KRLD App of the Day

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TUESDAY (9/22): Mole
Most people say they don’t want to travel anywhere, because of the pandemic. But, you don’t want to miss out on what the world has to offer. This app can bring you the world, and you can experience it while you eat your breakfast. People use their own cameras to take videos of what they’re seeing anywhere. When you use the app, you’re a mole. The people with the cameras are agents. You can use the app to see if there’s a long line at airport security or if there are storms at the beach. If you want to use your phone camera as an agent, you can get paid for it. Mole is a free app oniTunes and Android. It has in-app purchases.

MONDAY (9/21): April Coloring
Let’s get some recreation time on our phones and tablets. This is a way to relive some of our childhood by doing something as simple as coloring in the lines. Adult coloring books have become very popular lately. This app is like a paint by numbers type. You start with a white screen with black and white shapes, then you take each section and color it in. At the end, you can see the results of your time. There are thousands of pictures for you to work on, and as you finish them, more are unlocked. There are daily paintings that come in for you. When you’re done, you can save your paintings and even print them, if you wish. April Coloring is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (9/18): GoGig

These are still tough times, unemployment is still very high with more people trying to compete for the same jobs. This app can help you find your next career move that’ close to where you are, and what you’re qualified for. It’s a bit like a dating app, where it tries to match you up with companies, not just jobs. It helps recruiters to find where you are through geolocation. The app keeps you anonymous until such a time that you’re ready to ID yourself. You just have to complete a profile and what it is you want out of a career. GoGig is a talent network, looking to pair up people and positions. It’s perfect for efficient networking. GoGig is a free app oniTunes.

THURSDAY (9/17): SmartGym

This is an app to help you with your fitness routine. How many of us write down what we want to do when we go for a workout? We take notes to remember all the exercises we want. Then, we try to follow the program with that piece of paper. This app eliminates that need. It uses an AI to help you build your own workouts. Then, it’s able to change things up so you don’t get bored with the routine. It comes with full-on workouts, and they’re based on what equipment you have access to at home or at the gym. You can set up a timer to move you along on your workout. It works with everyone from beginner to high-impact HIIT workouts. It also integrates with Apple’s Health app. SmartGym is a free app on iTunes. It has a subscription model.

WEDNESDAY (9/16): DoubleTake
This app is able to take your one phone and turn it into a multi-camera studio. The app can shoot video from different cameras on the phone and lets you switch from camera to camera to form a video with different views. The app shows all the pictures that are available from your point of view. If you’re doing an interview with someone else, you put the camera in the middle and you can see both people in the video. It comes with picture in picture that you can move around on your screen. You can also do a split screen, using two of the shots at the same time. DoubleTake by FiLMiC Pro is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has in app purchases.

TUESDAY (9/15): Giphy
GIF’s and emojis are the way the world speaks now. They enhance the conversation that you write in text messages or on social media. Giphy is a GIF search engine with an entire library that can help you express your thoughts and feelings. You can find the perfect GIF and insert it into your conversations. It also lets you make your own custom stickers or GIFs through the Giphy Cam. Giphy also can turn a single picture into a GIF, you don’t need a video. It even has an arcade of sorts. You can play old school arcade games. It just released a tool that lets you put together backdrops for ZOOM calls. Giphy does a lot of things. It’s a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (9/14): YouMail
Your phone has more protection from spam callers. This app is a triple play of protection with a spam call blocker, robo call blocker, and a voicemail app that lets you put together more than one voicemail message. When spammers call you, the app will tell the call that the number is disconnected. That could take you off the list. It also continues to update to watch out for the most spam calling numbers. It lets you save your voicemails as long as you want them. It comes with visual voicemail, so you can see what the message is before you hear it. You can add a second line, for your work calls, so you don’t confuse them with personal calls. The app also comes with a Virtual Receptionist to help with call screening, so you can send some calls to your assistant or partner. A lot of features with YouMail. It’s a free app on iTunes and Android. It has in app purchases.

FRIDAY (9/11): NFL's Official App
The NFL season officially started last night. The Cowboys have their first game on Sunday night. This app works with the NFL’s Game Pass so you can see all the Cowboys games, as well as other primetime games, when you’re not near your TV. It shows the NFL Network 24 hours a day. You can get the latest in breaking news, game highlights, and scoring. You’ll get to see the playoffs live and the Super Bowl right there on your phone or tablet. There’s also video on demand and you can get the latest news from the Cowboys or whatever your favorite team is. There’s also access to the NFL’s Red Zone package. The NFL’s official app is free on iTunes and Android. It has subscription models.

THURSDAY (9/10): Binoculars
The smartphone can do so many things. This app uses the camera to magnify what you’re looking at, just like a set of binoculars. It can zoom in 32 times normal view. Even when you zoom in, you don’t lose the resolution that you would when you zoom in a camera. The app stabilizes everything to make the picture look its best. You can also use that zoomed in view to take photos or videos of things that are far away. It also allows you to see a satellite view of what you’re looking at through the GPS on your phone. Binoculars is $3 on iTunes.

WEDNESDAY (9/9): Grammarly Keyboard
Sometimes, you need a little help with your writing. This is a keyboard app that you can substitute for the regular keyboard on your phone. You can use it on any app where you write notes or any documents. It can correct any spelling errors you might have. It also watches out and makes suggestions for grammar issues in your writing. The app has a section that shows you synonyms, if you’re looking for a different word to use. You can streamline your writing with its advice. Get rid of sentences that just too wordy. It also has a way to search your emojis. Grammarly Keyboard is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has in-app purchases.

TUESDAY (9/8): Wakeout
This is a fitness app that can help you get a mini-workout in just a few minutes of your day. It comes with more than a thousand different exercises and more than 270 full-on workouts that can take only about 30 seconds. You can also do them wherever you are. At the office, in your bed, watching TV. Sitting, standing, or even when you’re traveling. Some of the workouts are specifically geared for your house, where a lot of people are still working from. Maybe you exercise your arms with a stack of couch cushions or pillows. You can do desk pushups. See how many you can do in 10 seconds. Wakeout is fast, and you might get more out of it than you think. It’s a free app on iTunes. It has a subscription model

FRIDAY (9/4): Unroll Me
You might be in a mood to have less clutter in your life. This is one app that can accomplish that with your email. You don’t need all that junk showing up in your inbox every day. One swipe of this app will make sure that you are unsubscribed to email lists that you don’t want to be a part of any longer. That’ll clean up the spam. Another swipe in a different direction sends some of the emails that you do want and puts them into a Daily Digest. A third swipe keeps others right where they are. It also has a function that lets you just assign those emails, without needing to swipe anywhere. It also works with more than one email account. Unroll Me is a free app on iTunes and Android.  

THURSDAY (9/3): Great Courses Plus
You might want to punch up your schooling in math, or science, or foreign languages. This app provides an online way to further your education. It has thousands of teaching videos in all different kinds of classes. You can stream to your phone or tablet or PC. It has online classes in computer coding and programming. You can learn from professors at Ivy League colleges and other schools that take part. Learn when you want to, there's no set schedule. Great Courses Plus is a free app on iTunes, Android, and you can get it on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.  You buy the subscription.

WEDNESDAY (9/2): BlackCam

This is a photo app to give you some artsy looks to your shots.  Black Cam shoots black and white photographs.  The editing feature lets you shoot with different shades of blacks, whites, and greys.  You can see what your final photo looks like when you’re looking through the filtering options. Adjust the brightness and contrasts to get just the right look.  You can also add other filters to make the picture look a little more grainy.  You can then save your photos and export them to your social media.  BlackCam  Black and White Camera is $1.99 on iTunes and $1.50 on Android.

TUESDAY (9/1): Audible Reality

This is a music enhancement app.  You can listen to the music on your phone the old fashioned way, or you can enhance the experience with this app.  It describes itself as three dimensional immersive audio.  It comes with an AI that can convert just the music into a new audio experience.  You can also set whatever vibe you want.  You might hear different parts of a song that you may never have discovered before.  Each vibe enhances the musicc.  Think of it like this,  if you change the viewing settings on your TV to wide screen or zoomed in.  This is the audio version of that.  You won’t hear your music the same way again.  Audible Reality Vibes is a brand new free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (8/31): Firefox Focus

You might know about the Firefox web browser on your PC or your phone. This is an even more secure version.  It can give you peace of mind, if you’re worried about trackers and privacy.  The app blocks all kinds of trackers the entire time that you’re using it.  It also erases any trace of where you’ve gone online when you leave the site.  That lets the app get rid of any cookies, or your history, or any passwords that you had to use.  Firefox says when certain sites don’t have to load ads or trackers, those sites will then load even faster.  Firefox Focus is from the makers of Firefox.  It’s a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (8/28): Bond

This is a personal security app.  It has a whole host of services that you can use.  It's almost like having your own personal security agent.  The app is good for situations that don't rise to the level of calling 9-1-1.  It can show you where your family is at all times.  IF you're in an area where you might need to draw attention, the app gives you a siren and flashing lights to bring help.  It has a one button to call 9-1-1 if you need it.  The app has security agents that are available to help you with questions on chat, a video, or a call. It has roadside assistance, a video monitor for when you're feeling less than safe.  It will also track your walk, if you're out by yourself.  Or you can call a car to take you some place safe.  Bond - Personal Security is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription service available, too.

THURSDAY (8/27): Bingie

Cord cutting is everywhere, and when you finish a show that you loved, it can be tough to decide what to binge on next.  This is a brand new binge watching viewing guide.  It’s based on what kinds of shows that you like.  Add in a social media aspect to find just the right kind of programs or movies on streaming services.  A lot of the recommendations also come from other viewers that liked a particular show.  The app says people tend to trust ideas that come straight from their friends and families more than strangers.  It also lets you share your great ideas with others about great shows with private chats. Bingie is a free app.  It’s brand new on iTunes.

WEDNESDAY (8/26): Hear Here

More people say they’re choosing road trips, when they go on vacation.  This app can tell you about the places that you’re visiting when you’re on the road.  Kevin Costner worked with a team of experts to put this app together.  It uses your GPS to tell you interesting stories about the people and places that you’re driving through.  It’s similar to audio tours that you get at museums. Only the museum is the open road.  Each story only runs about 3 minutes so you can learn something while you’re driving or riding.  It can tell you how a town got its name or what’s the story about that mountain you’re seeing.  You can choose the kinds of stories you get.  History, culture, music, sports, or special interests.  Hear Here is a new app, and it’s constantly growing in content.  It’s free on iTunes.  It has a subscription model.

TUESDAY (8/25): Directive Maintenance App

While we’re stuck at home, or dealing with too much work at the office, there are things that fall through the cracks.  People tend to forget the basics of life, like when they should get their engine oil checked, or changing out their toothbrushes.  This app can keep all those tasks organized as reminders to do those things.  It can keep your maintenance tasks top of mind.  You can set up dozens of different tasks to remind you when you should do something important.  It comes with reminders to clean your dishwasher, change the batteries in your smoke detectors, or changing out your home’s air filters.  The app can also keep track of important items, like how much air you need to put into your tires or what kind of oil you take in your car. Directive Maintenance App is a free app on iTunes.  It has in app purchases.

MONDAY (8/24): Jumbo

These are times when we are more concerned for what we’ve put on social media.  There could be photos or posts that we put up years ago, that we might not want any prospective employers finding out about.

Jumbo can help you clean up your social media profiles.  It scans through your apps to give you directions about increasing the security.  That’s Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. It’ll put limits on how their ads track you, and can keep those sites from selling your data.  You can also delete old and embarrassing posts or pictures.  It can help you remove your Alexa searches and voice recordings.  Jumbo Privacy + Security is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (8/14): Wyzant

School is starting, or it's about to, and it won't take long for some kids to realize they need a little help with their classes.  Wyzant is a tutoring app to help your kids get a head start on the school year.  It can connect both parents and their children in order to get in contact with a tutor.  And the tutors specialize in certain subjects, so you can find just the right person.  The app provides real time chat, so your child can get help and answers right away.  It also helps you to keep track of your kids' progress in their trouble classes.  The app has retired teachers on staff to act as tutors, and there are thousands of them.  They work with everyone from kindergarten through college students.  It even  has specialists that only do standardized tests.  Wyzant - Find A Tutor is a free app on iTunes and Android.  You pay for the tutoring session.

THURSDAY (8/13): Feast

Don't be fooled by the name.  It's not an app that lets you eat anything you want.  In fact, it's supposed to stop you from doing that.  Feast works like this.  You know the old saying, "The phone eats first".  You're used to taking pictures of what's on your plate, and posting them to social media.  This isn't a guilt trip, it's more of an informational app. A food journal.  It keeps track of the food that you're eating, and it can show you patterns that you might not have noticed.  It's called "food tracking" to look at the history of your meals.  Feast also has an online community to help you and inspire you with your food habits.  Feast is a free app on iTunes.

WEDNESDAY (8/12): Planta

So many people have tried to add a little greenery to their homes, while they’re stuck indoors.  But, sometimes, the amateur gardener turns out to have a brown thumb.  This app can help you keep your plants alive and growing, so you can enjoy them for years.  If you’re forgetful, the app can remind you about watering schedules.  It also can tell you when your plant might be outgrowing its pot.  It comes with step by step directions for just about any kind of plants.  The app can also suggest plant ideas, based on your ability to care for them.  It also has a plant identifier to let you know what plants you’re seeing, if they’re not ID’d in the store.  Planta is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

TUESDAY (8/11): Tabby

Cat people just don’t get much respect in the dating world.  A new study found that men are perceived as undateable if they put up a picture of them with their cats.  This app is for cat people.  It is made for them.  You can match up with someone that also has the same love for cats that you do.  You can plan any kind of “cat-date” that you want.  It also lets you find out about anything new in the cat world.  You are encouraged to put your information on the app, but it also wants you to share details about your cat or cats.  Share pictures.  Get cat-friendly date ideas. And it comes with information that you might want to learn about your cats.  It’s a dating app for cat lovers, and so much more.  Tabby is brand new. It launched on International Cat Day, Saturday.  It’s free on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (8/10): Vixer

This is a video mixing app that lets you edit the videos that you want to put onto social media.  It can polish up what you put together and make them look professional.  It helps you to crop the pictures you take.  You can edit videos, speed them up, add text and music.  The music you add is royalty-free, and you can add what you want with the upgraded subscription. It has filters that allow you to get just the right look to them.  You can merge videos into one.  There are more than 50 filters to choose from to get just the right look to your pictures or videos.  You can add different customized frames.  You can turn your pictures into a social media slideshow.  Vixer is a free app on iTunes.  It has in app purchases. .

FRIDAY (8/7)  Mercari

There are a lot of shopping apps for you to buy and sell your stuff.  There’s really no limit to what you can find or put up for sale.  The app has more than 150 thousand different items that you can search through.  You can put up your listing in just a couple of minutes.  It’s actually free to list your own stuff.  If you make a sale, the app takes 10 percent of the sale as a commission.

If you’re looking to buy something, you can get it for a huge discount, up to 70 percent.  There’s a security feature to this app.  You never have to meet up with anyone.  Everything ships and it ships for free.  There’s no face to face exchanges.

Mercari: The Selling App is a free app on iTunes and Android.

THURSDAY (8/6): Photo Scan

You might have some old photos from your parents or grandparents.  Maybe, they’re a bit faded.  This app can let you scan those photos and save them to your phone.  You can edit the pictures to enhance the lighting on them.  The app lets you get rid of any marks or scratches.  The scan can crop to the edges, and they’ll show straight up no matter how you can scan them.  If you scan the pictures in a bright light, the app can remove the glare reflecting off the photo.  The app can then send it straight to your phone and to your Google Photos account.  Photo Scan from Google is a free app on iTunes and Android.

WEDNESDAY (8/5): All Trails

One way to get away from the boredom in lockdown is to go out for a walk, a run, or a bike ride.  All Trails can show you where are the best trails anywhere in the world.  It comes with more than 100 thousand carefully marked trail maps and pictures.  You can find trails that are kid friendly or pet friendly.  The app can access your GPS to make sure that you don’t get lost along the trail.  You can find trails that you might not know about, close to your house.  The app can keep track of your running, hiking, and cycling and you can save your favorites.  All Trails is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

TUESDAY (8/4): Lynda.com

This lockdown has caused a lot of people to want to make changes in their lives.  They want to take on new challenges and learn new things.  When you join this app, you get access to thousands of courses that can teach you all kinds of new things. You can learn new technology, business skills, photography, web design.  You can start from the beginning, or make your skills even more useable.  It could help you begin a new career, if that’s what you wish.  Lynda.com has 700 different courses in design, 1,200 in business. Lynda.com is from LinkedIn.  It has a subscription model to let you take as many courses as you like.

MONDAY (8/3): Jumpy Cat

This is an app to help you set up your workout that’s tailored for you.  It’s not a cookie cutter workout app.  It comes with an A.I. coach that works for you to develop just what you want and need.  It comes with more than 15 thousand different workouts to train any parts of your body.  You set the time that you have.  Anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes.  There are 5 different levels from beginner on up.  You don’t need any other equipment or sets of weights.  It’ll help you build lean muscle, burn your fat and lose your weight.  There’s a coach that’ll guide you.  And you can work out with some beautiful backgrounds around you.  Jumpy Cat is a free app on iTunes.  It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (7/31): Alarmy

Working from home can take a lot of discipline from the time you wake up, until the end of the day. One way to make sure you get going when the alarm goes off in the morning.  Alarmy is called by a lot of people as the most annoying alarm app in the world.  There are several different ways that you can turn off the alarm when it goes off in the morning.  It might make you get out of bed to take a picture in another room.  There’s also what it calls a Shake Mode.  You have to shake it to turn off the alarm.  Or you’ll have to solve some kind of math problem.  Here’s the other thing with this alarm clock.  It’ll start soft, but then it gets louder and louder.  Alarmy, Sleep If U Can is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in app purchases.

THURSDAY (7/30): Hoopla

This is a way for you to be able to get full access to your public library.  That means you can borrow all kinds of books, movies, and TV shows and you don’t need to be in the library to get them.  The app works with libraries all over the country to stream the content to your phone, tablet, or computer.  It even works with your smart TV.  The app gives you access to more than eight hundred thousand different titles, just like the library would.  It’s like your personal library card.  You don’t have to worry about late fees, because when the loan time is up, they just delete off your devices.  Hoopla is a free app on iTunes, Android, and various streaming devices, like ROKU and Amazon FireTV.

WEDNESDAY (7/29): Facetune Video

People want to look their best when they’re putting their best face forward on a social media video.  This app is a video editing software that lets you make your selfie look just the way you want it to.  It’s also pretty simple so you don’t need any major editing skills.  All you need to do it look at one of the frames in the video, make the edits, and then it does the rest for the rest of the video.   You can smooth out any lines, get rid of any spots or pimples, shiny skin, or anything else.  You can even adjust your makeup in it.   Facetune Video is brand new.  It’s a free app on iTunes.  It comes with a subscription model.

TUESDAY (7/28): Watch With Friends

We can’t necessarily watch Netflix with our loved ones in the same place.  Now, you can do it remotely.  This app lets you fully coordinate things so you can join whomever you want, and watch your favorite Netflix shows and movies together remotely.  The app syncs things, so you are all seeing every scene at the same time.  It comes with a Chrome browser extension so you can all login to Netflix and put the watch party together.  One person hosts the party, and everyone else gets to join in.  That host controls when the show starts and pauses.  There’s a chat feature so you can talk amongst yourselves while the show is playing.  Watch With Friends is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (7/27): Doublicat

You might have heard of something called Deepfakes.  It’s face swapping technology. This is an app that can put your face into your favorite movie or TV shows.  You can see what it would be like to see yourself in a videogame.  All you need to do is take a selfie.  You can be Willy Wonka or replace Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.  Put yourself into your favorite GIFs and all it takes is a single click, and five seconds of your time.  You can also put it into a photo collage.  Or make your GIF into a meme.  Doublicat: Face Swap Pictures is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

FRIDAY (7/24): MLB

It's opening day in Major League Baseball for both the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.  Remember, we can't go to the ballpark to see our favorite teams live right now.  This app will keep you updated through the entire season.  It will show you the MLB TV Game of the Day every day of the season.  You can log into your MLB TV account and watch just about every game that's out of market.  You can watch highlights from games that are going on.  It provides radio broadcasts for every team.  There's breaking news from your favorite team and all the stats you need.  The app has a video archive from classic games that you can watch from first pitch to final out.  The MLB app is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

THURSDAY (7/23): Seven

Everyone is busy.  Some people want to get a good sweat on, but they are too busy to take an hour or more for a traditional workout.  Now you can get results and work out for 7 minutes a day.  There’s no wasted time or motion with these.  You don’t need any special equipment at all.  The app also lets you earn different kinds of achievements for every workout you complete in 7 minutes.  There are 200 different workouts that are tailored for your level of fitness.  It even comes with different kinds of virtual trainers to keep you motivated.  You might have a drill sergeant, a kung fu master, or if you want someone nicer, it could be a cheerleader.  Seven is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

WEDNESDAY (7/22): My Sketch

This is a specialty picture taking app.  It can convert your photos into high quality pencil sketches.  The app doesn't limit how many of them you can create.  It comes with 100 different kinds of sketches from the most basic pencils to more color corrected types of sketches.  There's everything from pastels, cartoons, and others.  You can adjust the brightness and contrast for just the results that you want.  You can even decide how much of the picture that you want to turn into sketches.

When you're done, you can share your artwork with your friends on social media.  My Sketch - Pencil Sketches is a free app for now on iTunes.

TUESDAY (7/21): GifGab

This one is just a silly app from the minds at JibJab.  You can use this app to create gifs of yourself or your friends.  Then, the app puts your gif into any one of hundreds of animated characters that you can share with your friends and family.  It might be a dancing hot dog, or a unicorn, or even Elvis.  All you need is a face to play along.  It comes with stickers you can add for your messages. The app works with all the major social media pages or instant messaging apps.  Think of an arts and crafts tool for your face.  Gif Gab is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

MONDAY (7/20): Trivia Royale

So, you think you’re smart?  Now you can test your mind mettle against a thousand other players at the same time.  They call this the biggest trivia tournament in the world.  You get into a room and just start answering questions, and watch as the others drop off.   The contest has 100 thousand questions and answers.  Begin with creating an avatar, and just jump right in.  If you win one of the games, you get into the Royale Lounge.   The app adds more questions every day.  Trivia Royale is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has in-app purchases.

FRIDAY (7/17): Skillshare

This has been a time where a lot of us have wanted to learn new things.  This is an online group that has all kinds of different classes.  You can learn just about anything that you want.  Maybe you want to learn painting, or photography, or anything else in the creative space. You can create any kind of projects that you can think of.  It comes with more than 20 thousand different classes.  Pick a category and go exploring to see the videos.  Choose something and you can learn something anywhere you are.  Skillshare is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

THURSDAY (7/16): Mealime

This is a meal planning app, especially when you want to eat healthy.  It does the whole step-by-step thing, and gives you guided directions to make your lunches and dinners.  The app puts together meal plans that’s designed for you, based on what you put in your preferences.  It has different kinds of diet plans, like paleo or flex, vegan, or keto.  When you get your meal plan of food, the app automatically puts the ingredients that you need into a grocery shopping list for the week.  The app gives you the full nutritional values of everything that you eat.  Mealime is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has a subscription model.

WEDNESDAY (7/15): Just Watch

Since we’re watching so much television through streaming services, this is a way to keep up with everything that’s on those services.  It’s like a TV Guide for streaming, only today we call them search engines.  It has information on more than 60 thousand shows and films, and where you can see them.  It can break down into 37 different categories of the types that you want to see.  The app updates the information every day.  You can also find out what services are offering the least expensive rentals or deals to buy certain movies and shows online.  It also works with movie theatres when they come back.  You’ll be able to find showtimes, and buy your tickets to see those films.  Just Watch is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (7/14): Jumprope

This has been a time for people to learn new things during the lockdown.  This app is a clearinghouse for how-to videos.  You can learn just about anything that you would want to.  There are beauty tutorials, and fitness routines. You can learn how to cook exotic foods or the simplest recipes.  Some of the best rated examples include how to plant herb boxes or breathing techniques and furniture makeovers.  You can learn how to do things, or you can use the app to teach others how to do things that you’re good at.  It’ll teach you how to make professional how-to videos of your own.  Jumprope is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (7/13): iExit

Summer vacations are looking a lot different this year, because of COVID. More people are keeping their feet on the ground and in their cars for road trips, not so far from home.  When you’re on the road, you need to know what’s coming up on the next exit. Is there a particular kind of restaurant, what about hotels?  This app helps you find out.  It looks at the exits that are up ahead, not behind you.  You don’t want to turn around and backtrack.  You can search all kinds of categories for food, rest, and gas.  Up to 30 different categories.  It even has the latest gas prices for the stations ahead and prices for hotel rooms at the exit.  iExit is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (7/10): Swift Miles

This is an app for people that drive for their jobs.  It could be sales people, or maybe ride share drivers.  It helps you to possibly save some money on your taxes.  You might not be the best at keeping your records for the miles you drive for work.  This app makes it simple.  It can track how many miles you put on. And thanks to technology, the app can tell when the car is moving to track everything automatically.  You don’t have to remember to turn the thing on all the time.  The app also helps to calculate the tax deductions that the IRS will let you take for work-based travel. You can keep track of your expenses.  Swift miles is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

THURSDAY (7/9): Photo Room

This is a photography app that can help you put together the best pictures possible before you put them into your social media.  The editing features give you better control over what’s in the photo.  You can edit out anything you want in the background that doesn’t belong.  You don’t have to dig deep into the edits.  You can take out items and objects that don’t belong there.  Or you can change the colors of the backgrounds to make them fit to the shot that you want.  The app starts with templates to help you create studio type pictures in the end.  Photo Room is a free app on iTunes.  Android is coming soon.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (7/8): Fitbotic

This is an exercise robot app that can help track your fitness journey.  It’s like having your own personal trainer to guide you and give you feedback on how you’re doing with different kinds of workouts.  You get to worry about your form, and not worry about counting reps or sets.   The difference with this app is, it’s more for the beginner or someone who isn’t ready yet for the intensity of working with a trainer.  Oh, there’s one more thing about it.  The more you use Fitbotic, it actually gives you with rewards and points that you can use to get stuff from the Fitbotic store.  It could be fitness equipment or you can just get cash. Fitbotic says it’s a workout companion, not a trainer.  It’s a new free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

TUESDAY (7/7): Shortly

We're all very busy in our lives. But, that can get in the way of taking our time to read stories from great authors.  Shortly is an app that fill that need with short stories.  You choose the time that you want to spend reading something.  It could be as little as a minute up to five minutes.  It has a short story that will fill that time for you.  It also comes with a section that lets you find an author and read more of that person's work.  Or, if you have some more time, you can just find another story at random.  It also has a section that helps you to discover if you have the imagination and the chops to write your own stories.   Shortly is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has an in-app purchase.

MONDAY (7/6): HÖBOscan

Translation apps can be so useful, especially when you travel to a foreign country or you have friends that speak a different language than you do.  This is a scanning app.  It lets you take a picture of something that you see.  The app can figure out what language it’s seeing in the camera.  Then, it’s able to translate the words into the language that you want. Say, for example, it sees something in Chinese.  You want to know what it says in English.  Take a picture through the app, it translates it.  It works with 70 different languages.  You can also edit the text that the app sees.  HÖBOscan is a free app on iTunes and Android.

Friday (7/3): Scholly

Now is the time that people are looking to the fall semester for school.  We all know how expensive college is, and there are thousands of different kinds of scholarships that you can apply for.  You just have to know where to look. This app helps you on the way.  It has already found 100 million dollars in scholarships for students.  The app matches students up with the scholarships that are available.  It also can keep you straight with what the deadlines are to get your applications in.  Now, the app also has other tools to help you once you do get into a school, like a math problem solver and a writing assistant to help with term papers.  Scholly is a free app on iTunes and Android, it has a subscription model.

THURSDAY (7/2): Wakeout

This is a fitness app for people that are a little too busy to devote a long time to working out.  It’s also good, if you want to use what you have around you to get a good sweat on.  The app shows you that you only need around 30 seconds, into a microburst of exercising.  It comes with more than a thousand different exercises and more than 270 workouts.  You can do the exercises in your bed, or at your desk, or even if you’re catching up on your Netflix queue.  Use your cushions as resistance or do pushups on your desk.  It comes with stretches to get all the cobwebs out.  Wakeout is a free app on iTunes.  You can start with 300 exercises for free.  It comes with a subscription model.

WEDNESDAY (7/1): Scribd

There are different kinds of services that let you read books through audio, or magazines.  This app combines them all into one service.  It's a digital library that gives you access to dozens of magazines and books.  You can read eBooks or listen to audio books.  There are magazines, and research papers.  You can even find sheet music, if you're a musician.  There are books available in any category that you can think of.  And those include best sellers.  You can read any of 60 million documents, like government reports or study guides.  There are articles from The Atlantic, or People, Fortune, Time, Entertainment Weekly, or Popular Science.  There are no limits to what you can read with your account.  Scribd is a free app on iTunes and Android.  There's a 10 dollar a month subscription after a 30 day free trial.

TUESDAY (6/30): Whisk

This is a recipe book for you when you find new things to make on the Internet.  It helps you to save those recipes, make changes to them as you like, and work up the ingredients list to make as many portions as you like.  Any recipe then becomes a list of the ingredients you need to shop for.  You don’t have to take any kinds of screenshots to get the items you need.  It also works with stores that do online shopping, so you can have the items delivered to your home.  The app also lets you put together your own cookbook of your favorites that you can share with your friends and family.  It also breaks down the nutrients in all the ingredients of your dish.  Whisk is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (6/29): EdX

It’s never too late to learn something. Now, you can learn lots of somethings through Harvard, MIT and 140 other universities with this app.  It comes with college courses that you can watch and learn online.  There are classes in almost anything from computer science to business management, math and science, to languages.  There are thousands of classes available for you to drop in on.  The app can help you with the latest skills that you need to move your career forward.  You can work from your own schedule.  No appointments or class schedules. You can stream the videos or just download them to watch at your convenience.  edX is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (6/26): Phone Pattern Blocker

It can be one of the most frustrating calls that you get.  Somehow, the hackers dial your phone, and the number looks like it’s similar to yours.  That’s a trick they like, because they think you’re more likely to answer, if a number has the same area code and first three numbers that yours does.  This app lets you blocks numbers that show up in a pattern.  You can set it up to block any call that comes from a foreign country where you have no connections.  There can be other patterns that you see and set up to get blocked.  It’s able to block as many as a million phone numbers.  Phone Pattern Blocker is a free app on iTunes.

THURSDAY (6/25): Gemini Photos Gallery Cleaner

Most people will take a bunch of pictures in order to get just the right one.  Those extra photos just take up precious hard drive space on your phone.  This app can help you do a little housecleaning on the blurry, mistimed, uncentered pictures, or shots where your eyes are closed, that are cluttering things up.  The app looks through your photos and searches for duplicates or similar shots.  It gives you the option of finding the best photos.  It shows you suggestions of pictures that might not be ‘you-worthy’.  It also looks for screenshots that you might not want.  Or just the duplicates that you don’t need two of.  Simple swipes up or down helps you decide what to keep and what can go.  Gemini Photos Gallery Cleaner is a free app on iTunes.  It has a subscription option.

WEDNESDAY (6/24): Kanopy

This is a movie and TV watching app, where you can watch thousands of movies without any ads for free.  The only thing you need is to have a library card.  You can sign up with that library card, and the menu opens up for you. It also works for your university ID.   The app has award winning films.  It has films from the Criterion Collection.  They add new movies every week.  It comes with a collection of foreign films and documentaries, even educational videos.  There’s also a special Kanopy Kids section with kid-friendly movies and TV shows.  Kanopy is a free app everywhere. iTunes, Android, as well as TV streaming services like Roku and Fire TV.

TUESDAY (6/23): Planta

If you're like me, you are where plants go to die. You might have a brown thumb, not a green one.  Planta can help you turn your dying plants into green healthy ones.  It all starts by ID'ing what they are.  Then, the app shows you the best ways to help keep your plants alive.  It tells you when it's time to water your plants.  It comes with step by step instructions on their care and feeding.  The app also lets you get a head start on what kinds of plants would be best for you, given what you're able to do.  If you have a plant, and you have no idea what kinds of plants they are, the app can identify them just by taking a picture of them. It also can tell you which plants are best for which rooms of the house.  Planta is a free app on iTunes.  It has a subscription model for more features.

MONDAY (6/22): Elevate Brain Training

This app is just what the title says.  It’s a way to train your brain to make you a little more smart than the day before.  It comes with more than 35 games that you can play.  It’ll help with your mind focus, improve the speed of thought, math skills, and other topics.  This is an app of the year for Apple.  It keeps up with your progress as you move along every day.  You can help your memory with one game and your speaking skills with another.  Results have shown that you just have to use the app three times a week to see improvement in your brain.  Elevate Brain Training is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (6/19): Express VPN

When you want to make sure that your online life is safe, a VPN is a good idea.  It’s especially good if you’re going online in a public area.  You want to be protected.  This app can work across all your devices and computers.  It lets you connect to 3000 different servers in 94 different countries.  You can do what you need to do safely and you’ll be anonymous.  It’s encrypted to protect you from hackers and from those sites that might want to track who you are and where you’re from.  This VPN is considered one of the best on the market.  Express VPN is a free app on iTunes, Android, and your PC.  It has a subscription model with a 7 day free trial.

THURSDAY (6/18): Pokemon Smile

This is a brand new app for the kids to help them with an important they should do every day.  Brush their teeth.  Pokemon released the app on Wednesday.  The app uses A.I. to make toothbrushing a Pokemon adventure.  You have to make sure that you brush your teeth properly to get rid of all the mouth bacteria and catch all the Pokemon.  Your children defeat the bacteria that captured the Pokemon and they can save them by brushing.  The app has more than a hundred Pokemon, and you can catch ‘em all, by brushing every day.  That also gives you Poke-rewards.  Take pictures of your good brushing habits.  The app also gives your child tips to brush better.  Pokemon Smile is brand new.  It’s a free app on iTunes and Android.

WEDNESDAY (6/17): Neighbors

People are trying to stay together during these times.  It’s especially important in our homes and neighborhoods. That’s the entire premise of the National Night Out every year.  This app keeps you up to date with safety alerts in real time.  It sets up a radius around your home, or wherever your phone is.  IF something is happening in that radius, you’ll know about it.  You can also share on the app, if you see something and your neighbors can know.  It lets you know every week what’s going on in the neighborhood, with a safety report. The app shows you on a map where there are different kinds of incidents.  It lets you connect with your other neighbors to keep your neighborhood safe.  Neighbors is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (6/16): Telegram

This is an instant messaging app.  There are a lot of people that want to be able to send messages to others, without prying eyes seeing what they’re writing.  Messaging apps are very important and popular right now with the state of things.  Telegram is able to connect you to anyone around the world.  It’s a secure messaging app, the messages are encrypted from the time they leave you to the time they get to where you’re sending them.  It’s able to have group chats for you and up to as many as 200 thousand other people.  It has file sharing with no limits in size of files.  It also comes with a photo and video editing system.  Telegram is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (6/15): iVerify

Security is a very real thing to worry about.  There are some that say iPhones can’t be hacked, but this app will make sure that everything is OK.  It works as an internal scanner for your phone.  It looks for the latest software on your phone, and the latest security features.  It’s always scanning to look for anything that seems to be out of the ordinary.  When it finds something that it deems to be a threat, it’ll let you know what it is and what to do to remove that threat.  It keeps a secure focus on your online accounts as well.  The app also blocks content that might be risky on Safari.  It will strip out different kinds of metadata on your photos.  The identifiers that show where you are, or what kind of phone you have, or even when you take the pictures.  iVerify is $3 on iTunes.

FRIDAY (6/12): Photoshop Camera

You’ve heard of the editing software, Photoshop.  This allows you to have Photoshop right there in your camera.  Before you even take a picture, you can scroll through filters to see what the shot would look like with other looks.  It runs with the AI to help enhance your pictures.  It can also edit and clean up some of the pictures that you want to fix.  It comes with 80 different kinds of filters, and you can move them around and use them more than once.  Perfect for your social media.  It’s made by Photoshop, use it like Photoshop.  Photoshop Camera is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases for cloud storage.

THURSDAY (6/11): Blinkist

There are incredible works of non-fiction in the library. And perhaps, you don’t have the time to spend hours and hours going through 400 pages to get the details and information from those books.  This app lets you get the details of those works in around 15 minutes.  It has access to more than 3000 non-fiction books. There are self-improvement titles or business or science or history titles. It also allows you to listen to audio versions of the Blinkist breakdowns and insights.  You can also get discounted full versions of non-fiction works at up to 65 percent. Think of it as a Cliff’s Notes version of non-fiction.  Blinkist is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (6/10): 5 Calls

These days there are a lot of people calling for Congress to make changes based on certain issues.  This app can help you do something active, when it comes to something that you’re passionate about.  It can provide phone numbers for your representative in Congress.  It can give you background information on the important issues of the day.  The app also keeps track of the people you’ve communicated with, so you can maintain your records.  Some of the issues could deal with the police. Or asking Congress to give more help to Americans that are hurting from Coronavirus or environmental issues.  It might be issues with the election.  The app says calling your Congress members might be the most influential way to get your voice heard.  5 Calls is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY: (6/9): Informed Delivery

This app is a service of the Post Office. This service can take the surprise out of what you can expect in your mailbox.  The Postal Service put this together to let you see a scan of the day’s deliveries.  That can include your bills, or a check you’re expecting, or maybe a package so you can keep a watch out for it.  It also lets you get Postal Service tracking updates for those packages.  The app lets you set up an email schedule so you can have daily updates.  If you can’t be home when a package is coming, you can use the app to reschedule a delivery.  Informed Delivery from the Post Office is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (6/5): Citizen

These days, people want to know what’s going on around them.  Especially, when we hear sirens.  This app is a community based way to find out.  It comes with real-time safety alerts for you and your neighborhood.  It also lets you join together with other users to protect your area through direct messages.  It can let you know if there’s a crime or fire going on, before the first responders get there.  It comes with safety alerts to keep you away from hazards.  The app also sends out live videos from the scene from different angles.  Citizen.  It’s one of the most popular downloads right now.  It’s a free app on iTunes and Android.

THURSDAY (6/4): Wattpad

One thing you might have developed over the last couple of months stuck at home, you might be reading a lot more. Or perhaps, you’ve discovered that you like to write stories of your own.  This app provides both.  You can read stories by brand new authors.  Maybe you discover some that are on the brink of going big.  And, if you’re looking for a place to have your stories read, it’s as simple as uploading them to the app.  Maybe you’ll get discovered yourself.  This app breaks down the stories and books into different categories.  It has 80 million active readers and writers every month.  The app community also has writing contests and a yearly awards program.  Wattpad is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (6/3): 5-0 Radio Police Scanner

It’s a fact of life right now.  People want to know what’s going on with their first responders.  This app provides a way for you to listen to their scanner traffic.  It comes with police, fire, EMS, and jet communication.  It has a section that lets you listen to the feeds that bring active alerts, where something is going on with one of those services right at that moment.  This app also lets you listen in, while you’re doing other things on your phone.  It runs perfectly fine in the background.  It also doesn’t limit your listening to just near you.  It works for those services around the world.  You also can learn the language that first responders use, learn their codes.  5-0 Radio Police Scanner is a free app on iTunes.  It has in app purchases.

TUESDAY (6/2): Sodar

These are the days of social distancing and we want to make sure that we stay six feet away from anyone else, other than our family members. But, not everyone is sure if there's something that's six feet from us. This app lets you put a virtual circle around you that's six feet, so you can see in your phone if someone else is breaking that plane. SODAR is like a six feet radar from you and your phone. It's brand new. It also measures six and a half feet, just to be safe. When you have the app up, you can point your phone camera to the ground, and a circle will pop up to show you where that six foot marker is. Sodar is a free app on Android.

MONDAY (6/1): RTRO by Moment

This is a camera app that lets you put some retro-type art into your videos.  You can shoot different videos and put the clips together into a seamless minute long video.  It’s pretty simple to use.  You just start shooting the video with the red button at the bottom.  Stop. Set up the next shot, point and shoot.  When you’re done, you can apply different kinds of filters to the final shot.  It also now comes with the ability to shoot still shots with the filters that you like the best.  The best of the filters are all developed by professional filmmakers to incorporate into your final product.  You can even apply them to videos that you have already shot.  Retro – Camera by Moment is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases and a subscription model for more filters.

FRIDAY (5/29): Kitchen Pal

This is an app that gives you a new way to shop for your groceries, so you can prepare whatever meals you have in mind. It’s a combination of everything from a grocery list maker to an app that works on your health and fitness. You can find some ideas for what to make by just scanning what you have in your food pantry. It has 4 million recipes to give you ideas. It also can tell you when the stuff on your shelves is about to go bad on its expiration date. You can put in a fitness profile, and the app can tell you how good or bad something is for you that you want to make. It can handle any specialized diets that you might have. KitchenPal Pantry Manager is a free app on iTunes and Android. It has in-app purchases.

THURSDAY (5/28): iScape

During the time of lockdown, you might have noticed that you need to improve your garden.  You might want to do a little re-design on the greenspace in the backyard, and this tool can help you see the potential in that space.  It uses A.I. to help you plan and show you what your outdoor space could look like after it’s done.  You’re able to put in different kinds of plants and flowers virtually in the space that you have.  It also works with making some green improvements inside the home.  It lets you do everything, if you want to do the work yourself, or show it to the pros that you want to hire.  If you’re a professional, this app can put together a proposal to show your customers the ideas you have in mind.  iScape is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (5/27): Doze

The coronavirus has caused a lot of people to lose sleep.  And when they do get some sleep, they have nightmares.  This app is a sleep aid.  Remember when you were a child, some of the most peaceful rest you got came after a parent read you a bedtime story.  The app combines the sounds of stories with relaxing sounds that also help with sleep.  It has nature sounds and white noise, like ocean waves, or rain, or even the sound of a fan.  You can also use the app to help you catch a few weeks in the middle of the day.  It comes with a timer to cut off the app.  There are a lot of other features that you can explore to help with your rest.

Doze Sleep Sounds Stories is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

TUESDAY (5/26): Filmbox

There is a very good chance that you have some old-time film negatives lying around the house.  Perhaps now is the time to bring those pictures into the digital age.  This app uses an AI to scan those film negatives and develop them into digital pictures right before your eyes.  The only thing you need is a white backlight. Maybe the computer screen with an empty Word document.  You just hold the negatives up to the light, and press the button.  It even comes with voice control if you don’t have a hand free to do everything.  The app scans the negative and turns it into a positive, picture.  You can save it as a digital file in your phone.  Filmbox by Photomyne is a free app on iTunes.  It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (5/22): LetGo

You might be doing some downsizing in the home, because of  your ‘stay at home’ status.  That means you have a lot of stuff that you want to get rid of.  You can donate it to charity.  Or you could use this app as a means to make some money.  It lets you sell pretty much whatever it is you have.  Plus, you can sell to someone in your neighborhood.  Letgo sells locally.  There are more than 200 million items up for sale.  That also means, you can find just what you need from someone else’s collection of stuff.  To list your stuff, you only need to take pictures and post them.  The app uses AI to put everything into the right categories.  You can even buy cars or property with the app.  LetGo is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases to put a spotlight on your items.

THURSDAY (5/21): Sporcle Party

If you’ve ever been to a bar or some restaurants, you know the trivia game Sporcle.  This is a new version of the app that lets you challenge your friends to play trivia games.  There are all different kinds of topics that you can play.  See who’s better at geography, or movies, or food and drink, or sports.  There are hours of gameplay just with the free version.  You can anywhere from 3 to 25 people all playing the same game, and they can be anywhere in the world.  Sporcle comes with three different trivia packs with almost 500 question.  There are other packs that you can buy for a dollar each.  Sporcle is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (5/20): Candide Gardening

You might be working on your green thumb while you’re stuck at home.  This app lets you learn a lot about the plants that are growing in the backyard, or those that you want to put in.  You can ask different questions about native plant life.  The app will show ways to enjoy the whole experience of putting in a garden.  You can get all kinds of tips and advice from other people that are using the app as well.  It comes with an ID feature.  Take a photo of a plant, the app will search the database to let you know what it is and it only takes a few seconds.  It’s like a SHAZAM for plants.  There are garden guides and videos to show you the proper way to care for your plants.  It also comes with videos to share what your neighborhood garden center has to offer.  Candide Gardening is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (5/19):  Google Arts and Culture

You might be looking for something that’s a little more cultural in your life.  We can’t very well go to the world’s greatest museums.  This app can show you the top exhibits in the world.  Maybe, it’s the Mona Lisa in the Louvre..  The app lets you see thousands of different exhibits.  There are pictures and videos.  You can read manuscripts.  It even has a VR function, if you have the capability, like a Google Cardboard.  The app is affiliated with more than 12 hundred museums and galleries.  There are virtual tours you can take.  It also comes with a daily digest to show you something different every day.  Google Arts and Culture is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (5/18): Fresh.Ink

You might not have time to read a large and involved book during your downtime at home.  This lets you get into literature on bite-sized chunks.  Fresh Ink sends out short stories every day.  You get a full tale that you can consume in just a few minutes.  It’s a great way to meet new authors.  If you enjoy their short stories, you might find other things they’ve written and enjoy those, too.  They have works from all kinds of authors from prize winners to new writers.  After you finish the short story, the app gives you some questions to ponder about what you’ve just read.  It’s not a quiz, just a way to reflect more on the stories.  It has a social media aspect to it, if you want to take part.  Fresh.Ink is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (5/15): Stellar Tour

We might be running out of things to watch on TV, but there is always something fascinating in the skies above us, even in daylight.  This app lets you point your phone in any direction to explore what stars or planets or constellations are in the line of sight.  It even works in cities, where you might not see many stars.  You can find out what you’re missing in the light pollution.  It can even give you information about far off galaxies.  NASA has provided more info for you to learn about the planets and moons in our own solar system, when they’re in the sky.   You can even pick one of the other planets, and rotate it around to see all kinds of high-res pictures.  Stellar Tour is a free app for now on iTunes.

THURSDAY (5/14): Burner

This app can give you a little peace of mind when you want to keep a social distance from someone else and your digits.  It can create you a burner phone number that you can give to someone else.  Maybe, you want to separate your personal cellphone from a company phone.  Or, there’s someone that’s a little pushy and this gives you some peace of mind.  Perhaps, it’s a company that might start robocalling you because you bought something online, or if you want to sell something on Craigslist.  No one can find your real number, if they get the burner number instead.  The app re-routes the calls from the burner number and sends them to your real phone number.  This way, you don’t have to carry another phone with you.  Burner – 2nd Phone Number is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (5/13): Overdrive

One thing about the stay at home orders is the chance that we can catch up on our reading.  This app lets you borrow eBooks, or audiobooks from the local library.  It also lets you borrow videos from the collection of movies and TV shows.  You can also watch various documentaries.  You don’t need a streaming service for these.   It works with more than 30 thousand different libraries around the world.  You can browse through the books that they have and borrow them for a period of time.  You can read in them in your e-reader or listen to them through your audiobook software.  Plus, you don’t have to worry about any kind of late fees, like you would at a library.  Once the borrowing time is done, the book just comes off your system.  It lets you start reading on one device, and continue on another if you wish to.  The only thing you need is a valid library card.  Overdrive is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (5/12): Portal

This is a relaxation app to help you get through a trying day.  Or you can use it to help you focus on what you need to get done at work.  There are different kinds of soundscapes and videos and lighting to totally bring you into focus.  It could be something as simple as the sound of a thunderstorm or the ocean in Hawaii.  There are 19 different kinds of portals that you can use.  It can also incorporate into your Phillips HUE houselights to bring the effects into your room.  It works with Siri to let you bring the features with an Ask Siri command.  There are high definition pictures and videos to enhance the experience.  IF you’re using the app as a sleep aid, you can also set an alarm with the app to wake you up.  Portal - Focus, Sleep, Escape is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

MONDAY (5/11): Smart Bird ID

You might be looking for something, anything, to distract you from the day to day of living and quarantining at home.  If you’ve ever watched the birds outside your house, and wondered what they are, this app can help you identify them, not just by sight, but by their sounds.  You might know the cardinals and blue jays, but there are all kinds of different species of birds flying around.  This app lets you figure out what they are with your phone’s camera OR microphone. All you have to do is point your phone at the bird that’s singing, and the app can ID it.  Full rundown.  It can also tell you if the bird is a male or female, or how old it is.  You’re also helping the app keep a log of birds in your area.  Smart Bird ID is a free app on iTunes, it has in-app purchases.

FRIDAY (5/8): Reelgood

We are in full-on binge mode of our favorite TV shows and movies.  And, chances are we have a bunch of streaming services that we subscribe to.  This can turn your phone into an all purpose app to control all your streaming services.  It works with all the big services, like Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, and a hundred others.  It lets you use the app to browse through all your services.  The app makes recommendations for what you might like.  It’ll tell you when there are new episodes or movies added.  Plus, this app comes with a Reelgood Remote for your Roku device.  You can use it to control the functions like you would with the little black Roku remote.  Reelgood is a free app on iTunes and Android.

THURSDAY (5/7): Project Foodie

We’re doing a lot more cooking at home because of the pandemic.  Some people are learning for the first time.  Others are more experienced, but they’re out of ideas.  You can only make turkey surprise so many times, before there’s no more surprise.  This app is put together by a professional chef.  He has hundreds of real time cooking videos with step by step instructions to take you from a collection of ingredients to the dinner bell.  They like to call it the Cookbook of the Future.  The chef is there with you every step of the day.  He’ll show you techniques in all facets.  The videos run from 5 minutes to 50 minutes in length.  It has a recipe calculator so you can use the right amount of ingredients depending on your family’s size. Project Foodie is a free app on iTunes.  It has in app purchases.

WEDNESDAY (5/6): Quarantine Chat

There are times when we are tired of hearing ourselves think, and maybe, just maybe we might be willing to talk to someone else who’s going through the same thing.  This app puts together people that are living isolated from others.  Think of it like a telephone penpal.  You can call someone else who has the app and just start talking about whatever it is that’s on your mind.  You could meet new friends just at random.  You might remember an app ago called “Chat Roulette”, where you could just “spin the wheel” and start talking to someone, somewhere in the world.  You never know where the other person is, he or she could be anywhere in the world.  QuarantineChat is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (5/5): Walk the Distance

You might be a little tired of seeing the same ol’ same ol’ when it comes to your daily walk.  This app lets you virtually walk the Appalachian Trail, or Yellowstone, or even the Boston Marathon.  The app uses the steps that you take every day and incorporates them into those trails to show you what you would have seen, if you actually walked those trails.  It works with the iPhone Health app to work the calculations.  There’s also a competitive aspect to it, because you can see how far you’ve walked, and pass others, or have others pass by you.  It shows you pictures of the places that you virtually pass along the way.  Walk The Distance is a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases to add open up the entire Appalachian Trail or other trails.

MONDAY (5/4): Calm

In these days of out of control stress, this app can bring the calm to your mind. It’s an app to help you sleep, relax, or just meditate.  It has hundreds of different programs.  They run anywhere from 3 up to 25 minutes in length.  There are sleep stories.  Who says kids are the only ones who need bedtime stories?  This app gives you storytellers, like Matthew McConaughey and others.  The legend that is Bob Ross is included in the app with Happy Little Zzz’s.  The app breaks it down to different styles of calming, and it even adds a new 10 minute Daily Calm every day.  Music, soundscapes, and exercises.  It’s all part of Calm, a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (5/1): Tastemade

This is a TV network in app form.  Tastemade is a way to find new recipes and ways to find creative ways to make homemade meals.  You might be running out of ideas for ways to prepare dinner.  With the app, you can see different programs from the network.   There’s the show, “Struggle Meals”, which helps you make meals for less than 2 bucks.  Or “Tiny Kitchen”.  It sounds just like what it is.  Meals in a tiny kitchen.  Or you can just watch culinary tours of the world with famous chefs tasting foods in different parts of the planet. It also has shows that can show you how to do some DIY projects on your kitchen.  Tastemade is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

THURSDAY (4/30): Our Streets

It’s been more than a month, and still it’s tough to find some things that we need on the store shelves.  This app is a kind of Waze up to find the essentials in stores, like soap or toilet paper or medicines.  You can even use it to pick up hard to find food.  You can also help out the community, by letting others know where you have found those items and how much those shelves have on them.  Our Streets also helps you know what stores are and aren’t following social distancing.  The app is also there if you need to report some kind of dangerous driving behavior, or if there’s a car where it isn’t supposed to be.  Our Streets is a free app on iTunes and Android.

WEDNESDAY (4/29): Ask Ken

One thing about being stuck at home for any length of time, we start seeing things that are going wrong with the house.  We might want to do a few DIY projects, even though we’re not exactly the handiest of handy people.  You can only find so much help through YouTube videos.  Ask Ken is an app that can help you with your home improvement projects.  It puts you together with actual experts to give you a hand.  It works with just about every possible problem.  It could be installing an alarm, or appliances or a TV repair. You get to videochat with those experts, and you don’t have to wait for someone to come to the house between 9 in the morning and noon on some future date.  Ask Ken is a free app on iTunes.  You pay for the expert advice.

TUESDAY (4/28): COVID Coach

The Department of Veterans Affairs put together this app as a clearinghouse of information into Coronavirus.  It has different sections, such as how to manage the obvious stress or the loneliness that comes with being isolated at home.  It can help you to stay safe from the virus.  The app has instruction on what to do when you have a full family that’s also in lockdown with you.  There are lessons on keeping your balance and developing healthy habits.   It also has instructions and ideas on how to deal with working from home, as so many people are right now.  COVID Coach is an app from the VA.  It’s free on iTunes and Andriod.

MONDAY (4/27): Thred Up

This is a shopping app, if you’re looking to get something new for the wardrobe.  You can’t go into department stores right now, especially thrift stores.  This takes you to a virtual thrift store to find deals on all kinds of women’s and kids’ clothing.  They have all the big name brands, and they can be on sale for up to 90 percent.  Thred Up gets thousands of different things every day, so you can keep coming back to see if something meets your needs.

It also has a way for you to do some spring cleaning in your own closet and sell some of your own clothes.  The app makes it easy to do that.  All you have to do is order a Clean Out Kit and it does all the work.  Thred Up is a free app on iTunes and Android.  You pay for what you buy, and you get paid for what you sell.

FRIDAY (4/24): PhotoStudy

The kids are still stuck at home, learning virtually.  And there’s probably no way you can help them in some of their courses, when they stuck for answers.  This app can help your student get some answers and figure out how to get to those answers.  The app lets you take a picture of a math, physics, or chemistry problem.  Then, it can connect to a study expert that can help your student understand the concepts behind the problem.  That study expert will up to 10 minutes in the chat session. It works for high school and colleges.  PhotoStudy – Live Study Help is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.

THURSDAY (4/23): Lyf

This is a chat app, if you need to talk to someone that doesn’t have a bias.  It’s not your family, it’s not your friends.  It’s a set of listening ears that lets you vent about life in this Coronavirus world we live in.  The app is like having a best friend that you don’t know and has no preconceived notions about you.  There are real people and professionals that are on staff.  You never know, that total stranger that you’re talking to somewhere in the world might become a friend in the real world one day.  It’s totally confidential.  With the app, you write what’s going on in your life.  The app calls them “beats”.  You can just talk about the good and the bad.  You decide if you want to share it with everyone in the app, or just to specific people, or just one on one.  You can even be anonymous. Lyf is a free app on iTunes and Android.

WEDNESDAY (4/22): How We Feel

This is a new app that’s trying to gauge the level of the Coronavirus in the world.  It’s pretty self-explanatory.  You just tell the app how you’re feeling every day, even if you feel great.  That data is supposed to help the science world see what’s going on with the spread of Covid-19.  It also can help you determine what the vibe is like in your city or even in your neighborhood, if enough people are taking part.  The app gives tips on how the fight is going and other information on keeping you healthy.  Plus, just by downloading the app and taking part, the app makers are donating meals to Feeding America.  You don’t have to give out any personal information about yourself.  How We Feel is a free app on iTunes and Android.

TUESDAY (4/21): Bazaart

One thing you might want to do when you’re stuck at home is see how creative you can make your selfies, or any other pictures that you take.  This app can let you really explore that creative side of yourself.  It’s a photo editor that can take out backgrounds that you don’t want with an eraser tool.  You can also use the scissors function to take out a part of a photo, and replace it with something else.  Say you want to pull your face forward in a shot and superimpose a nature shot, underneath.  Or layer a scene on top of your face.  It’s fascinating to see.  You can enhance your pictures with up to a hundred layers.  It comes with thousands of backgrounds that you can incorporate into your pictures.  It lets you add text or stickers to your pictures. Your only limit is that imagination.  Bazaart.  It’s a free app on iTunes.  It has in-app purchases.

MONDAY (4/20) - Recipe Ninja

New studies are showing that people are doing a lot of home cooking while we’re staying at home.  More people are experimenting with the ingredients that they have at home.  But, what happens when you run out of ideas.  Here comes the Ninja to the rescue.  It has more than 30 thousand recipes at your fingertips.  It works like this.  You can use the app to scan a barcode of something that you want to make, but you’ve run out of ideas.  It’ll come up with something that you might not have thought of.  You can also search through the recipes by using a keyword.  It comes with all the detail for the nutritional content.  You can add any notes that you want for the next time.  Recipe Ninja is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

FRIDAY (4/17) Cocoon

We’re all feeling it.  With all this social distancing and staying at home, we’re feeling the need to reach out to our families that live in other places a little bit more.  This app comes from the minds of people that USED to work for Facebook.  Think of it as something between a personal messenger app and a specialized group chat.   It lets you post group messages, have private video chats.  You can see where everyone is through their locations.  It lets you privately share photos with only members of your cocoon.  It also lets you have private chats that go away once you close the chat.  That’s very Snapchat-like.  You can keep up with everyone in your circle.  It even has a new feature, so you can share your temperatures in this COVID-era.  Set up different circles through Cocoon.  It’s a free app on iTunes and it’s coming soon for Android.

WEDNESDAY (4/15): Skillshare

Since we’re stuck at home and trying to fill time, a lot of people are turning to ways to start learning something new.  But, you might have something that you like to do, and you want to share your knowledge with others.  This app has thousands of different kinds of classes that you can learn.  It might be something in the art world. Maybe, you want to learn a lost art like calligraphy or lettering.  You can learn Photoshop or Illustrator.  Or there are art classes, game design, photography, or classes in productivity and creative writing.  There are hundreds of different free classes right there on the app, or you can subscribe and get through to a full library.  If you have a skill, you can share it by becoming a teacher.  Skillshare is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

TUESDAY (4/14): Nothing But Advice

One thing that’s coming out of this whole Coronavirus scare is the loneliness or other issues with your mental well-being.  This app puts you together with mental health professionals, so you can have all the chats that you need to stay strong through all of this.  They can handle anything from PTSD to family or parenting counseling.  Their counselors are available any time of day or night.  You don’t have to have an appointment.  You can talk with someone face to face, or just through voice.  You can even just have text talks.  There are a whole host of qualified professionals on the app.  Nothing But Advice is a free app on iTunes and Android.  You pay for your sessions.

MONDAY (4/13): Quiz Up

Since we're all trying to find something to do while we're stuck at home.  Online games are becoming more popular.  This one allows you to compete against other with trivia questions.  Think of it as an online version of Trivial Pursuit.   This app lets you go through trivia in different categories.  And you can also put together your own quizzes, that others can play.  The app lets you play one on one against people from all over the world.  Or just challenge your friends.   There are thousands of different topics to choose from.  Maybe, you're an expert at Harry Potter... or Disney movies... or even Call of Duty video games.  They can be very specific.

Test out your trivia knowledge against others through Quiz Up.  It's a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (4/10): Kitchen Stories

We’re stuck at home.  A lot of us are eating a lot more home cooking than we used to, and a lot of us are running out of ideas about what to make next.  Here’s where you can find some ideas from some of the top chefs in the world.  The app adds new recipes every day.  When you activate ‘cooking mode’, you get step by step instructions on how to make a particular dish.  It comes with thousands of different recipes.  It has instructional videos from famous chefs.  It even allows you to become your own multimedia star by shooting your own cooking videos and upload them to the app.  There’s a measurement converter to help you re-size a recipe to fit smaller or larger portions. Kitchen Stories Recipes is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has a subscription model.

THURSDAY (4/9): Tuned

This is a brand new app from the minds at Facebook.  It is specifically geared toward couples.  It’s supposed to be a private place where two people can share their private moments with no prying eyes.  It’s something you’re doing already with your significant other.  This keeps in one place.  The app says it’s perfect for exchanging music, and pictures, and scrapbooks, and messages.  And it only stays between the two of you.  There’s a diary function to share your thoughts.  This is a way to keep you two together, especially when you’re apart.  It’s your personal social network of two.  Tuned is brand new.  It’s a free app on iTunes.

TUESDAY (4/7): Hear Me  

Sometimes, we just need someone to talk to.  And we don’t want to burden our family or friends with our burdens.  You could chat with your bartender, or your hair stylist, but they’re closed. This is an app that lets you talk to a perfect stranger.  No judgment, no talkback, and it’s 100% confidential and you get to stay anonymous.  It can be anything from dealing with working from home to marital issues.  Sometimes, you just want to have a conversation with someone other than a 6 year old.  It also doesn’t have to be something bad.  Maybe something great is going on, and there’s no one around to share it with.  HearMe gives you an ear to hear, and a heart to listen, and it’s around 24/7.  You can also use the app to become a listener.  HearMe is a free app on iTunes and Android.

MONDAY (4/6): Khan Academy

During this time of staying at home, you might want to make a change to your life.  Maybe you want to learn something new.  This app is famous for saying that you can learn anything.  It’s teaching classes for anyone from students to adults.  It comes with thousands of virtual classes, and videos, and articles to study from. There are classes in different kinds of math, science, finance, history, political science and other topics.  You can take quizzes to see how well you’re learning, and the good thing.  You don’t have to worry about flunking.  It’s also a great tool for students to enhance what they’re learning at school.  Khan Academy is also there for teachers who want to add their expertise to the platform.  Khan Academy is a free app on iTunes and Android.

FRIDAY (4/3): Apple COVID

This is the official app for the latest in information about coronavirus from the federal government.  It shows the current statistics on the infection around the world.  It comes with a screening tool to help you find out if you should get further screening for the coronavirus.  The app asks you some simple questions about any symptoms that you might have, and what to do next.  It can tell you when it’s appropriate for you to see a medical professional.  It also saves the screening results that you input so you can show them to your doctor, if necessary.

It gives you advice about sheltering in place, and how you could affect your family that’s in direct contact.  The app has resources to point you to more information that’s available from Washington.  Apple put this app together with the help of the CDC and FEMA.  It has an FAQ, as well.  Apple COVID is a free app on iTunes.

THURSDAY (4/2): Signal

A lot of us are making changes to our lives, and we’re trying to have the most secure way of communicating when we’re doing business from our homes.  One way to do that is through a messenger system, and you want it secure.  There is What’s App, but that’s owned by Facebook now.  Signal is a messaging app that’s encrypted end to end, just like What’s App.  It works anywhere in the world for secure communications.  You can use it to make HD video calls or voice calls.  You use your existing phone number to set up your contacts list.  It lets you have different sounds to identify which of your friends, family members, or business contacts is getting in touch with you.   It has an option to send photos, it even lets you edit them with captions on the photo before you send it.  Signal is a free app on iTunes and Android.

WEDNESDAY (4/1): Pigment

Again, with all this isolation at home, we can only play so many videogames and watch so much Netflix.  This is another activity that you can do yourself, or do with the kids, because it takes us back to a time in our own childhood.  Coloring books.  This is a digital coloring app. It has all kinds of pictures that you can color.  It also comes with content from Disney and the Muppets.  There are more than five thousand drawings in the library, so you won’t run out any time soon.  There are different ways to do the coloring.  You can just tap and let the computer fill it in for a perfect look.  Or you can test out how well you can stay in the lines as an adult.  It comes with 29 different markers, brushes, and pencils.  You can even choose to paint them with oils, or watercolors.  Pigment is a free app on iTunes and Android.  It has in-app purchases.