1. CloudtoGo – This free file sharing app is getting rave reviews. Install Cloud from LineBreak on your Mac and CloudtoGo on your iPhone and sharing files, folders and screenshots with others is as simple as dragging them to the Cloud. The app creates a link for you to share on a webpage. If it’s in the Cloud on your Mac, then you simply open up CloudtoGo on your iphone and you can see the it there as well.
2. Evernote – Do you need to have your organization tools simple to use and in one place? That is Evernote. It can be your digital file cabinet. Documents, photos, emails, webpages (Yes, webpages!) or your own little notes, typed or pasted into a new note. Create separate folders for different types of information to keep it organized. Can’t remember where it is? Type some of the text into the search bar and Evernote will find it for you. Setup the clip tool on your browser and clip a webpage or a portion of a page into Evernote. Forward emails to your Evernote. It’s great!
3. IProcrastinate – Another free app created by Craig Otis. This one organizes your to-do list for you. It will keep you synced between your iPhone and your Mac and allows you to create steps for your projects listed.
4. DataVault – We all know how important it is to keep our passwords and financial information secure and protected, but it could be really helpful to have that important information accessible when needed also. This app by Ascendo provides that secure accessibility, so that you can access your most important information from anywhere without fear of identity theft.
5. Wunderlist – This is not just another to-do list app. Wunderlist has built-in collaboration features so that you can sync a project’s task list with everyone involved. You can also email tasks to Wunderlist and keep it synced across all your different platforms. Wundkinder has done a great job on the creation of this app.
6. Bento – Ever wish you could put your calendar, contacts, task and photo collections all together in one connected app? Bento from Filemaker does that for you. Go to one app to see your clients appointment time and their contact info, all at once.
7. Smalltask – Simple and quick is the name of the game with this task organizer created by Ivan Pavlov. Type in just the info you need, no filling in multiple fields. It remains synced across all your platforms and items are quickly deleted from the list as you complete them.
8. Numbers – Your spreadsheets don’t need to be confined to your desktop or MacBook. Numbers iOS versions keep you working across all your platforms, including you iphone.
9. Pages – Your wordprocessor is still the best tool for writing out anything of length. Pages, Apple’s wordprocesor still rates as the number one productivity app for iOS platforms.
10. Best Alarm Clock – Get rid of your old radio alarm and replace it with your iphone and this fun little app from myNewApps. Wake up to iTunes and glance over to see the temperature and weather displayed, along with the time.

These are just the top ten. Some of them are free and others will cost you a few dollars, but they’ve all been rated as some of the best by those who use them.

1. Hanging with Friends – Zynga has hit another top scorer with this fun game. People are becoming quite addicted to this game and making it part of their daily routine.
2. Top Girl – This is the iOS version of the popular Facebook game, ‘It Girl’. Fashion, makeup and hair, all the things girls love to ‘play’ with are included in this game for girls.
3. Shape Shift – ‘Relaxing’ is the word most used in comments regarding this new game to hit the top 10 in the free games list. It’s put out by Backflip Studios, the makers of Paper Toss and Ninjump.
4. iFighter 1945 – This arcade type game from EpicForce is highly rated for being both challenging and fun. It also has great sound and graphics. A good combination of nostalgia and high tech.
5. Bunny Shooter – This is definitely NOT a girl’s game. The about of the game is to shoot cute little pink bunnies with your bow and arrow. It is made by Best Cool and Fun Games, who also created:
6. Ant Smasher – What little boy didn’t try to smash ants with his thumb? Now they can do it on their iphone and not get bit or have ant ‘guts’ stuck to them.
7. Bubble Tap Tap – I don’t know if this one will ever leave the top ten of favorites. It’s simplicity and familiarity are as addicting to iphone users as the real thing is to everyone else. There is something about bubble wrap that just begs for it to be popped. Yang ke created a real winner with this one.
8. Contract Killer – For those looking for serious action, this is one of the most popular in the free category. It’s put out by Glu Games, and fulfills the sniper-lust that is in many young men.
9. Sudoku – If you got addicted to this numbers game on paper, then you’ll have the free iOS version on your phone and ipad, for sure. Optimes Software is the creator, and has iOS versions of several popular but simple games, like:
10. Hangman – And, of course, War, Tic-tac-toe and Hearts. Optimes is king of the simple and popular games, that never lose their appeal.

Not an ‘angry bird’ among them, as you can see. Some are popular because of their simplicity and others are popular for the amount challenge they provide to gamers, but all them have got some pretty high download numbers to secure their ranking in this list. They’re all available for download through Apple apps store or iTunes.

1. Save on fees – The main reason people want to be able to tether these two products is to save on WiFi connection fees. People who have iPhones can already pay a fee for this service to tether to their laptop, so why not their iPad?
2. Promotes the iPad – What a great way for Apple to promote the iPad to people who already have an iPhone. By making an announcement to solve the tethering problem, they could boost sales.
3. Looks bad – All this controversy just makes Apple look bad. People might start thinking twice about purchasing their products.
4. Good vs. bad PR – Right now Apple is getting a lot of bad publicity about this, so allowing the tethering would be a good public relations move. What a good way to turn a negative into a positive for Apple.
5. Looks greedy – Apple’s new iPhone 4 can be tethered to the iPad if you purchase the WiFi hotspot feature, but this makes them just look greedy. People don’t want to have to purchase a new phone when the one they already have works just fine.
6. Need both – The iPad certainly doesn’t replace the iPhone. So if you want the added features of the iPad, you still want to keep your phone and you don’t want to have to buy a new one to use them together.
7. No camera – The original iPad you doesn’t have picture taking capabilities like your iPhone. You would love to download your pictures and videos to the iPad which has a bigger and better screen, but you can’t unless you have an iPod.
8. Do it anyway – Of course the techno-geeks have already found ways to get around this tethering problem and people are going to do it anyway. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
9. Promotes dishonesty – So if people are going to find ways to avoid paying the addition fees anyway, could Apple actually be causing people to be dishonest? I’ll let you be the judge.
10. AT&T vs. customers – Some people might see this as Apple considering AT&T more important than their customers. I don’t think that’s an image they would like to promote.

Most people are looking for ways to save money and get the most out of the stuff they already own. Apple should be doing their best to help the regular folks out instead of just trying to get them to buy more of their products.

Finally this update also signifies Tapbots’s successful release of their push notification system. Over the past couple releases, Tapbots has been testing this new service and now it is open for everyone. Once updated, all you have to do is go to the settings menu and enable one of the many push notification switches. You’ll be receiving alerts in no time!

1.4.3 is a free update from the iOS AppStore.

Following the success of our Version 1 ‘All flights, everywhere’ flight search app that launched in February this year (and generated over a million downloads in the first five weeks), we wanted to create an even more powerful tool that replicated the best functionality from our website that our customers love. We wanted to go beyond the success of Version 1, which ranked #1 in the travel apps section of the iTunes app store and was so popular that it even featured in Apple’s advertising campaign.

To do this, we created Version 2 that brings the full flexibility and functionality of the Skyscanner website direct to your iPhone, allowing customers to find flights from a specific airport, a city or even a whole country. Those just looking for bargain prices can get inspired by searching to ‘everywhere’ giving them a list of the cheapest flight destinations from their nearest airports.

Those flexible on when they want to travel can view the lowest fares across a whole week, a whole month or even the entire year with the handy ‘chart’ view function, ensuring they find the best deals available. Specific filters can be applied to the search results allowing customers to view flight options for specific airlines, at specific times or simply by price.

You can take a look at our handy YouTube video which demonstrates our versatile app in action.

http://www.youtube.com/SkyscannerLtd

When customers are on the move, saving time is really one of their key requirements. The new Version 2 app allows customers to compare millions of routes and find the best flight deals in seconds, saving them both valuable time and money. What’s new in version 2? Version 2 lets customers book direct with the airline once they have found the flights they want or they can save the flight details to book at a more convenient time. They can even share their flight information with friends.

Here at Skyscanner, we believe the Version 2 app is an indispensible tool for the savvy traveller keen to search for flights while on the go. Available to download on iPhone now, Version 2 is free, it’s fast and it’s available in 23 languages.

We’ve listened to and taken on board comments from customers and app users to create the most flexible, powerful and free flight search app in the world. What about other platforms? Well, we’ve got plans in the pipeline but aren’t giving anything away yet.

The iPhone app is the first native app we’ve developed and given the size of the iPhone App market – and hence the demand from our users – it made sense to start here. Our Android customers are getting twitchy but they’re lucky – by the time we have an Android App out we’ll have gone through at least through releases for iPhone which in some ways will mean things will go a lot more smoothly for their first release – hopefully.

Then there’s iPad and Blackberry and an increasing number of platforms. We’re working hard to reach everyone, particularly by improving our mobile site which hopefully all users will notice a difference with. For those that want to try the iPhone App, you can download it from the iTunes store here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skyscanner-all-flights-everywhere/id415458524?mt=8

MacApper Editorial:

This is an extremely successful application and we appreciate Barry submitting the application to all of us here at MacApper.  We fly quite a bit and have gotten really used to using the airline sites directly and/or possibly looking to Expedia or Travelocity to compare flights.  Those sites are great and have been completely adequate up to this point.  As it relates to Skyscanner, there are a couple of downsides to the application but those are probably trivial for most users. It does rely at least to some extent on the location services of the iPhone which we generally have shut off.  Also, it seems to be best at helping you with international flights while at least for us, most of our travel is domestic. With that said, it's great to be able to have information from so many airlines available at your fingertips.  Plus, the application is FREE so you have absolutely nothing to lose.  It's definitely worth a download and testing to see if the application meets your flight planning needs (especially if you fly internationally).

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you just like we did with Barry.

I am a indie game developer that recently decided to enter the iOS world, since it promised a affordable way to publish and distribute games. And it really did deliver what was promised! Since this was my first adventure into iOS programming, it took me four months to develop my first app, even though I probably should have started with something simple, not a full 3D game as I decided. At least half of the development time was reserved just for fixing problems, I wanted to make sure that the game was fully stable and working before submitting it to the store. And that was a success, no one yet reported an instance of the game crashing.

Another big time consuming task was creating the stages, as I wanted to give a real challenge to the players, and not just some random things thrown in, so I spent some weeks with the beta players testing around the design of the stages. Sometimes I would find that the players could find 'easy' alternate ways to win a level, so I spent some time making sure everything was perfect, and in my opinion, it worked, as the final product is very solid.

My biggest inspiration for Sushi Quset were the games I played in my childhood, and I wanted to bring back part of that lost charm to the iOS platform, as I could not find anything similar there. Surely anyone who plays Sushi Quest will be reminded of classics like Lost Vikings or Zelda, and I think that is a good thing!

Describing the game is simple, the player has control of three cats, and each one of the cats has a different ability, flames, water and eletricity. For example, only the water cat can swim, and the fire cat is the only one who can use bombs. The player must lead the cat team through stages, making good use of each ability, to overcome all the challenges that Sushi Quest offers.

For example, in the first stage, the main objective is to find a way for the cat team to cross a river. Well, for the water cat is simple, you can just pick him and go through the water. But what about the fire cat? He can't swim, so things get a little more complex. One of the possible solutions is to first travel to the other side with the water cat, bring back a bomb and give it to the fire cat, so he can use it to blast away some rocks, thus making a new way to cross the river safely.

This is what makes the game unique, each stage provides a main objective that the players need to think how to overcome, and ultimately it can only be done by cooperation of all characters. I think this style of play could also work wonderfull with multiplayer, so it is a future possibility

I also always try to listen to the opinions of the players, and already released some updates adressing their issues, like a improved control scheme. Currently I'm working on new stages to include in a future update, to bring new zones to the game world, like the Mountains and the Desert, and also adding some more new stages to the old zones, as I really want to give the players a sense of adventure and challenge.

You can download Sushi Quest here.

MacApper Editorial:

If you started off programming or playing games on a Commodore 64 and/or a similar computer then you may find yourself right at home with Sushi Quest.  It's a pretty classic RPG with a 3D twist.  If you have kids, it's an opportunity to present them with a blast from your past and just see how they react to it.  Now, we aren't trying to knock the game in any way because you can definitely tell that Sergio has put a lot of time and energy into the game.  In fact, it's a lot of fun and you can try out the lite version for free (always a bonus).  However, if you are into some of the more modern arcade style games or some other variety then you will want to pass on this (it is an RPG after all).  We find it to be exactly as advertised and perfect for those of us that know what Zelda is and have actually played it.

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you.

Hey MacApper My name is Cameron Johnson. I'm a 20 year old junior in college studying Accounting and Computer Science. Sleep Tracker is my first attempt at making an app for iOS. Beginning iPhone development was a big jump from what I had been working on before.

While I knew some C++, Java, and Python, I was used to scripting and had never actually created a standalone program from scratch. As a result, progress was horribly slow. It seemed like every bug I fixed turned up 3 or 4 even more difficult problems. All in all, the entire process took about 4 months from start to finish.

When I decided to begin work on an iOS app, I had a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head about what to make. The tough part was thinking up an original idea which users would actually want, especially considering how saturated the app store has become.

Eventually, I decided to create a sleep tracker. As a college student, I already knew that my sleeping habits were horrible and needed to be changed, especially since I had no method for keeping track of how much I was sleeping. I started browsing the app store for something to allow me to mark my bed times and wake up times and analyze the result, but surprisingly, I couldn't find one.

While there were a few which came close to what I wanted, invariably they had major usability problems. For example, Tylenol has a sleep tracker similar to mine, but it requires you to enter your sleep times manually. The only apps which were automatic had, I thought, very poor user interfaces and none of them fit my life style well.

Since I couldn't find the app I wanted, I decided to make it. Now that the idea was established I had to learn Objective-C, the language used for iPhone development. I read the apple docs and worked my way through Stanford's excellent free course. After gaining an idea of how the language worked, I started coding, and eventually arrived at this prototype:

The first idea was to make a night time toolbox of sorts, including all kinds of features like a flashlight, an alarm clock, and a music player. The problem was that including all these separate elements made the user interface cluttered. I made the decision to cut a few features in order to keep the app focused on its primary function, sleep tracking.

I think that graphics sell your application and make it look finished, no matter how many problems it has, so it's important to spend plenty of time on them. For the final design I spent a great deal of time trying to make the app feel like a native application.

The buttons and backgrounds all mimic the look and feel of the default apps, specifically the stopwatch and stocks applications. After getting the basic functionality down, I started polishing the app by rewriting code, checking for memory leaks, and fixing bugs. Since I underestimated how long debugging would take I was way off schedule with getting the app released, but I finally got everything working and submitted it.

All in all I'm happy with the end product, and I use the app every night. There are definitely some things that can be improved in the next update, such as including other languages and calendars, integrating with online services, or implementing an alarm clock, but for now I feel like it's a solid product. It's a lot of work to get an app completed, but it is possible. Just keep your goals realistic and don't bite off more than you can chew. Thanks for reading!

Here is the final result:

You can pick Sleep Tracker up here.

MacApper Editorial:

First of all, congrats on releasing your first iOS application and for truly taking the time to do it right.  We know all of us iOS users out here greatly appreciate that attention to detail.  When we first heard of the concept, it was sort of unusual to us.  Frankly, we just never thought of keeping track of our sleep patterns.  However, we think that this could be really helpful for people with sleep disorders especially.  It might even be useful for those type A personalities that actually have to force themselves to get more sleep (we have a few of those at MacApper). We also really do like the final interface (way better than the initial concept).

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you.

About the Game

Fragmental 3D leaves Tetris in the two-dimensional dust. You can slide, spin, and force-drop falling blocks in full 3D — building rows across the grid to clear lines, make combos, and score points. Fragmental 3D is the first and (currently) only 3D Tetris game built for the iPad.

This Universal/HD game features several gameplay modes, alternate “Fragment” collections, six beautiful environments, OpenFeint leaderboards, and more! Visit www.Fragmental3D.com for screenshots, links, and other info.

Inspiration

I’ve always loved Tetris, but Fragmental 3D (essentially, 3D Tetris) was the game I really wanted to play. Prior to the iPhone, the control scheme was always a limitation – using the keyboard doesn’t translate well to an fully-rotatable 3D environment, and a mouse feels slow and awkward. The touch-screen functionality was the key, which allows for fast and intuitive game control.

Becoming a Developer

I discovered my knack for programming in college, and it quickly became my passion. Writing software became my outlet for innovation and expression, it satisfied my never-ending desire to build and create, and allowed me to transform my ideas into reality.

After graduation in 2007, I formed a software development company called Aesthetic Interactive (www.aestheticinteractive.com). My mission for the company has always been to deliver world-class software that combines creative, artistic design with solid, functional programming foundations. I thrive on challenging work — working hard to solve difficult problems in elegant and innovative ways.

Development Process

The first version of Fragmental 3D came together in about two months. There was definitely a learning curve! Being a PC user building my first iPhone app, I was simultaneously learning Objective-C, XCode, iOS features and frameworks, and the Mac OS itself. The amount of information was overwhelming, but it was very helpful to have a goal (my game idea) in mind. At any point, I could sit back and think about how a piece of information would directly apply to Fragmental 3D.

Similar Apps

Fragmental 3D is inspired from the block-falling, line-clearing concepts from Tetris. As I built the game, I found that 3D Tetris is not such a new idea, either. The game Blockout is a top-view-only version of 3D Tetris.

Despite the shared ideas, Fragmental 3D is quite unique: the full camera rotation, innovative move/rotate control scheme, crazy block shapes, and fun environments set it apart from other games. Similar iOS games are Tetra3D, Cirrus, CubeRise 3D, and Dropoly.

App Outlook

On June 24, 2011, Fragmental 3D will have its version 2.0 release. This major update includes Universal/HD support (for iPad and Retina screens) and several other visual improvements. I’m very excited about this release — the game looks stunning on both types of devices!

Working on projects for my clients consumes the vast majority of my time. Updates are infrequent, but I do try to make the most of them! There are several ideas I’d love to pursue, everything from a “puzzle mode” to arcade-style features like bomb pieces and freeze blocks.

MacApper Editorial

Well at first we have to admit, we weren’t super pumped about another variant of Tetris, but you really have to go to the site and watch the video on this game. It’s really well done and the game looks very solid, we can’t wait to play it! There is something about manipulating blocks in 3D on the iPad that just makes good sense. While we opened with a rant about the number of Tetris clones we have seen we secretly can be found playing our favorite one so no doubt this will be a new one for some of us to get addicted to.

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you.

Background:

Why the app? My wife, Caroline, and I are a team when it comes to Pilates Lifestyle TM. She runs a busy Pilates studio as that is what she is passionate about and I put the worldly face on the company as that is my thing.

I have been designing user interfaces for more than a decade and this was a great opportunity to apply what I have learned to phone applications. The word “Lifestyle” is part of the company name as Caroline firmly believes that for Pilates to work, it needs to become part of the person’s lifestyle; a way of living, when sitting at the office desk, playing sports, gardening, whatever.

As people need as much help as possible, to break their bad postural habits, to get pain relief at odd hours, to prevent injury before playing a match or doing some heavy physical work, we wanted a way to be with them, at their beck and call, whenever they needed the help. Enter the Smart Phone and the means to be in a user’s pocket, 24×7. 

The Pilates on the Small Ball app functionality:

We wanted to create an app that would develop over time, as the user developed, ie something that would become a part of their lifestyle. The solutions for this, which we incorporated into the app are:

1. Users only pay for what they want. The list of 64 exercises is divided into levels of experience and users only need purchase one level at a time.
2. Users can create multiple, personal, exercise routines from the exercises purchased. Exercises can be chosen from the list and placed in any order. When playing the routine, one video follows the next until the routine is finished.
3. The creation of improvement logs and their graphical presentation is a great way of showing where users were when they started, compared to their development over time.

As the lifestyle element was key to the app, we wanted a live element incorporated into the app, which could provide additional support, new content on a daily basis and the means of sharing experiences. The integration of social media works well for this requirement. Additional, suggested, exercise routines are regularly added to the Pilates Lifestyle Facebook page and as users share experiences or specific needs, we will incorporate these into new exercise routines or future apps. YouTube provides a means of providing new video content like additional Pilates techniques or related content and Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with what is happening in all the above. 

We wanted users to have access to their personal Pilates solution anywhere and whenever they wanted it. The decision to download and store the high quality videos to the iPhone/iPad solved the buffering and video quality issues so often seen in video apps. The small ball, at 9 inches is actually quite small and as it blows up with a straw, it is very portable. It is also a powerful and versatile piece of Pilates equipment and is why it was chosen for our first Pilates app.

Development time and issues:

It took almost 6 months to put the app together. A couple of months was used to find a suitable team. We wanted a film crew that would understand the medium and portray Caroline’s personality, as if the user were in one of her classes. As I designed the user interface and the look and feel, I wanted a programmer that would work with me in producing my vision for the experience. Anything takes a bit longer when working with multi-disciplinary teams. I kept the vision foremost, did not give in to the inevitable problems that arose and worked to find new solutions that would not compromise the goal.

Examples of development problems encountered were firstly the back and forth in getting the best video quality in the smallest file size, given the 64 exercise videos that could be downloaded to the device, as well as integrating the video into the look and feel of the app so that it did not feel like an add-on.

The file size issue was solved through tweaking and I introduced graphical elements to the start and end frames of the video that would tie it back to the look and feel of the app itself. This also helped visually, when going from one video to the next, whilst playing the routines.

The second problem was around a key element of the product. We want a user to be able to download individual exercises to truly only pay for what they wanted. Apple’s minimum charge made this unfeasible and we were half-way through development when this became apparent. After some head scratching, the next best solution of paying per level of experience was introduced, ie Beginner Level, Intermediate Level and Advanced Level. These levels were always in the app anyway, so it fitted into the user interface nicely. I believe the final product works as an integrated whole, is easy and intuitive to use and provides a solution for a need.

Macapper Editorial:

First of all, nice article Greg!  This really helps us get a feel for the spirit of the application and what motivated you to create it.  Pilates is extremely popular everywhere in the U.S. as evidenced by the number of Pilates studios rapidly increasing.  This is a FREE application so what we like about it is the ability to do exactly what Greg is talking about  and take the videos with you wherever you go.  If you are on the road, you can still do pilates with the help of these videos.  Now, this particular reviewer has zero flexibility so while I can watch the videos and appreciate what is being done there is no chance I'll be doing those movements any time soon.

You can pick up Pilates on the Small Ball here.

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you and introduce you to our users.

If you're a tweeter and you own an iphone, then you are probably aware that there are several different apps for you to choose from to access your Twitter account. Some carry basic functionalities and others are more complex and connect to a variety of social media from the one app. Some are free, while other's will cost you a small amount to purchase them. Browse through the descriptions to see which app fits best with your use of Twitter.

1.     Tweetdeck – The little black bird on a yellow background is the icon for this Twitter connection that you can use with your iphone. Ease of use is, of course, what makes it so popular, but easy doesn't mean limited. It has plenty of customizable options. Add and remove columns; zoom in and out; quickly tweet a response.

2.     HootSuite – This app has a little brown owl for its icon. You can scroll across its columns by simply swiping your finger across your phone face. You can also schedule tweets in addition to creating real time tweets, a very unique feature. Some users have felt that the setup on this app was a bit cumbersome, but if the scheduling feature is important to you, it can be worth the initial hassle. It also does come in both a free and paid version.

3.     Twitbird – This app comes in three different versions. There is a free version that is supported by the ads that come with it. Then there are two paid versions; one that allows two different Twitter accounts and the professional version which can handle up to sixteen different Twitter accounts. It will also allow for geotagging your tweets and has a built-in address book.

4.     Official Twitter – There's no sense ignoring the obvious, Twitter has it own iphone app, of course. It has your url shortening, hashtags and @ easily accessible. It also allows you to go directly to a web link from a tweet.

5.     Echofon – This app has been around for awhile and still maintains its popularity. It is very easy to use and allows you to see pics and video in your tweets. It also comes in a free and paid version. The paid version cleans removes the ads you need to deal with in the free version.

6.     Twitterific – This free app can be used on either an iphone or an ipad. You can set filters to see just what is important to you. You can also send links to your 'Instapaper' account for reading them later on. This app does have some limitations, all you have to do is scroll through the FAQ's to see the number of answers that begin with 'No' to see that.

7.     Seesmic – This is more than a Twitter app for your iphone. It is a social media app. For some, this is a great tool. If you are wanting to update and manage facebook, myspace and twitter all at the same time, from the same application, Seesmic is a good choice. If Twitter is real true love, then you might be better off with one of the other apps.

8.     TweetStack – Columns, searchable, custom tabs, retweet… lots of features available with this stack of little birdies.

9.     Twinkle – Yes, that is like in 'stars'. This little apps is all about location and getting connected with Tweeters that are nearby. But that is not all it does. You can still use it to stay connect with all your Tweets. It has gotten some great reviews.

10.  IM+ - If you spread yourself across all the social networks and online communication platforms, you may want this app. It will be hard to find an instant messaging platform this app doesn't connect to. Keep all your socializing within one app by using this one.

For base tweeting, most any of these applications would work. It is the extra functionalities that you will need to examine more closely, to see which will meet your needs best.

I am the Founder of Shufflr.tv. Today approx 40 hours of video are uploaded per minute on Youtube alone. This creates a paradox of choice for a consumer. If you had only 15 mins of spare time in a day to watch video, which ones would you watch?

With our Shufflr app you spend more time watching videos you want than searching for them. We use Twitter chatter, FaceBook, social curation, and your social graph amongst others to find videos that interest you.

It’s the best way to find, watch and talk about videos with your friends. You can now even see videos watched and shared by celebrities from Lady Gaga to Obama as well as videos your friends on Twitter and FaceBook are sharing. Shufflr gives you personalized video recommendations and shows you videos that are currently generating a bunch of buzz.

Some of the current features are:

• Watch the videos your friends are sharing on Facebook & Twitter
• Follow what the celebs and influencers are watching right now with our exclusive social video channels
• Follow your friends on Shufflr to see what they’re currently watching. Also, discover other interesting people with similar tastes.
• Personalised videos feeds generated from Shufflr’s massive database of socially curated videos. Video recommendations tuned to your tastes
• Catch whats currently buzzing in social media
• Queue videos from anywhere with the ShufflrQ bookmarklet and watch it on the go
• Share what you’re watching on Facebook and Twitter on the tap of a button
• Like, queue & bookmark videos

The user can also use Airplay to beam the video from the Shufflr app to a TV connected to Apple TV. Some of the features of Shufflr are similar to Clicker and ShowYou app. We would be adding some new features to the Shufflr app to provide a richer video viewing experience to consumers.

Download Shufflr for your iOS Device

MacApper Editorial

This web app/mac app/iOS app is really a great way to kill some time and keep up on videos that you most likely are interested in watching. The reliance on your social graph is what makes it most interesting to us. However, it’s not always true that the videos your friends or celebrities are watching are going to interest you (we individually agree that we have no interest in finding out which videos Lady Gaga is into). If you pay attention to your settings and manage it properly though, Shufflr is good for those times when you find yourself a bit bored with nothing to do. In any event we greatly respect the efforts that have been made to support Shufflr across multiple platforms! Thanks Rajnish!

Gameplay

When the game is first opened up, you have the option of choosing between two characters to play with. You can pick between the adorable and dainty Maggie or the handsome and heavy Bacon. Then the pig is launched into a slingshot on a trail to start the game. You release the pig by pulling the slingshot back, and you control the game by tilting your device from left to right. Along the way you try to collect as many stars as you can for extra points. To continue advancing in the game, you land in the blue slingshots on the trail and re-sling your pig. Sounds easy, but as in all games… there are complications. Some of the obstacles, if run into, mean game over. Rocks, fences, bushes, and logs are examples of these. Puddles force you to slip and lose momentum, but aren’t as threatening. Later on along the trail you learn to dodge moving sheep and wolves hungry for little pigs. The farther you survive the more points you earn for every meter covered and if you continue collecting stars the point values increase!

Extras

However, not all objects laid on the path are bad. Sometimes you can be rolling along just fine but not have quite enough gas to make it to the next blue slingshot. If you consume the corn and cauliflower, a gas bar will appear in the bottom right hand corner. When you seem to be running out of steam tap the screen and your pig will let out a fart. Yes, thats right, a musical, flower smelling, fart! This “luxury” will give your pig an extra push to perhaps make it to the next slingshot. The more food you eat, the more you fart, and the farther you go! Also laid along the way are yellow arrows that, when rolled over, provide a temporary speed boost.

Points

If you continue to dodge the obstacles, stay on course, and keep collecting stars, your points will start to add up! You may eventually get your best score ever! In the top left hand corner of the screen, your score is displayed along with your high score and the number of meters covered. Because of this placement, you are always looking at your best and striving to beat it! Before too long you’ll become a pro and make your highest scores ever! The high score list is on the main menu and is an option where you can look and see the game’s highest scorers and how you compare. You may even find yourself up there!

Worth it?

This game is extremely fun and easy to play. The only con is there are no instructions at the beginning of the game, so with no former knowledge, you may not be as quick to understand. But after some practice, you’ll get it in no time. The overall quality of the game is great and the easy, fun concept makes the game addicting. You’ll find yourself playing over and over again! It’s a new must have game for all devices.

Get Pig Shot from the iTunes Store

This article was written by Ashley Jo, who is a new potential writer for MacApper. She wrote this article using the new guest post section of the site. Thanks Ashley!

Did you know that the iPhone has a secret redial button?  It’s true! and it’s hidden in the call button on the virtual keypad.  If you just dialed a number in the Phone app’s keypad section, just tap the big green “Call” button once to load the number back in and once again to redial the last number.  This will not work if you’ve dialed a number from the Favorites, Recents, or Contacts tab.

I’m Sharon Brizinov, a 17 year old student. I have a few years of development experience and recently I got into the iOS field. A few weeks ago my little sister had a math test and she needed to memorize all the 2d geometrical shapes so she came to me for help. I then realized that there are many more young students who also need to memorize geometrical 2D shapes, hence I decided to develop this app.

Geometry 2D has all the basic 2D shapes. It’s my hope that with the beautiful hand-drawn shapes, and with all the relavent theorems, you will never forget your Geometry! In addition you can calculate the area and perimeter for each shape (also a very common homework assignment).

My application is unique since it has all the relevant theorems and it also reveals the drawn shape and its properties plus with the click of a button you can send all of this info to your email account. This makes it easier for students to revisit and essentially never forget the lessons. Most of the other apps in this category are just area or perimeter calculators but Geometry 2D is much more than that.

I have already updated it twice due to users requests and I’m working on a third update. If you or your readers have any requests please send me an email through the app and I will add it in the next version.

You can get the application for FREE via iTunes.

MacApper Editorial:

In this particular case I am going to get somewhat personal with this editorial (a MacApper no-no). Anyway, I actually have spent several hours with my kids as they have gone through Geometry and for whatever reason… I just cannot commit all of this to memory. So, basically anything that helps me help them is alright by me. Okay, that’s the end of the personal blurb. In general, the application is relatively simple and nicely done. More importantly, it’s very clear that Sharon is a developer that cares about her users and we love to support that! For those of you that have children using your iPhone/iPad on occasion you might want to pick up this app to give them a break from Angry Birds & Pig Shot to learn a thing or two (yes, we love those game too).

Nanny Jobs – The largest manually edited database of nanny jobs, nanny profiles, and family profiles.  If you are looking for training you may want to consider a nanny with teaching certifications.

I cofounded Vignature, a provider of image-based electronic signatures, earlier this year. Prior to developing the Vignature app for iPhone 4 and iPad 2, I’ve had a long history of writing code. I got my first computer, an Atari 400, when I was 10 years. I started writing assembly language on an Apple IIE when I was 13 years old.

It took me a couple of months to write the iPhone app. One reason that it took so long was that I had to write a custom PDF viewer from scratch. The reason that I created the app is because I have experienced the pain of signing and returning signed documents. Having to rely on multiple machines to function (printers, fax machines, or scanners) and being in proximity to those machines is a pain. The Vignature app eliminates the hassle by allowing you to sign documents electronically, 24/7.

Zosh and EasySign are similar apps. They are both used to sign and email signed documents. The Vignature app is different, however, in that it captures a real-time photographic image of the signer. This makes the signature verifiable.

Ultimately, everyone will be giving their “Vignature” instead of their signature. Technology is moving towards easy to obtain biometrics, and Vignature sits perfectly between hardware-requiring fingerprinting and intelligible touch screen signatures.

I anticipate updating the Vignature app every 2 weeks to 1 month. New features will include a document archive and multiple document types.

Screenshot:

MacApper Editorial:

First of all, we want to thank Matt for taking the time to tell us more about what went into the development of Vignature, it really helps us appreciate the application even more. We visited the site and have to say, this is really a very professional system for collecting digital signatures (with photos of the “vigner”). What’s most impressive is how complete it is from the web application through the iOS apps that make it easy to “vign” docs anywhere you are. If you are in a business that requires a lot of signatures, you really should take a look at Vignature to see if it meets your needs. As you can tell, we have totally bought into and most likely over-used the term Vignature/Vign/Vigner, but frankly that’s just good fun with a very practical purpose. Why sign when you can vign? We wish Matt all the best with Vignature and specifically with the iOS version and encourage him to keep us all updated as he further develops his business.

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you.

1. Flixster – For the movie buff, this is a great app to have. Scroll through all the newest releases on screen or DVD. See the comments your friends have made about movies. Find out show times in your local area. A great app for choosing your next film to watch
2. Zynga Poker – If you like Texas Hold ‘em Poker, this is the number one facebook app being used on iphones to play poker with your friends. Caution! Extremely addictive and extremely fun.
3. Trapster – Know what’s coming up ahead of you on the road with this app. Known speed traps, accidents and detours can be entered by users to let other users know what to watch out for.
4. Coconut Dodge – This new game developed by EA (Electronic Arts) is a fun little app. Clarence the crab is looking forward to playing this little tropical game with you.
5. Zombie Farm – If Farmville is just a little too tame for you, then maybe you should check out Zombie Farm by Playforge. Plant corpses and harvest zombies instead silly little peach trees.
6. Quotes for Facebook – If you’re one of those people who loves to use your facebook page to inspire others, this app is an easy way to it. You can have it do a random shuffle for selection or you can search by author or keywords.
7. Smartsync – Keep your iphone contacts in sync with your facebook friends. This app will add facebook profile pics to your iphone contacts as well as their current status updates. When your facebook friends call your iphone, their profile pic will pop up instead of just their name and number.
8. Find My Friend – Looking for your friend in the crowd at the mall? Use Find My Friend to direct you to them. It uses facebook and your iphone’s GPS to guide you to your friend’s location.
9. i Napkin – Scribble your note down on your iphone and then send it to your facebook friends with this little app. For those of you who love scribbled notes over typed text, this is one for you.
10. Top Friends – Of all your facebook friends, there are only a few that you are really close friends with. This popular facebook app is also available on your iphone to keep you closely connected with your very best buds.

If there’s an app that you wish existed for your iphone and facebook connection, it probably does exist. If it doesn’t, there’s probably an app developer working on it. Just be patient. If you want, then so do plenty of other people.

Apple has released their iWork collection of productivity application for the iPhone and iPod touch, making it available to all the iDevices.

“Now you can use Keynote, Pages and Numbers on iPhone and iPod touch to create amazing presentations, documents and spreadsheets right in the palm of your hand,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The incredible Retina display, revolutionary Multi-Touch interface and our powerful software make it easy to create, edit, organize and share all of your documents from iPhone 4 or iPod touch.”

Keynote • Keynote Remote app (sold separately on the App Store) to control your presentation from another iPhone or iPod touch. • New document manager to easily sort your documents and organize them into folders.

Numbers • New document manager to easily sort your documents and organize them into folders. • Improved usability including Smart Zoom for viewing and editing data.

Pages • New document manager to easily sort your documents and organize them into folders. • Ability to change font style and size directly from the ruler when editing text. • Smart Zoom for viewing and editing data.

Each application from the App Store is priced at $9.99. There was several hints last year that we profiled on that gave us leads that Apple was working on bringing the iWork suite to the iPhone and iPod touch. There wasn’t any solid information on when the applications would make their debut, which led some to believe that the images that surfaced were only a prototype.

The good people over at MacStories have chimed in stating that Apple has removed all iAds from children influenced games. A user of the iOS application “Dex,” a Pokémon associated application, documented the iAds activity on the application dropping to zero.

“Last Thursday I had a particularly awful iAd fill rate of 5%. This isn’t new, I’ve had problems before. Then on Friday a 0% fill rate, then on Saturday another 0% fill rate. I emailed Apple and posted a question to the company’s developer forums. Today I finally got a reply:

Follow-up: XXXXXXXXXXX

Hello Michael,

We periodically review the apps in the iAd Network to ensure that all apps receiving ads are aligned with the needs of our advertisers. Currently, our advertisers prefer that their advertising not appear in applications that are targeted for users that are young children, since their products are not targeted at that audience.”

Details haven’t provided information yet on whether or not this is a new policy instilled by Cupertino, or the Dex application simply wasn’t categorized as a child app. It does, however, make one question apparent which is the viability of the iAds business model. Or seems rather interesting that Apple would pull iAds from kid applications being that the advertising market don’t see the applications as being installed on devices with a profitable market. One interesting observation made by one of our readers is that Apple made such move to prevent children from accidentally making purchase to accounts. However, with each purchase from the App Store, a Apple ID and password is required.

Square has made it possible for anyone, anywhere, anytime to accept credit and debit card payments. The next frontier for the new born company is replacing the cash register. Square has developed a new aspect to their app called “Square Register” for the iPad. Square states that the application will allow users to put their whole catalog of services and products on their iPad.

The app also produces analytics to keep businesses up-to-date on their sales performance. Even more in-depth, Square provides the ability to break down those analytics in any aspect to help companies study performance sales trends. The feature is available in the company’s universal Square application on the iPad side of the software.For customers, the company has added a feature called “Card Case”. With this new aspect for the software, customers can obtain virtual business cards and see information about their relationship with the business such as transaction history service or product rendered, and updated product inventory. This feature allows customers to also keep their wallet in their pocket as they can pay for services and products and establish a relationship with that business, something that Twitter founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said is better than to have a permanent tab with a business open.

Square Cards and Square Register are active in the field now with several businesses in New York, Chicago, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco who already are using the application their business. The company is looking further expand the features rapidly in the coming months.

Apple has already started decorating the Moscone West convention center. Within the decor, Apple has advertise the orientation of the keynote and giving an idea of what the company will be talking about. One decoration that has made some noise on Twitter is the exposure of what seems to be the iCloud icon.The topic of discussion at the event will be obviously Mac OS X Lion, iCloud, and of course, iOS 5. To add, Steve Jobs has been confirmed to be delivering the WWDC ’11 keynote this year. This is a signal that the event will showcase something big, whether hardware or software. The event is set to take place on Monday, June 6.

Thanks to @justmattyg for the images.

The iOS is taking the a step into the three dimensional realm. A new demo application entitled “i3D”. The application demonstrates head tracking on the iPod, iPad, and iPhone to create three dimensional effects. To demonstrate the application and the project, French researchers Laurence Nigay and Jeremie Francome posted a video on YouTube of the application and the technology in action.

i3D is a free download from the App Store that is available as a universal binary for the iPod and iPhone and for the iPad. The application consists of a video feed who a red bounding box that tracks the user head movements. From there, the same demonstrations displayed in the YouTube video are presented.

Adobe this week released the first three companion applications to their widely praised Photoshop application. The company showcased a demonstration of what was possible with the new Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit.

“Adobe Eazal ($4.99)

With Adobe Eazel, you can use your iPad and your fingertips to paint beautiful works of art. Paint across your entire iPad screen, and easily access the tools you need. Send your artwork directly to Photoshop CS5 from any locationall you need is a network connection between your iPad and computer. Or do all your painting in the app, and share via email.

Adobe Nav ($1.99)

With Adobe Nav and a network connection between your iPad and computer, you can customize the Photoshop CS5 toolbar on iPad to easily access the tools you use most. Browse, reorder, view, and zoom in on up to 200 open Photoshop documents on iPad. Tap a document on iPad to make it the active document in Photoshop CS5. Disconnect from the network and use iPad to easily share files in person with others.

Adobe Color Lava ($2.99)

With Adobe Color Lava, you can use your fingertips to mix colors on your iPad and create custom swatches and five-swatch themes. Instantly access them in Photoshop CS5all you need is a network connection between your iPad and computer. Or use the app wherever inspiration strikes, and then bring your colors into Photoshop CS5 when you’re connected. Share colors via email, too.”

Developers are already talking advantage of Adobe’s new SDK and creating material to compete with Adobe’s creation. Adobe Photoshop CS5 12.0.4 (released last week) or later is required.

This month, there has been information provided that states that Apple is currently working with voice recognition firm Nuance Communications to being their service to the iOS platform with the intro of iOS 5 presumably later this year. New information has been provided that stars that Apple will be using their massive North Carolina data center to power centrally-hosted voice services. This new partnership is said to be revealed at the World Wide Developers Conference in June.

“In digging into the information about the relationship between the two companies, we had heard that Apple might actually already be using Nuance technology in their new (but yet to be officially opened) massive data center in North Carolina. Since then, we’ve gotten multiple independent confirmations that this is indeed the case. And yes, this is said to be the keystone of a partnership that Apple is likely to announce with Nuance at WWDC next month.

More specifically, we’re hearing that Apple is running Nuance software – and possibly some of their hardware – in this new data center. Why? A few reasons. First, Apple will be able to process this voice information for iOS users faster. Second, it will prevent this data from going through third-party servers. And third, by running it on their own stack, Apple can build on top of the technology, and improve upon it as they see fit.”

Nuance is the leader in voice recognition technology. The group has a deep portfolio of patents that are key contributions in the field. Apple being in cahoots with Nuance would seem very likely as Apple absorbed artificial intelligence firm Siri who uses the services of Nuance. It has been said that Apple is currently working on incorporating both voice recognition and innovative AI in the next installment of the iOS linage.

After reading a bunch of our posts you might notice two things.  1. MacApper likes Instagram! and 2. Burbn, Inc. likes to update their app!  A lot!  Here’s what the update text says:

• Double-tap on photos to Like them
• Autocomplete usernames
• New interactive comment screen
• Improved reliability & speed

Instagram 1.8 offeres the ability to double-tap on a photo to “like” it.  Instagram will now also autocomplete when typing usernames.  There is now a new interactive comment screen and Instagram 1.8 offers improved reliability and speed.  Be sure to download this update by opening up the AppStore on your iPhone or iPod touch.

This month, there has been information provided that states that Apple is currently working with voice recognition firm Nuance Communications to being their service to the iOS platform with the intro of iOS 5 presumably later this year. New information has been provided that stars that Apple will be using their massive North Carolina data center to power centrally-hosted voice services. This new partnership is said to be revealed at the World Wide Developers Conference in June.

“In digging into the information about the relationship between the two companies, we had heard that Apple might actually already be using Nuance technology in their new (but yet to be officially opened) massive data center in North Carolina. Since then, we’ve gotten multiple independent confirmations that this is indeed the case. And yes, this is said to be the keystone of a partnership that Apple is likely to announce with Nuance at WWDC next month.

More specifically, we’re hearing that Apple is running Nuance software – and possibly some of their hardware – in this new data center. Why? A few reasons. First, Apple will be able to process this voice information for iOS users faster. Second, it will prevent this data from going through third-party servers. And third, by running it on their own stack, Apple can build on top of the technology, and improve upon it as they see fit.”

Nuance is the leader in voice recognition technology. The group has a deep portfolio of patents that are key contributions in the field. Apple being in cahoots with Nuance would seem very likely as Apple absorbed artificial intelligence firm Siri who uses the services of Nuance. It has been said that Apple is currently working on incorporating both voice recognition and innovative AI in the next installment of the iOS linage.

Continuing the long line of overhauled apps being updated, Delivery Status touch has updated to 4.4.  Here’s what the update text states:

New Features:

• Added support for DHL UK (Domestic Express) and Post.at (Austria).
• Added support for more barcodes from DHL Germany, FedEx, and USPS.
• The iPad version has been reworked to make it easier and more enjoyable to use.
• There’s a new Juncloud sync site at http://junecloud.com/sync/
• If you don’t have any deliveries, you can add a delivery by tapping the package icon or “no deliveries” text.
• You can now clear the date for an “Other” delivery.

Improvements:

• Improved mapping results when the location isn’t specific enough.  You can still drag the pin to a different location if it’s incorrect.
• Improved syncing, especially when the time is off or when logging in.
• Improved date detection for non-English languages, especially on Amazon.it.
• Improved error checking for service definition updates.
• Improved update intervals for some deliveries, especially ones with errors.
• Improved sorting for shipments with delivery dates in the past.
• The Done button now appears on the Help and About pages, so you can exit quickly.
• Subtly tweaked the icon to better pair with our new app, Notefile: http://notefileapp.com
• More little things you may notice if you look very closely.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a problem on iPad where opening the app in portrait mode could result in the view not updating correctly after syncing.
• Fixed a bug where the settings fields might not update after scanning a barcode.
• Fixed a bug where the online view on iPad would not always update when changing deliveries.
• Fixed a possible crash when deleting a delivery on iPad with the online view open.
• Fixed a potential bug on iPad if the sync settings were edited while a delivery was being edited.
• Some other minor fixes.

Phew!  As you can see this is a big one.  Junecloud was pretty thorough with their update text.  This update packs a bunch of new features that make Delivery Status touch much more reliable and easy to use.  It now supports more locations and barcodes.  Improvements and Bug fixes are in this update galore making this the best delivery tracking app on the iPhone and iPad.  Remember that one size fits all for this app so if you buy it for your iPad, you can use it on your iPhone and iPod touch as well free of charge.  Be sure to update Delivery Status touch to 4.4 as soon as you can for a much improved and stable performance.

The word is out. Eldar Murtazin, editor-in-chief of the Russian mobile device blog Mobile-Review, tweeted that the next installment to the iOS linage, iOS 5, will not be compatible with the iPhone 3G. This would in turn mean that only the iPhone 4 and later reiterations of the iPhone will be the only phone devices from Apple compatible with iOS 5

“Just one comment. Apple iPhone 3G(s) wont be upgradable to iOS 5.x. iPhone 4 will.”

Whether or not the information is valid is being verified. It’s also rather foggy on where Eldar gained his information from. However, Eldar does have a strong track record the mobile phone arena when is comes to providing information that could potentially inform individuals what’s next on a product’s road map. Eldar doesn’t frequently report on Apple news, however.

When iOS 4 was released last June, it was compatible for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4, leaving the original iPhone out of the update. With the compatibility to the other generations of iPhone, the iPhone 3G received the iOS 4 update, however, it was left out on some of the software stellar features, such as multitasking and wallpapers.

With the speculation that Apple is preparing to leave the iPhone 3G behind shows that Apple could be making a significant move forward to higher end and up-to- date components in their devices as a new standard.

UPDATE/Retraction: As you will read from the comments below, the article on this subject was older and not well edited or researched. Apple IS supporting iOS 5 on the 3GS (but not the older 3G’s, big difference). We could delete the post and be like everyone else that flat out doesn’t stand up and take their medicine. However, we think the right thing to do is to correct ourselves and respect/thank those for calling us out. We did NOT write or edit this article properly and their is no excuse for that. Thank you for your dedication to MacApper! Without you and your feedback we would be nothing!

MacStories is chiming in today with an anecdote that steps into the mind of Apple’s head honcho Steve Jobs for a bit. The story was made first available as an in-app purchase through the Fortune magazine subscription on the iPad (later made available on the web on print copies).

The story shares some interesting information about Steve Jobs and the launching of the MobileMe web service. Specifically, the article shares the reaction Jobs had to the initial bogged networks and downtime of the service.

“In Fortune’s story, Lashinsky says Steve Jobs summoned the entire MobileMe team for a meeting at the company’s on-campus Town Hall, accusing everyone of “tarnishing Apple’s reputation.” He told the members of the team they “should hate each other for having let each other down”, and went on to name new executives on the spot to run the MobileMe team. A few excerpts from the article.

“Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?” Having received a satisfactory answer, he continues, “So why the f*** doesn’t it do that?”

Jobs was also particularly angry about the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg not liking MobileMe:

“Mossberg, our friend, is no longer writing good things about us.”

As a result of all the issues the service had starting off, Steve appointed a new director for the MobileMe service. Something else that a lot Apple enthusiast also found interesting is the training, or as some have stated, “the Apple way of life” after, or should, Steve Jobs decide to take a backseat.

“Steve Jobs hired dean of Yale School of Management Joel Podolny to run the Apple University, an internal group also featuring business professors and Harvard veterans that are writing a series of case studies to prepare employees for the life at Apple after Jobs. These case studies focus on Apples recent business decisions and internal culture, they are exclusive to employees and taught by top executives like Tim Cook and Ron Johnson.”

MacStories summarizes some of the other articles related to the anecdote on their website

Nike’s running and tracking app just received a major overhaul with new features and a bunch of performance improvements.  Here’s what the update text says:

• Control whether incoming calls will pause your run.
• Select your preferences for Voiceover feedback, or turn it off all together.
• End or pause your run without pulling the plug on your music.
• Register or sign-in to Nike+ GPS with your Facebook or Twitter account.
• Experience a boosted engine with improved accelerometer and GPS accuracy.
• Challenge your friends to a new Nike+ Tag Game: Last to Run, where the last person to sync a run is IT.
• Easily find friends to play Nike+ Tag by searching for their usernames.

Nike has listened to everything users have requested and shot out a huge update.  You now have a lot more control of your music and the audio feedback during your run and after.  You can choose to have the app pause your run if you receive a call and have Nike+ keep your music playing after your run.  You can now utilize your Facebook and Twitter accounts to log-in to Nike+ GPS.  There is now a new game called Nike+ Tag.  Runners have to race to sync their run and the last one to do so is IT.  During your run you will experience a better recording engine that utilizes an improved accuracy when taking information from the accelerometer and GPS.  Overall this is a bigger, better, faster Nike + GPS.  Get version 3.1 via the app store or on iTunes.

Currently as of writing Nike+ GPS is running a promotion (haha get it?) making Nike+ GPS free for a limited time!  Hurry up and start running!

IntoNow the amazing “identify what you’re watching on TV and share it to the world” app has recently updated to version 1.2.  Here is what they did:

• Rate episodes, shows and movies!  Simple thumbs up and thumbs down will help us create recommendations for you, and ratings for the show!
• Share with a single tap: easier and faster to share.
• Bug fixes and performance improvements!

You can now rate what you’re watching.  By either giving a thumbs up or thumbs down, IntoNow can collect your opinion and help give users recommendations on what to watch as well as give the shows you’re watching ratings.  Sharing has become a lot easier by reducing the taps you need to share to one.  And what would an app update be without bug fixes and performance improvements?  It’s all here in version 1.2.  Get it now at the AppStore.