Tag Archive for ‘iPhone’

Oct '09 30

Quick Tip: Install a Custom SSL Root Certificate/Key on iPhone

Published on 2 years, 3 months ago in Geekdom. 2 Comments Tags: , .

As it turns out, it’s pretty easy to install new root certificates on the iPhone. All you have to do is grab the certificate file in PEM format (via e-mail or web, either will work) and then open it up. Simple as that. In my case, since I wanted to grab the CACert root certificate so that I could use the WordPress iPhone application with this blog, all I had to do was navigate to their Class 1 PKI Key in Safari on my iPhone and I was presented with an installation dialogue. After clicking ‘Install’ I was ready to go.

Jun '09 25

Apps That Push You

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago in Asides and Geekdom. 0 Comments Tags: .

The self-proclaimed definitive list of push-capable apps over at AppAdvice is very neatly organized and provides direct links to the iTunes store for each of the apps listed. Overall a well put together site with several other app lists.

Jun '09 24

Beejive and the Shortcomings of iPhone Push Notifications for Instant Messengers

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago in Geekdom. 4 Comments Tags: , .

I recently took a look at Beejive IM for the iPhone. While the latest version supports push notifications, it’s really not going to fill the niche that I had hoped it might. Not at all to say that it’s a poorly written piece of software — it definitely isn’t — but it’s lacking just one feature that I’d need in order for it to completely satisfy me: an always-enabled push notification relay that never disconnects from IM services, no matter how often (or seldom) I use the program. Though this may seem relatively simple, the technical details bring about some interesting difficulties. Continue reading ‘Beejive and the Shortcomings of iPhone Push Notifications for Instant Messengers’

Dec '08 6

Fring, SkypeOut Not Playing Nice? Solved.

Published on 3 years, 2 months ago in Day-To-Day and Geekdom. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

I’ve been using Fring to make SkypeOut calls over WiFi. Not only does this shave billed minutes off of my phone bill, but what with the iPhone’s 3G chipset being unreliable as all hell, I honestly prefer to make some of my calls via Skype anyways as long as I know I’m going to be in WiFi range for the duration of the call.

Here’s how to get Fring to work with SkypeOut: prepend the call number a + followed by the country code of the recipient of the call. For example, when calling a phone in the U.S. add +1; (800) 867-5309 then becomes +18008675309. To get the +, I simply press and hold the 0 key on the dial pad in Fring.

I’m not sure that this was always required, as I could have sworn that Fring used to ‘just work’ most of the time, but maybe I’m mistaken. Either way, I’m glad to have it working again!

Aug '08 22

iPhone 3G Dropped Calls: Solved?

Published on 3 years, 5 months ago in Geekdom. 1 Comment Tags: .

As a follow-up to my previous post on dropped calls with the iPhone 3G, I’m happy to report that I no longer experience the issue. I haven’t had any major problems with dropped calls on my iPhone 3G, including while switching between EDGE and 3G networks, since I got a replacement unit under warranty from Apple. The ‘Genius’ at the Apple store gave me a bit of hassle the first time and sent me back home with a re-imaged/flashed phone but was happy to replace it right away when I brought it back in the next day with 20% of my calls dropped since the previous day. The replacement unit’s been much better so far — I think now I’m just experiencing the same poor reception that the rest of the iPhone 3G market is stuck with. Hopefully Apple gets their act together soon on this one; it’s been a pretty dismal last few months for them with new launches.

Aug '08 12

Dropped Calls, the New iPhone, and 3G

Published on 3 years, 5 months ago in Day-To-Day and Geekdom. 1 Comment Tags: .

Since I got the new iPhone 3G, I’ve been getting a whole ton of dropped calls. Not just the normal amount that I used to get on the old iPhone’s crappy reception, but even more weirdly so, calls would drop immediately without any warning — no silence on the other end, no garbled sound, no period of inactivity, nothing other than three maddening beeps and a “Call Failed” message on the phone. It seems that others on the Apple support forums are having the same issue and provide some insight as to what might cause it.
Continue reading ‘Dropped Calls, the New iPhone, and 3G’