Tag iPhone

iPhones are Helpful

robertjames1971

I’m getting old. I’m out of shape. Bending down to see something that’s on the floor is no picnic these days. Also, I’m going blind. My eyesight is getting suckier by the day. Also, the printing on the Keeley D&M Drive pedal is really, really small, and the color scheme doesn’t help. The little sucker is hard to read.

Fortunately I have an iPhone. I can reach down and take a pic with the 2x lens, then zoom in on the image and magically I can read the labels on the knobs.

I love living in the future.

Except for the whole pandemic thing. That bites. The other stuff, the tech stuff, is cool.

One Note on Logic Pro Remote for iPhone

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Normally when I work on a MIDI instrument track in GarageBand I use the Logic Pro Remote app on my iPad to access the piano keyboard/drum pads/fretboard.  Tonight I had an idea for RPMay Song #5 but my iPad is in the other room and I was too lazy to go get it.

What did I do?

I installed the app on my iPhone.  The last time I tried to do this I couldn’t find it in the App Store.  I thought that, as a new user, I would share the answer to the one question I had to look up.

When you open the app and you’re looking at the mixing board channel and you want to switch to the piano or the fretboard or whatever you need to turn the phone on its side.

Portrait mode = mixer
Landscape mode = pretty much everything else.

You’re welcome.

Apple and Covid-19

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Coronavirus panic, catch it.

No, but seriously.  Wash your damn hands.

Am I worried about this thing?  Nope.  Not even a tiny bit.  Am I paying attention to it on the off chance that it will become something to worry about even though I am not worried at all right now?  Yeah, something like that.

To all the trump nazis who are saying this is a hoax created by democrats to make the orange pile of fascist goo look bad (as if he needed any help in that department) there is this:

Apple sent out a letter to it’s shareholders saying that they would not be able to meet their sales projections for the quarter because the Covid-19 situation in China has slowed their production too much.  Also, they sent a message to their stores that they are going to have a shortage of replacement iPhones for customers who come in looking for major repairs.

So, my nazi neighbors, if it’s a hoax you should feel free to smash your iPhone with a hammer and bring it to your local Apple store for a replacement.  Go ahead.  I dare you.

The question isn’t, is this real. The question is, how far will it go.  Of course it’s real.  The whole world is reacting to it.  I’m just not going to worry about something that isn’t really anywhere near me yet.  If lots of people in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire start getting sick then I’ll batten down the hatches and ride it out.  Until then, I’m going to keep going to work, and keep going to the store, and keep breathing the air.

Having said that… first sign of a fever and I’m locking myself inside.  Even if it’s not Covid-19, you won’t see me adding to any potential panic.  Unlike the trump nazi cult, I actually look out for my fellow humans when I can.

Although… a little self quarantine would give me lots of time to play the guitar and get caught up on all of my television shows.  It would also allow me to continue live blogging the new Cream album.  I didn’t plan on doing that, it just sort of happened.  I still have two discs to go.  Sorry my posts weren’t in real time.  I could have time stamped them and everything.  Oh well.  Maybe the next time a 60’s band releases a new box set.

In closing, here is a picture of my cat being adorable.
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Apple Delay

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I might have to wait longer than I thought to get my hands on an iPhone 7 Plus.

I always skip an iphone release. I have gone 3G->4->5->6 Plus and now hopefully 7 Plus. (sort of the same thing as how baldness often skips a generation, right?)

I had a two year contract and that two year contract is up. Or so I thought. My wife and I are on the same cell plan, but last year she upgraded her iPhone 6 to an iPhone 6S Plus. In doing so, AT&T monkeyed with our plan in order to allow her to be eligible for an upgrade. In essence, her contract became my contract, and vice versa. That means she’s eligible for an upgrade now but I have to wait until March.

So when I put in my pre-order two nights ago, Apple accepted it but AT&T blocked it. It’s not a big deal, really. I waited until after the new year when I upgraded to the four and the five. Two years ago was the first time I pre-ordered. Life will go on.

Honestly, as much as I am jonzin’ for a new iPhone, I am much more ready to upgrade the ol’ 2013 MacBook Pro. When is Apple going to announce some upgrades in the laptop department? Get with it, Apple!

Not My Best Travel Moment

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We cut short our two days in Washington by one day and decided to spend that day in New York. We booked a hotel before we left DC, but otherwise had no plans.

We head North and Waze takes us into Manhattan through the Lincoln tunnel. The second we pull out of the tunnel a thunderstorm hits and the sky literally falls on us. Huge, massive downpour.

We get to the hotel, my wife runs inside to check us in and I wait for a valet. I’m double parked. A city bus comes up behind me. I have to move.

Around the block I hit monster traffic as everyone here (just like at home in Boston) equates rain with a suspension of all driving laws. Idiots everywhere. It took me about 10 minutes to get around the block. When I got back I double parked again. No one from the valet paying any attention. The rain continues to pour. Again, a city bus starts honking.

Screw you, bus driver!

I pulled up a little and blocked a driveway. Someone from the hotel comes out with an umbrella. Do I give you my key? No. Damn it. I get all discombobulated trying to hurry up and get the bags and get inside out of the rain and figure out who the hell gets my car key and who gives me a receipt…

…and I forgot my iPhone in the fucking car.

Looks like no Pokemon Go at the Empire State Building for me.

Welcome to Sunday and a Little FOMO Talk

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These days it seems like all I do is complain about how tired I am. If that is the case, then why am I still awake at 12:44am. I’m really tired, but I just can’t seem to drift off. It is really annoying.

My still being awake has nothing to do with the huge thunderstorms that have been rolling buy for the last 2.5 hours or so. The lightning made the back yard look like a Pink Floyd gig, and the thunder was loud enough to shake the house a few times. What I wanted to see in the sky tonight was the Persiod (sp?) meteor shower, but the weather did not play ball. We got Earth shattering thunder instead.

This afternoon my wife, one of her friends, and I went to a movie. Afterward, we went out to eat at a nice restaurant in Lowell. The name escapes me. Jen was working right up until we left and we were a little late getting out of the house. In my haste I did something foolish.

I forgot my iPhone.

If I had had my phone with me I could have checked in on Facebook at the restaurant and I’d be able to give you it’s name. If I’d had my phone I would have posted my mini-review of the new Star Trek flick long before I did. If I’d had my phone I would have been able to Google that Olympic bike race we saw that had the weird moped pace car thing and found out why the moped paced the track for six out of eight laps. I would also have been able to snap a pic of the salt shaker using Hipstamatic. It would have been soooo artistic.

It’s not so much a FOMO (fear of missing out) thing for me. It’s more of a FOMOOAOSM (fear of missing out on an over sharing moment) kind of thing.

It’s 1:03am now. Maybe I’ll try sleeping again. My beautiful bride has our alarm clock set for 5:00am. Better get what I can.

One Day Behind

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I feel so out of touch. There was an Apple Event yesterday and I was not able to follow along with any live blogs or anything. I missed almost all of the new gadget revelations.

I know there’s a new iPad that I want.
I know there’s a new WatchOS.
I know there’s a new iPhone.

I know these things, but I know nothing about them.

My step kids’ father loaded a release candidate of the new iOS onto their phones. Last night my step son loaded a release candidate of the new WatchOS onto his watch. I’m not going to do either of those things. When it comes to software releases, I prefer to play it safe(er) and wait for the actual release. Still… they have stuff on their devices that I don’t have! I am so far behind the curve right now. I have actual gadget envy over gadgets that I actually have!

iPhone Sadness

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The iPhone 6 Plus is dead.  Long live the iPhone 6 Plus.

A while ago I had a problem with my iPhone’s headphone jack.  A little ball of lint got stuck in it and I couldn’t plug in.  I took it in for service and they pulled out some fuzz and life was good.  The next time I plugged in headphones the same thing happened.  The plug went in a little further, but nothing connected.  I vowed to go back, but months went by with nothing.

Until today!  Last night I booked a service appointment and backed up the phone on my desktop.  Today I was at the store for less than five minutes before the Jack was clean.  I asked them for a pair of headphones I could test with and the plug clicked in sweetly.  When I got to the car I plugged into the stereo and… Nothing.  The music came through the phone’s built in speaker.  I got out of the car and went back in to the store.

They don’t fix broken headphone jacks, the just replace the phone.  Sad face.  I had a few minutes to wait so I started frantically signing out of everything.  iCloud first, then my work email, then as much as I could get to.  They brought out a new phone and swapped the SIM card (never seen them do that before), and let me paranoiacly test the headphones.  Then off I went.

Now I’m updating the OS to iOS 8.2 so that I can restore from last night’s back up.

The moral of the story?  Always keep an up to date back up of your devices!