FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS WASH THE CAR – REVIEW (81%)

Five Little Monkeys wash the car is an e-book / audio book and is published by Oceanhouse Media.

This book gives you the options of reading the book yourself, having the read to you (and you control the page turns) or the complete book read to you automatically. The application also adds extra interaction by touching something on the screen the name appears in print and word is spoken.

The story is by Eileen Christelow and is an original tale based on the five little monkeys (of bed fame) and their effects to help their mother sell the family car. The tale is written in rhythm.

This book is for kids and adults alike.

On the upside:

• Interactive with the book adds to the “re-readability” of the book.
• Universal for iPad and iPhone
• Nicely drawn and animated

On the downside:

• No page selector to jump into the story to your favorite bit of the book.

Overall, the book is a nice little story and my two children enjoyed the tale and the pictures. It is another quality product from Oceanhouse Media. If you have not tried an Oceanhouse book yet, then this or one of their Dr Seuss books would be a good start.

Rating: 81%

Size: 19 MB

Price (at time of review): £1.79

Link: Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car – Oceanhouse Media

 

IF I HAD A BOAT (JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW) – SINGLE OF THE WEEK – REVIEW (87%)

If I had a boat by James Vincent McMorrow is this weeks free single of the week.

This song is a good release from iTunes.

Apple has this marked as a singer / songwriter track.

The music for the song is excellent and reminded me a little of Charles Barkley. You can hear lots of instruments and backing singing etc. It is we composed and is easy listening.

The song is well sung by the male singer, but is overpowered by the music at times, in the quieter parts of the song the singer voice shines.

Overall, this song is excellent and easy to listen to. I enjoyed it, the first time I listened I was not too sure, but are the second or third listen as I wrote this review the song had really grown on me. As of now I have purchased another song called “This Old Dark Machine” and I am currently thinking about getting the rest of the album. People on iTune as calling this music “Haunting and Beautiful” I think I would have to agree. Well worth a listen.

Rating: 87%

Price (at time of review): Free

Link: If I Had a Boat – Single – James Vincent McMorrow

 

ART TEXT 2 [MAC] – REVIEW (89%)

Art Text 2 is a logo, button and icon designer released by Belight Software Ltd.

Art Text 2 is a package that allows you to quickly and easily design graphics from your website or business.

The package allows you to select from a large amount of templates or you can start to design your image from scratch.

Each of the logos are made up of individual layers, and these layers can be changed and manipulated individually or as a group. The layers can have text or icons added, again from lots of options.

After using the software for about thirty minutes I had already designed two logos that I was happy with and in fact I am now using three logos of some other websites that I work on. I am not a talented artist, so much like the iPad Garageband, you can create something good without much knowledge.

The user interface is excellent, the basics can be picked up very easily and there are some advanced options you can use if you wish.

On the upside:

• Well designed user interface.
• Easy to use.
• Great way to create logos and icons without paying an artist for the work.

On the downside:

• Can take a while to learn some of the more advanced options.
• Importing new icons can be a little tricky.

Overall, this is a great art package, it works perfectly for what it is designed for, logos and icons. I would say if you are starting your own business or club, and want a professional looking set of graphics for the website or paperwork, you should give this application a try first, you can have professional looking artwork without paying someone a fortune for it. I highly recommend this application. 

Rating: 89%

Size: 43.8 MB

Price (at time of review): £11.99

Link: Art Text 2 – Belight Software, ltd

 

CONTRACT KILLER – REVIEW (68%)

Contract Killer is a freemium sniping game released by Glu.

This application puts you in control of a contract killer who is given various missions to assassinate or capture people.

The idea behind the game is you are given a contract, you click on the map display for were the target is and then you are set up in a sniping position over a small aread of a city block, you then look for your target, and shoot them from a distance. It is a possible that the person has several guards, and you will also need to kill these as well even in the main target is killed, in order to escape.

The application is controlled moving the game sights, and then selecting the various controls buttons, like zoom in and out, steady yourself and of course fire.

The sound and graphics are both good.

The main issue is I have this game is the similarity to the deer hunter games that Glu also have in their catalogue, it does feel like the same game, just that instead of running away, the deers are programmed to shot back. The enemies are just stupid at times, hiding in the open or slightly behind a wall.

On the upside:

• Well designed user interface.
• Universal application.

On the downside:

• Very repetitive gameplay
• No need for this game to be freemium, as it offers too little as it is.

Overall, this is a good sniping game, but offers too little to keep you interested for long. You get the feeling that Glu are trying to grab your money almost immediately, because after a few missions you are forced to wait for missions, or spend points to activate them or quickly, these points will cost money over time.

Rating: 64%

Size: 320 MB

Price (at time of review): Free

Link: Contract Killer – Glu

 

SCREENCASTONLINE [PODCAST] – REVIEW (80%)

ScreencastOnline (Free Version) is a “How To” released by Wizzard Media.

The show is basically a how to show, for the Mac, iPhone and iPad. Each week there is a show (once a month / or more if there is a sponsed show) there is a free version released. These shows cover different software applications and how to use them, and get the best from them. 

The podcast is presented Don McCallister.

The sound and presentation are both excellent.

On the upside:

• If you have the software or want the software covered this is a great show.
• Presentation is excellent.

On the downside:

• Shows can be a bit random, and if you are not interested in the software then the show is of no interest.

Overall, this is a very good video podcast, and often interesting and informative. Depending on the software covered you will find this podcast useful to have in your feed. The only real downside of this free podcast is that you may want to subscribe to the members service to see the paid shows.

Rating: 80%

Average Running Time: 20 to 60 minutes 

Price (at time of review): Free

Link: ScreenCastsOnline Free Version