November 22, 2008 – 7:09 pm
It appears that the latest version of the Apple iPhone and iPod software (2.2) breaks the current release of Fring. Currently Fring users who have updated are finding they can no longer connect to the Fring servers. I’ve been wondering for quite some time if Apple doesn’t syphon all IP traffic through a central hub, then off to the internet, but it’s just my own head. The reason being that Apple could control malicious software if they controlled the iPhone and iPods in this manner.
In anycase, Fring on the iPod and iPhone currently is inoperable. I wish the dev team luck in finding a solution. I even ordered a mic for the iPod in order to use Skype and/or Gizmo (currently only 1 VOIP server can be used at a time) with my iPod. So, it appears I have to either deprecate my phone (may be very difficult to do), or hope that Fring solves this quickly.
Here’s a thread I came across on Fring’s forums describing the issue: iPod Touch and version 2.2 issue.
Update! Fring says they have a fix and it should hit the AppStore soon! Excellent. (See Above Thread on the Fring forums.)
November 20, 2008 – 7:05 pm
Very sad news. Howard Knoebel passed away at the age of 85 in Neoga, IL, Nov. 19th. Here’s a picture of Howard I snagged from his website. I hope to have a bit more about him in a future post. In particular some of the fantastic science he accomplished.
One hilarious anecdote is that Howard actually calculated whether or not it is worth your while to pick up a penny on the sidewalk. His calculations show it is not. He basically calculated how much you would make an hour if at every step of the way there was a penny to pick up. 
It turns out you won’t make minimum wage by doing so. Hence, it does not pay to pick up a penny on the sidewalk. Howard was a bit of a rascal Scientist, I think that’s not too bad a name for his ever present creation and discovery. He always had his hands in something. We were all sure that his tractor with various add-ons would flip over on top of him one day. He also had a hatred towards wood peckers.
You’ll be sorely missed, Howard. I regret not being more in touch than we were. 73 DE N9RZC!
ps- Howard’s website can be found here (for while it is still up): Howard’s RR1 Site
November 17, 2008 – 12:26 am
The more I hear Benjamin Zander (Wikipedia) speak, the more I realize how he can lead a group of people to make beautiful music (Boston Philharmonic). To start your Monday off right, I strongly suggest you watch this lecture of Zander’s at Pop Tech this year.
If you’ve ever played an instrument before, you definitely need to watch this video. We get to see Zander teach a young Cellist how to play a piece by Bach, and at the same time learn why the Abundance Mentality is critical to our own playing (work). He explains mostly by showing in this talk: you’ll notice his own abundance of joy come out throughout his discussion, and in his responses to the difficulty of helping this clearly gifted student get more out of his playing.
Can’t forget the hat-tip to Tango at DesignVerb (a great blog!)
For more of Zander’s discussion on Classical Music with heart, see his TED talk given in February of this year.
November 14, 2008 – 12:28 am
I may be doing a few posts here and there about a few applications for the iPod touch. But, I want to add information that will make these posts helpful, so expect each one to have a few examples, if possible. In the least, I hope to describe at least 1 missing feature you might find important.
First, Apple for some reason did not include the ability to search LDAP servers into the iPod / iPhone Mail application. A horrible omission for someone who’s used to having To: field searches available at his fingertips. So, what to do? Well, you could use an online search (if your organization has one) via the web, or you could look for an application. I looked for an application. I found: LDAPeople by Neoos Software. 
To read about how to setup LDAPeople for the UIUC Campus, and more about it’s interface etc., click “more”…
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