Ever since I graduated from college with a degree in Journalism, I have tried to keep track of which newspapers have the best writing.  Consistently near the top of that list has been The New York Times (for the record, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, CNN, and the AP Newswire round out my personal top five).  So, I was pretty excited to find the New York Times app on my Palm Pre.

When you start the app, all of the latest headlines will be displayed.   You can narrow this view at any time, in order to focus on a specific subject area or category.  This makes the app pretty closely approximate the organizational structure of the real New York Times (though sadly without the crossword puzzle).  You can also choose to organize this front page with headlines and short summaries of each article, or even just headlines in order to fit more items on the screen at a time.

To read a complete article, just tap it from the main page.  In addition to reading, though, you can also send the article via email or SMS; or just hit save to add the article to your favorites. 

One of my favorite features, though, is the ability to search for more articles by the author.  I am a big fan of this.  If I find an author I like, I want to seek out more articles by that particular author.  So, this is a great feature.  Just tap on the author’s name and you will open a search of the New York Times website with all of the recent articles by that author. 

I was thrilled to find the New York Times on the Palm Pre, and I was very impressed by this app.  I will admit that it is not nearly as robust as the AP Mobile News Network app, but for sheer quality of writing, you just cannot beat the New York Times.

The time is upon us again to take a quick look at what new and updated software has made it into the JAMM Store over the past week.  While the list is small, it’s great to see that there are still some developments being made for the Palm OS.  The following is the listing for Palm OS titles:

New Software

• DVD Catalyst Free for Palm v1.6
• *FREE* Boosterpack 2 for DVD Catalyst 3 v2

Updated Software

• Rampart Puzzle Pack v3.1
• Words Hound v2.4
• Brilliance for Palm OS v2.2
• DVD Catalyst Free for Palm v1.6
• Mobiola Video Studio: Watch your favorite Videos, DVD, YouTube, iTunes on mobile v3.1.22
• *ON SALE* DVD Catalyst 3 for Palm, Treo & Pre supported v3.82

Gear Diary, much like the rest of us, has been closely following the Google Voice / Apple saga that has been recently unfolding.  When Apple issued a response to questions posed by the FCC, Gear Diary stepped up to the plate, breaking down “Apple-speak” into terms that everyone (read: non-Apple lawyers) can understand.  With translations like the one below, you’ll definitely want to check out the full article here!

What was written… “Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone. For example, on an iPhone, the “Phone” icon that is always shown at the bottom of the Home Screen launches Apple’s mobile telephone application, providing access to Favorites, Recents, Contacts, a Keypad, and Visual Voicemail.”

What was meant… “See that phone icon? We made it. And because we… Apple… made it, it is the best phone icon ever made. There has never been one quite like it. (Isn’t it pretty??)

If you think we’re going to let some user put a sub-standard phone icon where OUR icon is… and relegate our phone icon to the back page… you have another thing coming! I mean seriously, is that not the nicest phone icon you have ever seen???”

Windows Mobile Total Access has provided some good freebies in the past, and it looks like they have recently added a nice new addition.  For a limited time, you can download the full version of Speed City, a motorcycle racing game.  The game will run on Windows Phone (Mobile) devices both with and without a touch screen.  Please note that registration for Total Access is required and the offer is only valid for a limited time!

Tonight is Friday, which means it is the start of the Jewish holiday Shabbat, which is the Sabbath.  It begins at sundown on Friday and runs through sundown on Saturday.  Shabbat can be a very ritualistic holiday, with certain prayers and other activities which occur at specified times.  Of course, since nothing can ever be too easy, these times change based upon when sundown occurs.

So, what the Shabbat Shalom app does is tell you when sundown occurs in your location.  Based on that, it will tell you the times for the candle lighting and Havdalah.  It is a pretty simple app, but one which can be extremely useful for observant Jews. 

I thought it would have been nice if the app had been able to utilize the Palm Pre’s GPS to find your location, but that was not to be.  Instead, just enter your city or zip code and it will find you, pretty much anywhere in the world.

I have to say that I thought this app was a great idea.   It is not a complicated app, but it is often the simplest which are the most useful.