<![CDATA[Szalanski.com - Apps Blog]]>Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:34:41 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[GoodReader]]>Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:57:29 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/goodreaderIf you want to view and markup PDF's on your iPad I would highly suggest this app. It is not free but as with most things you have to pay to get an app that is this powerful. Currently the app costs $4.99 and that price is a great deal.

The app is very easy to use. Just download a PDF into the app either from sources like your email account, server on a network, URL on the internet etc. Once you import into the app you can organize into a folder in the app or just leave in the main file folder. The app has a search feature to find file,  a preview option to look at the file before you open and many more options.
GoodReader not only supports massive PDF and TXT files, but also handles the most popular file types:
  • MS Office - .doc, .ppt., .xls
  • iWork ’08/’09
  • HTML and Safari webarchives
  • High resolution images
  • Even audio and video!

You can visit the developers website here: http://www.goodreader.net


]]><![CDATA[gSyncit]]>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:42:59 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/gsyncitIf you have an Android phone (and thus have Gmail) and have not made the switch from Outlook to a web based email tool then this is a must have program on your PC. This program will allow you to sync your calendars, contacts, notes and tasks to Gmail so that you can access them on your Android based phone. If you enter a contact on your phone it will show up on your Outlook contacts etc. The program is $19.99 but is definitely worth the cost. There are so many settings and options that I will not go into detail about all of them here but you can visit their website for a full run down.

http://www.fieldstonsoftware.com/software/gsyncit3/


If you have this program or give it a try let me know what you think.
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]]><![CDATA[Dropbox]]>Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:22:47 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/dropboxI just found out about Dropbox about 3 weeks ago and I really love this company. If you ever need to transfer files from the office to your house or just want to have certain files available wherever you go this is the website/app for you. This program is free on the iPad and desktop version for 2GB of storage. You can also pay for 50GB and 100GB versions. You can even create photo galleries that you can share with others. Adding files to the site are as easy as copying from one directory on your PC or Mac to the Dropbox folder. It will automatically sync and keep several versions of your files. 

Here is a link to their page listing all the features: http://www.dropbox.com/features

They have Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry.

If you want to try it out click here and use me as your referral and I will get 250MB of extra storage.

]]><![CDATA[Pixlr-o-matic]]>Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:31:22 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/pixlr-o-matic
This is a fun app for the iPad from Autodesk. You can add all kinds of effects to your photos making them look old and grainy or just adding some effects to make them look like the "film" did not develop correctly. Adding the effects is as easy as sliding a bar to apply the effect. I downloaded this one and spent quite a bit of time just trying out all of the settings. There are color filters, lighting effects and border styles to select from. You can share your photos directly on Facebook or through imm.io. 

One complaint that I have about the app is that you can only view the last picture that you edited.

Vist the developer website here: http://pixlr.com/

Below are some of the photos edited with the program.

I had fun with this one, let me know what you think.


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Here is the original picture before I added any effects from the pixlr-o-matic program from Autodesk.
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Here is the modified picture. I added a grainy effect and changed the border.
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Here is the original picture before I added any effects from the pixlr-o-matic program from Autodesk.
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Here is the modified picture. I changed the color, added the rain effect, and changed the border.
]]><![CDATA[Green Splosh]]>Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:38:51 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/green-sploshThis iPad app allows your child to basically interact with a book. We love this app and have spent tons of time chasing that Green Splosh around through the story. Below is the description from the developers website.
http://www.punflay.com/splosh.html

Green Splosh is a vibrant and engaging interactive story app from Punflay for high-energy preschoolers and beginners. The app seeks to reinforce fundamental number concepts through play and story. Its simple racy story, bright, vibrant graphics and engaging interaction are certain to keep your child fully involved while they learn to count and associate number names with numbers. 

The story revolves around Splosh, a blob of paint that spills out of young Ken’s paint bottles. But while paint blobs usually remain messy splotches on paper, this one gets animated and runs away, with Ken and his clumsy cat, Kitty Kat, giving hot chase. Splosh runs down roads and fields, parks and gardens, and even an old castle till a small accident returns him to Ken. While participating in Splosh’s adventures, and laughing at his antics and mischief, the user learns to count objects, and associate them with number names. 

Following the pedagogy of learning by doing, the app draws the attention of its young audience to numbers of objects on every screen and helps them associate numbers with number names and numerals. The immersive environment and the fun interaction will not only hold kids’ attention but bring them back again and again. The variety of interactions that include sliding, flicking, tapping, tilting and rubbing will encourage kids to explore, discover and delight in the fun hidden for them in every screen. Altogether an experience that will be both fun and educational for your little ones. 

Key features
Counting activities on every screen
A musical fence to play on
Cool physics features 
Variety of interactions like tap, flick, paint and slide 
Educational content embedded in the story
Colorful vivid illustrations
Voiceovers for narration and dialogue
]]><![CDATA[I Hear Ewe]]>Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:18:49 GMThttp://www.szalanski.com/apps-blog/first-postThis is a great app for small children (or even the big kids). You are presented with 2 pages of animals with 12 animals per page and one page of vehicles. The concept is simple, you click on a picture of the animal or vehicle and the app tells you what it is and makes the sound of the particular item. The settings on the iPad app let you choose from English, Spanish, German and Chinese languages.


Vist the developer here to download the app: http://www.claireware.com/ihearewe/index.html


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