FREE iOS, tvOS AND macOS SOFTWARE for 10/2018

I have been maintaining a list of free software for iOS, tvOS and OS X. You may find some of these programs of interest. I have also attempted to mark which Apple OS the title is targeted at (iOS, macOS, tvOS) as well as the category of the App.

This is NOT a curated list. All I know about these titles is what you see below. None have been tried or tested by me.

October 2018

1. iOS/Games – Available today for iPhone and iPad users, “EduPuzzle” Gaming App offers an irresistible opportunity to gain a lifetime of knowledge while playing. This new offering from Edutainment Ventures allows gamers to choose between knowledge sets of their interest ranging from Movies, Actors, Vocabulary and more. Day after day, more knowledge sets are added to these games covering all aspects of conversational, study, and learning topics – as many as 400. The game has enough challenges until Level-999 to suit kids, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens alike for their entire lifetime. EduPuzzle- Ultimate Brain Games 1.0 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. EduPuzzle- Ultimate Brain Games 1.0
2. iOS/Games – GBTI Games today is proud to announce the release of Sleepy Sheepie AR, their new game title developed for iOS and Android devices. Sleepy Sheepie AR is a single tap game with a touch of augmented reality. Instead of playing on your mobile device screen place the AR game plane on your lawn, driveway, carpet etc and help poor Sleepy Sheepie get as many coffees as possible. The hero of the game is a very special kind of sheep. Just an ordinary grass eater by day, but a genius programmer by night. If only there were enough cups of coffee to last the whole night! Sleepy Sheepie AR is Free (With In-App Purchases) and available worldwide through the App Store in the Games category. Sleepy Sheepie AR
3. iOS/Education – The only thing better than boosting one’s brainpower, is achieving this invaluable goal while having an immense amount of fun. That’s the winning formula for one of the most remarkable and unique creations in the app universe: Mindboo. Mindboo 1.2.0 is Free (With In-App Purchases) and available worldwide through the App Store in the Education category. Download from iTunes
4. iOS/Education – Frustrated with reading programs that don’t work? Look into Reading Eggs – Learn to Read. It’s an app that’s been created by app developers partnered with educators to provide a program that works. With lessons that cater to all levels of reading skills, the app serves to start kids off at the right place and strategically moves them through steps necessary to help them easily learn and retain competence at each level. Download for free from the App Store
5. iOS/Food & Drink – Edutainment Ventures is pleased to announce the release of Food Hub Recipes 1.3 for iPhone iPad, and iPod touch devices. Available today, Food-hub app offers the easiest way to explore every finger-licking recipe the world has known – iPhone and iPad users, yummy and Nutritious recipes for your feel-good fix! Authentic Healthy International food is neither a myth anymore nor difficult because of our easy to find recipes. The app is best for the health freaks and the taste seekers. Food Hub Recipes 1.3 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Food and Drink category. Food Hub Recipes 1.3
6. iOS/Games – Aaryavarta Technologies is proud to announce the release of Namaste England – Movie Game 1.0.1, their entertaining game for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. Aarayavarta Technologies is a game development company already having some popular games under their belt. Namaste England – Movie Game 1.0.1 is free and is available worldwide through the App Store in the Games category. Namaste England – Movie Game 1.0.1
7. iOS/Games – Global mobile game publisher ZPLAY is glad to announce that another cool, easy but super addictive billiard game is going to be out on iOS on the world wide on 10th Oct. Merge Balls 1.1.2 is easy enough for everyone to pick up. As soon as you start the funny and most comfortable billiards experiences, you will be fully obsessed in it. Merge Balls 1.1.2 is free and is available worldwide through the App Store in the Games category. Download on App Store
8. iOS/Games – Sola K.k is pleased to announce the release of Tokyo Ride, their very first Japanese learning application. The user controls Riku -the manga styled main character- through Tokyo while learning Japanese and exploring the city. There is a dedicated Tokyo Map section in the game, where the user can learn other interesting facts about all of the famous landmarks and places of Tokyo. Tokyo Ride is available for free worldwide on both the App Store and the Google Play Store in the Game category in English. Download from the App Store
9. iOS/Productivity – Retexlab LLC is today proud to announce the release and immediate availability of Top Contacts 1.0, their advanced contact manager for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. Top Contacts brings powerful CRM features to a user’s list of contacts. Anyone can log all relevant information for each contact in the app, including information, events, tasks, and files. Top Contacts 1.0 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category. An upgrade to the Pro version is $9.99 USD (or an equivalent amount in other currencies) and is available via a convenient in-app purchase. Download from iTunes
10. iOS/Games – Independent developer Pixamo is today proud to announce the release and immediate availability of Block Party 1.0, their dazzling musical puzzler for iPhone iPad, and iPod touch devices. Block Party is an easy to learn, yet tricky to master, puzzle challenge. Players start with an empty dance floor and must strategically place partygoers to complete lines to clear space on the floor for more dancers. Block Party 1.0 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Download from App Store
11. macOS/Photography – Orange Studio is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Image Resizer Tech 1.2, the macOS application for resizing images. In addition, the app cleans metadata (information about date, camera), and optimizes quality. It could be very helpful for content managers to resize images before uploading them to the server in some cases for frontend developers as well. Image Resizer Tech 1.2 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the Mac App Store in the Photography category. Download from Mac App Store 
12. iOS/Entertainment – A picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, imagine what you can say with a 3D image. While taking photos and sharing them has been with us for so many years, first as photos you take and develop, then as photos you take and print and upload, we now have the luxury of supercomputing machines that can capture images of objects in 3D and save them for use in whatever way we wish. Download for free from the App Store
13. iOS/Shopping – Don’t have time to shop? Who does? While many of us love browsing choices in boutiques and stores, some of us have less time to do so. If you are like me and you miss being able to browse and stay on top of trends easily, then you should download Sooqista soon. It’s an app for iOS devices that bring fashion to you. Clothing of all kinds, unique pieces of apparel, accessories that turn heads and more – Sooqista has all of this in store, and more. Download for free from the App Store
14. iOS/Finance – Looking for a way to make trading in the global marketplace easier? Now you don’t have to be tied to your computer to make a trade. As long as you have ADSS OREX loaded on your mobile device, whether it’s an iPhone or iPad, you can get up to the minute information and make trades with the tap of your finger. Free through the App Store. 
15. macOS, iOS/Development – Xojo, Inc., the company that has enabled over 360,000 developers to build native cross-platform applications, today announced the availability of Xojo 2018 Release 3. Xojo is a rapid application development tool for making apps for the desktop (macOS, Windows and Linux), web, iOS, and Raspberry Pi. With over 120 improvements, this release has some exciting updates, including support for macOS Mojave Dark Mode, Windows improvements, and incremental compilation for 64-bit and ARM. Xojo 2018 Release 3 is available now. Xojo is free to use for learning and development. For information on pricing and licensing options, please visit Xojo online. Xojo 2018 Release 3
16. iOS/Health & Fitness – Rockne Production LLC today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of FlavorBaby 1.0, the company’s free, baby taste planner and tracker app developed exclusively for iPhone. Backed by years of research, FlavorBaby is an evidence-based approach to shaping a baby’s taste preferences that utilizes the natural process of Early Flavor Learning. It begins during pregnancy, extends through breastfeeding, formula feeding, weaning and continues to toddler age. FlavorBaby 1.0 is Free and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Health & Fitness category.  Download from iTunes
17. iOS/Games – eV Interactive, LLC is happy to announce the release and availability of Air Combat Pilot: WW2 Pacific 1.1.016 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android devices. War is stirring in the Pacific and command of the air is your path to victory! Take the controls and master iconic aircraft in this amazing WW2 flight combat game. Air Combat Pilot: WW2 Pacific 1.1.016 is free and is available worldwide through the App Store in the Games category.  Download from App Store
18. iOS/Games – EOCodes LLC has announces its new game Merge Cars 1.0, available free for Android and IOS. EOCodes is proud to introduce their new game Merge Cars, the most addictive idle and tapping game that you will like to play anytime or anywhere. Merge Cars 1.0 is free and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Merge Cars 1.0
19. iOS/Productivity – WonderBoy Media today released Revival for iOS, an innovative task-management app that does nearly everything in just two taps, all while protecting a user’s privacy. Novel features like Auto Snooze and Timezone Override, as well as full Siri integration, help even the busiest users stay on top of reminders. Designed from the ground up with privacy in mind, the app requires no accounts to set up, and provides no user-identifiable data sent to its servers. Revival 1.2 is Free (With In-App Purchases) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category. Unlimited reminders and tasks can be created in its free mode, while an in-app subscription unlocks additional features. Siri Shortcuts and an Apple Watch app are coming soon. Download from iTunes
20. iOS/Games – EOCodes LLC is proud to announce the release of a new version of its game Hungry Worms, this new version is available free for AiPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android devices. Hungry Worms is free and available worldwide exclusively through the Apps Stores in the Games category. Hungry-Worms 3.0

National Author’s Day and the Beginning of NaNoWriMo

Writing – Today is National Author’s Day. It is also the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Are you trying your hand at authoring a novel this month?

Fifty Word Fantasy: Trick and Treat

Reading – A great Flash Fiction for Halloween

Aethereal Engineer

Old Mrs. Emmons accepted the candy gift. “Oh! I always wanted to go trick-or-treating, but my father hated Halloween…”

She ate the caramel, felt dizzy, and then was as young as the little witch handing her a pumpkin bucket and black cat costume.

“Then let’s not waste tonight, Mrs. Emmons!”

Copyright © 2018 by Jason H. Abbott, All Rights Reserved.

Discover more of my Fifty Word Fantasies.

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macOS New App Release – Cloud Manipulator

Product Announcements – Productive Computing, Inc. of San Marcos, California, a Platinum member of the FileMaker(R) Business Alliance, is proud to announce the release of Cloud Manipulator. This AWS FileMaker plug-in connects your FileMaker app to Amazon Web Services S3 storage. The Cloud Manipulator allows the user to upload, download, query info, and move buckets and objects in AWS S3 (Simple Storage Service).

“As a company, we’ve been using AWS in an increased capacity over the past few years for hosting, testing, and automated backup routines. We also have several hosting customers with advanced needs who use S3 for their document/file storage and are able to gain all the benefits that go along with S3. Our new plug-in makes working with files on S3 much easier and far more available to provide automated workflows for end-users without the FileMaker developer having to learn advanced programming languages or master the sophisticated S3 API.

“In my experience, I’ve found S3 storage to be arguably one of the most durable, flexible, and infinitely expandable storage technologies available. With the Cloud Manipulator plug-in for FileMaker, the world of S3 becomes more readily accessible for our FileMaker customers looking to have a world-class storage option at their fingertips.” Marc Larochelle, Chief Executive Officer, Productive Computing, Inc.

The Cloud Manipulator Plug-in:

• Allows communication with Amazon Web Services S3 buckets, objects, and properties
• Enables FileMaker to upload and download object/files from AWS S3
• Manages buckets and folders
• Pulls object details such as when last modified, size, owner name, and storage class
• Creates, copies, moves, and deletes objects on AWS from FileMaker
• Uploads objects to standard AWS storage class and downloads objects from any storage class

The plug-in comes complete with developer tools including a Functions Guide with full function details and available bucket and object fields, a Developer’s Guide with detailed information and example scripting, and an unlocked demo file to exhibit all of the main features of the plug-in.

The Cloud Manipulator plug-in is compatible with FileMaker client 15-17 and is available starting at $50 per year for a single user license. For more information on the Cloud Manipulator plug-in and system requirements visit the website or email our sales department.

Some Coffee Hacks

Coffee – As my followers know, I like coffee. I came across the article “7 coffee hacks that can save you time and money” today and wanted to share their suggestions. So how can you same time and money with your cofee:

1. Invest in some gadgets – buy appliances to improve your coffee brewing experience
2. Subscribe to a coffee subscription box – order your coffee beans on-line and have them delivered automatically so you will never be out of your favorite blend
3. Make bulletproof coffee at home – as with many things, it is generally less expensive to prepare food at home rather than going out
4. Add salt to take away the bitterness – I had never heard of this tip before.
5. Whip up some cold brew in a few easy steps – again, make it at home instead of buying it out
6. Make coffee ice cubes the right way – don’t dilute your iced coffee
7. Add some spice – add to your coffee for taste and health

An interesting list. If I were living back at home in Texas I would consider a subscription service. On the other hand I have a Sprouts five minutes away from home so I can easily replenish my coffee bean supply without too much trouble.

I have always wanted to try Bulletproof coffee. This recipe might be my way. Hmm, adding salt to take away the bitter taste. I will have to try that! Unfortunately there are too many times when I am out and order coffee that it turns out to be bitter.

I have not tried cold brew coffee. Nor do I drink iced coffee. Perhaps adding tumeric to my coffee is something to try, though honestly I just like my coffee black most of the time.

Do you think that these ideas will improve your coffee consumption?

Listen to Thriller Played by the FLOPPOTRON

I came across this and wanted to share it. I have posted about one other ‘musical’ piece played on the FLOPPOTRON in the past (“FLOPPY DRIVE PLAYS GOT THEME” July 31, 2016). I am amazed at how old really otherwise useless computer hardware can be used to produce art. In this case music.

Clearly, a fair amount of Hardware and Software Engineering went into assembling this ‘musical’ instrument.

macOS New App Release – NeoFinder 7.3.1

Product Announcements – Norbert M. Doerner of Bonn, Germany has released NeoFinder 7.3.1. The new version adds compatibility to macOS 10.14 Mojave, but also an improved iView MediaPro XML Importer, better workflow integration in the “Open with” menu, and a much faster Icon View, among other things.

All new features and enhancements of NeoFinder 7.3.1:

• NeoFinder is now certified to run in macOS 10.14. We still don’t recommend to use that new macOS, until Apple has fixed more of the bugs, but NeoFinder will run in it
• Better workflow integration: “Open with” now works for multiple selected items! It will also only display applications from your startup volume
• Faster! Displaying and scrolling photos in the Icon View is now much faster, especially in macOS 10.14
• Improved iView Media Pro importer now reads labels, ratings, lens name, and is much faster and stable
• Expanded Display Filter with the additional “No Thumbnail” option and other improvements
• NeoFinder now ignores password protected disk images during cataloging
• The Cataloging progress when cataloging entire disks and during a catalog Update now shows the approximate number of items
• You can now select more than one item in the new Gallery View. NeoFinder will display the large thumbnail of the first item. This will make tagging and rating much easier
• The Gallery View can now display Ratings in the icon list
• The separate “Update in NeoFinder & Eject” tool is now 64-bit and codesigned
• Find in Instagram now is also available in the keyword list of the Controlled Vocabulary
• The Metadata Presets Editor now also has a Help button
• The Metadata Presets Editor now has new “all” and “none” buttons which will select all or no fields in the current preset being edited
• Better workflow: NeoFinder can now import external catalog or export files with a shell script
• The Auto Updater now has a “clear” button that will erase the log
• Improved behavior when a new catalog folder is found during the sync
• Improved behavior when cataloging certain Adobe InDesign files
• Finding Any EXIF in the Find Editor contains will now properly find lens names
• Fixes a problem with the icons in the LIBRARY being too large in Mac OS X 10.9 and earlier
• Fixes a problem when trying to drag out files or folders into the Finder that had been renamed, moved, or deleted
• Fixes a problem of the date editor in Mac OS X 10.9 and earlier
• Fixes a problem where the number of catalogs in the LIBRARY section wasn’t always updated properly
• Fixes a problem with ejecting disks after cataloging by AppleScript
• Fixes a problem when NeoFinder sometimes couldn’t find your database folder after an update
• Fixes a problem in the Photo Contact Sheet: The header is now really only drawn when actually selected
• Find in Instagram now works with tags that contain umlauts and other special characters
• Many smaller visual improvements and fixes
• Many other fixes

NeoFinder Highlights:

• Cataloging – NeoFinder catalogs metadata of songs, movies, fonts, and photos, including the MP3-Tags of several audio file formats, EXIF, GPS, and IPTC data of photos. NeoFinder also edits Adobe XMP data, including keywords. All these are arranged clearly in the user interface and can be extensively searched. For numerous photo and video formats, fonts, text files, and even audio files, NeoFinder generates thumbnails during cataloging, displaying them in all list and icon views.
• Managing Metadata – The built-in XMP metadata editor with presets can edit and add keywords, ratings, descriptions, copyright information, and more to photos and videos.
• Networking – Store your catalog database on a server for access from all Macs in the network, and with the sidekick product abeMeda (was CDWinder for Windows) even from Microsoft Windows.
• Mobile – Keep your NeoFinder database with you on your iPhone or iPad with the separate NeoFinder for iOS app.
• Integration – Offering a tight connection to major productivity tools, such as Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, Roxio Toast, FileMaker Pro, Apples Spotlight and Finder, and the extensive support of drag&drop into other applications, NeoFinder can support many workflow scenarios. The AppleScript support in NeoFinder allows custom integrations of all kinds.
• Geotagging – Only NeoFinder offers the integrated GeoFinder, which searches for photos taken near a spot, or the KMZ export for coordinates and photo thumbnails as a way to give geolocated photos to friends. NeoFinder can even geotag photos itself, no other software needed. And only NeoFinder displays important facts about any geolocation in the truly unique Wikipedia Inspector.
• Since the initial release of CDFinder 1.0 in 1996, more than 85,000 customers in 102 countries around the world are using CDFinder and now NeoFinder to organize their digital library, and manage their data archive and backups, including NASA, IKEA, BBC, Mattel, Rand McNally, Pfizer, Random House, Oracle, and Warner Bros.

Language Support: German, English, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese

System Requirements:
NeoFinder 7.3.1 requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later (Mac OS X v10.7 thru macOS Mojave 10.14). Previous CDFinder and NeoFinder versions for older Mac OS versions are still available. A separate app for iOS (iPhone and iPad) is available.

Pricing and Availability:
NeoFinder 7.3.1 is a free update to all NeoFinder 7.x users. NeoFinder 7.x is a paid upgrade to licensed users of NeoFinder 6.x and the old CDFinder, upgrade price starting at 19 Euros. The price for new users starts at 29,00 (EUR). Multiple user packs are available for network users. NeoFinder can be purchased through the company website. Cross-grades for users of similar applications (Cinematica, DiskLibrary, FileFinder, CatFinder, Canto Cumulus, Disk Tracker, DiskCatalogMaker, Atomic View, iView Media Pro, Extensis Portfolio, and others) are available. A free NeoFinder demo version can be downloaded from the NeoFinder website.

Book Review: “Crash”

Book Reviews – “Crash” eBook was published in 2018 and was written by N. S. Shajay (https://www.nsshajay.com). Shajay (a pen name) has published three novels. This is the first book of the “Status Unknown Trilogy”.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Captain Patrick Knox.

A long war is over and humanity is beginning to spread out into the universe again. Knox is taking a ship full of colonists to a new world. He was acclaimed as a Hero during the war, now he just wants to take his passengers to their new home and settle down there himself. They have to make one small detour along the way to deliver a load of convicts to a prison world, but that is supposed to be quick and easy.

A bomb set by a terrorist from a group against further human expansion takes the spaceship off course. It crashes on an uncharted, but a human compatible world. Now Knox must take charge and lead those who lived through the crash in survival. They find that not only are there significant threats indigenous to their new home but the convicts, many of which are convicted murderers, offer there own threat.

Complicating matters is the fact that the only Doctor to have survived the crash is a convicted serial killer. She is brilliant and beautiful, but no one knows how far she can be trusted.

I thoroughly enjoyed the nearly 8 hours I spent reading this 272-page science fiction thriller. I like the plot and the mix of characters in this story. It is a mixture of survival and action. The cover art is OK, but I think there are other images that would have been better. I look forward to reading more stories in this universe. I give this novel a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Short Story Review: “The Egg”

Short Stories – I like the author Andy Weir. I have read both his “The Martian” and “Artemis” and thoroughly enjoyed both. I came across this short story of his today on https://cafebookbean.org/ and enjoyed it too, though it isn’t exactly the science fiction that he normally writes.

It is a quick read of about 5 minutes. In the story, a man dies and . . . well, it is so short you just need to read it. You can read it here. I give it a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

CLI – whatis

CLI – As mentioned before, every command line command has a descriptive man page entry that you can access. That is often a very long and detailed description of the command and all of the possible options available to it.

Sometimes you just want a quick explanation as to what a command does. This is where the whatis command is useful. It will return a one line description of the command being referenced.

The description of whatis in the macOS man page is:

whatis searches a set of database files containing short descriptions of system commands for keywords and displays the result on the standard output.  Only complete word matches are displayed.

To learn a lot more about how to use whatis, take a look at “Linux whatis Command Tutorial for Beginners (5 Examples)“. Yes, this is a Linux article, but the whatis command as implemented on macOS is fundamentally the same. Check the macOS man page for whatis for all of the available options.

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See my other CLI and macOS articles

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