Mel Martin

Now doing consulting and recently wrote a book on film producer Samuel Bronston who made El Cid and Fall of the Roman Empire. I also did the commentary on Fall of the Roman Empire with Bill Bronston, the son of the late producer. I'm an amateur astronomer, and take lots of high resolution photos of galaxies and nebula from my backyard observatory in Arizona.

Mel Martin's Latest Posts

Droplr announces Droplr Pro with increased storage, more

by Mel Martin (May 10th 2012 7:30PM)

I took a look at Droplr back in February and found it a nice, free, easy to use file sharing service for Mac and Windows computers. For those who want more, Droplr now has Droplr Pro. It adds quite a few nice bells and whistles, including private, password protected drops, and more storage. Users ...

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Grocery iQ for iOS adds speech recognition

by Mel Martin (May 9th 2012 4:00PM)

There's no shortage of grocery lists apps for the iPhone and iPad. One of the more popular apps is the free Grocery iQ, which has added speech recognition from Nuance in an update available today. That addition hoists Grocery iQ a bit above the average list-maker. You can add items to your ...

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Garmin Fit for iOS adds Live Track to broadcast your status

by Mel Martin (May 9th 2012 2:00PM)

Garmin Fit is a US$0.99 iPhone app that is used as a training tool for walking or cycling. The app uses GPS to keep track of your exercise stats, like speed, distance traveled, route traveled and an estimate of calories burned. This data can be uploaded to GarminConnect, a web-based service. The ...

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Amtrak conductors to "punch your ticket" using iPhones

by Mel Martin (May 7th 2012 3:00PM)

Here's a modern twist on a time-honored tradition for train travelers. Since last fall, Amtrak has been training conductors to use an iOS device to scan passenger tickets on some selected routes, including Boston to Portland, Maine, and San Jose to Sacramento, California. According to the New ...

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Apple hit with class action lawsuit over iTunes double-billing

by Mel Martin (May 3rd 2012 4:00PM)

Apple has been hit with another class-action lawsuit for double billing customers in the iTunes store. New York resident Robert Herskowitz claims Apple charged him twice for the single "Whataya Want from Me" by Adam Lambert. Herskowitz says he contacted Apple and got an automated response ...

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Apple wants Samsung name obscured on video players in courtroom

by Mel Martin (May 1st 2012 12:00PM)

Unsurprisingly, Apple is really sweating the details when it comes to its upcoming court date with Samsung. FOSS Patents has noted that a court filing revealed Apple doesn't want to see any Samsung logos or brand identification in the courtroom. "Apple intends to bring a motion for ...

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PhotoFunia creates seamless Special FX on your iPhone

by Mel Martin (Apr 29th 2012 8:00PM)

PhotoFunia is a clever and free novelty app for iPhone camera buffs. It will allow you to create a variety of special effects that would take quite awhile in something like Photoshop. Here are some examples: Using face detection, it can take a photo of a friend and cleanly insert the face over ...

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Apple to build large, off-campus cafeteria

by Mel Martin (Apr 26th 2012 7:00PM)

Yum. The San Jose Mercury News reports that Apple is building a cafeteria for employees. The new off-site eatery will be more than 21,000 square feet, and it's only for Apple folks. The News quotes an Apple honcho as saying "We like to provide a level of security so that people and employees ...

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SayHi Translate for iOS is like science fiction come true

by Mel Martin (Apr 25th 2012 4:00PM)

I remember seeing universal translators on TV and in the science fiction stories I read in my youth. I didn't think it would ever happen, but science fiction is becoming fact. If you travel or are in regular need of translation, let me suggest you take a look at SayHi Translate, on sale for US ...

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Flight+ is a great app for the savvy traveler

by Mel Martin (Apr 23rd 2012 3:30PM)

There are a lot of travel apps. Some are great, some are good, some are me too. I've taken a look at the just released Flight+, and I'm pretty impressed. This app is loaded with features too numerous to mention. It will track every flight at almost every airport anywhere in the world. The app ...

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