I love the sound of rainfall. It is a relaxing, rhythmic sound that isn’t invasive to your ears, but helps clear your mind. I oftentimes use audio effects apps that include the sound of rainfall to help me sleep. I don’t usually relate the sound to playing video games, though.
… and then it rained is a simple game that features the calming sound of rainfall, but requires fast reflexes, which is the opposite of how you feel while relaxing to the Zen-like soundtrack…
In my final preparations for moving to the seacoast this coming weekend, it's dawned on me how my workflow will be a lot different, whether I like it or not.
For the next six months, I'll be living and working in a myriad of places, spending most of my blogging time at the picturesque beaches at the beautiful Mediterranean city of Rovinj, situated on the north Adriatic Sea in Croatia.
Thanks to its all-day battery, a 13-inch 2013 MacBook Air will be the cornerstone of my mobile office, with a little help from my 128GB iPad Air doubling as a cellular hotspot and a second screen device for social media interactions.
I'm also adamant to have a flexible iPad stand wherever I go, one that would prop up my device for easier reading and at the same time provide the flexibility of prolonged typing at slightly slanted angles.
Desktop iPad stands such as the recently reviewed Slope by Dekke are out of the question - they're bulky and too impractical for outdoor use. Luckily, there's no shortage of mobile stands that are a joy to carry around.
The second-generation Compass for iPad by premium accessory maker Twelve South is a dream come true for all you road warriors out there who strive as much for portable nirvana solutions as yours truly.
After spending nearly a month with the Compass 2, I'm happy to report that it's one of the best portable tablets stands around. It's so compact it fits in your pocket (or a purse/handbag) and versatile enough to support slanted typing or prop up the device...
Fans of puzzle games will likely remember the stunning and bizarre world of Machinarium. The game was acclaimed for its beautiful landscapes, intricate puzzles, and overall immersive gameplay.
Amanita Design is back with another incredible contribution to the puzzle game genre for the iPad. In Botanicula, the world is more natural with trees, bugs, and moving plant life. The world also has a creepy unnatural element to it with the likes of the photosynthesis-sucking spiders that are terrorizing the residents of the tranquil community…
Have you ever tried to record audio from your MacBook on your iPhone or iPad's built-in microphone? The result is audio that's serviceable—you can hear it—but the sound is pitiful. Built-in microphones on pretty much every hardware device, whether it be computers, tablets, or even cameras, are sorely lacking from a sound quality perspective. With a minimal investment, you can significantly upgrade the quality of your sound with a decent external microphone.
There are some awesome external microphones for a variety of applications out there, but if you're primarily concerned with recording on your Mac or iOS device while on the go, there is one mic that should be squarely at the top of your consideration list.
The Apogee MiC is an extremely minuscule external microphone that can make your recordings sound great while traveling. Have a look at our Apogee MiC review and video walkthrough + sound test.
There is a lot of different kinds of role-playing dungeon crawl games. One of them is called “roguelike” or “rogue-like” if you prefer proper grammar. In it, players explore procedurally generated dungeons, collecting loot and slaying villains. One of the most important characteristics of a roguelike is permanent death (also know as permadeath). That means if you lose all of your hit points, the game ends and you lose all of your loot. Dead is dead.
Wayward Souls is a roguelike that sets an example for other iOS developers to follow. It is incredibly challenging, full of lootable treasure chests, and when you die, you lose it all…
One of the most popular types of games in the App Store is the physics-based aim-to-shoot kind. We can attribute the success of the genre to Angry Birds. It may not have been the first, but it was certainly the most popular. If you are a fan of physics-based games, but are getting tired of the same old slingshot style mechanics, there is a new bird in town.
Suited Up uses the idea of aiming to shoot, but players must select the point at which the jumper will arc. Instead of dragging to aim, just tap the screen to mark your target and see where you land…
By now, it may have become clear that I am a fan of good old-fashioned role-playing games. Give me a dungeon crawl over a physics-based game, any day of the week. As much as I love the genre, games can seem a bit redundant over time when you’ve played so many of them.
Tiny Dice Dungeon is a unique twist on the RPG genre that mixes dungeon crawl gameplay with dice throwing mechanics. Role doubles for twice the damage. Role a one and lose your turn…
On my many regular trips to my local board game store, I’ve seen this battle card game called “Yomi.” It looks really fun, but it costs $100 new. Ouch! It is one of those games I’d like to try before I buy. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who owns a copy, so I didn’t know if I’d like it, until now.
Sirlin Games recently developed an iPad version of Yomi that is an online, cross-platform adaptation of the card game I’ve longed for, but never invested in. After a few days of testing, it looks like my board game budget will be depleted, once again…
Bravest Warriors is a web cartoon from Cartoon Hangover that was written by Pendleton Ward, the same zany brain that created Adventure Time. Although I am a huge fan of Finn and Jake, I’ve never actually seen Bravest Warriors. That will probably change soon.
Fly Catbug Fly! is the first video game based on the cartoon web series staring its most adorable character. This child-voiced, ladybug-winged cat flies through the air, collecting stuff like skulls, salad bowls, and toilet paper. Help Catbug grab as much as his little wings can carry and deliver them to Impossibear. Don’t worry. I’m just as confused as you are…
Loads of Apple accessories debuted at CES 2014, but one of my favorites was the Jimi by Bluelounge. Simply, "putting your iMac USB port within reach, Jimi is a j-shaped, USB port extension for your iMac to bring your USB port forward, allowing easy access." It is fairly straight forward and, after a pause, genius.
It is rare to so strategically pinpoint little nuances to everyday uses of Apple devices. Bluelounge specializes in these minute details, solving issues we gradually came to accept over time. I resorted to spinning my iMac around each time I wanted to access the USB ports. With an additional monitor on each side of my iMac, adding anything to the port required me to carefully pull my iMac forward and gently turn it to one side. Sometimes, I resorted to reach over the monitor, blindly cramming my cables into the aluminum back. My reckless behavior is no more, thanks to the Jimi...
Pixite, the creator of Tangent, LoryStripes, and Fragment, two of which made it to our top-ten best photography apps of 2013 list, has been working hard for the past year to bring some pretty interesting photo effects apps to iOS.
Union is the latest release from the app maker. It is an image blending program that lets you mask, edit, and merge multiple images into one. Plus, you can import photos from Tangent and Fragment with the original image and shapes on separate layers to create interesting effects…
There is an episode of Futurama in the sixth season called “Benderama” where Bender makes half-sized copies of himself to do his work. While the inevitable world-destruction antics ensue, it does make one wonder what it would be like to have a few clones hanging around to help out with the chores.
Instantion is a platform game that emphasizes puzzle-solving action. Players create clones that stand on buttons, activate bridge functions, and fall to their death so we don’t have to…