Fun apps for all your new electronics!

With Apple's attempt (a successful one, I'm thinking) of Total World Domination, I am sure there are a few of you out there that received Devices for Christmas...iTouch, iPhone, iPad? So I thought it would be a good time to offer this public service announcement with a few apps that I've found quite helpful in my day-to-day life:





1. Weatherbug (Free) - Ask my friends, I have an obsession with the weather. Florida, as a rule, is pretty consistent with its temp, but the rain is what drives me crazy, especially with football practice, the golf game, and yard work. Enter Weatherbug. It not only provides the current temp and various stats, but the seven day forecast (hourly if you'd like), the current radar map which you can zoom on to your neighborhood, and even live camera footage from places around town.

2. AllRecipes (Free) and Epicurious (Free) - meal plan on the run! Access thousands of recipes for anything and everything. Epi even will create a shopping list for you from the recipes you choose.

3. Open Table (Free) - I am assuming you have all heard of this, but if not, you must partake. Say you are laying around your house on Saturday at 4:00pm, and you decide you want to go out to dinner. Dang it, it is too late to find an open reservation! Not with Open Table. You plug in what time, how many people, and it will give you all openings for restaurants within a specified mile range. And it will make a reservation for you. You earn points every time you use it, for cash back. Greatest thing since sliced bread.

4. Angry Birds (99 cents) - Beware all you obsessive personalities. Slingshot various angry birds at blockaded pigs that snort and snigger at you. Crush those pigs. It is excellent stress relief and the best buck you will ever spend. (There is an Angry Birds Lite for free...test it out. But it is worth the buck for the full deal.)

5. Have2P (Free) - Have you ever had those moments where you HAVE TO GO and there are no bathrooms to be found? Get this app. Whether you are at a mall or in the middle of nowhere, it will show you the quickest path to relief.

6. Point Inside (Free) - I probably should have given this to you right after Thanksgiving. Sorry. But it has detailed maps for every mall and airport known to man. Never again will you need to race manically through an entire mall to find a Starbucks.

7. .Parking (99 cents) - This is another one that probably would have been useful during the holidays. For any of you that have lost your car downtown, or at a large shopping mall, this will solve your problems. Via GPS, mark the location of your car, and the app will lead you back to it when you are ready to leave!

8. Common Sense Media (Free) - Reviews on movies, video games, websites, apps, books, etc. from a parent's perspective. This provides rankings from one to five on messages, role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism and drugs, and offers what parents need to know, and what families can talk about. My kids are at the age right now where they are attempting to push the envelope, and this app gives me quick and practical advice on what is appropriate and what isn't.

9. Pizza Hut (Free) - Plant yourself in your comfy chair, declare yourself on strike from making dinner, and pull up your Pizza Hut app to order your meal. It is sloth at its best. You will have to register before you order, and I found I couldn't do that on my phone, it had to be done on the computer. Still.

10. Yelp (Free) - You want to find something, you've got it. Plug in the name of whatever (restaurant, theater, attraction, etc.) and not only will you get the address and reviews on the place, but a live map and directions. If you are on a road trip and you need to find a grocery store, just type "grocery store" and it will show you everything in your area. You want pizza, type "pizza" and it will give you choices, with a million reviews on which one is best. It is a beautiful thing.

Which ones are your favorites? I'm always looking for the newest and most clever.