The Week in iOS Apps: Keep Austen weird
This week's roundup of apps includes the most unusual way of presenting Pride & Prejudice we've ever seen—as a 1980s-style "endless runner" video game.
Keep Austen weird
This week’s roundup of apps includes the most unusual way of presenting Pride & Prejudice we’ve ever seen—as a 1980s-style “endless runner” video game. Read on!
1Password
1Password hasn’t changed its app so much, but it has introduced a new way of using it. The makers this week announced their new 1Password for Families plan, letting you share an account with your entire family—protecting everybody’s data, as well as your own—for $5 a month. “Best of all, 1Password for Families comes with all the 1Password apps at no extra charge. You can easily switch between Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android without worrying about licenses.”
A Tiny Game of Pong
A Tiny Game of Pong is, well, a tiny game of Pong—a chance to play the original video game on your Apple Watch. You can work your way up the scoring leaderboards, or spend a buck to unlock the “classic playoff mode” that pits you against a “steadfast” AI opponent.
Bright New Day
Need some inspiration? Bright New Day, a free iPhone offering, delivers uplifting quotes to you daily. You can share your favorites on social media and mark the best for saving.
JotTheDate
JotTheDate already lets you mix your messy, messy handwriting with your calendar needs, in case you prefer your squiggles to the clarity of typed notes. It happens! Version 3.0 launched this week, featuring new month and list views for your calendar.
Kendall and Kylie
So: Kendall and Kylie Jenner have their own app now—a mixture of playing with paper dolls and choose-your-own-adventure story, which may make it more clever than any of the Kardashian apps.
KnowMe
KnowMe, a free iPhone app, “lets you string together photos, videos, and more to create edited, personalized videos. Just touch and hold a picture as you talk to record your voice, then let go to add the clip to your timeline.” It’s like making video selfies—and they can be shared via email or through social networks.
Stellar Wanderer
Stellar Wanderer is a $5 “space opera” game that lets you approach the universe from the perspective of several different characters—fighter, trader, tank, or engineer. You can follow the main storyline, or go off on side missions. Just remember: In space, no one can hear you scream at your iPad.
Stride & Prejudice
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single person in possession of a good iPad must be in want of an app that combines Jane Austen and 1980s-style endless runner games. The free Stride & Prejudice iOS app takes you through the text of Pride & Prejudice using the pixel-art character of Lizzy Bennet, “fashionably dressed in high heels and an empire-waisted-dress!” This is reading, gamified.
