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iSnark
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About Me
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Friday, May 18, 2012 ∙ 2:34 pm EDT
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iThingie, etc.
Bloggin'ment about mobile devices, which for now means an iPhone and a Kindle Fire.
March 2012
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© 2012
McGehee
5 comments
60°
clear
Newnan, GA
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All I want is to have one central place to manage my contacts, that will then synchronize across all my devices, operating systems and mail clients.
There is no excuse for this mess.
iThingie, etc.
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© 2012
McGehee
4 comments
79°
partly cloudy
Newnan, GA
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On my Kindle I’m using the alpha (Aurora) version of Firefox for Android, which is still for version 12—because the mobile version hasn’t advanced yet with the desktop version.
I started using 11 on my Windows computers while it was still in beta, because it includes add-on sync along with everything else. An add-on that performed this function, called Siphon, quit working a couple of weeks ago.
Add-on sync doesn’t seem to have arrived yet for Android—and since add-ons for mobile and desktop don’t correspond it wouldn’t matter much anyway—but I heard that an upcoming version revamped the UI to make use of Android’s native UI guts so I found the 12 alpha (which has been working quite nicely, actually, despite still being alpha) and have been using it as my primary browser on the padlet. Still, I’ve been looking forward to when it would move to beta.
Which I thought was supposed to happen yesterday.
No word on why the delay, either. I’d be more comfortable waiting if I knew why, or how long.
I’m carrying the beta version on the Kindle for when it upgrades to 12. And I’m carrying the release version too because eventually it too will upgrade to 12. With Aurora* and the native Silk browser, I’m carrying way too many of these things. I want to be able to get rid of one, dammit.
* Each Firefox browser on the Kindle has to be “paired” separately with Firefox Sync, so it’s more of a hassle to get rid of one that I know I’ll be using later, than it is to have them all installed simultaneously.
Update, Friday: Beta has gone to 12—but it still looks like 10 and 11. Meanwhile the release and alpha versions are still at 10 and 12, respectively. There is no Firefox 11 for Android, not in release or beta—but there are two 12s, which do not resemble each other on my Kindle.
I don’t think all is right at Mozilla tonight.
iThingie, etc.
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© 2012
McGehee
68°
mostly cloudy
Newnan, GA
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Apple’s new iOS version has been released today, a couple of days before I was expecting it. The OTA download timed out so I’m using iTunes and the sync cable.
OTA iPhone sync has been pretty unreliable with 5 and 5.0.1—I wonder if 5.1 will improve that any. (Update: looks like it.)
Update, Friday: Apparently upgrading to iTunes 10.6 helps too. Wow.
iThingie, etc.
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February 2012
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© 2012
McGehee
59°
rain shower
Newnan, GA
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A while back I mentioned something called Splashtop, which enables anyone with a cell phone or mobile device to log into a computer without having to sit down in front of it, and operate it as if he were, in fact, sitting down in front of it.
Today, just before leaving to run errands, I downloaded an upgrade of some software that I wanted to install, but I was using a different computer and just had enough time to save the file to my Dropbox account.
Later, at lunch in a different town, I used my phone to log onto the computer at home that I wanted to install the upgrade on, accessed the Dropbox folder, and ran the upgrade program. All went as it should, and when I got home the upgraded software performed exactly as I expected it to.
I like the app and what it lets me do—but the 7” screen has its limitations.
I’ve read that Windows 8 will offer, among other things, the means to log in to your Live.com account on any computer running Windows 8, and use it as if it were your own. I’m not sure just how far that will actually work, but I assume it involves a lot of web apps and “cloud” software, and probably the use of flash drives. In my case it will also involve the use of my hosted website space to store files behind layers of password protection, for anything I consider too sensitive to store on someone else’s space or carry around on my keychain.
And of course, my main computer is a laptop, so it’s not as if I have to leave it at home.
iThingie, etc.
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January 2012
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© 2012
McGehee
9 comments
57°
cloudy
Newnan, GA
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I am composing this post on my Windows computer, using my Kindle.
A thing called Splashtop lets me use the Kindle as a remote desktop proxy.
Supposedly I can do this even if I’m away from home—as long as the computer is running, of course, and the Kindle has wifi access, also of course.
iThingie, etc.
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© 2012
McGehee
3 comments
45°
clear
Newnan, GA
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Having been using this Kindle Fire for a day now, some observations:
It doesn’t do all of the things Bugbook can do, and it lacks the range of apps my iPhone can get (so far). It’s a lot more convenient to use than Bugbook, but after using it for a while my phone suddenly looks tiny and weighs hardly more than the air.
I appreciate being able to sideload Firefox on it and finally getting some use out of Firefox Sync—but there are almost no useful Firefox addons (as I would define “useful”) for the Android version of the browser. And the Weather Channel app doesn’t seem to offer radar maps. I’ve found only two games for the KF that are anywhere near as easy and fun to play as their iPhone counterparts are, but the larger screen does make them far easier and more fun to play. Maybe after this thing has been around a few months more of the games I like on the phone will be available for it.
I think the Fire is a perfectly good intermediate size and weight with its 7-inch display; I’m not sure I would be as comfortable with a tablet that has, say, a 10-inch display considering how much heavier it would be.
Since getting it, I’m actually making progress reading the last ebook I downloaded for the Kindle apps on Bugbook and my phone. The Kindle has its own email address (which I can configure) so I can send documents to it that will read just like an ebook. I’ve previously read a book on my PC in the Kindle app, that I bought from a third-party publisher in a Kindle-friendly format; the email process is how such ebooks can be read on a Kindle device itself.
The power-button problem complained about here hasn’t actually been a problem with this particular reader; the problem while using Chris’ may have been a fluke. However, I did have the touchscreen become unresponsive after leaving it face-down on the arm of the couch for some time. Rebooting fixed the problem, but under normal circumstances that requires touchscreen input—I had to resort to Bugbook to find another way to reboot the Kindle: hold the power button down continuously for thirty seconds. Now you know.
It’s not a true tablet. What it is, is a “smart” e-reader. I can browse the web and, as noted yesterday, even post blog entries with it. I can check email and do social-networking crap with it, and play a couple of games. I can probably use it to write fiction using a secure cloud account to host the document, but I still prefer a full keyboard for that.
Until such time as I can carry a computer around in my head, with 4G connectivity and the entire character set of any given font (including the sarcasm font) at the virtual fingertips that would do the virtual typing, I think this will do.
iThingie, etc.
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© 2012
McGehee
45°
clear
Newnan, GA
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I’m not actually using an iThingie to post this.
My wife got a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and I got jealous—so now I’ve got one too. And unlike the iPhone, I can actually use the kThingie to compose and post blog entries. Provided I’m within reach of wi-fi, of course.
I suppose I can also use it to read ebooks, but…
Dividing by Zero
iThingie, etc.
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