Apps

Mekorama review—guide a tiny robot through mechanical dioramas

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 18, 2016

As promised, Odd Bot Out developer Martin Magni released his eagerly anticipated 3D puzzler for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, Mekorama. Featuring M.C. Escher-style 3D architecture, Mekorama is this year’s Monument Valley.

In this addictive and remarkably well-executed game, you're tasked with guiding a charming robot as he embarks on a journey through more than fifty mechanical dioramas.

As a great bonus, Mekorama comes with a full-blown level editor that lets anyone build their own dioramas and share them online via built-in QR code scanning, no additional downloads required whatsoever.

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New Mac extension simplifies opening and switching Terminal to the current folder

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

A new OS X extension from Hasbrang Productions, the prominent jailbreak community development team, makes it easy to open and switch a new Terminal window to the current working directory, right from the Finder's contextual menu.

Available at no charge on the Mac App Store, the aptly named TermHere installs itself as a Finder file extension, readily accessible from the right-click menu. It works as advertised and is pretty convenient, more so if you use Terminal frequently.

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“OK Hound, what’s this song?”

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2016

SoundHound, a Santa Clara, California headquartered audio recognition and cognition company, today pushed an interesting update to its free and paid App Store apps, which now include a brand new, pretty powerful voice-activated music assistant feature.

Responding to the 'OK Hound' keyword, the new search and assistant mode translates your spoken commands into appropriate actions, letting you identify songs, discover new music, add tracks to your Apple Music playlist and more, hands-free.

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Google’s mobile app gains keyboard shortcuts, busiest hours in search results & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2016

Google's native search app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad today received a pretty significant update on the App Store, bringing the app to version 15.0.

People who use an external keyboard with their iPad can now use time-saving shortcuts within the app to search faster and navigate the app more easily.

Other improvements in this release of the Google app include busiest hours in search results and dynamic font sizing enhancements.

The Google app is available free on the App Store.

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Apple updates GarageBand with new sounds to celebrate Chinese music

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2016

Apple on Monday issued updates for GarageBand on both iOS and Mac, bringing the apps to version 2.1.1 and 10.1.2 respectively. The release notes for the updates mention various bug fixes and other improvements, but Apple points to some bigger changes in a press release.

Many new Chinese sounds were also added in today's GarageBand updates, to "celebrate the rich history of Chinese music." This includes traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and erhu, percussion instruments like wood blocks and cymbals, and 300 Live Loops.

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Google I/O 2016 is kicking off on Wednesday: keep tabs on it with official iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2016

Google I/O, the search giant's version of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, is kicking off this year on Wednesday, May 18, at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California and what better way to keep up with the conference than an iPhone app from Google.

The official Google I/O 2016 app, like Apple's own WWDC for iPhone app, lets you follow conference news, explore tracks and speakers, watch session videos, enjoy a live stream of the keynote and more, right on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

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Apple just shot down an app that could detect iPhone malware

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

Stefan Esser’s iPhone app, called System and Security Info, can no longer be downloaded from the App Store, as first noted by The Next Web. Esser’s software let iPhone users know if their device had malware that could be used to spy on them, and could detect a jailbreak, too.

The app was removed from the App Store earlier this morning. Esser was basically told that detecting weaknesses in a user’s device could lead to “potentially inaccurate and misleading diagnostic functionality for iOS devices.”

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What’s on your Home screen: Sebastien Page

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

"Show me your Home screen and I'll tell you who you are."

Indeed, the Home screen is a very personal place that reflects who we are and how we use our devices. The way we organize apps and folders can tell a whole lot about our personality, and so does our specific choice of apps.

I've been asked twice this week to share a screenshot of my Home screen set up, so I figured I might as well share with all of you and explain the rational behind the placement of icons and the overall layout, and of course, the specific apps I use.

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