iOS 5!

A few weekends ago, I updated my iPod Touch to iOS 5. Well, technically, I restored to it, but that isn't important. What is important is how awesome iOS 5 is. I don't even know where to start. Well, let's start at the bad stuff. That way, it's out of the way and this'll end on some sort of good note. And there really aren't that many bad things about iOS 5, so this'll be quick. Most negative thing is the battery life. On my iPod, my battery depletes at about 2 times the speed it did on iOS 4.x.x. Very disappointing for me, but I'll have to live with it. This next con doesn't really have to do with iOS itself, but I still don't like it: there are no untethered jailbreaks for iOS 5. That means if I want to jailbreak my iPod on iOS 5 (which I did) I'll have to use a computer program to reboot it if it ever turns off. Being able to turn my iPod off all the time would fix my batter problem, too, but I don't always have a computer with that program on it to turn my iPod back on. Now, onto the good stuff (everything else)! The most widespread and possibly largest change is the the notification system. Now, instead of annoying and intrusive popups, a little bar appears at the top of the screen that shows some info, then disappears seconds later. Tapping on it will bring you to the app. But, if you missed it and don't want to go searching, simply drag down from the status bar to open the Notification Center. By default, it contains a weather "widget" and stock widget, along with Calender and Reminder (we'll get to that) previews and notifications. Jailbreakers have created a wonderful amount of other widgets, ranging from settings toggles to a little area for notes to Nyan Cat. On the lockscreen, notifications are displayed with a little icon of the app to the left. If you drag that little icon over, it'll launch the app. Very nice alternative to the popups of the iOS 3-4 notifications. Another stock app was added, called Reminders. It's a basic reminder/checklist sorta app. I use it a lot, for keeping track of jailbreak stuff I want to get done, chores, and homework sometimes. The Calender app has a new week view when you rotate your device to landscape. It's just meant for getting a quick overview. Something I find very nice and awesome is wifi syncing. As long as your device has 20% battery, is connected to the same wifi hotspot as your computer, and wifi syncing is enabled on your computer, you can sync your device without having to keep it plugged into iTunes all the time. Another thing that I think I'll use more in the future is iMessage. On iPhones, it integrates into the standard texting Messages app. On iPods, it adds the Messages app. iMessage is like BBM for iOS devices: you can IM anyone with an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. As of now, I only have a few friends I use to chat with on it, but I could see it getting more useful. I know there's plenty more features in iOS 5 that I didn't cover, but this blog was long overdue and chances are, those other features weren't really important enough to me. So, there's iOS 5 from my iPod's point of view.

Total Annihilation

Total Annihilation (TA) is a strategy game that was made in 1997, designed for Windows 95. It was the game I grew up watching my father play; the one I dreamed about playing. Now, 14 years and nearly a dozen versions of Windows later, I'm playing it. It's just about the only game that works almost flawlessly on my netbook. I play with a mod called TA: Escalation, and you can see a few screen shots of it (and download link) after the break.

Jobs

(This is an email I sent to Apple in regards to Steve Jobs passing away. If you would like to share your thoughts with Apple, you can visit http://www.apple.com/stevejobs and email rememberingsteve@apple.com )
(I've also posted this blog on my normal blog.)

"Steve Jobs was one of the greatest business people that lived and made Magic in my generation, and countless others'. He and the company he maintained have had a tremendous positive affect on my life. Without Apple and him heading it, I wouldn't be the bright and technologically interested person I am today. "Normal people talk about things." Every other company has product conferences with people on-stage, talking about their product and what it does and how well it does it. "Great people talk about ideas." Jobs presented products by answering the question, "how will this help?" He wasn't always focused on each and every little detail of what he was introducing, although he covered them well too. He was concerned with what this means for all of us; what the ideas for this Magical thing could be for the consumer. He was a revolutionist in the world of modern technology, and the world bows their heads for the exit of the Magic Steve Jobs. I send my condolences to his family, friends, and everyone at Apple. This is an end of an era, yes, but the beginning of a new one. Let's make him proud, shall we? Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
 A teenager with an iPod"

"Let's Talk iPhone"

Or, lack of. Today, Apple had their traditional release of new devices. The most notable would be the iPhone 4S. Nope, no iPhone 5. Just a refresh on last year's already-outdated iPhone 4. It's got a nicer camera, slightly better processor, and something with the screen... Absolute garbage, if you ask me. They also made a very small update to the iPod Nano And Touch. It was a very big letdown for me. Apple's stocks are showing it, too. I was very disappointed. If you want to see the details on the "new" devices, here's some links to Apple's site: iPhone 4S, iPod Touch, iPod Nano.