Apps to Start the New Year Right

It's that time of the year when people have decided to keep a set of resolutions or goals. If you are one of those who set goals for 2013, there are apps for your iPhone and iPad that can help. Here are some that I've written about before that I think are among the best:

Keeping Score on Your iPhone

Around the holidays, you probably take vacation and spend plenty of time with family. Chances are good that you sometimes play card games or board games during this time. Whether you play UNO, Spades, Rook, or some versions of dominoes, you'll need to keep score. Typically, with pen and paper in hand, you tally the score and add up each hand or round in your head.  There's a better way.

Using Score Pad, a free app for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you can keep score without doing all the math. I used this recently when I played a game of UNO with the family. You can score up to 7 players and simply touch to add a new score (for a hand in a card game or a round in another type of game). What is really helpful is that you can include simple addition within a score for a single round. Let me explain with an example:

Let's say Bob goes out first in a given hand of the card game he is playing. Bob gets points for the remaining cards in each of the other players hands. Suzy has 12 points worth of cards, Joe has 11 points, and Sally has 7 points. If you are keeping score, instead of adding those up and entering "30" for Bob's score, you can simply enter "12+11+7" as Bob's score. Bob's score will then show as "30" on the score pad.

There are other scoring apps out there but I like this one because it's simple and it's free. Some people will prefer pen and paper but I'd like to keep my mind on the strategy of the game, not adding up scores in my head.

(iPhone or iPad) + Apple TV = Cozy Fireplace

There's nothing like a listening to Christmas music by a fireplace full of burning logs. But what if you don't have a fireplace? I stumbled across an app for the iPhone or iPad that, if you have an Apple TV, turns your big screen TV into a nice roaring fire.

A Very Cozy Fireplace HD turns your HD TV into a high-definition fireplace with a roaring and crackling fire. For $0.99 (at the time I write this), you get an app for your iPhone or iPad that, when you launch it, plays a video of logs burning in a fireplace. To play it on your Apple TV, just choose the AirPlay option from the app. The video is very short but seemlessly loops to give the appearance of an a continuously burning fire. The video is very high quality and looks excellent on a big screen TV. The picture at the top of this post doesn't quite do it justice.

Why Upgrade to an iPhone 5?

If you own an iPhone 4 (or an older model than that), chances are good that you may be eligible for an upgrade to the iPhone 5.  (Check with your carrier.)  There are a number of people that I know that are eligible to upgrade that haven't yet. In some cases, they haven't yet decided. I've had my iPhone 5 for almost a month now and there are a number of reasons I'm glad that I upgraded. If you are eligible to up

How I Got the iPhone 5 Without Waiting Four Weeks

The iPhone 5 has been very popular since it first came out. If you didn't preorder one, it is difficult to get one without waiting the three to four weeks Apple says on its web site that it will take before it ships. If you are really lucky you might find one in an Apple Store or one of the carrier stores. However, they've been trickling in and disappearing pretty quick.

I was able to upgrade from my iPhone 4 to an iPhone 5 recently once I learned a trick. Part of this trick came from information an Apple Store employee told me. Part of the trick, I learned by trial and error. I'm going to share this particular trick with you and it might work for you also, though there are no guarantees.

Annotate the Weather on Your iPhone or iPad

RadarScope, arguably the best weather radar app for iOS, is useful for watching storms, spotting tornados, and more.  With the incredible amount of wind and rainfall in the Northeast United States from Hurricane Sandy, it's a very useful tool for staying abreast of conditions.

The app is now even better with a feature that allows you to annotate by drawing directly on the radar image. To do this, simply click the pencil icon in the upper-left corner and start writing with your finger. If you click the pencil icon again, your annotations disappear. Your annotations don't come back when they're gone so this is primarily a way to share radar images. When you share an image, it includes the annotation.

The example to the right is one I shared with myself via email.  It shows total surface rainfall for Hurricane Sandy. In this image, I point out an area that has received 10 inches of rain due to the hurricane.

Special Note: While we are on the subject of Hurricane Sandy, please pray or continue to pray for those affected by this storm. Just last year, Alabama was devastated in an incredible tornado outbreak. People prayed, charities and individuals stepped up in big ways to give and server, and many affected are back on their feet again. I pray that the same response happens in the Northeast. Please consider how you might help those hurt by Sandy and continue to pray for them.

Watching College Football or Basketball on Your iPhone or iPad

Clearly the best way to watch football or basketball is either in person or on a large screen TV (with surround sound, of course). However, if you find yourself away from home, you don't have to totally miss out on actually watching the game.  Thanks to the CBS Sports app for iPhone and for iPad, you can watch college football or college basketball live. The games that are streamed are only selected ones that CBS airs on TV. However, for football, that's the SEC game of the week, which is one I typically care about.

The app itself is unremarkable for anything other than streaming live games but it's the streaming that is the killer feature. If you have a decent data connection, whether wifi or cellular, the picture is good. I watched part of one game on a 3G connection and it was quite clear. I'm sure it looks even better on the new iPhone 5.