The iPhone, and iPod Touch can just about do it all. Music player, phone, gaming device, and now you can add the iPhone to your toolset. No, not a toolset on your computer but your physical tools. The iHandy Carpenter is 5 devices in 1. The app has a plumb bob, surface level, bubble level bar, steel protractor, and steel ruler. All of the devices work well, but depending on how much handy work you perform, will be the determining factor if you want to make a purchase or not.

iHandy Carpenter App Store Page

Apple is definitely proud of their App Store achievements. On Apple’s home page, is a huge section dedicated to the milestones that the App Store has been able to obtain in its six month life span.

15,000 apps uploaded, 500 million apps downloaded by its users. That is definitely an accomplishment considering it hasn’t been around very long. Barring an unforeseeable fubar, it can only get better from here.

Congrats to Apple:

Have you ever been on the phone with someone that just wouldn’t stop talking? Maybe you’re wanting to eat, or go to the bathroom but the person on the end of the line has to tell you about some trick they just taught their dog. With uShutUp, you can play audio clips that can help you come up with viable reasons to hang up the phone. There’s a button that plays static which is the safe option for needing to leave the conversation. If you’re feeling saucy though, play the gunshots and make up a story about how you came under gun fire.

Going by the reviews I’ve read on iTunes, people have reported that it works well especially the static audio. For $0.99 it’s worth a shot

uShutUp App Page

It was announced yesterday, by way of company email that Steve Jobs would be taking a five month leave of absence to deal with health concerns. It’s being reported that Jobs’ second bout with health problems has stemmed from food absorption problems, which doesn’t sound pleasant.

Here’s the company e-mail that Jobs’ sent out about his medical status:

Team,

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

So, what does this all mean for Apple? First, you can expect to see Apple stock fall by the wayside for a short period of time. Second, we’ll more than likely be seeing Tim Cook the COO of Apple take over Jobs’ responsibilities. The rest is pretty much left to wild speculation.

I personally believe that Jobs will be back sooner than anticipated. The reason being is that Jobs hasn’t said anything about leaving for good, or turning over the reins to someone else. I’m not a medical expert so I can’t tell you how long ‘food absorption’ problems last, but five months sound like a “worst-case” scenario timeline.

What are your thoughts on the Steve Jobs’ medical leave? Is it really just the five months, or perhaps the sign of things to come? With the little information we have on Tim Cook, what are your thoughts about him watching things while Steve is gone?

Today’s iPhone App is very simple, but could be important to some. If you enjoy customizing your unlock screen, or change the customized pictures for those who call you then you’ll get enjoyment from Backgrounds. The app provides 50,000+ images all tailored to fit the resolution of the screen found on your iPhone, or iPod Touch.

Backgrounds App Store Page

A good portion of the iTunes crowd breathed a sigh of relief last week, when it was announced that iTunes downloads would become DRM free. Since that time, more details have been announced or leaked about some of the outcomes of iTunes going DRM free.

For those who like to “share” their music, you might have thought become DRM free would be a godsend. You might want to postpone on uploading your library as Apple has a system in place that can still protect their music from piracy. Encoded on each individual track is your account information. So, even though the music can be transferred to many devices, your trail is still left on the file.

[via: Cnet.co.uk]