Jim's New World » Qumana http://www.theczechs.net/blog Just another place to ramble on about nothing... Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:26:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= iPad Apps Disappear On Synchttp://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/ipad-app-disappear-on-sync/ http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/ipad-app-disappear-on-sync/#comments Sat, 11 Sep 2010 01:49:45 +0000 Jim http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/ipad-icons-disappear-on-sync/

The next morning before work, I decided to sync the phone and iPad, to make sure I backed up the new apps.  I didn't notice anything with the phone, but something caught my eye when syncing the iPad. I was prompted to select if I wanted to Transfer purchases from the iPad to iTunes.  Yes, thank you.  I didn't pay much attention, but noticed they were being downloaded to the MBP.  I did an extra step to arrange the new icons via iTunes.]]> Since I bought my AppleTV a few weeks ago, I have started to explore content online from Apple.  I have to admit, Apple is not the primary source for my streaming or online content.

I have been ripping my DVD collection, and with the Boxee / Flash / Firefox / Silverlight hacks have been watching old TV shows via Hulu, as well as streaming Netflix movies.  (Netflix was the primary reason I started down this path in the first place, since I really never watched much TV.)  I started with Season 1 of Alfred Hitchcock, and it still looks like I have over 100 episodes to catch up.  The old Outer Limits are favorites, too.

But I thought I would explore Podcasts for something different.  With the iPad (64GB Wi-Fi + 3G, iOS 3.2.2 from the factory — no jailbreak!), I stumbled upon one of the top picks, "iPad Today".  Leo Laporte and Sarah Lane, host this show, via Twit TV.  I’ve watched the weekly episodes and am anxiously awaiting the next. 

The other night, I decided to follow along as they highlighted several new apps.  I downloaded a few freebies, and even sprung a couple of bucks for two others.  They worked fine and enhanced the iPad experience.

The next morning before work, I decided to sync the phone and iPad, to make sure I backed up the new apps.  I didn’t notice anything with the phone, but something caught my eye when syncing the iPad.

I was prompted to select if I wanted to Transfer purchases from the iPad to iTunes.  Yes, thank you.  I didn’t pay much attention, but noticed they were being downloaded to the MBP.  I did an extra step to arrange the new icons via iTunes.  (Later, I wondered after a bit of research if that was the start of my problem.)

When I looked at the iPad later, I couldn’t find my new apps!  They were gone.  I opened iTunes, and they weren’t listed there either!  So I went back to the iPad and downloaded them again…  Hmmm, now what was I missing?  One at a time I re-added to my iPad from the App Store.

Fortunately the App Store knew the ones I had already purchased and were gracious enough to let me download the files again.  The freebies were not a problem.  Once they were back on the iPad, I sync’d with iTunes again.

This time I paid closer attention to the prompts.  The same dialog to transfer the apps, transferring observed in the status window, then a scrolling message that the apps I just downloaded and installed were being deleted!

After more trips to Google, an Apple support discussion suggested the issue may lie with moving icons to various screens within iTunes.  The post said that before leaving that tab, you should try to click "Apply".  That helped the poster, and so decided to give it a try.

By now, I knew intimately the apps, and downloaded promptly.  For fun, I moved the Twitter app, and Friendly to the "home" screen.  Before I left the tab, I clicked Apply.  It was promising after the next sync with iTunes, since I didn’t see the dreaded "deleting apps" message scrolling across the iTunes window.

Once I disconnected the iPad from the MBP, I was pleased to see my apps had indeed been downloaded to iTunes (they were still there) as well as present in the correct locations on the iPad.

While I don’t know if this is the root cause and fix for disappearing apps in every case, it sure seems as though a number of people have experienced this since the initial release.  If you assume there have been a few firmware / iOS releases, this issue has spanned each release.  There are possible correlations with those that also sync an iPhone, and a few other items that are similar between all users.  I can only suggest you give this simple solution a try, since it might just fix your problem, too.

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]]> http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/ipad-app-disappear-on-sync/feed/ 0 iPhone 4 – Issues and Resolutionhttp://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/iphone-4-issues-resolution/ http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/iphone-4-issues-resolution/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:45:05 +0000 Jim http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/iphone-4-issues-and-resolution/ Yes, I am a bit late to the party.  It was a ‘wait and see’, followed by a bit of research before I purchased a factory unlocked phone.  This followed the path of unlocked phones to use with my carrier, GCI, here in Alaska.

As before (with the 3G and 3GS) I scoured Hong Kong, only to find the iPhone 4 was backordered and generally not available, even through the Apple Store HK.  Then I read an article where Canada (and the UK) were also selling factory unlocked versions. This is in addition to those already available (due to local laws) in Australia, Italy, and the previously mentioned HK.

So I started watching prices.  I see I shouldn’t have waited.  There was the initial flood, then somewhat limited availability, then they became available, but at a premium.

I saved my pennies (and nickels, dimes, and dollars) to pay for the approximate $200 "premium" for the factory unlocked version.  My need for this device is, as mentioned before, that I use GCI service here in Alaska (since I work for them.)

I was also lucky, I later found out, as the device came with iOS 4.0.1.  The key here is that I do use several apps only available by jailbreaking (a couple of them being iRealSMS or SwirlyMMS.)  The newest, at this writing iOS 4.0.2, can not be jailbroken.  In fact, that was the primary reason Apple distributed this release. (There is also a PDF security patch, but that can be downloaded separately via Cydia on a jailbroken device.)  (*** Update:  Apple has released 4.1)

So I charged the device, and after swapping the GCI SIM from my 3GS, activated the phone.  I barely took a glance at the new features before heading straight to http://jailbreakme.com.  A few minutes later Cydia and Rock were installed and off I went.

I added a few jailbroken apps and other than some minor annoying operational glitches with iRealSMS, all was fine.  Or so I thought…

I had placed a few calls, but didn’t think there was a problem.  Then a received a call and picked it up with my Plantronics Voyager Pro BT headset.  After being on the phone for several minutes, the caller finally interrupted and said they were having trouble hearing me.  I spoke up a bit and repeated what I had said.  Still they were having trouble, and a minute later, again said they couldn’t hear me; I was "muffled."  All along, I could hear them fine.

I didn’t give it much more thought, but then on a later call, I was once again told I sounded "muffled."  This time, however, I wasn’t on the headset, so that was really disconcerting.  :(

After searching Google and the Apple discussion groups I found where there was indeed a "muffled audio" issue, but only saw it associated with Bluetooth audio.  Several people had done a multitude of things to attempt to resolve — all with limited success.

In the process, I also read about "slow upload speeds."  I hadn’t noticed, but decided to check.  Sure enough, I was getting ‘normal’ download speeds, but barely achieving GPRS data upload throughput.  Wow!

Finally, after a few days of use, I started to notice another anomaly, that of the "proximity sensor bug."  Essentially there is a problem with screen control (on / off) when you raise or lower the phone to your ear.  My issue was noticed, on a few occasions, where when I removed the phone from my ear (for example to hang up, or dial a number to continue in voicemail) and the screen remained dark.  It would *not* come back on, even pressing the home button or sleep button, tapping the screen, etc.  This was a real problem (albeit very infrequent in the scheme of things) and sent me back to Google and the Apple support site.

There were all sorts of things to try to fix any or all of these problems.  I started with the least drastic, and did a "Reset All Settings".  That way, I didn’t have to do a restore, mess with my jailbreak or approved apps, etc.  Everything was fine, with the exception of re-entering the network settings for GCI and my various wi-fi connections.  I also had to re-enter a number of (but strangely not all) passwords.

I did a reboot of the phone, and checked the easiest thing first.  Lo and behold, but upload speed problem disappeared.  I was getting normal EDGE (GCI doesn’t have 3G on GSM, only on the CDMA side) speeds.  In due course, made a couple of phone calls, with and without the headset, and the person on the other end didn’t report muffled audio.  The next item, the proximity sensor bug, has not reappeared after the reset.

So, all in all, I am very pleased with the new device.  It is much faster, has a fantastic screen, and on and on.  In general, I have really taken to new features that I really didn’t think I would use, such as multi-tasking.  Time will tell, and with the release of iOS 4.1, I hope a jailbreak will follow soon.

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]]> http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/iphone-4-issues-resolution/feed/ 71 Testing offline blog softwarehttp://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/testing-offline-blog-software/ http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/testing-offline-blog-software/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:33:02 +0000 Jim http://www.theczechs.net/blog/ramblings/testing-offline-blog-software/ I’ve been looking for software to allow me to post to my blog without using the (cumbersome) web admin interface.  My goal, more specifically, is “free” software to accomplish this task.

I’ve done a few Google searches, but it always leaves me reading reviews that are from 2007 or before.  As technology advances, “that was then and this is now…”  Some of the apps don’t even exist in the form that was reviewed, if at all.

So I found a post from 2009…  Trying Qumana.  We’ll see how this test goes.  If you have any suggestions, they are much appreciated.  Please leave a comment…

(Yes, I left the footer in place, not only to give credit, but to see what it looks like in actual use.)

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