If you're the kind of person who complains in the comments whenever we post a useless app, then just move right on from this weekend post (or go check out Paradise Monkeys, it actually looks like a good one). But as weird and pointless as this app may be, we have to give the folks behind this iLickIt game credit -- they really took the multitouch screen to a place it probably shouldn't go. The idea is that you get a plate of food from Grandma, and then you have to lick it clean... by actually licking your iPhone or iPod touch. No thanks.

Actually, iLickIt isn't the first app that's asked you to lick something that's been in your pocket (and who knows where) all day long -- there's other ice cream-licking related apps on the store already. But its claim to the very first "iPhone game you play with your tongue" may actually be legit -- it actually times how long it takes you to lick up the food and turns it into a little game. Though we can't really recommend it, it is coming to an App Store near you, so just in case your tongue hasn't had enough to do lately (and yes, I'll just let that one go), there you have it.

I wrote up a sneak peek of Dishy [iTunes Link] earlier in the summer when I saw a preview at WWDC. It was called Bon App at the time, and man it looked tasty. Well the app is now out and it rocks. I've been testing a demo for a little while and I wish more cooking apps worked like this.

Dishy takes you from meal planning to shopping to cooking in one convenient app. It is not like some food apps, which are designed to be recipe databases. Instead, Dishy focuses on a few recipes that have been tested by a real chef and uses those to create a small but tasty (and powerful) database. Don't let the inability to enter or alter recipes deter you -- if you are a beginner cook who wants to cook (nearly) like a pro, Dishy is the best step I've seen in that direction. The great experience coupled with a brilliant way of finding dishes to cook makes prepping food less of a chore, for sure.

The flow works like this: choose your dishes, collect your ingredients, then go through the cooking process for each dish. Dishy handles every step with beautiful panache, as seen in their demo video here. Two key features in Dishy: a graph showing how long each dish takes to cook and the ability to fine-tune recipe options. You don't want cold veggies and burnt meat, and Dishy helps you avoid this common bungle by showing you a nifty chart of when to start each dish (see gallery).

If you love to cook or if you've wanted to try preparing a cohesive meal, I recommend you give Dishy a try.

Some apps are almost universal. Chances are you may find a use for one of these apps in your daily goings-on, just as I have. All links are iTunes links.


Flicktunes, $0.99
Remember our chat about driving and using your iPhone? Flicktunes makes controlling the iPod in your iPhone (or touch) much easier when you have to focus on other things -- like driving. Flick your finger left or right to navigate your playlist, up or down to start or stop the music. The album art is all you see, plus a speaker icon indicating playback. It's super easy, a simple app, but very useful if you're driving or otherwise occupied while jamming out.

Army Knife, $1.99
If you need to measure something in a jiffy, Army Knife is a 9-in-1 tool with several measuring tools. There's a protractor, a caliper and a tape measure, plus a level and a "heart monitor" (you tap as your heart beats). There's a unit converter with distance, volume, weight and temperature conversions, and a flashlight and whistle. The flashlight, yes, is just a screen of white, but the whistle is kind of fun and will irritate your pets (please note: I do not condone irritating your pets, please do not flame me for hating animals).

Todo, $9.99
If you use Remember the Milk or Toodledoo, you should know that Todo syncs with them. There's also a free sync app for your desktop, which is essentially a backup... except there's a way to sync Todo with The Hit List via iCal. Is it optimal? No, but until THL has an iPhone app (not criticizing the developer as I'd rather it be done right than fast) this does the trick to an extent. Todo even without sync is a beautiful thing to behold and full of flexibility. In fact, the flexibility of the app is a little shocking, given the lowly status of the "to do" genre of apps. If you need a listmaker/to do/checklist app with or without sync capabilities, this is one of the best out there. Worth the $9.99 for what you get.

CardStar, free
If you're tired of carrying around a dozen membership or discount cards, CardStar will help you out. There are templates for many retailers and discount systems (air miles and so forth), and you can choose from a variety of barcode types. I was able to experiment with the codes a bit and test things at each of my errand stops (Blockbuster, Kroger, etc.), eventually winnowing my keychain down to just 2 keys and a door opener.

BigOven, free
I've toyed around with a few cooking apps, but if you're out and about (and have a signal) BigOven is a great way to throw a dish together based on an ingredient. BigOven basically makes everyone an Iron Chef -- at least as far as cool recipes goes. It can't help you cook things, and the text rendering could be a little more clear, but you can favorite stuff (with a BigOven free account), and copy an entire recipe for emailing. I'm not saying the interface is great, but the BigOven database is huge and stocked with what looks like good recipes.

I guess you could say I'm an armchair foodie. Strangely enough, once I started working at home I rarely got the chance to cook a proper meal. It doesn't help that my kids have typical kid palates, and attempts to "get fancy" with the ingredients are met with wrinkled noses and frowning faces. So when I see an app that looks like it'll make my cooking life simpler and better I'm very, very excited.

Bon App looks to do just that -- it simplifies the entire cooking process, from planning to shopping to cooking. All on the iPhone (or iPod touch). What really has me excited is the way it does this. Any blunt object can bash a nail. I mean, there's a reason Mac users have higher standards, right? I like to think we appreciate ease-of-use and quality design. Bon App has an extensive feature list, yes, but it looks darn good doing what it does, and the developer spent serious time thinking about how you interact with the app.

While I can't show you any screens (the developer was adamant that I not record video), I tell you about a few things I saw. One nice touch: when selecting a particular dish to cook, an icon of the recipe bounces down into a menu bar, indicating where to go next (shopping list, if I recall correctly). I don't remember the shopping list feature well, but the cooking features are exceptional. The app shows you a visual indication of how long each dish will take along a bar graph. This helps you plan what to cook and when. As anyone who has played Hell's Kitchen will tell you, timing is critical. You don't want hot side dishes and a cold entree. It was the first time I'd seen that on an app, and was indicative of the thought put into the app's flow.

The final pieces hadn't been put together when I had a look at the demo. The developer was still thinking through the last phase (cooking, which can be tricky, as trying to prep a meal isn't as straightforward as you might think) and tweaking the interaction. I'm also not sure how recipes get into the app. If you're looking for a desktop cooking app that syncs with the iPhone, about the best I've found so far is Avenio's MacGourmet. But I will certainly be keeping an eye out for Bon App. Even though I'm very happy with Sous Chef, the detail and design of Bon App has me wishing I could pre-order now.

While purists may sneer, there are a lot of us who love apple pie for Thanksgiving dinner instead of the traditional pumpkin pie. After seeing this Apple Mac mini pie and the dough-logo Apple pie, you may never want to eat pumpkin pie again.

The geniuses at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories provide step-by-step instructions on how to make your own Mac mini Apple pie. While not everyone has a 45-watt carbon dioxide laser to cut the fancy Apple logo-shaped lattice on top, I'm sure you can get perfectly fine results using an X-acto knife or some other sharp cutting instrument.

For those of you on the West coast of the U.S., there's still time to run out, buy a square Springform pan, pick up a carbon dioxide laser, and get one of these pies cranked out just in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Don't have the engineering acumen for a square pie in a round-pie world? You could use the overlay method that Dana Knisely attempted successfully this year, for a well-branded and well-browned postprandial treat.

There's no word on whether sun-stamped apples were used in the making of either of these scrumptious desserts. (Update: Dana's husband Matt reports that her pie features 100% organically grown Pennsylvania apples. Yum!)

For all our readers in the US and friends across the globe, TUAW wishes you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks to tipsters hc & Chris for this Thanksgiving treat!

Ahh, I'm on the ground at Macworld. I can smell the Apple goodness. Everywhere I look I see an iPod ad, or a Mac person using a Powerbook. Methinks this is heaven.

However, there is one thing that isn't right and it is the price of food at the convention center. I needed a good dose of Pepsi, so I sought some out. A 20 ouncer cost me $2.75. The woman in front of me paid over 8 bucks for a small sandwich. Luckily Macworld has compiled a list of cheap eats around Moscone for transport on your iPod, so I won't be making the same mistake twice.

Who wants to grab lunch with me at some point this week?