Confession: I bought the Watchmen comics as they came out. I remember my jaw dropping as I finished issue 11, and the interminable wait for issue 12 to come out. That, along with Dark Knight Returns informed a lot of my early thinking about deconstruction, dialog, and dramatic endings (yes, back then the actually considered and built to endings!). I’m a huge fan of writer Alan Moore (Wikipedia link) in general (Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, and too much more to name.) And while the derivatives of those works, including the movie adaptions thus far, are the palest of imitations, and while Moore himself has begged, pleaded, and finally insisted his name be removed from any and all adaptions, the geek in me is still mind-blown to see the video above (and that’s as close to a Harry Knowles intro I’ll ever write).
By using its patent-pending CloudMMO technology running on Amazon’s Cloud, Last Legion were able to create a persistent world for the iPhone in the Watchmen universe. Players can roam the city streets, chat with total strangers, battle with people on the other side of the country, and ride the subway to another part of the city to continue their crusade against crime, all in real-time. Watch what happened when developers from Last Legion Games brought Watchmen: Justice is Coming to our office recently, and hit the Read More link for the full press release.
So, who’s interested in not only Watching the Watchmen — but living in their world?
While Big Media wants you to stay off their lawn (i.e. not stream their content to your TV’s), it looks like they’re increasingly okay-ish with their streaming it to your PC and… iPhone. Macworld brings word of the latest content streamer to hit the App Store, TV.com (iTunes link):
Most of the content consists of clips, interviews, and promos, but you’ll also find full episodes of some TV shows, such as “CSI: Miami” and the aforementioned [MacGyver] mixed in (well, to be honest, there weren’t many other shows I could find full episodes of at first glance). Full episodes are presented as multiple clips instead of as a single video. You can search for shows using the Search box at the top, or tap on the Shows and Channels buttons to browse in other ways.
Of course, a few more things need to happen to flesh out this category. Getting other networks on board via apps for Hulu and other services is one. Also, realizing it’s the 21st fraken century and NOT restricting streaming apps from international users would be grand. (TV.com is US App Store only).
Anyone tried it yet? If so, how was the quality? Would you use this over your laptop for TV to go? Over your TV for viewing in general?
Tired of hitting the 123 key to toggle on the numeric keyboard? Well, obviously some ingenious iPhone hacker was and whipped up this interesting little Jailbreak app to change the standard 4-row virtual keyboard into a five row with numbers surfaced right on top (or symbols, if you tap the shift key).
Want to grab it? Gizmodo (via iPhone Hacks) says you can find it under “5-Row QWERTY Keyboard” in Cydia”
Should Apple consider changing their own virtual keyboard to be more like this 5-row? Or are the keys on the 4-row already small enough?
Do you ever do any price comparison in the grocery store? Gallons vs. liters? Ounces vs. milligrams? Fifty feet of Scotch tape vs. 15 meters? What’s the best deal? Apples2Oranges is a $2.99 app from Ilium Software and can be downloaded to your iPhone from the App Store. It employs a simple touch interface where you can compare two kinds of modes: Ingredients Mode and Price Mode. Ingredients Mode lets you compare nutritional content for food you are eating or buying. Price Mode lets you compare two products side-by-side for the best price considering different measurements for volume, length, or area.
Just enter the numerical amount of the item on the left side of the “size” window, then select the type of measurement you are comparing in the right side of the “size” window, then press “compare” for the “price.” Or, if in Ingredient Mode, you can compare different measurements and even calories. This can be a very handy app if you are trying to save money at the store or trying to watch your calorie intake. Take a look in the App Store and get it if you like what you see.
When Trillion-dollar stimulus packages are being passed and spent and the dollar seems to buy less and less, it’s nice to find some real values in the App Store, like Touchmaster Volume 1 from Midway. At only $3.99, you get 5 games for your entertainment – that’s only about $.80 cents per game (before tax, of course).
Included with this bundle are the following: 1) Spellwinder – a word search game using adjacent letters in any direction to score points; 2) Dice King – a dice puzzle game where points are scored for swapping adjacent dice to form matching combinations of three or more dice; 3) Prismatix – a hexagonal matching game requiring linking gems in color combinations displayed by a wheel at the top of your screen; 4) Combo 11 – form combinations of cards equaling 11 in value, eliminating cards as you go; 5) Carpet – similar to Solitaire, the object of the game is to discard all cards in their respective suits in sequences of Ace to King, using your deck and “carpet” of cards.
In addition to trying to get the highest score you can, you can also complete challenges and earn trophies along the way. The graphics are decent and the gameplay is easy with the touch interface. For $3.99, this 5-game package will provide hours of entertainment.
For only a $1.99, Arcade Bowling from Skyworks, found here in the App Store, may be the least expensive addictive substance around. Based on the old arcade classic, Skeeball, your objective is to roll the laser balls down the ramp, where they launch and fly through the air and into one of the holes in the board. The smaller, more difficult holes are valued higher, but never fear, the worst you can do per laser ball is 10 points.
Two game modes are available – Classic and Progressive modes. Classic mode is a single game of nine laser balls. Just roll them with the swish of your fingertip and score as many points as you can in the single game. Or, if raising the stakes each round is more appealing to you, then play Progressive mode. As you achieve the points goal in each round, the goal is raised in the next the round.
In addition to needing a touch of finesse when “swiping” the ball down the ramp, Arcade Bowling takes advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer, enabling you to add a bit of guidance to the ball in mid-flight. Did I say this game is addicting? Well, it is!
A final note: when I first installed the game and started playing, it would crash with some frequency. The way to resolve this is to reset your iPhone after installation. Once I did that, problem solved. No more crashing. Relive the good ‘ol days of Skeeball with this 21st century virtual version that you can carry in your pocket!
Yes, among the 15,000+ apps in the App Store, there are several file transfer apps available, but having spent some time with File Magic from SplashData, available here in the App Store for $4.99, I can report that it’s easy to use and increases the functionality of your iPhone or iPod Touch. By downloading the FREE desktop app at splashdata.com, you can transfer a myriad of file types from your desktop to your iPhone.
Why is this useful? If you are at work and want to take some files home with you or on the road to view and read, just use the handy desktop app to wirelessly transfer the files to your iPhone or iPod Touch, where they are automatically categorized. Transferring the files couldn’t be easier – just use the drag-and-drop interface on the File Magic Desktop app and the files will “magically” appear on your iPhone File Magic app via your WiFi connection.
Check out the app in the App Store to learn more about it’s features. Whether it’s a matter of taking files with you to review on the road, using your iPhone or iPod Touch to move files from office to home, or even using the app to backup important documents, File Magic handles it well.
No, it’s not running our favorite frenemy OS, the pushy little BlackBerry JavaME, it’s a new app pending approval in the App Store — Cracked LCD, specifically — and TiPb member the_idol was kind enough to share this advance peek at it in our forums:
read the above-linked thread for all the details, and enjoy the video — and the prank’ish fun it might just give you later.
It seems the iPhone, with its OpenGL and CoreGraphics/CoreAnimation is just begging for some body distortion. We’ve seen it before (and seen it get rejected before), and it just keeps getting more fully featured. Says the developer, Smells Like Donkey:
everyone assumes that iJiggles is strictly a boob app. It is of course the first thing everyone does with it and it does it well, but it’s designed so you can have fun with it on any picture.
Indeed, version 1.1 will include: Smoother and Faster Animations, new “Inflate” feature to further enhance parts of your photos, multitouch interactivity, saving and loading.
Gallery after the break.
(And BTW- TiPb is still waiting for the ladies to get a little pay back with these apps. Maybe in our Forums?)
RepairPal, from the website of the same name, leverages the power and convenience of the iPhone to provide highly targeted — and at times vitally important — information when and where you need it. Say the developers:
We made this application because it addresses the real world disconnect with auto repair. Many times when your car needs repair, you aren’t at the computer. People may end up at an unfamiliar shop in an unfamiliar town so they need something to reassure them that they are not getting ripped off.
We built this for the iPhone because we need to convey a lot of information to the user. Development tools for iPhone allowed us to build an application that is easy to navigate and provide the best user experience. Being able to take advantage of features like GPS makes a lot of sense for our application since people may not always be sure of their location when they are broken down on the side of the highway.
Looking for some repair work? Give this FREE app a try and let us know how it works for you!
