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.
Someone must use Facebook’s chat system, because the social networking giant just released Facebook Messenger, a dedicated iOS app that allows you to send and receive messages or chat with friends on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It even comes with push notifications so you won’t miss any messages.
More interestingly, though, Facebook’s Messenger app contains files that hint at future video calling functionality to come.
A button-cute 10 year old girl may have just set a new prestigious record. It’s not for the largest number of consecutive jump rope skips, or for chewing a piece of gum for the longest time, or even for collecting the most Facebook friends. It’s for identifying a zero-day exploit in a number of iOS and Android games! Isn’t that cute?
This week’s roundup must-have apps features the long-awaited Skype app for the iPad, a beautiful new music app from Rdio, the quickest and easiest way to sell your old gadgets through eBay Instant Sale, and a new digital magazine from AOL that’s tailored just for you.
Despite Apple’s best efforts, you can make a bootable install disk of Mac OS X Lion… but it’s not for the faint-hearted, or those who aren’t tech inclined.
Luckily, there’s an even easier way to make a bootable OS X Lion disk now. It’s called Lion DiskMaker, and it turns making your own installable Lion USB key drive into a one-click affair.
