5.0.1 Update

One of the major advantage of iOS 5 was not the notification. That was nice, but we could see that one coming a mile away. I felt the major improvement was the updates. Previously, eve a small update meant downloading the software via iTunes which would take ages as the file would typically be around 700MB. That would jam the bandwidth for around 3 or so hours on my connection. Then, there was always the risk of the connection being interrupted halfway. Nightmare.

With iOS 5, the update would be direct. Instead of 700 MB, the latest update was less than 10% of that. I did that through the fast connection at the office. After the program was downloaded, a gentle message popped up to tell us that the device would be restarted. In under 5 minutes, I was done. For both the iPhone and the iPad. Great stuff.

Has the update made any difference? I think it did. I noticed that the battery drainage was slower. I would still have more than 50% juice on my way out of the office. And this was after heavy use with push email and everything. The night before the update was announced, I suffered the first episode of battery drainage. Inexplicably, my phone just ran out of power in the middle of the night. It was around 60% before I went to sleep. I woke up at 5 for the loo, and the phone was already dead. Luckily there were no call from the hospital that night ......

Update aplenty

It looked to be a heavy weekend coming. Heavy in terms of the amount of data I would likely be downloading. I have jut dine the iPhone and iPad update. Next, Lion. But with the planned Haematology Update going on this weekend, I would rather wait until that was done until I get the update going.

The Lion update would be very interesting. It would open up iCloud, an exciting new way to interact with the web. So, better start backing the harddrive. I don't want any mishaps.

Increased Output

Recently, I bumped into an ex-colleague who was now plying his trade in a Private Medical Center across town. He came over for his weekly session at UMMC - and his wife still works there. Upon greeting, he remarked upon the number of blog envies I had up lately and how I managed to find the time to do it. He also mentioned the numb of links I had up on my Facebook updates.

I must say that since I have the iPad, things had been really straight forward. Let's start with the blogposts. I take all the photos on the blog on my iPhone 4. Despite one of my cousins dissing it - as now he sports a Nokia with a 12 MP camera - I still think that the iPhone 4 camera remains the most versatile. Great quality of captures with a great selection of apps utilising its capability. Those snaps were usually taken using the Camera+ App, which does amazing point-to-focus and point-to-meter implementations. Once captured, manipulation and editing of the snaps were done in app, as well ass uploading to Flickr and other social network. The photos were also uploaded straight into my blog if necessary as part of an entry, without needing to be transferred to a computer.

Next, the actual blogpost. Previously, I tended to do multiple entries at a time and then upload them in turns. The entries were usually done on a program called Scrivener which is then saved in the cloud using DropBox, to allow me to have access to the entries from any of my Macs. I would then cut and paste them onto the blog as an entry. This has now changed with iPad as I tended to type the entries straight onto the SquareSpace iPad app and upload them as draft directly. I can also put up the photos as necessary, although I order uploaded the edited iPhone snaps onto the Mac, edit them and uploaded them integrated into entries. This way, the alignments and the quality of the photos would be better.

If necessary, or if I was on the road, I could just type the blog post straight onto my iPhone SquareSpace app. It integrates well, and has so far been reliable. I can also keep track on the number of hits, as well as do some corrections on the fly if needed. If you notice, my blog used Disqus for comments. As soon as a comment was generated on my post, I would straight away receive an email informing me so, and I could just email back a reply. Alternatively, there was always the Disqus Pro app, which collate all the comments, which I would then answer directly through the app.

All in all, maintenance of the blog could be done away from a computer. As long as there was an internet connection, I would be good to go! Long may I stay productive.

Addicting

Anita was never that big a game fan but she finally caught up with Angry Birds. Oh! my God! She was up until 1 am last night. As soon as I arrived she just could stop talking about it. She's downstairs at the moment. Wonder what she is up to?

The first few hours

The investment were really working up a treat. The boys and their iPads were inseparable. Idlan has just fallen asleep allowing Anita to have a chance to surf.

After a couple of hours on the pads, the boys were more taken to the Redshift app, about planets and the Solar System rather the games. It looks like I will have to look for more of those educational apps to get them going, and more games for Daddy.

So the first few hours were as we expected. Excited. At times eager to explore but failing miserably added to the odd tantrums.