For those of you suffering from Macworld envy, we have some apps to keep you entertained. You may not be able to see demos of upcoming software, but you will be able to get updates on the grocery list in real time while you’re at the store. You even get to wait in line like you’re at Macworld.
Hey, you don’t get to enjoy that notoriously fickle San Francisco weather, but we have an app that shows you a current model of all the wind in the world. You can watch the breeze off the bay that’s likely chilling your favorite Mac pundits to the bone.
You might be able to find your next iPhone case in the exhibit hall, but you can see what’s taking up all that space on your iPhone with Phoneclean.
Finally, instead of vendor parties, you can see all the upcoming movie trailers and set an email reminder for yourself, and if you’re already sick of the coverage, you can waste your weekend with a game that has some real retro appeal. If you are at Macworld, you can still download all these apps, no waiting lists required.
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iPhone/iPod Touch: Anylist
There is nothing more irritating than forgetting that one thing at the grocery store, or being told the minute that you get home that there was something else you needed to pick up. Anylist makes list creation easy with autocomplete and searchable selections.
There are also starter lists, so if you tend to have the same couple of things you need to pick up every week, you can save yourself having to type them out.
The sharing features work off the email you use to sign up for an account with Anylist, but you can search for names in your contacts to share the list with.
You can search for recipes in the app as well. It even allows for easy list creation outside of the culinary world, allowing you to just get a plain text list. Anylist is free and available from the App Store.
iPad: Windscape
There is a certain kind of Earth Science nerd who is going to love Windscape. For the rest of you, this is the sort of thing that is just cool to look at, much like Star Walk and a few other science apps for the iPad. Windscape shows an animated model of all the wind in the world. The wind is animated over a satellite view of the earth by a series of dots. The temperature of the wind is represented by the color of the dots. The app is $0.99 and can be downloaded here.
Mac: Phoneclean
For the real digital hoarders, Apple has introduced the 128GB iPad. The rest of us can probably get by with a bit less space. With Retina apps, image caches, and a host of other digital kipple sitting in our less used apps, it can begin to take up a lot of space that would be better used for our music or taking more photos. Phoneclean is a free app that gets rid of those caches, and frees up some space on your device. It’s a simple open and run app, and you can double check everything before it’s deleted. It will only scan the first iOS device it finds, so it’s best to just keep one plugged in. This is a free app and can be downloaded here.
Web: Movie Cron
If you have your Apple TV in front of you as you read this, take a look at the Trailers section. There are dozens and dozens of movies to preview on there with disparate release dates, and some with very little commercial coverage. Movie Cron allows you to watch trailers, and then set an email reminder for yourself to see the movie when it comes out. (If you’d like, you can add your mobile number and get a text when the movie is released as well.) This is a solution for a first world problem, but it’s a good one. It’s free and you can check it out here.
Game of the Week: Mutant Mudds
Mutant Mudds is a game that wears a lot of nostalgia on its sleeve. It looks like the classic games of the NES era. However, rather than delivering some twitchy, jumpy arcade experience, Mutant Mudds actually brings a lot of the design sense from that era to bear on the mobile game. There is a great soundtrack that emulates old NES sounds perfectly.
The game is 2D with some 3D gimmicks thrown in; whoever made this really knows the 90s gaming tropes. I think what I like most is that the game manages to be challenging and deep without breaking that quick-in, quick-out feel needed on a mobile title. This one will be in your regular rotation for some time. The game is only $0.99 and you should download it from here.
