iBooks “Author”
Create your own interactive books without a publisher.
Coffee & Multitasking v.90
1. R.I.P JOKER [i09.com]
Jerry Robinson, creator of Batman’s nemesis Joker died this morning at the age of 89.
2. 2011’s BEST APPS [via iTunes]
Game of the Year: Tiny Tower
App of the Year: Instagram
3. iSKYRIM [Kotaku]
Now there’s an Elder Scrolls V app that acts like an interactive map. Track events and places you need to revisit, and eventually you’ll be able to interact with other players!
(Thanks Czar for the heads up)
4. TWITTER UPDATE [Gizmodo]
Have you checked out the facelift (if you don’t use it on your phone)? They’ve implemented smoother ways of including things like pics and videos in your tweets. They also installed a timeline…hmm a lot of networks seem to be doing that lately…
APPLE AUTUMN ‘11 KEYNOTE
1. iPhone 4S (not 5)
2. Handheld software finally upgrading this month
3. iMessage will be for Apple products what BBM is for Blackberry
4. Newstand App will be iBooks for magazines (finally)
5. iCloud could change the way we compute *fingers crossed*
Remember the livefeed is happening at [Gizmodo]
Right now they’re talking about gaming with the new processor, and the beefed up camera.
MY Essential iPad Apps
I’ve had my iPad for a solid year now, and my friend Carl just bought his, so I thought it’d be interesting to share what I believe to be the top Apps for my favorite Apple product.
PRODUCTIVITY
iWork: This includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote ($9 each)
Moleskine: A really nice, clean, simple note-taking App for those who enjoy physically writing stuff out but want to use the iPad to save space. (free)
*I mostly use the pre-loaded Notes app for jotting things down, it has the great built-in feature of emailing your notes to you once you’ve finished writing to help you not forget.
Remote: An Apple sanctioned App that lets you control synced iTunes with your iPad. (free)
Nightstand: A great alarm clock, with tons of built in features. (free)
READING
Holy Bible HD: By far the easiest to use, clearest version, with great cross-version integration (free)
Kindle: Amazon has created a reading monster! The biggest library, and best friend to any college student - with most textbooks ranging in the $10 price range. (free)
*i also use iBooks, but it’s Canadian store is virtually empty
Flipboard: My favorite source for daily news. It takes websites, your Facebook newsfeed, and even Tweets, and organizes them in a neat magazine style layout. (was $9 - now free apparently)
Marvel: I used to be a huge comicbook junkie, and have picked up the habit again since downloading this app. With individual comics priced at $1.99 how can you go wrong!? (free)
*there is a DC app with same prices for fans of that universe
EDITING
PS Express: Made for the iPhone, but just as helpful for minor on-the-go photo edits. (free)
VIDEOS
Netflix: Get real, who doesn’t use this? (free)
Crackle: Like Nflix, but for those shows/movies that we loved and then forgot about (free)
Vimeo: Personally preferred over YouTube, but not as popular (free)
SOCIAL NETWORKING
MyPad: The best way to interact on Facebook with your iPad (free)
Checkin Map: Cause Foursquare is for chumps (free)
Google+: Very similar to the Fbook App, which in this case isn’t a bad thing (free)
IM+: Take your AIM, MSN, and Fbook/MySpace Chat and cram them all into one easy to use window (free)
*of course there’s the official Twitter and Tumblr apps that you should automatically have!
MUSIC
Beatwave: Touch the squares and music happens; more like a game a music making device (free)
Drum Kit: Mess around with a full set of drums ($1)
Classical: A classic guitar on your screen. Not the easiest to use, but fun to play around with (free)
GAMES
Angry Birds Seasons HD LITE: This version updates itself with the holidays…Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. (free or $1.99 for full version)
Plants vs Zombies: My all time favorite iOS game ($3)
ZTP: Zombie vs redneck tower defence game (free)
NOVA 2: It’s the iOS answer to Halo ($7)
#sworcery: Has to be played to be understood…………. ($5)
X-MEN: The classic arcade multiplayer platformer, one of the best ($1)
E.Legacy: A great RPG for lovers of the PS1’s Final Fantasy series ($5)
SF IV: Street Fighter 4 in your hands, awesome! ($5)
Coffee & Multitasking v.75
1. THE NEW DC COMICS
For the first time in its 76 year run, DC Comics is revamping it’s main character/storylines for a new 21st Century era. Starting August 31 with Justice League #1 everyone from Superman to Aquaman will be getting new #1 issues…this is as huge as that time Marvel went bankrupt!!!
[story] [pic]
2. GIZMODO’s NEW ESSENTIAL APPS
Giz has come out with a new line of must-have apps for mobile devices…
[gizmodo]
3. PRE-GEEK-WEEK
This is a heads up to all my readers for next weeks onslaught of nerdy posts; not only has Steve Jobs confirmed that he will be presenting at Apple’s big software Keynote, but it’s also E3!!!
[apple] [expo]
4. GO JETS GO
Something about a local hockey team coming back after 15yrs…I dunno…
[tsn]
Coffee & Multitasking v.66
1. APP OF THE DAY
Vimeo has come out with a beautiful looking app; just another reason why I wish they had the connectivity that YouTube offers :P
[gizmodo]
2. IS YOUR KID OLD ENOUGH FOR DARK SCI-FI?
My parents wouldn’t let me watch certain scenes of Empire Strikes Back or even Coneheads, and it wasn’t until years after its release that I could see Terminator 2. Check out this helpful guide to decide when your nerdy offspring will be able to fully dip into this culture.
[i09]
2. THE END OF MASSEFFECT2
First the Cerberus Network went into “standby” and now Bioware has released their final piece of DLC. Its sure to usher in the third and final instalment (hopefully set for this fall). I’m definitely downloading it this weekend :)
MY top5 iPad Apps
5. Flipboard [news] FREE
A clean, easy, customizable, and fun to use feed-reader. Awarded best app of 2010, I find myself sitting down with a cup of coffee every morning and going through my news feeds for Gizmodo, Wired, Spin, etc.
4. Beatwave [music] FREE
I’ve posted about this thing a lot lately; it’s a hilariously fun music-creating app, that loops ‘beeps’ and ‘boops’ generated when the user manipulates tiny squares on a grid.
3. Plants vs Zombies [game] $6.99
The first thing I downloaded when I bought my iPad. Honestly the only game I really need, and one of the best zombie adaptations I’ve ever seen. There’s a reason why there is a version of this hidden inside the World of Warcraft…
2. Pages [writing] $9.99
This saved note taking in college classes for me. A lot of people think typing on the iPad is tedious, but once you get the hang of it it’s fine, much like learning T9 for texting. And the ability to transfer files into PDF or Word docs is helpful.
1. Kindle [reading] FREE *book prices vary
One of the main reasons I bought an iPad was to use as an eReader. While iBooks is a better app, it just doesn’t have the library that Amazon offers. Also, as a college student, I’ve saved a bundle on textbooks! Not to mention that now with the Mac App Store, I’m able to seamlessly transfer and read books between my devices.
Coffee & Multitasking v.50!!!
1. Mac App-Store Grand Opening!!!
As promised, today is the launch of Apples app store for their Mac lineup (iMac/MacBook) I’m starting my download ASAP!
» click here
2. Bungie Proves They are the Best…Again
For the month of January (and possibly longer) Bungie has released a new game varient called “Community Slayer”. Inside gamers will find map/game types forged BY gamers! Proving yet again that Halo is so much more than just a game about shooting aliens.
*No link this time, just a celebration of a great game by a great studio.
3. Your 360 Avatar Just got Creepier…
This spring Microsoft is launching Avatar Kinect. With it, your Kinect scans your facial features and uses the information to render lifelike details on your Avatar. This means they’ll be able to smile, furrow their brows, and make other gestures similar to the player.
» click here
Fun w/ Beatwave
Last week I posted a fun lil game, where you click squares to make music *beeps* and *boops* and a lot of people fell in love with it! So I thought it’d be fun to show you where that game came from, and make a vid of me having some fun!
Sadly the original poster…postee??? the person who put up that thing first, they took it down :( But if you have an iPhone or iPad you can download the Beatwave app for free and have just as much annoying fun as me!!!
Coffee & Multitasking v.36
New L4D Expansion!!!
For both 1 AND 2! With a price of only $7 (560 XBL points) you now get to see what happens to the survivors from #1, AND, you get to choose who dies at the end (possibly changing the outcome of last years “The Passing” expanion???)
» click here
MORE Halo:Reach Goodies
Another Master Chief easter egg was found; this time in the after-credits segment.
» click here
Inglorious Nazi-Scalping Game for iTunes
Based on the Tarantino-born/Brad Pitt-played/Nazi-killing movie.
» click here
Meet the New Twitter
Most of my followers aren’t digging it, but I think it’s a nice upgrade. It very much resembles the official iPad Twitter app, so I’m already used to the interface. What do YOU think?
» click here
iPad in the Classroom
Lots of students have been asking me if it’s worth it to buy an iPad, so I thought I’d make a 2min video to show you why it’s fantastic.
Today in class while the prof was explaining which textbooks we’d need and where to buy them, I quickly jumped onto Amazon and downloaded digital copies (cheaper than paperbacks). At the same time, he had actually forgotten to print off copies of our syllabus for the semester; it was as easy as signing into the student-portal for our college - finding the section on the specific class - and downloading any notes/syllabus that I would need.
A few comments on Amazon:Kindle app;
- you CAN highlight sections of texts (in yellow) just like a highlighter
- not ALL textbooks are available, only the ones that Amazon carries (so far half my textbooks have been found)
- still trying to figure out if I can grab sections of texts and throw them into notepad or Pages
- i’ve found this app has far more to offer than the iBook store
