How does this even work? I tried doing this with my library card at work, and the scanner would not read a screen picture of the barcode.
it worked with the three cards i scanned. basically you point the camera at the bar code, try to find an angle where the flash isn't glaring off the card and a distance where the camera can focus on the bar code. it worked 3/3 times for me (two supermarket cards and one golds gym membership).
i haven't tried scanning it at the grocery store yet though. maybe i'll stop by today and see if it works.
Oh yeah, the phone can scan things pretty easily - I've done it a bunch of times with RedLaser. I was thinking about at the store; for the apps I've seen, it recreates the bar code on the screen for the actual grocery scanner to read. I've heard scanners can have trouble reading the bar code off the screen.
How does this even work? I tried doing this with my library card at work, and the scanner would not read a screen picture of the barcode.
it worked with the three cards i scanned. basically you point the camera at the bar code, try to find an angle where the flash isn't glaring off the card and a distance where the camera can focus on the bar code. it worked 3/3 times for me (two supermarket cards and one golds gym membership).
i haven't tried scanning it at the grocery store yet though. maybe i'll stop by today and see if it works.
Oh yeah, the phone can scan things pretty easily - I've done it a bunch of times with RedLaser. I was thinking about at the store; for the apps I've seen, it recreates the bar code on the screen for the actual grocery scanner to read. I've heard scanners can have trouble reading the bar code off the screen.
I think you're talking about two different things.
A lot of store scanners have a hard time reading barcodes off of iPhone (or other phone) screens. The screens are reflective, and the lasers that read the barcodes are all "fuck that noise, there's nothing there but MORE LAZERS, yo.". I wanna see if my local Cineplex has scanners advanced enough to read from my iPhone - be nice to just buy the tickets on the way to the theatre on the phone and just walk on up to the theatre, flash the phone and get in. But the first time I try, I'm bringing a paper print-out just in case.
Neat tip, BTW: Syncing your phone on a new machine? Make sure to go to File->Transfer Purchases BEFORE you Sync your apps. Otherwise it'll delete all the apps you bought over the phone. (You can re-download 'em, but this is a pain in the ass.)
Imperfect on
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Big DookieSmells great!Houston, TXRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
So, NAVIGON is half-off for the next few days. I've been looking for a good GPS app so that my wife and I don't have to keep sharing the dedicated Garmin unit, and this seems like a good option for $25. Yay or nay?
I have a hard time imagining that is faster than typing in a 10 digit phone number
your stores let you do that?
Yours don't? I know for sure Safeway does this and I'm pretty sure Fred Meyers and QFC do as well. The app sounds cool, but my potential problem with it is if you aren't doing self check out then you have to hand your phone to clerk which I'm definitely not comfortable doing.
"iPhone Safari question: I know that you can jump to the top of a page by tapping the top of the frame. Is there a way to just as easily skip to the bottom? It would make browsing forums a lot easier. As it is now, it gets old having to drag and drag to see a new post at the bottom of a page."
iCab Mobile has a "track pad" mode on ipad, I don't know if it works on the iPhone however.
So, NAVIGON is half-off for the next few days. I've been looking for a good GPS app so that my wife and I don't have to keep sharing the dedicated Garmin unit, and this seems like a good option for $25. Yay or nay?
Where are you getting $25? I'm looking at the app store right now, and I see the the entire US & Canada version for $40, and the three regional US versions for $15 each. Am I looking at the right ones?
EDIT: Sorry, I'm on iTunes now and I can see that there's a whole US version for $25.
I was hoping to see some physics, though. I mean yeah, I'm really picking nits here, but I wonder how well it'll handle running physics along with the rendering?
It's Carmack though. I got faith.
In gaming news, avoid the Scott Pilgrim Punch-out game. It's free and not even worth THAT. I want my bandwidth back and I have 6gb a month.
Imperfect on
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
On the barcode front I found a free app called Key Ring. It'll scan your barcode and create a iphone friendly version that scanners have an easier time reading. Strangly enough it had my Library listed and added the logo and such. It works even with these old barcode scanners we use here.
On the barcode front I found a free app called Key Ring. It'll scan your barcode and create a iphone friendly version that scanners have an easier time reading. Strangly enough it had my Library listed and added the logo and such. It works even with these old barcode scanners we use here.
On the barcode front I found a free app called Key Ring. It'll scan your barcode and create a iphone friendly version that scanners have an easier time reading. Strangly enough it had my Library listed and added the logo and such. It works even with these old barcode scanners we use here.
ffffffff
Sorry, I totally did not even see your post, I only saw the discussion of barcodes after the fact.
AppMiner is the best app and everyone who isn't using it is losing at iPhone. Seriously, using it to score free/dirt cheap games is, in and of itself, essentially the most fun game I have.
What ever happened to the antenna issue? I know a lot of people got bumpers (what exactly are those?), but did the issue get fixed on new phones?
I've got a 3G phone right now and it can't handle iOS 4 (I should probably look into downgrading the OS) so I'm thinking of upgrading. But I want to wait until January to see if I can't get a Verizon contract, and I also want to see what happens with the antenna issue. What ever happened to that?
Bumpers = phone case thinger, from what I gather. Apple's 'fix' was to update to iOS 4.0.1 which supposedly reworked the way the phone calculated what your signal actually is. Sounds fishy to me, and doesn't address the fact that people touching the antenna in the Bad Spot would drop calls. If it really was a case of your phone just thinking it has better signal than it does, that shouldn't be.
What ever happened to the antenna issue? I know a lot of people got bumpers (what exactly are those?), but did the issue get fixed on new phones?
There's no way to say this without sounding like an apologist, so I'm not going to sugar coat it: if there hadn't been a huge media blitz over the issue I would not have even wondered if there was something wrong. I'm going without a bumper and I have yet to have a problem. I'm on contract with Virgin Mobile in Calgary, which uses Bell's network, and I haven't dropped a call or even gotten down to zero bars. YMMV though.
[Edit] Maybe that doesn't answer your question though. Anyway, all iPhones bought before Sept. 30 are eligible for a free phone case from Apple. There's a list of cases that you can get, not just the bumper from Apple.
It may have been unfairly magnified by the media (as everything is), but Apple's handling of the complaints was so laughably terrible that they deserved being lambasted by every outlet in the following days.
It may have been unfairly magnified by the media (as everything is), but Apple's handling of the complaints was so laughably terrible that they deserved being lambasted by every outlet in the following days.
My favorite was the intial "Don't Hold It Like That" response.
Erandus on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
It may have been unfairly magnified by the media (as everything is), but Apple's handling of the complaints was so laughably terrible that they deserved being lambasted by every outlet in the following days.
My favorite was the intial "Don't Hold It Like That" response.
Yeah, that might have had half a chance if every single ad (plus Steve on stage) didn't show a hand holding it the wrong way.
So I'm having a problem with my 3G iPhone (some internal component, no easy fix). The Apple store is telling me my options are:
a) $79 for a replacement 3G iPhone
b) $200/$300 for a new iPhone 4 (16/32 GB)
Now, my plan had been to hold off on upgrading until Verizon supported the iPhone, so it doesn't make sense to enter a new 2 year contract with at&t given that I'm going to be living in San Francisco and I hear that at&t has terrible coverage there. But it also doesn't make sense to lay down $79 on an outdated phone that can't even handle iOS 4.
Not sure what to do here.
Talka on
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Big Red Tiebeautiful clydesdale style feettoo hot to trotRegistered Userregular
Bumpers = phone case thinger, from what I gather. Apple's 'fix' was to update to iOS 4.0.1 which supposedly reworked the way the phone calculated what your signal actually is. Sounds fishy to me, and doesn't address the fact that people touching the antenna in the Bad Spot would drop calls. If it really was a case of your phone just thinking it has better signal than it does, that shouldn't be.
Bumpers = phone case thinger, from what I gather. Apple's 'fix' was to update to iOS 4.0.1 which supposedly reworked the way the phone calculated what your signal actually is. Sounds fishy to me, and doesn't address the fact that people touching the antenna in the Bad Spot would drop calls. If it really was a case of your phone just thinking it has better signal than it does, that shouldn't be.
Ummm... you know the details on what changed in the signal calculations are very well-known and not even remotely "fishy"? They're like the only signal bars that aren't bullshit.
Huh, perfect timing. My buddy contacted me the other day, looking to sell his white 16gb 3GS. I completed the transaction with him tonight, and am now the proud owner of my first iphone....in fact, my first Apple product ever.
The phone's been jailbroken, and already has a few apps included (such as Cydia), along with a couple of episodes of Batman The Animated Series (the Two Face two-parter, sweet!). That said, I have many years worth of apps to shuffle through, so a list of the best essentials would be terrific.
I'm also looking for some recommended software to help sort my contacts, music, and other info on my PC. I suppose itunes would be the obvious choice, but if there's anything else I should include, I'd like to know about it.
Some cool themes would be great too. I remember seeing a Pac-Man one somewhere.
And finally, I'm in the market to find a peripheral that will connect my iphone's saved tunes to my car CD player. My sister uses a device that connects to her tape deck, but I don't have one, just a CD deck. I was told they sold devices that connect to the cigarette lighter, so I would really like a link or two (preferably Amazon).
@Talka: see if you can use Craigslist or Ebay or just talk to friends. See if someone is selling their used handset (I'm surprised AppleCare doesn't cover you since it's a hardware issue; unless you don't have AppleCare).
There's also the AppSlappy podcast, which I'm trying to catch up on. I'm not sure if they have a site for it yet but I'm just now doing research on it. It's basically an iPhone app review podcast, so I would expect they have some sort of "Top 10" list somewhere.
3 says that all iPhones ordered between midnight release and 3 am two weeks ago have now shipped.
Swedish companies really dropped the ball here.
Just be glad you didn't order at Telia. At least two people have said they've gotten empty packets in the mail. It's about 10 days waiting just to get a confirmation of your order, and their customer service is atrocious. I'm in their queue, but ordered another at Comviq on the off chance they would be quicker than the 6 weeks they said. Three days later I got a text that they're sending my phone next week. Bye, bye, Telia.
Posts
your stores let you do that?
Oh yeah, the phone can scan things pretty easily - I've done it a bunch of times with RedLaser. I was thinking about at the store; for the apps I've seen, it recreates the bar code on the screen for the actual grocery scanner to read. I've heard scanners can have trouble reading the bar code off the screen.
I don't suppose anyone has seen any cases that cover up the camera on the back cover? Is it even an option?
I think you're talking about two different things.
A lot of store scanners have a hard time reading barcodes off of iPhone (or other phone) screens. The screens are reflective, and the lasers that read the barcodes are all "fuck that noise, there's nothing there but MORE LAZERS, yo.". I wanna see if my local Cineplex has scanners advanced enough to read from my iPhone - be nice to just buy the tickets on the way to the theatre on the phone and just walk on up to the theatre, flash the phone and get in. But the first time I try, I'm bringing a paper print-out just in case.
Neat tip, BTW: Syncing your phone on a new machine? Make sure to go to File->Transfer Purchases BEFORE you Sync your apps. Otherwise it'll delete all the apps you bought over the phone. (You can re-download 'em, but this is a pain in the ass.)
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
Yours don't? I know for sure Safeway does this and I'm pretty sure Fred Meyers and QFC do as well. The app sounds cool, but my potential problem with it is if you aren't doing self check out then you have to hand your phone to clerk which I'm definitely not comfortable doing.
iCab Mobile has a "track pad" mode on ipad, I don't know if it works on the iPhone however.
Where are you getting $25? I'm looking at the app store right now, and I see the the entire US & Canada version for $40, and the three regional US versions for $15 each. Am I looking at the right ones?
EDIT: Sorry, I'm on iTunes now and I can see that there's a whole US version for $25.
I just walked into an AT&T store and 10 minutes later i walked out with a new iPhone 4.
Watch my music videos
I used the Mapquest turn by turn app yesterday driving home from Boston. It worked passably well, and it's free.
Welcome to the club, buddy-o!
John Carmack presents a tech demo of Rage for iPhone
Watch the video there if you get a chance. It's only a tech demo, but it's pretty stunning to see what the iPhone is really capable of.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
I was hoping to see some physics, though. I mean yeah, I'm really picking nits here, but I wonder how well it'll handle running physics along with the rendering?
It's Carmack though. I got faith.
In gaming news, avoid the Scott Pilgrim Punch-out game. It's free and not even worth THAT. I want my bandwidth back and I have 6gb a month.
but i've yet to feel like iphone or ipad virtual controls have been well-suited to fps
i dunno. maybe they just need some time to evolve to the platform.
ffffffff
Twitter 3DS: 0860 - 3257 - 2516
Sorry, I totally did not even see your post, I only saw the discussion of barcodes after the fact.
ONE OF US
Swedish companies really dropped the ball here.
iOS 4.0.2 is 579MB and ALL it fixes is the Jailbreak vulnerability?
Have these people never heard of deltas?
It replaces the whole software package instead of just patching it. Quite inefficient.
Twitter 3DS: 0860 - 3257 - 2516
I've got a 3G phone right now and it can't handle iOS 4 (I should probably look into downgrading the OS) so I'm thinking of upgrading. But I want to wait until January to see if I can't get a Verizon contract, and I also want to see what happens with the antenna issue. What ever happened to that?
There's no way to say this without sounding like an apologist, so I'm not going to sugar coat it: if there hadn't been a huge media blitz over the issue I would not have even wondered if there was something wrong. I'm going without a bumper and I have yet to have a problem. I'm on contract with Virgin Mobile in Calgary, which uses Bell's network, and I haven't dropped a call or even gotten down to zero bars. YMMV though.
[Edit] Maybe that doesn't answer your question though. Anyway, all iPhones bought before Sept. 30 are eligible for a free phone case from Apple. There's a list of cases that you can get, not just the bumper from Apple.
Twitter 3DS: 0860 - 3257 - 2516
My favorite was the intial "Don't Hold It Like That" response.
Yeah, that might have had half a chance if every single ad (plus Steve on stage) didn't show a hand holding it the wrong way.
So I'm having a problem with my 3G iPhone (some internal component, no easy fix). The Apple store is telling me my options are:
a) $79 for a replacement 3G iPhone
b) $200/$300 for a new iPhone 4 (16/32 GB)
Now, my plan had been to hold off on upgrading until Verizon supported the iPhone, so it doesn't make sense to enter a new 2 year contract with at&t given that I'm going to be living in San Francisco and I hear that at&t has terrible coverage there. But it also doesn't make sense to lay down $79 on an outdated phone that can't even handle iOS 4.
Not sure what to do here.
i wish i could hate you to death
Ummm... you know the details on what changed in the signal calculations are very well-known and not even remotely "fishy"? They're like the only signal bars that aren't bullshit.
The phone's been jailbroken, and already has a few apps included (such as Cydia), along with a couple of episodes of Batman The Animated Series (the Two Face two-parter, sweet!). That said, I have many years worth of apps to shuffle through, so a list of the best essentials would be terrific.
I'm also looking for some recommended software to help sort my contacts, music, and other info on my PC. I suppose itunes would be the obvious choice, but if there's anything else I should include, I'd like to know about it.
Some cool themes would be great too. I remember seeing a Pac-Man one somewhere.
And finally, I'm in the market to find a peripheral that will connect my iphone's saved tunes to my car CD player. My sister uses a device that connects to her tape deck, but I don't have one, just a CD deck. I was told they sold devices that connect to the cigarette lighter, so I would really like a link or two (preferably Amazon).
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Speaking of; how long before Apple starts talking to Asimov's estate and/or buys Boston Dynamics?
Nintendo Network ID: AzraelRose
DropBox invite link - get 500MB extra free.
@Snugglesworth: I'm doing some very minor research into apps. I found that Lifehacker has a very nice recommended suite of apps (although about 1/3 of them I wouldn't use). http://lifehacker.com/5607809/lifehacker-pack-for-iphone-our-list-of-the-best-iphone-apps
There's also the AppSlappy podcast, which I'm trying to catch up on. I'm not sure if they have a site for it yet but I'm just now doing research on it. It's basically an iPhone app review podcast, so I would expect they have some sort of "Top 10" list somewhere.
Just be glad you didn't order at Telia. At least two people have said they've gotten empty packets in the mail. It's about 10 days waiting just to get a confirmation of your order, and their customer service is atrocious. I'm in their queue, but ordered another at Comviq on the off chance they would be quicker than the 6 weeks they said. Three days later I got a text that they're sending my phone next week. Bye, bye, Telia.
I can only hope I get some dust under the screen in the next year so that I can get that replaced.