There have been several jailbreak tweaks over the years that have attempted to revolutionize the concept of multitasking in iOS. Few, if any, have come as close as ProWidgets, a new widget framework that’s available in Cydia now.
I say close because I don’t think ProWidgets solves a better way to multitask on the iPhone and iPad. However, it is a valiant effort that allows other developers to create third-party widgets that live outside of the traditional app experience.
I don’t own a whole lot of Lego at the moment, and that’s intentional because if I did, I’d just sit around building things all day, and none of these reviews would happen.
Building something from scratch is satisfying, and if it has a function to perform and succeeds, it’s even better. Loco Motors plays on this by letting you build your own vehicle and then use it to complete tasks on a test ramp. It’s essentially two puzzle games in one: one in which you build a car that will run, and another where you let it loose on the track to complete specific tracks.
And luckily, it has an interface that lets you do these things both easily and quickly.
It’s well known that Apple products are regularly the target of pickpockets, but apparently iThievery extends to less evolved primates also.
A 10-year-old girl visiting New Zealand’s Auckland Zoo had her brand new iPod touch (a combined birthday and Christmas present) pilfered by a sneaky spider monkey.
Three months after its launch, kart racing game Angry Birds Go! has received its first major update.
The update ushers in a change in weather by adding a snowy theme, which sees a brand new track covered in slippery ice.
Pop quiz:
Is the iTie
a) A derogatory term used by older English people to insult Italians?
b) An electronic collar which uses a tie as a flexible screen – kind of like an iPhone, only a tie?
c) All of the above?
The answer is of course c), and we have the pictures to prove it.
There was a time when practically every new console or games computer you bought came with a title called something like Winter Olympic Games.
That time was the 1980s — and the games in question tended, for the most part, to suck. While it was probably just a way of getting rid of unsold stock, the games seemed purposely designed to rob your excitement at receiving a new console — featuring uninspired graphics, repetitive sound, and controls that didn’t work worth a damn.
Jump forward a few decades and I had severe flashbacks of that sinking feeling while settling in to play Cubed Snowboarding.
Byword on iOS just got around 100 times more rad, and way easier to use, with the addition of one single feature: keyboard shortcuts. It doesn’t sound like much, but in addition to adding bold and italics using just the keyboard, you can also control pretty much every aspect of the app, all without reaching up to touch the screen.
Tweetbot for Mac has been updated with large image/video thumbnails to match the recent update to its iOS counterpart. The thumbnail option can be turned off entirely in the display settings, but I’m not sure why you would want to do that because they look great.
The app also supports three finger left/right swipes in the timeline if your Mac’s trackpad is configured that way. Some bugs have been squashed as well, so be sure to get the update in the Mac App Store. Tweetbot costs $20.
Source: Mac App Store
Once again Cult of Mac has waded through this week’s endless list of new releases of books, music and movies to find the very best stuff so you don’t have to.
This week’s top selections feature a lot of post-rock, some Wall Street debauchery, and a hearty serving of cannibalism.
Enjoy!
Tycho – Awake
San Francisco-based visual artist and musician, Scott Hansen, aka Tycho, has been making gorgeous techno music for over a decade, but it wasn’t until he released his third album, Dive, that he started generating some traction. Now Hansen’s back with his fourth album, Awake, that feels like luminous dreams floating in space.
iTunes – $9.99
The War On Drugs – Lost in the Dream
Maybe rock is dead, or just dying, but Adam Granduciel isn’t keen to sit idly while it the state of rock deteriorates. His third effort with The War On Drugs has birthed Lost in the Dream, a rock album that draws influence from pretty much every major rockstar in the galaxy, giving it a sound that’s got a little something for everyone without making any concessions on a sound that’s looking to make its own mark on rock-and-roll.
iTunes – $9.99
Perfect Pussy – Say Yes To Love
If you like your rock served loud, hard, and predictable check out Going to Hell from The Pretty Reckless, but for a more intense experience pick up Perfect Pussy’s debut album Say Yes. The five-piece band’s sound is a maelstrom of energy, punk, and distortion that is both vulnerable and unapologetic in its rawness.
iTunes – $8.99
Savage Harvest
by Carl Hoffman
In 1961 Michael Rockefeller disappeared in New Guinea. As a member of one of the richest, most influential families in the world, his mysterious disappearance was hot news at the time. Rumors surfaced that he’d been killed and ceremonially eaten by the local Asmat—a native tribe of warriors whose complex culture was built around sacred, reciprocal violence, head hunting, and ritual cannibalism. The Rockefellers and the Dutch government denied the story, so Carl Hoffman has set out 50 years later to New Guinea, chatting with cannibals and other witness to track down what happened to the powerful scion.
iTunes – $14.99
All Our Names
by Dinaw Mengestu
At just 35, Dinaw Mengestu has already been showered with accolades including the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award, The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 award, and a 2012 MacArthur Foundation genius grant. Now he’s ready to unleash his third novel, All Our Names, which features an unforgettable love story about a searing affair between an American woman and an African man in 1970s America.
iTunes – $12.99
Notes from the Internet Apocalypse
by Wayne Gladstone
I sure hope the internet doesn’t randomly collapse someday – mostly because I’ll have to figure out a new form of employment – but if it does, the world will probably look similar to the one envisioned by Wayne Gladstone in Notes From the Internet Apocalypse. Twitter junkies roam the streets speaking in 140 chars to each other or force cats to perform tricks for their amusement. (Which is more gruesome? Up to you.) It’s all pretty funny while at the same time examining the question: “What is life without the internet?”
iTunes – $10.99
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street is depraved but glorious. Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t manage to win his first Oscar for his portrayal of real-life goon-investor Jordan Belfort but what with the quaaludes, money, and debauchery that serve as props in Wolf, he sure as hell had a better time filming it than skinny old Matty McConaughey’s did with Dallas Buyers Club.
iTunes – $19.99
Veronica Mars
Backed by one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history, Veronica Mars the movie is finally here and it’s available in theaters and iTunes at the same time so you can follow all the action right where it left off nine years after the finale of the third season.
iTunes – $19.99
Saving Mr. Banks
The story behind the story: here’s Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney while Emma Thompson steps into the role of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, who avoided signing away the rights to make her book into a movie. Armed with his iconic creative vision, Walt pulls out all the stops, but the uncompromising Travers won’t budge, leaving Walt to reach into his own complicated childhood to discover the ghosts that haunt Travers.
iTunes – $19.99
You never know how many words you know until a game or puzzle calls upon you to pull them up.
And you also never realize how many words you forget until the same thing happens. A good word puzzle is neither too obvious nor too obscure. It makes you think of concepts in different ways. And it lets solvers surprise themselves with their mental gymnastics.
Bonza Word Puzzle does all of these things, and it’s worth a look.