The Best Black Friday App Deals

Black Friday's not just for real-world goods; it's also arguably the biggest day of the year for sales on great apps. We've listed a ton of the best deals below, and we'll add more as we see them. If you know of any we missed, let us know in the comments! iOS Games Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ($5) | Normally $17 | Free download, but in-app purchase unlocks all three games. NBA 2K14 ($3) | Normally $7 NHL 2K11 ($1) | Normally $4 Fieldrunners 2 HD ($3) | Normally $5 2K Drive ($2) | Normally $7 | Racing Limbo ($1) | Normally $5 | Great game XCOM: Enemy Unknown ($10) | Normally $20 Civilization Revolution for iPad ($1) | Normally $7 Civilization Revolution for iPhone ($1) | Normally $7 FREE Infinity Blade | Normally $6 Sid Meier's Pirates! for iPad ($1) | Normally $5 Pandemic: The Board Game ($3) | Normally $7 Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory ($1) | Normally $3 Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy ($1) | Normally $3 Shadowrun Returns for iPad ($7) | Normally $10 | RPG SOULCALIBUR ($7) | Normally $15 FREE Pinball HD | Normally $2 Apps Agendar Calendar 4 ($1) | Normally $2 | Lifehacker review Clear+ (Universal) ($3) | Normally $5 Clear (iPhone) ($1) | Normally $2 | Iconic to-do list Polaris Office ($1) | Normally $20 Scanner Pro By Readdle ($3) | Normally $6 Animoog ($5) | Normally $30 | Synthesizer PDF Expert ($5) | Normally $10 Printer Pro ($2) | Normally $4 Calendars 5 ($3) | Normally $6 PDF Converter ($3) | Normally $6 Checkmark ($5) | Normally $10 | Lifehacker review Screens ($10) | Normally $20 | VNC Today Weather ($1) | Normally $2 TextTool ($3) | Normally $5 | Manipulate text any way you want FREE Blur | Normally $1 | Create iOS 7 style wallpapers Delivery Status Touch ($3) | Normally $5 | The best app to track all the stuff you bought today. Plex ($2) | Normally $5 | Media streamer Paprika Recipe Manager for iPhone ($3) | Normally $5 Paprika Recipe Manager for iPad ($3) | Normally $5 1Password ($10) | Normally $18 | Password manager Terminology 3 ($2) | Normally $3 | Powerful dictionary from the creator of Drafts Missives ($1) | Normally $3 | Quick-compose emails Pinned for Pinboard ($2) | Normally $4 FREE Millimeter Ruler | Normally $2 | On-screen ruler FREE PowerUp - Retro 8-Bit Video Game Camera | Normally $2 | Gizmodo review FREE iYoga Premium for iPad | Normally $2 Final Draft Writer ($30) | Normally $50 | Screenplay writer SyncSpace ($10) | Normally $20 | Collaborative white board Boxer ($1) | Normally $6 | Email client. Lifehacker review. Money by Jumsoft ($1) | Normally $2 | Budgeting app Photo Transfer App ($2) | Normally $3 | Transfer photos over Wi-Fi Money for iPad ($1) | Normally $5 | Budgeting app FREE Trackle | Normally $2 | Project time tracker Weather Notifications ($1) | Normally $2 | Push alerts for weather events Actions for iPad ($1) | Normally $4 | Automate tasks Trails ($2) | Normally $4 | GPS hiking tracker Phlo ($2) | Normally $3 | Multiple search engines in one app Android Games FREE Fruit Ninja | Amazon | Normally $1 FREE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run | Amazon | Normally $4 FREE Angry Birds Space | Amazon | Normally $1 FREE Angry Birds Space HD | Amazon | Normally $3 FREE Bloons TD 5 | Amazon | Normally $3 FREE Quell | Amazon | Normally $1 FREE Hambo | Amazon | Normally $1 | Rambo, but as a pig FREE Sonic The Hedgehog | Amazon | Normally $3 Drisk (Droid Risk) ($1) | Amazon | Normally $2 Riptide GP2 ($1) | Google Play | Normally $3 Type:Rider ($1) | Google Play | Normally $4 | Interesting font game The Amazing Spiderman ($1) | Google Play | Normally $7 Dead Space (Kindle Edition) ($2) | Amazon | Normally $5 The Bard's Tale ($1) | Google Play | Normally $3 Need for Speed Most Wanted ($2) | Google Play | Normally $5 Doodle Farm ($1) | Google Play | Normally $3 | Matching game Simple Physics ($1) | Google Play | Normally $2 Shadowrun Returns ($7) | Normally $10 Rusted Warfare ($2) | Normally $3 | RTS Apps SwiftKey Keyboard ($3) | Google Play | Normally $4 Plex For Android ($2) | Google Play | Normally $5 Office Suite Pro 7 ($5) | Google Play | Normally $15 ABBYY Business Card Reader ($1) | Google Play | Normally $10 Principia ($1) | Google Play | Normally $3 Planimeter ($1.50) | Google Play | Normally $3 | Measure land area on a map Reddit Sync Pro ($1) | Google Play | Normally $2 SolarMeter ($2) | Google Play | Normally $4 | Measure and optimize solar panel output. FREE Diary Pro | Amazon | Normally $1 Meeting Minutes Pro ($2) | Google Play | Normally $3 Paperland Pro Live Wallpaper ($1) | Google Play | Normally $2 Windows Phone Games Halo Spartan Assault ($3) | Normally $7 The Sims 3 ($5) | Normally $7 The Game of Life ($2) | Normally $3 Picnic Wars ($2) | Normally $3 Monopoly ($3) | Normally $5 RISK ($2) | Normally $3 Zuma's Revenge ($1) | Normally $3 FREE Where's My Water? FREE Where's My Water? 2 FREE Where's My Mickey? FREE Wreck It Ralph FREE Where's My Perry? FREE Monsters University Mac Games Tons of games are on sale around the web. Check out Kotaku's Best Black Friday Gaming Deals for the full list. Apps Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 ($50) | Amazon | Normally $100 Paprika Recipe Manager ($10) | Normally $20 DaisyDisk ($5) | Normally $10 | One of our favorite disk analyzers ReadKit ($2) | Normally $7 | Feed reader with multiple account support Tembo ($8) | Normally $15 | Find files Controls+ ($1) | Normally $3 | Like Control Center for your Mac Unclutter ($1) | Normally $5 | Store random desktop clutter Phlo ($2) | Normally $4 | Search multiple search engines ABBYY FineReader Express ($50) | Normally $100 | OCR SketchBook Pro 6 ($40) | Normally $60 Windows Games Tons of games are on sale around the web. Check out Kotaku's Best Black Friday Gaming Deals for the full list. Apps Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 ($50) | Amazon | Normally $100 Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home 12.0 ($50) | Amazon | Normally $100 Norton 360 Multi-Device 2014 (5 Licenses) ($20) | Amazon | Normally $100 Kaspersky Internet Security ($19) | Amazon | Normally $25 50% off all Binary Fortress Software | Includes DisplayFusion Pro, Clipboard Fusion Pro, FileSeek Pro, and LogFusion Pro.

Mustbin Guides You to Securely Capture, Organize and Share Private Data

iOS: To access important information like your credit card details, ID cards, notes or anything else when you don't have them around, capture them on your phone with Mustbin. It encrypts all that data, gives you 1GB of free storage and guides you through each entry. The guides are the coolest part of the app. You can create 'bins' for each type of organization, such as your wallet. In your wallet, Mustbin will guide you through the process of saving all the details of your credit card with step-by-step instructions, including taking photos of it. Mustbin uses Bincryption technology for bin-level, AES-256 encryption on every file, so it's locked down safely. Still, if you do need to share that data with someone you trust—like sending your credit card details to your partner—this is a pretty secure way to do that. Get the app and take a day to get all of your information in it, after which it can be an invaluable tool to have.

Celebrate a Few Days Early or Late for Frugal, Hassle-Free Holidays

The holidays are meant to spend some quality time with family and friends, but you don't need to spend a bomb for that or put up with the rush of the busy season. Celebrating the holidays a few days before or after the actual date can get you cheaper flights and avoid crowds, suggests The Simple Dollar. In fact, he suggests checking a travel booking website for when it's cheapest to travel to and from a destination, so that everyone from your family can be there without facing a cash crunch: The best thing to do is to fire up a travel website and try lots of alternative dates for your flight. Is it cheaper to fly on the Thursday before the holiday and fly back on the following Sunday? Look at different scenarios, particularly if you're traveling as a family and particularly if you have lots of people flying for holiday events. It kind of flies in the face of the logic of the holidays, but if the objective is to be able to spend quality time with each other without making anyone face financial stress, then isn't it all worth it?

iChrome Turns Your New Tab Page into an iGoogle Lookalike

Chrome: iGoogle is dead and there are a few excellent alternatives, but if you want something that mimics the look of that start page, then iChrome is the closest I have seen yet. Of course, you need to be running Google Chrome and it's not as customizable as iGoogle, but it's still got a few neat functions. iChrome gives you seven widgets: Google search, most-visited tabs, Chrome apps, traffic update, weather update, Wolfram Alpha search, and news. Each of the widgets can be customized, and you can also change the background and the main Google logo in iChrome. In fact, the Google branding and functionality can be removed entirely, and you can set up your favourite search engine as the default search. The only annoying thing about iChrome is that it requires a bit of setting up. You need to manually drag its link to your Home icon and manually set it as the default start page in Chrome settings. It's a one-time thing, but I've never seen any other New Tab replacement extension ask for that.

Recycle Plastic Bags Into a Strong, Waterproof Rope Without Any Tools

Got a lot of leftover shopping bags? Instead of throwing them in the recycle bin, Instructables user foobear put them to use by turning them into a strong, water-resistant rope. It's not too difficult, going by his guide, and he reckons that a single strand can take his weight. The best part? It can be done without any tools. You are going to need a lot of plastic bags, which you probably already have or can request from Freecycle. Flatten them, cut them into two (between the handles), and make a chain out of them, which you then braid together to form the rope. Since it's plastic, it's not going to be affected by rain either, so you could use it for a hammock or swing. But one of the commenters suggests being careful when using it outdoors since some plastics biodegrade with sunlight. Cutting the bags into two can be done with your hands, but it'll be easier with a pair of scissors. And the same goes for braiding: you can use your foot to hold the chain, but it's easier if you use a clamp. While the no-tools method is an option, it's more convenient to use simple tools where you can.

Recovery Day Open Thread

By now, you probably got to relax and enjoy some good company yesterday on turkey day. Let's hope things didn't get too awkward! Time for a vibrant and fun open thread discussion hosted by the commenter driven Hackerspace and the mothership, Lifehacker. Now is your chance to tell people about stuff you learned, ask questions about stuff you don't know, and comment on life's incredible mysteries and magic. Enough of my jibba-jabba, get out there and start commenting!

Blinkist Summarizes Important Parts of Books for Quick Learnings

Web/iOS: If you can't find the time to read the whole book, Blinkist takes you through the most important parts of non-fiction writing. The app is entirely human-powered, summarizing learnings from the book in simple language, shortened for a quick read. Blinkist actually has a pretty decent collection of books already on it, divided across categories such as popular science, business and career, politics and history, health and happiness, entrepreneurship, productivity and self-help, and society. Arranged in a grid of tiles, you can see the author and book title along with a short excerpt. Click that and you get a longer explanation of what the book is all about and the option to read it. Each book is broken down into a few chapters, manually written by field experts, Blinkist says. The summaries are actually pretty great; I checked out a few books I had read against Blinkist's take and they managed to get all the salient details in. You can try out the app for free for 30 days, after which Blinkist costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Obviously, you should ideally read the whole book, but if you can't, then it's better than nothing.