BrianHimes.com » apple

My iOS5 Update

Brian — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:40:53 +0000

My iOS5 update was pretty uneventful, which was a welcome surprise after hearing horror story after horror story of people trying to update. I’m not sure if the steps I followed helped me avoid disaster, or if I was just lucky enough to time it right so the Apple servers weren’t overloaded the moment my phone had to validate. But, at any rate, here are the steps I followed for the update.

First, I ran all the updates for my computer, including an update to iTunes 10.5. This took a while. I guess I had fallen a little behind.
Second, I synced and backed up my iPhone with iTunes, just for safe measure. In hindsight, I should have also set my apps to backup, because you lose them during the update if you don’t have them backed up in iTunes. I didn’t do that.
Third, I selected the option Download Only instead of Download and Install. Not sure if this made a difference, but it made me feel as though I could stop the process at any time and use my phone if the download took too long. It took me around an hour.
Fourth, after the update was downloaded to my computer I selected update and watched the fun begin. I would guess it took about 20- 30 minutes for the update to be applied to the phone and for iTunes to restore my settings (excluding the apps in my case).
Fifth, using the purchased section in the app store on my phone I re-downloaded all the apps I lost during the update.
Sixth, I started playing around with iOS5.

iCloud: A Typical Apple Move

Brian — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:59:01 +0000

I’m having a little debate with a friend regarding Apple’s new iCloud service for iTunes.

He thinks that Apple got internet music right with this new service, and that streaming isn’t necessary. I think their new service is cool, but misses the boat because it doesn’t include streaming.

Time will tell us who is right in this debate, but the debate got me thinking. Yesterday, even after the WWDC keynote, I was holding on to a thin thread of hope that Apple would see the error of their ways and open up iCloud to internet streaming. Today, I’m coming to the realization that Apple will probably not make the move to streaming.

It’s a typical Apple move if you think about it. The masses get excited about a particular service and Apple releases something that they deem superior. I think that’s what we are seeing here with iCloud for iTunes.

Apple probably thinks streaming music is messy. And, they are probably right. It is dependent on users having constant access to wifi or 3g. It puts a strain on the data networks. And, to make music stream easily you end up sacrificing sound quality.

By downloading the music to the device you are using, you have great sound quality and constant access. Sounds like an Apple argument, right? That’s why I would be completely surprised were Apple to release streaming capabilities.

I think we’ll have to live with this form of iCloud for a while, which really isn’t bad. It’s just not quite the full service many of us were hoping for. As for the little debate I was having, I still think I’m right but we’ll see what the masses say. If enough people demand streaming Apple may be forced to change their outlook on music in the cloud.

Did Apple miss the boat with iCloud for iTunes?

Brian — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:20:26 +0000

Did Apple miss the boat by not including music streaming with their iCloud offerings announced today? I think so.

Don’t get me wrong, iTunes Music Match sounds great. Almost too good to be true. It’s hard to believe the Apple was able to get the record companies to agree to let them scan your music folders and match the songs in iTunes for $24.99 a year. That’s amazing. But here’s my gripe, I don’t want to have to download my music to listen to it. I want Apple to host it, allowing me to stream over wifi, or 3g. Downloading across multiple devices would be a great added bonus, but streaming is really what I was hoping for.

Amazon and Google seem to get it. Both of their services allow streaming. Amazon will even let you download music you’ve purchased through them from their cloud player. Why didn’t Apple take one more step and allow streaming? If they had, their service would have been heads and shoulders above everything else. Instead, we’re left with something that has great potential, but isn’t quite there.

I hope Apple sees the light and adds streaming. If they do, they can count on having me as a loyal customer.

Weekend Update

Brian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:16:25 +0000

Friday Night Erin and I went out with a group of friends to see The Widows play at El Cid. It was a lot of fun, and they put on a great show. I’ve been hooked since they came and played at my church’s Grace Café event. Unfortunately, on our way to meet our friends that night the check engine light came on in my car, so it’s out of commission for a little while.

Saturday I helped some friends move furniture, diagnosed the issue with my car, and headed over to the church to prepare for our Fall Family Festival. This year, for the first time, we added a haunted house to the festivities. I wouldn’t really have called it that scary, but we did make a little girl cry, and a bunch of people scream. I spent my Halloween evening scaring kids, what did you do?

Sunday morning Erin and I rose early to take her parents to the airport for their cruise. They’ll be gone for most of the month. After that, I prepared to teach the Jr. High class at church. It’s the first time I’ve taught since I stepped down from the Youth Minister position almost a year ago. Don’t tell anyone, but I had a good time with the kids and look forward to the rest of the month.

Sunday afternoon I spent some time with my small group, and then the rest of the evening at home with the wife. It was a pretty quiet evening.

And that was pretty much my weekend, except for one small thing. Erin and I got two new (one new, and one new to us) computers. We are now the proud owners of a MacBook and an eMac. It’s exciting to have new technology in the house to play around with.

Apple’s iPhone: I Do Not Hate

Brian — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:44:00 +0000

I need to clear the air a little. I am not an iPhone hater. In fact, I love the iPhone. It is a beautiful piece of machinery that is well build and well designed. It works almost flawlessly and is practically effortless to use. Apple has done an amazing job with it, and everyone else is playing catch up.

I bring this up because there have been several instances lately where I have been accused of being anti-iPhone. I understand where this may have come from with my strong allegiance to Google’s Android mobile phone OS, but that does not mean I despise all things iPhone.

The reasons which lead me to purchase my T-Mobile G1, instead of the iPhone, are quite simple. I was already with T-Mobile and had a good plan locked in. It would have cost more to move to AT&T. And secondly, I love Google and all of their services. A phone OS designed by them only made sense in my mind. It was a perfect match for me.

I am excited by the leaps and bounds Google has been making with Android over a relatively short period of time and can not wait to see what is yet to come. If my excitement comes across as anti-anything please accept my apology. I do not hate.