bookmark_borderPreviously on 24… er.. this blog…

One thing I don’t do very often is revisit previous, recent, posts and offer any closure or update. However I think the following are worthwhile revisiting:

1. My iPhone Apps
In the process of writing that post, I realised that the some applications I did have on my iPhone weren’t quite right. So I spent a little time hunting for better alternatives and on the way picked up a couple of new applications.

Replaced applications include:

  • Tweetie in for Twitterific – Twitterific was great when it first came out but seems to have been left dormant, Tweetie is far more complete.
  • Remember the Milk in for Zenbe lists – Zenbe is a good, web aware, list app but it’s not as good as RTM for task management. I’ve had a badly used RTM account for ages so this was a good push to get me focussed on using it, especially as I’ve now put money behind it (you need a Pro subscription to use the app on your iPhone). Working well so far.

New applications, some of which I’m still evaluating, include:

  • CameraBag – a simple photo manipulation app with presets that mimick various effects. Very much a one trick pony but kinda fun nevertheless.
  • Tumblrette – I have a Tumblr account, and this app might help me make better use of it rather than just recycling blog posts and Twitter statuses.
  • RunKeeper Pro – I had the lite version of this but the Pro version was offered free for one day, so I’ve nabbed it and put it back on the iPhone in the hope I get back to jogging sometime this year.
  • MMS – which provides MMS capabilities on my iPhone, not done much with this yet
  • SaiSuke – which gives me direct access to all my Google Calendars. Not quite sure why I have this, think I thought it did more than it does!

I also re-jigged my home pages some, and they now look like this (click for bigger):

iPhone Apps

2. MacBook screen issues.
I reported a weird glow, right in the centre of my MacBook screen, that would appear and disappear, seemingly, intermittently.

The circumstances of when I first noticed this was when I was sitting on the sofa with the laptop, I was facing the window and it was a nice sunny day outside. I was dropping the brightness to eke out a little more battery life (too lazy to go upstairs and get the power cord) and when I dropped the brightness to 0 (a black screen) there was the weird glow right in the middle of the screen. I tried to replicate this effect later in the evening but couldn’t.

Got all that?

Now take a look at this photo of the case of a MacBook. Notice where the Apple logo is, that translucent section of the casing? Right in the middle of the screen.

Yup. That’s right. Sunlight streaming through the Apple logo onto the back of the ‘darkened’ LCD screen.

Thanks to Matt for figuring this out.

So, apparently, it’s not just my Mother that is an idiot.

Speaking of which…

3. My Mother is an idiot.
At Christmas we got my parents a Wii Fit board to go with their new Wii. My Mum has been using it and enjoying the various mini-games, one of which includes using the position of your body on the board to help balance a tight rope walker as he walks between two buildings (on the tight rope).

You lean left on the board to make him lean left, right to go right. It’s pretty basic but quite tricky.

So I could understand when my Mum said that she couldn’t complete the task, that she kept ‘falling off’. It is quite a tricky game.

However it was only when she mentioned it to Dad that she realised why.

She had the Wii Fit board round the wrong way. Lean left to go right…

Sorry Mum, but I need to do SOMETHING to distract from my moment of idiocy!

bookmark_borderBrain dump

Twitter pulls random thoughts from my head now, but there are some that require a little more room to breathe. In no particular order then…

The iPhone is a wonderful device, and if you are web-savvy and heavily invested in web applications and social networking then it is THE choice. If you just want a phone with a few features, it’s still a strong player but remains lacking in some areas (camera is poor, lack of video, no MMS). Needless to say I think Apple pitched this phone at the right group of users and it will only get better as more applications appear.

My fitness is slowly improving, although weight loss is very very slow. I’ve been trying to keep up a basic regime comprising physio exercises (eccentric loading for my injured knee), some dumbbell work, and basic floorwork of pressups, situps, the plank, with a few stretches to improve flexibility. I’m still lacking aerobic activity, but that will come (a few walks here and there for example). And yes, Wii Fit is still on the radar.

The big news remains, of course, my sister’s engagement. The party is booked and talk of weddings is slowly starting to dominate conversations. I’m still getting used to the idea to be honest I mean it’s my wee sister, getting married! Blimey.

Aside from that.. yeah life continues to plod onwards.

Now, I’ve not asked in a while, but how the hell are YOU?

bookmark_borderC500 Update

For anyone (OK, for Richard) who has an Orange C500 Smartphone, there is now an update available.

It’s a 22MB download, but adds the ability to send Video via MMS and upgrades the GPRS speed from Class 8 to Class 10 (faster browsing of the internet).

It WILL wipe your phone but a quick re-sync and re-install of your apps and you should be sorted – I’d backup first though, just in case.