Derrick’s Musings

I have finished most of the base coding for the new version 2.0 of Spanish Verbs, and now I need to write the content for all the verb conjugations. I was able to do a lot of the coding work with automation, but unfortunately verb conjugations are not as uniform as code is so it is necessary to manually input every conjugation for all the verbs. The great news for all of you is that the list of verbs is now at 100, roughly four times more than version 1.0! Here is a list of all the verbs included in version 2.0, with the original verbs from version 1.0 in bold:

abrir, aceptar, andar, apagar, aprender, bailar, beber, buscar, caber, caerse, cambiar, cancelar, cantar, cerrar, comenzar, comer, comprar, comprender, conducir, conocer, contar, correr, cortar, creer, dar, decir, dejar, desear, despertar, dibujar, dormir, empezar, encender, encontrar, enseñar, entender, enviar, escribir, escuchar, esperar, estar, estudiar, explicar, firmar, fumar, gastar, haber, hablar, hacer, herir, intentar, ir, jugar, leer, limpiar, llenar, llover, manejar, marcharse, mirar, nadar, necesitar, oir, olvidar, organizar, pagar, peinarse, pensar, perder, permitir, poder, poner, prender, preocuparse, prestar, quejarse, querer, querer, recibir, reparar, responder, romper, saber, salir, sentarse, ser, tener, terminar, tomar, toser, trabajar, traducir, traer, usar, utilizar, vender, venir, ver, viajar, vivir, volar

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update about Spanish Verbs, so here’s an update on my progress. I started out by making version 1.1, which was to be a content update (adding more verbs and notes), but in the end I scrapped that in favor of version 2.0. This new version will bring some big changes, and some minor ones as well. One note, however: all information provided here may change between now and when the new version is released.

As far as minor changes go, I’ve done some sprucing up of the user interface (UI). Below you can see a comparison of the old main screen on the left and the new main screen on the right:

I decided to remove the icon images from each row, and also to sectionalize the main screen between verb content and application information. I’ve also added a new feature, a tense guide for those who need to know how to use the various tenses.

Along the lines of sprucing up the UI, I’ve also modified the conjugation sorting method screen along the same lines as the main screen, and I’ll be adding new sorting methods to help you find that specific verb you’re looking for. See old vs. new below:

I’ve also introduced sorting to the list of verb tenses for each verb. Instead of one long list of all the tenses, the list is now separated by simple tenses, compound tenses, and the imperative and participle forms.

And last, but certainly not least, the biggest change for this release is the way the verb conjugations are presented. In the original version, I used table views to display the conjugations. This limited the potential for design improvements and actually complicated attempts to update the content directly. For this new version I chose to use web views instead. So now each tense conjugation resides in its own HTML file which is easier for me to update, and allows for greater flexibility in the design. It also allows for native iPhone 3.0 copy and paste, which was impossible with the table view. In addition to this, I am now also including usage information and examples to assist in using the correct verb and the correct conjugations. Below is an example from the present tense of the verb andar, old vs. new:

I am hard at work trying to get this new version out for both those of you who have already purchased Spanish Verbs and have been patiently waiting for this update, and those of you who have yet to purchase Spanish Verbs and perhaps were waiting for more features. I hope to have this version released by at least the end of October.

Spanish Verbs will be available for the sale price of $2.99 until June 18th. Get it now at the special price!

My Belongs To iPhone app has undergone some interface and functionality changes for version 1.2. The contact information is now displayed in a better, cleaner way and there is now a “Take Screenshot” button that allows one to capture the displayed contact information as an image to the camera roll which can then be displayed as wallpaper. This is especially useful on devices which has been locked with a PIN, since you can’t access any apps while the device is locked, but you can see the wallpaper. Version 1.2 has been submitted to the App Store for review, and I will post again when the update is available.

My Spanish Verbs iPhone app is now available from the iPhone App Store for only $3.99! Check it out!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, and I’ve been busy. My latest projects are iPhone apps that I’ve been working on. The first is called Belongs To and it is a simple app which stores your contact info and allows it to be viewed in the event your iPhone or iPod touch are lost. I’ve realized the inherent flaw in this app, which is that many people PIN lock their device and the app wouldn’t be accessible in this case. I’ll be working on this and there will be an update when it’s ready. The bigger news would be my newest app, Spanish Verbs, which is, as its title suggests, a Spanish Verb conjugator. I just submitted it to the App Store tonight and I need to wait on its approval. This first release of the app will contain 25 frequently used verbs and a guide to conjugating regular verbs. More verbs will be added via app updates. Click on the iPhone Apps tab above for more information.

Commenter Fredrik posted a link to the solution for those with problems using the iPhone/iPod touch Remote app to control their iTunes library on their computer. I tried this and it completely solved my problem.

DanKhoueiry writes:

I had the same problem and I solved it.
This is what I tried: In iTunes, go to Preferences, choose Sharing, check “Share my library on my local network” then check “Share my entire library” and go now to your iPhone/iPod Touch and try to play any song from any playlist, it should work. Now go back to iTunes and uncheck “Share my library on my local network” and It’s solved. you can play any song from any playlist again.

Source: Apple Support Discussion Forum

Hope this helps everyone having this problem and thanks again, Fredrik, for posting this link!

Apple just yesterday released the new version 1.1 of their Remote app. While it does add Genius playlist creation, it still has not solved my problem. I can select songs via the Artist and Album lists, but not from playlists, nor can I play any videos. I can however move through the songs of my playlist by playing a song from it via iTunes first. As commenter Jeff noted on my first post about this problem, the app broke after iTunes 8, but before iPhone 2.1.

However, based on the comments from this TUAW post about Remote 1.1, I can assume that at least some if not many people are not having any issues whatsoever, which leads me to ask the question, “why is it broken for some people and not for others?” What makes other people’s situation different that allows their Remote 1.1 to work under iTunes 8 and iPhone 2.1, and not other people? At present, I am lost for answers but I hope that Apple will be able to fix this problem, or someone else comes up with a solution.

The iPhone 2.1 does fix a few things that users have been asking about (except for copy and paste, of course), but one thing it does not fix is the annoying “0xE80002E” problem, where you cannot install an update of an application to your iPhone. This is getting fairly annoying as it now happens to me just about every time I download new updates. After searching other websites and playing around myself, I have come up with a “solution” that works for me. Your milage may vary. 

1. Download updates
2. Sync iPhone
3. Dismiss error message
4. Click the “Applications” tab and choose “Selected Applications:”
5. Uncheck the apps that are giving you update problems. iTunes will confirm that you wish to delete these from your iPhone.
6. Resync your iPhone. The apps will have been deleted.
7. Re-check the apps in the “Applications” tab
8. Resync your iPhone yet again

Your apps (in their updated state) should now be once again on your iPhone, and all error messages should be gone. The only downsides to this method is that it takes a long time, and it deletes any saved settings and content from the app. But at least your app will be updated and there will be no error messages.

I’m not sure if this is due to the 2.1 firmware update or iTunes 8, but Apple’s Remote app, which lets one control their Mac or PC based iTunes library via Wi-Fi, appears now to be mostly broken. Selecting songs from the Artist list or the Album list still works, but selecting media from any playlists (which includes videos), does not.

I noticed the error when I attempted to select a song from one of my playlists. After browsing the playlist and selecting the song I wanted to hear, I was presented with an error message that said: “An unknown error has occurred. Please check your library and try again.” There was no dialog box or error message in iTunes to indicate that there was a problem. Wanting to test this further, I tried to play different types of videos; TV Shows, Movies, Music Videos; but they all gave back the same error message as before.

I hope Apple will fix this problem and release an update.