One of the most popular free apps in the Windows 8 app store is “AllRecipes,” which is kind of a flashback, since recipe programs were among the first to be installed on personal computers back in the stone age. But recipes are still fun and so are the following apps:
- AudioBooks 8 has thousands of free audio books. We browsed through the stacks, so to speak, and were enchanted by “The Enchanted Typewriter,” a Victorian Era series of stories by John Kendrick Bangs
- Crayola Barbie and Crayola Hot Wheels are $3 coloring books for the iPad with animations, music and sound effects. Both apps work with the Crayola iMarker from Griffin Technology, a $30 stylus that looks and feels like a crayon. It’s not required, but the iMarker stylus prevents unwanted finger smears on the screen.
- Khan Academy can teach you science, math, history and programming. Programming may be especially useful. We recently read an op-ed by the former chief of Time Digital who said he wouldn’t hire anyone who didn’t know a bit about programming, such as in the “Python” language. (If you want to Google it, the article is titled “Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You.”) The Python tutorials at Khan Academy are great.
To add free Windows 8 apps, go to the Windows 8 store. To find the store, hover on the top right or bottom right side of any Windows 8 screen until you see the search icon; it’s a little picture of a magnifying glass. Type “store.” Hover to the right a second time and click “search” to search the store. This time type what you’re looking for.