Happy iPhoner–almost
I've been pretty critical of Apple and the iPhone in conversations with friends since the release of the 2.0 software and the iPhone 3G in July. The issues are well-documented around the web, but Apple basically released a beta version of the 2.0 software in July and has been scrambling to plug holes in the dam ever since.
With version 2.1 of the software, I think they have upgraded the software to ready-for-prime time. I'm in agreement with Rob Griffiths of Macworld, who discusses the software here in a new column at Macworld.com.
In further good news, Apple has addressed one aspect of the iPhone software development platform that is causing developer angst. They have removed the NDA that was in place for all software development, so developers can now talk amongst themselves. Hopefully the next step is for them to stop rejecting apps that may compete with Apple's own iPhone apps.
A couple articles worth reading on yesterday’s Apple event
Daring Fireball has a good overview of yesterday's Apple event, in which they updated the nano and touch and introed iTunes 8 (not to mention previewed an iPhone update promised on Friday--hopefully this is the update that will turn me back into "Apple fanboy" instead of "disgruntled Apple fanboy").
Regarding the new iTunes release, there are a lot of nice touches that make it easier and more enjoyable to manage a large media library. For example, you can now manage settings for podcasts on a per-podcast basis. Why would anyone want to do that, you may ask? Well, I would like to have all of my podcasts but one set to delete a podcast "episode" after I listen to it, with the one exception being NPR All Songs Considered concert podcasts--I'm working my way through converting the better of those into individual MP3s, so I want to hang on to those podcasts even after i listen to them. Prior to iTunes 8, you didn't have the granularity available to make such an exception. Thanks to this iLounge article on becoming an instant iTunes expert, I learned about the new podcast setting capability, as well as other tweaks.
One downside to iTunes 8 is that it turns on the little iTunes store arrows next to each song, artist and album in your library. Clicking on an arrow takes you to the relevant iTunes store page. Beyond the fact that I don't buy much media from the iTunes store, I dislike the visual clutter and wasted space with these arrows and so have turned them off via Preferences. Well, you can't do that anymore--Apple took away the choice. However, an enterprising MacFixIt reader shared a workaround (for Mac OS X at least) that lets you kill them off. Check it out here. I'm back to being arrow-free.
Re-enact Bullitt With GPS Maps | Autopia from Wired.com
Pretty damn cool. I've seen Google Maps user maps before that show the route, but this is even better, as the video plays in sync with a moving icon on the map. Interesting to see how much they jump from one location to another in SF. I always assumed that the end of the chase was up in Marin, but it turns out to be on the NE side of the large preserve above South SF.
Why You Should Turn Gmail’s SSL Feature On Now – Webmonkey
From Wired.com, here's a good tip for all Gmail users. I checked my settings--it was not enabled.
Back from Europe
Had an amazing trip with Vanessa (and the BMW 135i). Photos to come. One quick note: The BMW iDrive system is very slick and worked great. The car mags love to rag on it for a non-intuitive interface, but by the end of the first day, I had the system figured out (while driving east across central Europe). The iPod/iPhone connection is great, easy to read on the screen and very responsive. One big plus that I just discovered now when I got home and synced my iPod--playing a track on my iPod in the car advanced the play count in iTunes when I synced. Yes, I'm a big smart playlist nerd, but it's kickass that this works so well, given my reliance on play count-linked playlists.
More to come.
WiFi Networks, and security
Ars Technica put up a quality summary of wireless network security measures, including a debunking of those measures without value (e.g., making it so that your network doesn't broadcast its name--the SSID). Worth a read. High-level summary is: you should turn on a password, even if the outdated WEP standard, because that's better than no protection. Any of the flavors of WPA, the latest standard, are pretty good. And Nintendo continues its losing streak with respect to online features in hardware and games, because the DS only supports the WEP protocol, so you'd have to take your wireless security down to WEP to support the DS as lowest common denominator.
On the general topic of wireless networks, I had a brush with the general annoyance that is tech trouble shooting. I was updating Vanessa's WiFi network to change the SSID from "dlink" and to add a password. Somehow this screwed up the IP address assignment process done in conjunction with the Comcast cable modem. After exhausting my toolbox of techniques with no luck, I had to turn to Comcast for assistance. Their first step: unplug the power cord from both the router and the cable modem, then power back up the cable modem and then the router, and finally restart your computer. Bingo, this worked. I had done these steps in a different sequence with no success during my troubleshooting attempts. Oh well, just glad "Little Fury Things" net is working now.
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