Archive for the 'Tech' Category
According to Apple, the one of the key fixes in the iPhone 2.1 Software Update is “Faster loading and searching of Contacts.”
iPhone 2.1 firmware fixes as described by Apple.
Initially after installing the 2.1 Software Update to my iPhone, Contacts did appear to load quite a bit snappier than the glacier-like 2.0/2.0.1/2.0.2 updates. But that can now be attributed to the reboot that accompanies each software update. My iPhone has not been rebooted for 3 days and 8 hours. Right now, it is taking more than 12 seconds going from the Home screen to Contacts before it becomes responsive.
ktula-s-iPhone:~ root# uptime
9:46am up 3 days 8:23, 1 user, load average: 0.53, 0.44, 0.32
In my limited attempt in trying to figure out what hell is going on when Contacts is launched, i opened a SSH session to my jail-broken iPhone and ran iostat to collect stats. I tried to run vmstat initially but it did not appear that vmstat was available on the iPhone. The version of iostat on the iPhone actually displays a portion of information that would normally come from vmstat.
ktula-s-iPhone:~ root# iostat 1
disk0 cpu load average
KB/t tps MB/s us sy id 1m 5m 15m
14.43 0 0.01 3 2 95 0.44 0.41 0.30
0.00 0 0.00 0 0 100 0.44 0.41 0.30
0.00 0 0.00 1 1 98 0.44 0.41 0.30
(Contacts being launched from this point on)
22.57 13 0.30 22 23 54 0.44 0.41 0.30
22.17 80 1.72 17 59 24 0.48 0.42 0.31
21.40 122 2.55 21 55 24 0.48 0.42 0.31
20.30 119 2.35 14 54 32 0.48 0.42 0.31
17.41 134 2.28 22 53 25 0.48 0.42 0.31
14.44 135 1.91 19 50 31 0.48 0.42 0.31
11.36 155 1.71 27 61 12 0.44 0.42 0.30
10.54 151 1.55 21 60 20 0.44 0.42 0.30
23.39 110 2.52 17 50 34 0.44 0.42 0.30
20.42 104 2.07 25 47 28 0.44 0.42 0.30
17.10 101 1.68 49 33 19 0.44 0.42 0.30
16.32 74 1.18 33 38 28 0.57 0.44 0.31
12.31 13 0.15 54 28 18 0.57 0.44 0.31
(Contacts became responsive)
0.00 0 0.00 48 25 27 0.57 0.44 0.31
When Contacts was being loaded, the idle CPU - the percentage of CPU utilization that is doing nothing shown under the “id” column - went from almost completely idle to an average of 31%. That means the CPU was busy 69% of the time while Contacts was being launched.
To look at what processes were taking the bulk of CPU while Contacts was being loaded, i looked at the process table by issuing the command “ps aux”. The process table indicated that the mobileaddressbook process was taking 46.6% of CPU.
These numbers seem normal to me. They don’t really explain to why Contacts is taking so long to load other than it appears to take quite a bit of processing power during the launch.
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Supposedly the 2.1 firmware is going to resolve many performance-related issues introduced in the 2.0 firmware. I’ll wait a few more days before making that call.
Update
The 2.1 firmware update offers a little bit of improvement in terms of the launch time for SMS and Contacts and the virtual keypad lagging issue seems to be better now. The noticeable pause in going between iPod and Home screen for some of my podcasts still exist.
After more than 24 hours of not rebooting my iPhone, i collected the following application launch time:
- Home screen to iPod: 3.7 seconds
- Home screen to Clock: 3.7 seconds
- Home screen to Calendar: 4.3 seconds
- Home screen to Settings: 3.8 seconds
- Home screen to Text (SMS): 5.5 seconds
- Home screen to Photos: 3.2 seconds
- Home screen to Camera: 4.1 seconds
- Home screen to Notes: 7.2 seconds
- Home screen to Contacts (with 157 contacts): 6.6 seconds
Update
My initial euphoria over what Apple claimed the 2.1 firmware will fix has died. Now, it is taking more than 10 seconds before Contacts become responsive. I guess it is back my normal routine of rebooting my iPhone daily, just like what i had to do during the Windows 95 days.
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The Dyson DC24 upright vacuum cleaner sucks. It really sucks big time. And that’s a good thing. I grew up using canister style of vacuum cleaners so i am normally not a fan of upright vacuum cleaners. I find them heavy, bulky and unsightly. My sister bought a Dyson DC18 recently and after borrowing from her for a test run at my place, i was amazed at the amount of dust it removed from my house.
Mango has been shedding his puppy hair lately so i am finding my old Eureka canister vacuum cleaner not quite up to the task of removing all of his loose hair. After reading some good reviews on Dyson’s DC24, the smallest model in dyson’s line of upright vacuum cleaners, i decided to make use of an expired 20% discount coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond for the vacuum cleaner.
Dyson DC24 vacuum cleaner.
The DC24 is light and quite easy to use. It is still too big to use under my bed but the detachable wand and hose works just fine. Less than a week ago, i had just vacuumed my house with the Eureka. I am still quite amazed at the amount of stuff the Dyson is able to remove from my house.
Clear bin filled with dust, hair and other goodies.
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I woke up this morning and found myself staring at my iPhone with no Wi-Fi signal. On rebooting my iPhone, the Wi-Fi option in Settings was completely greyed out. It took another reboot to fix it. Weird.
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My iPhone remains unlocked after updating it with iTunes to firmware 2.0.2. Naturally, it was no longer jailbroken but i found a way to jailbreak it using a new tool called QuickPwn by the iPhone Dev Team. This is what i did:
- Updated my 2.0.1 iPhone to 2.0.2 using iTunes.
- Installed iTunes 7.7.1 and QuickPwn on a VMware virtual environment running Windows XP on my Mac Pro.
- Transferred firmware 2.0.1 image to the Windows XP VM.
- Followed the steps as detailed in a post on iClarified.com. The post describes jailbreaking firmware 2.0.1 but this is exactly what i had to do to jailbreak 2.0.2 iPhone.
One of the first few things i did after jailbreaking my iPhone was to get a customized theme. My current favorite is fabiano1987’s iWood Realize theme:
The icons for the App Store and Cydia look out of place because this theme currently do not have icons for those apps yet.
Update
The 2.0.2 firmware “update” offers absolutely no improvement when launching apps.
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As a paid service ($99 a year), Apple’s MobileMess can be described as a complete failure. So far, almost a month after the launch of Apple’s MobileMe, it has been unable to fulfill the promise of “Everything up to date. Anywhere you are.”
“Over-the-air updates on your iPhone in seconds.”
I have no problem synchronizing Email, Contacts and Calendar between my Mac and the MobileMe cloud, even though the sync service that runs on my Mac is not exactly “push”, as originally marketed. My main beef is with the Push services from MobileMe cloud to my iPhone. The service is so inconsistent that i am having real difficulty trying to troubleshoot the cause of it. For a 20-hour period, i just could not get updates to show up on my iPhone. I did all the steps listed in Apple’s troubleshooting guide for iPhone/iPod sync issues. In addition, i even wiped everything out by re-installing the 2.0.1 firmware. I was on the MobileMe support chat line but the support personnel gave up eventually.
Mysteriously, between 1700 and 2000 today, it started working. I was able to get Push email, Contacts and Calendar working at the same time. Unfortunately, it did not last. MobileMe push service to my iPhone is broken again.
I am going to give MobileMe another week. If this Push issue continues, i am getting my money back from Apple.
Update
It appears that MobileMe Push does not work when iPhone is in Airplane mode with WiFi turned on. Changes made on iPhone are pushed successfully to the MobileMe cloud but not the other way round. For the past two days, Push sync from MobileMe cloud has been working.
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pwned iPhone remains unlocked after 2.0.1 update
I got really sick and tired of sluggish iPhone 2.0 firmware so i went ahead and updated my iPhone to firmware 2.0.1, knowing that the Dev Team has not released an updated PwnageTool for this version of firmware. I am happy to report that my iPhone remains activated and unlocked. It is no longer jailbroken so i have no unofficial third party apps on it at the moment. Initial launch of apps seems to indicate a snappier performance. Of course, i won’t know for sure until i have used it for at least another day or two.
Update
Instead of taking more than 18 seconds to access Contacts when my iPhone was on the 2.0 firmware, it is now consistently taking less than four seconds. In fact, so far, it is taking less than four seconds to access other apps as well. Also, i no longer get the half second of pause/skip when i go from iPod to Home screen, and then back.
Update
Just when i thought firmware 2.0.1 had resolved the pause/skip issue when going from iPhone to Home screen, and back, the same darn thing happened again. What i have noticed so far is that it is happening (on both 2.0 and 2.0.1) to two podcasts (Tiesto’s club life and Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance). Problem with large mp3?
Update
It was just 24 hours ago when i updated my iPhone to firmware 2.0.1. It is now very apparent to me that firmware 2.0.1 DOES NOT resolve any of the performance issues i had in firmware 2.0. It is taking longer and longer to access apps as hours go by.
- Home screen to iPod: 5.2 seconds
- Home screen to Clock: 2.6 seconds
- Home screen to Calendar: 3.6 seconds
- Home screen to Settings: 3.4 seconds
- Home screen to Text (SMS): 5.3 seconds
- Home screen to Photos: 3.7 seconds
- Home screen to Camera: 4.1 seconds
- Home screen to Notes: 4.5 seconds
- Home screen to Contacts (with 156 contacts): 10.3 seconds
Approximately 12 hours ago, it was taking about 4 seconds for Contacts to be responsive. 12 hours later, it is taking more than 10 seconds. It is not inconceivable that by this time tomorrow, it may take longer than 18 seconds to access Contacts. Conclusion: performance-wise, firmware 2.0.1 is just as bad as 2.0. So what bugs did Apple fix in 2.0.1?
By the way, i just found out that it is way faster for me to access Contacts via the Phone menu than to access Contacts directly from home screen. Sure, it is one more step but there is absolutely no lag. Contacts accessed via the Phone menu is usable (meaning i can scroll up/down my contacts) as quickly as you can get there.
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iPhone 3G theme by Plizzo.
Simple and elegant. Check here for update to this gorgeous-looking theme.
Update
iPhone 3G theme with its intended wallpaper.
I managed to get iPhone 3G theme’s intended wallpaper loaded with Winterboard.
Update
iPhone 3G theme with background modified by Smelly.
The original background was too bright, making some of the text at the bottom of some icons difficult to see.
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