I look through the new iOS releases and popular apps several times a day to find hidden gems to talk about here at the end of the week. Usually I try to come up with a theme to tie them all together, but I've been tracking some games over the past couple of weeks that are all good, but can't be wrapped up neatly in a nice little package.

Still, though the games are from different genres, each one has something unique to offer and I hope you'll be able to pick a game from the genre you like best -- I promise you won't be disappointed.

This week's collection of iOS games are all high-quality titles I've been playing recently. The first is a racing game of a sort, where you use grappling hooks to fling your car around a racetrack. The second game is the sequel to one of my favorite iOS snowboarding games, except in this one, you're skateboarding. The last is an Angry Birds type of destruction game, but goes the extra mile with a fully 3D viewpoint and other extras while you play.

As you slide around the track, look out for speed-boost pads to give yourself an advantage.

Slingshot Racing ($2.99 - iOS Universal) has a new angle on the racing genre in which you latch on to anchors in order to ma... [Read more]

The green lock icon on the left is how you can tell when you're on a site with the highest level of security.

Mozilla has updated both Firefox beta and Firefox Aurora with new features today, with small but notable security changes landing in the former and preliminary native PDF support hitting the latter.

The developer's build of the browser, Firefox 15 Aurora (download for Windows, for Mac, and for Linux,) now comes with preliminary native support for PDFs. This is a feature that arrived some time ago in Google Chrome, and helped that browser respond to large document handling faster than the competition.

This version of Firefox also supports the next version of SPDY, better developer tools, improved HTML5 support, and fixes to address add-on related memory leaks. The full list of changes in Firefox 15 Aurora can be read here.

The new Firefox 14 beta comes with a a few security tweaks. These include turning on secure connec... [Read more]

Are third-party apps coming to the Apple TV?

The Apple TV set-top box will soon support third-party applications, according to a new report.

The Boy Genius Report writes today, citing a source, that Apple will unveil a software development kit at the Worldwide Developers Conference next week. The kit will finally allow third-party developers to bring their applications to Apple's set-top box, ushering in a feature Apple TV owners have been desiring for years.

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The Apple TV has been viewed as a "hobby" device since i... [Read more]

FolderWatch has been updated with Retina graphics.

All of the talk surrounding the possibility of Apple launching MacBooks with Retina Displays just got a bit more serious.

A Mac OS X-based application today was updated with support for "Retina graphics." The app, FolderWatch, allows users to automatically keep a copy of a project on an external hard drive or file server. It might not be the most obvious choice for a Retina-ready app, but the very fact that it supports the feature is rather interesting.

For months now, we've been hearing rumors that Apple could launch a new line of MacBooks featuring the Retina display found in its iPhone and iPad. The launch could come as soon as Monday when Apple is will take the stage at the Worldwide Developers Conference for a keynote address to kick off the event.

Tune in Monday anytime after 8 a.m. PT for our Apple WWDC keynote live blog.

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Facebook's App Center has arrived, and it's got more than 600 apps in tow, including big hitters like Pinterest, Draw Something, Nike+, Path, and Ghost Recon. Let's take a look at how it all works.

The first thing you should know is that App Center is not a Facebook marketplace akin to Google Play or Apple's App Store. Rather, it's a hub for discovering new and interesting apps based on your Facebook activity and your friends' activity. In fact, whenever App Center recommends a mobile app, it actually links out to Google Play and iTunes so you can easily download it.

On the Web, you can access the App Center through a bookmark on the top left of your news feed page. Once you're in, you are greeted, front and center, with recommended apps and friends' apps. Also, along the left is a menu of categories like Games, Entertainment, Music, and News, through which you can browse.

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