Year: 2012

Instacast 2.0: The Best Gets Better

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The most-used app on my iPhone just got a lot better.

Available today, Instacast 2.0 bring a myriad of new features (and better management tools) to the best podcast application out there for iOS.

The app is now $0.99, with a $1.99 in-app purchase that adds features like podcast-specific settings, smart playlists and push notifications for new episodes.

These features will be appreciated by “power users” who won’t have an issue shelling out another couple of bucks for them. That said, the app is perfectly usable without them.

Overall, the new version feels most polished and faster than previous builds.

Hidden behind the podcast player itself are some new controls, including:

  • AirPlay
  • Playback Speed (1/2x, 1.5x and 2x speeds)
  • Sleep Timer (5, 10, 15 or 60 minutes)
  • Continuous Playback
  • Sharing

Tapping the button in the upper-right hand corner brings up a panel with links and bookmarks. This view is white-on-black, unlike the view outside the player, which is the standard black-on-white. This view strips out any formatting the podcast produce includes with their links, making it easier to tap on just what you want.

I haven’t found for a need for the bookmarks feature, but it lives in this part of the UI, too.

Finally, Instacast 2.0 makes it easier to see how much space shows are taking up on your device. Right at the bottom of the Subscriptions and Playlists screens the app reports how much space its using.

I use Instacast all the time — at work, in my car and more. While I didn’t have any complaints before, the 2.0 update is really pretty great.

iOS 5.1.1 Released

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It includes “improvements and bug fixes.” Here’s the changelog:

  • Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
  • Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
  • Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
  • Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
  • Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase

Offline

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Ok, I’m not quitting the Internet.

I am however, taking a little break from Twitter and RSS this weekend. I already cheated a little by sending a few DMs to take care of some things, but other than that, it’s social media radio silence over at the 512 Pixels HQ.

I don’t know if I’ll be back on Monday or not. I like the quiet.

What I’m Reading This Month

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This is what’s on my Kindle this month:

Bravery

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I’ve gotten a ton of email about my post from last night.

Almost all of it has been encouraging. To those readers who have emailed or tweeted me, thank you. It’s nice to know some fine-looking nerds on the Internet have my back.

The word “brave” has been used over and over in people’s responses. Each time I read it, I wince a little.

I don’t see as what I do here as brave. It’s easy to sit behind a MacBook Air, sipping a drink while typing. Sure, hitting that “Send to Blog” button in MarsEdit can be a little nerve-wracking, but it usually isn’t too scary.

For me, bravery is talking to people in “real” life about these things. I suck at that.

It’s About The Mileage

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An hour before I started writing this, I was soaking in my bathtub, listening to Back to Work, feeling crappy about my week and sorry for myself.

On Monday, our son’s latest MRI reported that his cancer remains stable. While his tumor will never go away, he’s now been off chemo for almost two years with no new growth.

On Wednesday, he had a subdural port removed. This hardware was used to deliver medication (including chemo), donated blood, fluids and more to his small system when he was undergoing treatment.

The day might come that he goes back on treatment, or that the cancer wins. But today is not that day, which is a reason to celebrate.

Sadly, I’ve cut my celebration selfishly short. I found out today that on May 16, I’ll be going under the knife for surgery to release a trapped nerve in my elbow.

I’ve been having pain and numbness in my right hand on and off since the holidays, but have mostly ignored it or worked through it, not wanting to take the time (or energy) to deal with.

In the last few weeks, however, it has grown worse. Myke noticed me trying to stretch out my hand against my steering wheel several times during his visit to Memphis this past weekend. That was the catalyst for me getting back to the doctor — that, and that fact that my wife made an appointment for me.

I’m not nervous about the surgery itself. Josiah has been under anesthesia too many times to count in the last three years, and has faced much scarier operations. (I am a little uneasy about the idea of having six inches of arm held together with staples, however.)

It’s funny how easily I get overwhelmed with such things. Yes, this is a big deal, and yes, it could go badly. It could make my pain worse, or do nothing at all for it (which seems worse, in some ways). I could lose function. As a guy who works in IT and writes for a hobby, that would be a serious setback.

On my scale, this is big. On Josiah’s, it isn’t. That’s important for me to remember. Just as important? That’s it all on a scale.

Long-time readers (hello!) readers will know that I’ve been fighting (long-term, drug-resistant) depression for some time now, having wanted to take my own life 13 months ago. I didn’t act on those desires, but instead decided to take the first steps toward getting well. I’m not better, but I’m better than I was then. Slow and steady.

It’s tempting to let this whole arm surgery thing knock me off track, especially when I feel so nearly out of control some days without thinking about Josiah’s tumor, my arm or whatever else life throws our way.

I’m bummed out about it. Then I got bummed out about being bummed out.

Soaking my aching arm in the tub, I just kept thinking about getting older. I’m 26 — younger than a lot of you, and older than some of you — but the miles have been really hard.

Really fucking hard.

I’ve aged over the last three years.

So, really, what’s one more scar? Sure, this one will be visible, while most of mine aren’t (most days).

What’s one more restless night before a trip to the hospital?

What’s one more text file in my Dropbox full of hypothetical questions?

On Self-Control

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Paul Miller, on leaving the Internet:

I feel like I’ve only examined the internet up close. It’s been personal and pervasive in my life for over a decade, and I spend on average 12+ hours a day directly at an internet-connected terminal (laptop, iPad, Xbox), not to mention all the ambient internet my smartphone keeps me aware of.

Garret Murray:

I’m not sure what “examined the internet up close” means, but I’ve emphasized the real problem in that paragraph–instead of removing yourself from internet access entirely, how about just, you know, cutting back?

I agree with Murray that Miller’s actions are probably over the top. That said, I do think many of us who are neck-deep in the Internet daily could use a healthy dose of self-control.

In a world where all of our phones are connected to Twitter, RSS and more, it’s hard. I can’t just turn it off. I have two kids, a house and a busy job. People need to get in touch with me.

Back in October, I stopped playing games on my iPhone. While that experiment has been successful, I still find myself reaching for my phone more than I’d like.

I’m not quitting my iPhone, Paul Miller style. (Despite the fact I used a RAZR for a large portion of 2010.) I am, however, looking for ways to use it more as a tool and less as a time-waster.

The ‘iWatch’

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John Gruber:

But I think the way Apple could most hurt Pebble is not by changing the SDK, but by releasing its own linked-to-your-iPhone wristwatch gadget. (Imagine, say, an iPod Nano with Pebble-like features and a LunaTik-style strap.)

I really don’t think the iPod-as-a-watch crowd is big enough for Apple to go after the market.

As it stands today, the iPod nano sucks as a watch. If Apple were to bake in deep intergration with iOS devices, I think the product would be much more compelling.