There’s always been something magical about text-based adventure games. I attribute it to the lack of graphics forcing us to use our imaginations, coupled with the absolute freedom the lack of visuals provides. As someone who used to mess around with my fair share of interactive reading, it’s refreshing to see that people are still making stuff like The Things That Go Bump in the Night.
Players assume the role of a night shift security guard, wandering through the “compound” without a care until things take a turn. The usually quiet but still very active building has become completely still. No radio chatter. No people. Then it’s time to fight monsters and solve puzzles in a desperate bid for survival. Things That Go Bump in the Night utilizes the Quest text adventure creation software, which allows for an input-less interface (i.e. clicking on “links” instead of typing) in addition to the ability to easily create custom games.
The Things That Go Bump in the Night is on the App Store right now and it won’t cost a thing. Incidentally the software used to create it is also free, just in case anyone reading this is feeling particularly adventurous.
People have created bizarre apps to turn iOS devices into all manner of random things. Random things like mirrors, fake X-ray machines, flashlights and more. Now Echolot has thrown their hat into the ring with SkyScribe, a strange little app that’s probably a bit more practical than some of those other oddball apps.
Remember those weird clocks they always seem to have at stores like Brookstone? The ones that display the date, time and sometimes messages by using a small arm that wags back-and-forth and some LED lights? The ones that look like they’re displaying the time in mid-air without the use of a physical display, right. Well SkyScribe does something similar with the iPhone. Users can type words or a message, set a color and speed, then wave their phone from side to side to display their chosen text.
Granted, it doesn’t work exactly the same as those strange clocks. The text scrolls on the screen at a chosen speed, then it’s up to the user to practice their own pacing in order to display it properly. That said, I can see this app being pretty useful in somewhat dim, crowded rooms. Such as during a concert, or in movie theater (prior to the start of the movie, of course) or something like that.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted March 17th, 2010 by Bonnie Eisenman Our Rating: :: LITERARY BLISS
Are you literate? Do you read long things online? If so, Instapaper Pro is a must-have. It allows you to download long articles and blog posts for on-the-go reading. Finesse, functionality, and overall awesomeness make it a true 5-star app.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted June 10th, 2009 by Bonnie Eisenman Our Rating: :: BETTER THAN BOOKMARKS
Read It Later is a bookmarking alternative intended for articles that you just want to flag for later reading. This app, however, also stores pages for offline reading, and it's quite the useful utility!
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted March 4th, 2009 by Christine Morris Our Rating: :: ABOVE AVERAGE
Organizer is useful for writing your daily plans, jotting down your ideas and for an advanced memo tool. The options in this application for making notes are impressive, but lack of calendar integration lets it down.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted February 10th, 2009 by Gary Lucero Our Rating: :: AVERAGE
Note Pad is a text editor that lets you store notes into standard folders or in smart folders that automatically populate with notes that match the list of keywords associated with them or with notes whose location is within a certain distance of your current location. The author's web site makes available synchronization software for Windows and Mac OS X that allows you to sync the notes via wifi with your PC.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted January 22nd, 2009 by Gary Lucero Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Appigo Notebook differentiates itself from the competition by offering tight integration with Todo, a task management app also by Appigo. It also offers numerous formatting options, the ability to sync notes with a free online service, full text searching, the ability to create multiple notebooks, and more.
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Posted December 23rd, 2008 by Gary Lucero Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED
eReader is a electronic book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch. While there are other alternatives, some free and some not, eReader works well, is reliable, and makes reading a joy on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
TextGuru, the iPhone OS text editor and document viewer is on sale for $0.99 for the next few hours. Just a hint, grab it while it’s cheap. Our review is in development and it’s looking to be a great app.
This week at 148Apps, Tweetbot was on a roll, a new storybook app joined the fold, and - oops - apps broke the Super Bowl. There's more to read, so get to it!
There’s always been something magical about text-based adventure games. I attribute it to the lack of graphics forcing us to use our imaginations, coupled with the absolute freedom the lack of visuals provides. As someone who used to mess around with my fair share of interactive reading, it’s refreshing to see that people are still making stuff like The Things That Go Bump in the Night.
People have created bizarre apps to turn iOS devices into all manner of random things. Random things like mirrors, fake X-ray machines, flashlights and more. Now 
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