Top 10 Non-game Apps

Hey

I have finished my iPhone 4 review and it is sitting on my computer so i'll upload it tonight:) In the meantime, here is my top 12 non-game iOS apps. It was going to be 10 but then I could not decide. All of these apps are free by the way, or at least have free version.

1. Currency - this app might not interest everyone but it provides a simple, easy to use overview of any currency in the world.

2. Facebook - once again, not for everybody but come on. Who under 80 does not have Facebook.

3. Flashlight (icon below)- even if you don't have an iPhone 4, this app can be very useful. Flashlight allows you to use the flash as a torch or a strobe light. It also lets you turn the screen white like many other apps. If you do not have an iPhone 4 I recommend an app called flashlight (its icon has a green background with a torch on it) which allows you to turn the screen any colour. Turning it white illuminates anything.

4. TweetDeck - if you use twitter, you will live this app. It provides an excellent column view as well as a great interface for writing tweets and even connecting to Facebook.

5. Foxtel Guide - This is useless for you if you do not have Foxtel but if you do it is a must. It lets you record from anywhere in the world. If you have two boxes through multiroom you can even select which one to record on. Although this is only for Australia, i'm pretty sure cable networks in other countries have apps similar to this one including TiVo.

6. Authenticator - Only useful if you play World of Warcraft but if you do, it lets you use your phone as a Remote Authenticator, which prevents hacking.

7. USB Disk - This allows you to do what you can't with an iPhone of any kind, use it an a USB like you can with iPods...sort of. It only works if you have iTunes on both computers, but you can load any file on to it through iTunes, view it on your iPhone, then offload it on another computer.

8. Remote - This Apple application, not pre-installed simply allows control of your iTunes library from anywhere in your house, as long as you have iTunes.

9. PandoraBox - Its a bit complicated to use, but if you can it is great, and could save you a lot on money. It shows free apps that are free for a limited amount of time. Just go On Sale(down the bottom) then click free(up the top).

10. Consume - this app can be a tad buggy at times but it shows data usage and call usage for many networks.

  

11. Snow Report - useless if you are not interested in skiing but if you are it provides unprecedented coverage of slopes all over the world.

12. Sound Hound - this app lets you identify not only recorded songs, but also that one stuck in your head when you sing it. Its free version lets you identify only a couple of songs per month but for most people, this is enough.

A friend also told me to mention Eurosport and iFittness, which will cater for all your sports news and workout plans respectively. 

So till next time

AndrewCow

Top 10 Game Apps

Soooo.....this is awkward......Well I may not have posted in about a month but oh well. I have an iPhone 4 review coming very soon. Oh well to get psyched up for the iPhone 4 AWESOMENESS!! I will give you my top 10....well 11 because I miscounted at first... favourite and most used apps.

I currently have 156 applications to search through so to narrow down, I will give you TWO lists, one of games and one of ....well everything else.

1. Tilt to live - I am sure most of you have heard of this awesome game. You tilt. you live ...OR DIEEEEEEE

2. Dactyl 2 - Now this is one of my favorites mainly because I can do it. High score of 160 on extreme mode of the first game:)

3. Fruit Ninja - This game was not only was developed in my home town, but also have made over 2 million dollars. The squishy sound cutting the fruit makes is delightful

4. Guitar Hero - This alternative to many other iPhone rhythm games is fast, fun and much more creative than the others

5.  You Vs Wall - This interactive version of the famous Japanese game show may be very short, but is also very fun:)

6. Peggle - This game will hook you. It is very very addictive

7. Doodle Jump - As well as providing the basis for many lame jokes (Can I jump your doodle *snigger*) it is also fun and addictive

8. Lightsaber - Now I'm not really sure if this is counted as a game but oh well. This spin-off of sorts from "Star wars: The force unleashed" an awesome glowing lightsaber....WITH MUSIC!!! Wave it around and see what happens:)

9. Line Rider - Originally a flash game, this open world ....track editor...sort of is awesome fun. You will let out a creative/ sadistic side you never new you had:)

10. Cubes Light - This game may seem simple and not particularly original, but it is a really fun way to spend an otherwise very boring public transport journey.

11. Blip Solitaire - Now this game is incredibly simple. But like Cubes Light, is a really fun way to spend an otherwise boring journeyThanksAndrewCow

Best Game Trailers Ever

Hi
So the other day, I was watching a couple of awesome game trailers. It got me thinking, what are the best I have ever seen? These are my top 5, not in order though. Leave your favourites in the comments below :)

The first, although technically not a trailer, was released before the game was and therefore counts as one...to me:)


Well....here are the others






I saw this one just earlier today... and what can I say. It looks utterly amazing!



I thought I would add this one. The funniest game trailer I have ever seen!:)



Thanks everyone
AndrewCow

Security

Hi
If you didn't know, some people are scary. I am not trying to spook you out of the Internet or buying things online, I do it all the time. Just be careful.

So about a month ago, there was the world security conference where lots of people display scary life destroying technology. Luckily, there are all expert defenders of the innocent, just creating proof of concept things to keep people on guard. There were many terrifying devices, but none more than, well basically a mini cell phone tower. It takes the cell phone signal that would normally be beamed directly to your phone, and magnifies it. Now that does not sound so bad, even useful. The scary thing is, it tricks your phone to connect to it, no matter what...then steals all your data and information. This is done using a combination of a signal blocker and the crazy signal amplifier/ information stealer the guy invented.

So what sort of information can this thing steal about you. Well firstly, details of your account with the telco provider you have. This may even allow them to access your credit card.After that, basically anything on your phone, maybe more depending on how you use your phone.

So yea..........the tech world is a scary place
See you next time
AndrewCow

White iPhone

Hey
So you may wonder what ever happened to the white iPhone 4. There are pictures of it sitting there in all its awesomeness on the apple website, but when you go and order it, you get a message like the one shown below. Now Apple has been very quiet about this but the never ending leaks on the product continue. Maybe Apple should use the money the gained from firing their head of engineering over the "Antennagate" scandal to hire a plumber.

Apparently (i have noticed I am starting to use this word a lot) they are finding it very hard to stop the screen's back light shining through the front panel of the phone. You may not really get what I mean but if you have ever seen a MacBook, you would. In the laptop's case, Apple utilizes the back light as not only a....well....back light, but also to light the Apple logo on the reverse side of the screen. In the case of the iPhone 4, this would cause the phone to glow like a Christmas tree.

The interesting thing about this reason is that functional white iPhone 4s do exist. Apple some employees have been given them. Most likely, these are hand made devices built at the headquarters in California. In silicone valley, not suicide valley(if you did not get that joke, the company that makes the iPhone, Foxconn, has had 13 suicide attempts in five months). But I digress with my tasteless jokes. Basically, there must be some way to make the phones not bleed light, because Apple is doing it. I'm guessing though there is something expensive about it that is not feasible in mass production.

Another theory states, this delay is just so they have time to re-engineer the antenna. Apple has really not had luck with this product launch. Not only was there is delay in white iPhone, but also reported problems with a batch of phones proximity sensor(the thing that makes the screen turn off when it is close to your face) as well as the terrible lagging experienced by users of iOS4 on the original 3G...like me....

In any case, I will have my iPhone 4 soon and then be happy. I have already ordered some really cool cases and I recommend you check them out HERE. They are truly amazing unique things.

Thanks for reading:)
AndrewCow

The Truth About the Bermuda Triangle

Hi

This may not really be tech news as such but I like it. Apparently, crazy people who believe the Bermuda triangle is earth's hub of alien activity have finally been proven wrong. Although the proven theory has been around for a very long time, it was proven some time earlier in the year.

The theory is that methane bubbles, well...bubbling up from the earths core, change the structure of the water. This basically lowers the density so significantly, ships just sink in an instant like the water disappeared from underneath them. Now, you might be saying, what about planes. They crash and don't exactly swim. Well, this is the kicker of the story that, basically makes it one of the only viable solutions. These bubbles can float out of the water. Like the ships, this then changes the density of the air around the wings, reducing these airborne sardine tins to 600 tonne balloons. 

There is still some queries, such as boats that appeared with no people on them. Well.....they are some of the most pirate ridden waters in the world. I think any smart, sensible captain hook lookalike would find it neat to be able to kill and rob a boats rich crew, and blame it all on the aliens. Or is it more appropriate in our current political climate to call them EVIL UFO PEOPLE(any non-Australian readers...yea just go ahead and ignore that joke). You never know though. I could be wrong. Maybe the worlds alien hub is not Texas and New Mexico and Arizona. 

Whatever happens, i'm sure the stories will never stop. Oh by the way. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying there are not aliens, just that they would have no interest to visit this soon to be inter-space by-pass:)

Thanks for reading guys

AndrewCow 

MobileMe is useless - Part 2

Hi

So the other day I posted on how you can sync all your calendars, contacts and emails between your iPhone. Today I will tell you how to get other MobileMe features including Find My iPhone, bookmark syncing, online storage and online photo albums. Now all this may seem like it would be easier to have all in one place but once you get to using it, it is very simple.

Find My iPhone
This feature allows you to find your phone anywhere in the world via GPS. It displays your information on an online map, allowing you to find it if it has been stolen. Another thing it allows you to do is send a message to your phone and make it ring, even if it is on silent mode.

There are numerous apps that let you do this. One I found is called FoneHome. It allows you to find your phone online and send messages to it in the exact same way MobileMe does. Although it does not let you send that sound, for $2.50, it is much cheaper than over $100. This is also the only part of my MobileMe guide you have to pay for. I recommend you keep it running in the multitasking background otherwise its a bit pointless

Bookmark Syncing
Now there are a couple of ways to do this. The first one is to do it when you sync. This, however, is not always the most convenient. The easiest one would be to use an app called Firefox Home. It allows users to not only view Firefox bookmarks but also see the tabs you have open. The feature in Firefox also allows users to sync their bookmarks and tabs between computers.

Online Storage
One major part of MobileMe is its easy online storage. Now, although this is done well. I have found somewhere that does it much much better, and for free. It is called Dropbox and off the bat gives you 2GB of online storage but very easily, can get you up to 8GB. Now this is all for free and I just love it. It puts a folder on your desktop for easy drag and drop access for PCs, Macs, AND iPhone :) Click here for an account. I highly recommend it: )

Online Photo Albums
This is a little bit of a strange feature but I thought I would cover it anyway. There are millions of ways to do this for free. Whether you use Photobucket, Flickr, image shack or even Facebook, they all would great. If you want something more in-dept with more features, Picassa by Google is great. It has an iPhone specific web app that is great.

So thats about it. MobileMe is useless.
AndrewCow