Reducing smartphone OCD a little bit
Jul. 20th, 2013 09:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewayneOne thing that I find a little interesting is how people arrange things on their smartphones, I had the same interest in how they arranged menus and desktop icons on their computers. It always seemed to me that it was rather haphazard and usually without a goal in mind.
In my case, on both my Macs I really don't use the desktop. I know what I want to work on, I know the apps I need, and I know where the data is located. My desktop isn't bare, but there's not a lot on it. It's used more for scratch storage for stuff that I just don't bother placing somewhere more appropriate.
I got an iPhone 4S, my first smartphone, two years ago come this November. At that time, you needed to sync it through iTunes to back it up. I did that every morning since my breakfast is reading web comics and news while eating. Now they've advanced the OS to the point that your contacts, calendar, and notes are automatically backed up via iCloud, and you have no choice in the matter: it's the only way to back them up. It was a PITB before I got everything working correctly, but it is convenient to make a change to one of those data repositories from my iMac, Air, or phone and have it reflected a few seconds later on the others.
Basically now the only time I need to sync is if I need to add new podcasts or music or remove played podcasts. Their podcast app, IMHO, sucks and I refuse to use it if I can avoid it. The fact that if you have it installed, you can no longer play podcasts through the music app, really ticks me off. So if I'm on a road trip I might install the app to download something, then I'll delete it.
I expect I'll be screwed out of that option with the next iOS version.
But I have eliminated one nagging bit of OCD: updating programs.
I've always been conscious of that little red 1 or 2 on my home screen that showed me that I had updates. I usually wouldn't update until the next AM when I was once again going through my morning rituals. This was especially apparent over the last month that I was in Phoenix on a biohazard exile. It then occurred to me that there's no reason why the app store app, which is where you not only download apps but update them, that it should be on the start page.
So I moved it to a group on the last page of apps on my phone, so I no longer see it if an update is needed. It doesn't nag me, the apps get updated usually within a day, and one small source of irritation is removed from my day.
In my case, on both my Macs I really don't use the desktop. I know what I want to work on, I know the apps I need, and I know where the data is located. My desktop isn't bare, but there's not a lot on it. It's used more for scratch storage for stuff that I just don't bother placing somewhere more appropriate.
I got an iPhone 4S, my first smartphone, two years ago come this November. At that time, you needed to sync it through iTunes to back it up. I did that every morning since my breakfast is reading web comics and news while eating. Now they've advanced the OS to the point that your contacts, calendar, and notes are automatically backed up via iCloud, and you have no choice in the matter: it's the only way to back them up. It was a PITB before I got everything working correctly, but it is convenient to make a change to one of those data repositories from my iMac, Air, or phone and have it reflected a few seconds later on the others.
Basically now the only time I need to sync is if I need to add new podcasts or music or remove played podcasts. Their podcast app, IMHO, sucks and I refuse to use it if I can avoid it. The fact that if you have it installed, you can no longer play podcasts through the music app, really ticks me off. So if I'm on a road trip I might install the app to download something, then I'll delete it.
I expect I'll be screwed out of that option with the next iOS version.
But I have eliminated one nagging bit of OCD: updating programs.
I've always been conscious of that little red 1 or 2 on my home screen that showed me that I had updates. I usually wouldn't update until the next AM when I was once again going through my morning rituals. This was especially apparent over the last month that I was in Phoenix on a biohazard exile. It then occurred to me that there's no reason why the app store app, which is where you not only download apps but update them, that it should be on the start page.
So I moved it to a group on the last page of apps on my phone, so I no longer see it if an update is needed. It doesn't nag me, the apps get updated usually within a day, and one small source of irritation is removed from my day.
