The Adventures of Systems Boy!
Taking the iPhone 3GS on the subway will repeatedly get its compass all out of whack. It sits and spins in all directions. Eventually it produces this screen:
I don't know how the compass works in the phone. But I'd venture a guess that the big, giant electrified track might have something to do with the "Interference" referenced in the alert.
Fun stuff. Love the figure 8. Very classy.
Is that, like, a nautical thing?
Much of the press surrounding the iPhone 3GS deals with whether or not this is a compelling upgrade to the 3G iPhone. No one is really comparing it much to the 1st Generation iPhone, which is what I'm upgrading from.
Some write-ups are describing the iPhone 3GS as "evolutionary, but not revolutionary." Funny, 'cause that was how I felt (and what a lot of people wrote) when the 3G came out. It didn't seem like a big, huge leap forward from my 1st Gen model, and in terms of battery life it was actually a step backwards. So I stuck it out and waited for the next, next version. And now it's here.
While going from the 3G to the 3GS might seem like a mere evolutionary step, going from a 1st Gen iPhone to a 3GS feels like evolutionary leapfrog. Like when proto-humans discovered that big, black monolith and suddenly got the idea for tools and beating the tar out of each other. It's big, my friends, for me anyway.
In addition to all the cool new stuff you've been reading about, new for me is also GPS and faster network access thanks to the addition of 3G, and the new (again, to me) case style, which I must admit I love the feel of despite preferring the look of the 1st Gen's metal back. The plastic model feels almost perfect in your hand. The way the edges are tapered gives the phone a light, comfortable handling, and the texture of the plastic should keep me (and my mom) from dropping the damn thing so much. These models make the 1st Gens feel clumsy and awkward by comparison.
But the real reasons I've upgraded — the real evolutionary jumps for me, the things I've been longing for the most — are:
Two of these represent, to me, the most annoying things about my current iPhone — the crappy call quality and the glacial speed with which applications open. The last, video, is just something I've wanted for a long, long time. Just something cool. Let me just talk briefly about each.
Though it didn't bother me at first, so enamored of my iPhone was I, the call quality on my 1st Gen really leaves much to be desired. Which is a nice way of saying it sucks ass. Audio drops out as a matter of course on pretty much every call. And it seems to be more the phone's issue than AT&T's as it even happens during the ring period before the person I'm calling picks up. This makes simply ordering delivery torturous, and now I'm so instantly cranky whenever I'm on the phone that all my friends think I hate them. (I don't hate you, friends, I promise!)
Results
So far I'd describe the improvement in call quality as marginal at best. The 3GS is a bit louder than my old phone, and that helps. But the dropouts still occur, and that's disappointing. I was really hoping the call quality was appreciably better on the 3GS as it's one of my least favorite things about my 1st Gen. This is something I'll have to suss out more over time. But overall I'd say the gain here is only a slight one. Disappointing.
When the Notes application takes 20 seconds to launch, you know your computing device is slow. This may well be due to the fact that I have so many damned notes in there, sure. But that only underscores my need for speed. Maybe when the phone was new and not laden with data I could get away with the slower hardware. But it's not so data-free now, and that's not going to change. So it's great that Apple's focused on speed for this model. It's been another big aggravation as my iPhone use has matured. And not just in Notes, but in Safari, Contacts and the Camera as well. These are apps in which a lack of speed gets annoying fast. I mean, uh, quickly.
Battery life is also a crucial part of performance (or I'll lump it in with performance for lack of a better place), and a big reason I didn't upgrade to the 3G. As I alluded to earlier, battery life in the 3G was actually inferior to the 1st Gen models. I can get by fine as long as my battery lasts a full day; I don't mind charging every night. But the 3G, by most accounts, often needed charging before day's end. And while I could get used to it, I'd rather not.
Results
Well, again, it remains to be seen whether performance decreases as I continue to use the device. But so far I'm very pleased to report that the performance gains going from a 1st Gen iPhone to the 3GS are significant. I can begin editing notes now immediately after launching the application — I'd call zero seconds down from 20 a big gain. All my applications, in fact, launch much more quickly. And browsing the web in Safari is much faster than it used to be, both because of the hardware improvements and because I'm now on 3G. Many things that were just impractical before — like finding something in the Maps application, which used to be so slow I'd stopped using it unless I was on WiFi — are now acceptably fast. Sometimes even pleasantly speedy. Though I don't need to reboot very often, it's nice to see that even boot times are much faster — my phone boots in about 22 seconds. And, fortunately, as reported, the 3GS's battery, like my trusty 1st Gen, seems to regularly make it to bedtime without much trouble. Overall, I'd say the performance gains are a huge win when comparing the 3GS to the 1st Gen model.
Long ago I opined the iPhone's lack of video capabilities (and then ran out and bought a Flip Mino HD). It always seemed like something Apple could have included as a software update. But as the updates have progressed this looks not to be the case (or at least not something that's ever going to happen, for, I'm assuming, good reasons). Alas, in the end, video acquisition on the iPhone requires a hardware update. And now that it's here I can finally leave the Flip at home from now on. Video's become just one more thing I can do without the need for an extra device. My pockets are so empty these days!
Results
The video produced by the iPhone 3GS is surprisingly good in my initial tests. Though it's not HD, compared to the Flip the color is quite good. And it seems to handle both camera and subject movement — big problems on the Mino HD — pretty well. Don't get me wrong. This is still a phone camera. But it's easily the best phone camera for video I've ever seen. And the editing and upload capabilities make it all the more fun. But more than anything, it's the convenience of having decent video in your pocket at all times that makes this a great feature. I'm pretty excited to start really shooting more with this thing. Its ubiquity may just make it my primary video camera. Another big win for the 3GS.
Anyone want to buy a Mino?
CalDAV calendar access in iCal Mobile
I've been wanting this for a while. I've been using the sync function in iTunes in the interim. But CalDAV support on the phone — in fact, CalDAV support everywhere — is just the right way to do this.
Search! Everywhere and Anywhere
This is one of those features that, after a while, you start wishing you had. You don't notice it at first, but the more you start using your phone like the computing device it is, the more you start drawing comparisons to computers, not phones. That's the point at which certain inequities become increasingly obvious and painful. So it is with Search. It was great when we got it in Contacts. But having it one place only made me crave it in others. Glad it's finally here.
Cut, Copy, Paste (of course)
I will say, I've been fine without this feature until fairly recently as well. In fact the timing of all this stuff is pretty good from where I sit. The 1st Gen iPhone was good enough to keep me busy and happy for the past two years, and only in the last few months of those two years have I really started to long for things like Search and Cut, Copy, Paste. Again, as I use my phone more and more like a computer, these things become more important.
Undo
What computer would be complete without an undo feature? Well, iPhones have been for some time now. But no longer. Undo is here and it's even fun! Just shake to activate. (No, the phone, silly!)
Camera Roll
New to the Camera Roll, both when accessing it from the Camera or from the Photos app, is the ability to multiple-select items for sharing, deleting or copying. It's a nice implementation, and something I turn out to be using a lot, especially as I write this article.
Macro, Focus and Exposure Control
The camera in the iPhone 3GS now features focus and exposure control, which will really help make photos look a lot nicer and add to the types of photos you can take with the phone. And the macro ability adds a great deal of functionality. Ever try to take a close-up with the original iPhone camera? Blur city! Now you can take photos of printed text, computer monitors and yes, even bugs. Okay, maybe not tiny bugs. But probably big ol' water bugs.
Compass
Folks outside of New York might not appreciate the compass in and of itself, but if you ever have to take a subway in this town you know that disoriented feeling you get when you step out of the station into the daylight. "Okay," you think to yourself, "Which way is north." Any New Yorker can find her way with that simple piece of information, but sometimes getting it requires walking a block in the wrong direction, and if you're anywhere south of Houston, god help you. Well, no more! From here on out, discombobulated commuters will simply activate the compass on their iPhones and be on their merry ways. And that's all we ever really wanted.
Maps Reborn
Maps, combined with the new compass and the new (to me) 3G are a whole new, wonderful ballgame for me now. I've already used Maps a couple times now, both to find places and to orient myself. It's fantastic!
So, am I happy with my new phone? Yes. Very.
Am I ecstatic?
Here's the thing. On the whole, after transferring over all my apps and information, the iPhone 3GS is, in more ways than not, the same phone as my 1st Gen. I'd say 75-80 percent of what I do with my phone and how I use it will remain unchanged. I mean, there's just not much that can compare to your first iPhone experience, right? After that, nothing seems radical. But least of all a phone that looks and feels almost identical to your last one, that has mainly the same set of features, and whose improvements are mostly on the inside. It does all the same stuff, it just does it a lot better.
Overall the iPhone 3GS is a big step up for me. And while call quality could still be a lot better, this upgrade addresses two of my biggest complaints about my last model with aplomb: the slowness and the lack of video. And that alone makes upgrading worthwhile to me. The other improvements, partly due to software updates I could have gotten on my old phone, are great and help make the entire experience very satisfying. It's very much like getting a faster computer. It's the same sort of feeling. It's a refresh of a product you've know and loved for years.
It's the same thing, only better. And it was already so good.
There's a commercial that depicts a school system as run by the courier companies. I forget what the commercial is for. In it a narrator asks, "What if the schools were run by courier companies?" A child is late. The lead delivery guy calls his agents in the field. And within minutes, the child is found and delivered to the school. The implication is that the courier companies are models of super-efficiency and organization.
Funny, but this has never been my experience.
For me, home delivery is an agonizingly worrisome affair. First I make my order, tentatively, gingerly, nervously. I'm then given either a range of dates, or an exact date, depending on my shipping method, when to expect my package. What follows is that, more often than not, on some day within that stated range, after returning home from work, I receive a notice on my door informing that an attempt has been made to deliver my package. From here on out I face an often major quandary.
On the notice it usually says that a signature is required for me to actually receive the package. This is New York, after all. It also states, now, a range of times when the courier will make a subsequent delivery attempt on the next business day. This is generally a range of about 4-8 hours, and those hours almost always occur during a period in which I will be at work. There is no way to negotiate this. If I am to receive a package via courier service, I must be home. I have missed days of work waiting for packages to be delivered. It's harrowing.
Today I just happen to have the day off by virtue of my regular work schedule. And I just happen to be waiting for my iPhone 3GS to be delivered by FedEx. I'm nervous as a squirrel on crack, and so I keep obsessively checking the my tracking number on FedEx's website, over and over again, for some sign that something's gone wrong. I have not showered, nor have I moved my bowels for fear that I might miss the delivery. I am trapped in my apartment afraid to do much of anything. I've been waiting since 8 AM. It's noon.
On my order tracking page I am given certain information about my shipment. Most important to me is the information regarding its whereabouts and the history thereof. Last night my package was in Pennsylvania. Then it was in New Jersey. This morning it made its way to The Bronx. And then, at 8:20 AM, was put on the truck for delivery. And so it's stayed for nearly 4 hours.
At my order tracking page, with which I'm becoming quite familiar by now, I also see that FedEx has certain information about me. They have my address, of course. But they also have my phone number. I wonder if they have my email.
The tracking page also links to an "E-mail notifications" page, where you can actually set your account up to send emails about the status of your package to up to 5 addresses. You can have them email you about a problem with delivery, after the fact, when it's to late to correct the problem; or they can email you when the package has been delivered, the one time I don't need an email because the damn thing is in my hand; or they'll email you detailed tracking info, which is already available at the tracking page I've been reloading all morning. Unfortunately, none of these notifications are useful to me.
See, what I need is the one piece of information that is conspicuously absent from my tracking page. What I want to know is where my package is once it's on the truck. And, perhaps more importantly, I'd like to know when the driver is in my neighborhood, so that I can be ready for the delivery attempt within a more reasonable time frame.
Why is it that the most vital information is impossible to obtain?
I once had an experience in which I'd arranged to pick a package up from a UPS facility, as the driver refused to leave it at my door and I couldn't miss work. But due to a communications snafu (or perhaps blind incompetence, I don't know) when I arrived at the UPS building I was informed that my package was out for delivery. The nice people at the UPS facility tried their best to contact that driver and inform him of the situation, but they seemed unable to do so. Even UPS seems hard pressed to find your package once it's out on the truck. And they're in radio communication with the drivers.
If I, as a SysAdmin, were so hard to reach, I would be out of a job. Somehow, people always manage to get ahold of me when they need me. Such is the state of global communications these days.
I really don't see why FedEx or UPS or DHL — hell, all of them — can't implement a better notification system. They have methods to determine the exact time the package was delivered. They have my phone number. And the general availability of GPS should make locating the driver at any given time a snap. Is it too much to ask that an automatic text notification (or method of my choosing) be sent to my cell phone when the driver is within a certain range of my address?
This, after all, is the crucial moment for me, and I suspect for lots of folks. This is the time we have to be here, home and ready to answer the door. Why is it the blackout time when it comes to communication?
Shit! Was that the doorbell? Gotta go!
Hey, here's a weird one: I finally got my home account back to working order after my experiment with PHDs only to find that iCal couldn't open any of my online calendars. It kept saying the password was missing from Keychain, then refusing to let me add one, saying that the "Keychain could not be found."
The Keychain application also refused to read my keychains. The keychains were there, as they always had been, in ~/Library/Keychains. Keychain.app just refused to see them. Refused to add them — or anything else for that matter — as well. Keychain First Aid reported everything as fine, but the damn things just wouldn't show up.
Suspecting some sort of weird, post-PHD permissions snafu, I copied the Keychain application to my Desktop and then launched it. This seemed to remedy the problem; the keychains became visible in Keychain.app. But upon re-launching iCal, my keychains became inaccessible again.
Mucking around in Keychain.app, everything looked fine. But I wanted to make sure that my "login" keychain was set to be the default. So I selected another keychain I have, right-clicked it and chose "Make keychain 'systemsboy' Default," then did the same to the login keychain, thus resetting it as the default keychain.
After doing this I launched iCal and the password complaints were gone; the calendars all loaded properly. Launching Keychain again, however, seemed to break everything. Again! WTF? No matter what I did, Keychain would eventually lose track of my keychains, and this would cause any application that relied on them to screw up. But I did eventually figure it out.
The solution? Well, it's so simple and so idiotic it's hardly worth a post. But here you go: I rebooted.
That's right. A simple reboot and all my troubles were gone.
Remember, kids: reboot, reboot, reboot!
The first release candidate for Firefox 3.5 came out yesterday, and with it a slightly different application icon.
The old icon looked like this:
And here's the new icon:
Personally, I think it looks swell. It's a big enough change to be noticeable, but subtle enough to retain the brand identity and not be visually jarring. Just a wee bit fierier along its bottom edge, It even looks good in my Dock:
I've just downloaded RC 1, but I've been using the betas for some time now. I've had really no problems to speak of and have enjoyed the speed increases and new functionality. This minor icon change is a good representation of the sort of attention to detail you're starting to see a lot of in Firefox. While they still haven't addressed my biggest complaint, I can certainly say I recommend this latest version of Firefox.
UPDATE:
I've just downloaded this for another computer and it appears they've pulled the new icon. Today's release is still being called "RC1," but it now sports a "3.5b4" version number. Too bad. I hope they bring back the new icon in a later release. I like it.
UPDATE 2:
Actually, what seems to be going on is that the update that gets downloaded from the RC1 web page is different from the one that gets downloaded via Firefox's Update preference pane.
This was not the case the other day. The version on the web page is now 3.5b4 (Beta 4), as it now states in the fine print. But download that and Firefox will still prompt you to download a newer version (which prompt, oddly, links back to the confused download web page). The newer version that Firefox downloads has the updated icon. I'm not sure why they pulled this newer version from the web page. That's mighty strange. But, for the record, what's currently on the web page is not the release candidate. It is beta 4. You've been warned.
UPDATE 3:
Today the web page links to the new RC2, which does have the new icon. Wow! That was fast!
