3 must-try apps for home improvement, family entertainment
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Brad Spirrison, managing editor and vice president of content for Appolicious Inc., joins us live for ABC 7 Eyewitness News with three new must-try apps.
Fountain
Free, iPhone
Have a leaky sink or need quick advice from a home improvement/maintenance expert? If you don't want to wait long or pay for them just to show up, there is Fountain.
The app, which is free to download, lets you search for immediate help from one of any number of experts on call. On average, it takes about two minutes to speak or video chat with an expert. You can use your camera to show off the problem or question. At the very least, you can get a quick take on the situation, if not a full answer.
Users pay $7 for every 15 minutes and start off with a credit. Fountain was created by the team that invented the Mint personal money management application nearly a decade ago.
YouTube Kids
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/youtube-kids/id936971630?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.youtube.kids
Free, iOS and Android
YouTube is great for quick entertainment and information and has a lot of great options for young kids including Disney, Talking Tom and even some of the old SchoolHouse Rock videos.
But if you leave your children unattended for a minute, they may click on a related link or ad that is decidedly not kid appropriate.
This official YouTube app only shows age-appropriate videos and advertisements. You can browse by category or search, and users won't stumble on anything they should see until they are older (or at all!)
While there are some learning videos here, this is more of a recess with fun entertainment offerings.
Do Camera by IFTTT
Do you take a lot of pictures on your smartphone that never see the light of day? This brand new app by the makers of the "If This Then That" (IFTTT) website helps you easily send pictures to selected groups, social networks and offline storage locations.
Simply create a "recipe" that lets you instantly send a picture to immediate family members, Instagram or Dropbox. There are also folders for Essentials, Home, Work, Play and Families that inspire you to store and get more out of the pictures you take.
Do Camera is part of a series of new "Do" apps from IFTTT that also do things like controlling light switches or thermostats when you approach home, or immediately send something you write to places like Evernote, LinkedIn or Google Calendar.
Do Camera and the other IFTTT apps are free to download to iOS and Android devices.
