The image that immediately comes to mind when thinking of planning and preparing teaching lessons is of the kindly teacher, laboriously trudging through large amounts of paper and mapping out the direction of the upcoming lesson. Oh, hang on...that was a Dickens book i was reading. Well, its either that or you can update it to the 20th Century by imagining the same scenario with its modern day equivalent - Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. Now it's time to move on from those efficient but bad old days and move into the next generation of lesson planning. Common Core is ... Read more
There are some apps that are quite complicated and are packed with features - many of which you will never use, I might add - and then there are others that have a single purpose and get the job done. AvailabilityCalendar sits nicely in the latter basket. This simple to use app is one of those that you either want or don't want. If you want a calendar to pin on your website so people can check the availability of something you are renting out then it doesn't get a lot simpler or a lot better than this one. This ... Read more
I still find it quite amazing that so many businesses still use a pen and paper when booking appointments for customers - especially when there are online appointment schedule applications like BookerLooker available. Many will say its a costing problem and they can't afford it while others will say that they are too complicated to set up and maintain. So, how about if I said to you that I could find one that not only lets your customers book their appointments whenever they wanted and pick a time that suited both parties. And then how about if I told you ... Read more
Gablit is a new entertainment and recommendation, social search engine, born out of London a few years back, when three entrepreneurial types realized one night when they had lost their mobile phone, that trying to find the best entertainment available was turning into a full time job. They decided to develop this classy, informative, localized entertainment guide that encourages entertainers to promote their event and gives the audience a place to find out everything that is going on around them or wherever they are planning on visiting. Gablit solves a problem that people often find themselves having to deal ... Read more
Fancy yourself as the next Frank Lloyd Wright or Frank Gehry? Cutetown won't quite give you the same freedom of expression as some of the buildings created by either of those great two architects but it does provide a hell of a lot of fun. The app is a beautiful 3D map editor that allows you to transform GPS maps into highly detailed three-dimensional maps of real places on iPad. Its a bit like using a digital version of Lego, I guess. At the moment, as the app is in its early stages, there are only a few places to ... Read more
The last third of Cameron Crowe's much maligned minor classic movie "Elizabethtown" features a lengthy road trip for Orlando Bloom's character Drew. It's a fabulous and classic road trip that he undertakes and one that has inspired many to take that same trip. The travel story is mapped out beautifully by his new friend Claire and takes him from from Louisville Kentucky down to New Orleans via all sorts of fascinating places on the way. Gazettr is a new travel application that draws on the same passion and enthusiasm that Claire's road trip gave to Drew. It's a place to ... Read more
I used to work with a guy who I once described in a newsletter as someone who knew a little bit about everything. If he didn't know enough about the subject, he always seemed to know where to get that information from. Strangely, he took umbridge at my observation, but I think that there is something admirable about having a broad spectrum of knowledge. And a broad spectrum of knowledge is a phrase you could easily associate with Tipspedia because, while it may not contain the answers to all of life's questions, it does provide an expert to help you ... Read more
The last ten years or so have not proven kind for independent filmmakers. It's hard enough to get your film made in the first place without trying to find ways of getting it noticed and turning it into a hit upon release. And with most of the takings coming in the first month of release it's important for your film to get maximum exposure at film festivals to potentially give it the leg-up it needs before opening. IFilmFest is an iOS application that gives the filmmaker a comprehensive guide to all the biggest film festivals around the world. This up ... Read more
I wonder how many of you know what's going on in terms of entertainment in your city tonight. You'll probably think you have a pretty good idea but it's actually fairly difficult to get a grip on the multitude of events that are happening every night in a major city unless you buy an evening newspaper, the local 'whats on' guide and then check a few local Internet sites. Wikido is a very flexible geolocalization-based entertainment search engine that hunts down all the entertainment in your city from countless websites whether it be a concert, a rodeo or sports event. ... Read more
As much as anything else, RedMica is kind of like intervention for the financially damaged. This cloud-based financial application is aimed at giving the more 'money challenged' of us the same opportunities for sound financial advice as the big guys and is a great way to manage your personal finances -all from your mobile phone. This next generation intuitive money management device uses powerful analytics to work out what you've spent, what you can spend and what can happen to you if you spend it and gives you a great overview of your financial affairs. RedMica is the next ... Read more