This installment of my multi-part series is dedicated completely to Twitter status update clients. This one is actually one that I’ve used most (if not, all) of the applications that I’m recommending. In past versions, I’ve been recommending applications based upon user experiences, reviews, and feedback. I also recommended based upon my own usage. This time, these are based purely upon my own usage. This is probably the most involved I’ve been with app recommendations. I’ll actually be looking back at my other installments and re-tuning them by moving apps to better categories and fine tuning the details. Anyways, this one is all about Twitter clients, so here we go. This one will be short, as I have had very little time to add a lot of content due to working in the Apple Store. Don’t worry, I’ll add as I see fit.

 

Tweet, Tweet

·        Twitterrific – This application was one that I originally downloaded when I got my iPhone. Originally, this app was riddled with a bunch of problems. It was everything I DIDN’T like about a Twitter client app. It was buggy, laggy, unintuitive, and had no real instructions for usage. Since then, this app has turned a full 180. It’s actually one of my favorite Twitter client apps to use. They answered every single one of my qualms with it in classic style. This application allows you to quickly copy-paste a link or user name into the window while still typing your tweet. It even allows you to search for Twitter users. Along with what you can do user-wise, you can follow, unfollow, and block (though, the block feature is a still little wonky) them. You can also translate tweets from different languages, as well as bring up an entire conversation thread between yourself and another Twitter user. Another advantage of this one is that you can view Twitter user pictures full screen on your iPhone (or iPod Touch). They’ve even improved the user interface so well that it’s actually fun to use the app. The Premium version is ad-free and has performance improvements, but carries a hefty price tag. They still don’t use push notifications, even in the premium version. Tools include quick retweeting, URL shortening, text compression to save characters, and core location for nearby tweets. The location aware portion of this app can actually be done two ways. You can give people your exact coordinates, or you can give the general city area. The fact that I can make personal notes on Twitter users is very helpful, as well. I quite like being able to make notes about people I talk to, because I like to remember information about them so I can ask them about things they know about and learn from them. There IS one thing with this application that really bothered the holy heck out of me. It’s the random “TWOOSH!” that pops up during random tweets. I looked through the settings for the app and finally turned it off, but it’s very startling to a user to have that randomly happen and not know why. Alas, that didn’t stop me from using this application as much as I do. This app is actually my Twitter application of choice. I use this one more than any other. I’m sure you’ll like it as well. Price: Free. Also available: Twitterrific Premium; Price: $4.99.

·        EchoFon (formerly known as TwitterFon) – EchoFon is an application that really grew on me the more I used it. This was actually the first Twitter client application I ever used. I really liked it originally, but it started to show it’s colors as I started using other clients. EchoFon has made vast improvements since then, so odn’t rule it out. Of course, it wouldn’t be on my recommendations list if it wasn’t any good, right? Anyways, I digress. EchoFon can easily be described as a bare-bones Twitter client application. It doesn’t have a whole lot of cosmetic enhancements or anything special looking. It’s more about function than fashion. Tweeting with this app is actually rather enjoyable. There is a definite learning curve with this app, though. The buttons and icons aren’t easily interpreted or intuitive enough to be used by anyone, but at least EchoFon was nice enough to put what they mean on their website. If all else fails, you can always just find out by trial and error. You can also view an entire conversation thread with a user. The conversation thread looks exactly like the iPhone SMS/MMS conversation threads. This app also syncs really well with the FireFox extension by the same name (formerly known as TwitterFox). This app can be set to automatically reload all the feeds at a set time interval or reload them manually. Though user navigation and following/unfollowing is a little wonky, it wasn’t enough to turn me off to the app. Blocking a user is a lot easier on this app than most other apps. It’s also a lot easier to view a user’s timeline, as well. The upsides to this application are the fact that it is a very powerful Twitter client app, can be used anywhere, have great core location, and allows you to post pictures to your image uploader of choice. The Pro version of EchoFon allows you to get push notifications for follower updates, replies, and direct messages. Much like the Twitterrific application, the hefty price for the lack of ads and only one true upgrade feature. Alas, that doesn’t stop me from using the free app. It has been quite enjoyable to keep using this app when/if Twitterrific or Mixero acts up on me. I always keep this app on my iPhone just in case of fire. It’s core location feature is quite precise when looking for nearby tweets and placing my own location. The downside to it is I can’t make the location more general like I could with Twitterrific or some others. This is just a small gripe, so don’t let it stop you from using this awesome app. Price: Free. Also Available: EchoFon Pro; Price: $4.99.

·        TweetDeck – This application is more like its desktop counterpart than it is a quick Twitter client. TweetDeck for the desktop is a column Twitter browser, if you will. Each column is in essence a new feed for you to look at. These feeds can range anywhere from your own timeline to nearby tweets by people you follow. As highly customizable as TweetDeck is, I had a harder time using it. I gave it a shot, though, and found many things I liked. The fact that I can cycles through many timelines at once is a real time saver. The juxtaposition of the buttons and alerts within the application made my inner aesthetic happy. The downside to it is that this app will eat up your API calls (that is, how many actions within Twitter you can make) faster than Kobayashi eats hot dogs. Even when Twitter upped the API call limit from 125 to 150, I shied away from this app. If you’re someone who is a serial tweetist like myself, this app won’t be your favorite. However, if you’re someone who tweets a few times a day, likes to lurk around, read most of the time, and manage multiple accounts at once, this application is for you. The iPhone app isn’t as enthralling as its desktop counterpart, but still retains most of the functionality and looks. Syncing multiple accounts with your desktop and across Twitter is transparent and automatic, and the customizable columns are nice to have. I haven’t run into any real problems with this app other than a lengthier load times than some other Twitter client apps. Price: Free.

·        Tweeterena (formerly Twitterena) – This iPhone app is actually more bare bones than most others. Its look, feel, and overall usage are much like that of EchoFon. In all actuality, the only real differences between Tweeterena and EchoFon are the icons each use and the fact that Tweeterena has a couple of skins that you can choose between. Tweeterena also allows for push updating with the Lite and Pro versions. There are a couple other features available in the other versions. I happened to download Tweeterena when it was free for the Lite version. It’s still a quick application worth the price tag for the beginner Twitter user and veteran alike. Unfortunately, even in the Lite version (which is now paid), you still have ads in every frame possible. You’ll have to excuse my lack of a long review on this one, as this application is quite literally a clone of EchoFon.

·        Mixero – This application has the potential to be the best Twitter client application of all time. Unfortunately, it falls short because of rushed development and laggy, buggy usage. This application is a mixture of Twitterrific’s user experience, TweetDeck and TwitBird’s group management, and Seesmic’s powerful desktop experience. However, this is where the praise stops on this app (at least, for now). My usage with it has lead to a lot of bugs (especially when assigning my followings to groups) and crashes. This app probably runs better in its desktop reincarnation. This application is actually decently easy to use, despite all of the bells, whistles, and power behind it. If the makers of it would hurry up and fix the issues with it, this app would be my main Twitter client application. Still, even with the problems and bugs, I don’t stop using it, as it is smaller in space of most Twitter client applications I use. Definitely worth the look at, especially since they’ll update it soon. Price: Free.

(more)

(more)

(more)

As you'll notice, this one is about photography/videography apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

You may be asking why I'm doing my app recommendations like this now. Why? Because of syndication and reader/editor feedback. Also, this will keep me from going through all apps wholesale and making long diatribes like I did before. This also allows me to concentrate on a particular genre of apps for a longer period of time to try them out and give a better review. Anyways, here ya go.

• ColorSplash - This app is actually more robust than I thought it would be. I originally thought it wouldn't be so hot, but it actually wowed me. You can art an artsy touch to the photos that you take with your iPhone by making them black and white. While doing so, you can add a little bit of color to a particular portion of it or single object. Actually a pretty cool app to get your hands on. Price: $1.99
• Photoshop.com Mobile - This app lets you crop, edit, rotate, etc., and share your photos on your iPhone. It's a relative newcomer to the App Store (posted October 8th this year), but it's already the most downloaded and loved app for Photography in the App Store. Oddly enough, even though it has powerful tools for editing, it's a small app (only 3.8 MB) to have. The more advanced features, like blending, smudging, and splicing, are absent (sorry, no pregnant Klohe Kardashian photos with your iPhone, guys), but with good reason. This is meant more for preparing shots you have for an album. The price tag on it should make this app a no-brainer buy, as well. The learning curve is actually surprsingly shallow.Seriously, the interface is so intuitive, I'm sure a 10 year old could pick it up and become Rembrandt pretty quick. [My intitial take on the learning curve was edited here, because I used the app more after the review.] Price: Free.
• Photobucket for iPhone – This app is for those of you (like myself) who have a Photobucket account. Take pictures, crop and/or rotate them, and post them directly to your Photobucket account with one easy app. You can even post them directly to a particular album if you so choose. Along with that, you can also download pictures directly from an album to your iPhone as well as create/delete albums. You can send pictures (or movies) you take as an email or MMS message to your contacts or anyone of your choosing as an IM (in HTML link mode, of course). Robust, with a shallow learning curve, about the only complaint I can truly give this is the fact that Photobucket has changed their storage limits for free users (giving them less space now than before) in the last couple of years. Not bad for a web gallery app. Price: Free.
• Flickr – This app, as the name implies, allows you to take and post pictures on Flickr. Yahoo!’s immensely popular website for posting random party pictures from cell phones and the like (then turned into another picture gallery) has finally come to the iPhone. The photostreams that Flickr is famous for are there, but not necessarily the prettiest thing on the iPhone. They are functional, but still need a little working on. I’m sure another update will fix that one right up. At least it’s decently small, clocking in at 2.9 MB in size. Videos are also able to be posted in the latest incarnation of the app. Along with the video capability, Flickr also allows for geotagging. Geotagging is using the location that the photo was taken (latitude, longitude), filling out the data to locate where the picture was taken. This allows you to exactly place the location of a photograph so you can make them a set (also to tell people where you were when you took it). (I know, that was a HORRIBLE explanation of geotagging. You’d get a better one by checking out the video of the new iPhoto feature on Apple’s website. It’s the Apple Macworld event from earlier this year. Geotagging is not new, but Apple is the one using it to it’s extreme.) Really cool app to have if you’re on the go. Price: Free.
• Shutterfly for iPhone – Shutterfly’s app is actually really cool. This app is purely for pictures, though. You can upload your pictures to the site from your iPhone, at full resolution, which is a major plus. According to their description (and my usage so far), you have unlimited photo storage, and your pictures are never deleted. Of course, you have the usual picture sorting fare in albums and the like. What’s different with this app is the fact you can upload pictures more than one at a time. It does it using a queue form (that is also a conveniently placed touch-button within the app) that you can look at while in the app. You can’ also share multiple pictures with someone at once, too. Both these features set this app apart from all the other photo gallery/sharing apps I’ve encountered (okay…unlimited storage was also a huge draw for me). You can also view pictures in a beautiful slideshow mode. This app is a definite must-have for you shutterbugs out there (especially with its price tag). Price: Free.
• Pano – This application lets you create seamless panoramic photos using your iPhone. The interface for this app is actually delightfully simple to use. It actually does a really good job of stitching up the seams to create incredible panoramas. In fact, the interface even gives you a guide to lining up your next shot to make a great panorama shot. Believe it or not, you can actually create a full 360 degree panorama with a final resolution of up to 6800 by 800 pixels, using up to 16 pictures. In a great stroke of genius, the app creators set it to where your panorama shots get saved directly to your iPhone. Heck, you can even resume a panorama shot if you were interrupted in the middle of it by a phone call or accidental app exit. Even Internet celebrity Justine (iJustine) gave this app her seal of approval. Price: $2.99.
• Twitpic – As the name implies, this is a photo uploader to the website twitpic.com. I honestly can’t give a full review of it, since you already have the functionality to upload pictures to this site with just about any Twitter client for the iPhone (which will be mentioned many times later). But, still worth the looking at if you have no other site that you load your pictures to. Price: Free.
• Nikon Learn & Explore – This app is made by photo giant Nikon (well, duh). This app has a wealth of information to help you take better pictures (or shoot better videos). You can even pull up insider videos from professionals and amateur photographers and videographers alike and see how they do what they do so well. It also allows you to view galleries and Nikon's quarterly print magazine to see the works of others. More educational than an actual picture modification app, but still worth the look. Price: Free.

Added due to user suggestion:

• CameraBag - This app was actually surprisingly fun to use for me. This one was recommended to me by several users on Neighborsgo.com as well as a couple of my coworkers (I work at a local Apple store). Taking a look through it, this app is awesome. Seriously, it is. You can enhance photos you take (or ones you already have)with several variations and lenses. There are styles such as "Instant", which makes your picture look like a Polaroid photo, and of course, the classic Fish Eye lens. This app was surprisingly addictive. I definitely recommend this one if you are trying to beef up your (hopefully) already awesome photos with creative styles and colors. The price tag is incredible for the pure power that this app has, too. Price: On sale right now for $0.99, regularly $1.99.

(more)

As you will notice, this one is about money management and finance apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

• BillMinder – This app is a scheduler and reminder app for paying bills by. You can’t actually pay your bills with this app, but it helps you keep all your payments organized and itemized. Upon initial inspection, I thought this app would be a fractal menu nightmare, but once I delved a little deeper into it, I saw that there was a definite method to the menu madness. The most recent update to this app allows you get push notification reminders of when bills are due (alongside the email alerts). This is a nice feature, but is only accessed via in-app purchase for $0.99. The pure diligence of this app to remind you to pay your bills on time is second to none. It even allows you to automatically mark bills as paid if necessary. There’s a lot more that this app can do as well, but you can discover it for yourself. Price: $1.99 (with push $2.98)

• Bank of America– This app is designed by (obviously) Bank of America to provide banking on the go for their customers. It runs much like the old mobile website did, but is much faster, and exclusively for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Price: Free.

• Chase Mobile – As the name implies, this app is Chase Bank’s app for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Price: Free.

• Wells FargoMobile– Wells Fargo iPhone/iPod Touch app. Price: Free.

• PayPal – You may be asking why this app is in the Money Edition, but it actually belongs here. This app is designed for sending/receiving money using your existing PayPal account. You can even use it to pay for your eBay purchases. It’s a secure app, especially when coupled with the VeriSign app (which I will talk about later). Price: Free.

• Citi Mobile – Banking app for CitiBank customers. Price: Free.

• U.S. Bank Mobile- Ditto, for U.S. Bank customers. Price: Free.

• Yahoo! Finance – If you’ve ever gone to the “Finance” portion on the Yahoo! Page (or are a trading veteran), then you’ll love this app. It contains all the features the home page does (watered down, of course, but still comparable). If you haven’t gone to it (or are a newbie to Wall Street), then you’ll probably shy away from this app upon initial look (believe it or not, I did). Why? Because the learning curve on how to read the Yahoo! market predictions and charts, as well as learning how to import/export your portfolio and working the system, is comparable to starting out on a nice walk only to run headlong into a bamboo forest. I’m still trying to figure this app out, but for what it is, it’s very comprehensive with what you can do with what stocks you are following and watching. You can even get real time updates and look at after-hours trading data from your quotes. Along with news stories about your watch list, you can view videos of financial reports. The Graph & Compare mode was actually the coolest part of this app to me. You can graph several different company stocks on a single graph and compare them to each other, or to growth/decay from the previous financial years. You can even compare currency strengths in this app. Obviously, there’s a wealth of things you can do with this app. (see what I did there? That’s called a “pun”. Don’t worry; you won’t see many more bad puns from me, hopefully.) Price: Free.

• SunTrust Mobile Banking – Banking on your iPhone (or iPod Touch) for SunTrust customers. Price: Free.

• Ace Budget – SVT Software brings an innocuously simplistic approach to making and keeping a budget. The app is so simple to use, I’m certain an 8 year old child could use it. As with any budget, you have to chart your monthly income and budget out your expenses based on it. Interestingly, with this app, you can make multiple budget cycles. These cycles can range from daily and weekly all the way to quarterly or annually. You can split your expenses into the usual categories of Groceries, Entertainment, and Housing. Along with that, you can actually create custom categories and subcategories. You can also create an automatic deduction (recurring payment/expense) from your budget for a constant expense without mussing with too many details of the original payment. My favorite features within this app are password protection of your account information, the ability to export your budget data, and Backup and Restore. These are measures for privacy, printability, and failsafe, respectively. Price: $1.99. (Limited time $0.99) Also available: Ace Budget Lite. Same app, but watered down. Price:Free.

• Quicken Online Mobile – This app is for those of you with Quicken accounts that manage a budget. Believe it or not, I think this is has the potential to be the most aggressive and robust iPhone/iPod Touch budget app out. If you are not familiar with Quicken, it was originally (and continues to be) computer software. You can link it directly to your bank accounts and set scheduled paydays in order to manage your money. Why give a program all this access? Therefore, you can have a real-time look at where your money is going (and when it’s going). It gives you a realistic budget management system that you control every aspect to (not that you don’t already). If memory serves, Quicken is actually the first software API that allowed bills to be paid automatically, directly out off checking and/or savings accounts. Imagine having most of that capability, including money reminders, on your iPhone (or iPod Touch). That’s what this application brings to the table. Unfortunately, the reviews on this app have been less than nice to it. Quicken still needs some polish. There are a couple of refresh issues with it, as well as a couple of GUI (Graphic User Interface) and touch quirks that I didn’t really find germane to an app with the potential that Quicken Mobile has. I recommend this app, but I must attach a memorandum to it: Take it with a grain of salt, as it is still getting the kinks worked out. Price:Free.

• USAA – This app allows you to access your USAA accounts and history via your iPhone. Believe it or not, you can actually make deposits using it, too. You can take a picture of your checks, and it reads the information, making the deposit based upon the image recognition software. I know it’s not the first application to do such a thing with the iPhone, but it is still a neat feature that I think I should mention when possible. This application allows you to pay your car loan bills or car note, transfer funds between accounts, keep track of accidents to your car, etc.  Price: Free

(more)

Well, as I'm sure you're aware of it by now, everyone and their mother has been trying to get their hands on an iPhone. While doing so, they are going to want to download applications and other things for it. So you don't have to search through the incredibly vast seas of applications, I'm going to recommend some really awesome applications for you (most of which that I even use). Maybe, you like them, maybe you don't, but I can certainly tell you that the Genius feature in iTunes won't recommend these (or be useful at all) for you. In fact, most of these probably would have to be searched for when you go into iTunes (or the App Store on an iPhone/iPod Touch) I've broken them down into a few categories for easy sorting for ya. They aren't in any particular order, so don't think that just because it's first that it's the best app to have.

News/Television

• ESPN ScoreCenter - The reason here is obvious. I recommend the ESPN app. Up-to-the-minute sports scores, SportCenter recaps, and live video highlights that stream 24/7 make this is application of choice for any sports fanatic (not matter the sport, mainstream or not). The price tag makes this application all the more better. Price: Free.
• CBS/FOX/NBC/NBCDFW - These are much like the ESPN ScoreCenter app, only for football and other sports on their respective networks. I'm not sure if it covers college football but I'm assuming it does. (I only used most them once or twice, because I discovered the ESPN app shortly thereafter) Price: Free/Free/Free/Free
• ABC News - This one I recommend for obvious reason. My only real qualm with this one was that it crashed on me a few times. That gets a little frustrating when trying to look up world news. There are also highlights and extra content from the various shows on ABC. Price: Free.
• NY Times - This app was born out of the minds at the New York Times paper. This app is basically the whole paper (ads and all, unfortunately) in RSS feed form. You can still read the full articles, and it even links to the website to do so. The interface is pretty nice an straightforward, so anyone should be able pick it up and use it. Price: Free.
• E! Online Mobile - For all of you out there with obsessions with celebrities, this is your app. Downside to it is it WILL slow down your productivity on your iPhone. They need to make this one not so sluggish, but it does it's job of reporting celebrity news, linking to the website, and giving information about the shows on the network. I use it mostly for catching snippets of The Soup after the show ends (or when I miss it). Price: Free.
• The Weather Channel - I like how this app flowed and how easy it was to use. Though it is a single serving/purpose app, it's worth the download, because it's well....free. You can watch podcast videos of local weather in your area and get push updates of severe weather alerts. There is also the Weather Channel Max version, which carries a hefty price tag, unfortunately ($3.99), but is without ads. Price: Free.
• Weather Bug - See previous. There is also a WeatherBug Elite version, which is ad-free for a dollar. Price: Free.

Productivity/Utilities

• Speed Test - Having network issues? Think your iPhone is being slow, or just want to know how fast you are searching online? Well, this app is for you. From the website speedtest.net, this app does just that: Test the speed of your iPhone's Internet connection. You can test both wi-fi and cell network speeds. It's sleek, simple, and quick. Better yet, the price tag is even better. Price: Free
• Gas Cubby - I've been using this app since I've had my iPhone. I love this app. You input your car data, mileage, etc., then you can enter either a service expenditure, or gas expenditure. It keeps track of numerous things for you. Things like gas mileage, Amount spent on gas/service/total for your car. It even reminds you when to change your oil, tires, etc. You can even make notes as to where you got your gas, whether it was cash, credit, etc. It even graphs the tallies when you turn the phone in landscape mode. It can also handle multiple cars. Price: $6.99. There is also a lite version that allows 5 gas/service entries for free.
• MobileMe iDisk: As the name implies, this app is made by Apple for you to access your iDisk (secure online storage space for anything) using your iPhone, granted you have a MobileMe account. As an iPhone user, you get 90 days of free MobileMe access. You get 10 GB of storage for your account, which you can access from any computer with Internet access. This comes in handy when you want to backup some important documents, or if you travel, and have forgotten something you needed for work. Heck, even students can use it. Being able to save pictures, emails, etc. from your iPhone is a very useful thing to have to save space, or just need the access when not at home. You can also download, edit, and then re-upload documents to your iDisk. A must-have for MobileMe members on the go. Price: Free.
• Remote - This is probably my favorite app made by Apple. Why? Because you can wirelessly control your iTunes library from your iPhone or iPod Touch (using wi-fi). You can control everything from what's playing to rating a song or movie. You can even control your Apple TV with it. It can be used anywhere in (or out of) the house, as long as you're connected to the wi-fi signal. The best use for it is as a remote to the iTunes library. You're no longer tethered to your computer while you clean your house. Use is for full control of your library or Apple TV without a mouse or remote.  Price: Free.
• Bump - The app heard 'round the world (as the 1 billionth app downloaded from the App Store by the contest winner) is actually a pretty cool app to grab. Trade contact information with someone with just a bump. You can do both one-way and two-way transfers. It's actually very quick, simple, and intuitive. Price: Free.
• Mover - Much like the "Bump" app mention previously, but you can swipe over pictures and notes, as well as contacts. Price: Free.
• Speller - TranCreative Software's opus is actually a good app for spell checking. It's word bank is based on the Dictionary.com word bank (which, itself, is based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary word bank), and is fairly intuitive to use. Upside is that it's quicker than the dictionary.com app and that it loads quickly. Downside is that it is a monolith on your iPhone. It takes up close to 90 MB of space. Price: Free.
• Dictionary.com - As stated before, the dictionary.com app is a giant dictionary. It does have more functionality than the Speller app. It offers pronunciations of words on demand, and even links to word histories and to the dictionary.com website for more information. It's basically a giant dictionary (I hope you would have gathered that from the app title). Upsides are that it contains a large word bank and extra functionality. Downsides are that it, too is a monolith of an app (taking up 85 MB). Also, it's slower to load, and ads are EVERYWHERE. But, even with that, it's a great app to use. Price: Free.
• Howcast - This app is a lot of fun, from the masterminds at Howcast.com comes their mobile app. How-to videos in classic Howcast fashion on demand. An incredibly handy tool to have when in a pinch, or if you just want to learn how to do something.
• To-Dos - AustinBull Software provides this To-Do list app. This is a "love it or hate it" app. The rating and reviews show it (rating 2.5 stars, reviews are either 5-star or 1-star). (Realistically, you can just use your Calendar and Notes that are native on you iPhone to keep a to-do list/schedule, I do.) Personally, I liked it. Very intuitive layout, easy to set up and cross off items, and not too cumbersome. Price tag didn't make me complain, either. Price: Free.
• Google Mobile - This app is one that I recommend for EVERYONE (Yes, bolded, italicized, underlined, and capitalized) with an iPhone. It allows you to do searching on Google using just your voice. It really comes in handy when you don't want to open up the Safari browser just to search for one thing. The voice searching is surprisingly accurate, and even has several suggestions for what you might have been searching for if it mis-heard your voice. It actually is all the Google services rolled into one neat little app. (Yes, you actually CAN access Google Talk, people). It's a really small app (only about 6 MB), and is surprisingly quick. My biggest qualm with it, though, is that it doesn't do landscape mode at all, and it causes iPhone comas. (the whole screen goes black, and you can't see any touches you make on the screen. Even if you press the Home button to exit the app, you have a black screen. You have to press the Power button a couple times to get it back.) Other than that, it's a really fun and useful app to have in your arsenal. Price: Free.
• Google Earth - Yes, they have Google Earth for the iPhone. This app runs surprisingly well on the iPhone platform. It's actually really accurate on location, as well. (I zoomed all the way down to where my house was, and it actually located me in my kitchen. Eerie.) The app can be used as a GPS, as well. I don't recommend it, though, as this will sap up your battery power quickly. Though, you can use the zoom and panning features to help you locate a place that you're looking for. Also, they have a couple of other features in it that you may enjoy. Downside is it takes a bit to launch up, and is HUGE (200+ MB). Price: Free.
• Kindle for iPhone - This app is for anyone who has a Kindle reader (or account with Amazon). It allows you to read, buy, preview, and browse the books and magazines in Amazon's Kindle library. I haven't used this app yet, but I've heard very good things about it. Price: Free.

Shopping/Restaurant/Food

• Pizza Hut - Well, this one is here for obvious reason. It allows you to order pizza from Pizza Hut from your iPhone (or iPod Touch). It's actually intuitive and easy to use. You can even drag and drop toppings on your pizza. Price: Free.
• Yelp! - This app is actually surprisingly useful. Its most effective use is as a restaurant search engine. You can also rate a restaurant you've eaten at on it, as well as reviews on a restaurant that you're about to eat at. Actually surprisingly useful. I used it to discover several good/small places to eat lunch. Useful tool for those of you looking for inexpensive places to eat, or want to blast a place for giving you bad service. Price: Free.
• Loopt - The (as they describe it) "app that turns your iPhone into a social compass" is actually pretty decent to have. It's a little creepy, as it suggests friend for you to find based upon your Contacts list, but it still works. You can update that you are doing something at specific places, a corner, or a city. That's pretty much it. It's like Facebook, Twitter, or the like with locations. Price: Free.
• eBay - All I have to say for this one: Shop Victoriously. Price: Free.
• Barnes & Noble Bookstore - Search the B&N network for books, DVDs, CDs, and other interesting things. You can actually purchase and have things delivered (or held at the store) using the app. Fairly intuitive and simple to use. Price: Free.
• Epicurious - This app is specifically designed for all you future Iron Chefs out there. This app has recipes for aspiring culinary masters and amateur chefs alike. Based upon the website by the same name, this app has many, many different recipes from many backgrounds. I used to to help me learn how to cook some interesting dishes (as it has some tutorial videos, as well).  This app is good for college students, as well (as some dishes are alternate ways to have certain food items you may have in your house/dorm room). Price: Free.
• myStarbucks Coffee - Do I really need to say what this app does? Honestly, seeing that name, you should know. Basically, you can pay for your coffee.....while in the Starbucks store.....with your iPhone....while in the store....Have we seriously become this lazy, America? Price: Free.
• Amazon Mobile - As stated in the title, this is Amazon shopping on your mobile device. Price: Free.
• Chipotle Ordering - Yes, even Chipotle has cashed in on the App Store. This app allows you to place to go orders for your Chipotle binges. I haven't been able to place a catering order, but I think it can be done. Price: Free.
  
• Target - Imagine shopping on the Target website.....on your iPhone (or iPod Touch). Yep. That's what it is. Price: Free.
  
• Best Buy Weekly Deals - As the name implys, it's an app that keeps you updated on Best Buy's weekly ad deals in your area. You can also look at ads for other areas, as well as online deals. Surprisingly, this is a very robust app. Price: Free.
• Hotels.com - As the name implies, this app is brought to you by the folks at Hotels.com. Pretty easy to use (granted you have an account with them), it's a good research and shopping tool to aid you if you are a road warrior. Price: Free.

There ya go, there's a few of my recommendations. As this is a HUGE undertaking, I'm splitting this into 2 parts. This is the first. Part 2 will follow, shortly (hopefully). (more)

Well, I recently went to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. It happened on the Sunday home opener for them. Actually, that was my third visit to the Cowboys Stadium. The first was a preseason game. I quite loved it, because it is a NICE (yes, italicized, capitalized, and bolded there, folks) stadium. Seriously, VERY nice. I even have some pictures to prove it.

The Experience.

There was one major flaw that I considered while we were pulling up to the stadium parking lots was the fact that the new Cowboys stadium is right across the street from the Ameriquest Park (the Ballpark in Arlington). This could prove to be a problem, especially in the fall. What if both teams (the Cowboys and the Rangers) had a game on the same day at home? Traffic would be a nightmare. You'd have to leave at 6 AM (from where we are in Murphy) just to make it to a noon Cowboys game. Anyways, there was not as long of a wait as there was at Texas Stadium. Interestingly enough, we got to our lot (which is pretty close to the stadium gates rather quickly, despite all the traffic to the stadium. As we got out, we got all our things together: tickets, hats, cameras, and phones.

What's incredible about it is that the whole glass wall slides open, allowing you to see the party levels and seats. That's a feat of engineering, considering the size of the stadium. Anyways, we happened to have nice seats. They were on the Hall of Fame level of the stadium. They were really, REALLY nice seats, compared to what we previously had in the old Texas Stadium

Yes, they DID move the screen up. Yes, it's as big as you've heard it is. I think the screen is a great addition to have in the stadium. I just wish it wasn't so huge. I see more people watching the game on the screen than on the field. Seriously, I'd wouldn't pay all that money for some tickets to essentially watch the game in the same fashion as I would at home. That's what you're doing (especially from the upper levels) with the giant screens in the new stadium.
I digress, back to the actual experience. Everything in the stadium is incredibly shiny, new, clean, and neat. They have several full service bars on the Hall of Fame Level (as well as one on every level of the stadium).

Incredible service at these bars, too. They still had the concession stands, as well. They have the usual stadium fare: nachos, hot dogs, fries, soda, and popcorn. They even have Kobe beef burgers and BBQ chicken sandwiches now. Though, the food (and prices, for that matter $13 for just the CHEESEBURGER?? No thanks, Jones-san.) was much higher quality than normal, I still think the menu is a little limited. Yes, I know I'm in a stadium, but for the amount that we're paying for season tickets on this level ($340 a ticket, plus the initial deposit), I think there should be at least a little more variety in what foods they sell. The entire food experience is actually really interesting, because there are other kinds of food to eat on our level, but we have to go outside of the glass box that we are in (and to the outer portion of the stadium) in order to get to them. That's quite a long (not to mention crowded) walk. Navigating the stadium is actually quite intuitive once you get past the initial shock and awe. Everything is very clearly laid out, and even if you get lost, any of the staff on the floor will help you get where you need to go.
There are also (I'm estimating here) about twice as many Pro Shops and other diversions in the stadium. Of course, they are still proud of the prices. $35 for a t-shirt?? Uhhmm...no, thanks. I'll pass. Of course, there are professional team logos on the shirts, and they are made of high-grade cotton, and blah blah. Come on, now. Give me a break. Jerry Jones obviously thinks we are made of money.
Here are the prices of some of the items that someone we gave a ticket to, my family, or I bought:

• A bottle of water: $5
• Kobe beef burger: $13
• A basket of fries: $5
• Cowboys t-shirt: $35
• Hot dog: $5.50
• Soda: $6
• Cowboys Stadium collectible tub of popcorn: $10
• Regular tub of popcorn: $5
• Nachos: $8.50
• Sushi: $12.50
• A normal alcoholic drink (say, a rum and Coke): $12
• A bottle of beer: $6
• Tickets for our seats, per person: $340
• BBQ chicken sandwich: $13.50
• Salad: $7.50
• Awesome experience in the new Cowboys Stadium: Priceless.

Sorry about that last part.......I couldn't help it.

Anyways, the staff at this stadium is MUCH nicer and more personable than the old staff. The quality of the service, and therefore, the experience, is much better now that they have moved from that old, clunky, dingy, dirty place they (the Cowboys) called home before. One of the staff members even remembered my name and order (mostly because I go to every home game, and go to the same spot every time until I get screwed on service or otherwise). That's something I've never come across while in a stadium. Ever. I thought that was just an interesting little social thing I saw. I've really only run into that in a restaurant or somewhere else small that I frequent. Even the woman who helped us in the suite we had for the OU/BUY game was very personable and friendly. It was interesting, because she admitted that she really didn't know anything about the stadium and that her boss was a bit of a hard-ass (which brought me endless enjoyment to hear). Jerry Jones was swinging for the fences with this stadium. He's made an improvement in every way (save the Cowboys squad, itself). You'll find something to like about this new stadium. There's no standing water, the bathrooms are clean (plus, there's someone there cleaning them every few minutes). It's air conditioned, so it doesn't get uncomfortably humid or hot in the stadium during the first couple of games. Of course, there's the giant retractable roof that gives you a great view when it's open (take my word for this one). I wish I had a picture of the roof, but my camera died before I could get that picture in on the opening game. Even if you're just one of the people with the Party Pass seats (Jones's version of "standing room only"), you still have that freaking amazingly huge video board, so you're not missing any action. (Also, don't forget, there are TVs showing the action every 60 feet or so in the whole stadium.) The new stadium is not just meant for football games. It can accommodate anything from football to soccer matches to U2 concerts. There's a couple of records that the new stadium set: Biggest crowd ever at an NFL sporting event, and biggest set of JumboTrons in the world. Way to go, Jerry Jones.
My experience in the new stadium has been amazing, and I hope everyone else's that has been loved it, as well. No wonder people think this place is the Taj Mahal of Games and Entertainment. It does a good job of being such, and I hope the quality doesn't decline in the future. (more)

Familiar Territory

When I first went into the new local Apple Store, I expected it to be a zoo, as usual, of course, it was

Apple Store Regular Experience

I was actually left to my lonesome in the store, which I’m used to. Usually, when I go to an Apple Store, I’m in the store for about 3-6 hours, depending on how I feel that day. I’m normally not bothered by any of the Specialists or Creative associates, because they know me. They know I like to go in an browse around to look at any new toys that are out for about 10 minutes or so. Then, I plop myself down at a Mac Pro (or a 24-inch iMac) and create in GarageBand or Logic for a couple hours. I’d say about 90% of the staff in the new store I knew, because they were straight transfers from the other store across town. I even saw a couple of my old coworkers that I used to work with at Fry’s Electronics. It was quite interesting. I actually made a couple new songs while in the store. I will post them later Anyways, onwards to the main event.

I’ve been here before, right? Wait….something’s different

The whole reason for my visit to the Apple Store was so I could get a chance to sit down and play with Apple’s new operating system, Snow Leopard. My first thought was that they hadn’t installed it in the Apple Store computers yet, because it was just released, and the backgrounds on the computers looked the exact same. When I went to the “About this Mac” menu, it did say “MAC OS X” in big bold letters, as always, along with “Version 10.6.” No, my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. I know I had gotten up early in the morning after just a few hours of sleep, but I was decently cognizant. Then, when I pulled up the Expose, I knew what was going on. I even opened up the Activity Monitor and a couple other utility applications to see what was going on. I had realized what happened. Apple had pulled a Windows ME/98/2000 on me…….They had released what was essentially the same operating system with a couple of cosmetic upgrades and a few kinks worked out. Let me clarify, though. They actually IMPROVED their previous operating system. They massively increased the speed and productivity to the end user with this release. Though it is not cosmetically different, they have made things a snappier and more responsive. Thought they didn’t wow me with a whole new GUI or new bells and whistles, they made up for it by making the previous bells and whistles clearer and shinier. I did notice a marked speed increase of opening and closing applications. I even noticed that they changed up a few of the underlying aspects of the operating system. Most end users won’t notice any huge change in interface with Snow Leopard, but I think they will appreciate the speed increase.

Ups and Downs

As I don’t feel like going all literary in explaining everything, I will just put my thoughts into bullet points. After playing with Snow Leopard for a week now, this is what I’ve got:

Pros:

1. Marked speed increase with opening and closing applications
2. Marked speed increase in all applications when multitasking
3. Let’s just say….it’s fast, snappy, and quick, mmk?
4. You actually recover disk space when you install it on your system. You recover at LEAST full 6 gigabytes of space. If you’re keeping score at home Leopard space req. = 11-13 GB; Snow Leopard = 5-7
5. Added many productivity features that I think most businesspeople will enjoy
6. Microsoft Exchange support is built into the operating system, so you don’t have to buy it, like you would with a Windows machine.
7. Full 64-bit integration of hardware AND software
8. Safari 4
9. Price tag of $29 for previous Leopard users to upgrade (or the $10 Mac Up To Date for Best Buy and Fry’s Electronics users/customers)
10. Quicktime 10 finally puts your media center stage and plays like iTunes (also, you can instantly convert movies into a format for iTunes or YouTube)
11. Snow Leopard Server Edition has latest Unix Bash shell (you guys won’t appreciate that, but some IT guys might like hearing that), along with backward compatibility
12. They made Spotlight even smarter and faster (How? I haven’t the foggiest, but I noticed it predicted queries better)
13. Full iWeb/MobileMe integration with all the main pre-installed applications
14. Learning curve is shallow for old and new users alike
15. It’s not Windows Vista

Cons:

1. Few (if any) cosmetic changes
2. Software still doesn’t fully support Bluetooth file transfer to or from an iPhone
3. Though still awesome, GarageBand still has some annoying quirks when mixing or sequencing with looped content.
4. iWork is still a trial on the operating system.
5. Some hotkeys that some users like have been shifted to accommodate other functions. (I use hotkeys a BUNCH. You can still change it in System Preferences, but still, the shifting was a little jarring)
6. You have to pay $99 for MobileMe for a year. (Not so much a negative as much as me griping)
7. Much like Windows 7 in that there were some performance enhancements, but no real cosmetic changes.
8. Most of the new features and enhancements can’t be seen by end users. Only IT personnel or techies will really see/look for them.
9. Quicktime/iTunes still have some file support quirks. Some AVI and MPG/MPEG files won’t open.
10. Time Machine still takes up a good amount of system resources when active.

So….there ya go. That’s pretty much all I have. This review was actually one of the hardest ones to find true negatives for. I really, REALLY had to try and find them for Snow Leopard. I’m sure a few more will come along later, but that’s for another blog.

Final word:

Though Snow Leopard has no real cosmetic changes, speed and productivity were the focus with this release. In classic form, Apple delivered on what they set out to do. Previous Leopard owners are happy because their pocketbooks aren’t screaming at them when they think about an upgrade. New users are happy because well…..they’re getting a Mac. Either way, even if you’re a Windows or Linux (notice I didn’t use the catch-all term “PC”, as Apple users are PC users, as well) alum, you’ll find something to like about Apple’s new Snow Leopard operating system. It truly is the worlds most advanced operating system. Whether you be a businessperson, student, media mogul, IT professional, or average Joe, Snow Leopard should be high on your list of operating system choices to do your work in.

-LB (more)