Parents and students can now access the attendance and grades portion of Mesa Unified School District portal on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Looking for a promising career in a lousy economy? A new study suggests you're apt to find it in apps - the services and tools built to run on smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook's online social network.

A new software application for phones has just made it a lot easier for parents and children to write letters to Santa Claus. (Dec. 6)

The ever-expanding universe of applications for mobile devices, or apps, can be confusing to navigate. At least now there's a road map.

If you've been following the news, you might have seen this story out of the UK. A boy rang up a $2,500 bill with in app purchases. http://mashable.com/2013/03/04/kid-app-store/ Here's how his parents could have avoided that.**OUR WEBSITE:http://www.datadoctors.comFOLLOW US:http://facebook.com/datadoctorshttp://youtube.com/datadoctorshttp://pinterest.com/datadoctorshttp://twitter.com/thedatadocOUR RADIO PROGRAM:http://www.datadoctors.com/radio**

Microsoft is known for its vast network of developers -- independent, third-party creators of applications and programs that run on its Windows platform.

Want to know what the air condition is outside today or if a health alert has been issued? Ask your smartphone.

We wouldn’t know a Gila woodpecker from a Gilded Flicker, but we can tell you the East Valley is a bit of a hotspot for birders, who enjoying racking up wild bird sightings. Now, they can turn to more than a dog-eared old field guide when stalking avian life.

Want to try skydiving? How about testing your bow and arrow skills against a large purple enemy or fighting off zombie heads before they attack you?

For the taxpayer on the go trying to file a return quickly and easily, there's an app for it.

Arizona State University has been awarded a grant to develop a student-created mobile application that will list job openings along the Metro light rail route. The app will become a new feature to CityCircles, an app launched in July that lists train schedules, business listings and an events calendar for all 28 stations.

Local businesses are teaming with Metro light rail to offer passengers a new way to find restaurants, shops and entertainment all along the line. The Local First Arizona app for smartphones will alert users to opportunities that are within walking distance of each light-rail stop. Cronkite News reporter Desiree Salazar has the story.

Q: A techie friend suggested that iPhone apps were safer than Android apps because Apple is so controlling of who can offer apps to iPhone users. Is this true? - Margaret