Tag Archives: mobile technology

iTunes won’t update Apps!!! iTunes error 400.

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For several weeks, I’ve had to update my apps one at a time on my iphones — yes, we have multiples in this house (three) plus an iPod touch. So, manual updates get to be a bit cumbersome.

I’ve been getting an error (without an error number, just so you know, saying there’s no internet connection — which there WAS) along with a second error (400) when I try to update. Error 400 in relation to the iTunes store, BTW, referenced iTunes version 4.8 and is seldom seen now. It would also tell me that the iTunes store was temporarily unavailable and it asked me to try again later. For weeks.

The odd thing was that I can get online and view the iTunes store. I could also buy and download apps, but I couldn’t update any — and I had over 230 that said they need to be updated.

Earlier this week, on Sunday, I spent the entire day — literally over five hours — on the phone with Apple trying to figure this one out before my iPad pre-order arrives and needs access to the iTunes updates too.

We finally gave up when the levels of tech support were exhausted and my issue was sent to “engineering” to resolve it.

Today (on Tuesday) I’m cleaning things off my Mac, and decided to be rid of some programs I no longer need or want. One of them was NetBarrier X5. Since this one had proven to be less than simple to uninstall — it was going to require a bit of research. Some months ago, I simply opened it up so it wasn’t blocking my ports for wireless apps and other programs that I use until I had time to actually get rid of it.

While enjoying my insomnia tonight, I decided to clean this particular little program off my machine. I have to do a web search to determine how to do it. While searching, I actually trip across this article which states that there is some weirdness reported between iTunes store permissions and logins and NetBarrier.

Long story short… removing the NetBarrier (which had to be done by re-downloading the product and then attempting to install and hitting the uninstall instead) and then a reboot and the problem was solved.

Now, I just have to call my support guy back at Apple and let him know what I’ve found so they can document it on their site’s tech support.

And one more huge, bothersome thing to do is off my list…along with the smaller one that caused it.

Best Protection: Case for an iPhone — and it’s PINK!

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I’ve been through a slew of iPhone cases in my quest for the perfect one. SLEWS of them. I love my iphone, ask anyone who knows me… but, trying to keep it safe and in excellent working order isn’t always easy when you take it everywhere. (Heck, I even listen to music on mine in the bathroom while taking a shower — so I needed a moisture-resistant, shock proof, tough case for it.)

Yesterday, the ideal case finally arrived. I got mine on eBay, but it’s available on Amazon too. I got myself an Otterbox Defender Semi-rugged Case for my iPhone in girly pink. It’s also available in white, in black and in black with yellow trim, for those of you who aren’t that interested in going all girly.

It doesn’t maintain the sleek, thin lines of the iPhone. It adds a great deal of bulk and weight — but I don’t care. I love it. It seals it from the elements and from my daily abuse. It’s even got a well-functioning screen protector (unlike those that inhibit my ability to use the touch screen on those ever-so-delicate game sessions when I’m waiting in line or in a waiting room). These things matter!

The holster is also pretty cool. I wish it had been available in pink too — but the pink case comes with the standard issue black holster. It’s quick and easy to slide the phone in and out to answer it, and it keeps it protected and at the ready.

The holster clip can also be adjusted to become a defacto easel back so you can watch videos in landscape mode (which is really nice!)

The only thing that bugs me about this solution is how hard it is to get it in and out. It no longer slides easily into my iHome for extra speaker boost, and it’s required me to get more creative with the Griffin WindowSeat Windshield car mount I just got for my car. Aside from those small issues, it’s the best protection I’ve ever seen. I’d probably not even have a heart attack if my precious iPhone went skidding across a parking lot now — so long as it was in the case.

It’s also uber-easy to find in the bottom of my cave-of-a-purse with the bright hue!

If you are looking for the best possible protection for your iPhone, check it out. It really rocks!

Google Apps: Awesome eMail!

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Google Apps is a “software as service” option for small (and large) businesses. My favorite feature is a paid version of Gmail. It’s worth the $50 per year I’m spending to use it. (I don’t really use the other features, except for the calendar.)

You may wonder, especially during these interesting economic times, why I would want to pay for something that I could get for free…

Simple. Because you can’t brand typical Gmail. Sure, you can “sort of” brand it by placing your business name before the @gmail part and you can set it up to “send on behalf of” your business email, but it’s still got the stigma of a freebie account. It makes you look like you are less than serious about your business.

I only wish the cool Glabs stuff available for Gmail would be made available on a quicker schedule for Google Apps. That’s a bit bothersome.

You get much MUCH more space with a Google Apps account. Google Apps offers 25 gigs for a paid account, whereas Gmail only offers 5 gigs.You can easily upload all your email accounts to this one place, and enjoy the benefits of an archive of all emails from all time.

The apps version allows you to change the CNAME records on your hosting account so you can send from Gmail and “originates” from your website domain. Not an simple automatic setup, but once you do the steps, it’s bulletproof.

The joys of Gmail are many. It’s got a kickin’ search feature (you would expect no less from Google, right?).

You may, like me, be one of those “nested folders” people with your email. That’s “old-school” once you have Gmail or Google apps. With creative use of tags and the search, there’s no need… in fact now WAY… to use folders anymore. That may rock your email world for the first few days, but you quickly begin to wonder why in the HECK you had all those folders within folders and how you ever found anything that way.

I keep a backup of my mail on my computer by using the download feature (without removing the items from the Google server) into my resident mail program. I don’t send and receive from that resident program, but I know that I have a backup of all my mail, should something unforseen happen. Within just a few minutes I could re-upload it all.

I like web apps, but I’d not want to rely on them without a personal backup. I’m just too paranoid for that.

My iPhone is set up to fetch my email and I can send and receive with ease, while on the go. I use Google Apps mail as my primary contact management database too and pull down a copy in vcard format once a month as a backup.

The nice thing about using Google Apps is that you end up with a branded email that isn’t tied to a particular host, a particular computer or a particular operating system. Universal email is now on tap from anywhere! And when you work remotely, that’s really nice. It’s good to be mobile and flexible. Once you have a connection to the Internet — ANY connection to the Internet — you have access to your email and your contacts.

I’ve tried, tested and used a plethora of email programs, services and software over the years. I can’t imagine changing to anything else. Google apps mail trumps the competition. It’s just too convenient, mobile friendly, and too easy to search to have any real competition right now!

(Photo courtesy of seabreeze)

My Favorite Apps: Writers Toolbox on the iPhone!

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iTalk Recorder – by Griffin Technology

A mobile writer’s best friend. I’ve fleshed out plot sequences, brainstormed settings and traced historical information for my characters using this app while driving down the road. Maybe not recommended, but alot better than trying to write down that amazing idea that always seems to occur when I have my hands at 10 and 2 (or 9 and 3 if you are younger). This app has a great big easy-to hit record and stop button. You can name the file later (if you are driving) and transcribe it at a later date or wi-fi it to your computer when you get back to the office. It permits continuation of an existing recording and has a choice of sound qualities. I’ve tried four of these types of apps and find this one to be the best, most clean cut of the group so far. Great app and the price couldn’t be better: Free!

WriteRoom – by HogBaySoftware

A distraction-free, basic black background with white type text app (landscape-keyboard-enabled for faster input). This tiny version is based on the desktop program WriteRoom by hogbaysoftware.com. The iPhone version offers support for multiple ongoing documents and basic statistics (number of paragraphs, words, characters) in a couple taps. You can also backup your work with a couple taps by sending yourself (or someone else) an email copy.($4.99)

TextGuru – by Brancipater Software

An easy way to file-share your works in progress and reference materials between your desktop and your iPhone. You can view HTML, Images (.jpg, .png, .tga., .tif, .tiff), PDF files, PowerPoint and Word documents. You can edit text files (but NOT Word documents). Text files can be saved in multiple formats including: .txt, .html/.htm, .php, .js, .c, .h, .cpp, .m/.mm, .pl, .py .taskpaper, .rb, .ja/.jar, .bin, and custom file extensions. Nice extras include cut and paste, find and replace, revert to last save (undo) and user-designated autosave timer.You can see file attributes including most recent modification timestamps, encoding and size.

TextGuru also offers multiple fonts, four background colors, multi-document search, basic statistics (paragraphs, words, character counts) and email for instant backup to your inbox when you are out and about. You can also submit your file to Pastie.org and Sprunge. For programmers, the TextGuru’s view as a webpage option is really nice as well. Although you can view most documents in both landscape and portrait formats, you can only enter text in portrait (unfortunately). If it did have a landscape keyboard, it could replace my need for WriteRoom. Maybe the developer will address this in the next update. ($4.99)

Margins – by Architechies

Offers a great way to keep all your notes on books you are reading (or are using for research) in your favorite all-in-one device. Email backup is offered for the notes on any individual book and it’s ISBN enabled so just a few taps (the ISBN number) will auto-fill all the information about the book for you. I wish this had a landscape keyboard option (maybe the developer will add that in an upcoming version.) It would also be nice to have a way to take a photo of the passage and manually “highlight” it in the app with a touch, rather than having to type it all in before making comments/notes on the printed text. ($3.99)

iStop WritersBlock – by Lab013 Studios

A fun little “muse in a box” concept for your iPhone with plot ideas, inspirational quotes and writing challenges for the creative writer. I hope this developer continues to add new plot and challenge ideas. It’s not a workhorse like some of the other apps, but it’s a cool writer’s tweak for a buck. ($.99 – until the end of November as a special for NaNoWriMo).

Idea Generator  – by The Directors Bureau

Cool little shake-it-up mix and match word phrase program. I didn’t really care for the words that came with the program — they were too far out — but I love the fact that I can add my own to create some interesting mashups of current topics, ideas and actions for a work in progress. Makes me look at some of the standard ideas in unusual ways. Fun, cheap, cool. ($.99)

Stanza – by Lexcycle, Inc

I’ve reviewed and raved about this iPhone Book Reading app before, but for the writer on the go, being able to load up reference materials to read while out and about is a great boost in the value of the iPhone for the writer’s toolbox. (Just wish my Palm ebooks .PDB files would work on it.) Price, as always, is free!

Names – by Richard Wilkes

Name randomizer gives you the choice of four male/four female names on a single iPhone screen. Refresh button gives you a whole new list. Rinse, lather, repeat. Great way to get out of the rut of using the same types and flavors of names for your characters. Besides being an inspiration for character names, it’s fun (at least fun for a writer… in that twisted kind of a wordy way that others will never understand). ($.99)

My Baby – by irona.com and vensi.com

This app offers the ability to search based on meaning, or by letters of the alphabet. You can select from female or male names and you can save the “contending” names in a My Names list. The My Names list is a one-touch operation and is extremely helpful when you are sorting through all the possible options. Do note that the Origins search doesn’t appear to work properly — but the resulting names from other searches does offer origins information. Free.

Wikipanion – by Robert Chin

No writer should be without access to Wikipedia. Period. There are a slew of Wikipedia apps out there and I think I’ve tested most of them. This one is free and is bulletproof (doesn’t crash or report “server” issues), unlike many of the others. I may invest in the plus version of this one to be able to download items in my queue for offline browsing at a later time. That seems like the best option for this resource. One app offerd in the app store downloads the whole wikipedia on your device, but I think that’s a bit of overkill (and eats space I need for other apps and stuff!). The online only versions (which is what the free version is here) sometimes is amazingly slow on cell signals. (Free/$4.99 for Plus version)

Still Under Investigation:

Dictionary/Thesaurus

I’m still holding out and hoping for the Complete (not Concise) Oxford and the full, unabridged Oxford Thesaurus. I’ve texted several free and low-cost versions and will continue to use WordBook – Dictionary/Thesaurus combo ($7.99) by TranCreative Software and Dictionaire: The Simple Dictionary (free) by Hampton Catlin until I find my killer options on these two essential resources.

Organization/Data Management

Capturing the snippets of infomation and ideas in one central location is a challenge. Doing it while mobiel is even more challenging. I’ve dedicated one homepage to just writing apps and resources. I’m also evaluating iDB Datamaster by Evince Technologies, Inc (with a section my databases dedicated for use with writing projects) to see if that organizes or unnecessarily complicates the process. I’m simultaneously testing 44 Jots by Shaila Klosterman of Infofission ($.99) at the moment to see if the multimedia options there are a help or a hindrance to my creative process.

Quotes Apps

I like Daily Quote by Miron Vranjes (free), but would like to not be limited to a single quote, since I tend to binge on those little granules of wisdom at any opportunity. It does offer the ability to save favorite quotes, which is nice and one-tap lookup of the person quoted in Wikipedia, which is also pretty sweet. I’d recommend it for those one quote a day types. It works well.

iQuotes free by Danile Perez has beautiful backgrounds and lovely quote selections, but they are often extremely difficult to read, which distresses me and makes me squint. It also makes me angry whenever I try to read the quotes and have to squint to do so. Squinting makes wrinkles. ‘Nuff said.

iQuote by Gihad Chibb ($1.99) offers over 10,000 quotes on a beautiful, easy-to-read interface, the option to read by category and author… and ability to add your own quotes. SCORE! You can also save your favorites and email quotes and rank your quotes.

Information Management: An iPhone App to Crave

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While recovering from a case of the creeping-crud, I’ve spent many hours over at the apps store catching up on what’s new and cool. I’m not BEING very productive lately, so I’m researching productivity (and other) apps. (Hey, at least I’m accomplishing something!)

In particular, I was looking for:

  • a better way to handle my to-do lists
  • a way to maintain standard packing lists
  • a quick-launching notes program
  • a running diary for those “when did I do that?” queries
  • a grocery shopping list-maker
  • a way to do my @ lists (loosely based on GTD philosophy — VERY loosely)

I found one of the most incredible database programs to date for the iPhone. It’s called iDB Datamaster Pro (there’s a free version and a lite version, but I wanted a limitation-free option). It was developed by Evince Technologies, Inc specifically for the iPhone and is not a port or a re-write of another program.

It literally replaced half a screenful of other apps on my homepage — and we all know how precious that space is!

The layout is good and the templates (which I hope will continue to expand) handle most of what I’ve needed so far. I like the integration with the native apps which permits one-tap phone calls and web site launches from within the databases.

The best features?

1. A powerful search across ALL the databases. (Really nice!)

2. The ability to “pause” the database and return to the exact same place next time the app is launched saves taps and frustration. (Small feature, huge impact on usability.) It even has time-stamped logs for locating what was done when.

3. I particularly like the fact that I can backup the databases to my own computer in CSV format — but need to play with this a bit more to learn how to backup and restore effectively.

It’s a little more expensive than the standard .99-4.99 apps, coming in at 12.99 for the pro version, but it’s worth every penny, IMHO. I’ll review a few more of my best finds over the next few days, including writer’s tools for the iPhone and (hopefully) a decent replacement for some of the standard apps (like calendar).

In the meantime, go download the free version of this DB app and give it a try. I think you will like it as much as I do.