My thoughts are that while having download/install problems
(previously discussed) I must have confused/corrupted the desktop
file. So, if it happens to you, there is a solution.
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
Ahah! I've found it. Single tap on the title screen toggles it. Bloody
hell, that was hard to find. Now, I knew that this functionality
SHOULD be there, so I persisted, but what about people who are
unfamiliar? Does streamlining the interface really need the functions
hiding that well? It would be nice if I only had the time played
counting up to show it was playing, or the filling bar. Do we really
need the volume setting bar MORE than this? That is always available,
even when there are perfectly good volume buttons on the side.
Oh, well. I wonder what else is hidden in plain view?
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
Doing email lying down or laid sideways propped up with a pillow
affects accuracy of typing a bit; has anyone else noticed that you
have to aim unexpectedly high to hit the right letter? But my problem
this morning is no search filter on inboxes and the fact that I get
shed loads of emails and not enough are shown on the inbox page. I
have set the max 200 but the build up when you are on holiday and
shouldn't be checking them. Also, it would be nice for predictive text
to do more punctuation and offer more than one suggestion.
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
So, last night I flick through podcasts I've heard before on the
unsync'ed iPod to find something new. And I get to J.C. Hutchin's 7th
Son Obsidion, which is a hybrid audio/video cast. And lying in bed,
next to a child, who is slowly pushing me off the edge, because I am
constantly having to move to keep from waking her up, the feed turns
out to be a video cast. Now here is where the 'iPhone problem' bit
comes in!
I'm on my side, but the iPhone sensor tells itself that it is in
landscape and rotates the video 90 degrees, which is full screen but
skewed. So I rotate the thing and it understandably goes onto portrait
mode. Argh! So, please PLEASE Apple, can we have an override or a
video rotate button, so that I can lie sleepless in bed and view the
video the way I want to?
Can we also have cut and paste? Having to switch between apps in a
System Six/Multi-Finder way is really frustrating. And while we are at
it, can we have an obvious option to save a draft of an email and move
emails back to drafts from the outbox? I have several times
accidentally clicked send and had to jack my way back into an
unfinished email by moving it to the inbox, choosing reply all and
then doing a lot of extra editing to get rid of the highlighting -
done by deleting the start of the blue text onto some prior black
letters - which would be unnecessary if there were better editing
functions.
Oh, and can I have a UK dictionary for word suggestions; I'm a bit
sick of US variants appearing, and no way of configuring this or
adding my own words to the dictionary. Also, I don't think that the
predictive text learns or adapts, which should be a no-brainer nowadays!
And now a section on iPhonophilia, namely the positives of having an
iPhone that a grumble blog would not cover! There have been many, some
of which have served to highlight the few flaws or areas for
inprovement, but here are a few notable ones:
1) I'm driving home and get an urgent voicemail - due to patchy
reception in South Wales valleys - asking me to check and reply to an
email to rearrange a whole week's schedule. I park the car and can do
mail in a couple of minutes.
2) On my way to the ferry terminal late on Friday, I realize that I
have not complete a 400 word article I am supposed to have written for
UUK on why US Honour (honor?) codes won't work in UK universities to
prevent plagiarism. As my wife is driving, I pull up mail and a web
browser and get it written on the way to Plymouth.
3) Some friends, who relocated to Plouescat years ago, send me a text
telling us that they have emailed directions to their remote
farmhouse, but this happened after we had already left. I text back
saying we didn't get it, so hasty arrangements are made to meet up as
the instructions are too complex to send by SMS; only 160 characters
on text messages, remember.
However, the overnight B&B hotel in Morlais we stay in after arriving
on a late night ferry has free wifi. So, we get the email even without
data roaming, saving the need for a second mortgage! We get to see old
friends without having to be met somewhere.
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
Anyway, with time to kill, after the debate, I decided to check out
the BBC's iPlayer to catch up on some TV. Only to find that it doesn't
work unless you have wifi. So, really not configured with the iPhone
yet, as surely this should be able to work over 3G.
And how the hell do you get Caps Lock to work? I have turned it on in
the settings but it hasn't affected the on screen keyboard. OH, wait!
I've found it. Double tapping on the shift key; previously I had been
trying by press and holding it, which made sense at the time. Just to
confirm that this, and other tips, are hidden away in the apple manual
available at:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPhone_User_Guide.pdf
I particularly enjoyed page 80 tip which tells how to do screen
capture by pressing the Home and Sleep keys together:
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
I miss the quick sound record, a la dictaphone. Maybe a future app? I
also miss video capture, but unless they have skimped on the chip set
this should be an upgrade. The lack of disk use, common with iPods and
other phones, makes the iPhone less useful.
As for the built in apps, Safari is nearly there, but flash doesn't
work, on some sites at least, and I wish that the mail app would get
some polish. Word wrap isn't too much to ask is it? The secondary
keyset could be optimized for two thumb typing. [we are stuck with
QWERTY for letters!]. The simplest improvement would be the ability to
rotate the email. On its side the keyboard is much better sideways, as
evidenced by text entry on web sites; and I am getting used to the
predictive text, which seems to work best for correcting typos
[thumbos?], rather than true word guessing. Text prediction can get in
the way, however, as confirming with the spacebar sometimes chooses a
bad choice if you are not watching the text screen, as would be likely
during early use of the screen keys. Of seems that speeding up and not
caring about accuracy of every single letter actually works better!
So, some good [a great deal in fact!] making the few bad things more
obvious. If we could rotate a few more of the apps, particularly ones
with significant text entry, it would really help.
Oh, and I have a Griffin hard clamshell case, bought as it offered
both corner and screen protection. I am now regretting this, as a
silicon shell would allow peeling back to fit into my dock and the car
charger; both acquired for my iPod Video 80GB. The raised front edge
also impedes typingfor the Q and P keys. With a stick on screen
protector, a stiff screen cover and a strong belt clip [it's too large
to safely keep in a pocket without the risk of stress fractures,
especially if you sit down!] this would be my ideal case. Note here
that there are some good leather cases, but being vegan I am not going
to buy bits of dead cow!
More later from...
Scent from my iPhone 8-P
