Fredd

...the last three years, app development has come a long way, for better and for worse. Some developers have been there for the whole ride, and have some interesting thoughts to share as a result. For example, three years ago, a French astronomer and engineer named Fr辿d辿ric Descamps created an iPhone app called Starmap, which is, simply put, a mobile guide to the constellations, allowing user... Read More

Posted 06/23/2011 at 2:00pm | by Susie Ochs Some people venture into the outdoors to “unplug.” To leave technology behind…to stop and smell the roses, if you will. And if that’s your thing, that’s great. But some of us are allergic to roses and break out in hives if you try to pry our gadgets out of our hands for a minute, let alone for a whole weekend in the woods. That said, we’re not suggesting that you bring an iMac camping, and thanks to the power of iPhones and iPads, even toting a MacBook Air seems like overkill. With the right case, some portable power, and some other goodies, you and your iDevice along can have a blast in the great outdoors. Geocaching will help you identify nearby geocaches and then lead you right to them. See that blue box in the picture? That represents a geocache, which is a hidden outdoor treasure you find by locating its GPS coordinates. This used to require a dedicated GPS device (see our how-to), but now you can do it with your iPhone. The gold standard is a $9.99 app called Geocaching, which works on iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4…and technically iPod touches too, although they need a Wi-Fi hotspot, which aren’t exactly prevalent in the woods. The app integrates with the granddaddy of geocaching websites, Geocaching.com, and lets you search for a geocache nearby or by address. Then the fun, easy-to-use mapping feature helps lead you to it, and you can post a log that you found it from within the app, as well as on a paper log book traditionally kept in the geocache itself. Along with the log, you’ll typically find trinkets or toys—keep one as a souvenir and add a new one you brought from home. It’s the coolest thing to happen to hiking since trekking poles. When you take along your iPad or iPhone and a field guide app to help you identify the flora and fauna you encounter, you’ll bask in the glory of nature while learning something too. Our absolute favorites are the universal apps from the Audubon Society. Audubon Guides ($29.99) is the all-in-one, containing Audubon Birds (available separately for $14.99), Audubon Mammals ($9.99), Audubon Trees ($9.99), and Audubon Wildflowers ($9.99). Audubon Butterflies is another great app for $9.99. Audubon Guides can keep a list of every critter, flower, and tree you encounter on your Read More

posted by Trey Trawick on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 5:35 pm.   Celebrating the release of the new iPhone with your Wii bowling team, you go to a bar to field test Cupertino’s newest device. You sit down at the bar with your iPhone 4, and the cute girl next to you slowly reaches into her purse and pulls out hers. Yours is black – hers is white. Ying and Yang. Being the socially awkward geek that you are, you fumble to make a compete sentence – but words are not needed. She slides across her business card, and you slyly snap a picture of it with your 5 megapixel camera using the Business Card Reader by Shape Services. Her phone number is safely added to your address book without a digit out of place. “Barman,” you say, “I’ll have an Appletini.” smiling to yourself at the clever choice. You hold up two fingers, and point to the lady. You’ve never ordered an alcoholic beverage before, but because of the Cocktail Recipes app by Webworks, you’re now an expert. After a few drinks, you’re now tipsy enough to make your moves, but not without your trusty PickUpLines app. You scooch your stool over to the girl, and whisper the boldest line you can find into her ear. “I have a three-axis gyroscope.” Your eyes lock, and you take her back to your car. You remotely start your Volkswagen Camper with the Viper SmartStart app, and drive back to your house. As you’re driving, you use the Navigon Mobile Navigator app with turn-by-turn directions to find your way back safe and sound, along with Trapster to avoid the police. As you’re both laying on the front yard, you look up at the sky and use the Starmap Pro app to point out all the constellations that you have long-since forgotten from elementary school; using the built in compass and GPS to accurately pinpoint your location. You then run the iHeart Love Compatibility Match Calculator to make sure you are truly meant to be, and email the results to your mother. You lean over to kiss her, then quietly install the Panic Button. Read More

Choose a clear night and hold your phone skyward, and the heavens suddenly make sense — that is, with the help of a stargazing application. If ever there were a type of mobile software guaranteed to elicit a grin, this is it. These apps — like Starmap, Star Walk, Pocket Universe, Google Sky Map and others — are part of a category known as “augmented reality.” The idea is to point a mobile device toward an object and let an app show you more about what you’re seeing than your own eyes could. At the moment, the category is in its nascent stages, with one exception — the stargazing apps. As for which app you should buy, it depends on your level of astronomical expertise, and what device you have. Pocket Universe ($3) and Star Walk ($3) offer great experiences for beginners with an iPhone. Google Sky Map (free) will do the same for Android users. Starmap ($12) and Starmap Pro ($19) will probably appeal to more experienced astronomers. IPad owners, meanwhile, can download Star Walk for iPad ($5). You don’t even need a starry night — or, for that matter, a view of the night sky. Open the app in your bedroom and point the iPad skyward, and it will show you whatever you would have seen if you were looking through a telescope in that very direction. Even better, it will label stars, planets and constellations, and offer up details about them in terms that amateurs will easily absorb. Ever wonder about the constellation that’s tied to your astrological sign? Search for Gemini, for instance, and it will display the constellation as it currently looks in the sky, even if it isn’t visible from your particular vantage point. Touch “Pollux,” Gemini’s brightest star, and then tap on the information icon. A dropdown box displays a brief description of the star — which, it turns out, is a mere 34 light years from Earth. The box also includes data that few people other than telescope owners will need, like the RA positioning and the object’s visual magnitude. Such people will find this app useful, but these users are better suited to the Starmap apps, which offer a depth of astronomical information that others lack. For serious astronomers, Starmap Pro can be a great source of help. Use it as a remote control for pointing a telescope to distant objects, or Read More

En tant qu’astronome amateur, lorsqu’on m’a proposé de tester cette application, j’ai tout de suite dis oui. Quel observateur n’a jamais rêvé d’avoir le catalogue NGC (New General Catalogue), ( 7840 objets célestes) et le catalogue IC et Messier soit 5496 objets célestes sous les yeux ? Le tout porté dans 130 grammes. Qui dit mieux ? Premier démarrage : Une appli sobre, efficace. Un menu composé de 5 items se situe en bas de la fenêtre, en mode portrait Ce menu est changeable, grâce au 5 ème item, celui de droite. (screen) On a alors le choix entre 7 menus différents En mode paysage, le menu disparaît, laissant place au ciel étoilé. Les objets célestes sont cliquables, on obtient alors les informations concernant l’objet visé, comme sa magnitude, sa déclinaison, son azimut..Starmap Pro montre automatiquement la partie du ciel qui est visée par l’iPhone, grâce au GPS, ce qui rend le tout très intuitif. Le ciel s’ouvre alors à vous : galaxies, amas d’étoiles, constellations, étoiles, planètes.. On zoom sur la carte céleste comme sur les photos, avec 2 doigts. On peut même accéder à un simulateur de télescope, en donnant les caractéristiques voulues, focale, oculaires, barlow.. (tout de même un peu gadget) Cet outil intéressera les passionnés confirmés autant que ceux qui veulent se lancer dans le vaste monde de l’astronomie. Quelques captures :Dès son lancement, Starmap Pro annonce la couleur Choisissez votre menu Le mode nocturne permet un éblouissement minimum ... ... mais le mode normal reste plus lisible Le moteur de recherche, efficace. Personnalisez tout ... .. Même la luminosité du ciel et des étoiles L'obtention des points forts de la nuit est intéressant La géolocalisation et l'acceleromètre sont les deux éléments permettant ce logiciel interactif Obtenez toutes informations sur les astres Tous les objets célestes sont cliquables Points fort : Points Faibles : Bilan final : - Ergonomie : 4/5 - Contenu : 5/5 - Graphisme : 4/5 Note finale : 4/5 Ce test a été entièrement rédigé par Arnaud StarMap est disponible sur l'AppStore au prix de 9,99€ et la version pro est disponible (ici) au prix de 14,99€ Read More

I've always loved astronomy. There is something about the tremendous size and scope of our observable universe that is inspiring and humbling at the same time. It's why I get excited about the variety of astronomy programs for the iPhone. The latest is called Pocket Universe [App Store link]. For the $2.99US price, your iPhone or iPod touch gets a star atlas of 10,000 objects, a guide to moon phases, a list of what's up on any particular night including meteor showers and any visible planets, as well as live links to astronomy news. The app also includes an accurate rendering of the positions of the 4 easily visible moons of Jupiter, but your best bet in seeing a planet this time of year is Saturn which is high in the southeast. As we move toward summer, more and more people will be heading outdoors. That makes it it is a great time to learn the constellations and be able to understand what you are looking at, as opposed to just wondering what that bright thing is. A nice feature of the app is auto tilt, so when you are pointing the right direction, you can tilt the phone up to get a view higher in the sky and the star map will follow your tilt. If, as rumored, the iPhone adds some kind of direction finding compass, apps like this can be even more helpful as you turn and tilt, as the map should track your movements exactly. Pocket Universe has a very clever locate feature, where you can select an object, and there are on-screen directions to take you to the object by superimposing arrows on the screen. This feature didn't always work perfectly. I asked the program to find Saturn. It told me to follow the arrows, but no arrows appeared. It seemed to work fine on other objects I was looking for, and Saturn was properly placed on the sky map. How does this object compare to some of the competition? Quite well. It's reasonably priced, and with the live links it has some features the others don't have. I also recommend Distant Suns, Starmap, and Star Walk as worthy alternatives. Here are some screen shots: Read More

10 May 2009 alle 18:09 Produttore: Fredd | Download Link: AppStore | Prezzo: 14,99€ Voto Utenti: [ratings] è un’applicazione che farà contanti tutti gli amanti e studiosi del cielo stellato. Infatti il suo scopo è di mostrare la volta celeste ma non solo. Questa è la versione Pro Edition che non ha nulla da invidiare ai software astronomici per computer. Il cielo è ben disegnato, con le linee delle costellazioni, i punti cardinali e i tanti oggetti (pianeti, nebulose, galassie, ammassi, meteoriti) del cielo notturno.    Cliccando su un oggetto celeste compare la sua foto con le informazioni più importanti (distanza dalla Terra e la posizione rispetto all’osservatore), un ulteriore tap ci darà ancora ulteriori informazioni (ad esempio per i pianeti, vengono visualizzate i dati fisici: numero di satelliti, raggio, periodo orbitale, etc.). Il menu “Altro” è particolarmente ricco, permette di selezionare, tra l’altro, la “visione notturna” per consultare l’atlante celeste senza accecare gli occhi con il bagliore del display. Troviamo un Diario e un’Agenda delle osservazioni, mentre la sezione “Ottiche” permette di fare alcuni calcoli sulle strumentazioni e sui telescopi per l’osservazione celeste. Notevole la sezione “Questa notte” che, attraverso un grafico, mostra quali oggetti saranno visibili nella notte (con relativi filtri, se stiamo osservando ad occhio nudo, con binocolo o telescopio). Star Map Pro è il compagno ideale dell’astrofilo esigente nelle sue serate osservative. E’ disponibile anche una versione ridotta a 9,99 euro [Link iTunes] Read More