The musings of an IT Consultant » iPod

Issues with Latest iPod Update

Raj Perumal — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:17:36 +0000

Hi everyone! So I have a bit of a rant. It’s regarding the latest iPod update. I love my iPod, it’s so easy to use in my car. My car has steering wheel controls built in to control the iPod without me having to pick up the iPod while driving.

Unfortunately, Apple has decided to release an update which has completely clobbered 3rd party support of controlling iPods remotely such as my vehicle. The latest 3.1.1 update has completely played havoc with this control. I can no longer choose playlists on my nav screen and select songs. I found out if I click the name of the playlist a few times it finally starts working. I also noticed that scrolling through the playlists or songs takes longer. It seems the iPod is less responsive with the new update.

So I went to go downgrade my firmware in iTunes just like I upgraded the firmware, that way I could go back to the previous version that I knew worked. Well apparently it’s just not that easy. Also if you search on the Internet you can find a lot of ways to downgrade your firmware, but it’s quite complicated for the everyday user. I myself would have no problem doing this, but why can’t Apple just make it easier? They should just have a downgrade button in iTunes. That way you can revert back to the last firmware upgrade and all would be well. For a company that is a proponent of ease of use for their customers, this certainly seems really backwards!

-RP

How’s BlackBerry App World doing?

Raj Perumal — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:11:46 +0000

Hi folks, I’d thought I’d take a moment to speak about App World again. Now that it has been out there for a while I thought I’d offer up my opinion on what I think of it. For those of you that don’t know, App World is the application store for BlackBerry devices. This is RIM’s answer to Apple’s app store for their iPhones and iPods.

Now the strategy to come up with their own app store was a good idea on RIM’s part. I’ve always said that software is a huge determining factor when choosing a platform. After all, if a device doesn’t have the apps you want, you’re not left with much of a reason to buy it.

Well I have to say that App World is easy to use and very cool. It’s very easy to navigate through, read reviews and download my favourite apps. Also now that I’ve had it for awhile it also notifies me when my current apps need upgrading and it makes that process fairly simple too. So what’s the downside on all of this?

The apps themselves. There are only a few really good apps for the BlackBerry. Even after the AppWorld launch I’ve found that I don’t have nearly the selection that my friends do on their iPhones. I have to say I’m quite dissapointed in the app turnout. Let’s hope that this changes soon because right now, Apple has nothing to worry about on the app front.

-RP

Rant about iPods…

Raj Perumal — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:24:07 +0000

Hi folks, i’d just like to take a moment to rant about iPods. I use my iPod all the time, in my house, in my car, and at work. I buy all my music off of iTunes and love using it.

My rant comes down to the memory. I think it is the biggest cash grab by Apple not to allow removable memory. I have now maxed out my iPod and I have to buy a new one just to get more music on it. Now this is a good business plan I suppose if people really want to spend the money to get a new iPod but I really have better things to do with my money than buy a new iPod everytime I need more music than it can hold.

I bought the largest iPod touch I could find when it first came out and now there are larger ones and I’ll have to buy one again. This is just so annoying and I think they should seriously rethink how they do this. If they really wanted to lock people in they could have come up with some proprietary expandable storage like Sony did and then they would still make money off of it. Anyways, that’s my 2 cents.

-RP