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Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Add a sexy HTML signature to iPhone e-mails

The free iPhone Signature Creator uses a little Web-app prestidigitation to let you add cool signatures to your e-mail. The free iPhone Signature Creator uses a little Web-app prestidigitation to let you add cool signatures to your e-mail.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rick Broida)

If you've ever messed around with the e-mail signature settings on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad, you know that the best you can hope for is to replace the stock "sent from my iPhone" message with another boring block of text.

Welcome to "Extreme Makeover: iPhone Signature Edition." With the free iPhone Signature Creator, you can whip up a sexy, HTML-based sig complete with colored text, a company logo, your Facebook and Twitter info, and more.

To get started, just fill out Signature Creator's Web-based form with as much information as you want to include: name, title, company, phone number(s), and so on. You can upload a logo or avatar in GIF or JPEG format and even tie it to a URL.

The form also gives you the option of adding links or icons to your Facebook, FaceTime, LinkedIn, Skype, or Twitter accounts.

Be sure you don't overlook the last field where you choose a PIN, otherwise the form will reset and you'll have to do the entire thing over. (I speak from experience.)

When you're done, click Create Signature. You'll see a completion page with a URL you need to enter into Safari on your device. (You can also have that link sent to you via e-mail.) When you do so, the resulting page will ask you for the pin you entered in the Web form. Type it, but before you tap Go, tap the Plus sign at the bottom of the screen, then tap Add to Home Screen.

Now, whenever you want to compose an e-mail that has your sexy new signature, just tap that new Home screen icon. Awesome.

I must give credit where credit is due: this excellent tip comes from Dave Johnson, my colleague over at Business Hacks.


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Detect lies and draw lines: iPhone apps of the week

iPhone (Credit: CNET)

No iPhone for Verizon? That seems to be the implication in news this week via AppleInsider. According to a Wall Street analyst with RBC Capital Markets, Verizon and Apple have not been able to come to an agreement on bringing the iPhone to Verizon. Apparently, both companies have issues with the deal; Verizon is wary of the iPhone cannibalizing Android's market share, and Apple may not want to settle for a lesser marketing campaign to lighten the impact of iPhone sales.

As you know, I already have an iPhone 4 (and needed one for my job, obviously) so I had no choice but to re-up my contract with AT&T. But what about you? Are you one of the people who decided to wait to buy the iPhone 4 for a chance to get a contract with Verizon? Do you think this really means the end of a deal between the two companies? I'm interested to know what people will do with this information, so please chime-in in the comments!

This week's apps include a fun way to see if your friends are telling the truth and a line-drawing game that has you hurling axes at approaching bad guys.

Lie Detector Pro At the end of the quiz, Lie Detector Pro breaks down your scores on three criteria.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Lie Detector PRO (99 cents) is a fun app that allegedly can detect whether you are generally a liar or generally truthful, but mostly it's just fun to play with. To start the test, place the iPhone in your hand, read the instructions, and hit Next. From there you will be asked a series of questions onscreen and you will need to speak your answers out loud.

The app supposedly measures your stress level, the tonality of your voice, and whether your hands are shaking to detect if you are dishonest in your replies. The questions are mostly simple ("What is your first name?") with some more-personal questions ("Are you in love?"), and you end the test by speaking off the cuff for 10 seconds so the app can analyze your voice.

Does Lie Detector Pro work? Probably not, but in my testing, walking around the office to see who is the biggest liar was certainly a lot of fun for all involved. The app does not allow you to ask specific questions, which is probably a good thing because we wouldn't want people to end relationships with best friends over a lie detector test on the iPhone. Still, Lie Detector Pro is a great party trick and it's even fun just to see what score you get by trying to lie convincingly on every question. Anyone who wants a good app for hanging out with your friends to see who is the most honest (allegedly) will like this simple app.

Axe in Face - Defense of the Daffodils Sometimes you'll need to throw your ax through the camp fire to take out more difficult enemies.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Axe in Face--Defense of the Daffodils (99 cents) is a silly, yet challenging game that borrows elements from many classic iPhone games in the iTunes App Store to make for a fun time waster. The object of the game is to defend a garden of daffodils from an approaching onslaught of baddies (think Plants vs. Zombies) by drawing a path from your viking warrior across the screen to throw your ax.

The ax will return to you like a boomerang, which comes in handy for hitting foes as the ax circles back around, but be careful not to draw complex paths because you won't be able to throw another ax until it returns to your hand. Much of the fun comes from trying to hit multiple enemies with one throw and you'll get a score bonus for hitting larger multiples. But if just one attacker gets past your defenses, your beautiful daffodil garden will be trampled and the game ends.

As you progress through Axe in Face, you're given more variation on the game mechanic to keep it interesting. In higher levels, you'll have more enemies to deal with along with unique enemies that require special skills to kill them. One enemy blocks himself with a pine tree that can only be beaten by throwing the ax through an onscreen fire first, then hitting the tree to sizzle the tree and the bad guy within. As the enemies get harder, you're also given a special advantage: some enemies drop small red orbs that fill up your lighting orb. When your lightning orb is full you can strike three enemies with lighting by pressing a button--great for when the game gets particularly hectic.

Axe in Face comes with only 32 levels of increasingly difficult action, but I'm hoping later updates will add more levels (and magic skills) to this cool game. Overall, if you want a fun line-drawing game, Axe in Face--Defense of the Daffodils is an excellent and affordable time-waster.

What's your favorite iPhone app? What's the lowest percentage (most honest) you've scored in Lie Detector Pro? Do you like the action in Axe in Face--Defense of the Daffodils? Let me know in the comments!


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