Soylent Green

Apple listed do.Oh in their new directory of iPhone Web apps! I am so flattered.

But wait! Does this mean I’m going to have to start coming up with brand new polls all the time? Damn you, Apple! I was just getting used to my life of total, abject leisure.

Last night, I updated do.Oh to fix a few bugs, and to complete the iPhone version of the app. You can now see your journal, create and manage chores, and update your account options from the comfort of your tiny, cramped virtual iPhone keyboard!

Here are some screenshots of the Journal page and the Chores list. Cool, eh? When designing these pages, I tried to follow the official guidelines for making iPhone applications. I think they turned out real nice!

I do not like how the iPhone “syncs” with my Mac. It isn’t broken, but it involves a lot more steps than it should, and doesn’t do a good job of actually keeping me in sync. So I guess it is broken. You heard it here first, people! Ben Brown says the iPhone / iTunes sync is totally broken!

• I don’t like my MP3 player being in charge of keeping all of my data in sync. I feel like making syncing a responsibility of my media manager application means it will not be good at either. I miss iSync, the old Apple sync manager, which synced multiple USB/bluetooth devices as well as .Mac and other online subscriptions all at once, automatically or as I so desired.
• I don’t like that the iTunes sync does not fire off a chain of child-syncs for related applications. As it is, before I can even connect my iPhone, I have to open iCal and have it refresh all of my calendar subscriptions, then do a manual refresh on my Podcast subscriptions within iTunes. Then, after I connect the phone, I have to do a manual import in iPhoto for my photos. Why can’t that be one step?
• I don’t like how it responds to my iPhone’s memory being full. The only option it gives if there is not enough space for a full sync is to turn of Podcasts. Why not offer to delete photos? Or why not do something clever like suggesting a smart playlist that will shrink if necessary? Oh wait, because I can’t create smart playlists that do that.
• Obviously, it is totally retarded that I cannot sync my phone using bluetooth or WiFi. If I can buy songs over WiFi, why can’t I send them over my local network? Am I cursed to always carry a proprietary USB cable around everywhere I go?