Making App Pie is the blog of Steven Lipton in his adventures and misadventures in developing Apps for the iPhone and the iPad and anything else he can get his hand on, including the Raspberry Pi.  You can find his apps in the App Store and more about Steve on LinkedIn.

Rashi Decoder:

Have problems reading Rashi script? Rashi decoder is a calculator style app to change Rashi style fonts into block Hebrew for those who know Hebrew but not the flowing fine print of the commentators.

Rashi Script is a 16th century Hebrew typeface. Like its Latin equivalent italic, the typeface was used to print small font sizes in removable lead type without chipping the type. Based on rounded Sephardic handwriting, it also gave a different look to commentaries and glosses placed around Tanach and Talmud on a printed page.

The 11th century commentator Rashi was the first and most popular of the Hebrew Biblical commentators. Rashi’s and the other commentator’s work stands out on a page of Torah or Talmud due to this unique looking font, Modern scholars, in tribute to the volume of Rashi’s commentary material in the glosses have named this font for him.

Since this script does look different than block Hebrew, Rashi script decoder is a utility to quickly transcribe a word or short phrase into block Hebrew. Type in a word or short phrase and its block Hebrew writing shows in the display

Hebrew Script Decoder

Do you know Hebrew, but when trying to find something in Tel Aviv, you can’t read the signs in Hebrew cursive? Do you get frustrated when someone starts writing in Hebrew cursive and you cant read any of it? Cursive Hebrew certainly looks different than block Hebrew. Many people who know Prayerbook Hebrew or Biblical Hebrew end up scratching their heads. Hebrew cursive decoder is a utility to quickly transcribe a word or short phrase into block Hebrew. Type in a word or short phrase and its block Hebrew writing shows in the display. A great accessory for your next trip to Israel.

MiPlatform

(for Scientific Device Laboratory)

The MiPlatform app is a companion to the MiPlatform microscope platform by Scientific Device Laboratory. Place your iPhone on the platform and take photos through most microscopes or telescopes.

This app provides camera functionality with added ability to date stamp or caption a photo while photographing, and share via Twitter, Facebook, or email. Even if you don’t own a microscope, great for real-time date stamping of photos.

Print on compatible printers wirelessly. With AV cables available from Apple, the iPhone can be connected to a video projector or monitor for classroom use.

Handwash Counter:

How many times do you wash your hands a day? How many time do you, a employee, or a loved one wash their hands the right way? In commemoration of Global Handwashing day (October 15), Handwash Counter is an app to count how many times you wash your hands in a day. The app tracks the number of times and the time of your last hand wash. With the flick of a switch, you can have a real-time lesson in hand washing, including a 20-second scrub counter.

 

 

Interval RunCalc

Planning a run or a race? Do you want to know how you might do if you vary your pace? Want to make a good training plan for a given distance? Interval RunCalc is the runner’s calculator for varying your splits and intervals. Interval RunCalc is perfect for beginners training for their first race or experienced racers strategizing an upcoming race. The app is a suite of three calculators for finding pace, time, and distance for runners:
Basic – Basic pace time and distance calculations
Splits – Takes the time and distance entered in the basic calculator and divides it into 1-mile splits. The user can change the pace of any split to calculate a new elapsed time and average pace for the splits.
Intervals – Create your own training plan. Add intervals of time and pace or distance and pace. The average pace, elapsed time, and current pace are displayed.
Other features include:

-For treadmill runners, pace can be replaced with speed by a tap on the screen.
-Users can choose miles or kilometers
-For fast entry, programmable presets can keep your most frequent pace, time and distance handy.
-Enter times and pace with the number pad instead of scroll wheels for super fast, convenient entry.

Train better. Speed up your intervals. Set your race pace for your next PR. Get Interval RunCalc and get your goals!

MiCellCount

(for Scientific Device Laboratory)

Do you have an aching back counting cells in a microscope? Wouldn’t it be nice to just point at the cells and count them? Now you can.

MiCellCount is your manual counting solution. MiCellCount takes a microscope photo from the camera or photo library and sets up a grid for you to count cells, colonies on a plate, positive wells in a multi-well plate or anything else you can photograph. Just touch a square where there is a cell. The counting is totaled for you. When you are done, save notes and your total count back to the camera roll for your records.

You can zoom, scroll and change the grid size to make your counting drudgery into fun and games.
Version 1.1.0 update for iOS7 includes new icons, look and functionality
– Removed grid adjust/grid zoom toggle.
– Replaced grid zoom with grid calibration system. Using a standard in your photo, scale the grid and save in a preset for later use.
– Added four grid size presets for quick adjustment of the grid when using several microscope objectives.
– Addition of a large spectrum of grid colors
– New help screens
– AirDrop sharing now enabled

Flippy Slippy the Penguin

(in review)

The poor Penguin wants to get across the ice sheet! But it’s so slippery! Ice tunnels and shifting ice are trying to push him off the sheet!
Tap the screen to move your penguin on the screen and through the ice caves. If you hit a wall of an ice cave you might fall off the back or spin out of control on the ice. Sometimes, the ice shifts and your poor penguin slides in the opposite direction.
There are two versions. In the easy version, the game ends when pushed off the back of the ice sheet, and your penguin will bounce off the upper and bottom part of the ice sheet. In the hard version, The game ends if the penguin falls off any side of the ice sheet.