Tag: History »

A Nation divided. North vs. South. Brother vs. brother. The Civil War stands as one of the most tumultuous times in American history. It helped shape the future of a nation, and has been the source of many fascinating retrospectives, across all kinds of media.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the America Civil War, the History Channel has released The Civil War Today for the iPad, bringing us a very modern, interactive window to the past. The app is structured as a slick-looking, tablet newspaper, with visual representations of many historical documents, photos, maps, newspaper clippings, etc.

With this format in mind, The Civil War Today is set to have daily updates for the next four years, from April 12, 2011 through April 26, 2015, as a pseudo, real-time recounting of the events that occurred 150 years to the day. You will be able to follow the events of the past like they were happening today, and with all the graphical and technical embellishments that the iPad has to offer.

The app offers a variety of content such as quotes of the day, letters & personal diaries from 15 people who experienced the war, photo galleries, battle maps, newspaper broadsheets, articles & video on featured topics, etc. There’s also a daily North/South casualty counter that highlights the ebb and impact of the war, as well as daily quizzes. The Civil War Today supports Game Center, where you can earn achievements for interacting with all these elements of the app, as well as twitter integration that simulates sending a message via morse code.

There's no doubt that The Civil War Today is an ambitious project, and it feels very much at home on the iPad. It is a decidedly modern take on historical events that aims to provide a bevy of interesting content and educational value that not just history buffs will find entertaining.

Ever have one of those moments where you're desperately trying to remember something but you can't? Particularly when it comes to something like Rock & Roll? In which case, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame might be exactly what you need.

For the mere price of $1.99, this app gives you a list of more than 600 of the most influential and famous Rock & Roll songs of all time. Each of these songs has been chosen by various knowledgeable staff from the Museum of the same name as well as many Rock critics and historians. You can look through according to decade and track the evolution of the genre, or you can search for specifics if you're itching to remember something.

Each entry comes with album artwork as well as a brief bit of information on the musical selection. Plus you can use the app to listen to song samples as well as download them to your iOS device. You can even then build a playlist from these entries in the Hall of Fame.

Simply put, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame looks set to be a fantastic app for the Rocker hidden in all of us.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is available as an universal app for both iPhone and iPad and is priced at a keen $1.99.

It's quite astonishing to think that it was 50 years ago, on April 12th 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter space. Thanks to that 108 minute flight, our perspective on the world changed in a way that people of this generation probably can't fully comprehend. It's a pivotal moment in history and rightfully deserves its place on the app store in the form of 108 Minutes Flight.

The app, soon to be released on the App store, promises biographies of Yuri Gagarin and Chief Designer Sergei Korolev, a diagram of the flight plan and a photo gallery. It also comes with a counter that displays how much time has passed since Gagarin's flight and the ability to send old fashioned Soviet style holiday postcards dediated to the date in question.

Even better, the app in question will be entirely free to download, making this surely an ummissable purchase for space and history fans.

We'll be sure to keep you updated on the release of this app.

The British Library has entered the smartphone age, with the venerable institution launching its first ever app. the program, called Treasures, allows users from all over the world to take a peek at the museum's extensive collection, showcasing such wonders as a 1215 original copy of the Magna Carta, Elizabeth I’s famous Tilbury speech before the Spanish Armada and famous manuscripts from composers like Mozart and Handel. There's plenty more where that came from, as the app currently features over 100 different items alongside sound recordings and 50 short videos. The British Library has also promised to regularly update the app, adding new exhibits and paying special attention to new arrivals in the museum.

In addition to a standard iPhone edition of the app there is also an HD iPad version which offers slightly higher resolution pictures. iPods and iPhones running iOS 3.2 or above can view the app, while the iPad requires utilization of iOS 4. The app retails for $1.99 on the iPhone or $3.99 on the iPad.

It's wonderful to have such an extensive collection from a revered source such as the British Library being opened to the public to view on the go. The information included with the exhibits alone is well worth the price of admission, but the video and audio clips that accompany them really push the app across the finish line. This is a terrific app for lovers of history and those with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. We can't wait to see what new features and updates are added in later versions.

[via Electronista]

One of the knocks on American architecture is that we rarely ever save our old buildings. Sure, we keep major historical sites like George Washington's house or Independence Hall, but most of our buildings are eventually torn down to make way for newer, bigger buildings. But now a new app lets you see at least one city the way it used to be, as Time Shutter San Francisco lets you spy the City by the Bay in all its former (and current) glory.

Time Shutter uses old photographs and illustrations to created detailed recreations of major SF landmarks from roughly 100 years ago. Users can then take a picture of the current structure standing at the historical site and then watch as the app combines the two images in a sort of "then and now" transition. Even better, all the historical images come with a quick history caption, so you may also learn a little something along the way. The app currently contains over 140 pics of various city landmarks, and a helpful map allows you to easily figure out which sites are in the near vicinity.

This is actually a pretty cool app that adds a new dimension to tourism. SF is a history-rich city, but if you don't know the town well it's easy to miss out on a lot of really neat architecture and information. This app provides a great way for kids and adults both to learn more about the city while they visit and do something other than just ride cable cars and go down to Fisherman's Wharf. It's even possible that some locals may enjoy the app just so they can learn more about the city in which they live.

For all of you living in other areas don't write this app off yet just because it's aimed at San Francisco. The team at ISL Consulting has told us they're already working on a New York edition of the app, and we're sure even more cities will be added as time goes on. In the meantime though, if you find yourself in the city famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Rice-a-Roni here's a fun way to get a bit more out of your trip.