BY Kathryn Zane on Wed February 22nd, 2012 Games peep software Pirate Dots quirky Quirky App of the Day

I wasn’t always the best at paying attention during important functions. I was especially bad at paying attention during things like weddings, graduation ceremonies or the funerals of obscure relatives. I was a horrible child. To entertain myself, I would play the dots game with my brothers and sisters. It was a lot less morbid than playing Hangman in a church. Pirate Dots is a fun reminder of the evil eye my mom would give us if we got carried away and yelled out, “Bazinga!”

The goal of the game of dots is to make a square on a field of dots. Each person takes turns drawing a straight line up, down, left or right. Eventually, the board becomes filled with lines, and you start making squares from them. Whoever makes the most squares wins the game. Pirate Dots is a two-player game that uses pirate characters to help keep track of who is who. The app also keeps track of squares that get filled in so that you don’t forget any. I always forgot to close off a square, and then my opponent would jump on it once it was their turn.

The app marks whose square is whose with the pirate character that the players chose in the beginning. There are also three different levels of difficulty to choose from. You can keep track of your high scores on each level of difficulty in the high scores option. I use this option as a gloating mechanism when I need to feel good about something.

Pirate Dots is a universal app available in the App Store for the awesome price of FREE!

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BY Brent Dirks on Wed February 22nd, 2012 data center icloud North Carolina data center Oregon data center

While officials in Prinevlle, Ore. worked hard to convince Apple to build a data center in the town, they also had help from a little company called Facebook.

Yesterday Apple confirmed plans to build a data center in the town after purchasing a 160-acre plot of land from Crook County for a cool $ 5.6 million.

And, in an interview with a local TV station, Crook County Judge Mike McCabe said that Facebook, who has a data center near the purchased property, helped lobby Apple:

“Facebook kind of helped recruit (Apple), saying, ‘You’ve got to come up and look at this community.’”

Speaking to the TV station, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet was only able to confirm the company purchased land for a data center.

The announcement comes after legislation passed by both the Oregon House and Senate that assures data centers in enterprise zones would not be assessed state property taxes.

When the Oregon data center is complete, it will join Apple’s data center (pictured above) in Maiden, North Carolina. That center went live in mid-2011 and currently supports services like iCloud, which is currently used by more than 100 million users on the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

The North Carolina center is also notable because of the green technology used in the building. According to Apple, the center has earned coveted LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and uses the largest end-user owned solar array in the country. Also in the works are plans to build the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the United States.

With iCloud playing a larger part in the next version of OS X, Mountain Lion, and possibly in the mythical Apple TV/iTV that is rumored to be introduced in 2012, the new data center may be Apple’s continuing way of saying that the future is in the cloud, and the data centers that power it.

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BY Tommy Ly on Wed February 22nd, 2012 color splash for ipad photo editing pocket pixels inc

Color Splash for iPad ($ 0.99) has just received a welcome update. Version 1.8 brings deeper Facebook integration (you can now browse and download photos from Facebook to edit), the option to have real postcards made and mailed anywhere in the world, and more. For those unfamiliar with the app, Color Splash gained its popularity by allowing you to convert specific areas of a photo to black and white, while leaving the rest in color. With these effects, it’s easy to add some fun to your photos.

From the app’s release notes, here’s what’s new in version 1.8 of Color Splash for iPad:

• Browse and download Facebook photos for editing.
• You can now add captions to images you share on Facebook.
• Create beautiful physical postcards and have them sent to your friends anywhere in the world (powered by Sincerely).
• Take photos with your iPad 2 camera without leaving the app.
• Load images from the clipboard.
• A great new interface for browsing your iPad photo library (requires location permission)
• Reorganized and more attractive menus

With the original Color Splash released back in 2009, it’s great to see the developers still providing updates for a great app.

Color Splash for iPad is available for $ 0.99 in the App Store.

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BY A.T. Faust III on Wed February 22nd, 2012 brandywine brandywine communications technologies patent troll visual voicemail voicemail voicemail viewer

Sometimes, I really think Biggy was onto something with that whole “mo money, mo problems” bit. Fame certainly makes for a nice, big target, and once again, the scavenging trolls are hobbling out to feast on Apple’s overwhelming success.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s Lodsys unpleasantness, Brandywine Communications Technologies has filed a claim in Florida court seeking compensation for Apple’s unauthorized use of the firm’s visual voicemail patents. Numbered 5719922 and 6236717, the patents — both very similar in scope — are officially described thus (via GigaOM):

A simultaneous voice and data modem [that] coordinates the storage of voice messages and data messages on an audio answering machine and a personal computer, respectively. This allows the called party to subsequently retrieve, via the simultaneous voice and data modem, both a voice message and an associated data message, i.e., a multimedia message, where the called party listens to the voice message while viewing the data message. The called party can retrieve the multimedia message either locally or from a remote location.

Clearly, the patent(s) seem to describe fairly well what iOS’ voicemail implementation actually does, but there are several question marks going forward. The usual ones, like “prior art” and inequitable conduct, will certainly be considered, and Apple may also attempt to differentiate its iPhone from the “personal computer” designation used (or implied) in Brandywine’s filings. (After all, there is plenty of argument over whether or not the iPad’s a PC, much less its smaller, more portable brethren.)

It’ll be interesting to see how this case plays out, but, in all likelihood, Brandywine will simply keep up the patent troll status quo: They’ll make headlines for a week or two, file a few lawsuits, get held up for months or years in the courts, and we won’t hear about them again for a nice long while.

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BY A.T. Faust III on Wed February 22nd, 2012 california attorney general kamala d. harris privacy privacy concerns Privacy Issues

The New York Times is reporting (via its Bits blog) that California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has reached an agreement with tech heavyweights Amazon, Apple, Google, HP, Microsoft, and RIM to step up their collective privacy efforts. The measure, while basic in scope and simple (if inconvenient) to implement, comes with severe penalties for the aforementioned companies and third-party app developers should they fail to adhere to the rules in good faith. Says Bits,

The agreement will force developers to post conspicuous privacy policies detailing what personal information they plan to obtain and how they will use it. It also compels app store providers like Apple and Google to offer ways for users to report apps that do not comply. In a statement, the attorney general’s office said developers who did not abide by their own privacy policies would face prosecution under California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law.

Of course, it’s important to note that these guidelines are only enforceable in California. Still, it should offer a quick, easy rubric for other states to follow, and we expect that to indeed be the case. In the meantime, Path’s misstep will continue making its way through the court of public opinion, while Google’s faux pas has landed it in the regular kind.

App Advice

Nose Invaders ($ 0.99) by Dear Future Astronaut AB is a new physics-based puzzle adventure game released for the iPhone yesterday.

Flu viruses invade every year and cause misery to millions of people. Now is the time to take a stand against the pesky flu virus. Players take control of a small green flu-fighting creature to combat the flu viruses. Because the nose is the body’s the last line of defense, this is where the battle takes place.

The nose complicates matters as one might imagine. Since the green creatures are fighting in living animals, the noses are fully functional. So the creatures must eliminate the flu viruses and time their attacks while the nose is inhaling and exhaling. These green creatures cannot survive anywhere else besides the nose, so make sure they are not inhaled into the body.

To navigate around the nose, players touch the screen and drag the arrow in the direction they want the creature to go. The longer the arrow, the more force behind the creature. Navigating is not difficult, the real challenge is timing the movements as the nose inhales and exhales.

Each level of Nose Invaders has three flu viruses to eliminate. However, players only need to eliminate one to advance to the next level. Currently the game has three level packs (kid nose, cow nose, and elephant nose) each with 20 levels.

Players are awarded a coin for each virus eliminated. These are used to unlock future nose packs. Of course, if you must open the next nose pack you can unlock them all for $ 0.99.

As players progress throughout the levels more obstacles appear. The first few levels are very easy, designed so players can get a feel for the game. After these, challenges are thrown in. Some noses have teleport holes, creature eating traps, pimples and more elements that complicate the game.

Nose Invaders has Game Center support with leaderboards and over 15 achievements.

Overall, Nose Invaders is a fun and challenging puzzle game for the iPhone. Players will be delighted with the ease of controls, fun graphics, and challenging gameplay. Nose Invaders is suitable for all ages and promises hours of fun.

App Advice

DataLocker (Free) by AppSense locks any new files you add to your Dropbox account. Similar to other data locking apps, such as iLocker, any sort of files you want kept away from prying eyes can be locked tight.

While this app is simple to use once you get it up and running, it’s not as intuitive for setting up. It would be nice if directions were included inside the app. I had to revisit the App Store site to figure out how to actually use it.

The app will ask you to give permission to connect to your Dropbox account once you’ve opened it for the first time. From then on, anytime you have an “Open in” option, DataLocker will be one of your options.

This step is essential for the app to work. Any previous files in Dropbox prior to DataLocker or any files that get added straight to Dropbox are exempt from being locked.

Once a new file is added to the app, you’ll need to create a password for it.

You can choose for the app to store your passwords, but then that means that your files can be viewed within the app without any protection in place. Either way, Dropbox will not be able to access it.

You’ll see a cool looking optical illusion of the Dropbox logo upon trying to open the file.

For free, this is certainly a utility app to look into if you have those personal files that you’d like to keep… well, personal.

This is a simple app that does what it says. Once you actually figure out how to do what it says, you’re golden.

App Advice

BY Ammaar Reshi on Wed February 22nd, 2012 midway arcade warner bros.

Warner Bros. has just released Midway Arcade in the New Zealand App Store.

The game features a beautiful arcade room display, each running classic Midway titles such as Rampage, Joust, Spy Hunter, and more.

Midway Arcade includes 10 free games while you can purchase two other game packs, each consisting of three more classic titles. No prices are showing up for any in-app purchases on the app’s iTunes page, so lets hope they are unlockable with coins or some other form of in-game reward.

The game also features a jukebox that lets you play your iPod tracks as well as a virtual prize redemption center if you happen to rack up a good score.

Midway Arcade is available for approximately $ 0.99 USD in the New Zealand App Store and is expected to hit the U.S. App Store at 11 p.m. EST.

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The goal of each level is to get certain shapes, like squares and circles, to stay put in their appropriate place. The difficulty is in the fact that obstacles and other shapes will get in the way, making it hard to accomplish the task.

The shapes will float across the screen and players must drag them to the designated spot. When the shape has remained in the spot for a certain period of time, the level is complete. The faster the task is completed, the better the score.

Shapes can be combined to form more complex ones. For example, two triangles brought together will make a square, two squares will make a pentagon, and so on. If a “lower” shape, like a triangle, collides with a “higher” one, like a square, it will revert to the lower one. This makes it harder to keep the proper shape in its spot because players have to avoid collisions.

In addition to shape changing, there are obstacles that keep shapes from staying put. For example, there is a magnet that continuously pulls at the shapes, causing them to stray from their spot. There are also pools of sticky goo that keeps you from being able to easily move shapes around, and so on.

The problem with this game is that it lacks challenge. I was able to complete 45 levels in a half an hour. There are 135 levels, but they never really seem to get that much harder. More obstacles and tasks are added, but they always seem to be easy to complete. After 45 levels, I just got bored.

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BY Bryan M. Wolfe on Wed February 22nd, 2012 adele grammys

Adele, the Grammy Award-winning songstress, is being shown lots of love on iTunes. This week, she became the first artist to have 2 million song downloads since Apple’s music service debuted in 2001. The 2 million download mark being crossed within a single year of it being released earns the English-born singer the honor of being the first double platinum artist on Apple’s iTunes service in the U.S. This follows the singer’s recent Grammy sweep and first public performance since undergoing vocal surgery in November, according to Columbia Records.

On February 12, the acclaimed artist won all six Grammys for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year for “21,” Record of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep,” and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Someone Like You.” She has now increased her Grammy total to eight awards, having won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009.

Exactly one year after its release, Adele’s “21” experienced its biggest sales week ever with over 730,000 copies sold.

Adele

Now in its 21st non-consecutive week at #1 on The Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, “21” is the longest running #1 by a woman in Billboard’s nearly 56 year history. The album has been certified 7x Platinum in the U.S. and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.  “21” has additionally spawned over 16 million singles sold in the U.S. alone, including 7x Platinum certified “Rolling in the Deep,” 4x Platinum certified “Someone Like You,” 2x Platinum certified “Set Fire to the Rain” and Gold certified “Rumour Has It.”

Adele’s first album, “19” debuted in 2008.

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