Tech Blog

[#1]

I'm Catherine, and I'm an iPhone user. ("Hi, Catherine!")

As a web designer, I rely upon Adobe Photoshop and Firefox more than anything else, but when it comes to actually staying organized and getting things done, my iPhone 3GS is the single most useful tool I own. Not bad for something I bought to play Flight Control.

http://firemint.com/?page_id=977

In the week since the release of iOS4, the usual teething problems have presented themselves. iPhone 2G and 3G users faced performance hits, iPhone 4 users discovered Apple actually has a recommended way to hold their model, and across the board, users encountered lengthy sync times and other weirdness. Some of the more annoying problems are expected to be resolved in version 4.0.1 in the next couple days.

I'm happy to say I haven't had many problems aside from a long update. While it didn't go as slowly as some users', I did walk over to a client meeting carrying my open laptop, as the update completed.

So what's my favourite feature? Rotation lock. It's good for reading e-books on the couch.

Most hated? The desktop background wallpaper. Seriously! The default ones Apple provides are distracting and they actually make me a little dizzy when switching apps or moving from one screen to another.

Fortunately, we CAN do something about that. I made a 480x320 image in Photoshop and filled it with black. I then imported it via my Photo Library by opening iTunes on my computer, selecting my iPhone in the list, and clicking "Photos" to choose it.

Voila! The original functionality is restored. More or less, at least. I'm no OpenGL expert, but I can't imagine somewhere between 250K and a megabyte being added to the texture memory is going to help my iPhone's performance any. After all, the desktop wallpaper feature is isn't even enabled for iPhone 2G users. (I'm unclear on why; they have the same CPU, RAM and GPU as the 3G.)

Want black, but not THAT black? A few other folks have created similarly-minimalist backgrounds with a bit more detail than my solutions. Bonus: iPad versions too!

http://blog.urbanape.com/post/684440225/some-non-busy-iphone-wallpaperI'm Catherine, and I'm an iPhone user. ("Hi, Catherine!")

As a web designer, I rely upon Adobe Photoshop and Firefox more than anything else, but when it comes to actually staying organized and getting things done, my iPhone 3GS is the single most useful tool I own. Not bad for something I bought to play Flight Control.

So there's a new version, did you hear? Since iOS4's release, the usual teething problems have presented themselves: iPhone 2G and 3G performance hits, iPhone 4 antenna problems, and across the board, users encountered long update times and other weirdness. 

I haven't had many problems aside from a long update: I ended up walking to a meeting carrying my open laptop, as the update completed.

So what's my favourite feature so far? Rotation lock. (Good for reading e-books on the couch!)

Most hated? The desktop background wallpaper. Seriously! It's fancy, but the default backgrounds distracting and actually make me a little dizzy when moving between screens.

Fortunately, we can do something about that. I made a 320x480 image in Photoshop and filled it with black. I then imported it via my Photo Library by opening iTunes on my computer, selecting my iPhone in the list, and clicking "Photos" to choose it. (Want black, but not THAT black? A few other folks have created similarly-minimalist backgrounds with a bit more detail than my solutions. Bonus: iPad versions too!)

Voilà! The original functionality is restored. More or less. I'm no OpenGL expert, but I can't imagine the added texture load can help my iPhone's performance. After all, the wallpaper feature is isn't even enabled for iPhone 2G users. (I'm unclear on why; they have the same CPU, RAM and GPU as the 3G.)

So I like it better, but does it really help my productivity? Well...maybe. I definitely know I'm not spending time gnashing my teeth and grumbling about the background every time I see it. And that can only be a good thing, believe me.

[#2]

I've been debating about having Sheila update her 3G to iOS4, but I'm thinking her aging iPhone might not handle it too well.

Thoughts?

[#3]

I have a 3G and I wish I had stayed at 3.1.3 - I notice a considerable slowdown ( Camera / Boot and even typing) and I've found no use for the IOS4 on my model.

[#4]

Heh, yeah, a while ago I Jailbroke my iPod Touch (for a few weeks) and had a very hard time with almost any custom background. Subtle was the keyword that worked.

Oh, and welcome to the zoo!

[#5]

Tris: I'm going to recommend against upgrading to iOS4 for now. It's possible a future version will improve performance on the iPhone 2G/3G CPU and RAM, but seriously, even some iPhone 3GS users are reporting slowdowns.

And thanks, Brad! I'm glad to hear there's someone else that thought this was a topic worth mentioning. Most of my friends are bored of hearing about it this week.