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 Father’s Day is coming up this weekend and while I don’t know if I really deserve any accolades for my fatherhood, at the very least, I understand why there is a special day set aside for us now that I’m part of the club. It’s not because of the patience and understanding needed in rearing a child. It’s also not because of the hardwork in providing for a child both financially and emotionally. The reality? It’s all about the great deals that you can get following up to Father’s Day! Have you checked out the prices for HDTVs or even the ever trendy netbooks? They’ve never been so low! This is the reason why I’ve been checking out Woot.com every day using WootWatch. To the uninitiated, Woot.com is an online store and community that provides one sweet deal a day until it is sold out or replaced around midnight CST. If what’s posted isn’t quite your cup of tea, check out affiliate stores like Shirt.Woot, Wine.Woot, and Sellout.Woot (in partnership with Yahoo! Shopping), all of which are available in the app. With an easy interface and a very clean layout, it’s highly recommended for both bargain hunters and the frugal shopper in all of us. Price: Free.
 If you’re anything like me, your iPhone and you are inseparable. It’s with you at all times, but what would you do if you lost it? Not only would you have to rebuild your entire music, video, and image libraries (aren’t we all at capacity?), but you’d also lose all your contacts and be out of touch for God knows how long. Additionally, if you didn’t grab insurance through your carrier, you might be out a couple of hundred or more. Yet, for a very nominal fee, you can get yourself a little help with Reward, which prompts a finder to return your iPhone for a cash reward by calling you at a secondary number. Sounds simple, right? You may ask, how much of a reward? Well, I know how much my iPhone is worth to me. So you do your own math. Granted, you’re depending on the kindness of strangers, but considering you can lock the device at anytime by suspending service, whoever finds it should be more tempted to return it for a reward than go through the trouble of trying to hack it. Worth the risk. For iPhones only. Price: 99¢.
 To take a break from iPhone games (believe it or not), I check out games on the PC. In tough economic times like these, a good source of free games comes from the Internet at websites like AddictingGames.com and Download.com as well as cable channel websites like Discovery, MTV, and SciFi. Call them casual or online games, either way, there is rarely anything to download or register for to play them. In the past, I often wished I had a controller rather than just a keyboard to use so I can really kickback and play with my heels up. But I didn’t want to spend the money. So instead, I downloaded WifiPad for the iPhone, which works by connecting to your computer via a Wi-Fi network. While you’ll need to download a small program to your computer, it works very well, especially for games that uses the keyboard for default controls. Wholly customizable, change and save key configurations, visual themes, and even button layouts. Highly recommended for the cheap gamer in all of us. Price: Free.
 An oldie but a goodie, Koi Pond is a great app for the money because of all the additional enhancements created by the developer since it’s release, which really shows how much they care about their product and it’s loyal fans. The app itself is exactly what the name suggests: you have a virtual pond in the palm of your hand with random koi swimming into and out of view. The quaint mix of natural sounds, whether it be of light splashing or ambient rain effects, and sharp detailed graphics (check out the ripples in the water and the detail of the rocks underneath them) will help melt any built-up stress. Plus, with the added bonus of user interaction with the koi, the pond, and movable objects like the lily pads, experiment to your heart’s content to vary your Zen-like experience. Already a winner to many iPhone and iPod Touch users, this app is unforgettable, especially in times like these when a creative distraction can bring us a little peace of mind. Price: 99¢.
 It has been an obvious trend: music television not playing any videos, radio stations with a music format that spins more dupes in an hour than a 32MB Rio Diamond, and the slow adoption of satellite radio in every day life. So where do you go to hear something new, something fresh other than college radio where you literally have to be sitting on campus to even get a signal? With SomaFM Player, now listen to 14 unique channels of listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting from San Francisco on the go rather than just on the web. Released with better audio quality, more station info and updated news than the original webapp. Plus, a list of the last 10 songs played helps you bookmark a particular artist and song for later purchase through iTunes. All in all, a wonderful resource for music that you’ll probably never hear through commercial outlets. So please donate or buy this app for your iPhone or iPod Touch to show your support. Price: $3.99.
 If you remember awhile back, I was looking for a Lode Runner clone and I was so obsessed about finding one that I even used Bing.com. Damn Microsoft and their media blitz! Unfortunately, I didn’t find one, but instead, I got hooked by this cute and simple game recently released by Red Rocket Games. Little Runner is an exceptional concept that just works perfectly on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Play as an alien from a “strange race of Runners”, whose sole desire is to run. To those ends, you gotta help him out by moving slabs of stone up and down using the touchscreen. Ensure his pace is uninterrupted by any hazards caused by uneven ground, such as high steps and deep pits. Get scored based on travel distance and attempt to improve your high score each time. This should tide me over until I get a fairly loyal Lode Runner clone or at least until I get my hands on a iPhone 3G S. Highly recommended for its creativity, easy controls, and addictive nature. Price: 99¢.
 I’m no fashion plate by any means. My friends and colleagues will attest to that. Hell, even my own family is willing to testify for the record. However, those who know me know I love to watch Project Runway (now on Lifetime by the way), which is a guilty little pleasure that should be embarrassing, yet isn’t. Think about it: people working creatively and their work getting openly critiqued for a chance to win fame and fortune. What’s so embarrassing about enjoying that concept? Many of us have jobs based on the same premise. But, the bigger issue here? What will I do until the season premiere in August? Watch Bravo’s replacement show, The Fashion Show? No thanks! I rather spend my free time on this Style.com app, which shows you the latest styles for both men and women from fashion shows around the world. Select a specific designer from an alphabetical list and flip through a grid of different shots from their line, which include critical reviews. As a bonus, get updated videos, party coverage and Looks of the Day. A very sleek and highly recommended resource for the trendy, the slaves and the fashionably curious.
 Many of us were recently unemployed, the casualty of cutbacks because of the economy or so we like to think, just to keep our confidence high in our skills and experience. That’s how neurotic at least I can be. In any case, we all pressed on looking for opportunities in a fierce job market, even expanding our commuter comfort zones to almost unrealistic proportions. Interview after interview took us to areas that we’ve never worked in before, especially in the South Bay, which is how we all came into first using iCaltrain: Caltrain 2009. Now updated, the app still provides reliable schedules, ticket prices, and zone info, while saving the most recent stations that you have used, even offline, in a very understandable interface. Furthermore, quick access to the next two trains, return trip info, and a multi-touch system map helps figure out when and where you will be, especially in a tight schedule. Just as highly recommended for the daily commuter as it is for the Caltrain virgins out there. Price: $1.99.
 While I realize that many of you may not be Catholic, I do think this app is very significant since it shows that this segment of the population, which is fairly conservative, is open to saving the environment by using less paper and thus slightly modernizing. Does this mean that the Vatican will support all birth control anytime soon? Of course not, but at least this keeps hope alive that one day they may support it as well as female priests and married clergy. In the meantime, iMissal is more convenient than searching for a Missal/Missalette in between pews during mass, especially if you are late. The main app features are a Liturgical Calendar, all prayers sorted by alphabetical order, daily verses, and lastly and most importantly, all the correct readings for each day’s mass. While it’s not free like traditional Missals/Missalettes, it’s as affordable as a single and humble Sunday collection. Price: $4.99.
 Sometimes I wish we hadn’t promised to only recommend the best apps outside of the general Top 50 and the Top 50 for all other categories, since there are apps which I think can’t be beat. However, if it wasn’t for our mission statement, I wouldn’t have found Now Playing, which I believe beats the more popular Flixster for a couple of reasons. First, the app provides additional reviews from Metacritic, which are far more reliable than the user reviews from its rival. Next, while it may not support Facebook, it does provide access to Netflix, which is much more convenient than having a separate 3rd party Netflix app installed. Lastly, as advertised, when offline, local theater and movie information is still accessible using this app, which is major plus for iPod Touch users. As an additional bonus, both foreign country and language support are currently available and expanding with each update. At the very least worth checking out. Price: Free.
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