With almost 150,000 apps in the iTunes App Store, it shouldn't come as a surprise that some apps have slipped under my radar. Though it's embarrassing to admit, some of my great app discoveries happened only because I read about them long after their release, or I had a friend pull out their iPhone and say, "You mean you've never tried 'X'?" But I think that's part of what is so fun about owning an iPhone: you virtually never stop discovering new things you can do with it even if the app isn't brand new.

With that said, I've made a couple of recent app discoveries through friends that are worthy of checking out. Both have received recent upgrades, making them even better, so even if you have tried them, they may be worth a second look. Long-time readers have probably noticed that I always ask what your favorite apps are at the end of every post and now you know why; I'm always on the lookout for new (to me) apps!

This week's apps include a program that helps you take better photos and a game that some people may recognize from their local pub.

Gorillacam (Free) has been around for quite some time, but a recent update adds even more options for enhancing your iPhone photos. With Gorillacam you'll be able to take three-shot bursts to capture the best moment of an action-oriented scene, time-lapse sequences for interesting photo projects, self-timer shots so you can get into the picture, and several other types of shots. The app comes with a zoom slider for close-ups and an intuitive interface for selecting the type of shot you want to take.

What make Gorillacam especially useful are the settings associated with each function of the app. You start by hitting the button on the far left to select from many different features, like the self-timer, time-lapse, and even antishake to keep your image clear. You also can use a level for precise shots, a grid to align your subject, and a feature that lets you press anywhere on the screen to initiate snapping a picture (great for holding out the iPhone to take a picture of you and a friend). Flip the appropriate switch to the on position to take that type of shot. Once you've selected the shot type, you can use a second button to adjust the parameters, like how many seconds between shots (time-lapse) or how long to wait before taking a shot (self-timer). Overall, if you've been looking for a good photo app with a self-timer or want to take your iPhone camera to the next level, Gorillacam is a great free option.

10 Pin Shuffle ($3.99) lets you play a 3D version of the popular pub game Shuffleboard, with the added capability to bowl and play an interesting game of Poker all on the Shuffleboard surface. The 3D graphics are silky smooth and the physics make the game feel very realistic even within the confines of the iPhone screen. Set up your shot by touching the screen to move the puck from side to side, then adjust the angle by touching and dragging on the arrows above your puck. When you're ready, touch and hold the puck and use a controlled forward motion to send it down the surface of the Shuffleboard table. Perfecting your shot takes some getting used to, but fortunately 10 Pin Shuffle offers beginning and advanced control settings to make things easier or more realistic depending on your skill level. You can play against a computer-controlled opponent (four skill levels) or you can play with a friend on the same iPhone or with two iPhones over the same Wi-Fi network.

10 Pin Shuffle would be good enough with the Shuffleboard game alone, but it also works surprisingly well to play 10 frames of bowling using the same control scheme with pins set up at the end of the playing surface. The game also includes a Poker game tied to the bowling game, with each player receiving a card for a strike or spare. The object is to make the best five-card Poker hand possible before the end of 10 frames of bowling. Overall, 10 Pin Shuffle does a great job with the classic pub game of Shuffleboard using beautiful 3D graphics, realistic physics, and challenging AI to keep you coming back for more. The extra games are just the icing on the cake.

What's your favorite iPhone app (new or old!)? Do you like the control scheme and features of Gorillacam? Have you beat Peter Perfect on expert setting in 10 Pin Shuffle? Let me know in the comments!

In week since Mozilla released the first Firefox browser for mobile phones, we've had a better chance to explore the Web on the Nokia N900. Firefox for Maemo, as it's called, is also available for the N810 Internet Tablet.

We go over some of our observations in the First Look video here, pointing out that extensions, in particular, are the browser's most notable innovation for Firefox mobile.

There are some limitations to the way Firefox handles the add-ons screens. For a start, the search engine icons you see when you begin a search (for Google, Wikipedia, or so on) count as pre-installed add-ons. That makes removing them easy, but it also takes up space in the add-ons manager, which is knock against Firefox for Maemo since maximizing screen real estate is the gold standard of the mobile experience. In this case, that precious space should be devoted exclusively to showing off add-ons.

So far, new add-ons are hard to find. Firefox mobile surfaces five recommended extensions at a time; expect the YouTube Enabler and Weave Sync to be at the top of a newcomer's list. Although there is a search bar, there's no way to browse the add-on catalog from the device. Your best bet is to discover what you want from the online catalog, which is clearly less than ideal for mobile users. Mozilla's Firefox developers might consider creating one screen for managing add-ons you already have, and another for discovering new ones, just like with NoScript, Adblock Plus, and TwitterBar.

We took some time with the Weave Sync extension in particular. Weave Sync is Mozilla's syncing add-on for tabs, history, and so on. Though it works among multiple computers, it was also envisioned to help mobile Firefox users quickly access tabs and search history without typing. You'll naturally need Weave installed on your desktop and mobile to get the two talking. We learned the hard way on a loaner Nokia N900 that your phone's clock has to be spot-on for many add-ons to work.

Weave Sync stores the encrypted data on its servers, which means the computer doesn't have to be on for you to access desktop content. However, since Weave rightly syncs tabs and bookmarks on its own only periodically, you had better manually sync those tabs if you want to be sure you can pick up on mobile where you left off on the desktop.

Where else does Firefox mobile need attention? Letting you optionally lock down a home page that loads each time you open the app, and accessing the download manager and remote desktop tabs before you load a URL. Text search and copy and paste are other features in Opera Mini and Opera mobile that we'd like to see in Firefox mobile. Performance speed and reliable Flash support are other areas that need work to help turn Firefox mobile from a nifty experiment into a viable multiplatform mobile browser.

Mozilla on Friday pulled two programs from its Firefox browser add-on site for containing malware. Sothink Web Video Downloader 4.0 and all versions of Master Filer were found to contain Trojan horse code aimed at Windows users.

In a blog post, Mozilla stated that the Master Filer add-on was able to bypass AMO's security tests.

Mozilla user CatThief discovered the threat, it said. And when Mozilla added two more security checks to its vetting process and rescanned its entire catalog, it discovered that version 4 of the Sothink Web Video Downloader also contained a Trojan horse program. Sothink Web Video Downloader contained Win32.LdPinch.gen, and Master Filer contained Win32.Bifrose.32.Bifrose.

Master Filer was removed from Mozilla's Firefox add-on site on January 25, and the Sothink video downloader was removed on Tuesday. CNET Download.com ceased hosting the Sothink add-on on Friday before noon.

Sothink Web Video Download 5.5.90819 had been a mildly popular Firefox add-on at Download.com, receiving 697 downloads in the past week and 63,716 downloads since it was first added to the site in June 2007.

Because the Trojan horse programs are tied to Firefox, Mozilla warns, host computers won't be infected until Firefox started. Uninstalling either add-on is only part of the solution, if the infection has already attacked the host computer. Mozilla recommends that users who suspect that they are infected use one of the following security applications to sweep and clean their computers after uninstalling the threatening add-on:

Antiy-AVL

Avast

AVG

GData

Ikarus

K7 AntiVirus

McAfee

Norman

VBA32

Infected users should note that only Avast and AVG are free.

Mozilla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. We'll update this post as we learn more.

When was the last time you checked your dryer's vent tube? My guess is this serious fire hazard slipped your mind, as it routinely does mine.

Speaking of fires, isn't it time you replaced the batteries in your smoke detectors? Don't worry: That low-battery beep will remind you--most likely in the middle of the night.

Household chores like these are critical, but are usually difficult to remember. Enter HouseKeeper, a clever--if slightly incomplete--app that reminds you when it's time to replace the furnace filters, clean the chimney flue, and so on.

HouseKeeper lets you set reminders for 10 easily forgotten items, including the baking soda in your fridge, the water filter, the fire extinguishers (they're supposed to be inspected regularly), and even your toothbrush (conventional wisdom: replace it every three months).

For each item you can specify the date of your last action (like if you already replaced your toothbrush a month ago) and the number of interval days between notifications.

HouseKeeper will deliver its notifications via e-mail and/or text message. Unfortunately, standard SMS rates apply for the latter; the app can't deliver its own push notifications.

What's more, you can't add your own reminders. In my house, for example, I routinely need to add salt to the water softener. Where's the option for that?

Also, as with yesterday's App Genie, HouseKeeper lists its items in random, non-alphabetical order. What's up with that, developers?

Frugal iPhone users will point out that you could just as easily (and for free) set your own household-chore reminders in the calendar. But calendar items don't deliver e-mail/SMS reminders.

HouseKeeper ($1.99) definitely isn't perfect, but I love the idea behind it and hope the developers will update and improve the app. Because, truth be told, I always forget to replace the smoke-alarm batteries--and the reminder always comes in the middle of the night.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

We've always liked the free Seesmic Twitter app for the desktop (Windows | Mac), but one of our biggest complaints when Seesmic crossed over to the mobile world has been the Twitter client's lack of support for multiple accounts. This is no longer an issue, a Thursday night update to Seesmic for Android now makes it possible to manage more than one Twitter persona.

We tried out Seesmic's latest version, 1.2, on Google's Nexus One. Logging into one account was easy, but adding a second (or third, or hundredth) account takes an extra step of pulling up the Options menu (the soft key to the right of the back arrow on the Nexus One; a hard Menu key on various other handsets) and clicking "Add account." You can make any account your default, and can skip between accounts from the Options menu.

The logic of multiple accounts also rears up when you post an update. You'll post to the account from which you're composing by default, but tap a button to cross-post your update to any other account.

Seesmic has thrown in a handful of other changes as well. Our favorite is Seesmic's status composer auto-correcting and auto-capitalizing sentences. The app also picks up in the time line where you left off and fixes several bugs. So far, the updated Seesmic looks and acts slick on the Nexus One, though an option button on the interface could make switching between active accounts even smoother than going through the menu.

A few weeks after releasing Thunderbird 3.0, an overhaul of its open-source e-mail software, Mozilla has issued an early test version of a successor that smooths rough edges and fixes some bugs.

A principal change coming with the first alpha version of Thunderbird 3.1, code-named Lanikai, is the inclusion of the Gecko 1.9.2 browser engine, which is the version used in the present Firefox 3.6. The browser engine can be used in Thunderbird for extensions that do things like show Google Calendar or let people take actions in e-mail that require a Web page.

Rafael Ebron announced the new version on a Mozilla mailing list Thursday night. According to the release notes, there are a number of changes:

• Several improvements to IMAP.

• Several fixes for Smart Folders, message filters, and attachment handling.

• Several design improvements and corrections to the interface.

• Download Manager is now accessible as a menu item (Tools > Saved Files).

• Stability and memory improvements.

The full list includes 147 changes in Thunderbird 3.1a1 so far. Obviously, though, expect more as the alpha matures to beta and eventually final release.

Trying to emulate its Firefox brethren, the Mozilla Messaging group that develops Thunderbird is trying to accelerate the release schedule for the software.

Originally posted at Deep Tech