Movies by Flixster Main Screen Screenshot

Movies, a rather plain name for an iPhone application, Flixster prefers it.  Movies app provides a portal for viewing information about movies. Sounds simple right? This app is comprehensive in spite of its name.

Movies divides movie information up into sections: Box Office, Theaters, Upcoming, DVD, My Movies.

Box office is what it sounds like, movies currently at the box office.  Movies are organized by Opening and Top Box Office.  These can be sorted by popularity, rating, or title.  This section, as all sections and screens, is searchable.

Box office is also the default screen.  It has the standard set of movie options you’ll see on the other choices, Theater, Upcoming, etc.

Those choices include viewing the trailer, if available, and viewing more information about the movie.

Movies by Flixster Movie Information Screenshot

The next image shows what you get when a movie s selected.  Flixster users’ rating, critics’ rating, and what your friends think.  Typically run time and rating are also show at the top.

The trailer option is listed her if available as well as showtimes, your rating and photos from the movie.  This is only the top portion of this long scrolling screen though.

Movies by Flixster Movie Information Screen 2 Screenshot

The next section of the Movie information screen, scrolled down to, is a synopsis (hit and miss here), a small selection of photos, and then the cast. The cast listings are clickable.

Beyond this section are reviews by your friends, and by other Flixster users in general.  Movie reviews include the beginning of each comment with the ability to select a specific comment to see in full detail.

Again, you get to this Movie information screen from any of the options: Box Office, Theater, etc..

Movies by Flixster Movie Information Screen 3 Screenshot

The bottom of the Movie information screen rounds up the reviews from Flixster users but also gives you some other movie website links.

Special bonus here is that these don’t leave the Movies application. They open up a special in-line browser window to the site selected. This allows you to jump to say IMDb (my personal favorite) and not have to restart the Movies app.  You simply click the DONE button and poof, back to Movies.

That’s a feature more applications should be taking advantage of.

Movies by Flixster Theaters Screen Screenshot

The Theaters screen is the last one I’d like to share.  Theaters are shown by favorites then by distance by default. Users can mark any theater a favorite.

Selecting a theater provides the showtimes of course, but there’s more. Phone number, address (which jumps out to Google Maps and allows you to come back), Yelp connection (which goes to the Yelp app with a search for nearby restaurants), and a selector for showtimes date.

It’s a load of features for a movies information application. There are a few other applications going after the same market but in my opinion, this is not only a well rounded application for movies but it’s one of the best built iPhone Touch apps I’ve used so far.

For the record, there is a Flixster website.

Movies app link.

Have you used this app or another in the same vein? Please comment below and tell me what’s better or best.

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• Flixster to Acquire Rotten Tomatoes (mashable.com)

Robert Sanzalone, @pacificIT, shares his comments, questions, and concerns about the Apple iPad. Robert brings his long IT background to bear, providing an informed opinion.

The audio iPad commentary was recorded at Twad.io.

Robert Sanzalone blogs at http://www.sanzalone.com.

What is twaud.io?
twaud.io lets you share audio with your twitter followers. Think of it as twitpic but for mp3s.
Follow @twaudio to keep updated on new developments.

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• iPad First Impressions (smarterware.org)
• The Apple Tablet Hype by the Numbers (readwriteweb.com)

iPad, it’s a new breed of technology. That’s the phrase that stuck with me watching this video.  This isn’t really a review of the product; it’s more of sharing the passion video by Apple employees.

If you watch this and don’t want one I’d be surprised. Enjoy.

Receiving the iPod Touch as a gift is going to be life changing. It’s not just the plethora of applications nor their diversity.  The key is the interface rethinking; applications are no longer designed around a full size screen and a keyboard.  Flickr has given us an app that has adapted well to the platform.

See the screenshot of the Flickr application for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Starting the app places you on a screen where a stream of your contacts recent uploads fades in and out.

Along the bottom Recent, You and Contacts are just a click away. Each takes you a viewing screen designed around those specific items.

In the upper right corner you’ll notice a camera. That’s the ‘just a click away’ uploader function of the app., Just click, pick and upload. Optionally the title, description and tags can be edited before upload.

The application allows favoriting, commenting and forwarding. Forwarding can only be done via email and requires email already be set up for the device.

Viewing on the iPhone or Touch is done in groups of 40 photos. Viewing one’s own photos, the app selects the 40 most recent. The same is true when Recent and Contacts are chosen.

Within a group of photos, sliding works well but there are no ‘pinch’ and ’swipe’ gestures that work.

The overall layout is usable but is slightly finger unfriendly. Some of the links are quite close together and not buttons but direct links.

Quality:  4/5

Usability: 4/5

Continued use/re-use: 5/5

Value/cost: 5/5

If you use Flickr and have an iPhone or iPod Touch I’d rate this as a must have app. The link at the beginning of the article should take you straight there.

Find me on Flickr.

Future apps I’ll be reviewing: Sudoku apps, News apps, other games. Suggestions welcome.

Odd Thomas is the main character in a series of books by Dean Koontz. He’s young, he’s a fry cook, and he’s got powers.

Odd is a young man that’s been gifted with prophetic dreams, the ability to see ghosts, and the heart of a paladin. This fourth book sees him taking real ownership of what his actions mean. He ponders if he’s crossing a line as he steps into situations of violence and death.

In this latest book in the series, Odd Hours, we find Odd in a small sea side town, playing cook and attendant to Hutch, an aging actor. Odd has come to the town because of a vivid dream of catastrophe. Unfortunately he’s gotten no clues so far in his month long stay save one, the mysterious girl on the boardwalk.

The book moves a bit slow at first but quickly becomes a page turner. Honestly I finished this is one afternoon. Pacing is good considering the story takes place over basically two days. It helps that there are chases, gunfights, and plenty of unique characters for us to enjoy.

An interesting aspect of this book is the unusual people Odd encounters. The woman with the twinge, the young pregnant lady with the zen type conversations, and the Happy Monster. I read into this story that being such a potential catastrophe that a convergence happened of others with gifts and insights.

Odd Hours is the best of he sequels to date. Action, mystery, wisdom, gun play, sadness, and sainthood, this book has it all.

Bonus in this book, and really in the series, is a lack of swearing, death isn’t overly gory, and people worry about doing the right thing.

Anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

(oh yeah, Mystery Train)

** spoiler alert **

Seize the Night is the sequel to Fear Nothing. The characters you loved from the first one are here but in even more detail and narrative. And that’s a problem.

The story in this book takes place over an even shorter span than the first one. in this follow up it’s months later and things are still strange in Christopher Snow’s little sea-side town. People are still becoming. Intelligent and malevolent monkeys roam the town at night, and to make it worse, even hordes of birds are killing themselves.

What’s happening in this story is two-fold. Firstly the inevitable dark downside of the retrovirus. The gift of intelligence is a curse more than a blessing for most of the animals affected by the experiments at Wyvern. Chris runs across swarming birds, packs of wolves, and more marching to their doom. Not being chased by cursed by spiraling depression.

The other plot is the kidnapping of children. Of course the police aren’t going to do much, and honestly, Chris doesn’t even wait to see if they will. He immediately suspects it’s related to the base in some way. So off into the night he goes, glock and flashlight and faithful dog.

Koontz gives us rich detail, a fantastic first person viewpoint, and lovable characters. The only problem is that he compresses a week worth of story into basically two evenings. Amazing amounts of dialogue, internal monologue and animal communication takes place during that time. This is my biggest complaint. The book seems to take forever to get through those couple of days.

On another note, this becoming issue really could have been left out of this entirely. There is a whole other mystery going on here worthy of a book all by its self. Another strike against a book that still has some really enjoyable writing in it.

All in all, it’s not a bad read if you’re a Koontz addict and enjoyed the Chris Snow character. Sadly it left me wanting a follow up book with this rather interesting family of characters. Apparently Koontz didn’t enjoy these folks enough to follow up. Likely due to lackluster response to this long winded second in the series.

This will appeal to those that like a bit of psychology mixed with their sci-fi.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read more of my reviews on Amazon.

Chris Snow may have a genetic disorder and a deadly one at that, but nothing keeps him from being the master of Moonlight Bay at night. Fear Nothing is the story of Chris Snow, his dog, Orson, and their friends as two dramatic days pass in Moonlight Bay.

The story begins with the death of Chris’s father at the local hospital. Chris soon discovers bodies going unexpected places ad well as an unexpected extra body. Of course he takes off on adventure into the night to uncover this mystery.

In spite of being a story that takes place over two days, it doesn’t move very fast. Oh, there is action, including chases, gun fights, and a few deaths, there is a much more in the way of inner conversation. The narrative takes place mainly inside Chris’s head. We see all other characters’ actions through his eyes.

The actions taken by Chris in this story are definitely unbelievable. He may have a genetic issue, but he’s managed to become a successful author, an accomplished surfer, and find a hot lady for a girlfriend. We find he also has an affinity for animals. All of those take him from one act in this novel to the next with him surviving relatively unscathed.

It turns out Chris is not just a bystander either. He’s central in several ways to the plot of the story, not just as the random guy caught up, though until later in the book he doesn’t get that. It seems his friends don’t get it either until the end.

In my opinion, not one of Dean Koontz’s best novels, but still not a bad read. The narrative is slow, and some of the characterization, though wordy, is shallow. The characters leave possibilities open but the way the book ends you’d think things wouldn’t end up well for Chris or his friends.

If you’re a die hard Koontz fan, pick this up. If not, skip this one.

This was my first Brent Weeks novel. I’m not sure it was the best introduction to his work. It was a decent plot overall, with plenty of twists and turns. But before I go into more detail, the book was too slow.

Brent Weeks takes us to a place where life is dark, dreary, and deadly. Our main character begins his life on the streets, and the book constantly revisits them. Death abounds even upon children, innocents, royalty and the homeless. This world is one where everyone you befriend is a liability, every love a potential loss.

The darkness is not just around the characters but in them as well. Our protagonist has to make tough choices and does. Though at what cost? Can a young boy, even a tough one, take the leap from struggling in poverty to a powerful assassin and not lose part of his soul?

One thing I loved included the action scenes. The detail and flow of these was quite entertaining and drew me in fully. Sheer variety in weapons, attacks, and how each character approached the fights was worth the price of admission. Eric Lustbader eat your heart out. True ninja style stuff here.

Another strong point to this book is the depth of characterization. Weeks spared no amount of words making sure we understood each character, not just as their job or profession, but who they are inside and how they came to be there. He lets us peer into the mind of a prostitute turned leader, and a man who sold his soul for immortality.

Lastly a compliment to the author for making no one black and white. Not even characters as simple as some of the guards were entirely simple.

Though the book was long in the tooth at points, if you love tails of assassins, ninjas and the like, then this is a good read. Young adult is almost an unfair category for this as it will more likely appeal to a slightly older reader.

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• The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (nethspace.blogspot.com)

Seth says in The Dip that what he’s sharing isn’t anything but the simple and obvious truth. There’s no pretense to a miracle answer, insider secrets, or get success tips. Seth just tells us how come it matters when you are in the dip and when to know you’re not.

Lots of reviewers are critical of this book for the very reason that it’s simple and general in nature. I believe some of them are missing the point.

It’s not about hard work paying off. it’s about giving up bad tactics, bad strategies and bad beliefs. Quitting them in essence. Giving up the things that don’t work and won’t work for you. Give up old and ingrained habits. Give up being part of 25 hobbies or scattering yourself over dozens of attempts at things.

For me this book really describes the last year of my life at work. I’ve been in the dip again and didn’t even realize it had a name. For me it was about not just putting in my time, which is never that simple to get ahead, but deciding to ‘lean into the dip’. While others were choosing to resign themselves to misery and drudgery, I chose to do some of my best work ever as a programmer and analyst. Now while others have come through, still miserable and nothing changed for them, I’m taking over planning their work and managing contractors. Oh well for them.

I’m endorsing this book because I’ve lived it several times in my life already. It’s really simple. Like Yodda, ‘do or do not’. Buy The Dip.

Mirexo is YAATA, Yet Another Twitter Air Application. Kidding aside, it brings us a different look to Twitter. Big selling point is detachable channels or columns.

Mirexo starts off with a simple main application with two panels on either side of a central control column.

As you can see, it doesn’t require a ton of desktop to use. The left side of the application is used for various channels to be displayed. A channel is a selected stream such as all friend, replies, DMs, or a custom channel based on search or a subset of folks you follow.

On the right is your follow list, and a tab away is your list of channels. Adding a new channel is a button click away, and the same holds true for following someone. The central column at the top shows a count of replies, and DMs, as well as providing a single click way to bring up a posting window.

Customizable features aren’t many here. The best feature over other clients is really the detachable channels. In the top picture above, I’ve split out my all friends, replies, DMs, and two channels, a search on origami and a search on #STL. The detached columns are individually adjustable as to height, width and position. Each column can be filtered as well.

One nice feature is the ability to view a conversation thread. Each tweet in the display will show an icon under that users avatar if there is a conversation history. Basically a chain of reply messages.

If you see the icon, click on it to display the thread. Interestingly enough, it will not just show your replies to that user’s tweet, but other’s as well. Gives real context to the conversation.

Things I’d love to see?

• Themes.
• DM button, or shift click on the @ to do a DM.
• Tweet from any window. I’d love to keep the control panel out of the way.

I guess that’s a big enough wish list for now.

Give Mixero a chance if you’ve gotten an invite. If not, follow @Mixero on Twitter and ask for one. They’ll send you out a code pronto.