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Apps, Articles, Accessories

NASA TV App and Dragon/ISS

I was really excited about the news of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule delivering goods to the International Space Station. While in some ways it is the most mondane of space missions, delivering cargo, it is a halmark in the way humans will be exploring space…. through private ventures.

The morning that the Dragon capsule was to connect with the ISS, I was searching for the best way to watch the action. I ran across the NASA TV app, which shows the NASA TV broadcast on your iPad.

After a quick install, I launched the app and sure enough, there was the Dragon  capsule hovering outside the ISS waiting for the big grabber arm to grab it. After a few minutes of watching the action and listening to the techno-jabber between the different crews, I places the iPad in the Pad Bracket next to my desk. Here is a picture of the iPad mounted to the wall displaying the NASA TV app.

With the Pad Bracket in place, I went back to work, waiting for the exciting moments. It was really cool, I felt like I was in mission control. I would hear an update about the capsule and glance over and see a bunch of NASA folk working at their desk or a live video feed from the ISS. All very cool. You can check out NASA’s free app here.

 

This Could Hurt

 

 

 

 

 

This Could Hurt

I Just ran across this excellent little app, called This Could Hurt. In this game you play a young initial who has to work his way though a deadly obstacle  course. The games starts with your character running along a path. You can see that danger, like spikes, crushing hammers, flame throwers, and much more await you ahead. You can prevent the character from harm touching the screen and stopping your character in his tracks. By watching the dangers, you can time when you release your finger, send your little guy forward.

I am not a big fan of action games on the iPad or iPhone. Most of the time I feel the that the interface is clunky, obtrusive, or inaccurate. With this game the controls are so simple, so deliberate, you don’t feel like you are fighting the interface at all. The game reminds me of Little Wing and Jet Pack Joyride, by providing a simple control and an excellent fun game.

Check it out.

vloop

Video Loop Presenter

Get It Free In The App Store

Video Loop Presenter is an application for looping video on your iPad and iPhone. This simple presentation application allows you to select videos from your iOS device and loop them. This is useful for:

  • Presentations
  • Kiosks
  • Parties

In addition to looping video you can customize the background image of the application to match your company’s brand.

Features:

  • Loop a Video
  • Create a playlist of videos to loop.
  • Copy videos to your iPad with iTunes File Sharing
  • Video Out
  • Customize Launch Screen
  • Set Aspect Ratio
  • Kiosk Mode (blocks all user input)
  • Prevent Pausing
  • Play Video as soon as app launches
  • Download video from Box.com, learn more.

The best to get videos into vloop is to connect your iPhone/iPad to iTunes, click the App tab, and use the File Sharing section to copy video files directly into iTunes.

 


Need a way to display your looping video? Try the Pad Bracket, a simple way to mount your iPad on the wall.

 

 

 

AppHere

AppHere

A friend of mine, Tolu Akinola, contacted me a while ago to help him build at iOS app. I was happy to oblige, it is an excellent idea for an App…

AppHere is an application that helps you find applications specific to the locations around you. Simply launch the app and it will show you more app that makes for where you are.

For example, say you are the MET in NY, AppHere will show you apps that make sense for this place. It might show you an app for finding your way around or maybe an app about local museums.

Development Notes

Developing this app was an interesting experience. Using the location APIs are surprisingly finicky. I think the biggest issue is that the API reports the location of the iOS device over a number of callbacks and you never know if it is going to be the last, most accurate call.