cartoons

Kids tend to love both art and computers, so anything that brings these two things together is bound to go over well. Tux Paint is a drawing program that is both easy enough for kids to use and full of fun features and sounds. It may drive parents a little batty, but kids will definitely get a kick out of it.

When we first launched the program we encountered a configuration menu that let us adjust the program's audio, video, keyboard, and mouse settings. Certain features and controls can also be disabled to make the program easier for younger … Read more

Every job has its advantages and its disadvantages, but Christian Taylor's may have one of the best perks around: regular creative meetings with George Lucas.

You may not know who Taylor is, but if you've got kids who watch TV, they almost certainly know his work. He's the head writer on the "Clone Wars," the animated series that picks up the "Star Wars" universe where the movies leave off.

After previous stints writing for shows as diverse as "Lost" and "Six Feet Under," Taylor began writing three years ago … Read more

The big Apple news this week was the announcement that The Beatles music collection is finally available at the iTunes App Store, but that wasn't the only news to come out of Cupertino, Calif. iOS 4.2 for iPhone and iPad is extremely close to release, and we put together a slideshow of some of the new features across both devices. Check out our hands-on look at the iOS 4.2 Gold Master and the slideshows for each device here.

This week's apps include an image-editing app that offers a big list of useful tools and a castle defense game with RPG elements and a surprising amount of depth.… Read more

Trucker's Delight is a risque, arguably misogynistic driving game based on a popular, inarguably profane Web video of the same name--and each game opens with a short excerpt of that video.

You're driving a tractor-trailer, in pursuit of a woman driving a red convertible--with whom, let's say, you've had some sort of romantic misunderstanding. Your goal is to rack up points by bumping the red convertible as many times as possible, while reaching checkpoints every 30 seconds. If you ever don't reach a checkpoint (because you've been delayed by collisions with other vehicles, off-road … Read more

Note: This is an update of a post I wrote last October, which focused on the iPhone version of this app.

Do you like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Then I'm about to make your day: NFB Films for iPad lets you watch over a thousand movies on your tablet. For free.

"NFB" stands for National Film Board, a bona fide Canadian treasure. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, features, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.

All the movies are streamed to your iPad (via Wi-Fi only), but there's also … Read more

Soccer Superstars is a unique and fun soccer game for iPhone with cartoony, anime-style graphics, RPG elements that let you level-up special players, and challenging gameplay. Unlike most 3D soccer variants you find in the iTunes App Store, Soccer Superstars has a much more arcadelike feel. At the beginning of every match, you're able to choose a special character who plays as a striker with super moves for scoring goals. This arcade style is particularly apparent in the My League mode, which lets you play as your own special player you can level-up and comes complete with special moves … Read more

Pew Pew Land is a cartoony tower-defense game with fairly conventional gameplay but cool two-player capabilities over Bluetooth.

Fans of the tower-defense genre will quickly pick up Pew Pew Land's touch-screen interface and fast-paced tactics: you have to defeat a fixed number of enemy waves on each level, strategically placing a variety of upgradable towers (eight types in all, from simple shooters to rockets and lasers) along a fixed path with an entrance and exit. If you let too many enemies get by, the level ends. The game's help is scant but adequate, and Pew Pew Land's … Read more

Five days after Steve Jobs reportedly called the rejection of Mark Fiore's application by the App Store a "mistake," the application is now available to purchase for the iPhone and iPad.

Fiore, if you'll recall, is the editorial cartoonist who last week won the Pulitzer Prize for his work. It was brought to light by the Nieman Journalism Lab on Thursday that "NewsToons," a collection of Fiore's cartoons, was rejected by Apple's App Store reviewers in December because it "ridiculed public figures."

This inspired a fair amount of alarm from … Read more

Mark Fiore's job is making fun of political figures. And he's actually quite good at it, according to the Pulitzer Prize Committee.

Earlier this week it named him the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning, but Apple rejected an iPhone app containing Fiore's cartoons in December. The reason? Apple said applications that ridicule public figures are not allowed.

That presents a problem for Fiore, and all editorial cartoonists and political satirists who'd like to submit their work to the App Store for that matter, because, well, that's what they do.

Luckily for Fiore, the Nieman Journalism Lab took up his cause and wrote about his app's rejection. A day later Apple relented, and on Friday asked Fiore to resubmit. The New York Times reported Friday afternoon that Steve Jobs himself called it "a mistake that's being fixed." That's great for Fiore, but not every political satirist is a Pulitzer winner who can get publicity for his app's unfair rejection.

So what does that mean for the future of news or editorial products on the iPad and iPhone? It's safe to assume that quashing political satire isn't Apple's goal here. But it's a legitimate concern for the journalism community that to be featured on the App Store they have to submit their news content to a company unafraid to exercise what sometimes seems like arbitrary control. The thinking goes, what if Apple finds a headline offensive? Or what if there's an unfavorable article about Apple itself even? That's not to say Apple would do that, but its inconsistent handling of App Store submissions sets a troubling precedent. … Read more