How to: Use an App For Everything

From sharpened sticks to camera phones, Homo sapiens rose to planetary dominance by augmenting our modest god-given attributes with kick-ass tools. In the age of mobile computing, we’ve become more inventive than ever. No matter who you are or what your shortcoming, there is, indeed, an app for that.

DO-IT-YOURSELFER:
HowCast
No doubt you’re a very capable man, but you can’t do everything – at least not without HowCast. Simple step-by-step instructions and how-to videos for virtually anything, from picking a lock to surviving 3 to 5 years in lock-up, make this little gem one of the most useful mobile apps ever created.

MOVIE BUFF:
RunPee
It’s the moviegoers’ nightmare: the film is reaching its climax and you…need to empty your bladder. On one hand, you don’t want to miss an important scene, but on the other hand, well, you really need to go. Fear not – RunPee provides you with the exact times in any movie when the action flags.

BUSINESSMAN:
Adobe Connect Mobile
When you’re the boss, leaving the office for a few days invites all kinds of office shenanigans. Let Adobe help you rain on the parade: sit in on meetings from the road with Connect Mobile, which offers two-way, multi-point video conferencing via your tablet. In addition to vids, you can also display slide presentations, PDF documents and charts on your screen while interacting with the underlings via text or VoIP.

SPORTSMAN:
GreenFinder
The immortal Mark Twain defined golf as “a good walk spoiled.” We don’t claim that a single app can change this fundamental truth, but we do know that every walk goes a little smoother with GPS. Golf may be the most difficult sport to master, but GreenFinder makes it a bit easier to stomach those tough days when you’re hooking every drive and the greens are giving you nightmares. The app provides aerial views of holes and distances to various parts of the green/hazards for over 13,000 courses across the world.

OUTDOORSMAN:
Scat & Tracks
In one episode of Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris tastes the soil in an empty field, before sagely declaring: “A plane crashed here.” You will never be Walker: Texas Ranger, but, using Scat & Tracks, you’ll be able to tell if the droppings/paw prints next to your tent belong to a mountain lion or a woodchuck. In other words, this app will tell you whether you should shovel it away or run like hell.

WORLD TRAVELER:
Poynt
You wake up on a park bench with a world-class hangover and the sneaking suspicion you’re not in Kansas anymore. Luckily, Poynt’s find-anything-anywhere search engine has your back. First up: find a place where you can buy some pants because, look at that, you’re not wearing any. Next, track down a grocery store that sells industrial tubs of Aspirin and, finally, locate the nearest bus station (or maybe airport).

MUSIC LOVER:
Pocket Hipster
For the health of your playlist, it always pays to have a hipster friend or two—how else are you going to hear about the obscure Norwegian trio that’s about to hit it big? It’d be nice if you could get that kind of advice without the musicier-than-thou attitude, but Pocket Hipster keeps it real: The app will guide you into the sonic embrace of the latest and greatest, but not without moaning about how the sucky songs you’re currently listening to make hipster ears bleed.

SPIRITS ENTHUSIAST:
Mixologist
So you’re hosting a party, and stuck with bar duty. After 20 minutes, the smoking hot goddess from 18B comes over and asks for a Side Car. You haven’t got a clue how to make it, but you unflinchingly respond, “Comin’ right up.” Why? Because you’re packing Mixologist and its database of over 7,900 recipes. Colour Miss 18B impressed. MC