Time is running out before we're all enslaved by our robot overlords to build a giant laser beam for eradicating the rival robot planet Node 49 (look it up) but the MTA is letting us feel superior one last time by voting for the most useful subway smartphone apps. Preview all 42 applications here, and vote for your favorites from now until January 11, when two Popular Choice winners will be crowned, along with the overall winner. Our money is on the app that keeps rats from crawling on your face. more ›

Yesterday, CUNY announced that it was cutting off its freshmen applications starting tomorrow because of record enrollment. Historically, students have been able to apply to CUNY through the summer. City Room reports, "It is the first time in memory that CUNY will impose an across-the-board cutoff for applications to its 11 senior colleges and six community colleges... by late April, CUNY had already received 69,220 freshmen applications for the fall, 26 percent more than the number submitted through mid-July of 2008." CUNY spokesman Michael Arena said, "We're being inundated with applications. We're at a point where we need to manage our resources so we can provide the quality students have come to expect." more ›

Earlier this summer, the city announced a contest—"NYC Big Apps"—to encourage developers to create applications that harness the city's data and can enrich the lives of New Yorkers. But earlier this week, when releasing some more materials to developers, the city, um, offered up some private data as well! more ›

Guess what—we may be seeing more applications using MTA data, because the MTA is easing up on its previously strict stance where it would threaten lawsuits over copyright infringement and intellectual property theft. The NY Times reports, "pressure from politicians and technology advocates had been growing for the authority" to open up its data to developers to create applications with timetables, finding subway stops and more. "The authority said its core policy had not changed: it asks for fees only if developers use copyrighted material like the round symbols for subway routes." The MTA also admits, "We don’t have a staff that sits around thinking about apps." more ›