IRC on the iPhone: Rooms (99 cents)
The Rooms app came out a few weeks after the iPhone was released. Someone in the #citrt IRC chat channel mentioned it to me, as I don’t generally keep up with apps that aren’t free, and Rooms is $0.99. But it’s well worth the price! It’s still in beta but it’s very usable, and as far as I know it’s the only native IRC option on the iPhone (although if you have a Mac there’s a way to connect through a program there in some cases, which I’m unfamiliar with).
The biggest issues with the Rooms app are that IRC commands, like “/me” to show an action, aren’t supported yet, and that the app drains the battery very quickly. The battery issue is not going to go away since using the internet costs battery (you can set the app to stay connected while the screen is off, which is great, or not go to sleep at all, which is nice but eats a lot more battery due to keeping the screen on). However, additional features including the “/me” command are planned for a future release according to the developer on his blog. Also coming is SSL and IRC server password support, as well as support for identifying your nickname with nickserv.
I have had Rooms crash occasionally, which is not surprising given that it’s a beta. One day I had it reboot my phone twice in a row (before I could use it), twice. It didn’t otherwise cause problems and since I’ve upgraded my iPhone to 2.0.2 firmware I don’t think I’ve had an issue (and in fact, my iPhone issues have mostly gone away entirely, which I may post about at some point). It’s hard to tell in many cases whether bugs are the fault of Apple or an App developer, since the platform and the apps are both so new and Apple is still rather close-mouthed (and limits what developers can talk about in some cases, too). But that’s a story for another day, and maybe another blog (there’s plenty of discussion out there!).
(Normally I’d link to the apps I’m mentioning online, but the only official place to link that I know of is a direct link to the Apple Store in iTunes. Rather than find and link those URLs for these quick posts, I will probably just give the name of the app, since it’s so easy to find with a search in the iTunes Store or even from the App Store on the iPhone itself, and you can purchase from either place! If I have the URL handy I may make some exceptions. You can probably find an iTunes link for most Apps with a simple Google search, but again, just search the iTunes Store, unless you’re searching for additional reviews!)
Yep it’s that good
I had intended to post about the iPhone here. But it’s so much fun to play with (or in a few cases, I was so busy fixing it), I never got around to actually posting anything! No guarantees that will change, but I may post some tidbits soon. Probably just some random thoughts about an application, maybe not a full review. Definitely a recommendtation…in most cases, if I post about it, I’m recommending you get it, especially if it’s free :-) If I don’t like it, you’ll know too. I started with over 80-90 Apps installed, but I’ve pared down to around 70 since then. All but 4 or 5 are free Apps.
Today is iPhone Day!
For me at least. My iPhone has arrived at the AT&T store, finally (I ordered it on July 17th!) and I’m going to pick it up later this evening. I wish I could go and get it now, but I’ll wait ’til after work. I already posted a bit on my Lakeview blog, so I’ll wait to post more here until I actually get it!
iPhone Cometh, I Speweth Here
I’m getting an iPhone soon, it’s been ordered! I already mentioned it on my Lakeview Church IT blog. I’ve already downloaded over 70 of the free applications from the iPhone Apps Store to iTunes so I can try them out (and I may get some paid programs, but not until the iPhone is in-hand!). When I try the apps, what happens if I want to post a review or a rant? I don’t want to take up space on my Lakeview InfoTech blog with a ton of iPhone posts (there will probably be a few anyway), so I’m going to put them here. That should give me an iPhone outlet while keeping the non-iPhone-ers that read my Lakeview blog happy as well! Sound like a plan? Doesn’t really matter does it? It’s what I’m going to do! But you can always comment if you think otherwise :-)
Warmer Weather
Looking at the forecast for the next few days it looks like it’s going to finally be a bit warmer. I’m looking forward to it! But the April Showers are starting a bit early…