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Be Your Own App Maker With Google’s App Inventor

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Don’t you sometimes find yourself wishing for an application that actually meets your needs? While there are countless apps – some free, some paid – out there, I am pretty sure that there is at least one app that you wish someone had thought about. The next step is wishing that you could actually make an app yourself.

While not everyone does not have the programming skills necessary to create an app, there are tools that can equip the average person to do just that. Enter Google’s App Inventor, which has been dubbed by The New York Times as the tool that will “bring Android software development to the masses.”

This software is free to general public, and it will allow practically anyone to come up with his own app for Android. Google is promoting the software as being as easy as pie to use:

To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior.

The interface and the whole concept are quite simple, but Google is quick to point out that simplicity does not mean less power. In fact, they are placing a lot of emphasis on the potential of this software. If anything, I think this might be one of the factors that can push Android phones to the public as a more viable alternative to the iPhone.

Welcome to the eParty Borders, Have a Seat by Amazon and Barnes & Noble

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In my town, there used to be a Borders bookstore every few miles, until a few years ago, when they all started to disappear. I’m not hunting them down or anything, so it’s not like I know exactly where they are today, but the only one I’ve seen recently is downtown by my old work. Otherwise, I haven’t seen them around.

That makes me wonder how well Borders is doing, but not enough to actually research it in any way. What I do know is that they just released an e-reader app, in the same vein as the Kindle and Barnes & Noble apps, for both the iPhone and iPad [iTunes link]. So how is it?

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3 Internet Pet Peeves and Their Fixes

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Considering the time that you probably spend online, you would know that there are a lot of things that can happen out there that get your goat. We all have our pet peeves; some of them we can find fixes for, some we just can’t do anything. And, speaking of these Internet problems and fixes, I read a very interesting and useful list at PC World.

There are too many too mention here, but let me give you the three that are my pet peeves.

Facebook game and apps overload

I love Facebook games – a couple of them, at least; but I know how irritating it can be to see all those feeds when you are NOT interested in them. Hence, I try to limit the things that I publish. If you have friends who can’t help but flood your feed with their Facebook games and apps, though, PC World suggests Facebook Purity, which is part of Firefox’s GreaseMonkey add-on.

Useless search bars in web sites

What use is a search bar embedded in a web site if you can’t get relevant results? This has happened to me countless of times that I have simply stopped using them most of the time. What I have been doing is what PC World suggests: go to your usual search engine and key in site:nameofsite.com “what you’re looking for” instead.

Flash ads automatically blaring out some audio

Imagine browsing the net while at Starbucks or some other place when suddenly, this loud audio emanates from your speakers. Forget that – imagine working late into the night, you’re alone at home, and the same thing happens. I have jumped out of my skin so many times because of this! Here’s the fix from PC World: use FlashMute, which blocks Flash access to your audio. They do have a disclaimer: your anti-virus software might see it as an attack when you download the software. Ignore it.

For the complete list, visit PC World.

Android Phone And Music Piracy

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There is no denying that music piracy – or any sort of piracy, for that matter – is an illegal thing. However, we also cannot ignore the fact that there are still countless people all over the world who engage in this activity. For one reason or another, music piracy still exists.

Now, it seems that there is more potential for music piracy, as Android apps for music downloads are surfacing. We all know how cool Android phones are, and the fact that policies on third party apps are laxer makes these phones even better!

The news is that there are several apps that have come up – all of them with the idea of downloading music straight to the phone. Some examples are Music Junk, Music Wizard, Pandemonium, Tunee Music, MP3 Music, and Music Zilla. So what’s wrong with the rationale behind these apps? Well, it’s just that they were all made with the goal of bypassing music stores where you have to pay for the music that you download.

The thing about these apps is that users can only download one song at a time. This is unlike current peer sharing apps for computers, where you can download albums. Also, the Android apps do not really allow users to share their files. It’s more like downloading a single song from an anonymous location.

What does Google have to say about this? They do not monitor all third party apps, but if they do find out that a particular app violates certain rules, then it can be taken down. For now, I believe there are still music download apps that you can use on Android phones…

Are You Happy with Facebook’s New and Simpler Privacy Controls?

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Here’s could probably be Facebook’s last ditch effort at convincing everyone of us that it minds user privacy. And this could possibly make or break Facebook, either retaining loyal users to driving them away to other “more secured” social networking sites.

So as Facebook is confronted with issues about its “complex” privacy policy, it now announces a simpler privacy control measures via a long post on the Official Facebook blog. But essentially, there are three major issues addressed by Facebook’s new privacy controls.

First thing which Facebook did was to build one simple control for setting who can see content that you post. You can now specify whether the content is viewable by everyone, friends of your friends or just by your friends. Which ever settings you choose will be applied to new products which Facebook will introduce in the future.  You don’t need to set them up once new products are introduced.

Then Facebook also reduced the amount of basic information that are visible to everyone. The connections privacy model was also removed. You now have the ability to control who can see your friends and pages and those information are no longer default to public. Of course, as these are basic information, it is but logical to have these for public viewing since its the only way for other people to find you. Otherwise, there’s no point in maintaining your Facebook account anymore.

Finally, Facebook also made it simpler to control how apps and websites access any of your information. Turning this off is now easier and can be easily done via a simple click. Turning off instant personalization is also easier now and gives you the facility to allow only partner sites to see things you’ve made visible to everyone.

With that, Facebook is proud to announced that its privacy model is now complete. And it hopes that issues concerning user privacy would be finally put to a rest.

These new privacy controls will be rolled out to everyone in the next few weeks. By then, we will know whether users are satisfied with the measures and make them stay with Facebook.

Millionaire City Wants to be the Monopoly Game of Facebook

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I’m pretty sure that for once in your life you’ve wanted to become a millionaire.  To be exact, a millionaire who happens to be a CEO of a rich firm. Come on, don’t be shy, admit it. I did. Well if you are already a millionaire or a CEO, then good for you. As for us, poor, simpletons, the only way we can become a millionaire is on Facebook,  through Digital Chocolate’s new Facebook game – Millionaire City.

To be honest, I liked it when Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins tells us:

“Not even Zynga has a game like Millionaire City. We all grew up enjoying Monopoly but this is a real simulation and even easier to play. People who love property can now trump their friends on Facebook.”

Well, the game concept maybe different from Zynga’s Farmville or Mafia Wars, but bottomline is, it’s still just another Facebook game which could only be good as a time-waster, especially if you’re in the office.

So, Millionaire City lets you build a monopoly from the ground up. You purchase properties, build houses, and sign contracts to make your company grow. Yeah, just like what a normal CEO does.  The game also lets you select two game advisors to help you amass as much wealth as possible. Either you choose Ronald Goldtooth or Cindy Jewels.

Millionaire City also lets you decorate your city and build commercial buildings. To earn more experience and coins, you will be given several missions at the start of the game. Fulfilling these missions will earn you those experiences and coins.

For its social aspect, Millionaire City allows you to visit friends’ cities and help them in upgrading their houses. This deed will also earn you extra doughs and experience points. You can achieve various decoration that will enhance your city’s status and of course, in the end – for you to become a millionaire.

So, does the game appeal to you at all? Or have you grown tired of these Facebook games already that you don’t see yourelf playing Millionaire City on Facebook?