Apps

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Pretty soon, the best place to be on the lookout for wolves, grizzly bears, bison and other wildlife in Yellowstone National Park could be your phone.

Just don't be surprised if lots of other people get the same idea and most of the creatures you see are the two-legged variety.

New smartphone apps enable people to pinpoint where they've recently seen critters in Yellowstone. People who drive to those locations can -- at least in theory -- improve their odds of seeing wildlife compared to the typical tourist's dumb luck.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Christine Egy Rose realized she was on to something powerful. Instead of the awkward monosyllabic two-minute exchange her two-year-old son Jackson typically had over a video chat link with relatives, he spent a full 50 minutes happily working on a shared drawing with his grandmother in Florida, using the video chat's embedded drawing feature that Egy Rose was developing.

LAYTON -- IASIS Healthcare is releasing a mobile app for smartphones and iPads that instantly provides users with up-to-date emergency room wait times at all IASIS hospitals, along with physician directories and GPS-enabled directions.

The free app can be downloaded at Apple's App Store and Google's Android Apps Market. Links can be found at www.davishospital.com/apps.

FARGO, N.D. -- When a powerful blizzard ripped through North Dakota last winter, hundreds of drivers were stranded as white-out conditions shuttered interstates spanning the state. Snow whipped up by wind marred the lines between pavement and grassy drop-offs, leaving some scared motorists unsure what to do.

Two local software developers figured they could help.

Bob Bertsch, an employee with the North Dakota State University Extension Service, and Jake Joraanstad, an NDSU computer engineering major, had just finished developing an app to help residents during floods when the blizzard hit in March, convincing them to shift their attention to winter disasters.

Winter Survival Kit was born. The free program, available for iPhones and Android smartphones, is both a primer to help motorists prepare for winter driving and a beacon when things go badly.

The humble camcorder may be going the way of the point-and-shoot camera, largely replaced by a device that's already in your pocket.

Smart-phone applications for recording video have yet to explode in popularity like certain apps for taking photos, such as 14 million-user Instagram.

OGDEN -- The Standard-Examiner has launched a new mobile-optimized website and two apps designed for smartphones.

This provides readers a customized digital experience based on the device being used. When a reader goes to the main website at www.standard.net, the site detects the type of handset in use and shows the appropriate mobile-optimized website display and content.