Keeping track of your movies

“I’m as big a fan of Netflix streaming videos as anyone, but I also have a big library of Blu-rays and DVDs. DVD Profiler enables me to keep track of my library – which is around 1,000 movies and growing – on my PC, iPad and iPhone. It took only a couple of hours to get all of those movies into a profiler database by scanning their barcodes with my iPhone. Now I can sift through a DVD bargain bin and quickly check my iPhone to see if I already own the movie I’m thinking of buying. When I’m home, I use Profiler on the iPad while I’m watching a movie to read reviews about it and look up its cast and crew. And I use it on the PC to sync my mobile devices and browse my collection to find movies I want to watch and get recommendations from thousands of other Profiler users.”

– Executive Editor Scott Wasser

DVD PROFILER, developed by Invelos Software, is a program that catalogs your DVD and Blu-ray collection on your computer and mobile devices. It lists the title, rating, lead actors, cast and crew, a short plot summary and other details about each movie you own. There is a free version of this you can download for your computer and mobile devices, or you can pay for an upgraded version. It can be downloaded at the iTunes app store or the official website (www.invelos.com).

Play QRANK around the world

“The trivia game QRANK! Highly addictive; I play it daily.” – Twitter user TorreyHam

QRANK, created by Ricochet Labs, is a free trivia game app similar to games like Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy. Each round has 15 to 20 possible questions in seven different categories: Entertainment, Sports, Literature, Business, Science & Nature, History & Place, and Life. The user competes against his own highest score and against thousands of friends, relatives and strangers from around the world. It also can be played for free on its Facebook app. It can be downloaded through the iTunes App store for iPod touch, iPad and iPhone.

Get a friend’s take on a movie

“Flixster (for movie times and Rotten Tomato reviews).” – Facebook follower Tor de Vries

FLIXSTER is a website that encourages fans to share movie ratings, review the movies they’ve seen and get movie suggestions based on their already established taste. It has an app on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and now on all mobile devices. Anyone with this app can get trailers, reviews and showtimes on the go. It is the top movie app on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Flixster is free and also tells users what their friends thought of upcoming movies, who stars in them and what the critic rating is. This app can be downloaded for any smartphone or tablet, and it is free.

For some words with friends

“Words with Friends (and Merriam’s Dictionary to go with WWF’s!!).” – Facebook follower Jane VanDerburgh Dumais

WORDS WITH FRIENDS, published by Zynga, is a game similar to Scrabble. Friends can play crossword puzzle matches against one another and see who has the best vocabulary. Random challengers also are allowed, and up to 20 games can be played at once. There is a free version, but the $2.99 price for an ad-free version is worth it if you’re playing daily. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and now Android too. It can be found in the iTunes and Android app stores. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary app is the mobile version of the famous book, and it is a free download in the app stores. If you’re trying to do a move in Words with Friends and can’t decide if qunak is a word or not, that handy app will be on hand to say, “No, stop making up words.”

Stop calls and dream on

 “How do I pick just one! Lol. Okay, the one that makes my life so much easier is “sweet dreams.” I love that app.” – Twitter user DarlaBear

SWEET DREAMS, created by Inizziativa Networks, is an Android app that helps the phone owner sleep through unnecessary alerts while still allowing emergency alarms to get through. When the user goes to sleep, he can customize settings on this app to let an alarm clock or certain phone number wake him up while shutting down the ones that can wait until morning. It can be set on a timed schedule so that, for example, at 10 p.m. every night, Sweet Dreams turns off email but not texts. The user also can set a location and motion-detector setting. This is a great tool for any organized individual. This app is free to download at the Android app store.