Thickfreakness

The iPhone Post

2009-05-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

I was actually trying to write this the other day and for some reason Blogger wasn't complying with my new FTP password. Everything's working now, though...odd.

So neztach just got a new iPhone and he was asking me what all I do with mine. He's no doubt trying to move out of the stoneage. :p I'm going to do my best to keep this organized and give an idea of how I use this thing daily.

Home Screens

As you can see, I have and use quite a few applications, both standard and downloaded from the app store. In some cases I even have redundant applications for the same task, but with slightly different features. There's really no right or wrong way to organize home screens (or just go for straight up anarchy!). I basically try to organize mine by like tasks, so for example, on the second line of the first home screen are several of my social networking apps. On the first line of my second screen are my streaming audio apps, etc. I guess this method of organizing is held over from the good old days of when I carried a Handspring Visor and later a Palm Tungsten T2 with me everywhere. Can't remember whatever happened to those things.

SMS Text (Text Messaging)

It's almost a given in this day and age that people text. I remember before going back to school in 2003, I'd be lucky to send or receive 20 texts in a year. At my peak during school, and with the aid of an unlimited plan, I inched just over 2,800 messages in one month. I'm out of school now and the days of a hundred texts a day are gone, but I still appreciate a good SMS application.

I actually managed to cripple my T-Mobile Dash by trying to install a threaded SMS client. After that, my factory AIM client never worked again. On the iPhone, Apple has made the whole process painless and included the iChat interface that I'm very fond of. The only thing that would make this better is if they integrated the SMS (and upcoming MMS) functionality with the standard IM protocols. One place for messaging, everything from SMS to Google Talk, would be amazingly handy.

Fring (Instant Messaging)

Now I'm not going to lie and say that this is the best IM client I've ever used. Far from it, actually. What it does do right, though, is combine every possible IM protocol into one package (I use MSN, AIM, Skype, and Google Talk). My main beef with the application is that it completely breaks the UI for each client. Instead of feeling like I'm messaging someone on Google Talk or someone on AIM, it feels like the separate services don't even exist. That's an especially annoying UI choice when it comes to multiple contacts and I'm trying to hunt down their Skype account, for instance.

All that said, Fring is a great option for free, especially considering the only better IM app on the iPhone is Beejive which runs a way too pricey $16. It'll be interesting to see what happens once Apple rolls out iPhone OS 3.0 with push notifications. I'm holding out hope that someone will port Pidgin.

Rooms (IRC client)

Simply put, this app is amazing. Sitting in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport this last Christmas for over 5 hours, I was trying to pass the time through watching some Netflix DVDs on my MacBook Pro (incidentally, avoid Sweeney Todd), I felt the itch to get online and check out what was going on in my normal IRC channels. Airport Wi-Fi was just as overpriced as the gum at $10 for one day's access. After hitting up the app store, I 'walked' away with this app at the bargain price of $2.99.

Basically this does everything you're used to on a normal IRC client short of DCC send. Full support for multiple servers, channels, onjoins, notifications on new messages (dot blinks), portrait and landscape keyboard, mod utilities...everything. I don't know if there are other IRC apps out there, and I really don't care. The only better IRC client I've ever used is X-Chat, and not by much.

Twittelator Pro (Twitter Client)

Without a doubt, this is the best Twitter client on the market, desktop or mobile. Any and every function of Twitter that I can think of is in this program: follow/unfollow, retweet, reply, email, favorite, groups, threaded conversations, search, trends, landscape typing, pics from your library or snap a pic, GPS location, in-app browser, etc etc etc.

There are a lot of Twitter apps out there, and even a dozen or more for the iPhone. Some are free and offer perfectly good service. For someone who truly wants the most robust and easy to use Twitter client, however, $4.99 for Twittelator Pro is a great deal.

Weather Channel (Weather)

The Weather Channel app is almost the perfect weather program. If you look on my home screen, you'll notice that I've left the default weather program right next to it. The only major downfall of the app is it's not very intuitive to switch cities. Instead of a simple swipe left or right, the user has to go into a submenu and select a city. Not exactly the easiest during one hand operation.

Outside of that, however, the app delivers. Current conditions, hourly, 36 hour, local radar static or in motion, and even up to the minute video forecasts with an actual Weather Channel anchor. Finally, one of my favorite features, is the severe weather tab along the bottom that will gain a number badge (eg. 4) if there are any severe weather alerts in your area. Given this area of Texas, severe weather is pretty frequent and it's always nice to have these alerts in case power goes out or the cable signal drops.

Google Maps (maps/phonebook)

Not really a whole lot to say about this app. It's absolutely essential and rightly included with every single iPhone that ships. Maps, driving directions, street view added in 2.x, quick access to both phone numbers (tap once to dial) and websites. If you've used the desktop version of Google Maps, this is fairly close. All that's missing is the handy reviews.

YouTube (videos)

Pretty cut and dry app. It's not too bad at all when on WiFi, but is crippled on 3G due to lower bitrate videos (imposed by AT&T presumably). Other missing features are: the ability to sort, rating videos, commenting on videos, reading comments, adding to favorites, and many more. While it's great to have access to YouTube videos on the run, I'd have to say this is by far the most lackluster default app on the iPhone. If you just want a simple to use interface, then there you go.

Photos (iPhoto library)

Great implementation of the iPhoto library on the iPhone. I'm hoping in the future that Apple adds in the basic editing features found in iPhoto such as enhance, red eye, and crop. Outside of that, this app provides quick and easy to navigate access to all of your photos, and even has the ability for a slideshow. Tap the icon on the lower left to use as a wallpaper, email, or assign to one of your contacts.

Streaming Audio (Pandora, Slacker, Last.fm)

What can you say about this category. All three programs are fairly similar with different levels of customization. Pandora takes artists/songs that you input on the website or rate up and down on the device and attempts to find matching styles utilizing the Music Genome Project. You can make (as far as I know) an unlimited number of channels with different themes. The downside to Pandora is it tends to repeat a bit too often.

Slacker takes an approach somewhere in between Pandora and satellite radio. While you can create your own stations, most genres are already covered and playlists are organized by producers. Favoriting a song means that particular song will come up more during rotation but has no bearing on any other songs played. Banning naturally means you won't hear that song (or optionally artist) again. The nice part of Slacker is being able to switch between stations without the need to build your own. The main downside to Slacker is occasional commercials for non premium subscribers.

Last.fm offers the least amount of customization but, in my experience, matches listening preferences much better than the other two programs. Because you "scrobble" (tell Last.fm) what you're listening to on your iPod or in iTunes/Banshee/etc it's able to match your musical tastes to other available music. The "Recommended for..." playlist is quite fun and I use it often both on the iPhone and in Banshee. On the downside, it's impossible to listen to specific genres in Last.fm without paying a monthly fee, and even then, it's pretty poor implementation.

The reason I have three of these apps is because all three fit different needs at different times. I listen to none of them all the time, instead going back and forth between the three and my iPod.

Movies & TV (Flixster, Now Playing, i.TV)

Much like the music apps, I have two movie apps to cover different needs. Flixster offers the ability to connect reviews of movies to Facebook and of course all of the usual options of viewing trailers, seeing ratings, and purchasing tickets. Now Playing picks up Rotten Tomatoes reviews (great feature!), also includes trailers, and can manage Netflix queues in real time. Also I find that usually if you can't buy tickets online through one app, you can usually get to them through the other.

i.TV is handy for ghetto TVs that have no cable box or DVR. I believe it has some TiVo functionality to it, but since I don't have one, that's a moot point for me. It's not an essential app by any means, but is put together well nonetheless.

Truveo (Video)

A recent app that I found, Truveo links directly into AOL's video aggregating site of the same name. The cool little app lets you search multiple services and view videos including entire TV shows and full length movies. Definitely an awesome alternative to sideloading your own content before heading out, or purchasing content from the iTunes store. The interface is a bit buggy, but I expect that it will continue to improve with new versions.

Lose It! (Health & Fitness)

A very nice little app (and free!) that lets you track your daily food intake and exercises. You can see data daily or weekly by graph form. It also includes nutrients to help you see if you're hitting your goals on daily splits (eg. 40 protein/20 fat/20 carbs). The interface is intuitive and the program includes a very nice sized database of generic, name brand, and restaurant foods. Definitely a must have app for anyone who wants the benefits of keeping a journal without lugging a binder around with them everywhere.

Google Reader (RSS reader)

This is almost cheating since this app is just a link on my home screen to a Google web app. That said, Google Reader has been my favorite RSS reader for years now. Using the desktop version you can customize categories, tags, and subscriptions. The mobile version is a little less featured than that, but still offers the ability to read stories with images in line, mark favorites for sharing, email, and more. The best part is that since it's synced with Google, your unread items are kept to date whether you access from the desktop or the iPhone. No going back and forth between separate applications on different devices.

SplashID (password vault)

Unfortunately this is all I can show you of my SplashID app, but there is a ton more information and screenshots here. I've been using this program since way back during the Visor/Palm OS days. With so many logins to websites for everything from forums to phone bills, it's an absolutely essential app for me. This is especially true these days as websites are starting to require increasingly complex passwords to guard against hackers. At $9.95 the app is a bit on the pricey side, but it is by far the best utility out there both for managing the information and keeping it secure. Truly an app I could not live without.

Wikipanion (Wikipedia access)

There are several apps out there for accessing Wikipedia, and Wikipanion is my favorite. While you could just open up Safari and go to Wikipedia, that option doesn't offer the luxuries of being formatted for the iPhone's screen, quick access to each section of the article, and the ability to easily bookmark articles for future use.

Games (Reign of Swords, Aurora Feint, Fieldrunners)

Reign of Swords is a strategy-RPG somewhere in between Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. It's a bit sparse on sound effects and audio, but otherwise a good way to kill time.

Aurora Feint is 100% free, and absolutely worth a download. I'm not even going to go into describing it, because if you're too lazy to download a good free game, you don't deserve any more explanation.

Fieldrunners is a very well thought out tower defense game. Currently there are three maps and several modes and difficulties for each map. While the game runs $4.99, the author provides regular updates and the production on the game is that of a DS or PSP game.

MLB At Bat Lite (MLB scores, standings)

Soon to be upgraded to the full version for $9.99. This free version offers up to the minute scoring and standings for every MLB team. You can view runners on base, strikes, balls, etc during a live game. In the full version, you have access to a more elaborate game channel view, as well as the ability to listen to the entire radio broadcast as it's taking place and view video highlights. The $9.99 lasts for the entire season, all the way up through the World Series.

There are a few apps off of my home screens that I did not cover; trust me, I use them. I encourage everyone to browse through the app store and see what catches their eye. While most of my use of the iPhone comes from actual productivity, I know an equal number of people who use apps that fart :p. Of course what I didn't mention in this post is the insane amount of time I spend in the Safari and Mail apps. I obviously also make great use of the iPod app for music, podcasts, and movies. Especially on those 45 minute nightly walks with Link.

This device is literally my most used piece of electronics ever. I would honestly be lost without it, and hope that day never comes, lol. Thanks for reading.

No Time... Game Time!

2009-02-26T23:39:00.004-06:00

Rock Band 2

I know I haven't posted in a while. Blame videogames. Specifically Street Fighter 4 and Rock Band 2. Oh, and Link.

I'll make a real update one of these days.

PSA: Do you have multiple computers?

2009-01-03T15:14:00.007-06:00

Assault on Precinct 13

If you have multiple computers and monitors (even multiple operating systems), this is the best program (and free) that you'll ever find. Use one mouse and keyboard for all computers, and share the same clipboard for copy and paste between all systems. Jump below the picture.

Download here: Synergy

Vote.

2008-11-04T13:19:00.001-06:00

MSNBC Election Coverage

Four Days in Denver

2008-11-03T01:40:00.003-06:00

Shinedown - Simple Man (cover)

This video never gets old to me, even a month later.

Wassup

2008-10-25T18:03:00.001-05:00

Ocean's 11

McCain on the Campaign Trail

2008-09-16T03:29:00.006-05:00

Thievery Corporation - Un Simple Histoire

An excerpt from McCain's stump speech in Jacksonville.

Biden On Fiyah

2008-09-15T01:47:00.002-05:00

Azn Noob in the Morning

Cruel

2008-09-12T18:32:00.001-05:00

Boston - Foreplay/Long Time

Doing anything to win?

2008-09-12T16:18:00.001-05:00

Fargo

John McCain <3 your kids

2008-09-12T15:52:00.002-05:00

Nine Inch Nails - Hurt (Quiet)

Realistic assessment of Sarah Palin

2008-09-10T20:18:00.006-05:00

V for Vendetta

Women: Vote McCain

2008-08-30T16:26:00.001-05:00

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Sympathetic Noose

We Are the Champions

2008-08-14T21:28:00.006-05:00

Soul Calibur 4 - End Credits

We interrupt these regular Twitter updates (that may be discontinued because I don't think Sasha's even looking at them, and everyone else is cool enough to have a twitter client like this one) to bring you Schlep's current training schedule. I've been doing Sunday through Wednesday for the past month, and I'm adding in Friday through Saturday this week. All these workouts except Friday start at 1-2am. At some point I will vary it up...probably in a month.

"Training for what?" you might ask. Greatness.

Sunday
Core

Abdominal isolator
Rotary Twist
Lower back
Weighted abdominal curl

Monday
Legs

Leg press
Leg curl
Leg extension
Seated calf raise
Hip abduction
Hip adduction

Tuesday
Back/bicep

Seated row (free motion)
High row
Rear delts
Front pulldown
Seated concentration curls

Wednesday
Chest/tricep

Bench press (free motion)
Lat raise
Decline press
Shoulder press
Tricep extension

Thursday
Cardio & Core

Core (see Sunday for exercise list)
Swimming - 30m to 45m

Friday
Cardio

Stationary bike (20 minutes, HIIT)

Saturday
Cardio

Swimming - 30m to 45m

Vote Republican

2008-06-12T13:26:00.001-05:00

Rage Against the Machine - People of the Sun

More frequent blogging...

2008-06-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Swiftor playing Metal Gear Solid 4

Through tweets. I'll still post here occasionally, but as you can no doubt tell, I'm not very good at maintaining a traditional blog. Instead my updates are now available on Twitter. If you would like a really nice little program to follow tweets with, download Twhirl.

Since 2003...

2008-06-02T19:44:00.004-05:00

The Raconteurs - Hold Up

Voyeurism

2008-03-11T19:03:00.002-05:00

Boring Lecture

Watch live video from poundvideogames on Justin.tv

Watch me play games sometimes.

Cloverfield

2008-01-21T01:28:00.001-06:00

Underworld

Synopsis: Producer J.J. Abrams teams with writer Drew Goddard and director Matt Reeves for this frenetic tale of a powerful destructive force that descends upon New York City, and the four desperate survivors who put their lives on the line to embark on a perilous rescue mission. Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is a young American professional who has recently been offered a coveted new job in Japan.

Moments [later] the entire New York City skyline goes dark. Power is restored a moment later, prompting partygoers to turn their attention towards the news, where they learn that a freight tanker has been overturned in New York Harbor. Racing to the rooftop in hopes of getting a better look at the situation, the group is terrified to witness a massive explosion that rains debris across midtown Manhattan, causing mass chaos and unparalleled destruction. But the worst is yet to come, because it soon becomes apparent that this is not the work of a terrorist or an act of war, but a massive creature beyond human comprehension. Fandango

Review: I really had no intention of seeing this, but ended up at the theater last night anyway. It's hard to talk about the movie without divulging the plot beyond the first five minutes, so this will be short. The main draw of the film is the way it was filmed. Think Blair Witch, except with a drunk camera man who also seems to suffer from epileptic seizures. At points the camera work honestly made me nauseous, even when there wasn't a ton of action going on.

Aside from this, the movie is fun to watch and doesn't seem as focus group tested as a lot of movies coming out these days. It's worth putting down a few dollars for the matinee. If you get sick easily, however, you may want to wait for the DVD release.

Oh, and Jessica Lucas...damn...

Rating: Rent

Change: Eating

2008-01-14T14:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Gilmore

In keeping with my New Year's Resolution, for the next several weeks I'll be making at least one post a week that details changes in my life and their effects. Leave some of your own ideas for topics or some comments. I'm going to kick this off with an important topic to me, and that's healthy eating and nutrition.

I've covered this topic a couple times now. Nutrition is an important topic to me, because unlike a lot of my friends, I never had amazing metabolism growing up. I had to work my ass off in soccer, football, and baseball just to stay slim. As soon as I got out of school and into the working world, things went south pretty fast. Like I mentioned in the other posts, 2001-2004 or so I ate pretty well, and continued to maintain my weight. My friends at UNT were great, but they definitely passed some bad eating habits to me in 2005 and 2006, causing my diet to consist mostly of Whataburger, Krystal, Taco Bueno, and Chipotle. Not a good diet if you feel like staying on the better side of 200 pounds.

Fortunately for me, I already know how to eat healthily. I'm surprised when I talk with people how they don't know the basic rules of healthy eating. I'm going to detail some more pointers that weren't in the previous two posts and hope that it helps a few people out. I am currently doing everything that I am about to write. If you want to feel like you have more energy, lose some weight, clear up your skin, fix digestive issues, or a myriad of other benefits, look at this and the below pointers.

Eat six meals (or more) per day. Growing up in the United States, I was taught to eat breakfast, lunch, and a big dinner. The more meals a person eats during a day, the faster their metabolism. When the body knows that it can expect more food, it's not as likely to store all those extra calories in big meals as fat. There is a limit. Eating 23 meals per day isn't going to give you lightning metabolism, but generally the more meals you eat in a day, the higher your metabolism.
Smaller portions. This point was always hard for me to wrap my head around. Even back when I was eating the right foods, I was still only eating breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. Fewer meals meant that I was packing my plate full of food, with my dinner usually peaking at 900-1200 calories. By eating six small meals a day, this is no longer an option. If you're wondering what kind of small meals I'm eating, here are some examples: soup & a salad, turkey sandwich, oatmeal with fruit, beef nachos, spaghetti with side salad, BBQ chicken (Stubb's) with green beans and mac & cheese, 2-egg omellete with turkey bacon and 2 waffles, etc. These are all normal meals, just using ingredients and portions that limit each to 450 or fewer calories.
The right ingredients. This is possibly the hardest concept for people to grasp. The foods that you should be eating consist of: whole grains (whole wheat, oats, brown rice, etc), fruits, vegetables, healthy cuts of meat (white meat on poultry, and lean cuts of pork and beef), with sparing use of healthy oils such as olive oil. With meat you have to realize that the USDA recommends eating between 5 and 9 ounces a day. If you are serious about being healthy, the internet is a wealth of knowledge on the subject. Personally I read a lot of information on WebMD.
This is for life. When you make a decision to eat right, it isn't going on a diet. 'Dieting' is something from the 90's, and doesn't ever work. Even if someone manages to take a few pounds off, they'll be right back where they started once they resume their 'normal' eating style. There are healthy ways to make practically any dish you currently enjoy, so don't think of this as saying farewell to favorites like Tex-Mex and pizza.

For more information, look back at the posts I made previously or hit up our good friend Google.

Unfortunately beyond telling you that I feel amazing and wide awake during the day now, there isn't much that I can do to show the effect this is having on my life. In a few months the results may be a bit more obvious.

New Year's Resolution

2007-12-31T18:15:00.000-06:00

Stereolab - Tickertape of the Unconscious (XM Chill)

Change.

The Business

2007-12-21T10:50:00.000-06:00

Oasis - Lord Don't Slow Me Down (UPop)

New Presets

2007-12-10T23:32:00.000-06:00

Foo Fighters - Best of You (Lucy XM54)

Here's my updated presets list for my AVIC in the Pathfinder. All of the channel names are linked to their pages, so you scrubs without XM can see what they play.

Presets[A]



Presets[B]



Presets[C]

North Texas 82, Oklahoma State 73

2007-11-15T11:54:00.000-06:00

Some terrible movie in ENGL 4290

Hellgate: London (PC)

2007-11-08T10:57:00.000-06:00

Ok Go - Oh Lately It's So Quiet

Fall 2007 Preview

Synopsis: Hellgate: London is the first original title from premier developer Flagship Studios, whose team hails from such blockbusters as the Diablo, StarCraft, and WarCraft series. Set in the near future, Hellgate: London introduces a world devastated by a demon invasion. Players are thrust into a desolate city scorched by hellfire where the survivors meld science and sorcery to gain a foothold against the minions of darkness and save the bloodline of humanity.

My Take: Well, this is more of a hands on impression now that I let a month and a half pass and the game has been released. Basically this is Diablo updated for 2007, and either you're going to love or hate that. The action now is real time instead of point and click, allowing you to go into first person or third person. Classes such as engineers and marksman will usually play through in first person mode in pseudo FPS-style gameplay, while classes like Blademaster and Guardian will usually prefer third person play. Aside from that, if you like dungeon crawling and collecting mad loot while leveling up, this is your game. If you're expecting anything else, like so many in the media seem to be doing, you will be disappointed. I'll try to post a decent review once I've had more than a dozen hours with Hellgate.