A Netflix app finally came out last week for Android, but due to the complications of the plethora of devices running Android, it only came out for a few of them. Netflix says they’ll slowly but surely roll out the app to other devices, but if you don’t feel like waiting you can do a little cellphone hackery and get it on your phone now. [More]
applications
Block Unwanted Calls And Texts With PrivacyStar
By 2.28.11
It’s always puzzled me why smartphones are smart enough that I can toss virtual birds at virtual pigs, but they’re somehow too stupid to let me block unwanted calls or texts. Well now there’s PrivacyStar, an app for Android and Blackberry that lets you do just that. [More]
The New York Times Doesn't Want You Accessing Its RSS Feed Via An RSS Feed Reader
By 6.8.10
Update: Apple apparently realized that losing 30% of revenue on sales of the Pulse News Reader wasn’t worth playing along with the Times’ weirdness, and put the app back up for sale before the end of the day–with the newspaper’s feed still included as a default. [More]
Don't Worry About What The iPad Costs, You Can't Afford The Apps
By 3.30.10
One of the cool things about the iPhone ecosystem is there are nearly 17 quintillion apps available for it, and although many of these are crap, the good ones frequently cost only a dollar or two. Even the premium-priced “productivity” apps–things like note pads and to-do lists–rarely cross the $10 threshhold, which means you can load up your iPhone or Touch with a lot of cool stuff on a modest software budget. But if a leaked video of the iPad app store is accurate, you can expect to pay 200-500% more for simple things like 99-cent games, and PC-level prices for more robust apps, on your fancy new iPad. [More]
Test Your Broadband Speeds For The FCC
By 3.15.10
Last Thursday, the FCC started collecting information from consumers about the quality of their broadband service. If you’ve got a PC that can run Java, you can go to Broadband.gov and run the test now. (The FCC will collect your IP address and physical address, but not your name or email address, reports Wired.) If you’ve got an iPhone or Android smartphone, you can download an app to measure your connectivity and report it. [More]
Poll: Are You Ready To Give Up Desktop Apps For The Cloud?
By 3.4.10
Google’s head of European online sales, John
Herlihy, recently prognosticated that in three years, “desktops
will be irrelevant,” and everyone will work on mobile devices and
store their data in the Internet “cloud.” That would be good news
for Google, but what about you? Would privacy concerns, limitations
of mobile widgets and web apps or other issues keep you tethered to
your desktop, or are you ready to launch yourself into the clouds?
Tell us in our poll, inside.
Keep Track Of Your Prescriptions With This Free App
By 9.10.09
If you have to take meds, you know that one of the big issues is watching out for potential drug interactions—the last thing you want is to pass out at the supermarket from uncontrollable flatulence and a sudden onset of glaucoma. Consumer Reports has developed My Medication Tracker, a free desktop app that lets you privately keep a record of your medication history (and related costs), as well as watch out for potential interactions.
Was Your Cash For Clunkers Deal Rejected After Being Approved?
By 9.8.09
Edmunds.com, the car info website, is asking people who participated in the short-lived Cash for Clunkers program to contact them if something went wrong. Although they can’t fix any problems, they’re trying to collect data on consumers who are being asked to pay back the government rebate after already being approved, which was forbidden under the rules of the program, so they can present the data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Kroger Receipt Comes With Mastercard Application Attached
By 5.27.09
Hey, grocery shopper! You look like a responsible consumer, what with your grocery buying and standing upright. Why not take a moment to fill out an impulse-buy credit card application? If you’re approved, we’ll give you $25 you can spend on your first charge!
Citibank Launches iPhone Version Of Mobile App
By 3.4.09
Okay, all you iPhone dorks, Citi’s just released an easy way for you to keep track of your account balances while you’re running around pinching things bigger and smaller with your heavily patented gestures. Don’t worry, ugly phone owners, they’ve got other mobile versions too.
KidsSave Software Helps Your Child Track Investments
By 12.22.08
KidsSave is a kid-centric application (Windows XP only, with an OS X version coming out next year) that lets your child track allowances and other types of “income” and teaches the benefits of saving.
Cellphone Extras Aggregator Mobile Messenger Agrees To Pay Out Triple Damages
By 10.5.08
If you or your teen racked up surprise monthly fees from Mobile Messenger after texting a random code to a strange number because the tv told you to, then you may be eligible for a refund, if not triple damages.
LPC Has Pre-Approved Your Neighbor For Credit—Please Let Him Know
By 9.23.08
I just opened my mail for today. I just received a pre-approved credit card application and they ::oops:: included another one for my neighbor, in my envelope.
By 8.7.08
../..//2008/08/07/does-your-iphone-for-the-masses-make-you/
Does your iPhone-for-the-masses make you feel poor and ordinary? You need the I Am Rich app, which was available for sale on Apple’s app store for about a day (they removed it late yesterday afternoon, unfortunately). Priced at $999.99, it will place a big red jewel on your screen. Imagine how awesome you’ll look if you put this on a Swarovski-encrusted 3G model—$$$!!! [Technologizer via AppScout]
Kmart Will Trade You A Bottle Of Coke Or Free Candy For A Sears Credit Card App
By 4.8.08
Dan sent us this pic he snapped in a local Kmart and writes, “I remember a previous post on a Wal-Mart card that offered a 2-liter bottle, but I guess inflation caught up with big K as they are only offering 20-oz.”
By 3.27.08
../..//2008/03/27/adobe-has-joined-fotoflexer/
Adobe has joined FotoFlexer, Rsizr, and Piknic to offer a free online image editor, Photoshop Express. ArsTechnica says it’s pretty good for a cross-platform browser app, although it’s got some limitations in this beta launch. (Currently US only.) [ArsTechnica]
Are You Sure You Want To Add That Facebook App?
By 3.27.08
Gregory writes in to point out that Facebook does a lousy job of monitoring the development of its third-party Platform applications—and in fact many of them are written so badly that they can be easily hacked. The examples he cites, which are listed in the winter issue of the hacker magazine 2600, are all fairly mild stunts like spoofing user IDs, changing the moods of another user, and re-routing gifts, “but this information could be used to mount large scale social engineering attacks if automated and coupled with other information.” To illustrate how easy it is to change another user’s settings, he pointed us to a YouTube example of how to change another users “mood” via the Mood app.
