Not so long ago, I placed my first pair of oversized glasses on my face and walked into my first library. I expected to be taken to some sort of card catalog or some giant three-ring binder that had a list of every book held within the room, sorted by date. I expected to be greeted by a smiling librarian only concerned with helping me find the best form of literature to stimulate my young intellect. Instead I was handed a laptop computer, shown how to use a digital catalog called “Athena”, and sent on my merry way. It was frankly, one of the best days of my life. This week I’d like to offer that same gift to you Dear Reader. That gift is the gift of unlimited knowledge.
We begin this week with one of the biggest differences between learning before the digital age and learning after, Wikipedia. After searching for months for the ultimate Windows Phone application to find out the latest confirmed information on whatever random subject I could think of, I’m happy to say I’ve finally found my personal favorite, Wikitude. Using GPS and your phones camera, you can literally browse all the information about the world around you including, Wikipedia articles on landmarks. Wikitude also uses those same augmented reality feature to present things like tweets, pubs, cafes, events, ATMs, and lodging while you look around you in real-time. Wikitude is available completely for free.
Typically, I don’t like to rehash selections that I’ve made in the past but I couldn’t do this edition without once again mentioning the big bucket of awesome of that is Microsoft Research’s Academic Search. In addition to being able to browse and share academic publications right from your phone, they’ve now added new domains for even more literature. It’s still free and still awesome.
We close with this week’s Windows Phone App Flow with my favorite application of all time, ThinkThink Software’s Word of the day. The app throws you a different word to your Start Screen via a Live Tile, as well as the ability to hear the correct pronunciation of that word, it’s definition, and the ability to share it with your friends.
Well, that’s the business for the Windows Phone App Flow for this week. Join me here again next week. Why? Because you need to know stuff! If you’ve got an app suggestion, throw a message to me over on Twitter, username @harlemS.