August 4, 2007

Gamelan!

I am trying to blog from mmy iPhone for the first time. i'm not that good at the typing...A tnd

UPDATE: As you can see, I had a little trouble posting from the iPhone. Part of it was the bad WiFi situation I was in. But when I got to better WiFi, I couldn't get the keyboard to appear when I touched on the "compose window." The keyboard would appear when I touched the "title" space but it woudl disappear as soon as I touched the compose part of the screen. At one point, it let me type a couple letters, which is why the text above is different from what was there originally. At another point, it just deleted all the characters, so I didn't publish. Irritating! And I really did want to tell you about the gamelan concert!

ADDED: I'm typing this on the iPhone and following some advice from a commenter. The secret is to select the html tab for the window, not the "compose" tab. And I'm even switching to thumbs for typing. Isn't it funny that "all thumbs" is now an indication of dexterity?

16 comments:

Randy said...

Everyone says that it only takes a couple of days to get the knack of the keyboard. You'll be typing like a pro in no time. In fact, I hear the iphone excels at just about everything but phone call reception.

Ann Althouse said...

Well, I am having a hell of a time trying to get back into the compose window to edit. When I touch the window, it makes the keyboard disappear. So my post stands as testament to my typing trouble, and no one knows what I was going to say about gamelan.

As luck would have it, the outdoor concert I was going to promote is rained out. But I got some video of the rehearsal which I will post soon.

Ann Althouse said...

I think the phone works fine, and I love the way it rings through the iPpd earbuds and can be answered by a button on the the cord that pauses the iPod.

Palladian said...

It's not easy to type very long passages, but the best advice I have discovered is to give in and trust the error correction and not be overly careful when typing. Also, it might be easier at first to hold the phone in one hand and use the index finger on your other hand to type, rather than jumping in and using thumbs like the kids do.

So far, I love the iPhone...

Ron said...

The camera seems excellent, and that earbud idea is cool!

Unknown said...

You will get better at typing if you give it a chance. I do think though that navigating web pages with edit windows---like this one---can be a bit of a hassle. But I'm getting the hang of that too.

Unknown said...

Palladian---I use a one-finger technique just as you describe. Hmm, maybe I sometimes use two fingers, but the key point is that I don't try to use both hands.

Dewb said...

The key, for me, in getting the hang of the keyboard was learning to press and hold the key, and not release until I saw the correct letter pop up. When you learn to do this, if you miss, you can just slide to the correct letter before lifting your finger.

I don't know about Blogger, but I had similar trouble with the Wordpress composer. Something about the fancy Javascript was confusing Safari. I disabled rich text editing in the composer (a Wordpress setting) and that fixed the problem.

Christy said...

The reviews suggest that even moderately long fingernails are a problem. Are you finding it so?

Maxine Weiss said...

I've been perusing your son's 'Metafilter' comments. He sure does love to give advice!

I've also caught him in two grammar errors so far.
__________________________

jaltco said:

"This would make sense when one person single-handedly runs a lucrative website and wants to pass it on to someone else after they die."--jaltco

(..."After 'he' dies". A singular subject "one person" requires a singular pronoun.)

"Or it could just be a short guest blog post to inform readers that a blog is being terminated because of its author's death."

(Sentence fragment. You need a comma after "Or".)

Ron said...

How's the speed of things on the iPhone?

John Althouse Cohen said...

Ugh, Maxine, all of your comments about my AskMetafilter comments are incorrect:

(1) It's an internet discussion forum. That means it's relatively informal. So to say that something is a sentence fragment, for instance, isn't necessarily to say it's a mistake. (And if ever there were a ludicrously ironic sentence, it's: "Sentence fragment.")

(2) Aside from the informality, it is just not worth anyone's time to point out each individual error that's made on the internet. For instance, there are plenty of stylistic/spelling errors in your comment, but I wouldn't bother to point them out.

(3) I don't need to be told that "a singular subject 'one person' requires a singular pronoun." I was using "they" as a singular gender-neutral pronoun, which is to say that I was writing the way I would speak. Again, since it's just an internet forum, you don't need to follow the same strict standards you'd follow if you were writing for print publication.

(4) You're simply wrong about "or."

(5) I'm sure I've made errors in my comments on MetaFilter. That's because the website doesn't let you edit or delete your comments after you've posted them. Cut people some slack.

michael farris said...

Maxine, his use of singular they was perfectly grammatical.

Read language log before you start making ridiculous statements that don't hold up.

Maxine Weiss said...

1) You tone is anything but informal. You give very exacting advice on everything from LSATs to Classical Music. That would seem to indicate a correct grammar. Plus, you pride yourself on being such a stickler for it.

2) But, I'm not calling myself an Authority on much of anything. I call myself a bored Housewife, unsettled and at loose ends, with nothing better to do.

3) See #1

4) I'm right, and the fact that you're even engaging with me, and oh soo defensive proves just how right I am.

5) Well, if you admit to making some errors, then you shouldn't argue with me when I point them out. Besides, I only came up with two. Although, now that I've struck a nerve, I'm going to go back and hunt for lots more.

Fondly,
Maxine

ìgbàlonígbàńlò said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Althouse Cohen said...

You tone is anything but informal.

That's just not accurate.

You give very exacting advice on everything from LSATs to Classical Music.

It doesn't follow that I'm not allowed to write in a mildly informal style!

I'm right....

What's your source for the point about "or"?