Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat » Evernote Archives – Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat http://blog.fosketts.net Understanding the accumulation of data Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:40:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= 2.2 And Eight Things That Are Still Wrong With The iPhone http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/12/13/22-wrong-iphone/ http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/12/13/22-wrong-iphone/#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:09 +0000 Stephen http://blog.fosketts.net/?p=1236 Eleven months ago, I wrote about twelve things that were wrong with the iPhone in OS version 1.1.3. Now that OS 2.2 is here, I figure it is time to revisit my list.

What Was Fixed Since 1.1.3

Apple have made a lot of progress in the year and a half that the iPhone has been in existence. And the fact that they’ve rolled out just about every feature via software updates for every phone owner is a real breath of fresh air. The lack of updates was one thing that really made me dislike the various BlackBerry devices I had over the years…

Of the 12 issues I noted in my last post, three have been fixed:

  1. That darn headphone jack – The iPhone 3G no longer has a recessed jack. Good move!
  2. Calendar integration – OS 2.0 handles meeting invites and over the air calendar syncing pretty well, though I’ve had some issues keeping mine up to date. And the colored calendars are needlessly complicated.
  3. Hidden contacts – The addition of a Contacts app is a welcome change.

What’s Still Wrong

  1. Copy and paste – Please please please please please!
  2. SMS popups – These still “show through” every app (even the lock screen!), interfering with whatever you are doing. And whenever Apple pushes out their push service, it’s only going to get worse!
  3. Landscape email – I always want to rotate my mail to read it better. How about landscape everything?
  4. Notes – I want to save notes on my iPhone, but it’s a dead end. Please! The uselessness of the notes app is beyond crazy! I’ve started to use Evernote, however, so maybe Apple missed the boat on this.
  5. Persistent web data – Why does Safari lose its data all the time? This is incredibly frustrating – switch back to a Safari page you were viewing and it is gone from cache. The fact that Google Reader just marked the item that was showing as read makes this even worse.
  6. Actual IM – Please please please start supporting actual Gtalk, AIM, and Yahoo IM protocols. The web versions of these apps stink, and the apps so far aren’t much better. Maybe the push service won’t stink or guzzle battery juice.
  7. Device compatibility – My Belkin Auto Kit works just fine with the iPhone, yet it still nags me to go into airplane mode every time I plug it in! How about a setting so I can say “stop nagging me about this device?”
  8. Bluetooth support – Please let me stream whatever audio I want to my Bluetooth headset. A better Bluetooth stack could blow open the accessory market – GPS, stereo headphones, laptop sync, remote control, etc etc etc… As much as people love Apple’s iconic “headphone” ad images, we’d all love wireless headphones more!
  9. Improved iPod controls – The iPhone is the worst iPod ever made when it comes to the controls – they move around inconsistently between portrait and landscape mode, and some are lacking entirely. You can’t scrub forward, set stars, or access podcasts or movies, in cover flow?!? And these are all hidden even in portrait mode!  And how about video zoom – I want to be able to pinch in when I’m watching a letterboxed film.  Is that so wrong?

Don’t get me wrong here – I still think the iPhone is insanely great.  I bought two!  Consider this constructive criticism…

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | 2.2 And Eight Things That Are Still Wrong With The iPhone
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]]> http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/12/13/22-wrong-iphone/feed/ 10 iPhone App Store Forgetting Purchases http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/09/04/iphone-app-store-forgetting-purchases/ http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/09/04/iphone-app-store-forgetting-purchases/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:00:18 +0000 Stephen http://blog.fosketts.net/2008/09/03/iphone-app-store-forgetting-purchases/ App Store Icon

As impressed as I am with Apple’s iPhone App Store, with its simple purchasing and automated installs and upgrades, it would be better if the thing actually worked reliably. Along with sometimes forgetting song purchases, there seems to be some gremlin that causes the App Store to forget that certain apps are installed and not check for updates. This left me scratching my head, as updated apps like Super Monkey Ball, Facebook, Evernote, and Cube Runner remained in their previous state.

I suspect that the App Store did not update its internal record of my purchases when I wiped and re-set up my iPhone shortly after upgrading to OS 2.0. When I did this, I reinstalled all the apps from iTunes’ backup copy rather than re-downloading them from the App Store, and perhaps this caused them to be overlooked.

While I can’t be sure of the cause of this forgetfulness, I did discover a workable solution. For each questionable app, follow these steps:

  1. On the iPhone (or iPod Touch), go into the App Store and search for an app you already purchased.
  2. If the “purchase” button does not say “INSTALLED”, then the App Store isn’t tracking its updates.

    3. Fail: The App Store forgot that this app has already been installed

  3. In this case, go ahead and re-install the app. Apple (thankfully) won’t charge you again even for paid apps.
  4. Now, the phone will note that the app was already installed. This is good – let it download and upgrade.

    5. The App Store discovers that this app has been installed

  5. Now you’re golden. The App Store should again be tracking updates to this app.

    6. Correct: The App Store recognizes that this app has been installed and will track its updates

Repeat this procedure for all questionable apps and you should be all set.

Note that this procedure only seems to work for apps that have been updated. If you have the latest version, but the app store isn’t tracking updates (as indicated by the lack of a “Purchased” button), you should be able to make it work by first deleting the app and then installing it fresh. Once again, Apple shouldn’t charge you again for the app when you do this, and it should begin tracking correctly.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | iPhone App Store Forgetting Purchases
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