Author: Jason Lykins

Jason is a Photographer and all around tech guy. Jason is also the owner of Jason Lykins Photography. Follow him on Twitter @JasonLPhoto or on Facebook.
Games / Reviews

Throw Em Balls Will Have You Entertained for Hours

Sometimes the games that are the most fun, and most addicting are also the seemingly simplest. When I first looked at Throw ‘Em Balls I didn’t think that it would hold my attention much more than a few minutes tops. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Throw ‘Em Balls is one of the most addictive games I think I’ve ever played on the iPhone. It keeps you saying “1 more time, I know that I can beat that level with one more try”. It reminds me of the old claw games where you try to win the stuffed animal but invariably you never do. You always come “so close”… Close enough to make you want to give it just one more try. That’s what Throw ‘Em Balls does to you. It hooks you in and before you know it you’ve spent an hour throwing a virtual basketball, tennis ball, etc. at a virtual target. It’s so addicting and I can’t get enough of it!

How it Works

The basic premise is deceptively easy. You pull the ball (whatever type it may be) back like you would a slingshot (think Angry Birds) and “shoot” the ball towards the goal. Some levels have baskets for the basketball themes, some have tennis balls, some have cups and ping pong balls for beer pong but there is always a target and always a ball. That’s it. Sounds like it would get boring quickly right? I would have said the same thing 4 hours ago when I started playing it…

Some of the key features of this App are the simple yet elegant graphics. It doesn’t fill the screen with flashing lights or anything to distract your eye, rather it does a really good job of placing what would actually be at the depicted scene. While we’re talking about the graphics, I should note that it supports retina display so the balls will be shown and thrown in high res. So Easy you say right? Wrong! The developer used a really good algorithm to simulate how you would expect the balls to travel in real life. I was pleasantly surprised to find that trajectory changes equally effected bounce angles etc. In Short, it’s like real life.

To unlock higher levels you have to get a certain score just like with any game. As you progress through the levels you will find that the game gets harder and harder (as it should) and the misses closer and closer. The game is on a timer however every time you score you extend the clock by a few seconds so it’s all up to you how much time you have! Hitting a target, or making a ball in whatever the target may be, adds points to your running total. Missed balls are scattered throughout the floor/surface to remind you of all of the failed attempts and close calls but it keeps it fun!

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a fun, deceptively challenging game that will have you entertained for hours, Throw ‘Em Balls is for you! Just remember to keep track of the time or you’ll look up and a few hours will have gone by!

You can get Throw ‘Em Balls for your iPhone for $.99 from the iTunes store here: iTunes

 

Education / Reviews
Shortcut Sumo

Shortcut Sumo Puts Adobe Shortcuts at Your Fingertips

 

I’m a heavy Creative suite user. On any given day I easily spend multiple hours in Lightroom, and equally as many in Photoshop. I’m not as well versed in Indesign or Illustrator but I’m getting there. This week Kelby Media announced the release of it’s latest App entitled Shortcut Sumo and I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been for this App to become available! This App not only teaches you ALL of the keyboard shortcuts for EVERY piece of the Creative Suite, but it also provides you with a quick point of reference to jog your memory when you forget one! I’m extremely excited and you should be too! Finally with the tap of your finger on your iPad screen you have access to every keyboard shortcut that the pros use to streamline their workflow and stay profitable. So you can stop right here, right now and go buy it. You don’t have to read this review as to why it’s amazing, just take my word for it and head over to the App store. If however you want to see all of the awesome features contained within, read on…

 

Done Right

We all know that every learning tool coming from Kelby media is top notch. If you’ve ever read any of the books, taken any of the online courses, or attended any of the seminars then you know that Kelby media is full of some of the best instructors of Photography, and the Creative suite the industry has to offer. I say that to say this, when they release an App like this, we all expect that it will be done right and they didn’t disappoint with Shortcut Sumo! From the extremely well thought out categories, to the extremely (sometimes too) powerful search function, you have every keyboard shortcut that you could want. On top of the ability to search, they have included the ability to bookmark your favorite or most used sections as well as add notes. They’ve really thought this App through.

 

Getting Started

The first thing you’re bound to notice when you search the App in iTunes is that it’s FREE! Like Light It Magazine (also from Kelby Media) the App itself is free to download and comes with the ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) “module” for free! That in itself is enough to download the App. There are tons of keyboard shortcuts to learn just in ACR which (again) they give you for the low price of nothing! Once you finish up with ACR you are more than likely going to want to download the rest of the modules for all of the products you use. (As of this writing Photoshop is the only other module available for download but the rest are coming shortly) For me Photoshop was the obvious choice of places to start. I’m in Photoshop non stop and it’s the place where I truly stand to save the most amount of time. To access the desired module you have to be connected to data (either wifi or over your cellular network) and you simply tap on the desired module on the “bookshelf” Once you have them downloaded however, they’re local; meaning they are on your device to read no matter if you have a data connection or not. Once downloaded you launch the module exactly as you would expect by simply tapping the desired title. When you do you are presenting with a home screen asking if you would like your shortcuts in Mac or Pc. This is awesome for anyone that hasn’t made the inevitable jump to Mac and still uses the Windows platform (kidding).  This will ensure that you are reading the shortcuts for your machine as some of the buttons very from Windows to Mac.  Like I said, Photoshop was where I was headed first because that’s where I will save the most amount of time with my shortcuts.

 

A Little Something Extra

Inside of every module there is a “bonus tips” video accessible by tapping the play button on the main screen. The video for Photoshop happens to feature my buddy RC from “The Photoshop Guys”. He’s doing his best impression as a sumo wrestler but anyone that knows him, knows that he’s a pretty in shape guy, and the absolute last person I’d expect to see throwing a punch but it’s funny all the same seeing him dressed like that!

 

 

Using the App

Once inside you either search or use the menu hierarchy to select the topic you are looking for shortcut wise. When you do find your desired topic LAYERS for example, you will see sub menus below the main topic. Selecting a sub menu will bring up that particular shortcut. In the screen shot above you see the shortcut for NEW LAYER. Below the dialog box that would pop up within Photoshop you see a virtual keyboard showing the key combination. This is to ensure that you know exactly what keys to push.

In the upper right corner of the screen you will find the “search” option. This is where you will type in the topic that you’re trying to find info on. This is also where you’re going to find the only flaw with this App (if you want to call it that). When you search a topic, the search results bring back both Mac and PC (hey at least it’s thorough!), and you can’t determine which is which until you click into the shortcut. Once you click into the shortcut you have to open the search bar again (it saves your previous search results so it’s easy to switch selections) and tap on a different shortcut until you find your platform. So far this is the only flaw I’ve found with the App and I look at is more as search being thorough.

Next to the search bar you will notice the three small icons and the browse button. The tag pencil icon (closest to the search button) is a search for sections that you have bookmarked or left notes on. This is where you would quickly access your favorite shortcuts and/or notes. The next small icon (the one in between the two tags) is the notes button. This is where you tap if you want to add a note for the particular section that you’re in. The third icon (tag furthest away from the search button) is used to bookmark the page. This is extremely helpful if you want to mark a section for quick access later. The browse button is exactly what you would think it is. You can use this to browse the sections.

The Bottom Line

There isn’t a better way to easily keep All of the Creative Suite keyboard shortcuts in one place and have them be so readily accessible. Again, I showed you, and talked about Photoshop shortcuts, but they have ACR available now, and will have the other parts of the Creative Suite available shortly. With a cheap price (the App is free and each module is $2.99) this is a must have for anyone, new or seasoned pro that uses Lightroom, Adobe ACR, Photoshop, Indesign, or Illustrator.

 

Get Shortcut Sumo from the iTunes store for your iPad for free here: iTunes

 

Productivity / Reviews
Week Calendar - Easy and powerful calendar management app for iCal, Google, Outlook, Exchange and more

A Calendar on Steroids for Your iPhone

When iOS 6 was rolled out along with the iPhone 5 I was looking for a number of improvements to come along with it. I don’t pay much attention to the rumor sites, or even what Apple sends in some of the developer previews because they’ve been known to pull/add things last minute so when I fired up iOS 6 I didn’t know what to expect. There were a few things that I had hoped would receive some attention (Contacts, Airplay etc.), but one of the most important things on my wish list was an update to the calendars App. Don’t get me wrong, the built in calendar App does the basics just fine. It will allow you to input an appointment or task into it with no problem. It will remind you at a set time prior to that appointment with a notification, but it doesn’t offer much beyond that. When I saw the lack of calendar love with this update, I went searching for a 3rd party App to cover my needs. What I found was a super versatile, customizable, easy to use calendar that is now the only calendar that I use.  From the slick interface to the batch editing, it has everything that I want.

Beautiful Display

One of the things that I dislike so much about the built in Calendar App is the lack of a quality week view. Apple offers “list” view which is a semi-week view but no where near the beautiful layout of the week view in Week Calendar. With Week Calendar the week view shows every day of the week in 9 hour increments. A red line indicates what time of the day you currently are on and allows you to easily identify what appointments are approaching as well as which appointments are currently going on. Indicated by a light blue tint, the column (day) that you are currently in will have the day of the week and date highlighted in bright blue. On the topic of color, you can also color code events based on keywords. So for example I can color code all of my appointments for my children in green so that I can quickly determine what type of appointment I have just by glancing at the colors associated. To take this one step further, you can set the App to automatically color code an event based on keywords contained withing the appointment. For example if I start the appointment off with “Twins” it can change the color to green automatically. This saves a ton of time in color coding. Another great visual enhancement is the addition of icons. These icons can be entered manually into appointments or again automatically with keywords.

Moving appointments has never been easier than it is with Week Calendar. Just tap and hold to move around appointments like you would an App. Intuitive and easy; this is what makes the iPhone so great and that same simplicity transfers into Week Calendar.  Moving beyond simple reoccurring appointments, Week calendar allows custom, complex reoccurring appointments such as every 3 months on the last weekend day of the month, every 2 weeks on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and much, much more. Basically almost any way of making it reoccur is supported.

Everything You Would Expect

Beyond the added features contained within Week Calendar, it contains everything that you would expect to see in a calendar on the iPhone. Adjustments for the colors, calendar, views, and more. While the “week” view is my favorite and the most widely promoted for Week Calendar, you also have the option to view it in day, month, year, mini month, agenda, and more! This is truly a customizable calendar that is meant to be changed to fit your needs!

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a quality, customizable replacement for the stock calendar App, Week Calendar is for you! It is totally customizable, well laid out, and easy to use. It’s not only powerful, but user friendly. It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen in a calendar.

 

You can get Week Calendar for the iPhone from the iTunes store for $1.99 here:  iTunes

Games / Reviews

Where’s My Perry?!

If you have children under the age of 12 you undoubtedly recognize the lovable little silent super hero above. For those that don’t know, Perry the Platypus is a secondary character in a Disney Kids show called Phineas and Ferb. The show follows two step brothers (Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher) through their summer vacation. Along the way these two boys have grand adventures and build outrageous contraptions. Simultaneously, their pet platypus Perry is secretly part of an all animal secret agent group that fights evil doers. Perry’s part in the show was originally intended to be a “b-plot” but has quickly become as important if not more important than the boys’ adventures. Because of this level of success and following, Disney has launched Where’s My Perry (a tagline from the show) for the iOS platform. The Game follows Perry (agent “P”) through multiple levels of physics based puzzles to defeat the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. What I really love about this game is that beyond the game and graphics that your kids will be familiar with, it really teaches the child about the properties of water in all forms (liquid, ice, steam). It’s not only fun, but very informative and a great teaching tool for children.

 

 

Help Perry Get Through

The basic plot of the game is that perry needs to get through the many levels where some form of water helps him achieve that and solves the puzzle. You cut dirt to guide the water in the direction to solve the “puzzle” or achieve the goal. Also positioned throughout the game are lasers or “crazy-inators” the the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz has left to change water from one form to another to complete the puzzle and help Perry.

Also positioned throughout the game are gnomes (another item from the tv show) that act as prizes or collectables. Think golden eggs from Angry Birds. Collect all of the gnomes that you can and gain hidden collectables and secret levels. The game gets (as expected) progressively harder but still remains easy enough that the average child can figure out the puzzles and have fun.

The Bottom Line

This fun, easy to play game is a great way to teach children about the dynamics of water. With it’s familiar characters and well thought out graphics your child will have fun and learn at the same time!

Get Where’s My Perry? for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad from the iTunes store for $.99 here: iTunes

Reviews / Sports
Yahoo! Fantasy Football '12

Manage Your Fantasy Leagues from Your iPhone

I’ve never been a huge sports fan (short of MLB), but in an attempt to learn more about what’s going on in the NFL I decided this year was the year that I would join my brother’s fantasy football league. This is going to force me to pay attention to different games Sunday mornings other than casually checking out the local team. So I sat down with my brother and his friends and and did the (virtual) draft adding my players (almost all from the lists because I didn’t know what I was doing). When we were done, my brother explained that I needed to keep track of my players, and move guys around depending on who was playing that week. This sounded exactly like a task best done while the kids were practicing ballet or, soccer so I went looking for an App to manage my team. My brother’s league uses Yahoo, who have really created a feature packed App that allows me to watch, manage, and adjust my players.  This App takes Fantasy Football from my computer to my smartphone allowing me to have total access from wherever I am. It will definitely make the experience “that much better”.

 

Do It All From Here

 

The most important thing to me is being able to do everything I can from the computer, from my phone. From within my phone I can view as many teams/leagues as I’m signed up for with my particular user name. As you can see above, I am in two different leagues (groups of people) and I have 1 team in each league. So for my first league (League B) my team name is Show Me Your TDs. In league two (Sneaky Sundays) my team name is simply lykins. I can enter the respective league by tapping the team name. Once inside, my options are just as they are within the desktop/web interface.

I can see the entire league including what players other people have. I can access my team which houses all of my players both starting and bench. I can see the matchups which are what teams within the league are playing each other on a respective week. I can see what players are available to pick up (add to my team). I can also see any messages that are sent to me or general messages that are sent to everyone. All of these options are available through the tabs at the bottom of the screen.

 

When in the team button, in the top right corner of the screen is a small pencil icon. Tapping that icon brings up my team edits. From inside of this section I can swap my players from starting to the bench, and from the bench to playing. This is extremely important when a player gets pulled last minute and you want to bench them as to not lose points.  In the top left corner you see a home button. That will take you back out to the main screen showing all of your leagues and teams.

 

The Bottom Line

If you’re involved in Fantasy Football through Yahoo, you can’t afford not to have this App. It’s extremely well thought out, feature packed, and amazingly easy to use. During Fantasy Football, it’s a must have for me and after you try it, I’ll be you too!

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