Hi Apple!

I really love the new Genius playlist creation feature in iTunes 8 – works really well for me – but there’s a small thing I’d love to see changed to make the creation of a Genius playlist just that little bit more smooth and seamless.

If I’m playing a song and decide I want to create a Genius playlist, I hit the Genius button and it creates the playlist, but it takes the song I’m playing back the very start again. This sort of ruins the flow of creating a Genius playlist. Makes it a less seamless experience. I find myself manually skipping through the song to get to where I was before I put your Genius to use.

So if my current song was able to continue playing uninterrupted whilst getting put to the top of the newly created Genius playlist, that would be the tastey icing on the moist cake Jerry may or may not have been talking about. Hold the “chewyness” though. I’m not yet sure how I feel about that.

Thanks!

Love,

Apple fanboy.
xo

Sounds like the new 3G iPhone. Perhaps. Sorta. Hopefully!

Well… It’s not. It’s Sumsung’s new “iPhone killer”. Stated in the video below, this thing is set to come out ib June. But will June be too late?

If this new version of the iPhone can deliver on most of the features above (as it really should have in it’s original incarnation – I mean no video recording – really!) then I think it’s pretty much still gonna shit all over the Instinct.

There’s no going past the iPhones sexy interface, and soon to be hundreds of applications and games to make the Apple touch platform the yummiest thing since a really yummy sandwich. That was surprisingly yummy in a rather non-sandwich way.

Sandwich goodness plus “seem-less” interoperability with the iTunes world of content is just part of what makes the iPhone a force to be reckoned with.

Fingers crossed for the WWDC keynote! Check out the promotional ad for the Instinct below. 

Within a number of hours, this ad could become extinct, irrelevant and just downright incorrect. And good laugh.

(via TUAW)

UPDATE: Well well well… Post-WWDC, it looks like Samsung, for now, will have the last laugh! That is unless Apple just wants to surprise us all with video recording capabilities closer to the release date of the new iPhone 3G!… 

“Tut tut tut, Apple” is all I can say…

When iTunes 7.5 came out i eagerly downloaded it, as i have so many times before with all other Mac software updates. But for the first time, this one bit me in the arse.

I probably shouldn’t have thrown caution to the wind and updated, simply ’cause i’m running an unlocked, jail-breaked 1.1.1 iPhone as my main phone and organiser.

It turnes out iTunes 7.5 didn’t like to play with my iPhone, as when i connected them together in marriage, i got an error message (pictured) and was not able to access my iPhone – it simply didn’t come up in the side bar of iTunes.

So i searched for a way to downgrade back to iTunes 7.4.2 (which i was able to download), but couldn’t find a definitive guide or an answer to other people asking the same thing in threads.

So i decided to venture into risky territory and fix this via trial and error, as it was getting really irritating not being able to sync up new podcasts or contacts etc..

Firstly i sync-ed my iPhone’s contacts and calendar to my old PowerBook which was thankfully still running 7.4.2, just in case anything went wrong (so i could retain all the new info i’d entered into my iPhone’s calendar!)

I then copied iTunes.app to my desktop, as well as my “iTunes Library” and “iTunes Music Library.xml” so i could stick them back, in case they got written over with new old/new installation.

I then installed the 7.4.2 version and it went totally smoothly and totally worked! Fantastic.

Now i’ve just gotta remember not to update iTunes, as could easily be done via the software update without really realising, if you’re a little absent minded at the time.

But now what for the future? No iTunes updates for me and my hacked iPhone, forever? Perhaps!

Does 7.5 accidentally/on purpose now deny syncing with hacked iPhones, just like 1.1.1 stopped some jail-broken iPhones running at all?

Is this problem i had widespread enough that hackers are working on an iTunes fix?

Something else i wonder is if i was to update to 1.1.2, would iTunes 7.5 play nice with my iPhone?

Let us know your experiences or comments below.

And thank the lord for the iPhone Elite team! This week they came up with a method to re-virginise sim-unlocked 1.0.2, and further more, rather than users having to screw ’round in the terminal they put together an automated process(es) which makes the whole ordeal rather damn simple!

And even better, i can attest to the fact that it works! So if you indulge in some re-virginising goodness, be sure to donate some moola to these fine folks, allowing international peoples like mwa to enjoy the benefits of 1.1.1, and use of the iPhone as just that, a phone.

After i’d revirginised, i then followed this guide where it details upgrading from a re-virginised 1.0.2 iPhone to 1.1.1, and further more unlocking your updated iPhone. Thanks so much to the iPhone Dev Team for that beautiful solution, anySIM.

For those interested, i’ve posted some photo’s from my re-virginising escapades…

I definitely decided to run with the auto install that also facilitates a backup of your seczone – good stuff in-case things go apple shaped. Oh, and don’t forget to install MobileTerminal via AppTapp before you start so you can have some terminal access to kick off the virginiser, if you want some cool green text action like i got (and in case things go wrong).

“Yes please”. Or just “Yes”, as i typed in. Manors aren’t required in terminal land.

And another “yes” to forge ahead with the risky business. At this stage i pretended i was calm and cool. All was going well. Just say yes and don’t ask question. No shit in the pants yet.

And all is done! My iPhone was ready to be upgraded, then laid horizontal again to make it function in the land Down Under. Awesome!

Virgin tastic.

I almost did shit myself when i saw that unread text message up the top there. I freaked that the re-lock had been unsuccessful and that i’d just received a new message. Buuuut i eventually realised that not only does iTunes backup your contacts etc, it also backs up your text messages, your clock alarms, ringtones etc and background picture! Very nice. Pants still dry.

Whilst upgrading to 1.1.1 via iTunes, i came across a fantastic error, which made the iPhone display… nothing. It was a blanket of grey. Oh oh… Is this what it’s like in bricked heaven? I’ve come to so far! I’m not ready to die yet!…

But thankfully re-trying the upgrade was successful.

God i love anySIM. That lock logo is the sorta sexy that makes me want to dress up like a woman and “pick myself up at a bar type-thing” in the mirror.

And just like that, BOOM! Yes Optus away! Like having a brand new phone. Double home key click and double space bar here i come! And iTunes store, too, i guess.

Now do i take ’50 more steps’ to install apptapp now? Or wait ’till simpler GUI version is created…

Check check it.

I plugged it into iTunes for some syncing good times, when – boom – hello recovery mode!

Something went awry somewhere, but no matter. I simply dropped my re-downloaded 1.02 software into iTunes’ download dir (~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates), turned off wireless to stop it trying to re-download the damn package (over dial-up, I don’t even want to think about it!) and started a restore.

But you know what? iTunes refuses to restore your iPhone unless it can first have a word with its Cupertino cohorts. No network, no restore.

Fine. Whatever. So I let iTunes connect to the internet, check for an update, and once satisfied that there wasn’t one, it began restoring my iPhone to 1.02, which will maintain my current SIM software unlock.

But what if a new firmware had been available?

I would have had no choice but to upgrade, effectively doing all sorts of nasty things to my unlocked precious, in line with Steve’s recent ‘cat and mouse‘ comments. There is currently no way to choose a previous firmware to restore.

Imagine if new revisions of iTunes checked your configuration for authenticity whenever you synced, and if in doubt, force you into recovery mode!

I really don’t think it’s that far fetched.

‘Genuine’ owners would simply perform the upgrade and restore from a backup. Unlocked iPhone owners would be either forced to wait for another unlock solution (hopefully not another 2 months!) or simply not sync their iPhone out of fear of it being kindly popped into Recovery Mode by iTunes!

We cover this in more detail in Episode 4 of the podcast. Maybe someone can make us a special Home Screen button that changes colour depending on whether it’s safe to sync of not? Maybe someone can just make a way to restore the thing without using iTunes?

Tell ya what, I’m gonna be keeping an eager eye out for updates before I next drop mine into the dock!

EDIT: Turns out it just might be possible to restore to an earlier firmware through iTunes! Hold down ALT + the Restore button  to select your desired firmware version. If this doesn’t work, play around with the different functions keys. It’s different on Mac to PC, etc. The one shortcoming is that you can’t downgrade from 1.1.1, which is obviously a big bummer for SIM unlockers.

But why anyone would have encouraged you to blindly upgrade to 1.1.1 is beyond me. Unless of course… oh yes.

So keep the good word spreading – we’re here to conquer, and to serve. We’re also good kissers – so we cover all the essentials. Thanks for listening dudes and dudets!

So i’ve stuck one on my About page, and i reckon they look pretty cool! You’ve got a choice of designs, and i’ve gone with one that best matches my jeans.

I also tried out the RSS reader option you can stick on ya site that actually shows everything that you’ve download via iTunes – that includes all podcasts – everything.

In fact i didn’t want look too closely what was on the list – might divulge the time i download that Sex Tips podcast that was hanging around #1 position (no pun intended) on the Aussie iTunes podcast charts for a while (now at #11 – the wheelbarrow). Speaking of which, you’ve gotta go check out ep. 9, where she demonstrates some sexual positions to spice up things in the bedroom. But with a difference. A girlfriend of hers helps her do the demonstrating – it’s a classic – and vaguely arousing at the same time. If only…

Anyways, so back to Mac’s. (Nothin’ like an image of Steve jobs balding head in ones mind to bring one back ‘down’ to the earth. Ha ha. Get it? I hope you do, or else that was an awkward moment between us just now.)