Awesome Software

Microsoft’s upstart Garage initiative released Fetch!, a fun iOS app which uses sophisticated AI tech to identify the breed of dogs using photos you upload. It’s pretty accurate when it comes to dogs – though the results when uploading human portraits are pretty silly.

Included in the upcoming version of Android OS, Google Now on Tap lets you use Google Now without leaving the app you’re currently in. It will guess what information you need, or you can get a specific answer via voice command.

A Mac and Windows app for mirroring iOS and Android devices. Mirror your mobile device’s screen, stream media and record screencasts to your computer, even with multiple devices at once. The video shows the original Reflector.

The other Steve Wozniak has created this ridiculous Chrome extension which does its best to identify faces on every web page, and replace their peepers (and occasionally other orifices) with googly eyes. Guaranteed minutes of fun!

Astropad is a pair of Mac and iPad apps that turn the iPad into a graphics tablet, with up to 60fps mirroring over WiFi or USB. It works with any Mac application as well as with a variety of pressure-sensitive styli.

Pushbullet started out as a way to send files and links to and from a PC and a mobile device. Now the app lets you reply to WhatsApp, Telegram, Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and Line messages received on Android 4.4+ devices.

An app that instantly solves math equations using your phone’s camera, then shows you the step by step solution. It can solve simple arithmetic and algebra equations. Available for iOS and Windows Phone; Android version drops in 2015.

The new Adobe Brush app lets you make custom brushes out of anything you can take a picture of: a line, a pattern or even your face. You can then save and use your brushes on Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC and Photoshop Sketch.

Adobe’s concept video shows what it thinks will be the future of its applications in a world filled with touchscreens and mobile devices. The apps shown have convenient multitouch shortcuts and wireless interaction between devices.

Made by Georgia Tech student Jay Zuerndorfer, Captioning on Glass uses a companion Android app to translate speech into text in real time. Jay and his schoolmates are also working on a language translation software.

Coming in 2015, Windows 10 aims to combine the touch-friendly and versatile Windows 8 with the desktop-friendly and familiar Windows 7. For instance, you’ll be able to shift between a tablet and a desktop mode at will.

Ballloon – yep, three Ls – is a Google Chrome extension that sends images or linked files on the Web directly to your Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Copy or SugarSync account. No need to download then upload the file.

Acorns links your checking account and invests spare change from purchases through that account. Your portfolio is diversified and transparent, and you can deposit or withdraw at any time. Android and web versions coming soon.

A free service for iOS and Android that lets you transfer links, files and more between a PC and a mobile device, or to other Pushbullet users. Android users can also use it to get call and text notifications on their computer.

Smithson Martin’s limited edition Emulator ELITE is an all-in-one digital DJ system with a large see-through touchscreen, on-board Mac Mini, Lumen 3000 Projector and Motu 4-pre sound card, providing an instant kit for pro DJs.

Previously exclusive to the iPad, Parallels’ mobile-friendly remote desktop software is now available for the iPhone as well as Android tablets and smartphones. It’s also more affordable now, down to $20 from $80 per year.

Microsoft finally released full featured versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint made for the iPad. The free download lets you read Office docs; subscribe to Office365 to get the full apps plus the desktop versions of Office. More here.

A free cloud bookmarking service. Save images, videos, texts and links via a simple drag-and-drop interface. We know “drag” is in its name, but it would be even more useful with keyboard shortcuts and/or right-click context menus.

A Chrome browser plugin which creates a visualization of all sites visited in your browser’s history, using nothing but Favicons – those tiny icons which appear in your toolbar. Each icon is clickable, and you can highlight by time of day.

Used in Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment shows off the power and flexibility of their new engine, which isn’t just about amazing graphics, it’s designed to improve the workflow and creativity of game developers.

Are you really forgetful? Do you work best with deadlines? Or maybe you just want to see your life quantized? Check out Progress Bars of Life. This free Windows program lets you set alarms or reminders that are displayed as progress bars.

Made by Sean Anderson, Streamus is a free browser extension for Chrome that lets you stream music – or any audio – from YouTube. It has its own popup window and lets you save playlists and find related music.

Developer Evil Window Dog wants to save us from a 21st century plague. Horizon is a video recording app for iOS that always takes videos in landscape mode, regardless of device orientation. This should be standard on all phones.