Australian ratings board looks ahead to App Store crackdown

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It's not a done deal by any means, but the Australian government's Classification Board is taking a DVD to Machard look at games for mobile devices, which up until now have skated by the country's regulatory requirements that mandate a pass for content and age-appropriateness -- at a cost to developers of hundreds or thousands of A$. By November, we should know for sure whether or not App Store developers will have to choose between paying to have their games rated or pulling them out of the Australian market. play AVI on Mac

wmv file converter This issue came up as long ago as October of last year, in response to the infamous BabyShaker app. Aussie devs Lloyd Kranzky and Nick Lowe have weighed in on their blogs, and raise some good points: although it's not iMovie to DVD necessarily a level playing field between the iDevices and other phones, and the console and PC games (which have been complying with the classification rules, in some cases leading to indie or casual/free games avoiding the Australian market), it's also not completely fair to lump mobile games in with the big boys when Flash games and other online content are completely free and clear of regulatory burden.

Another stat of note: back in 2007/08, the board reportedly classified under 1,000 video games -- a pittance compared to the thousands of games streaming out of the App Store and Android Market. It's unclear whether the regulatory infrastructure is even prepared to deal with the new order.

Here's a question for Mac, PC and console game developers: do Australian rules affect your decision-making when it comes to game releases, vs. the US industry-driven ESRB ratings system? Pipe up in the comments. YouTube to iPad Mac
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Top 30 iPhone Apps List 2010 — Apps

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when you run a search on the App Store, most of the gimmicks have already been created—at least twice. Clones still litter the store and it`s becoming even more difficult for quality apps to get noticed. But, if you have a bit of patience and are willing to sift through less exciting apps, there are some fantastic gems just waiting to be discovered. Play WMV on Mac

Here are the top 15 App picks for applications released this year thus far by Alex Ahlund. Try one or try them all.

16. Foursquare

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WMV to FLV on MacThe quintessential geo-social app, Foursquare allows users to ‘Check in’ to locations to earn points and broadcast their location. Get more Check-Ins than anyone and you become the mayor.

17. Groupon
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Groupon is a service that offers an extremely marked down deal every day. From restaurants to spas, users have been excited about Groupon since it came out. All the same convenience on your iPhone. wmv converter

18. iMovie
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It made sense for Apple to bring their casual video editing software over to the iPhone when the 4 launched with hi-def recording. Very solid tool for on-the-go editing.

19. Siri Assistant
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Your own personal assistant. Ask it for directions. Reminders. General information. Nearly anything. Fun and useful for anyone on the go. DVD Ripper

20. Twitter
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While nothing new, with the acquisition of Tweetie, the official Twitter has become the best out of them all. Contains all the features you need.

21. Wolfram
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video converter Mac After dropping dramatically from the $50 price tag, Wolfram has become a fantastic knowledge searching tool based on Wolfram Alpha.

22. iBooks
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I know, I know. This is a given. Provided with iOS 4.0, iBooks is the defacto book reader. dvd ripper for Mac Even so, it’s worth a mention for how elegant and easy it is to use compared to other readers.

23. Hulu Plus
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This is something we have been waiting for a while. The downside is that it only offers content for the paid service—not for free as it is on the web. But, if you can pony up the monthly fee, this is a great app. Mac DVD Creator

24. Gowalla
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Similar to Foursquare, Gowalla allows users to ‘check in’ to a location to earn stamps. Based on GPS, it’s very addictive earning stamps and a great companion while you are out and about.

25. Dragon Dictation
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Finally, Mac iPad video converter an accurate way to dictate voice to text on the iPhone. Speak naturally to send a text message, email, or anything else that can receive inputted text.

26. Free App A Day
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FAAD is an interesting service that works with developers to offer up their paid apps for free for a short time period. If you follow the iPhone app, you can snatch up some big name apps, gratis. wmv file converter

7. JotNot Scanner Pro
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Make your iPhone into a multi-page scanner. Has a great image enhancing ability and makes saving and sending scans pretty effortless. Mac DVD to iPad

28. Text'nDrive
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For those of us with a habit of checking (or even worse, responding to) email while we drive, this app provides a hands-free solution where new messages are read to you and you can respond by voice.

29. Geodelic
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An elegant “Around Me” style app showing everything that is near your location. Fun way to discover things you didn’t know existed.

30. Digg open WMV on Mac
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convert WMV to FLV on Mac Digg finally made an official app and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Users can look forward to all the same functionality as the native site, as well as easy saving and sharing.

Editor's note: This guest post is written by Alex Ahlund, the former CEO and founder of AppVee and AndroidApps, which were acquired by mobile application directory Appolicious.best DVD Ripper