h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is the app dead? It’s looking distinctly peaky. I thought I’d take a look at the latest new apps, then we can decide whether these are really a benefit to humanity or whether we’re flogging a dead horse.

This list is taken from the DigitalTrends site.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/the-best-iphone-apps-of-the-month/

I imagine this page changes every month, so I’ll summarise below the ones I found when I looked earlier today.


1. Musical.ly

“a new iOS app that lets you create fun lip-sync videos. You can browse from millions of tracks to create lip sync videos to all of your favorite songs…”

Icy’s verdict - sounds like fun for kids - for about 5 minutes. Is this really the number 1 app of the month?


2. Showtime

“a stand-alone streaming service that gives you access to original Showtime series, unlimited movies, documentaries, and boxing events. With the Showtime app, you can catch up on hit shows like Dexter, Weeds, Californication, and more.”

Icy’s verdict - How did they know I spend many an hour in the street with my phone with a great broadband signal wondering what Dexter’s up to? Not.


3. Tindog

“is the first social app that aims to connect dog lovers with other dog owners nearby that share the same interests. Similar to Tinder, users can browse through recommended profiles and swipe left for “No” and right for “Yes”. If both users swipe right, then it’s a match and you can organize a place to meet up. Tindog is a great way to make sure your dog will never have to walk in the park alone again.”

Icy’s verdict - whatever happened to Tamagotchis?


4. Tossup

“Sometimes it’s hard to coordinate meet-ups with a large group of friends — even with group messaging.The app also has a fun polling system and built-in Yelp integration to make it easier to figure out what to do when you all get together.”

Icy’s verdict - Sounds like the onset of early dementure. Groups of teenagers meeting up and forgetting whet they went there for.


5. Star Wars

“By downloading the app, Star Wars fans can take and share selfies in iconic costumes, get Star Wars themed weather forecasts, and play sound effects from their favorite characters.“

Icy’s verdict - May the gale force be with you.


6. Free

“Are you tired of spending your nights at home by yourself? Free lets your friends know when you’re available to hang out, without sounding totally desperate.”

Icy’s Verdict - You’ll also need Tossup to tell you how to hang out.


7. Beet

“lets you film short videos and compiles them into an ongoing montage. Each video can be up to six seconds long, and you can add more clips as you record them. You can share your moments with friends and watch updates on your friend’s stories.”

Icy’s verdict - Watch me boil an egg in just 30 montages.


8. Qapital

a new mobile-banking app that’s dedicated to helping young professionals meet their financial goals. Qapital helps its customers by automatically saving small amounts of money on a regular basis, so they can buy the things they want.

Icy’s verdict - Is the end of the Qredit Qrunch?


9. Picjoy

“Do you find it nearly impossible to find the photo you’re looking for in your iPhone’s endless camera roll? PicJoy is a new app that instantly organizes all of your photos, and it will help you to find them much faster. PicJoy uses a complex algorithm that lets you tag images on your iPhone and iCloud accounts…”

Icy’s verdict - Suggested tags include “bored” and “drunk”.


10. BuzzFeed News

“The app makes it easy to catch up on major news stories from around the world. BuzzFeed News has all of the updates you need, whether you like reading about the world of business, technology, politics, or entertainment.”

Icy’s Verdict - Unlike every other News app, including the one that comes preloaded on your iPhone?


So there you have it. Would you use any of these top ten apps of the month, or is the craze nearing its end? Let me know.

They all sound like things that already exist and are well-used.

I can't imagine using any of them. They just complicate things more.

Ah...the endless optimism of the 'me-too' computer developer.

"PicJoy is a new app that instantly organizes all of your photos, and it will help you to find them much faster"

How? Alphabetically? By keyword? By Dewey Decimal Number? Or Ranganathan? Chronologically? If you have *hat* many pics on your phone, wouldn't it be easier to look at them by downloading them to somehting with a larger screen, like a laptop of personal computer?

How many hats do you have in your photo collection?

Now, I admit to having way too many *cats* in my camera...

There's a business opportunity for you, Dmitri - a new app: 'Tincat' (see Tindog above)

The Hoggett Farm would supply plenty of material... (My sister has a couple dozen barncats.)

No, I wouldn't use any of them. Especially not the one for organising photos, it's not that hard to create folders in the Gallery, not on a Galaxy anyway.

The app I use most regularly and would really miss is CamScanner which turns your phone into a photocopier and scanner, and can create a pdf. It's marvellous!

You know, it just occurred to me that the app that will let you know what Dexter's doing might be useful as a tool for self-preservation...if you lived in Miami...

I do like the concept of dementure. False brain (mental dentures)?

[Amy P]

I confess I've never seen Dexter, so just looked up the plot synopsis:

"Orphaned at age three when his mother is brutally murdered in a shipping container, and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by Miami policeman Harry Morgan (James Remar) who recognized his homicidal tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for killing in a "constructive" way—by killing only heinous criminals (such as child molesters, mob assassins, rapists, serial killers of the innocent etc.) who have slipped through the justice system. To satisfy his interest in blood and to facilitate his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department..."

Ah, they don't make them like that any more...

I've always wondered who this Dexter was that people talk about. Not being a TV watcher, I couldn't figure out how it matched up to the Dexter I know.

http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/tvbanners/184363/p184363_b_v7_aa.jpg

Surprisingly, Icy, 'Dexter' wasn't as dreadful as the synopsis would make out.

Oh, it was violent. But no more so than the average crime thriller. It was just that instead of gun battles and car chases, you got a lot of human sacrifice - sort of the Aztecs, with Saran wrap. (Dexter is very tidy.)

Psychologically, though, the series turned out to be more insightful than one would expect. And remarkably funny in places, in an Addams Family sort of way...some very respectable actors took on the 'guest serial killer' roles...

Curious, the human appetite for murder and mayhem. Agatha Christie dominated the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties... "the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible." (Wiki)

You know, if y'all wanted a project...

You could total up the comparative murder/mayhem/body count on those bestselling works...

I'm suspecting Shakespeare might trump Christie, but the Bible might outdo them both...

I don't know if you've ever heard of an English village called Midsomer?
http://www.visitmidsomer.com/facts-and-trivia/

Someone told me that the movie The Seven Samurai held the record for killings, with something like 70 occurring during the opening titles alone.

I can't corroborate this, fortunately.

[Amy P]