Mostly I've been using my iPod Touch to check email, read and post to Twitter, and play a game of poker now and then. I was hoping for more. Is there anyone else out there doing more work on their Touch than I am? It would be great if I could connect a real keyboard to it, for instance. Is there a way that I don't know about?
Zinio iPod Touch (er, iPhone, I guess) Mobile Newsstand
I'm looking forward to checking out my Zinio magazines on my Touch. Why I haven't before now? I have no idea. More to come on this, I believe.
Touch Blessings
Even if you get stopped in Spangle (on your way to Moscow--snow drifting across the highway) you can still find an open wifi connection to check your email. Though you do have to admit that due to the nearby enormous cell tower, an iPhone would likely be handier.
Touch 32
Do you know what can be frustrating?
You're just getting used to the idea that you have the most awesome iPod on the planet (at least, the most awesome iPod that isn't also a phone, which actually makes it the most awesome, because you hate the phone and would just as soon it didn't exist), when suddenly Apple makes a better one.
I don't blame them, of course. If you could make an iPod Touch with 32 gigs of space, wouldn't you do it? Especially given that this is just a fantastic movie-watching device (provided, of course, that the damn thing lets you rent movies directly from the device some day... oh yes, it really has to come to us some day, doesn't it?).
I will leave you now to your own private version of jealous rage.
Toddler won't get into his carseat?
Fine. Have a rest. Update your blog while sitting in the Safeway parking lot. (Yes, Safeway has free wifi.)
Uncrashing My Touch
I believe I have mentioned that after installing the 1.3.1 OS for the iPod Touch it was extremely unstable, to the point of being unusable. I therefore feel that it is my duty to inform you that resetting my iPod seems to have resolved all but the rarest instability. That is, the thing almost never crashes these days and I've been so busy using my Touch for important stuff (like watching Ocean's 13 on a recent trip) that I've neglected to report my reset success here.
If you don't know how to reset, here's the scoop.
1. Press and hold the Home button.
2. While still holding the Home button, press and hold the power/lock button at the top of your Touch until the "swipe to shut down" message comes up.
3. Swipe.
After your iPod shuts down, you've successfully reset your iPod and you're ready to start it up and test it out. No guarantees, of course. But it worked for me.
Dear Mr Jobs
Every time I try to use Safari on my Touch, it crashes. This doesn't
just happen sometimes... But every time... What gives? Did y'all send
a recruiting party to Redmond?
All my troubles began with istalling the 1.1.3 os, by the way. Along
with the twenty dollar "upgrade" to my iPod's software.
I still love my iPod, of course. But I need you to fix it. Quickly.
Thx
Yrs sincerely
Terry Bain
Touch owner
--
¶ Terry
‡ http://bainbooks.com
Note to Touch Software Developers
Especially those involved in developing the "Notes" application.
Thanks for the Notes application.
But it's a toy.
That font? That's a toy font.
Do I want a notes application that looks like a legal pad and uses a font that only a third grader could use seriously? Well, for now, yes, because that's all I've got.
Also? I'd like my notes to sync with my computer. It doesn't make any sense that they don't sync with my computer. Because they are notes that supposedly I might want to use some day. And it makes sense that I might want to use them on my computer rather than on my Touch.
Okay. So I can mail the notes to myself if I want. But that's a hack. I'd rather not have to use a hack for something that would be so simple for y'all to implement that I shouldn't even have to ask for it.
I don't have to ask for it, do I?
Fix it. It's broken. Please.
Stability Schmability
Can it be true? This version of the iPod Touch software (1.1.3) appears to be even less stable than the previous version. I have a feeling this is because they rushed it out a bit to get the updates ready for MacWorld, but that kind of sucks. I can't even post this message on my iPod because Safari crashes every time I try to use a form or do anything more complex than click a link.
Do I ask too much of my Touch? I don't think I do. Especially when it seemed I was able to do more before installing the new software.
Though I am able to send and receive mail now, via Apple Mail, so there is that. And that is cool. Though that crashes too. And that is not cool.
Sigh.
What Happens When You Delete a Gmail Message on Your Touch?
It will be moved to the trash on the gmail servers, and be permanently deleted in 30 days. See here: Gmail Blog. Yes, I know this is a link to information for the iPhone... but it works exactly the same for the Touch.
As the Gmail Blog says, when you read something in your mail, it's exactly the same as reading it on the gmail site. You will stay in sync because the iPhone/Touch app is now using IMAP instead of POP. You do not need to know what on earth IMAP and POP means other than knowing that once you read it in your hand, it won't show up as new again if you log in to gmail in a browser later on. Good on them for the switchover. I've been using it a bit on my Touch, and it's pretty speedy quick, and I actually think I sift through my mail on the Touch quicker than I do on my Mac. Cool. Faster, more efficient mail is something to be desired, yes?
Yes. Indeed.
Posted via PowerBook.
Forty-Eight Hours
Okay. I lasted forty-eight hours (approximately) before caving in and sinking my teeth into the iPod Touch Software Update. Eeg. I guess forty-eight is a higher number than all the numbers lower than forty-eight, anyway. So there's that.
But here's a tidbit. When I made the purchase, there was not a single thing downloaded or synced with my Touch.
I'll let that sink in for a minute while I have a sip of coffee.
Of course, some of you may already be familiar with this process, but I was not.
Because apparently, I already had the software that I just purchased. All purchasing it did was unlock it on my Touch. Because when I touched my Touch, there it was, even before it had completely synced the other stuff I had just downloaded from the iTunes store. I had mail and stocks and weather and maps (and of course the first thing I did was go to maps and yes, it found me right on my street in my town even without GPS and that is pretty cool even if it really isn't twenty smokes of cool). Um. So. What I'm thinking is, the next jailbreak? It will break the twenty dollar fee as well as opening up the other apps. Meaning it'll unlock the software update.
For some reason it bugs me that Apple loaded those onto my iPod without my permission. Like, you know, I didn't tell them they could suck so much as a kilobyte of my Touchspace without asking me first--with apps that they simply don't know if I ever intend to buy. I mean, if they were open and ready to go... or if I had the option of deleting them, that would be one thing... but they were there, sitting, waiting for me. They were apps in a coma. They were hostages. "Pay a fee and we'll let you have your mail."
And it makes me wonder... is there something else on my Touch that I don't know about? Is there a Touch version of GarageBand just waiting to be unlocked from iTunes? (Okay, that was a joke, you know? No hate mail, please.)
But it does make me curious and hesitant and oddly un-applish when I discover something like this. I just feel like since I don't have an iPhone, I kind of suck, maybe because Apple looks at the revenue stream as largely over... but that's ridiculous and they should know it. If the iTunes store didn't suck on the Touch (forgive me, it does kind of suck, and until I can rent movies directly onto my Touch, it will continue to suck), I could be an even bigger revenue stream than they dream about in their most deepest dimmest wettest dreams on warm summer nights on the beaches of Cupertino.
Gawd. A person shouldn't post blog posts after the dinner hour. A person's blood sugar is likely all out of whack.
Blessings on all of you. Especially those who simply can't resist.
Posted via PowerBook.
PS: Guess what? I still can't copy and paste. How ridiculous is that? When I can copy and paste, will it cost me another twenty bucks to get the software to let me do it? Yeeks.
Twenty-Four
That's right. It's been more than twenty-four hours since I first learned of the Touch software upgrades, and I still haven't made that purchase. How long will I be able to hold out? That likely depends on how often I'm away from home, I suppose. Hell and heck. I might not even make it through today. Of course, since I can't buy it from the iTunes store directly on my iPod, that makes it all the more easy to resist, since I mostly want to have it when I'm nowhere near a computer.
Oops. I guess it's a good thing I don't take my PowerBook with me now that I have my Touch. Save myself twenty bucks that way.
Blessings.
The iPod "Fly" could not be updated. An unknown error occured (1602).
The iPod "Fly" could not be updated. An unknown error occured (1602)., originally uploaded by Terry Bain.
UPDATE
I do believe I got it figured out here, folks. I had myself protected from new software by using a passcode on my Touch. Once I disabled my passcode (which, of course, requires that you touch your passcode into your touch), then iTunes stops with the annoying error message and begins to update your iPod. I knew I could figure it out if I tried hard enough. But frankly, I don't know if this is a feature or a bug... I do know, however, it's not the sort of behavior Apple would prefer, and if they want you to have to enter your passcode before updating your software, then that's what the message should be... and you shouldn't have to disable it. In fact, you should be able to enter it directly from iTunes, shouldn't you? I should think so. Feel free to tell me your experience or disagreements or annoyances or grumblings in the comments. And enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.
description from the flickr photo page
Thanks for the update for my iPod Touch, Steve. I don't mean to take any of the air out of your keynote, but just to be clear? I'm not enjoying this message so much. Also? Twenty bucks so I can get mail, take a note not to forget the milk (again), and have my iPod tell me where I am? That kind of sucks. Especially given that if I'm in range of wifi, google apps make those things absurdly unnecessary.
Why do I suddenly feel like the bastard son of a telephone?
Will I spend the twenty bucks? Probably. Because I's a sucker and a Touch addict. But I'll grumble about it. I'lll grumble about it a lot. Especially once the SDK is released and an open source mail app and notes app and whatever else app becomes available to kick the hell out of these and force apple to make the twenty dollar greed fee go away.
Of course, if I would have waited twenty days before getting my Touch, these would have been included (I hesitate to use the word "free" on a four hundred dollar item).
But this is all kind of moot until I can get 1.1.3 to load. It better not be moot for long or I'll demand a Genius Bar installed in Spokane.
A guy can dream, can't he?
Blessings, y'all. I'm sure it's simply a matter of time. But I'm impatient. Mr. Jobs made it all look so easy (as always) in the keynote.
(No fair, by the way, holding the keynote while flickr is having a massage, then blaming the only glitch on said host of hosts.)
And yes, my iPod Touch's name is "Fly." What of it?
—————
¶ Terry ‡ Bain Books ‡ You Are a Dog (book) ‡ We Are the Cat (book)
¶ my amazon blog ‡ flickr ‡ Lulu ‡ CafePress
my additional comments
I have little else to say for now, except that it still isn't' working, and I've been fiddling with it for almost an hour. I'm sort of afraid to restore the iPod, thinking, well, maybe I won't be able to load software onto it... then what? Dead iPod?
I think I would choke. Gack.
When I get it to work, I'll let you know how. In the mean time, if you've had the same problem and found a fix, let me know in the comments. Or, er, let us all know.
(Note, this entry was posted via a Powerbook, not an iPod. Simply not able to do it via the Touch today. Too much to do.)
Google Mobile Upgrade
Hey. It looks as if Google Mobile has just got themselves some attractive upgrades. Not all the upgradiness is cosmetic, either. Of course, being a Touch user means I can use the non-mobile version of the Goog any time I wants, but if mobile is going to be so handy and uncluttered, I might just not care to visit Norm Goog very often. Nice work, team. Did y'all get a haircut?
Head First
Troubling. It can be very difficult to Touch whilst in the throes of head and ache. Alas. All is misery. Can Steve Jobs not send me a Motrin?
Why Free-Lance Not Freelance
Oh. It was largely an arbitrary decision to be old fasioned for this "high tech" blog by hyphenating what is an almost universally accepted single word: freelance / free-lance. Tomato / potato. Call. Thingoff. Tell me otherwise in the comments. As always.
Touched via ThisNext via Touch
Just testing a post from ThisNext (on the Touch, natch). In general I love that place. In part because you can blog stuff--like a Touch--directly from their site. Cool? Indeed.
Blessings and then some.
iPod Touch Wish List
This is a list of things I want for my iPod Touch. By no means is it complete. Feel free to tell me your personal wants and needs and desires for the Touch in the comment section. They may even be wants and needs that I want and need, but I've forgotten for the moment that I want and need them.
- Cut, copy and paste.
A pretty obvious necessity, and I'm frankly surprised it wasn't included before now. In fact fact and to the point point, without it, making this list is rather more difficult than I imagined it would be. - A keyboard.
I love multi-touch, and think it's the greatest thing since coverflow, but typing on the Touch is slow, and if I had an optional keyboard... something likely built buy Apple, it would be an even more useful device. - More stability.
Yes, some of the Touch applications tend to crash, and though it doesn't mean I'm going to send my Touch walking, it's annoying when I'm surfing and the music app crashes, and it's unproductive when I'm entering text and Safari crashes. Both have happened to me. More than once. (update I was just now able to update my touch software to 1.1.3 [after much difficulty], but haven't had a change to test it for stability... will let y'all know if it ends up not crashing.) - More apps.
Of course. And real applications (not the sucky web apps that Apple is pretending are useful. And not just Apple apps, but apps by other developers.At the bare minimum? I want mail. I mean, it simply doesn't make an sense for me to have a wifi device running nearly the same OS as the iPhone and not have mail. My Touch would be three times as useful with a Mail app. At least. And would give me the ability to write mail even when I don't have a wifi connection. Because now I have to be connected to wifi to access my webmail. And my webmail kind of sucks. So mail on the Touch kind of sucks. And I don't want anything on the Touch to suck. So mail. For less suckage.(Thanks for the mail app.... but twenty bucks? Eeks. That's annoying.
That's all for now. More to come...
Trouble in Paradise
So this isn't exactly what I would call a Touch killer, but I've been using the Touch long enough to find some ugly little problems. Most notably, I've found that periodically, I'll be doing something in safari, when suddenly the screen will go black for a moment before I'm taken back to the home page without any sort of provacation. For some time I blamed myself, thinking I'd touched or gestured in a way that meant "take me home." But this behavior was so unpredictable that I eventually came to the rather pedestrian conclusion that it was possible that safari was crashing... Not even apple can make absolutely perfect software after all. Elegant and useful, but not perfect (I don't even believe there is such a thing).
Perhaps the next version of the Touch software will be more stable. I'm guessing it will be.
Any other touch users out there finding similar bugs? Let me know in the comments.
Fastest Touch in the West
Mrs No El says she wants to log in to Netflix so she can put In Cold Blood at the top of our queue. But by the time she goes in and opens the laptop and gets on to Netflix, I've already touched my way onto the site, searched for the movie, added it to our queue, and moved it to the top. Elapsed time, less than 60 seconds. Easy.
Also...
While I'm waiting for 001 to fall asleep, I can be reading my feeds at Google Reader without having to lug my laptop upstairs with me.
Last Night
S says "001 wants to wake up no later than 7:45 and 010 wants to wake up no later than 7:15." But am I going to be able to remember this? No I am not. So I press the home button on my Touch, tap a few screens, and blam, I'll get a reminder when I Home in in the morning. Unless, of course, I accidentally enter their wakeups as pm instead of am. Alas. Of course having entered the schedule made it impossible for me to forget. So it wasn't much of a problem. The Touch, of course, is blameless.
Blessings.
music
Apparently my Touch also plays music, but so far I've hardly used it
for that. So much else to discover...
Blessings...
--
¶ Terry
‡ http://bainbooks.com
Happy New Year
Can you please cut the fireworks out already? My dogs are about to
have a nervous breakdown.
Thank you. And as I already said, happy New Year.
--
¶ Terry
‡ http://bainbooks.com
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