Monday, January 18, 2016
My New (Old) Iphone 4
I was informed by my spouse that we
could save ten dollars a month on our data plan if
I got a "smart" phone instead
of the stupid flip phone I've been using for the last 8
years. My step daughter had an Iphone 4
she wasn't using, and so we set out to get it
registered and set up. Now mind you, I
was an early adopter of computer technology, my
first computer I got in 1979, and
proceeded to teach myself how to program. But
nothing could have prepared me for the
level of frustration I was about to experience.
I have a podcast I listen to, and since
my mp3 player croaked, I've tried to load it
onto an ipod, which I believe I
succeeded, but I can't find the goddam thing, since
there is no readout, just a big button.
Nice design, Apple.
Next I tried to put it onto the iphone,
but for some reason, two different computers
were having two different issues and I
couldn't do it. It should be a simple thing,
moving a file from one device to
another. But, Apple's convoluted and counter-intuitive
system is completely foreign compared
to Microsoft's convoluted and counter-intuitive
system.
Research into my desktop conundrum
shows I need to download Service Pack 3. See if
that does anything.
So, I downloaded service pack 3, big
time consuming pain in the ass, still can't
connect to the goddam iphone. Get an
error saying the device "times out." Whatever the
fuck that's supposed to mean. If it was
a Microsoft compatible device, you could just
drag and drop the files, like I did
with the MP3 player. But since it's Proprietary
Apple nonsense, you can't perform
simple functions like that. I was never a big fan of
Microsoft, but Apple is downright
pissing me off. Reboot, AGAIN.
Ok, finally got the computer and the
iphone talking, itunes can see the device, was
able to sync it. Now, where the hell
are my podcasts? The 274 page manual is
absolutely no help. There is no icon
for podcasts, anywhere.
Further searching reveals I may need a
specific podcast app for iphone 4, altho it
does have IOS 7.1.2. Why? I can' listen
to any mp3 on my computer, whether it's a 3
minute song or a two hour podcast. Why
do I need a specific ap for this?
Ok, downloaded two different aps, still
not seeing anything on the phone, even though
I was able to sync it multiple times.
Now, itunes is not seeing the phone, for some
reason. Trying another hard reboot.
This is getting frustrating.
Ok, now it sees the phone, in the
middle of syncing it gets an error saying the backup
failed, now it doesn't see it anymore.
However, the battery icon is still green, which
means the phone is seeing the USB port,
and is charging off of it.
I've been fucking around with this for
a fucking week. All I wanted to do was listen
to a podcast on my goddam "smart"
phone. I guess it's not all that smart. It shouldn't
be this hard. It's a simple thing. I
don't know why I can't get it to work. I followed
all the instructions on line, it'
looked like I was making progress, but, ultimately,
for reasons unknown, it still doesn't
work. As a phone, it's only fair, the microphone
points down away from your mouth, so it
tends to pick up ambient noise. Haven't tried
it with a headset yet, that's
frustration for another day.
Monday. So, I accidentally figured out
how to get this crap to work. I don't even know what
the hell I did. I don't know why it
worked today, and I couldn't get it to work for
the last week. My earbuds work ok, too.
Not very loud, however. I keep getting errors
from itunes saying that sync has
failed. Yet, somehow, I got it to work. The manual
(all 274 pages of it) is completely
useless, as is most of the online info I searched
out for this phone. You would think
that after five or six years, there would be
accurate and useful info on this phone
compiled on the web. No such luck. It's been
immensely frustrating, to say the
least.
So, overall, I'm not impressed. The
only thing that surprised me was the keyboard, it
actually works surprisingly well. The
swiping thing is very frustrating, inasmuch as
it's unreliable. Sometimes it does what
I think it will do, and frequently, it does
something else. I'm still finding my
way around this thing, so it may take a while to
feel comfortable with it. Either that
or I'll smash it with a hammer until I feel
better.
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