Move Over, Sim City: The Best City Building Games for iOS
When I decided to highlight the best city building games on the App Store, I didn't realise what a shortage of quality titles there were. Unfortunately progress has been slow for the city building genre on iOS, despite the platform's ability to monetize well-executed concepts. That's not to say there's nothing to sink your teeth into if your mayoral urges take over, though you might want to reconsider what to expect from a city building game on your iPhone or iPad if you've been spoiled by Maxis in the past.
Quip: A Collaborative, Mobile-First Word Processor For iOS & Web
While a tablet or smartphone certainly can't (presently) do everything our PCs can, there are certain tasks that may be better suited to your mobile devices, such as word processing. While typing thousands of words on your iPad or iPhone might not sound like your idea of a good time, there's no denying how useful it is to have access to your documents wherever you are. One novel approach to mobile word processing Quip (free), a collaborative mobile-first word processor that also works as a web app.
Nerd It Up With 6 Awesome iOS & Android Simulation Games
Simulation games used to be all the rage. Games like Sim City, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Freespace 2 practically sold themselves. These days PC gaming has taken a bit of a tumble from grace and, generally speaking, simulation games don't work so well on consoles – there's just something about sitting in front of your TV from the comfort of the couch that cannot beat the immersive hunched-upright lit-by-CRT appeal of yesteryear. There's good news though. Many simulations have found a new home on iOS & Android as affordable yet equally addictive apps.
5 Nuggets of Smartphone Photography Wisdom To Live By
When it comes to smartphone photography, we try to cover a bit of everything here at MakeUseOf. Sometimes though, among the sea of apps and accessories, social networks and hashtags, the essence photography can get lost. Sometimes even photographers lose their way, and it might not have anything to do with technique or equipment. Here are some nuggets of wisdom I've practiced long enough that I feel it's time to start the preaching. You'd better read this before you next launch Instagram.
Free App Swipes Simplifies Your Daily Schedule With Gestures & Tags
I don't know about you, but when it comes to remembering a thousand and one personal notes and work tasks, I'm a mess without some sort of organisational aid. Swipes is another personal organiser that promises to extend a helping hand when it comes to managing your ridiculous schedule. Utilising a series of gestures and a simple, time-saving approach; Swipes offers up an enticing alternative to Apple's in-built Reminders app in more ways than one.
Turn Your iPhone Photos Into Money With 123RF On-The-Go [Sponsored]
These days we react to many situations by reaching for our iPhones, sliding back the camera icon and snapping away. You probably do it without even realising what you're doing, I know I do. But what if I told you that strangers would pay you money for your iPhone snaps? Well that's the idea behind 123RF On-The-Go, an app which not only lets you upload your photos to the 123RF stock photography service but also gives you the chance to enter contests and win money for your most creative shots.
Put Your iPhone To Work With IFTTT
IFTTT is an acronym for "If This, Then That" and it's pronounced like the latter part of the word "gift". The service promises to put the web to work for you, using a system of triggers and actions to automate a huge range of actions. Finally, IFTTT has released an iPhone app along with some iOS-only channels. The iPhone app marks the first mobile outing for the platform, a result of our increasing eagerness to be able to control everything using our phones.
Design, Order & Assemble Your Personal Mini Figure With Foldable.me [Giveaway]
Occasionally we take some time out from reviewing web hosting packages, anti-malware apps and the latest gadgets to take a look at some more novelty aspects of geek culture. Foldable.me is one such Minecraft-inspired, web-to-print startup that adequately satisfies our desire for both great web design and geeky ornaments. Simply design and order your boxy effigy online and Foldable will send you a flat-packed cardboard counterpart to anywhere in the world, complete with free postage. The service usually costs $11.99 but we're giving away 5 figures for a combined total prize pool worth $60!
Xbox Live Indie Games: Must-Play Titles That Won't Break The Bank
Xbox Live Indie Games are the product of hobby and folly, providing anyone with an idea and some programming skills with a chance to make and release a game. The platform went live in late 2008 when the first indie games were released. Since then the number of titles has surpassed 2,000, and despite all the terrible Minecraft clones and avatar games there are some quality titles to be found. Unfortunately, Xbox Live Indie Games won't be around forever, so here are my must-play titles before time runs out.
Super Zoom & Lens Tips for Your Smartphone
While our smartphones are equipped with better cameras than ever before, we're still stuck with the same digital zoom technology that's been around for years. That's because there's no fixing digital zoom - it's permanently broken, and has been all along. There are better ways of taking smartphone photos than to use digital zoom, avoiding blurry images and pixellated subjects. Today's article is all about getting more from your iPhone, Android or other smartphone lens.
5 Ways to Avoid Blur with a Smartphone Camera
I think it's safe to assume most people take their smartphone cameras for granted, despite the leaps and bounds made in pocketable picture-taking technology. Unfortunately a lot of the time our smartphones produce overly blurry photos, but it doesn't necessarily have to be this way. A lot of the time blurry photos are the result of simple user error and sub-par stock software. With the right techniques and apps you can vastly improve the results provided by your smartphone's camera.
Spotify vs. Rdio: A Complete Comparison
I recently cancelled my Spotify Premium membership after a year of uninterrupted monthly payments to the company. This decision came about when I accidentally signed up for 14-days of free Rdio Unlimited. Quite frankly, I was left confused as to who I should be paying money to and after playing with both services there's a good chance you would be too. If you're choosing to take the Netflix-style "all you can eat" route with your music, you've got quite a selection of services to choose from - but who reigns supreme?
6 Reasons You're Going to Love iOS 7
I've spent around a week playing with Apple's preview version of iOS 7 in its current beta form and in that time I've had plenty of time to peruse Apple's vision for the future of iOS. It goes without saying that passing judgement at this stage would be a very silly thing to do - after all, the OS is still half-baked and there are months of development to go. Why, then, did so many people form negative opinions of the refresh, Jony Ive's homework and Apple's current state of affairs within hours of the company's WWDC 2013 announcement?
Even More Free Games & Downloads For Your Xbox 360
There's a surprising amount of free Xbox 360 content for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to download. In addition to avatar items, themes and the odd bonus item Microsoft has been known to release whole free games and DLC, particularly for Kinect and Xbox Live Arcade users. Whichever console you buy at the end of the year, be sure to see the 360 off in style with as much free content as you can fit on your hard drive.
5 Reasons You Should Have Registered A Personal Domain By Now
These days I think it’s important for everyone to at least register (if not use) a domain that is personal to them. Not only are domain names under current top-level domains running out , but it’s often near-impossible to reclaim a domain once it has been taken. This means you should act fast and grab your domain now.
Why Do Some Apps Look Bad On My Retina Display? (And How to Fix It)
When Apple released the MacBook Pro with Retina display this time last year, they raised the bar for laptop display technology, as they previously did for the smartphone and tablet industries. The only issue they created was a software one: suddenly apps designed for non-Retina screens looked bad. If you've got a Retina-equipped MacBook, or are considering one, you should know why old software looks bad and what little you can do to help the situation.
Smartphone Spielberg: How To Shoot Striking Videos on Your Mobile
The best camera you can possibly lay your hands on is the one that you currently have on you, or so the saying goes. Ever since hardware manufacturers started putting bigger and better cameras on our devices, we're always in the presence of a capable camera - so what about video? If you have a recent smartphone capable of shooting 1080p full-HD video, you might be surprised at the potential you have in your pocket. With the right apps, techniques and a few inexpensive accessories you could turn your iPhone or similar into a highly capable video capture device.
Start Your Own Blog Effortlessly With Web Hosting Hub [Giveaway]
This week, I'm taking a look at Web Hosting Hub and their $5.99 per month service, which includes free domain name registration, unlimited disk space and bandwidth and a whole lot of other features you can read about here. Web Hosting Hub is one of the many recommended web hosts listed on our Best Web Hosting Services page. We're going to be giving away 10 accounts that include year's worth of free hosting plus domain name (valued at $720), so if you could use the webspace be sure to enter at the end of this article for a chance to win!
Cathode & Blinky: Sexy Vintage Replacements For Terminal & TextEdit [Mac OS X]
Do you spend half your life inside the OS X Terminal? Is a plain text editor your second home? Whatever you do with Terminal or TextEdit there's no denying they're each a bit boring and basic, and certainly not retro enough for my liking. Cathode ($10) and Blinky ($5) are two very stylish replacements that bring a touch of old-school jitter and grime to your pristine OS X desktop. If you're a sucker for classic computers, blinking green command prompts and magnetic interference you've just hit the jackpot.
Spread Disease & Destroy Humanity With The Best Pandemic Games [Web, iOS & Android]
The aim of the game is simple: you must infiltrate the human race, spread your disease and try to wipe-out humanity. It’s a game of strategy and vengeance! I was immediately hooked, and over the last decade or so have played as many variations on the pandemic simulation as possible. I’ve collected the best of the best, from old browser games to cross-platform mobile versions.