More Mobile Apps and Services In Depth

Parents get new weapons in war over kids' phones

Kids' phones expose them to bullying, predators, adult content and Internet addiction. Now parents are fighting back, writes columnist Mike Elgan.

Two World War II reference apps for the iPad

When I was about 10 years old, I decided it was time to graduate from the Scholastic Reader-approved books of my youth to what I determined was meatier, more adult fare. I checked out a book from the library about World War II--it may well have been one of those Time-Life overviews of the war that doubtlessly make serious historians cringe. But for a 10-year-old it was just the sort of stuff to spark an interest in history that continues to this day.

Hands on with Facebook Camera for iPhone

Facebook on Thursday launched Camera, a new standalone iPhone app for browsing your friends' photos and sharing new ones of your own. Were Instagram owned by anyone else, it might be sweating bullets right now.

Diary of an App Maker: What it's like to develop for iOS

In my time at Macworld, I've reviewed and tested numerous iOS apps. I've also reported on the challenges that iOS developers face. But it was only recently that I built my first iOS app, along with developer (and frequent Macworld contributor) Marco Tabini. The experience left me with insights into the iOS development process that I probably would never have otherwise discovered, and a better understanding of what the developers of many of our favorite apps go through on a regular basis.

Wunderkit for iPhone

Wunderkit helps you work. That's what a productivity app should do, of course, but some unnecessarily bog you down in details. In contrast, Wunderkit--a free iPhone offering from 6 Wunderkinder--makes it easy to create projects and schedule tasks. And it's better than many competing apps at recognizing the realities of the workplace.

BYOD: New animal, new taming techniques

Bottom Line

ChannelCaster for iPhone and iPad

The best news aggregation apps make it very easy for you to assemble your favorite social networks and news sources into one attractive package. ChannelCaster--a free offering for both the iPhone and iPad from OneLouder--doesn't quite measure up to that standard. At least, not yet.

Team Stream for iPhone and iPad

Sports fans have it easy nowadays. We have team blogs, websites, Twitter feeds and up-to-the-minute video clips on demand. Yet for all these conveniences, fans still have to do the legwork of subscribing to feeds or following the tweets of players or beat writers. The Team Stream and Team Stream HD apps from Bleacher Report aim to make it easier for fans to find and follow content on their favorite teams.

Backgammon NJ and FaceMe Backgammon for iPhone and iPad

Backgammon is a board game that is perfectly suited to iOS devices. The shape of the board fits the iPhone and iPad, and the gameplay--rolling dice and moving pieces--is greatly simplified when you tap to perform these tasks. Over the past few months, I've tried out a number of backgammon apps, and two stand out: Backgammon NJ (available for the iPad in a separate version called Backgammon NJ HD), and FaceMe Backgammon.

6 Ways to Use Multiple Displays With Your Laptop

Dual monitors improve productivity, but it can be hard to get laptops to use multiple displays. It's not impossible, though. Check out these six tips for connecting laptops to external monitors.

PDFpen for iPad

Mac users should be more than acquainted with PDFpen, the feature-packed PDF offering from Smile Software, that's become a credible alternative to Adobe's Acrobat PDF creation software. Now iPad owners can enjoy all that PDFpen has to offer on their devices as well.

Pinpoint your location

Reader Catherine Bailey is interested in marking her territory. She writes:

Adventure Bar Story for iPhone

Adventure Bar Story from RideonJapan looks like a classic JRPG, but with a crucial difference. You're not an adventurer who happens to take part in a cooking/crafting mini-game--you're a chef who goes on adventures to support her restaurant business. Wandering the wilderness and killing monsters yields ingredients to toss in the oven once you get back home. Characters don't gain levels through combat, but through eating the food you prepare. Your first nemesis is not an evil sorcerer, but a rival restauranteur.

Bobsled Calling for iPhone and iPad

It's tempting to treat Bobsled Calling as a variation on Skype. And while there are a lot of similarities between the two apps, there are also some crucial differences.

Remotely transfer iPhoto images to iPhone

Reader Robert Zavod would like greater access to his photos from his iPhone. He writes:

Kinectimals for iPhone and iPad

As a kid, I really wanted a cat. My parents, however, were firmly opposed. Would that I had been able to seek refuge in something like Microsoft's Kinectimals for iOS, which provides plenty of the benefits of pet ownership without the need for the manifold downsides--like cleaning out a litter box.

Madcoaster for iPhone and iPad

The thrill of riding a roller coaster comes from when the feeling of danger you get from every gravity-defying loop-to-loop. In Chillingo's lovably-addictive platformer, Madcoaster, that danger is very reala| if PG rated.

Location-based services: Are they there yet?

Mobile apps that use your location to offer services are no longer new. But are they truly useful to businesses? We look at Facebook, Foursquare, Google Latitude and Yelp to see how they're doing.

Kaiser Permanente's CIO Aims to Make Healthcare More Delightful

Kaiser Permanente CIO Philip Fasano discusses how the electronic records 'bet' has paid off and how social and mobile technologies will advance the effort. He also offers advice on making big tech projects successful, how to encourage innovation, what it means for CIOs to be the 'CEO' of their organizations and why healthcare provider should be in the business of delighting customers and patients.

TraxItAll for iPhone

TraxItAll lets you track data and generate reports based on those results in an effort to chart your progress toward a goal. Whether you're tracking how often you go to the gym, how many glasses of water you drink daily, or how many pushups you can do consecutively, this $2 iPhone productivity app from TraxItAll wants to help you record it.