Just Another iPhone Blog

To leave or not to leave iPhone

arkingmark — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:02:02 +0000

With the new iPhone 4s out, I am selling my previous version as I have done for the last 5 years. As usual, I will sell it for more than a new on contract phone will cost. However, I am contemplating leaving the iPhone. Yes, after all these years, the iPhone 4s and the IOS 5 leave me wanting more. Main reasons for leaving are:

-larger screen as I now use my phone a lot for browsing and watching Netflix
-the IOS experience leaves me wanting as I continuously have to open many apps to get the heads up info I am looking for

Over the next couple weeks I will review the Samsung Focus S and Windows Phone 7.5 as I decide whether to keep it or trade it in for something else over the next 30 days (return exchange period)

Setting up a better iPhone (A more functional Theme)

arkingmark — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:27:26 +0000

Over the past 3+ years I have been jailbreaking my iPhone. The main reason I do this is the iphone has fallen behind the technology curve. All the latest smart phones (WinMo 6.5, Pre, Android) have all made great strides in the user interface and experience while Apple has failed to keep up with it’s closed system. Now with millions of apps, the old slide to the page with the app your looking for just does not cut it. One needs to be able to organize and easily access apps. Even worse, not being able to multi-task or download and access the file system…pathetic. Hell, just having copy and paste took forever. Well I am going to show you how to address some of these issues through jailbreaking and theming your iPhone. The key here is that the theme and apps look good and are functional.

Here are my main goals:

Be able to organize and quickly access my apps
Be able to multi-task my apps
Have a ‘home’ screen with basic information at my fingertips
Be able to use all my apps over wifi and 3g
Be able to tether my PC to my phone
Be able to use Google Voice
Spellcheck everywhere
Access the file system
Download content through the browser
Sync with multiple iTunes

Update/Jailbreak iPhone 3GS to 3.1.2 on Windows

arkingmark — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:04:23 +0000

I originally jailbroke my 3GS on version 3.0 using purplera1n. It was a very simple jailbreak. When iPhone OS 3.1 hit, apple included a baseband update that would no longer be unlockable using the current unlock hacks. Eventually, there where two ways to keep the jailbreak with or without unlock on your iPhone. The Dev Team create a pwnage tool on the Mac that could create a custom .ipsw that would have the latest 3.1 with the old baseband or one could use Geohot’s blackra1n solution, but lose their baseband. (Geohot now has unlocked for the latest baseband, due out Nov 4 2009, so going forward either way is fine.) I wanted to keep my baseband and upgrade my iPhone 3GS. Without a Mac you have to download custom .ipsw. I did this for 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 so here are the steps and some notes so you can do it too:

Update to latest iTunes if you don’t already have it. I updated to 9.0.2.25.
If you are using a jailbroken iPhone, I recommend installing rockmyi and using their backup manager to backup your jailbroken apps. This just keeps a list of jailbreak app to install. Also install SpringSorter and backup your app layout. (The SpringSorter app did not really work all that great…but you may have better luck.)
If you are using a jailbroken iphone and want to keep your baseband, download a custom .ipsw created by pwnage tool. I got mine from here: http://mahmood1.com/jailbreak.aspx
Backup your iPhone on itunes.
If you are using a jailbroken iPhone, hit and the restore button on iTunes summary page for your iPhone and select the custom .ipsw that you downloaded. Otherwise, just upgrade to latest iPhone OS and go to http://blackra1n.com/ and follow instructions after hitting the windows image button.
If you are restoring a custom .ipsw and you encounter an ‘unknown error’, do not panic. Just enter DFU mode for your iphone by holding the Power and Home button for ten seconds then just releasing the power button. After a few second while still holding the home button, your iPhone should show the connect to iTunes information. Then do step 5 again. (I got a unknown error (5).)
Wait….it will take awhile. When done you should have a factory fresh iPhone with Cydia on it.
Now just restore your backup to get all your old stuff back.
If you used rockmyi and SpringSorter restore your jailbroken apps and layout.

Testing Jott for Wor…

arkingmark — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:55:31 +0000

Testing Jott for WordPress. listen

How to be productive with an iPhone

arkingmark — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:06:19 +0000

For those of you looking to be more productive, I have found a nice combination of web apps, online services, and native apps that really help organize my life and boost my ability to get things done. Since purchasing my iPhone, I have been looking for a todo/tasking application. Prior to my iPhone I used LifeBalance, a very nice application that looked to organize your life based on life goals. Examples of life goals are “stay in shape”, “do well at work”, “keep in touch with friends”, etc… Needless to say I created several life goals and subcategories to help me focus on the things that were important to me. This worked well, but was not as task oriented as I would like and was also a bit of work to maintain. In my search for a good replacement, a friend of mine recommended “Remember the Milk” an online todo/tasking application, which led me to the “Getting Things Done (GTD)” methodology. A little more research turned up Toodledo, Jott (native app & online app), and several other native apps for todo/tasking, even some with voice notes. With all this research I was able to identify what I wanted out of a todo/tasking system:

1. Access my tasks everywhere via PC or iPhone

2. Access my tasks when disconnected from the internet

3. Use voice to leave tasks

4. Tasking needed to be rich and support GTD, sub-tasks, and re-occurring tasks

5. Share my tasks

As it turns out, none of the products out there support all these features. However, there is a simple combination of these products that works extremely well. Toodledo satisfies 1, 4 and 5. Jott (the on-line app) satisfies 3. And Appigo’s Todo native app satisfies 2.

Toodledo is a full featured online todo/tasking application equal to or better then Remember the Milk (http://www.toodledo.com/info/compare.php). It fully supports GTD and has a very nice UI for online use and a great iPhone webapp for iphone use.

Jott, the online application, allows one to call in and leave a voice message that it will transcribe and send to your contacts. Basically, you call Jott and it asks you “who do you want to Jott?”. You say the contact and speak your message. This message is transcribed and sent to your contact. Contacts are emails set up via internet. Beleive it or not, Jott intergrates with Toodledo…just another contact!

Appigo’s Todo native app syncs with Toodledo and thus provides the offline capability. It should be noted that Appigo does not currently support context or tags. This is not ideal, but not really an issue since I mostly use the Toodledo web app, and Appigo just for offline use. I can still access and add tasks, but need to add tags and context online.

So here is how I use the system:

-Get up in the morning, peruse tasks on iPhone, and percolate what needs to get done for the day.

-As I walk around and begin my day, I will occasionally call into Jott and add tasks. But since I usually remember things while driving to work that is when Jott gets a full workout.

-When I get to work, I use my pc and Toodledo online application to manage all my work todo/tasking. Since all the Jotted task go to an unornganized inbox (no folder, context, or tag associations), I will usually take a couple of minutes to organize them by adding them to the correct folder and giving them the proper context and do dates.

-While at work, my wife has access to my todo/tasks and can add stuff to the honeydo folder

-At meetings and when I am about, I use both the Toodledo webapp and Appigo’s Todo (when disconnected) on the iPhone and capture todo/tasks.

-Again, while driving home and sorting through the day, Jott gets a heavy workout.

-At home and about on errands I will mostly use the iPhone and Toodledo webapp.

One last thing people ask me is how to organize their todo/tasking. My method is simple. I only have 4 bins (folders) for my tasks: Work, Personal, Honeydo, and No Folder (inbox). Next, I have 5 contexts (where) for tasks: Office, Home, Online, Errands, and No Context. Then I use tags to further categorize tasks when needed. The best way to illustrate this is by example:

1. The wife wants me to pick up some groceries on the way home. She gets on the internet and adds a task to the Honeydo folder:

Folder = Honeydo
Context = Errands
Sub-tasks for each item
And if you want, tags for type of items (produce, dairy, freezer…)
Due date

How this works. When I leave the office, I will change my filter to context:Errands or folder:Honeydo. I will see this task. When I get to the store I can look at the sub-tasks for the items I need to pick up and if I have tags, organize the items by their location in the store.

2. At the office, in a meeting I get tasked to draft a brief for a project. I add this task via iPhone Toodledo webapp or offline via Appigo Todo (no context or tags):

folder = Work
context = Online (because it just requires my laptop, and I can do the work anywhere I have internet acccess)
tags = Project Name, work stream (we usually break out projects into work streams)
sub-tasks = more detailed tasks to get this done
set appropriate priority and due dates to task and sub-tasks
I will often add duration

How this works. Anywhere I am online and want to do work, I switch my folder to work and filter by context:Online and priority. Usually, I will work on the highest priority task and use the tags to filter to the project and workstream that has that highest priority task. This declutters the task list to exactly what you are going to work on. As I focus on the larger task, I will create additional sub-tasks and do the work. Additionally, Toodledo provides something called scheduler where you provide folder and/or context and how much time you have…Toodledo will then provide a list of tasks based on priority and duration to maximize what you can get done in that time. It is a nice little feature.

I hope this blog entry has helped your productivity. I am always looking to better and more efficient ways to get things done. So if you have any comments or suggestions, or things you use or came across, I would love to hear them.

YouTube iPhone 3g Case review

arkingmark — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:52:57 +0000

Just a quick note letting you all know that I posted my 1st YouTube video. It comes in 2 parts and is a quick review of my quest for an iPhone 3g case.

My YouTube Case Review

Just a quick update (which I will eventually put into a video):

After using the Slider and Marware CEO Premiere for a couple days, I decided that this was not the best solution. I am just not a fan of the Velcro on the Premiere or any leather case I looked at. With regard to the Slider, although it has a matte finish, in the end it was too slick. A naked iPhone stays in your hand very well due to the skin/plastic adhesion (accept when your hands are really dry, like in winter). The Slider on the other hand does not. In your hand, it is slick all the time and only marginally better when put it on other materials. Likewise, when I went to get my docks to use with my Slider, I got sticker shock. I was definitely getting a Universal Dock for my stereo but adding in a dock adapter and a secondary dock, I started to really have second thoughts about my case quest and setup. I looked again at the Rebel Capsule and saw the dock adapter…so all I would need would be Rebel plus a Universal Dock…a cost savings of $50 over what I was looking at putting together. Base on YouTube reviews by itsmemorphious and ayobonus, the Rebel was really able to combine well the ability to slip into a pocket or secondary case and still provide grip in your hand. It would seem that ayobonus, itsmemorphious, and myself came to the same conclusion…Rebel is what may best for us. After I receive the Rebel I will post another video review and put together a more detailed blog on all the products I tried.

iPhone Bloggong, What Works?

arkingmark — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:44:54 +0000

While there are several applications that advertise blogging, there is really only one that let’s you freely do more then do a oneway submit. This is the one I am i-blogging on, WordPress!

As of time of this blog’s writing, there are 13 apps in the Apple app store.

Of these, Shozu, Clowdy, and Kyte are little more then photo publishers. Of the rest only TypePad, LifeCast, and WordPress feature real blogging capability. The others really don’t belong in this category.

The three mentioned above all boast some cool features. However, only TypePad and WordPress allow posting and editing of posts. Both of these iPhone apps are free, BUT TypePad.com requires a paid subscription to use.

As I am a great fan of Google and Blogger, I am sure there will be an iPhone app that will provide full Blogger blogging capability. Until them I will happily blog on WordPress. It should be noted that most of these app are still maturing and worth periodically downloading and experimenting with.