Today is the annual Binder Day, so once you’ve made sure you’re actually awake (aka, your hangover is under control with a hearty Ratty breakfast), just make your way on outside. For everyone else, with this free Alarm Clock (Apple / Android), you won’t miss the fun next year. (Alternatively, find your asleep friend’s phone and download this for him/her.) It may also come in handy during finals, but that’s so far away from now…

Don't be like this guy

It’s Saturday Fraturday! Since more dancing and partying are on the horizon, and it’s impossible to not be doing either of those two things by now, we figured we would help you drink the beers you (probably hopefully) have in front of you right now. Rule #1: it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere. Rule #2: practice.

In order to perform Rule #2, you will need to download iBeer (Apple / Android). Once this is complete, pop open the app, face your phone to the right, bring your forearm in an upwards motion towards your mouth, and angle your wrist towards you. As you savor the digital beer molecules hitting your tastebuds, consider all the different settings in which this new skill will come in handy. Once you’ve practiced enough, put it to use at any one of the evening’s house parties.

Image via.

Duuuude, it’s 4/20. You know what that means: you need to find something to do between 4:30 and 6 pm (when the concert doors open) this afternoon. Something that involves sitting around with friends and not moving too much for a while. JC (just chilling). Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

With RJDJ (Apple) and ScenePlayer (Android), you’re inside the music. Open up the app, choose the Soundtrips mode and let your phone do its own thing. By recording your surrounding sounds, it gets a feel for what type of environment you’re in, and selects a song accordingly. Per the Apple Store: ”music doesn’t get any more trippy than this.” You’re welcome. (If you’re in a more active mood, choose the Moovz mode, and control the music by touching or tilting your phone.)

So right now, you use your phone for texting and calling, checking up on friends every so often, and doodling random words when you’re bored in class. What about listening to music, following the news, or all those other uses that phone companies cite in their advertisements? Isn’t it about time you get the most out of Siri and all her magic? Although it may not seem like it, Spring Week is actually the perfect time to bring your phone up to its fullest potential, because you’ll actually be using it more than you think.

First off, you’ll want to know instantly when the Spring Weekend artists drop their newest tracks, make reference to their upcoming visit, or announce where they’ll be DJing the afterparty. With the now ubiquitous Twitter (Apple / Android / Blackberry / Windows), you get all of these and much, much more. Virtually everyone has an account these days, and by starring your favorite accounts, you can receive notifications/alerts when a new tweet comes out. And although the BCA has already tweeted what we wanted to know, they’ll likely be posting updates on the concert days for delays more detailed time schedules.

[Read more →]

Despite it now officially being Spring Week, it’s also Monday, which generally does not mean good things. Whether you still have work to get done, a thesis to hand in, or you simply forgot that whole part about this week being a marathon (Happy Marathon Monday!), it was hard getting out of bed this morning. Lucky for you, there are two big events you won’t want to miss and two apps to go with them.

1. For all the ADOCH kids/intruders out there, Bump (Apple / Android) is by far the easiest way to share your contact info with your newly-met friends. All you need to do is open the app, make yourself a snazzy business card, and fist bump your friends’ phones. They’ll instantly have your name and phone number in their contact list so you don’t have to deal with spelling out for the nth time that you’re actually French Canadian… (You get my point.) You can even add your Facebook profile so you can “poke” your 2016 classmates, although that may not be the best thing to do. And now that you have everyone’s phone numbers, you’ll get to find out faster than everyone else where the party at tonight!

2. For everyone else, today is the grand opening of the Fitness/Aquatics Center (the Nelson? the Coleman? the JoFAC?), which means it’s time to get back in tank top shape. With Workout Trainer (Apple / Android / Blackberry), you get timed audio instructions, example videos and customizable sets, all with thousands of free exercises. You can also pick sets to target specific areas, and share (through Bump?) your most effective workouts with friends, just to show how much more toned/awesome you are. Granted, most of the workouts don’t require any gym equipment, so you might as well stay home — but why not go if there’s going to be a DJ?

If you’ve checked your calendar recently, you’ve noticed we’re really down to the final stretch: after this weekend, it’s Spring Weekend, and then reading period starts. So yes, if there was any time to neither party nor study, this weekend would be that time. But rather than spend hours at a mall shopping for things you don’t really need, in honor of the Ivy Film Festival ending tonight, we suggest checking out the movies before you get too busy or it gets too warm outside.

With Flixster (Apple / Android / Blackberry / Windows), you can do pretty much anything even remotely related to movies on your phone: buy tickets, watch trailers, read Rotten Tomatoes reviews, and even manage your Netflix queue or stream movies from iTunes. Since Flixster bought the Movies app from a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon in ’08, the app has consistently been one of the top movie apps on all platforms, so there really isn’t any reason why you wouldn’t already have it. There’s also a solid selection of highly-rated movies in theaters right now: Hunger Games, 21 Jump Street, Titanic, The Lorax… If anything, it’ll just be an extra reminder that you “really should go to the Avon/Cable Car more often.”

Pic via.

By now, you’re down to those three or four things that need to get done in order to fully relax on Spring Weekend. Although you have a notebook or a Google to-do list where you have everything written down, you’re never 100% positive you’re not forgetting something. Plus, what’s the point of keeping that list in a central location rather than having it with you when you get things done on the go?

No pressure.

That’s where Astrid comes in. Astrid (Apple / Android) is a cute red octopus that keeps track of all the things you have to do in a neat and tidy way. Yes, task managers are usually extremely boring and unsatisfying, but this one enables you to fully customize your experience as well as your tasks with tags, priority levels and reminders. Moreover, Astrid syncs your tasks with your Google Tasks, which means you can check off an item from your phone, and you can see it checked off when you get back home — satisfaction guaranteed.

The hidden feature though is that Astrid really is a great name for a personal assistant. “Let me check with Astrid” may not be the greatest answer in a job interview, but it’s definitely a worthy addition to your vocabulary. Did I mention he/she/phe was cute?

Image via.

The worst Spring Weekends are those when you have to work and/or study while you friends are slip ‘n’ sliding their way down Wriston…so GIT ER’ DUN.

With gFlash+ (Apple / Android), you have access to a huge bank of flashcards and you get to make your own in Google Docs. They sync wirelessly to your phone, so all you have to do is type in the question and answer and get learnin’. Although it’s not the best looking app, it’s by far the best free one!

Once you clear out next week’s studying, make sure you also study for exams the week after – there’s really nothing worse than trying to get yourself awake and out of bed after a full weekend of debauchery.

Image via.

Everyone knows Spring Weekend is a marathon, not a sprint…So get ready like you’re running one!

With free Endomondo (iTunes / Android / Blackberry / Windows), you get an awesome-looking app that can sync to Facebook (for impressing your friends), cue your workout playlist, track calories burned and even map your run if you upgrade to the $4 version.

Get a few miles in before next week starts, and you’ll be ready to power through the concerts and ensuing parties like nobody’s business. Run a few extra miles after that, and you may want to consider the upcoming Providence half-marathon…It’s all about the stamina.

Image via.