A lot of people are pissed at Apple right now. This guy is shoot-it-with-a-gun-and-burn-it mad. Don’t watch the video if you loves them Apple. Oh, who am I kidding, this stuff is fun to watch!
If you’re unaware of this by now, there’s a growing anti-Apple sentiment going around the interwebs. It has a lot to do with their dictatorial and somewhat monopolistic practices in their running of the App Store. Apple decides which apps get in by a process that is not transparent, not consistent, not logical and often anti-competitive. The latest uproar is over their refusal of Google Voice, an app that could have fundamentally changed the way you use your multiple phone lines. The FCC is looking into it and if there’s any good in this world, things may get straightened out without the need for more iPhone-busting bullets.
The name RedLaser might be a bit misleading since the app actually uses the iPhone’s camera instead of lasers like at a checkout, but the functionality is basically the same. You just snap a photo of any barcode from the appropriate distance (there’s a handy on-screen guide) and the application will automatically convert it to product info that can be used to search prices online, or just store the item in a shopping list for later reference. I’ve been using an app called SnapTell which provides similar functionality, but since it uses image recognition of the actual product (like the cover of a book or a DVD) the results aren’t always perfect. And I suspect that scanning barcodes instead would prove far more successful.
RedLaser is available on the App Store right now for just $1.99.
Last time I was in California for a conference, I spent a good hour trying to find an ATM to get some cash to eat lunch. I hate not being able to find an ATM and even in my hometown at times, it can be hard to find a place to grab some cash.
MasterCard has announced a new application for the iPhone and iPod touch called ATM Hunter that will find ATMs near you. The application uses the location functionality of the devices to pinpoint ATMs nearby.
My kids have a slew of LeapFrog toys lying around the house. I can honestly say that most of them play the most annoying tunes. You know the sort of tunes I am talking about, the ones that stick in your mind and you end up humming them all day like “C says “kuh”, C says “kuh” every letter makes a sound, C says “kuh”". Crap, now it’s stuck in my head again.
I have a hard time when I am sitting near my kids getting them to leave my iPhone alone as it is. LeapFrog has now announced its first iPhone app called Number Rumble that will have them wanting to play with my phone even more. The game helps kids six to ten learn math by teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
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