Wednesday, September 19, 2012

iOS 6 First Look

In general, many tiny tweaks make iOS 6 look a bit sleeker, and perhaps save a bit of time, like not having to enter your password for free app updates.

Evidently there are quite a few goodies for iPhone owners and the yet to be released 5th generation iPod touch, but most of the best of the new stuff is not compatible with the existing iPod Touch 4th gen. I cannot take panoramic photos, Passbook usage seems limited, and still no Siri for 4th gen iPod Touch.

I like the idea of being able to sync my web-browser tabs between my device and desktop, but I kind of doubt it will get me using Safari on the desktop much more, so that will probably be of limited use.

Apple has removed the built in YouTube functionality, so you'll need Google's free app. It appears very well designed, so this is really a good thing because we have ended up with a much better YouTube app.

Enjoy iOS 6! Don't expect much unless you have an iPhone 4S or 5, or plan to buy the iPod Touch 5th gen, but since iOS 6 is a free upgrade, it's definitely worth the zero pennies.

Back to School

I've returned to Central Connecticut State University to continue working on my B.S. majoring in computer science and minoring in mathematics. I've just put up a basic student web page at Ryvr's CCSU Student Page - Computer Science Undergraduate. I'll be adding interesting stuff there in the next few days. This semester I'm taking one course: Discrete Mathematics. The professor is fun, smart, and enthusiastic. I'll discuss more on academic pursuits by mid-semester.

iOS 6 Is Now Available

My iPod Touch 4th generation has just allowed me to begin upgrading to iOS 6 through "Settings-General-Software Update."

I'll update this post to report how the upgrade process goes, and then I will have another post later today with a first review of iOS 6!

UPDATE 3 [14:08]: :) The final installation which had a white progress bar below a white Apple logo on a black screen took about 28 minutes, and iOS 6 is now installed and working on my iPod Touch!!! The whole upgrade process from the start of download to completion was only 61 minutes! My hat's off to Apple so far for the quick and smooth upgrade, and I'll be back with another post reviewing iOS 6 after I take it for a spin around the block.

Oh, and it has a beautiful animated dissolving Apple logo at startup! :)

UPDATE 2 [13:39]: The "Preparing Update..." phase took about 25 minutes. It then asked me to agree to "Terms and Conditions," then it took less than a minute "Verifying Update," restarted, and now has a progress bar which is probably the final installation of iOS 6.

UPDATE 1 [13:12]: The download appears to have finished in less than 5 minutes over a slowish Wi-Fi connection! This certainly astounds me considering how busy Apple's servers must be!! It is now "Preparing Update..."