20 Best iPhone and iPad apps

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown gets spooked for iPhone and iPad

It's time for our weekly roundup of the best new iPhone and iPad apps, taking in much-loved children's characters, William Shakespeare, ancient Egypt, eBay's new same-day delivery service, Everton FC and more.

As ever, the list doesn't include games, because they get their own separate post, which this week includes excellent iOS titles like Crazy Taxi, Real Football 2013 and Topia World Builder.

Looking for Android apps? They get their own separate post too. Read on for this week's iOS selection:

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Released by book-apps publisher Loud Crow, this is a Halloween-themed story featuring Charlie and his Peanuts friends, which includes footage from a 1966 TV special, and the voice of Charlie Brown himself, voice-actor Peter Robbins. A Peanuts avatar-maker, virtual pumpkin carving and piano playing are thrown in for good measure.
iPhone / iPad

BBC iPlayer Radio

Brits who were disgruntled at the lack of whizzy radio features in the most recent update for the BBC's main iPlayer app may be mollified by this new standalone app for the broadcaster's radio output. It streams live stations over 3G or Wi-Fi, has a slick EPG and radio tuner-style dial, and offers on-demand shows from the last week. Still no downloads though for offline listening.
iPhone

Rockmelt: Explore the Best of the Web

Rockmelt started life as a social-skewed desktop web browser, before pirouetting onto mobile devices. This new iPad app is as much a Flipboard-esque article reader as a web browser, pulling in editorial from a range of sites and making it available for offline reading. Facebook and Twitter personalisation is included too.
iPad

Romeo and Juliet: Explore Shakespeare / Macbeth: Explore Shakespeare

Okay, so this is cheating, since two apps in one entry takes this roundup to 21 apps for the week. These belong together though: two excellent attempts to bring Shakespeare plays to the iPad by Cambridge University Press and developer Agant. Expect full audio performances with actors including Fiona Shaw and Michael Sheen; glossary definitions, word clouds, themelines, study activities and deep search features.
iPad

The Magazine: For Geeks Like Us

This is the work of Marco Arment, who's best known for making reading app Instapaper. This is his move into digital magazine publishing, commissioning four 500-1,000 word features for each bi-weekly issue, focusing on technology and related fields. His blog post about the project is worth a read too, as he pitches it for "an audience bigger than a niche but smaller than the readership of The New York Times".
iPhone / iPad

Bad Piggies Best Egg Recipes

Angry Birds publisher Rovio launched its Bad Piggies Best Egg Recipes printed cookbook in 2011, but now it's been turned into an iPad digital edition. It includes 41 egg-related recipes, with step-by-step instructions, photos and some interactive easter eggs starring the birds and pigs from its games.
iPad

Pyramids 3D

It has been, as you can see, a very big week for iOS apps. This is the latest release from UK/US book-apps publisher Touch Press, offering 3D tours of three Giza pyramids and eight tombs, with digital restorations of wall paintings, high-res photos of artifacts to spin around, and all manner of experts delivering their knowledge on ancient Egypt.
iPad

eBay Now

This app is US-only for now, and in fact it only works in San Francisco at the moment. Still, it's a sign of where eBay is heading: same-day delivery of products bought from retailers including Toys R Us, Macy's, Walgreens and Home Depot, ordered and paid for from an iPhone app.
iPhone

Photoset

Photoset came as a bit of a surprise: a brand new app from blogging company Tumblr designed to "create and share beautiful photosets on your iPhone or iPad". The idea being you arrange photos and then share them to Tumblr, Twitter and other social sites, as well as via email.
iPhone / iPad

Prometheus – Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App

An unwieldy name for what's a pretty interesting idea: an app designed to be used alongside the Blu-ray disc of Ridley Scott's Prometheus film, synchronising with the action and serving up screen tests, motion galleries, interviews and artwork, as well as a "Live Lookup" feature tapping IMDb for info on actors. And you might think "Oh, can't people just WATCH THE FILM", but this is more akin to DVD extras, designed to be used on second, third and later viewings.
iPhone / iPad

BAMM.tv

The BAMM.tv website has been filming bands and musicians performing live for some time now, but now all that footage is available through an iPad app in HD quality. You can browse the sessions, read liner notes, create playlists and find out more about the artists – all within a virtual venue environment.
iPad

Craftsy

The Craftsy website specialises in video courses for all things craft-related, from jewellery-making and cake-decorating through to gardening and knitting. Now those courses are available in an iPad app, where you pay for them using in-app purchase, then can watch as often as you like, while asking questions to the instructor if you get stuck.
iPad

Dishonored Official Map App

This could perhaps have gone in the Best Games post this week, but it's strictly an app: a "digital companion" to console game Dishonored, which is currently receiving rave reviews. Published by DK, it provides maps and a guide to collectible items in the main game.
iPhone / iPad

DC Super Friends Haunted Heroes

This is a book-app based on DC Comics' stable of superheroes – well, the child-friendly version anyway, including Batman, Superman and a cast of villains. As the name makes clear, spookiness is the focus, just in time for Halloween, as the DC Super Friends investigate a haunted house. Photo-manipulation, digital stickers, puzzles and colouring accompany the main story.
iPad

Flock – Photos Together

Y'know how the latest TV ads for Sony Ericsson's new Xperia smartphone make a big deal out of its tap-to-share photos feature? Well, developer Bump just made an app that does (sort of) the same thing for iPhones, with some more social bells and whistles. The idea being that friends take photos on their different phones, then it creates a shared album for all of them automatically.
iPhone

Disney Creative Studio

Here's an artistic app that looks set to appeal to parents as well as their children: "Let real Disney artists teach you how to draw your favourite Disney characters". The app uses a mixture of connect-the-dots, colouring and tracing to accomplish this, so even kids will be able to draw a Mickey Mouse that looks like, well, Mickey Mouse.
iPad

Everton FC

Everton's official club app was already available on iPhone, but its universal upgrade including iPad has made it, as far as I'm aware, the first Premier League football club to have an official app for Apple's tablet. Blues should expect a mixture of news, videos and player profiles.
iPad

Read with Biff, Chip and Kipper: Library

British parents should recognise Biff, Chip and Kipper: their early literacy books are apparently being used in 80% of UK primary schools. Now they've gone digital with this app, adding voice narration, interactive activities and the ability to tap a word to hear it pronounced. Each book costs £3.99 in-app, although if your wallet is flush, a separate Complete Series app bundles in all 48 titles for a single download fee of £149.99.
iPhone / iPad

Xfinity TV Player

Another US-only app: you need to be a Comcast or Xfinity TV customer to use this TV-on-demand app. It's a pure player for accessing the Xfinity catalogue of TV shows and films, including content from channels like HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cartoon Network. The app can be used anywhere over Wi-Fi – part of the US cable industry's attempted march to a "TV everywhere" strategy.
iPhone / iPad

Playground.fm

One more US-only app to finish this week, from music startup NoiseToys. This is a bit like personal radio service Pandora, except the stations – or playlists – come from other users rather than a recommendation algorithm. Playground.fm users can create playlists from their iTunes collections or Spotify Premium catalogue, then share them with others. How do artists get paid? Playground.fm will pay US royalties body SoundExchange whenever someone plays a track that they don't own. 
iPhone

That's our selection, but what new iOS apps have you been using this week? Make your recommendations in the comments section.

The 25 worst passwords of 2012

If any of your passwords are on this list, then shame on you -- and go change them now.

SplashData, which makes password management applications, has released its annual "Worst Passwords" list compiled from common passwords that are posted by hackers. The top three -- "password," "123456," and "12345678″ -- have not changed since last year. New ones include "jesus," "ninja," "mustang," "password1," and "welcome." Other passwords have moved up and down on the list.

The most surprising addition is probably "welcome."

"That means people are not even changing default passwords," CEO Morgan Slain told TIME Tech. "It doesn't take that much time to make a new password."

You should have different passwords for all of your accounts. To make it easier to remember them all, Slain suggests thinking about passwords as "passphrases." For instance, use a phrase like "dog eats bone" and add underscores, dashes, hyphens, and other punctuation marks to satisfy the special character requirement: "dog_eats_bone!"

Here's the full list:

1. password

2, 123456

3. 12345678

4. abc123

5. qwerty

6. monkey

7. letmein

8. dragon

9. 111111

10. baseball

11. iloveyou

12. trustno1

13. 1234567

14. sunshine

15. master

16. 123123

17. welcome

18. shadow

19. ashley

20. football

21. jesus

22. michael

23. ninja

24. mustang

25. password1

Top 10 Daily Habits That Can Damage Your Brain.

We have such a lot of mannerisms and habits. we often think that doing them makes us feel relaxed. However, what we have a tendency to don’t recognize is that these habits may cause internal destruction like brain damage. 


1.Skipping Breakfast or No Breakfast at all.

People who don't take breakfast usually got a lower blood sugar level. That’s bad. It ends up in an insufficient of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2.Over eating.

Over eating causes the hardening of the brain arteries that results in a decrease in mental power. That’s why you might notice that you simply can’t concentrate well on a puzzle if you have eaten over limit.

3.Smoking

It does not only harm the lungs however also the brain. The nicotine in cigarettes also contain some substances that causes multiple brain shrinkage. If this may continue, you might even get an Alzheimer’s disease.

4.High sugar consumption

Too much of everything is unhealthy. Having a high sugar count interrupts the absorption of proteins and nutrients inflicting malnutrition. this could also interfere in the brain development. Thus, it's not advisable, particularly for children to indulge in sweets.

5. Exposure in air pollution

This is not actually a habit since we tend to are invariably exposed to pollution. Yet, it is listed here because it is one the most causes of brain damage. it is a incontrovertible fact that the brain is one of the main oxygen consumers in the body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the provision of oxygen, bringing about a decrease in brain potency.

6. Lack of sleep or Sleep deprivation

Sleep is extremely essential. it allows our brain to rest from all the hard work done in all day. long term deprivation from sleep accelerates the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping

This is often unhealthy too. Sleeping together with your head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decreases the concentration of oxygen which ends up in brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness

This is quite common to students and professionals alike. progressing to college or workplace while sick and doing voluminous brain work.do you know that working hard or studying  while sick ends up in a decrease of brain effctiveness and conjointly brings brain damage? Well, currently you know 

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts

Thinking is that the best way to train our brain. having sensible conversations or writing some essays is extremely healthy. Talking non-sense things is certainly not.it is best to invariably have brain stimulating thoughts to avoid brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely

There’s nothing unhealthy in being talkative,it is actually healthy.Intellectual conversations promote the potency of the brain.

NOW YOU ARE AWARE OF SOME DAILY UNHEALTHY HABITS,START AVOIDING THEM FROM NOW ;)

 

Windows 8: How to upgrade and what your PC must have

Microsoft has launched it’s latest OS, Windows 8, which is a major departure from the traditional Windows design that most of us have grown up with. Or in the words of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer,  “We’ve reimagined Windows, and we’ve reimagined the whole PC industry”.

The new system looks to merge a touch-screen with the PC experience and the new tile design template is all about achieving that.

So can you upgrade to Windows 8 from your Windows 7 or older PC and more importantly what happens when you upgrade? Here’s a quick guide to all your questions:

Those who prefer buying a DVD to upgrade will have to pay $69.99 (Rs 3800 approximately).

How do you know if you’re eligible for the upgrade: If you’ve bought a new PC with Windows 7 between 2 June 2012 and 31 January 2013 then you can get Windows 8 Pro for a promotional offer of Rs 699. Remember however, that you need register and download before 31 January to claim this special price. You can register here.

Those who bought a Windows PC before June 2 will be able to upgrade for $39.99 (Rs 2150 approximately). You must already have Windows XP with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.

The following versions of Windows 7, (bought within the offer period are eligible): Windows 7 Home Basic; Windows 7 Home Premium; Windows 7 Professional; or Windows 7 Ultimate. Netbook users who have Windows 7 Starter edition won’t get Windows 8 Pro.

Windows 8 is here. Getty Images

Your PC must also have valid Windows 7 OEM Certificate of Authenticity and product key as well for being eligible.

Hardware Requirements: This is one check list that you must go through before clicking download as to ensure your PC experience doesn’t slow down.

Processor speed: Make sure you’re computer has 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor

RAM: You will need at least 1 (GB) on a 32-bit system or minimum 2 GB RAM on 64-bit sytsem. 32-bit and 64-bit refer to your processor’s underlying architecture, but unless you have Intel Atom processors (which is used in netbooks), your machine can run the 64-bit version of Windows.

Hard disk space: You will need minimum 16 GB Hard-disk space for a 32-bit system and minimum 20 GB for 64-bit space.

Graphics card: DirectX 9 graphics device compatible with WDDM drive

You will require a screen resolution of least 1024 x 768 pixels to ensure access Apps from Windows App Store. DVDs will require a separate playback software and Windows Media Center license will be sold separately as well although the Windows Media Center is free till Jan 2013. For more details click here.

How to go about the upgrade: You will first need to register for the Microsoft’s upgrade offer here. Once you do that you get a confirmation email and a Promotional Code. This is important when you make the final purchase.

After that you will need to download the Upgrade assistant, which will check app and device compatibility. During check-out remember to keep the Promotional Code with you. If you want to order DVDs for Windows 8 you will need to shell out Rs 1060 extra.

However you will also have the option of creating a media set via USB or DVD when you install. During the installation process you will get three options: “Install now, Install by creating media, or Install later from your desktop”. When you select “Install by creating media”, you can create a USB or DVD installation media.

What will you get when finally upgrade: Before hitting Upgrade, the assistant will ask you if you want to keep all files from your previous system or just personal files or keep nothing. If you choose nothing all your files will be erased and Windows 8 Pro will overwrite all your system files.

If you want to save your previous system files you can choose the first option.

by FP Staff 

11 Odd Jobs with High Salaries

"You Do What and Make How Much?!?"

Think back to the last time you were at a party or a social event, and you had to make small talk with new acquaintances. Inevitably the question of “So what do you do?” is asked, and everyone recites their professions. While the regulars seem to always come up – doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc. – every once in a while someone comes out with a doozy that could leave you scratching your head or picking your jaw up off the floor.
Did you know Horse Exerciser is a job? Or that you can make a living as a Bingo Manager? And even if you have heard of these jobs, chances are you’ll be surprised at much they make. So we dug through more than 4,000 of our job titles and picked out some under-the-radar jobs with surprisingly high annual salaries of $50,000 or more.

11. Horse Rider/Exerciser

HORSE RIDER/EXERCISER

Annual median salary: $50,691

If you’ve ever found yourself holding a winning ticket at the track, chances are you’ve benefited, in part, from a horse exerciser.
Everyone who has watched the movie Seabiscuit knows jockeys are the ones who actually do the racing. But what most people don’t realize is that other people help exercise and train the horses long before post time. The men and women who do this are called horse exercisers, and their primary responsibility is to ride the horses on non-race days and prepare them for the jockeys. From getting them used to walking in the gate to simulating a mid-race gallop, exercisers must gauge a horse’s well-being and responsiveness and accurately relate it to the jockeys and trainers.
This job generally only requires a high school diploma, but also takes roughly seven years of experience to master. Although you won’t get rich, if you’re a lover of horses and/or want to someday become a jockey, this is a great way to do it and bring home a solid paycheck.

10. Sommelier

SOMMELIER

Annual median salary: $50,868
Lots of people whine about their jobs, but only a select few make their careers all about wine.
A sommelier, or wine steward, usually works at an upscale restaurant and is in charge of everything related to the business’ wine collection. Customers who have questions or need recommendations ask the sommelier, and he/she picks out precisely the right wine pairing to go with their meal. But in addition to the public-facing part of a sommelier’s job, he/she may also travel to vineyards to identify wine, buy wine from distributors, monitor the condition of the wine cellar, and work with restaurant chefs to prepare appetizing food and drink pairings.
Although a college degree is not always a prerequisite, most sommeliers have many years of experience and some will complete training and certification programs. Either way, there’s a lot more to becoming a successful sommelier than watching Sideways over and over again.

9. Bereavement Coordinator

BEREAVEMENT COORDINATOR
Annual median salary: $52,328
In an ideal world we wouldn’t know what it’s like to get bad news about a loved one, but most of us have. And if your case was handled sensitively and professionally, you can most likely thank a bereavement coordinator.
While these workers aren’t generally the ones breaking the bad news to people, they’re managing the social workers who do. They’ve also worked tirelessly to come up with a system that makes an impossible situation as painless as possible under the circumstances. This job generally requires a four-year college degree, and bereavement coordinators develop and implement programs to assist the survivors of people with terminal illness. They often work in settings such as hospitals, hospice, and nursing homes.
While some might be surprised at the paycheck bereavement coordinators take home, consider that they work in a high-stress field among emotionally distraught people going through some of the worst times in their lives.

8. Childbirth Educator

CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR
Annual median salary: $56,504
If all you know about pregnancy and childbirth was learned on TV and in movies, you might be tempted to think women casually go into labor and then give birth minutes later while never breaking a sweat or smearing their make-up.
But the truth is there’s a lot of preparation, and much of it is done by childbirth educators. These men and women aren’t doctors, but they almost always have college degrees and several years of experience. Their job isn’t to deliver the baby, but to prepare for the delivery with classes and information regarding childbirth procedures, trends in labor and delivery technology, and even holds pre-conception classes.
Often affiliated with area hospitals, these workers often serve not only as an initial source of information for expectant parents, but a continuing resource even after the birth.

7. Bingo Manager

BINGO MANAGER
Annual median salary: $56,593
This isn’t your grandmother’s smoke-filled bingo hall job.
Often working for a casino, bingo can be big business. And a bingo manager directs it all. Although this position doesn’t require a college degree, the person in the job does generally need at least five years of experience. The manager approves jackpots and payouts, handles escalated customer complaints and issues, and maintains total compliance with federal and state gaming regulations. Additionally, bingo managers oversee all aspects of their staff and maintain budgets.
While this annual salary isn’t exactly hitting the jackpot, it’s a surprisingly high payout.

6. Elevator Inspector

ELEVATOR INSPECTOR
Annual median salary: $59,495
Many people ride in them all the time to get to work, but most people probably don’t give any mind to the safety of elevators until they get stuck in one.
Let’s face it, if you work in a gargantuan skyscraper it might be good exercise to hike to the 100th floor every day, but for the sake of your time and sanity the elevator is quicker. That’s why elevator inspectors make sure all elevators meet safety and compliance codes for passengers and freight. They also inspect escalators, moving sidewalks, and wheelchair lift systems. After investigating complaints, they also can choose to recommend fixes to repairmen.
A college degree is not a requirement, but this job may require specific certifications and licensure depending on the state. All in all it’s a well-paying – albeit up and down – career.

5. Soil Conservationist

SOIL CONSERVATIONIST
Annual median salary: $62,228
Most of the time when a job pays dirt, that’s a bad thing. But for a soil conservationist whose work is dirt, it’s a different story.
The main job of a soil conservationist is to come up with plans to prevent erosion and develop practices for sustainable land use, mostly by performing land-use surveys. Whether working in the private sector or in some level of government, conservation and “green” issues have taken on added importance in recent years. This is especially vital in areas of the country susceptible to the impacts of erosion, such as coastal areas.
With open space and buildable land becoming a precious commodity, the effects of building on said land is carefully documented by soil conservationists. Most people who work in this position have a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science or environmental studies.

4. Locomotive Engineer

LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER
Annual median salary: $63,620
Admit it -- at one point in your life you wanted to be the conductor of a train. It’s understandable since trains are cool, but you might not have realized it’s also fairly profitable.
Locomotive engineers operate passenger and freight trains. In addition to monitoring things like speed, air pressure, battery, etc. during the trip, they must inspect the train and prepare routes and scheduling prior to every trip. While putting "train conductor" on your resume is impressive, locomotive engineers often work well more than 40 hours, lots of nights and weekends.
Train engineers must be at least 21 years old, have a high school diploma, and years of training involving classroom instruction, simulators and on-the-job training. They must also possess a federal license.

3. Clinical Ethicist

CLINICAL ETHICIST
Annual median salary: $66,966
Do you want to shape and influence the way society deals with contentious medical issues? You might consider this unheralded position.
Issues such as “Right to Live,” stem cell research and cloning can often be found in the day’s biggest headlines. Emotions run high on both sides of these important topics and they often spill over into the political arena as well. A clinical ethicist takes an unbiased, non-partisan approach to examining each of these issues and providing input that helps shape how patients, their families, doctors, and hospitals deal with these difficult situations.
Most ethicists will need a master’s degree or doctorate related to medical ethics, and a minimum of at least five years experience.

2. Prosthetist/Orthotist

PROSTHETIST/ORTHOTIST
Annual median salary: $67,938
Are you or do you know someone missing a limb, or who has needed orthopedic braces? Then you should thank a prosthetist or orthotist.
A prosthetist is someone who specializes in designing and fitting people with artificial limbs, while an orthotist designs orthopedic braces such as surgical supports and corrective shoes. Whether the missing limbs are from a birth defect, accident or the increasing number of wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, prosthetists carefully examine the affected area and customize artificial hands, feet, arms and legs for the patient. They are similar careers and many people specialize in both fields simultaneously.
A four-year degree is a requirement and most states require certification from groups such as the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, along with at least five years experience.

1. Enterostomal Therapist

ENTEROSTOMAL THERAPIST
Annual median salary: $74,639
Most people not in healthcare are probably thinking “what the heck is that?” We’ll tell you, but be forewarned this isn’t a career for the squeamish.
An enterostomy is an operation in which the surgeon cuts a passage into the patient’s small intestine, through the abdomen. The newly created opening allows for the drainage of fecal matter or to insert a feeding tube. This procedure is used mostly in emergency cases of severe abdomen wounds and diseases such as certain types of cancer and Crohn’s disease. The enterostomal therapist has to not only care for the stoma post surgery, but also educate patients on how to properly care for it beforehand. Patients cannot leave the hospital until they know how to properly care for themselves after the surgery, and until they learn, enterostomal therapists are in charge of cleaning and sanitizing the stoma for them.
They generally must have either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, as well as earn certification as a nursing degree.