iMessage - A Real Game Changer.

I always knew that iMessage was a game changer, but I never really realized how much of a game changer it was until I traveled abroad.  During my travels, I had to turn off all cellular data and essentially use the iPhone as an expensive iPod, until I realized that a few apps would save me from ridiculous phone bills upon my return.

First, you should and must download SKYPE.  It is a necessity.  Without it, my phone calls back to the United States would have been over $1 per minute after all of the overage charges were assessed.  But iMessage, with its reliance on only WiFi*, which was available at a lot of the hotels, family homes and businesses made texting to and from many of the Caribbean and Atlantic Islands a real possibility.  Not only was it a wonderful addition to my armament, it was fast and free!   Although many in the Caribbean use an app called WhatsApp to deliver text messages, I was a little queasy about giving up my 500 member Contacts list to a third party developer while outside of the U.S.  What was nice was the fact that just about all of the people that I needed to contact carried iPhones.  It meant that even in small villages, I could still communicate quite easily with friends and family, as long as I had WiFi.  For those who did not have an iPhone, WhatsApp would have sufficed as well.

The wonderful thing about iMessage is its ability to be completely non discriminatory when it came to texting data.  I sent an 80 mbyte video easily to a family member during a diving trip without a hiccup.  And when I was ready, I used Skype to communicate with folks in London and New York.





Granted, I wasn't knee deep in the Amazon rain forest, for which this whole WiFi scenario would have been moot, but the Caribbean and Atlantic islands are immersed in intermittent WiFi - the quality of which is not equal unfortunately, but it affords a few free avenues of communication if you have a smart phone - and one particularly brilliant and flawless avenue if you have an iPhone.




Addendum:

Interestingly, for all of the chatter about Facetime on 3G/4G, I did not use it at all during my travels.  I don't know why, but it didn't really feel necessary.  Something I found rather interesting.  Perhaps not everyone is as interested in seeing you as much as they are in just talking to you.


*  Facetime was not available on 3G when I originally penned this article in August, 2012.

Targus Stylus for Tablets- Dark Red AMM0114US (Google Affiliate Ad)

Thank You Steve !

Thank You Steve !

I am penning a few words extemporaneously today.  At about 6pm my nurse called to let me know that Steve Jobs had resigned as the CEO of Apple.  In a way I was happy to hear about the resignation as opposed to something else.  Then my thoughts ran into the realm of gratitude. 

When I was a young man, I loved computers.  I used to hang out at Radio Shack playing with TRS-80's and learned how to program in Basic.  I never thought that I could own a computer.  No one could afford a TRS-80.  When an Apple store opened a block away from my house all of the geeks transitioned there, hanging out in our corduroys and Jordache/Sassoon jeans typing away and programming.  It was only a matter of time before all of us mustered enough courage to work night and day to purchase an Apple II computer.  I still have it!  It was Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who fueled the passion in us high school geeks.  Although we also admired Bill Gates in the process, it was the Apple II that made us believe that we could do great things.  Yes, it was only Visicalc and a crashy wordprocessor, but we created magic with the Assembler.  Who can forget writing in numbers?  Who remembers Peek and Poke?  

My first computer job came with an Apple II+, writing a script program for an all-purpose store, showing clothing, matching colors etc.  A collaborative project, it helped to pay down some of my school bills and tuition.  I then began working in a really ritzy store in Manhattan, doing their accounts receivables and database programming (all primitive stuff now) for about 6 hours per week.   The Apple community at that time was really close-knit.  We shared code and helped each other as much as possible.

It all came to an end for me during college when everyone went to IBM PC's and I had to go with the flow or suffer!  I went with the flow and literally, made no money for school, because the programming languages were so terrible.  I couldn't "make magic" with a PC.  So for years I held out, buying and building PC's until I finally came back to Apple in 2007.  I have never looked back.  It started with the purchase of an iPod for my wife two years earlier.  And then the full conversion.  I got back into programming again, albeit, I find OSX a lot harder than Basic or Assembler.   But there is really one person to thank for that.

I found the convergence of Apple products to be more appealing than Windows.  Everything just started working well together.  The computers spoke to each other.  Devices recognized each other immediately.  Even now, when I was "forced" to use a Windows 7 machine, it could not find my printer.  When I plugged in my Mac, it found the printer, the wifi - configured itself for its use, and just worked right out of the box.  Yes, Windows does some of that well now, but Windows XP and Windows Vista did not.  I finally found myself using my own cloud storage system.  At home and away, everything just worked.  I would only have to put my NAS address in once and it would find the NAS drive every time.  I didn't need to sync machines etc or sign in repetitively.  I have still not had a virus in 5 years on my Mac.  Although I cowered and installed an antivirus system a year ago only because I couldn't convince someone in my family to stop running in Root.  I did not want to press my luck.

And then I started watching the keynotes.  Actually, I started watching them in 2005 and was impressed and excited by the presentations that Steve Jobs gave.  They were exciting, invigorating and entertaining.  I wanted a Mac.  The commercials were priceless because they were so true.  I eventually purchased an Intel iMac and soon got back into writing again, because I could concentrate on writing and not the process of file management.  I again ran into the Apple community helping each other with problems.  Open source software that was to die for.   Software that actually fit a niche nicely.  And of course, the CRAZIES!   Ah yes, where would we be without mentioning the Crazies!  The ones who make Crazy movies about the Mac and about their allegiance to Apple.  The ones who stalked out the Comp-USA stores answering questions for customers that the store clerks had no idea about.  The ones who now stalk Best Buy stores doing the same thing.  The ones who look out for every Steve Jobs poll on Engadget and ensure that everyone votes at least twice - at home and at work.  The ones who push the envelope on Macrumors, MacDailyNews, Engadget,TUAW, Appleinsider and MacWorld,  asking for the impossible.  The thing about the Crazies is that one guy at the helm has been listening, reading and affecting the change that they have requested (some of the times).  That person has been Steve Jobs.   Steve has been represented in the media as being brilliant, assertive, rude, nice, bold and certainly ground breaking.  He has had a vision of personal computing that has been equaled only in Science Fiction.  He has made possible that which we believed was impossible.  The iPod brought paying customers to the post Napster world.  He convinced record companies to pay attention to this nascient entity and they did.   He brought dramatic changes to the PC by building All-In-Ones and then sped up the process by actually saying goodbye to a long time chip ally - Motorola.  The Intel chip propelled the iMac to greatness and catapaulted the Macbook Pro to being the number one most requested laptop in the world.  He had the vision to see what people wanted.  He implemented the ideas of the Crazies slowly instead of all at once.  He made it fun for anyone to play music, write books/screenplays, make movies by relying on that thing that humans do best -  concentrating on creating the project.  Gone was the process which made programs such as Windows Cakewalk (for music) and various video programs seem archaic.  iLife made it all so simple.  And above all else, it was all included in the Mac.   From the day that you purchased it, you were working on your projects.

He helped to revolutionize the way in which we watch television.  Purchasing episodes and seasons digitally, although the encryption was quite silly, it was a start and a position of leadership that others would run to follow.   Even in music, iTunes still leads the way. 

But if the revolution was in the PC, created and reaffirmed by Apple, it was the telephone that once and for all made Apple the King that it should have been 20 years ago.  I have never forgotten the day, the hour, the minute that I saw the presentation for the iPhone.  Steve Jobs reiteration of the three devices being simultaneously made by Apple and the revelation that all three devices were really ONE DEVICE.  I remain, to this day, stunned by that presentation.  It was by far the best presentation I have ever seen even 4 years later.  The build up, which was literally pent up demand for a major change in the way in which we use a telephone had been going on for months.  No one knew what the final product would look like. And I assure you that no one knew that it would have ONE BUTTON.  It was the perfect device.  Finally someone had listened.  To make matters worse, the ridiculous statement by Palm about computer companies not being able to take over the phone business, made the iPhone even more coveted.  Steve Jobs got it right!  He understood what customers wanted in a phone.  So much so that Google, Samsung and even Palm itself literally made buttonless phones and called them original.  Everyone who wasn't living under a rock knew what was going on.  Worse, the purchase of non-Apple look alikes were based more on cut rate pricing and giveaways rather than wants.  AT&T continues to sell the iPhone 3GS above other smartphones.  Verizon has finally admitted that many people bought Droids because they could not get iPhones and the sales of iPhones has proven that.

Steve Jobs is a visionary.  His ability to see what customers want and to drive his engineers to the point of near impossibility and excellence has been amazing.  Questions are now being asked as to whether Tim Cook, appointed CEO today will have that same vision as Steve has had for the past twenty years.  Apple over the years has created some phenomenal hardware which has been closely linked with its software.  That union has led it to being one of the greatest tech stories of all time.   As a kid, I looked at my computer as a device that would change the world.  It changed the world for me, allowing me to pay a lot of my tuition; completing projects and succeeding in this world that has become the future.  Three guys were followed closely by my classmates.  We watched everything that they did.  It didn't matter if we were going into Medicine, Finance or Law, we followed these three guys like hawks.  Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak were one of the Crazies, but only one did we look to for what was next.  We watched him get thrown under the bus by the company that he founded.  We watched him while he was at Nexus and wondered when he would return.  And when he did, we jumped for joy.  We became the Crazies.  We talked about it at Christmas reunions.  Some of us took longer than others to return to the Apple fold, whether we were detoured by work or school, we eventually came back.  It wasn't out of some crazy loyalty that we returned.  We returned because we realized that we were missing something.  We missed not having to deal with The Process.  We longed for the need to return back to the simplicity of doing that which we set out to do.  Neither the hardware nor the software should distract us from our primary goal.  We returned because of STEVE JOBS.

For making us the kids of yesteryear love science.
For making us, the kids of yesteryear, hang out in Apple Stores programming and have fun.
For making us make possible that which was once considered impossible.
For making me and my kids do our work without relying on the process.
For making my kids love programming (MIT's Scratch)
For making my wife love using a computer once again.
For making me pay for some of my tuition due to making affordable hardware (Apple II+).
For making music fun again.
For making family movie making fun again.
For making it easy to make a DVD (no mean feat in the early days) from personal film.
For making homework fun to do.
For making it easy to write custom software for kids.
For making the software less prone to viruses and other nasties.
For showing us that there is a different way to do things.
For making us quietly convince our IT departments to THINK DIFFERENT!

FOR CHANGING THE WORLD !  AND FOR MAKING US ALL THINK DIFFERENT!

S T E V E    J O B S,

T H A N K      Y O U.

FDA proposes Health App Guidelines...

It was bound to happen.  The FDA has decided to get involved in the Medical App process giving guidelines for apps running on iOS, Android and WebOS.  Full details are listed here:



FDA Guidelines for Apps


This is a comprehensive guideline for those wishing to write apps pertaining to medical management.

For an updated list of NIH approved apps, go to the following website:


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mobile/

Some likes and concerns for iOS 5 at WWDC 2011.

Stunning!  That's what I thought about the new updates to iPhone with iOS 5.  Along with elation, there was some concern.  Instead of presenting this in a paragraph by paragraph diatribe, I will list my thoughts on the updates individually, starting with the most obvious one that has only recently caught traction:

1.  iMessenger. --  Let me just say that I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Steve Jobs talk about this.  To me, this appeared to be $240 per year saved from this point onward or $20 per month for two 1000 texts/month plans.  Since most of the texting was between the wife and myself and friends who already have iPhones, I think that I would probably save in reality $120 per year, dropping the 1000 text plan to 200 for those laggards who refuse to pick up an iPhone.  This would drop the bill to $10 per month for 2 iPhones.

But hold on!  There are some issues here that will  need to be ironed out before I drop anything.  For starters, in my professional life I rely on text messages that have to be answered in a timely manner.  From what I have seen of the cloud services, for example with TODO, there have been some delays of up to 5 minutes getting the cloud to send an alarm down to my phone.  If this was an urgent text message from the family or work, those 5 minutes would seem crucial.  Is Apple willing to take the risk for something such as this?  But more importantly, will there be a bypass button to send a message via SMS instead of via Apple?  Secondly what of the stored messages?  Who keeps those?  Are they deleted permanently?

Personally, I rarely use texting as a 911 solution so the above may be hyperbole in the real world.  But it would be nice to know if this solution could really shave my monthly phone bill considerably.

2.  iTunes Music Match.  --  Well, this is not medical, but my goodness was this a whopper of an announcement.  I recall watching the keynote and having someone ask:  " So you can only do the songs that you buy on iTunes?  Epic fail dude...."  Only to hear Mr. Jobs say those magical 3 words, "One More Thing!"  The announcement of being able to convert your entire library into 256 khz pieces was enticing.  And with a 25,000 song limit, this seems like a lifetime of music for conversion to the digital cloud.

And then I got to thinking.  Was this the music industry's way of capitalizing on all of the "uncaptured" revenue from sources such as Napster, Limewire etc?  A sort of Amnesty for downloaders?  Or an admission of "We don't care where you get your music from, as long as you use this locker to store it for $25 per year."

And then I heard about the way in which iTunes and iCloud would assess whether you had a song or not - by reading Metadata in the song.  This is obviously laden with future abuse!  Metadata could scream " Lady Gaga " while actually representing " Madonna " only to have iCloud download Lady Gaga.  Increasing the clever meta data hound with more "free" music.  It could be that all of this washes out with the $25 per year subscription plan.

The good?  You finally have all of your music in one place, without the need to use that wretched USB dongle to the PC.  It's a great idea.

3.  The Camera Software --  Wonderful and about time!   However, kudos could have been given to the real mavericks who championed using hardware buttons in the first place.  Somehow I thought that the hardware button issue was to prevent newer additions of hardware becoming incompatible with the software in question.  But what do I know?

4.  Still lacking or at least not mentioned.  CUSTOMIZED RING TONES FOR SMS.   Read my other posts for my opinions on this.  Steve !  I cannot get rid of my pager if I cannot have this feature.

5.  Read Later.  Somewhere in the world a man by the name of MARCO ARMENT is fuming vociferously as his creation becomes a part of an operating system, reducing his potential revenue significantly.  I would have much preferred Apple to have purchased Marco's company.  His idea was really original and super for cross platform use.  I can use Marco's product on my Kindle, Mac, PC or iPhone.  I was surprised to find it here.

While on the subject of "gentle annihilation," there appeared to be features taken from other apps throughout the session.  If you're a developer, you have to be scratching your head on some of this.  I know I was.

6.  Still lacking.  The codec issue.  Will Apple ever support Divx or other non Quicktime codecs?

7.  iPhone Notifications.   --- Wow, about time on this one.  The present notification system was great for 2007, but not now.  This one looks like a winner.  Non obtrusive and I like the idea of not having to open my phone to get things to view my messages.

8.  Missing ---  iPad Guest Login.  Handing off my iPad to someone to demo is a no go when I have my email available for all to peruse.

9.  Wireless Synch.   Thank You.   Enough Said.

10.  Calendar formation without the PC.  --  Hopefully this means that I can make contacts separable by whatever criteria I choose - ie. Work/Home/Family etc.   This is sorely lacking in iOS 1-4.  All of the folders and separation are done on the PC in another application outside of iTunes.  The integration issue is going to entice me to leave Google's email and calendar servers.  I have always wanted to sync my calendar with my wife's so that we can figure out vacations etc.  Without a Mobile Me account, this wasn't easily attainable.  In addition, we didn't really want to have every single detail of our lives given to Google.   Don't get me wrong, I like Google, but having commercials interrupt my email and directing ads to me during the reading of emails is just not my cup of tea (We had a death in the family a few years ago and while making funeral arrangements found ads for caskets - that was a bit too much for both of us).  Apple's new calendar set up is really nice.

11.  Reminders.   -- Interesting.  My wife has not been a fan of TODO due to its complexity.  The idea of this program going across all iOS devices is appealing.  For me, I still love TODO, so I will have to see how this one pans out.

12.  THE CLOUD.  Well what can you say about this?  It's nice and the implementation looks really good at this point.  Will they open the cloud to other documents though?  Will Microsoft files be allowed in the cloud?  How about documents that do not currently run on iWork?  Will the cloud be accessible by third party vendors?

Where I see this coming into play was represented by several things that happened a few weeks ago.  My wife and I were working on a document together.  When it came time to store the document, we had an issue.  We had to put the document on a Mac for further editing.  Emailing the document worked, but that really was not an optional thing to do.  Now, we will be able to have the document pushed to each device and we can work on it together.   I really like that.

One worry about the cloud is the idea of automatically downloading apps to unsuspecting people.  For example, will my kids automatically get songs that I download to my iPhone because they are on the same account as me?  Is there a way to separate ownership of devices other than the use of the Apple ID?   Without the software in front of me, I cannot tell.

Overall, I have to say that iOS 5 is going to be a great update to iOS .  On the PC side, OS X Lion is a bit iffy.  I am still in love with the independent software providers and I am seeing a push to centralize everything.  That may not be the best thing in the world.  One thought that I had with Lion is what do you do if your computer crashes?  Initially, one would put in the DVD which acted as a Rescue Disk.  What do you do now?   More on that later..... For now, I am looking forward to OS 5.


LDD.

The iPhone flip Case - A Major Issue for 3 Companies at least

So, after my sensor problems with my current case in question, I began my quest to look for a new case for my iPhone 4.  I looked at a lot of candy shell cases, but in the end, I really wanted a flip case.  I was used to the flip case and I still feel that it provides a great deal of safety and privacy for the phone.  I am particularly interested in the so-called all-in-one cases which look very professional. These cases have a slot for 1 or 2 credit cards and a brief note or two.

The Sena Hampton Flip

I visited the Apple Store a few days ago to go over the Sena case issue that I had found and then to see if the issue was resolved with a new Sena case - one made specifically for the iPhone 4.  Unfortunately, I have to report that the issue remains the same with the new Sena Hampton Flip case, which is a beautiful all-in-one.  After installing my phone in the case, I ran into the same issue with the sensor that I had with 3G Sena case.   That particular Apple Store sent back the only Hampton flip that they had left.  It was an issue!

I then looked at other cases and found that many had design changes that kept the top part of the case away from the sensor, but others had the same design as the Hampton.  However, during my research, I found a case that I thought might fit my needs.  It is called the Belkin Verve Folio.  It is an all-in-one flip that has a unique flap that does not cover the camera, thus creating stellar pictures without the "tunnel" glare that you can sometimes find when a case is too deep.   It also has a small recess in the cover for holding cards.  Well, something interesting showed up when I did a Google search for the product.  There are apparently two versions of the same product available.  One that looks like the Hampton and another that has a completely redesigned top half.  I believe that this redesign is a tip of the hat to the sensor issue that exists with many of these cases.  See the difference for yourself between the two versions.

The Belkin Verve Version 1

This is the Belkin Verve Folio that appears to have been reviewed in Amazon and in a few video reviews.  All reviews but one do not mention a sensor issue.  However, the top part of the iPhone is very similar to the Sena Hampton cover, which causes the Black Screen issue when making or receiving a call.

The one negative review was found on the AT&T sales website.   In black and white, the issue that has plagued me for 5 months, brought up again in a very small blurb by one reviewer:

(Quote Verbatim):
"the screen dissapear and turn black for few seconds when receiving call. The top leather cover the sensors"

The Belkin Verve Version 2?

This is the same Belkin Verve Folio that appears to be version 2.  Notice the different cut out at the top of the screen.  Is there a difference between this model and the first that has sensor issues similar to those that plagued the Sena Hampton?

So how does the new version of this device match up with the Sena Hampton or the original Belkin Verve?   (Sidenote:  There is some question as to why the down volume switch on the first model is covered by the case while the up volume remains open.  I personally think that this was probably done because the case was originally made for the iPhone 3GS and ported over to the iPhone 4).  The newer model appears to be better, somewhat more refined.  It is this model that I  purchased a week ago and I will give a review as to whether the device encounters the same sensor issue as its predecessor.  

One interesting finding though is the fact that neither version of the Verve is available on the U.S. website of Belkin.  Is it possible that this sensor issue was more major than anyone cared to talk about?   The Verve is only available in Europe and that is where I am getting it from.  

So, I thought that I had finished detailing this topic, until voila - another set of unhappy customers, this time over at Case-mate, where they make some of the finest ceramic iPhone 4 cases, but where they also seem to be having a problem with the flip leather cases.   There is a beautiful leather case, another all-in-one solution called unoriginally, The iPhone 4 Flip Wallet Case. This thing is absolutely gorgeous, but alas, the comments on the web page leave a lot to be desired:

The Casemate iPhone 4 Flip Wallet Case

This, taken verbatim from http://www.case-mate.com/iPhone-4-Cases/Case-Mate-iPhone-4-Flip-Wallet-Case.asp

Problem with proximity sensor

Great case, well made, looks good for business, solid, good wallet for 2 cards or 1 card and a note. Basic error on design. The front surround is too deep. The proximity sensor catches it and the phones screen turns on and off at the most awkward times. Im putting up with it at the moment, but not sure it will be on my phone for much longer. I wouldn't buy this version. Id wait fro Casemate to make the front surrond shallower.

And another: 

Makes the phone unusable!!!!! Waiting for my refund!!!!!!!!

So I am a big fan of credit card slot cases. I was looking for a good leather case that could be used as a wallet. When I got this case I really liked how it looked. Then after using it for a day I noticed a major design flaw. Because this cause comes down close to the ear hole and front facing camera, it covers the proximity sensor to the point where the screen will remain off when you are on a call and it will not turn back on regardless if you have the phone away from your face or even when the call has ended. To turn the screen back on you must remove the phone from the case to expose the proximity sensor. So every time I got a call this happened. So in my honest opinion this case makes the phone unusable/disabled. I am currently waiting for casemate to refund me. It cost me over $5 to ship it back to them so I basically wasted money on this case. Hopefully casemate has good customer service and they refund me ASAP.

So, I AM NOT ALONE!  This seems to be a long standing problem with other manufacturers.  Perhaps the iPhone 4 cannot use a flip case due to significant issues with its sensor.  This is obviously not only a problem with SENA or BELKIN as now a third company, CASE-MATE seems to have the same issue.  Belkin has apparently withdrawn its name, at least in the U.S. from advertising flip cases.  Now that I know that the problem is found with 3 different companies' flip covers, it is probably time to do some reflection as to whether I should actually purchase a flip cover at all for my phone, which I have no plans on changing for at least another 2 years.  I would hate to purchase the OTTER.   But it is looking as though this may be the path of least resistance.  I am still awaiting the European version of Belkin's Verve and I will give a review on that as soon as I get it.   I think that if this does not solve the sensor issue, then I may need to come up with a prototype of my own....:). 



Addendum: 

Just for the record, I want all of you to know that Sena, Belkin and Case-Mate make some of the best iPhone covers and cases.  Personally, I think that I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a case from any of them.  They all make quality products so please do not take my comments above to mean that you should not buy a case from any of the 3 companies listed above.  Just be a little weary of the flip cases on the iPhone 4 from any company.   But feel free to go and see for yourself the quality workmanship that you can find and the great selections from these companies.  I have listed their websites below.  Believe me, my comments are no reflection of the extraordinary work that these people put into their products.

Sena Cases   http://www.senacases.com/
Belkin Cases  http://www.belkin.com/
Case-Mate Cases   http://www.case-mate.com/

Are Slow Upgrades getting you down? Here are a few suggestions to speed things up.

With every release of the iphone or ipad there is always a software update.  Sometimes the updates will come midcycle without a hardware release.  It is always an exciting time to see what new things one can do with a phone or gadget just because of a simple update.  However, for some of us, each update is wrought with negative feelings.  Will it brick my phone?  Will my usual apps crash?  Have the developers of my favorite apps kept up with the updates?  For me what is always scary is when I hear that Xcode has been updated along with the software update, such as what has occurred today.  This usually means that a new iOS is on its way.  And that usually means a hardware upgrade and the distinct possibility that  the new handset or gadget that was purchased a year ago will be totally obsolete or begin to run slowly.

But I digress.....For now, the main issue is whether the backup will go smoothly or take forever.  Indeed synching can take up to an hour on some systems and I have found a few reasons why:

1.  Too many photos in the iPhone directory.   This has long been a source of derision.  the plist file is usually corrupt in iPhoto.  It is one of the easiest to go astray.  Backing up photos can take up to an hour as some people may have up to 6,000 or more photos.   There is a discussion list on correcting the plist file on the Apple forums.  

2.  New Synching apps.  With the advent of iPhone4 we got what we craved for and we must pay the consequences.  A few apps allow the direct downloading of files without the use of iTunes or they act as sole downloaders in iTunes to download further files.  For the latter VLC requires iTunes, but you can drag and drop files from anywhere for a quick upload.   For the former, it is important to ensure that despite the fact that you can do over the air (OTA) downloads without the use of iTunes, iTunes wants to do a backup of the files that you have downloaded.  This can account for up to 16 gb of movies, music, pdf's and other files.  The ones that I personally own are these:

Air Sharing

AVPlayer

OPlayer

Documents to Go

For these particular files, I tend to delete the files that I don't think I will need before doing the backup, upgrade or synch.   For example, before the iOS 4.3 update, I checked Air Sharing, OPlayer and Documents to Go and erased all movies and large pdf files that I didn't need.  I can always get them back later.   For movies, that accounted for 12 gb!  PDF's were over 5 gb!  Never the less, the update took me a total of 40 minutes with backups included.   I also decided to forego backing up the iPhoto directory as I back this up to an online service to preserve my computer memory.

Hope this helps....


*Photo taken from joe-ks.com

The Best Video Player for the iPhone is OPLAYER.

(This article is taken from my archives.  I originally wrote it in January and in March, I haven't changed my tune, and yes, this is another one of my rants on codecs and iTunes)...

Update October 19th, 2011:  I have posted a new article reviewing what I believe to be the best video players for both the iPhone and iPad.  It is an update on this article  http://bit.ly/nPR40U



Tweet

I waited for a long time to see VLC show up on the iPhone - 2 years to be precise.  But having downloaded it on its first day of release, I have yet to use it.  Why?  Well, upon reviewing the early users of the program, although the reviews were good, one reviewer placed a very interesting comment, something to the effect of, "not as good as Oplayer..."  You don't have to say this twice to know that you may be missing something.   Immediately I took the opportunity to download the Oplayer program followning the VLC download.


The reason for a third party app is due to the fact that Apple's Quicktime refuses to play anything other than .MV4, .MP4 files or other simple file types.  It will not play .DIVX or .MKV files.  I don't know if licensing is an issue or something else, but it has been a frustrating endeavour listening to the Jailbreakers and Android owners boast about being able to play different codecs.  So it was a hearty surprise when an app called CineXplayer was accepted into the iPad app store.  It allowed the above mentioned codecs to be played by going around Apple's codec limitation and allowing the .AVI files to be uploaded via iTunes.  I fully expected this to last for only a few days and be removed from the App store, but it wasn't.  The only problem was that I do not own an iPad.  So it was watchful waiting until the CineXplayer developers released a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The rumor mills were filled with VLC entering the fray and I was thrilled to find out that VLC would be released soon.  I downloaded it the first day.  But it was Oplayer, an App that, until noted in the review, made absolutely no noise in the video environs, that eventually won me over.

I was able to immediately use the Oplayer App but not the VLC application due to the fact that the OPlayer application allowed for OTA (Over the air) downloads immediately.  The VLC application, similar to the CineXplayer on the iPad, requires iTunes to transfer its .AVI files to the device.  OPlayer does not. 

Oplayer is far from perfect, but I have not found any significant faults thus far.  It plays Xvid files and other .AVI files wonderfully, while distributing its .MP4 files to the Quicktime player, the native player of the iPhone, thus not duplicating services. 

One very interesting thing that Oplayer does is to change the port for each download.  It's a wonderful security measure and obviously something that the creators of this software program thought about for a long time.  You may start on port 2456, and not the usual 8080, but after owning the software for a few weeks, you will soon see 5255, but never the same port on the same day.  Again, brilliant security feature.

Standard video plays better than HD video due to the iPhone using Hardware acceleration for its native Quicktime videos but not for standards that it does not natively support. But Oplayer even has a solution for that.  Just like in the Palm days, there is a Skip Frame feature whch may improve performance with HD video.

Of note, you can also play .mkv, .3gp, .mov and .rmvb files, not to mention Microsoft's .wmv files.

Some things that I would like to see in the future are batch downloads, support for the Mac Centric AFP network for Airport and a working meter to tell how much longer the download will take. Other than that I really have no issues with the software.  It does its job very well.

So, if you are looking for an alternative to QuickTime, I think Oplayer is worth a look.  In fact out of all the video players that I own on my iPhone, I would rate this as the best.  The cost is $2.99 as of this writing and it is found in the App Store on iTunes.  The maker of the software is Olimsoft.

LDD.


Update:  A few newcomers have joined the fray since my post, but rest assured, although there was a little hiccup in an update made to the software a few months ago, the most recent iteration of the OPlayer app remains my pick for the best video player for the iPhone.   There is now some early support for SMB direct streaming and downloading.  Although not quite AFP, SMB or Samba, is a worthy alternative and OPlayer streams flawlessly.  So if you have a NAS drive you can access movies, music etc directly.  This addition is quite welcomed.  

Updated September 16th, 2011.

LDD.

One solution for Facetime Problems.

For most of us the iPhone 4 is an upgrade from either the iPhone 3G or 3GS.  Unfortunately, this little upgrade appears to be causing a small problem with Facetime.  It turns out that there are about 5 port ranges that need to remain open during a Facetime conversation.  Additionally, a small amount of Port Forwarding takes place in the Router (required for current Facetime usage on wifi).

It seems that if you set up your router to include the 5 port ranges, leaving the ports open, you will not necessarily solve the problem.   Additional Port Forwarding on a manual basis does not help either.  I used a Linksys router for the past few years and I thought that I had to update the software.   I eventually got Facetime to work on my Linksys router, by first of all not changing any of the 5 port ranges recommended by Apple or invoking Port Forwarding.

So what is the solution that I found?  Well, I actually didn't find it.  It was a simple suggestion that was suggested to me by one of the Apple Geniuses at the Genius Bar.  I applied the recommendation on the two phones and voila, Facetime worked like a charm.  If you are going to do this, you will need to know the following information:

1.  The following actions will reset the Wifi connections on your phone, but will leave all telephony and app data alone.
2.  It will not erase your phone, if done correctly.
3.  You will have to put in ALL network passwords to get on Access points or Routers again.
4.  It will not affect Exchange Server data.
5.  It will NOT erase your phone.


What I did was this and in this order:

1.  Go to Settings.
2.  Go to General.
3.  Go to Reset.
4.  Select "Reset Network Settings."

Once you confirm that this is what you want to do, do a soft reset of the phone.   The AT&T logo will take a little longer to come up and your bars should come up also.  You will have to set up your wifi connection on your phone again.  But before doing this, ensure that you turn off your Router and leave it off for about 15 seconds before turning it back on.  You can then turn the router back on and sign in to your network.

The only issue with this is that you will not be able to tell if Facetime will work if both phones are in the same household using the same router.  That will usually always work.  The proof will be when the other person is at a Wifi hotspot and calls in or if you call them on Facetime.  That is the test.

The first inkling that I had of this problem was the fact that I was able to do Wifi Facetime to someone outside of my home only if I was at an Access point outside of the home.  I could only communicate via Facetime with my wife who also has an iPhone while we were both on the same router.  We could not communicate outside of the house.  With the Reset, I am now able to do so. 

My theory is that the mechanism to do Facetime, including getting around ports on the router without having to reset the router were not available until now. The 3G setup is probalby deficient somewhere in making iPhone work.  The settings on the 4G are different, hence the need to fully erase the 3G settings and leave only the 4G settings being sent to the Router.  Since the change was made, we have no dropouts and Facetime is wonderful, even 30-50 miles away at times, which is as far as I've travelled to use it.

Let me know what you think about Facetime and if you have any other solutions to give others.

NAMECHANGER

So you have a camera that you bought a few years ago and you run into the biggest problem plaguing everyone who owns a digital camera.  And if you think that you don't have this problem, well let's just say that it is something that you are going to find out about very soon.

You see there is a little problem that just about every camera manufacturer forgets to tell you about.  And it is a problem located on ALL digital cameras.  It is similar to the 1999  Y2K problem.  Without backing up your photo collection this problem will wipe out a lot of fond memories. 

Sony F717 

The problem is this.  When you take a photo, your camera starts a counter.  The first picture is labelled 0001.  If you have a Sony camera it is proceeded by the letters DSC ie. DSC0001.JPG, with the suffix .jpg added to let the computer know that it is a jpeg file.  Other cameras will do the same, ie. MSC0001.JPG, Cannon uses IMG, ie IMG0001.JPG. The first thing that  you will notice is that there are only 4 digits.  That is where the problem arises!

When you get to picture #10,000 the camera rolls back to 0001.  If you are using iPhoto and you do not relabel your photos this is akin to wiping out the original 0001.jpg photo that you have in your catalog.  In my case, those were the pictures of the birth of my son.  I was saved only in knowing that I had a back up of those precious early photos.  Additionally, I did not realize the problem until I took picture # 10,110 !  That's right 110 of my original photos taken 8 years ago with my Sony DSC-F717 were completely gone from my iPhoto catalog.   Again, I was saved only by the knowledge that a backup existed for these.

The next problem that has arisen is what happens when your spouse or child decides to get a camera?  In the old days you would buy a simple point-and-shoot and take it to the store to be developed.  You would then scan the photo into iPhoto.  But today, just about everything is digital.  And if you buy a camera that is made by the same company as your original camera then you are in trouble!  Major trouble if you are using iPhoto.  In this case, I had the opportunity to pick up a used Cannon SLR, which is now 8 years old, but takes the most wonderful pictures.  It is digital.  And it cost me pennies to purchase because it was used and the owner just wanted to get rid of it.  It was also an inevitable purchase after my Sony F717 broke down.  This was a God send because I was able to integrate it painlessly with iPhoto because it had a different prefix - IMG.  So my first pictures were IMG0475.JPG and this did not interfere with the original Sony DSC0475.JPG.  Dandy, until I get to 9999 in which the original problem that I discussed will inevitably arise.  But then my wife's birthday came up and you guessed it, she wanted a simple point and shoot camera for her big day.  Nothing expensive, but something that was not as clunky as my Canon ( a huge beast by today's standards) - just a simple point and shoot.  I had a 100% chance of running into a problem.  If I chose a Sony or Canon camera then the number problem would again be an issue.  I found out also that Nikon uses the DSC prefix as well.  She chose the Canon camera and this is where things got interesting. 

iPhoto has become very long in the tooth and although there are dramatic changes being made to the program, including face recognition, mapping etc., the basics are being left behind.  This numbering system for instance should be a thing of the past.  Almost everything is digital.  Just about every photo is digital, so why not keep up with the times on this one? 

Simple Batch Processing

For now, I can no longer just plug in the camera and hope that everything will fall into iPhoto and be arranged.  We are well over the 10k range and due to the fact that we have more cameras on tap, the overriding of DSC and IMG numbers is something that will always happen.  In speaking to a few friends of mine, they have told me that Lightroom and Aperture are better at handling this sort of thing.  But they cost a lot of money.  And from what I understand, once you go Lightroom, you're there forever; same holds true for Aperture.  I have also been told that Aperture is better at cataloging, while Lightroom is better at editing.  I cannot vouch for either, having not used either one of them.

So what do I do?  Well, if you own a Mac there is always someone out there with a solution that has been peer reviewed and investigated.  The program that I found and which is literally saving my bacon these days is called simply NAMECHANGER.  It is a public domain FREE program written by Mickey Roberson at http://www.mrrsoftware.com/ Mickey has done a great job with this and makes several different versions depending upon which flavor of OSX you have.  Donating a dollar or two for his efforts would be a good thing to spur him along to continue doing what he is doing. 

More Complex Batch Processing

With NameChanger, you get a simple no frills interface and you can drag and drop your files  and preface them in any way that you desire.  So, if you put in a batch of files with the numbers IMG0050.JPG THRU IMG0100.JPG and you took them at the same venue or during the same shoot, then you can do the following:  Change sequence starting from IMG0050.JPG TO IMG0100.JPG and batch change (that is change all of the files so that they begin with whatever it is you want, instead of IMG) to BirthdayParty001.jpg to BirthdayParty050.jpg and you will have a listing that is not readily duplicated.  You can get more specific and do something akin to Nigels5thBirthday001.jpg.

That is pretty difficult to duplicate by accident.  Once the batch change is done, then you can dump it into iPhoto.

What Apple needs to do is this.  Since it has the ability to separate the photos into EVENTS, it should automatically change the FILE to represent this change if that is what the user wants.  Just having it notice events is not good enough now that everyone and their uncle has a camera.  By the way, did I forget to mention the iPhone and the iPod Touch photos as well?  Yes I did didn't I.  Well you get the point by now.  The overlapping of photos is something that will happen to just about everyone at some point.  For now, NameChanger may be the best solution for those of us not willing to part with $300 to buy either Lightroom or Aperture just for this feature.

Dragon Dictation for the iPhone.

Sensational program. A must have for every iPhone owner. But a few caveats in v1.0, especially if you have patient information or government information in your address book. Here is a reprint of my letter, written in response to a question about this product:

Incredible program. It really is for letters and short notes though. It is not very practical for long documents. A few reasons why. Although it translates almost 95-99 percent of American Dialect speech, you would have to have it "personalized" to improve regional recognition, as is found in their more spendy desktop products. I use the Medical Dragon system myself on a PC desktop.

Second, the dictionary is very generic, as one would expect for a v1.0 product. Thus most of the vocabulary is suited for a short letter or text message or note. Again, I see a more personalized product with greater vocabulary coming.

I think that Nuance is being nice right now with the product being free, but the usual "free" then "price it" option may not work with this product if the pricing for the desktop issues are anything to compare. I for one would find it very difficult to go from free to say $99.00 or something worse.

On the plus side, the recognition is awesome. Somewhat better at times than my desktop product running with 2 gigs of ram. Additionally, the idea of using a server to do the translating is a stroke of genius. It is very fast. I am very surprised by this.

I believe that they will need to remove permanently two things if this is to succeed in the Apple World. One, I noticed that you don't have to register to keep anything on the server. This means that they are using your UUID or Unique Iphone identifier. Second the Address book issue needs to be put to rest permanently. They should just get rid of it! Most people can put in the names later. Besides, it does a poor job at Non-American names anyway. African, Indian and Asian names are a travesty. One could always add it later or use a Pseudonym and "change all occurrences of Pseudonym" in editing.

Perhaps more insidious is the attachment of the UUID to the Addressbook. Despite the rebuttal from Nuance that they do not identify you, they are effectively doing so with the UUID and Addressbook. Additionally, there are a few HIPAA issues that come into play. What if my address book has Patient data or names of people whom I need to call? That is private and should have an opt-out provision. Additionally, I can see that in future versions, the UUID will be what is used to personally identify whether I have used the server or not and to modify or personalize my Dragon settings file. These really should be optional for the user.

On the plus side, this is a great use of the technology and I wholeheartedly congratulate Nuance on getting something like this done. If you correct some of the short comings, which are really more social than technical issues, I think that you will have a number one product on your hands.