Use Brushes to Create Your Masterpiece

The closest I’ve come to painting a canvas is the drop cloth I used the last time I painted the bathroom in my house. Steve Sprang’s Brushes is just the thing for a guy like me who’s more likely to paint himself into a corner than to create great works of art.

Brushes is a flexible drawing app that features three different brush styles of varying widths. With one brush, I can draw a thin dense line; with another brush, I can paint a broad transparent swath. I can vary colors, hues, shades density and other stuff that artists know more about than I do.

What I like most about Brushes  is that I can paint over pictures in my camera roll. I can draw hair on my bald head using a variety of different brush strokes. With the eye dropper, I can pick a background color and then dab over the distracting elements to make my handsome mug stand out even more. To work up close, say, to whiten my teeth, I can zoom in.

When I’m done, I can add this wonderful portrait to the other 65 similar portraits I’ve created and run a slide show for my family, friends and strangers on the bus to work.

Ah, who am I kidding, even with this easy-to-use drawing app, the best I can do is create neo-modernist abstracts influenced by the Dada and Op Art movements, which is a fancy way of saying “He has no clue.”

But it’s fun and Brushes will keep me amused for a long time. Who knows, I might even be able to actually create something worth looking at, like the wonderful pictures on Sprang’s Web site.

• app_name: Brushes
• price: $4.99
• rating: 9/10

There’s a Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On in the App Store

Jon Atherton, who does promo work for Glentwood Pty Ltd., is accusing Apple of censorship because the company has asked him to remove “boobs” and “booty” from the developer’s Wobble app description. Wooble can be used to make body parts shake like Jello. Atherton says Apple gave his app a second look after Wobble topped the sales chart in Japan.

Apple has had a policy from day one that bans any app that it deems sexually explicit or non-family-friendly. Apps that feature scantily clad women, let alone shaking their body parts, are no-nos.

Wobble slipped into the App Store by way of a loophole. It doesn’t contain images — you grab them from your Camera Roll. Select one or two regions in an image, pinch and drag the regions to position them, shake your iPhone or iPod touch and things wobble. If you use your imagination for a nanosecond, you can see the possibilities of an app like this one.

Writes Atheron writes on his ChilliFresh blog:

I just got a call from a nice fellow in developer relations who pointed out that we ‘need’ to remove any reference to both BOOBS and BOOTY in our marketing texts. When I firmly challenged Apple censoring Wobble he pointed out that Wobble and Apple had an agreement that we needed to comply with.

Apple doesn’t have a problem with the app — it’s the description that contains “boobs” and “booty” that it objects to, Atherton says. How is that different than music titles, which contain similar words, in iTunes, Atherton wants to know.

Doing a search for “Boobs” in iTunes returns 143 results—many of them marked explicit, a search for “Booty” returns 150 items. Not surprisingly Wobble appears at the top of the list in both search terms. there are hundreds of songs in the charts that use the words Booty and Boobies. I asked “Why are Apps different?” – response, I’m only here to talk to you about the Appstore and can’t comment on iTunes.

Atherton revised his description in the App Store to read: You can make (censored) and (censored) jiggle and bounce like real when you shake your phone.

However, read the bulleted points and you’ll still find the line: “Watch in amazement as boobs and booty bounce to life.”

Looks like Atherton will probably be hearing again from that “nice fellow” before long.

If you want to see what the fuss is all about, here’s a link to You Tube (possibly NSFW).

Bowling is an Adventure with Downhill Bowling

A hand-held animated bowling game did not sound exciting to me until I discovered Downhill Bowling for the iPhone. Released by Game Resort LLC as an alternative to the free Downhill Bowling Lite, this iPhone app is a clever, addictive game that is appealing and fun for all ages.

Downhill Bowling is so much more than bowling. The tilt controls provide precision handling of the direction of the ball as it careens through canyons, ricochets off rocks, flies off ramps, and of course, knocks down bowling pins. Similar to a driving or racing game, Downhill Bowling requires good hand-eye coordination. However, the ball has neither brakes nor variable acceleration.

There are ten levels and two modes, regular and timed. Each level offers a different terrain with varying doo-dads you can pick up like random raccoons who hide in trees and accompany the bowling ball when it is shot out of a cannon. You can gather bombs or growing devices which help increase your chances of getting a strike. Poisonous mushrooms, on the other hand, slow you down and make your ball wobbly.

Levels One and Two are simpler, and luckily for uncoordinated me, the ball can’t “die” in these levels. Higher levels are more challenging with difficult-to-avoid pitfalls. In Level Eight, if the ball falls off the edge of a cliff, it burns up in a fiery canyon. For extra points, Level Two has sheep you can run into, and Level Four has snowmen that you can eagerly knock over.

Downhill Bowling is hard to put down. After playing the game for even a few minutes, its perky tune sticks in your head and when you stand up from your chair, you still feel like you are still racing downhill at breakneck speed.

Game Resort LLC recommends restarting your iPhone after installing Downhill Bowling; this step seems to fix the crashing problem reported by some new users.

The only other problem with this iPhone app is that it is addictive and it will eat up your time. If you are fond of games, Downhill Bowling is an entertaining winner.

• app_name: Downhill Bowling
• price: $2.99
• rating: 9/10

Pixi’s Interactive Graphics in Motion is Cool for Creatives

Pixi is a new iPhone/iPod Touch app from Tiny Wonder Studios that they describe as “music to your eyes.” It definitely is a visual app, but it is infinitely deeper than that because you can control what you see. I find it difficult to describe Pixi in any way other than a new-age spirograph. However, if you aren’t old enough to remember that art toy, then this description does little for you. So think animated spiraling shapes in different colors that you can change using the touch screen interface on your iPhone.

Pixi begins with a default screen featuring a black background and a simple spiraling circle.

By applying touch and pinch gestures, you can begin to change the shape into others, which will vary depending on how you manipulate your gestures. For instance, one finger touches versus two fingers will each create a different effect. There are six different modes of “editing,” if you will, available to change the image’s color, background and to add special effects, as well as a save feature and a help button.

When you mess up or want to start over, you shake your device and it returns to the default screen.

For the hopelessly creative who love to explore color and shape and such, Pixi may prove to be a very entertaining app. Saving images in the gallery allows you to revisit and show off your favorite designs and while you can save an image to set as wallpaper, it won’t be animated.

Pixi does make a pretty neat use of the touch screen and it does have incredibly detailed instructions, but other than having something cool to look at in the dark, I’m unable to discern what else you would really do with it. If you’re super creative or really enjoyed spirographs as a kid, you may very well appreciate Pixi.

• app_name: Pixi
• price: $1.99
• rating: 7/10

Alpine Ski Trail Maps Show the Lay of The Land for Skiers

Alpine Ski Trail Maps promises to relieve you of having to tuck away those foldable ski maps into your coat. Instead, it offers hundreds of maps that can instead be all tucked away onto your iPhone/iPod touch.

It’s a great concept — overall the maps render fairly well and the interface works smoothly. And for a measly $0.99 you get instant access to a whole selection of maps all inside of one app. Best of all, Alpine Skie Trail Maps saves a map to your iPhone to reduce the time it takes to view it a second time.

The interface is quite user friendly. Fire up Alpine Ski Trail Maps and you are presented with a whole list of maps. Then either scroll down to choose a particular ski resort or use the search function. If your chosen ski resort has multiple maps, you’ll be able to drill down further to choose from the various trail maps.

There is also a link to the ski resort’s Web site and other contact information. In fact, this information demonstrates how this app could be more appealing with a few more enhancements.  For example, Alpine Ski Trail maps could offer some other details about what is available at the resort, such as food, lodging, what other kind of alternatives to skiing are available, or rental information. As it currently stands you would need to go to the resort web site, where there might be a map to preview the alpine trails anyway.

Alpine Ski Trail Maps could also be stronger if it included more of the medium-sized resorts (like Badger Pass in Yosemite Park) that did not make the cut. Fortunately, by viewing the Alpine Ski Trail Maps web site you can preview which ones are included. Also, there may be an object that turns out a bit blurry in the rendering from time to time, although this was pretty rare.

Despite our wish-list of future improvements, Alpine Ski Trail Maps is a very useful app. If you’re looking for ski maps on your iPhone, this is the best way to get them.

• app_name: Alpine Ski Trail maps
• price: $0.99
• rating: 8/10

CP TECH LevelOne WNC-0306USB Wireless USB Adapter – USB – 108Mbps

DETAILS: Knowledge is the most important resource of the future. Fast ways to communicate increase productivity. The knowledge about chances in communication technology overcomes borders. LevelOne is there. With its reliable solutions for any occasion, for different bandwidths, as well as for top modern and common transmission techniques.PRODUCT FEATURES:Compatible with IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g standards;Supports SuperG technology data rate up to 108Mbps;Maximum reliability, throughput and connectivity with automatic data rate switching;Compliant with USB2.0 and 1.1 specifications;Supports wireless data encryption with 64/128-bit WEP Key for security;Supports WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK wireless network data encryption;Simple user setup & diagnostics utilities. Product Description: LevelOne FreeCon WNC-0306USB – network adapter Device Type: Network adapter Form Factor: External Interface (Bus) Type: Hi-Speed USB Dimensions (WxDxH): 3.4 in x 0.5 in x 1.2 in Data Link Protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g Data Transfer Rate: 108 Mbps Frequency Band: 2.4 GHz Compliant Standards: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP UPC: … Our price: $26.99 Buy it now for $14.99 after $12 rebate.  (List Price: $36.99)

PimpMyNews (news)

PimpMyNews 1.0

Category:
News
Price: $3.99 (iTunes)

Description:

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PRESS REVIEWS:
”It pulls stories off the Internet & reads them aloud” (Forbes)
“It’s like magic… Sounds surprisingly natural” (Touchtip)
“So good [the web app] received an Apple Staff Pick” (Mobile Mag)
“I’m shocked how many people like PimpMyNews” (FastCompany)
“Not quite as cool as pimping your ride, but close”(InformationWeek)
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You’ve never seen (or HEARD a productivity-boosting, fun-filled news app like this before! PimpMyNews makes your favorite news & blogs TALK – so you can *listen* to the stories you wish you had time to read – anytime, anywhere.

It’s like TiVo® for news and blogs… you’ll never miss a breaking story. PimpMyNews collects fresh text stories from your favorite sources – converts them to audio – and delivers them right to your iPhone or iPod touch! (Or your Mac/PC, or any MP3 player).

Now, you can get current while you get things done – Listen to TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal or New York Times in the car – hear Mashable, USA Today or Perez Hilton at the gym or grocery – stream MSNBC, Huffington Post or Seth Godin on the train, at home or the office. (Choose from 1,200+ of the web’s top sources – the stuff you read today)

More than just audio, PimpMyNews exploits the cool features of your iPhone/iPod touch to transform “plain ol’ text news and blogs” into a full “mobile, social and vocal” news experience.

UNIQUE FEATURES
- Tech, Politics, Celebs, Sports, Biz & more, in one app
- Personalize your account with your 10 favorite feeds
- Mix in content from the web’s top 30 sources
- Stream audio and video clips on demand
- Create a daily podcast for hands-free listening
- View text and full color pictures
- Share “talking stories” with friends, or post them to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg & more

(More on our full site: www.PimpMyNews.com)

Whether you’re a casual news reader, a “news junky” or just want to dazzle your friends with how IT TALKS, PimpMyNews is for YOU.

For the price of a smoothie, you can stay current, have fun and multitask on-the-go with PimpMyNews. Download it now to hear what the buzz is all about!

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USER COMMENTS
“My pick of the week. I use it everyday, all day” (Phil J)
“Thanks to PimpMyNews, people think I’m smarter than I am” (Josh C)
“I use it to catch up on all my blogs while I work… saves me hours of reading"(Damien H)
“It’s awesomely cool to show off!” (Psyke)
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PimpMyNews

iSpell "О себе" (games)

iSpell "О себе" 1.0

Category:
Games
Price: $2.99 (iTunes)

Description:

iSpell is foreign language spelling trainer. For a word displayed in your native language (and we do support a few – Deutsch, Español, English, Français, Italiano, Русский to name a few) you gotta slide the letters to come up with right Russian spelling only to get another word to spell. If spelling in foreign language is not your thing, you could always press "skip" button to get the next word.

This lesson covers "All about me".

Be sure to check out other lessons "The Basics", "Animals", "Home", "Food", "Leisure", etc… available soon.


iSpell "О себе"

C.E.O : Chief Elevator Operator (games)

C.E.O : Chief Elevator Operator 1.0

Category:
Games
Price: $0.99 (iTunes)

Description:

Dreamed to be a CEO? Why not be another type of C.E.O: "Chief Elevator Operator" !!

Being a good C.E.O is not that easy, you need to have a fast action and good memory; remember which floor your guest what to go and stop at that floor. Make sure you don't keep them inside the elevator too long, otherwise they will fall asleep and never get out from your elevator.

If you keep too many people inside the elevator it may overloaded and the game will be over.

Control:
- Press the up and down button to control the elevator
- Press the open button to open the door.

Tips:
- Open the door wisely because people will get in the elevator randomly.
- Press the "alarm" button can wake the people up, but the alarm battery is limited so use it for emergency only!

This is a very unique game testing your memory and how fast your reaction is, purchase now for just 0.99 USD in this promotion period.


C.E.O : Chief Elevator Operator

Lock ‘n’ Roll Pro (games)

Lock ‘n’ Roll Pro 1.1

Category:
Games
Price: $2.99 (iTunes)

Description:

ALL LINKS FOR LOCK 'N' ROLL CAN BE FOUND AT

http://cannedbanana.wordpress.com/
<Click on Lock "n" Roll support link below>

Instruction video on YouTube! Search for "Instruction LNR"

Lock 'n' Roll is an intriguing puzzle game requiring a combination of luck and skill. Roll four dice at a time and arrange them on a 4×4 grid. Receive points for various combinations according to number and color.

You must place all four dice and once you lock them down, they are fixed in place! The most difficult combinations are cleared from the board.

Earn enough points and be rewarded with a Joker! The game keeps going until there are no more places for dice. How high can you score? That's entirely up to you…

NOTE: Currently, Lock 'n' Roll Pro is identical to the free Lock 'n' Roll except that Pro does not display ads. In future updates, Pro will be enhanced with additional features not available in the free edition.

Lock ‘n’ Roll Pro

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