CigarFox

One of the more entertaining aspects of owning an iPhone is the plethora of apps that are available for your use and enjoyment. Some of them are really helpful, informative, or at least interesting: weather updates, celeb gossip, directions, movie times, etc. Then there are the completely superfluous apps that make you scratch your head and wonder why anyone would ever need that — right before you download it yourself.

iBeer is probably one of the most pointless apps, yet everyone seems to have it. It’s an app that turns your screen into a full pint glass of beer, and you can “drink” it by tilting your iPhone downwards. The beer then flows out of the pint glass. Sounds simple enough, yet it’s enough to reduce grown men to giggles when they all use it.

Tickle Me! is another app that seems to be mainly for the amusement factor – even if that factor does wear off pretty quickly. The app enables your touchscreen to respond to you tickling it, with a slightly irritating child’s laugh.

One that still makes no sense is Hold On, an app where you hold your finger in one spot on the touch screen for as long as you can. That’s it. This could probably be amusing for a bunch of drunken people who are pretending to be sober, but that’s about it.

Everyone loves to pop bubble wrap, which is most likely why the Bubble Wrap app is so popular. It just fills your screen with bubble wrap that you “pop” by touching each bubble.

While this one doesn’t do it anything useful, it certainly is cool – the PhoneSaber. It basically turns your touchscreen into a light saber, complete with visuals and sounds. It’s pretty awesome, yet there seems to be limited things you can do with it. Challenge your friends to a duel, maybe?

One that may seem silly, but has popped up at concerts and rock shows a lot lately, is the Virtual Zippo. Gone are the days when you hold up a lighter at shows if something moves you – now you have the virtual version. This is admittedly better than people just holding up their cell phones, which has always looked silly.

CoinFlip is another that goes into the “is that really necessary?” category, yet everyone seems to have it. It does exactly what its name indicates – it flips a coin.

A pretty amusing app is the Abacus, which seemingly goes against everything the iPhone really is – cutting edge technology. But again, maybe for the drunk folks trying to figure out how much money they have at the end of the night, this might work.

Too tired to yell enthusiastically for your sports team of choice? Then the “Wooo!” app may be for you. It’s a button that shows up on your touchscreen, and every time you hit it, a tinny voice says “wooo!” Very exciting.

Lastly, there is the I Can Has Cheezburger app, which sends you an update every time there’s a new location posted. Who doesn’t need that?

There’s something compelling about some of these iPod touch apps, even though they do absolutely nothing useful, and in fact, just mostly take up space on your iPhone or iPod touch. However trivial some of these applications may seem, they offer enjoyment to the hundreds of thousands of users who download them. After all, isn’t that the point of these applications?

About the Author:

For more information on iPhone applications or to read more in-depth reviews of iPhone apps visit AppCraver today. AppCraver is dedicated to iPhone apps, news, reviews and interviews with iPhone application developers.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Top 10 Useless Apps In Apple App Store, Apps For Just About Everything!

Zippo Lighter iphone/ipod touch

In his essay “Sifting the Ashes,” the writer Jonathan Franzen has the following to say about the smoking habit he struggles to quit: “[W]hen you’re smoking, you’re acutely present to yourself: you step outside the unconscious forward rush of life.”

Beautiful words, with which many cigar smokers would agree. Perhaps that’s why so many of history’s most famous and best-loved writers are hard to mentally picture without a cigar: Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Collette, George Sand, Karl Marx. Not terrible company, and they’re not alone. Some major contemporary writers are cigar smokers as well.

Paul Auster

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Paul Auster graduated from Columbia, then moved to Paris, France to eke out a living as a French-literature translator. He’s been married to two highly-regarded American writers “Siri Hustvedt (currently) and, before that, Lydia Davis, who is also known for her translation work – and his novels The New York Trilogy and Moon Palace are modern classics. He’s known for using the shape of the detective story to entertain larger questions about the meaning of identity, of language, and of existence. But his biggest fame – and his importance to smokers – came when he wrote and co-directed the movie Smoke, a landmark of American indie cinema set in a Brooklyn cigar shop.

Centered on Auggie Wren, owner of the Brooklyn Cigar Company – a sort of existential Dew Drop Inn where large cross-sections of humanity gather – it ponders the random yet seemingly meaningful connections among various people, a major theme in Auster’s writing (as well as of several other major American art films from the same period – consider Short Cuts and Magnolia). Auster’s selection of a smoke shop as his setting renders the film, which is based on one of his own short stories, especially meaningful for diehard cigar smokers.

Edward Whittemore

Here’s an artist with a colorful life indeed – he went from Yale to the Marines to the CIA, wrote for the Japan Times (it was part of his cover), lived in Crete, and wrote the massive, tripped-out series of literary espionage novels known as the Jerusalem Quartet, a work lauded by Tom Robbins as – like a bowl of hashish pudding – and by Jonathon Carroll as a book that
“makes your soul grow.” (To give you an idea: one of the books is about a 12-year-long game of poker in which the winner becomes owner of the Holy Land. That’s just the plot of one of them.) Yet the Quartet went out of print after only a few years, and Whittemore ended his days in dire poverty and obscurity, working as a photocopier for a law firm.

In 2003, eight years after his death, the Quartet was republished to all-but-universal acclaim; Jim Hougan, writing in Harper’s, called it “one of the last, best arguments against television” and Whittemore – an author of extraordinary talents. His friend Thomas C. Wallace remembers his love of cigars: “We walked the woods and fields of southern Vermont by day, sat in front of the house after dinner on solid green Adirondack chairs, drinks in hand and smoking cigars.” In a similar spirit, lovers of fine cigars should search out his one-of-a-kind novels – after all, premium cigar smokers already know that the most immediately accessible pleasures aren’t always the deepest.

John Grisham

You probably know that John Grisham is an ex-lawyer and the biggest-selling novelist of the 1990s, but you probably don’t know about his charity work, his advocacy on behalf of the wrongly imprisoned, his tireless support of less-commercially-successful writers – or the fact that it’s been said he smokes four cigars a week. In addition to writing the well-loved legal thrillers The Firm and A Time To Kill, among others (as well as such departures as A Painted House), he has done missionary and relief work in Brazil and service on the board of the Innocence Project, which uses DNA testing to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. Perhaps all of this is why he ended up on one of Cigar Aficionado’s lists of the top hundred smokers.

About the Author:

CigarFox provides you the opportunity to build your own sampler of the finest cigars that include cigar brands like Montecristo, Romeo & Julieta, H Upmann, Macanudo, Cohiba, Gurkha and many more. Choose from more than 1000 different brands! Other cigar products include cigar humidors, cigar boxes, and cigar accessories like Zippo Lighters.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Writers (And Their Books!) For Cigar Lovers

zippo lighter

One of the more entertaining aspects of owning an iPhone is the plethora of apps that are available for your use and enjoyment. Some of them are really helpful, informative, or at least interesting: weather updates, celeb gossip, directions, movie times, etc. Then there are the completely superfluous apps that make you scratch your head and wonder why anyone would ever need that — right before you download it yourself.

iBeer is probably one of the most pointless apps, yet everyone seems to have it. It’s an app that turns your screen into a full pint glass of beer, and you can “drink” it by tilting your iPhone downwards. The beer then flows out of the pint glass. Sounds simple enough, yet it’s enough to reduce grown men to giggles when they all use it.

Tickle Me! is another app that seems to be mainly for the amusement factor – even if that factor does wear off pretty quickly. The app enables your touchscreen to respond to you tickling it, with a slightly irritating child’s laugh.

One that still makes no sense is Hold On, an app where you hold your finger in one spot on the touch screen for as long as you can. That’s it. This could probably be amusing for a bunch of drunken people who are pretending to be sober, but that’s about it.

Everyone loves to pop bubble wrap, which is most likely why the Bubble Wrap app is so popular. It just fills your screen with bubble wrap that you “pop” by touching each bubble.

While this one doesn’t do it anything useful, it certainly is cool – the PhoneSaber. It basically turns your touchscreen into a light saber, complete with visuals and sounds. It’s pretty awesome, yet there seems to be limited things you can do with it. Challenge your friends to a duel, maybe?

One that may seem silly, but has popped up at concerts and rock shows a lot lately, is the Virtual Zippo. Gone are the days when you hold up a lighter at shows if something moves you – now you have the virtual version. This is admittedly better than people just holding up their cell phones, which has always looked silly.

CoinFlip is another that goes into the “is that really necessary?” category, yet everyone seems to have it. It does exactly what its name indicates – it flips a coin.

A pretty amusing app is the Abacus, which seemingly goes against everything the iPhone really is – cutting edge technology. But again, maybe for the drunk folks trying to figure out how much money they have at the end of the night, this might work.

Too tired to yell enthusiastically for your sports team of choice? Then the “Wooo!” app may be for you. It’s a button that shows up on your touchscreen, and every time you hit it, a tinny voice says “wooo!” Very exciting.

Lastly, there is the I Can Has Cheezburger app, which sends you an update every time there’s a new location posted. Who doesn’t need that?

There’s something compelling about some of these iPod touch apps, even though they do absolutely nothing useful, and in fact, just mostly take up space on your iPhone or iPod touch. However trivial some of these applications may seem, they offer enjoyment to the hundreds of thousands of users who download them. After all, isn’t that the point of these applications?

About the Author:

For more information on iPhone applications or to read more in-depth reviews of iPhone apps visit AppCraver today. AppCraver is dedicated to iPhone apps, news, reviews and interviews with iPhone application developers.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Top 10 Useless Apps In Apple App Store, Apps For Just About Everything!

Zippo Lighter app for iphone/ipod touch

The New Year has recently come, and along with it comes new laws and regulations.  In 2009, it is no longer legal to text message while driving your automobile in seven states!  Five states have a ban on using handheld cell phones while driving.  Not every state has these laws in place, but the trend is in favor of the new cell phone regulations.  These new laws are made to increase highway safety.   It is both unsafe and distracting to have such devices on while operating a motor vehicle.  It is all too easy to lose focus of cars on the road, while fumbling around with your devices.

In recent years, many products have been made to help eliminate these distractions from you while driving.  These devices not only can help you avoid a traffic ticket, but more importantly, can save your life. The days of freely speaking on your cell phone or text messaging others while driving are coming swiftly to an end.  New laws and regulations have been put in place in a growing number of states and are heavily enforced.  All is not lost, however. There are ways around this by using a hands free kit for your cell phone.  Essentially, you can speak on your phone while driving as long as you are not holding the phone in your hand.

The most popular method of compliance with the current cell phone laws are wireless headsets.  Everyone has seen that person talking to themselves in their car, but upon closer inspection we see them wearing a strange device over their ear.  This is called a wireless headset. They are becoming more and more popular, especially with the new law emerging requiring cell phone users to have a hands-free device. Bluetooth headsets are the preferred choice as they are smaller and more compact than a wired headset.  Bluetooth allows wireless communication to take place among a cell phone and a hands-free headset.  This allows the user full use the cell phone without ever touching it.

There are different versions: Bluetooth 1.1, Bluetooth 1.2, Bluetooth 2.0, and Bluetooth 2.1.  Bluetooth 2.1 comes with the latest features and advancements such as: voicemail retrieval, one touch dialing, one touch answering,  call mute, voice dialing, last-number redial, fast transaction speeds, low power consumption, and secure networks.  They are also quite affordable, ranging from $3 to $100+.  It is not a wise investment to go for the top of the line Bluetooth, as they all are very similar when it comes down to functionality.

There is another way to comply with the cell phone laws, using a cell phone cradle.  Cell phone cradles are plugged into a car through its cigarette lighter (DC Outlet) to achieve power.  Once powered on, the cell phone nicely fits into in the cradle.  The cradle projects the phone call out through a loudspeaker or through the car’s speakers.  It is clear and easy to hear; this makes for minimal driving distractions.  The cradle charges your cell phone when placed in the cradle.  It is easy to access the cell phone as it is sticking out of your automobile’s dashboard.  It can add style to your car with the correct model and design.

A big problem with electronic devices is running out of battery power, while on the road or away from an electrical outlet.   There is an answer to your problems: DC to AC inverters.  They save time and energy, while ensuring a safer drive.  Simply plug the adapter into a cigarette lighter (DC outlet) for instantaneous use of AC power.   These devices fit are compatible with almost all car cigarette lighters.  Now you can ensure that your electronics are always charged and ready to use.  Some power adaptor companies have two or more AC power adapters, while others have USB ports.   It is strictly personal preference, as to which features you want and need.  I recommend having at least one AC power slot and one USB port.

There are many varieties when it comes to AC-DC power inverters.  They come in an array of shapes, sizes, designs, and features.  Some are large and bulky, while others are small and compact in design.   Some hold more wattage at a time, allowing for multiple devices to be charged.  Most now come with a built-in cooling fan to prevent overheating.  There are also special features that automatically shut the device off after the car is turned off.  This will save the car’s battery life.

Accessory Power DC to AC power adapters with USB ports have enough power to charge a wide variety of electronics, such as: cameras, cell phones, laptops, music players, video players, VCR’s, DVD Players, GPS, two-way radios, video game consoles, Bluetooth’s, and more.  Why let your electronics lose power and battery life while driving, when you can always charge up your electronic devices.  There are many different choices out there when deciding on brand.  Mobile Power Flex and Power Bright are on the cutting edge of universal DC to AC power adapters.

About the Author:

Continuing our series of giving out a little love to indie games is a focus on a browser based, free-to-play MMO called MagicDuel. Here are a few words from its creator, Manuel Tanase, who slaves tirelessly on the project from his tower in Romania. Sound cool? You can sign up here to play. Games like these are especially fun to mess around with at work, seeing that you can play it in your browser and stuff on an older computer. Not that anyone plays games at the office (ahem). It’s good, clean, nerdy fun

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Safety First: How To Comply With New Driving Regulations

Universal Battery Charger by BatteryFly.com