Last week, I blogged about Apple bugs, about how before Consumer Reports rapped them on their knuckles for poor connectivity, the vaunted iPad was already suffering from WiFi and video play bugs. Apple had said back in May that they were fixing it. Well, they took their time -- sort of like how long they take to OK WebIS's Pocket Informant for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad -- and a few days ago, finally, finally released that fix -- right after I'd reset my network settings for about the fourth time in two weeks.
WiFi on the iPad is still iffy, but so far I haven't had to re-type in my password. It'll be a few more days before I can say for sure that Apple has slayed that WiFi bug. I also tried watching long videos on the YouTube app after I updated my iPad. Finally -- can't say that word enough -- I was able to watch an entire video without having to restart it many times only to have it eventually stop permanently anyway. I did have some problems later on when watching a video on a website. But at least when I hit Play again, over and over, it did get to the end. The proof that Apple has slain this bug will come after several successful tries at watching YouTube videos on my iPad, then I'll know yesterday's watching wasn't a fluke.
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In other tech news, Netflix is coming to Canada this Fall. I haven't paid a lot of attention to Netflix before because it was only available in the US. But its promise of streaming movies and TV shows into Canada got my ears perked. (They have not yet announced pricing, which streaming appliances you can use, or which shows and movies will be available.) The media are fixated on its impact on local video stores, but I'm wondering if I can dropkick cable out of my place, if this means I can still watch my favourite shows without having to pay the heavy-always-increasing cable fees. I have an old TV hooked up to a digital converter box with an over-the-air antenna, so I can already watch network shows (assuming no weather-interference or my home help hasn't moved my rabbit ears) from several Canadian and American stations. The only thing that cable gives me is access to Food and Space shows. But if I can watch my fave shows either online or through Netflix, what do I need cable for? Plus there would be no more need for an electrically-inefficient-heat-producing cable box in my non-air conditioned place.
WiFi on the iPad is still iffy, but so far I haven't had to re-type in my password. It'll be a few more days before I can say for sure that Apple has slayed that WiFi bug. I also tried watching long videos on the YouTube app after I updated my iPad. Finally -- can't say that word enough -- I was able to watch an entire video without having to restart it many times only to have it eventually stop permanently anyway. I did have some problems later on when watching a video on a website. But at least when I hit Play again, over and over, it did get to the end. The proof that Apple has slain this bug will come after several successful tries at watching YouTube videos on my iPad, then I'll know yesterday's watching wasn't a fluke.
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In other tech news, Netflix is coming to Canada this Fall. I haven't paid a lot of attention to Netflix before because it was only available in the US. But its promise of streaming movies and TV shows into Canada got my ears perked. (They have not yet announced pricing, which streaming appliances you can use, or which shows and movies will be available.) The media are fixated on its impact on local video stores, but I'm wondering if I can dropkick cable out of my place, if this means I can still watch my favourite shows without having to pay the heavy-always-increasing cable fees. I have an old TV hooked up to a digital converter box with an over-the-air antenna, so I can already watch network shows (assuming no weather-interference or my home help hasn't moved my rabbit ears) from several Canadian and American stations. The only thing that cable gives me is access to Food and Space shows. But if I can watch my fave shows either online or through Netflix, what do I need cable for? Plus there would be no more need for an electrically-inefficient-heat-producing cable box in my non-air conditioned place.
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