients in Ontario, Canada, apps are doing a lot more than just reminding them to buy milk. They use Apple’s iPod touch as a “memory substitute.”

eBay addicts rejoice! In a surprising move, eBay has released an official Mac app for free in the US Mac App Store. Instead of having to browse eBay from the web, you can now fire up eBay’s minimal Mac app.