Luster has released a self-titled application designed to help find inaccuracies and unverifiable information on credit reports. The app provides tools for credit file management, along with resources for contacting credit bureaus and creditors. A built-in decision tree offers suggestions on potential strategies, with analysis based on responses from credit reporting agencies….

Virtual Programming has announced Championship Manager 2010, an update to its soccer management simulator. The game features an improved match engine, with over 500 different animations for individual players. Users can record and replay matches using up to seven different camera angles. The game integrates a scouting network that provides a list of upcoming stars, along with a drill training area where users can compare potential players in a series of tests such as shooting and passing….

Roku late Sunday gave its Internet media players a boost in the form of the Channel Store. Now considered an open platform, the avenue lets content producers of any scale implement their own video services. The service also brings major content providers such as Facebook’s photo service, Flickr, Mediafly, Pandora, Revision3 and TWiT; relative newcomers like blip.tv, FrameChannel, Motionbox and MobileTribe are also onboard….

EA Mobile has expanded its line of iPhone and iPod touch games with the release of Monopoly. The app is based on the original board game, unlike the company’s Here and Now edition that was previously released on the App Store. Players must choose a 3D token to move around the board and purchase properties, win money, and attempt to control key areas to push out their competitors. Shaking the device allows users to roll the virtual dice to determine each move….

Filed under: Humor, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Found Footage

If there’s one thing I like better than pie, it’s cake. And if there’s a best kind of cake, it’s definitely one that’s shaped in the form of something geeky. Which means the video above, which shows what seems to be a tasty confection in the form of Apple’s Finder icon, hits the spot perfectly. David B.’s wife made it for him for his birthday earlier this week, he says over on his Twitter account. He doesn’t say what kind of cake it is, but given that it’s Finder, I’m going to guess chocolate. An iTunes icon cake would give off a more “vanilla” vibe to me.

We’ve also, you’ll remember, seen this Finder icon parading around on pillows as well. Which isn’t too surprising — who could pass up a face like that? Not only is he a handsome dude with a mischievous smile, but he’s got access to all your files and passwords. That’s the kind of guy you’d better get along with.

Thanks to Chris Pirillo for the tip!

TUAWFinder icon birthday cake will make your day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With great evidence that the latest revision of the iPod touch was intended to include a camera, a new rumor suggests Apple will add the feature to a new model set for release in the first half of 2010.

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

Zoowawa [US$0.99, iTunes Link] is a cute app targeted for toddlers between the ages of two and three. Your child is presented with a split screen displaying two animals. Tapping on one of the animals plays the sound that the animal makes.

Each half of the screen can be swiped individually to reveal 14 animal pictures per half, or 24 animal pictures in all. The pictures are brightly colored and the app has a very clean look to it. Zoowawa runs on any iPhone or iPod touch using OS 3.1.2 or better.

My daughter is finishing a masters in education and has familiarity with very small children, so I asked her about the appropriateness of this app. My first impression was that along with the sound, the printed name of the animal should be shown. My daughter told me that for most kids in the targeted age range, adding the text would be too complex since reading often doesn’t start until a child is three years old or older.

She did have few problems with the size of the pictures, saying that they may not hold a child’s interest for very long. Kids like big things and dividing the screen to make each animal half of the screen size was probably not the best idea. Even at full size, a picture may not attract the attention of a toddler for too long.

I also had a bit of a problem with the quality of the animal sounds. Most are not digitized animal sounds, but rather a recording of someone making the sound with his voice. Since for many kids this app might be their first introduction to animals, I think that sound accuracy should be important.

Continue reading The cow says mooooo! Zoowawa, an app for toddlers and their parents

TUAWThe cow says mooooo! Zoowawa, an app for toddlers and their parents originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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