It’s St. Patrick’s Day, the day we spend searching for shamrocks, celebrating our Irish heritage (however much or little it may be), and, of course, gulping down green beer. If you’re looking for some entertainment to get you revved for the revelry, then Green Beer Guzzler is just what the Leprechaun prescribed. Very much in keeping with all the jubilations and cheer, the game requires you to grab as much green beer as you can while avoiding the falling kegs. As you reach certain point levels, though, the game gets harder as mugs and pints fall faster, requiring you to guzzle with increasing gusto. Whether or not you actually have a green beer in hand, Green Beer Guzzler certainly channels tons of St. Patty’s Day fun — without the hangover.

Love the benefit of reward, loyalty, and membership cards but hate having to lug them around with you everywhere you go (or worse, being caught without one when you need it)? With CardStar on your iPhone, this conundrum is cured. CardStar enables you to enter all card information for regional and national merchants, including but not limited to grocery stores, gyms, pharmacies and specialty stores, so that you can access all your frequents through the app with one click. Furthermore, you can check in with Foursquare integration, access Groupons, and take advantage of save-to-card grocery coupons from Zavers, and use the app to discover even more deals and promotions from your various merchants of interest. Finally, CardStar makes accessing your favorite locations even easier by providing you with merchant and contact information as well as store locators. Get rid of the plastic but not the rewards; CardStar makes loyalty even better.

Finger Stomp from game and music app producer greySox gives your iPhone (or iPad) the ability to reproduce street smart music with nimble fingers on the screen.

Finger Stomp is based on real life street performance art: making music using ordinary objects at hand like car horns and trash can lids. There are 22 different “instruments” for music making, so that you can create infinite complex beats. The create-your-own music option will appeal most to those with musical talent, but if you’re an amateur like myself don’t worry! There’s an excellent practice mode which gives you example beats to mimic in order to learn the controls and get a feel for the differing instruments, how they work, and how they sound in different combinations.

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Most social networking apps encourage us to engage with people we already know, but what about the ones that break that mold? I recently learned about Situationist, a so-called “social app for strangers” that pushes the boundaries of social networking and encourages people who have never met to interact. However, that is not the sole purpose of the app. While it does inspire strangers to do simple actions like compliment each other, it’s true motivation seems to lie in enabling people to realize their commonalities (read: political or social viewpoints) and unite them in a way so as to stir up political activism and potentially even rebellion. Read the rest of this entry »

The release of the iPad 2 on Friday had people lining up around Apple Retailers, salivating over the thought of getting their hands on the latest in tablet technologies. While the device itself is certainly a lot to get excited about (see my earlier post: Good Things Come in Two’s), there are two more reasons to grab ahold of it: GarageBand and iMovie. Priced at $4.99 a pop, these two apps were made specially for the release of the iPad 2 and enable you to do everything you could do with their computer counterparts. Side note: GarageBand existed for the first-generation iPad, but experts agree that it is a completely different beast on the iPad 2. Now that the iPad 2 has the enhanced graphics, gyroscope, powered-up processor, and oh, not to mention, dual-facing cameras, you can take your movie and music-making inclinations to the next level and on-the-go. With these apps on the iPad 2, touch functions and universal applicability make it so that you can literally mold your creations and carry them with you, and on whatever device you choose. Read the rest of this entry »

Is this Spring taking you somewhere new and exciting? If you have some exciting trips in your future now that the weather is warming up a bit (knock wood), make sure you’re prepared with all the relevant maps and information on where to go and what to see. No, I’m not talking about lugging around tons of pamphlets and travel books, I’m talking about taking your own personal cartographer with you — The Cartographer that is. Let the fact that this app has been consistently featured and rated among the best travel apps there is be a testament to its greatness. The Cartographer lets you customize maps according to your plans, so can plot out all your travel details by using travel markers and an array of icons as well as by adding any and all relevant notes. Furthermore, you can download your trips and maps for use offline, ensuring that you can access them no matter where you are or what your coverage is (and without pesky roaming fees). The Cartographer also enables you to record the places and landmarks that were notable parts of your adventures, and also access others’ recommendations — again, without needing online access. Finally, the app allows you to share all the juicy details and relive the excitement with friends and family via e-mail, Twitter, and even by embedding your maps on your travel blog! And all of this comes on the backdrop of gorgeous graphics that are romantically reminiscent of the times when you would actually need a cartographer to chart your journey (but don’t fear, the interface is not so archaic). So, if you’re embarking on adventures any time in the near or far future, The Cartographer is your perfect travel companion.