Well, fall is finally here and you know what that means: candy, pie, raking leaves, and partaking of farmers’ bounties. It also means that Mother Nature cannot make up her mind if it should be 90 degrees or 40 degrees outside. To aid in your morning debate about long johns or shorts, we have four weather apps to help you figure out what mood Ma Nature just might be in.
Weather HD When it comes to showing off the weather, Weather HD takes strides in making it a gorgeous and sexy affair. Not only will you get some of the best eye candy, but also you can easily find the forecast, navigate between cities with a simple swipe, and enjoy what would otherwise be a rather boring experience.
+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Weather
Living Earth HD Maybe looking at a forecast is just not enough to satisfy your weather needs. Maybe you would enjoy seeing how the weather looks on a global scale. Living Earth HD is the answer to those prayers with a 3D simulated globe displayed in real time. It also includes the all-important weather, forecasts, and even times of cities across the globe. If you are a fan of our pale blue dot, this is the weather app for you.
Hurricane Hurricanes do more than just get odd names, they can trash a city with a might even Hulk would be envious of. Hurricane gives those of you living in hurricane zones great tools for monitoring items like wind speed, location, and five-day forecasts of Hurricane Jimbo. Those of you not content with only seeing current hurricane info are in for a treat as well, as Hurricane contains historical data on every hurricane dating all the way back to 1851 for the Atlantic, and 1949 for the Pacific.
iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Weather
The Weather Channel If you are a Weather Channel addict, then there is only one app to fill your midday cravings for weather. The Weather Channel app brings on useful features like severe weather alerts, forecasts, full screen maps, allergy forecasts, Hurricane Central, and so much more. Those of you who want to brag that it is 70 and sunny where you are to your friends who are digging out from four feet of snow, well, you can even post your locations weather right to your Facebook wall. Keep in mind, when you are sweating and burning up in 100+ degree heat, turnaround is fair play.
Education. Sure, it was the bane of my existence, but where would we be as a society without it? I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend four years of their life (or more), just to get a piece of paper that says they are competent in their field of choice? I realize that is oversimplifying matters a bit, but thankfully there are those that go through the tedious process of being taught all of that “necessary” information. For example, nobody would want to have a doctor that didn’t know what they were doing.
Thankfully, iOS app developers are also looking out for medical students, going as far as to create a new piece of software aimed directly at helping them pass arguably one of the more difficult parts of their entire education: Boards. While I only had to write a massive research paper to graduate, medical students have to go through numerous levels of testing before they are even remotely allowed to practice their craft. As is the case with any student, they are always looking for a way to cram in the most efficient way possible and that is where Colen Publishing’s new Neuro Board Review app comes in. Some of the larger features highlight the following:
Board-style questions and answers
Detailed explanations for right and wrong answers
Quiz and assessment tools to allow you to track progress and success
Question browser mode for unscored review of any and all content sections
Reference mode provides correct answers immediately for quick review
Optional timer to help establish pace
Each reference is hyperlinked to that reference on the web for more in-depth learning
Ability to bookmark and save difficult questions for future study, or shuffle questions within sections or across all sections
Just looking at that list of features makes me glad that I don’t have to take the test! There are certainly quite a few elements that need to be considered when taking an exam of this nature, so I have a sneaking suspicion that this will prove to be very helpful for future physicians everywhere.
There is one thing to note, however, when it comes to the application’s price. While the base app may be free, don’t expect the testing modules to be the same. Purchasable via DLC, these add-ons will cost you anywhere from $29.99 on the low end to $59.99 on the high end and will only cover one specific area of study.
When it comes to supporting iOS devices, it would be impossible to ignore EA’s massive mobile development wing. Not only have they successfully ported numerous versions of their successful console games to to iPad and iPhone, but with the addition of the Hasbro lineup, they have also recently released a new casual-focused series of titles. With that in mind, they were proud to unveil their upcoming software releases across the iOS platform.
Yahtzee Following in the footsteps of board gaming big brother Scrabble, Yahtzee is an iPad exclusive that promises to bring the glory of the dice roll to the forefront. Actually, this isn’t Yahtzee’s first ride in the iOS rodeo, as evidenced by the 2009 release of Yahtzee Adventures for iPhone. This “adventuring” mode looks to be making an HD return, along with the classic mode that everyone has come to know and love.
The innovation doesn’t end there, however, as there are also several other modes that look to bring a unique twist to the tried and true Yahtzee formula. In “Rainbow Mode,” color categories are added to the mix, while “Duplicate Mode” brings a more strategic approach to gameplay and scoring. If you are looking for something more multiplayer centric, the “Battle Mode” should be just what the doctor ordered, combining the already addicting action with a quick thinking element to the frenzy to another level.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I were to leave out the best idea ever: “Duplicate Rainbow Mode.” This takes all of the fun of the single player component and makes it playable for several bodies. It is hard to say if this is targeting fans of the recent internet meme, but isn’t everything better with double rainbows?
iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-09-09 :: Category: Games / Board
Lite Brite Okay, I am going to go out on a limb and say that no one, and I mean NO ONE asked for this. That’s not to say that the idea of making a Lite Brite application for the iPhone isn’t at least neat, but I mean, seriously? On the brite side (yeah, I know it was painfully punny) there are bound to be numerous people who will have memories that were derived from making their own glorified dot-matrix illustrations.
Though I kid about the motivations behind an app of this nature, it would be perfect for both young children and in a classroom enviroment. Plus, if you are a parent, who wouldn’t want to share an digital version of a toy that brought them countless hours of enjoyment? Probably the best part of the entire application is the ability to share your created images with the entire world via email or Facebook. Who would have ever thought that Facebook would become the equivalent of the refrigerator “wall of fame” for the digital age?
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-09 :: Category: Games / Family
FIFA 11
As is the case with every EA Sports title, this could simply be seen as a case of “another year, another dollar.” Lately, however, the house that Madden built has been trying to provide players with more incentive to make the jump to next years’ game. Along with the obligatory roster updates, reflecting the ever shifting ecosystem of international soccer leagues, more that five hundred teams will be included in the iPhone version. That is a staggeringly huge number, especially given the limited footprint that they try to maintain. Along with the roster updates come a new cast of stadiums to play in, fifty to be exact.
If there is one thing that you can say with complete assurance, it is that EA listens to their community. In response to complaints about last year’s control scheme, you now have complete control over your players with both casual and advanced levels of interaction. Catering to the hardcore soccer fans you will now the ability to pull off tricks like the pros, using intuitive gesture based controls. Lets just hope you are ready to guide your team through an entire season of madness.
FIFA 11 will be bringing the pitch to App Store in October of this year.
MMA Mixed Martial Arts have become what the World Wrestling Federation was to the American culture in the 1980s and 90s. Tapping into the carnal desires of males everywhere, stadiums are packed across the globe, all in the name of witnessing gladiatorial style beatdowns. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to bring the battles to consoles, as THQ successfully did in 2009 with UFC: Undesputed. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make a quick buck, EA tossed their hat into the octagon in June of 2009, announcing MMA and slating it for a 2010 release date. At the time it was unknown that the game would be coming to iOS, but you won’t hear me complaining.
Featuring twenty Mixed Martial Arts legends including the likes of Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock, MMA combines visceral action and touch controls to bring you ever closer to the mayhem and intense action. You will be able to chose from the impressive roster of real-life combatants or design your own character, then play through a career of bare-knuckle brawling. In between matches you will even have the chance to take part in mini-games to level and improve your character, as you compete to be the best fighter in the world.
MMA will assuredly bring the pain when it hits the App Store in October.
The Sims 3: Ambitions Based off of the immensely popular PC game franchise, The Sims 3 hit the iPhone last year to solid reviews. While it is not known how well the game sold, it is safe to assume that it did well enough, considering that it was followed up earlier this year by the release of The Sims 3: World Adventures. Following the logic of, “third time is the charm,” EA has The Sims 3: Ambitions slated for release sometime very soon.
Whether you import a character that you designed in the earlier iPhone games or decide to create your new character from scratch, there are many new and interesting tweaks on the traditional Sims gameplay that will surely keep you busy micromanaging for quite some time. After deciding from career paths such as teachers, chefs or rock stars, you will have the chance to live out your fantasy lives like never before. Just be sure to give yourself ample time to enjoy yourself torturing those poor Sims. Afterall, that is the whole point of the game… right?
Graphics/Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Gameplay: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.58 out of 5 stars
When you go back through the annals of history there is only one popular worm that ever comes to mind: Earthworm Jim. Now Jim was a invertebrate with an attitude that was on a mission to launch as many cows and shoot as many rabid dogs as humanly, errr rather, quasi-humanly possible. So with such an awesome pedigree, why wouldn’t other worm based games follow a similar theme? You get to discover that firsthand in Super Mega Worm, and you better believe that they may be onto something.
As with our old buddy Jim’s game, you play the part of an worm bent on vengeance, except this time out you are a hell of a lot bigger, with a nastier attitude to boot. Playing as the “Great Death Worm Wojira,” you are delivering on a mandate from mother nature to cause as much death and despair as possible. Your targets are none other than the very humans occupying earth, because after all, we are the ones destroying it. Bet you wished you recycled that popcan, instead of leaving it on the side of the road. Thanks for spoiling the whole existence thing for the rest of us, jerk!
In modern society, which came first, technology or education? This is the personification of the age old question of whether the chicken or the egg came first. In the case of technology and education, one cannot exist without the other, so the modern educational system has adapted to adopt the technologies of the age into the classroom experience.
Over time, everything from calculators to computers were successfully integrated into the education system and if the developers over at Regular Berry have anything to say about it, iPhones or iPads may be next on the list. Just yesterday they debuted Algebra Touch, an app that is targeted at streamlining the process of teaching students the key concepts of Algebra, while still providing an interactive experience.
So how interactive is this application, you ask? Why not take a look at the iPad and iPhone demonstration videos to see for yourself:
When I was watching these videos all I could thing about is how much better I would have been at Algebra, had this app existed when I was in school. It has managed to find a way to meld the processes necessary to be successful with the material, while still making it fun to do.
According to Regular Berry’s developer blog the application is current designed to cover the following concepts:
Simplification
Like Terms
Commutativity
Order of Operations
Factorization
Prime Numbers
Elimination
Isolation
Variables
Solving Equations
I may not be a math wiz or a seasoned educator, but I know enough to comprehend that a good portion of a teacher’s workload could be eased with software of this nature. Further encouraging classroom adoption is the compatibility with external display cables, which could be used to connect the iPad or iPhone to the teacher’s projection device of choice. So not only is it visually appealing, but it is convenient as well.
If there’s anything that concerns me about Algebra Touch it might be that the low level math is being done for the user by the software. In a classroom where you are working with younger children, it may be best to integrate in a process wherein the students do the basic calculations on their own. I know calculators made me lazy; I would hate to see the same happen here. Though, at the end of the end of the day, if it helps our future children learn, then it is all worthwhile. Good luck securing funds for a classroom worth of iPads.
:: OUR PRETTY EARTH
When you go back through the annals of history there is only one popular worm that ever comes to mind: Earthworm Jim. Now Jim was a invertebrate with an attitude that was on a mission to launch as many cows and shoot as many rabid dogs as humanly, errr rather, quasi-humanly possible. So with such an awesome pedigree, why wouldn’t other worm based games follow a similar theme? You get to discover that firsthand in Super Mega Worm, and you better believe that they may be onto something.
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