Decaflon

Welcome to Decaflon! Where the geeks hang out: Signup or Login Here
Decaflon is proudly hosted by (mt) Media Temple.  We recommend them for your web hosting needs.
Clips: Popular Clips Upcoming Clips Notes: All Notes

If you're on a Mac and haven't grabbed the latest version of iTunes yet, head over to Software Update and give it a download. The newest version of iTunes is 7.7 and it allows you to head over to the App Store and browse the available goodies that you'll be able to move over to your iPhone or iPod touch very soon. Some iTunes links (click once you've got 7.7 loaded up):

  • All iPhone Apps (if you want to view the main App Store screen, click "App Store" at the top.
  • Twitterrific is looking very, very nice as a native iPhone app (I've had the Jailbroken version for awhile.) It's a free download that's ad-supported via The Deck, and $9.99 if you want the ad-free version.
  • Evernote for the iPhone will be pretty handy for hardcore users. I was in the Evernote beta and never really started using it, but the concept was pretty neat.
  • OmniFocus is finally here on the iPhone and is a $19.99 purchase. Most of the other apps I've poked around and seen are cheaper but if you're a hardcore GTD (Get Things Done) kinda person, this might be a worthwhile purchase. That, you know, or some paper to write things down on.
  • Loopt is one of the few companies to be backed by the effervescent iFund so it will be interesting to see how they grow their model since the app is a free download.
  • Salesforce Mobile looks like it might be a hit with enterprisey sales folks who love their iPhones. Will it be enough for companies to outfit their sales staff all with iPhones? Time will tell.
  • And here's a shocker for ya: MySpace's iPhone app looks a lot more feature-rich and well-designed than the Facebook equivalent. Good on ya, MySpace.

This is nowhere near an exhaustive list of the interesting apps I've seen, but it should get you started with some familiar-sounding downloads. One of the interesting things I've noticed is that it's highly beneficial for your iPhone app name to start with a letter very close to the start of the alphabet. With so many apps out there, people will be pouring through the categories (Photography, Business, Games to name a few) and the apps are listed alphabetically. iFunded startup Whrrl seems to already be at a loss since they're not on the first page of the Social Networking category.

Just a quick note for my Jailbroken brethren. Last night I went into iTunes and downloaded the 1.1.4 update, then made sure to fully back everything up before restoring. I had a Jailbroken version of 1.1.1 and the process took about 30 minutes from start to finish. Make sure to get all your legitimate iPhone ducks in line before trying any fancy App Store stuff or who knows what will happen.

(Note: I have no idea if this process will work correctly with Unlocked iPhones running on different networks so if you're one of those people, I'm sure you're already aware of the issues.)

I spent some time browsing the App Store this morning, and scooped up a few apps already, just the free ones for now though. Very much looking forward to trying these out this weekend though.

Have you used Loopt before? How do you like it?

PhoneSaber! Soon I'll be able to swing my phone at people and make menacing light saber noises WITHOUT USING MY MOUTH.

Haven't used Loopt yet, seems to be a more useful app if you're in a major metropolitan area.

The hours are creeping by making Thursday the longest day of my LIFE!

I have my money ready... and waiting for the iPod Touch 2.0 upgrade and Super Monkey Ball.

Come on Apple, let the cat out of the bag a day early... PWEEEEEZE!

Now the real action begins and we can see how this sticks.

Has anyone gotten the Facebook app to work? Twitterific is pretty solid, as well as the eBay app.

Not that it really matters, but I discovered (thru a comment on TechCrunch) that you don't have to download 7.7 to get access to the App Store. I was able to do a search for "app store", and it pulled right up -- the entire store.

Kinda interesting when you get to thinking how many of these iTunes updates are really necessary.

It's not needed to see the App Store, but if you want to upgrade to 2.0 you will...

Still waiting for an unlock, but the list looks really nice. Some apps from the free category that looked fun at first glance:

  • Jott - Free transcription program apparently, definitely hopefully handy for writing ideas and brief notes.
  • Evernote - I can't say I'm interested in registering with yet another service (up with open standards and cloud computing already), but the OCR tech sounds great.
  • eReader - für das e-buchen.
  • Pangea VR - 360deg panoramas galore. I'm sure it's interesting to try once or twice.
  • Molecules - I'm just aching to rub my phone against someone's arm and then showing them their molecular structure.

I don't have the WiFi/Tower triangulation schemes back here, and I'm disappointed that there's no Sonic Screwdriver app - I thought Apple would be the end of the Daleks.

Ouch, now ABC News is running with an iPhone activation horror story. I feel for everybody who can't fully use their new iPhone 3G or OS 2.0 yet and am extremely glad I did the manual update last night. OS 2.0 for the win!

iTunes continues to get worse. It's bad enough that it's bloated and gets slower and slower with each release and comes with Quicktime whether you like it or not, it tries to install Safari by ticking the box to say I want it by default in the update routine and not only that, it installed an icon in my control panel for my Mobile Me preferences.

Why on earth do I need Mobile Me preferences? Surely that only needs installing for the small minority of people who want to pay for it. I thought we'd got past the point of installing software against your wishes. Even after the outcry about Apple ticking the 'I want Safari' box in the Apple Update program you get with iTunes (you don't choose to install that either), it remains like that months afterwards.

There's definitely room for somebody to make something better without repeating all of these mistakes.

It must suck to run iTunes on windows.

They'll be installing toolbars and displaying pop-up ads next. Scumbags.

Please Login To Leave A Comment

Decaflon Sponsors Get in touch if you want in.

 

Decaflon is part of the Chawlk Network of sites.

9 Great Places To Visit, Hang Out, & Meet New People

What's new and interesting at other Chawlk Network sites: