''Is there a word for someone who blocks themselves from accessing everything work-related, leaving them only with Twitter?'' That's the question I asked shortly after blocking myself from everything Ars in an attempt to test out SelfControl, a simplistic (if not strict) distraction-blocking app for the Mac. Created by ...

iPhone forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski, who recently released the AMBER Alert for iPhone app, has a new app designed to help keep deleted data from being recovered from your iPhone. Called iErase, the app ''zeros'' all the free space on your iPhone and makes sure trashed files stay, well, trashed. The iPhone, like most ...

If flying a paper airplane to catch floating paperclips sounds like an appealing way to waste some time, then Paper Pilot for the iPhone is the game for you. In this first-person flier, you maneuver your aircraft through a variety of rooms, trying to catch each waiting paperclip. Catch it and it explodes for your pleasure. This ...

Consultant In-Stat just released a new forecast: It believes the number of potential mobile app store users could quadruple within five years. Some 100 million handsets that will be shipped in the next half a decade will be tied to application markets like Apple's App Store, according to In-Stat.

There's nothing worse than getting home from the grocery store and suddenly realizing you forgot something you needed. For those of us who aren't accustomed to making lists, it happens frequently. Paper and pen are so passé, though. Groceries, an iPhone/iPod touch app from Sophiestication Software, aims to remedy the problem ...

Imagine a game where you're the sadistic god of a very small island. You can create animated people at will and then torture them to your heart's content. Feed them to sharks, strike them with lightning bolts, throw them into a nearby volcano (it's actually an acquired skill) and, if you feel especially generous, feed them by ...

The Mac's ease of use is often cited as a reason for the platform's popularity in small businesses and home offices. Apple is now offering a new seminar for those businesses not familiar with the platform but looking to use Macs for their computing needs. Titled ''Your business on a Mac. A better bottom line,'' the seminars are ...

The third-generation iPod shuffle is here, and not a soul saw it coming. (These days, that's a rarity.) Apple's new buttonless wonder has been making waves and ruffling feathers in the days since its introduction, so we took some time with it to really see whether the hype—and the hate—was warranted. Unlike the ...

A year and 5 months after releasing iWork '08, Apple finally updated its productivity suite to version '09. Keynote 5.0, Pages 4.0, and Numbers 2.0 all sport some refinements, but this time around iWork isn't joined by a new family member. Apple touts an enhanced template chooser and more ways to share for all three ...

Rumors that Apple will unleash several new iPhone models when it releases new hardware this summer have picked up a notch. The speculation is that the company could unveil a cheaper, lighter iPhone, an iPhone especially designed for business use, and a netbook -- in addition to upgrading its current iPhone model.