Saturday, October 25, 2008

Success with iPhone Provisioning Profiles

I spent all day (literally, all day) trying to setup my iPhone app such that it would run on my physical iPhone. For those of you who have problems, some of this may help you.

My application has always run OK in the simulator. Since I've had the phone for a few months now, and I'm recently a certified Apple iPhone Developer (paid the $99 too) I thought it was about time to get my app on my iPhone.
I just didn't think it'd take me an entire day. And by entire - it was actually more then a day; I had setup my 'Team' and done the root CSR request about a week earlier. Over the span of the week, I had skimmed the documentation. And I had scheduled today, the entire day for iPhone stuff. Meaning code, and putting the app on the phone.

I started this morning. Followed the doc's in the how-to tabs. And had absolutely no luck. From the dreaded (0xE800003A) error, to (0xE8000001), "handle_install: Installation failed", (0xE800003A) Verifying Application, etc etc. "

Late this afternoon I gave up; I shut everything down, rebooted, deleted /Developer, rebooted, then downloaded Xcode 3.1.1 and the 2.1 iPhone SDK. And proceeded to start over.

After all the installations, then I went into Xcode "documentation" and let it "download" . Then I devised a strategy - I had been doing bits and pieces of trying different things all da long -- things people suggested in Apple's Developer Forums and many other "non-official" sites (easily findable via the Google). I decided I would start completely over with my developer setting as well. Here's what I did:



  • Deleted Xcode and iPhone SDK (mentioned above) and reinstalled. I don't think you must reboot, but after an XCode installation your boot cache's will be updated so I think it's a good idea to do the reboot.

  • I deleted ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/*.

  • I went into the iPhone Developer Program and revoked my certificate and re-did it, as well as deleting all of my provisions.

  • Then I created a new app ID. I called it "My Application Suite App ID" . I gave it a wildcard. Why? Well, the more I'd read, the more I decided this was the correct way to do this. It would let me put any iPhone app that I compiled on my iPHone. Oh, and don't use the "App ID Name" of "test". I spent the afternoon getting frustrated trying to get all this to work. The system does not seem to like things named with 'test'. YMMV.

  • Once the Privisioning is approved and you can download it, drag and drop the file onto XCode. That installs it.
  • Now, take the iPhone, goto settings:general::profile and delete any out of it. reboot the phone. launch xcode, then plug the phone in. switch xcode and goto the organizer (cmd-control-o) and make sure your provision is added (checked) to the iphone device. One the phone it'll look like this:

  • Now we create a simple Xcode app to see if it'll even run on the phone., In Xcode, cmd-shift-n for a new project. It will be of type iPhone Navigation-Based-Applicaiton. (The following is in the iPhone Develper Docs, but I'll quickly summerize for the sake it): Call it 'Foo' or whatever. Expand the Targets folder in "Groups & Files". Click on 'Foo' within the Targets folder. Click the "info" blue-circle icon in the top bar of the window. Switch to 'Build' Tab. There's section called "code signing". You want to change the "iPhone Developer" to "iPhone Developer: Firstname Lastname" and they "any iPhone OS Device" to the name of your provision, namely in my case "My Development Provisioning Profile". Close the window.

  • Then test it all cmd-r. In a minute or so the app should be running on your phone. Not that it'll do much, but that's left for you to hack at :)

  • There were a few sites I found helpful in figuring all this out: preflightingapplication errors (0xe8000001), mac rumors forums, Debugging iPhone provision profiles/certificats and Apple's discussion forums.


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    Friday, October 10, 2008

    Apple iPhone Developer Tech Talks

    Apple Launches iPhone Developer Tech Talks.

    I suppose that explains why Apple held that NDA out so long. By doing so, no one could have possibly usurped Apple with their down Developer Conference/Talks. >>Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments

    Monday, October 06, 2008

    5x5 week 3 review


    I'm a little late posting my week #3 results. However, I made it to the gym everyday and added cardio...

    I added 10 minutes of cardio on an eliptical machine after the workout. I did it twice. On Friday, I ran out of juice and skipped it. But to make up, over the weekend I went and did about 45 minutes worth of cardio.

    Is it working? I think so. I'm feeling stronger. My shorts are now nearly falling off me (I'm going to have to buy some belts). I'm not going to bother posting the weights, since I'm on track (or better). The 5x5 suggests only measuring your fat/weight every 2 weeks. Given that, and the fact that I forgot to do that this past weekend, I'm got nothing to report on that front either.

    I intend to do that this Saturday morning, however. I will post the information hopefully Saturday morning.
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    Monday, September 29, 2008

    Ohio would be PERFECT for this

    There is one project that would jump-start the Ohio Economy and put Ohio on the map for some years; High Speed Rail.

    California is attempting to build a high speed train system that would connect Anahim, Los Angeles, Fresno and San Francisco. They have launched a $9.9 billion state bond offering to finance the proposal.

    Ohio needs to do the exact same thing. Such a train system would connect Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Phase two could connect Toledo, Akron/Canton and the South-East Appelachian area. Phase three could go to Indianapolis, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
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    Sunday, September 28, 2008

    This is what's wrong with blogging

    People post crap. They make a "huge issue" of "something important" yet don't do due-diligence to research it. Then they look like idiots for barking about something that is a non-issue.


    Case in point: Ars's Apple's patch release policy is a concern for enterprise IT (be sure to see Gandhim3
    's comment
    further down the page). Anyone who has a responsibility with managing a bunch of machines (whether Windows, Mac, Linux, Sparc, etc) has the responsibility to read the documentation and learn the recommended methods of management. It's called common sense and "Best Practices".

    In this case, anyone w/o their head up their ass would know about ARD. And if you team it up with a neat little piece of hardware called an Xserve with OSX Server and a little bit of reading you find out there's an entire community of people doing this. And they have discussion forums too: Apple Remote Desktop Forum, Mac OS X Server Forum.

    Neat, huh?

    It's articles like these that remind me why I quit reading Ars a few years ago. Maybe I'll delete it from my rss feeds yet again.

    P.S. I love that "Dear sophisticate IT manager morons..." :)


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    My photo at the Rubin Museum of Art

    One of my wildlife photos is being used with an exhibit at the Rubin Museum of Art, in New York.

    It's in their "Family Programs" Bhutan exhibit The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan.

    Sichuan Takin (pronounce Tock-in)

    For those that have never heard of a "Takin"; Takin Information.
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    My Photo's famous!

    One of my Portland Photo's has been used in a local visitor's guide!

    Columbia River, taken a tourist lookout point on our way to visit the Columbia area and Mt. Hood on an Eco-Tour in Portland, OR.

    Personally, it's not "one of my best". It was early in the morning, hazy. But the Eco-Tour was an absolute blast. I'd do it again in a heartbeat the next time I'm out west.

    Here's a link to the visitor's guide.
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    Saturday, September 27, 2008

    2nd week of Stronglifsts.com 5x5 Report

    This is my report after doing 2 weeks of the Stronglifts 5x5
    Beginner Strength Training Program. I intend to post regular updates that detail how it's going.


    Oh Gawd I'm sore



    My whole body is sore; legs, ass, back. The only solace I have is it's a "good sore". It wears off late in the the 2nd day (ie the day after you lifted).

    Realizations


    Some things I've learned:

    • Make sure you have everything in your gym back the nite before. (I lift first thing each morning)

    • Don't leave home w/o your notebook to know which routine you should do, and the weights you should be using (I did)

    • My gym needs another squat rack

    • People that use the smith machine for squats, I have to try not to look at them like they are chumps

    • My gym needs more 2.5lb weights

    • That prone position for 90 seconds makes my whole body shake! It literally pulls all the last remaining energy I've got straight out of my body



    Goals


    How'd I do with my basic goals?

  • I did not miss a workout! Check!

  • I did not falter and mis a rep! Check!



  • While both of those made me feel good, I have to realize I'm using extremely light weights; the level of impressiveness is directly relational to the amount of weight you are using :)

    I made 1 consequential mistake this week. I forgot my "gym card" so I didn't know what weights I should be lifting. Rather then drive all the way back home @5:15am, I guessed; luckily I guessed high, and was able to do the weight. This made my squat and bench jump more then it normally would have from my week 1 results.

    Overall, I'm having difficulty not adding more weight. I am feeling very confident I could do significantly more weight on the deadlift. I have to work hard to resist the temptation not to throw another set of 45's on there. I keep telling myself "use light weight to learn proper form, and build slowly. The thing is, I'm not conditioned for slow. I want my code compiled quickly. I want to drive vehicles quickly. I want to see my fat be 10% and my squat near 300lbs and I want it now! ;)

    I am also having difficulty deciding on the weights to warm up with on the squat. Friday, I did: bar-barx5,bar+20,+20,bar+45 x 5,bar+45+20 x 5,bar+45+40 x 5. I think those were too much. I was more worn out by the time I completed the 5x5 squats then I've ever been. I don't know if it was because I did too many warmups that sapped my energy; or maybe it's because of the additional weight, or maybe it was because it was Friday morning and I was just plain tired from the week of work. I don't know.

    My progress



    Pre-Start specifics

    My Weight and Fat Percentages
    WeekWeightGutBody-fat [1]
    PRE25043"20.0%
    124543"19.6%
    224143"18.6%
    [1] using healthcentral.com's measurement method



    5x5 Week #2 Results



    Here is how I managed to do, weight-wise:







    How much I've lifted
    BlbsAlbsBlbs
    Squat165Squat175Squat180
    Press80Bench175Press85
    Deadlift145Inverted Row3xFDeadlift155


    Overall



    My muscles are harder, sorer. My legs are stronger - I've noticed I'll do stairs 2 at a time like when I was much younger, without thinking about it. Though my fat percentage says it's lower, I'm not feeling it. I'm not seeing it either, my body looks as fat as it's looked for many years now.

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    Sunday, September 21, 2008

    1st week of Stronglifts.com 5x5 Report

    This week I started the Stronglifts 5x5 Beginner Strength Training Program. I intend to post regular updates that detail how it's going.

    Why?


    Because I'm out of shape. I'm in my late 30's. I feel like I have a body of someone in their late 40's. I sit at at desk all day writing code. When I do get out (to mountain bike, hike, hunt, gardening, housework, whatever) I'm sucking wind and my back is sore.

    I know my core is out of shape. I can feel it.

    When I've tried some of the stretches that are recommended in the 5x5 forums I've found that I have great limitations in my lower back, hips and thighs. My range of movement in all of them is pathetic.

    I think all of this is related to me blowing a disk out a few years ago in my lower back. I believe my body wasn't meant to sit as much as I regularly do. I'm trying to undue years of this and institute a framework that I can exercise by for the rest of my life. ie "fix the core".

    My Goal(s)


    1. First one: just to do this, 3 times x week, like you are supposed to. That means waking up on time, getting to the gym on time. Going to bed on time.
    2. Second one: increase strength 5x5 @200lbs squat (or more) at the end
    3. Third one: use this to work toards decreasing my fat percentage to 10-12% over the next year or two.

    Starting weights?


    My first difficulty has been determining what starting weights to use. When I looked at the spreadsheet that people often use to track their progress (downloadble from the Stronglifts website on the 5x5 page, the bottom), I felt I could definitely lift more then it's starting weight on all exercises.

    The question remainde: could I complete a 5x5 with a heavier starting weight? It doesn't matter if I can squat a max of 250lbs. If I can't do it 5x5, that's not where I needed to start. And if I can't do it with proper form, it doesn't count either.

    I decided to go with the bar and 2 45's. That's 135lbs total. I figured "I should be able to do this".

    After reading the stronglifts website, I found the mantra "Start light, focus on correct technique and add weight progressively. " so I knew I was on the right track.

    At the moment I'm more concerned about form. I know I can lift more weight than this, but I want to train myself to have correct form and posture. Yes, I'm trying to undue years of messing around in the weight room (ie smith machine) off-and-on.

    Starting Information

    Pre-Start specifics



    Pre-Start specifics
    Weight245
    Height5'9"
    Gut43"
    Body-fat19.6% ([1])


    5x5 Week #1 Results



    5x5 Week #1 Results
    AlbsBlbsAlbs
    Squat135 Squat140 Squat155
    Bench135 Overhead Press [2]140 Bench155
    Barbell Row [3]100 Deadlift135 Barbell Row135


    Fat Results



    Week #1 Fat Results
    Weight242
    Height5'9"
    Gut43"
    Body-fat19.6% ([1])


    Overall


    Overall I feel good that I completed the first full week. And I feel great. Friday taking the stairs at work, my legs didn't burn. My back didn't ache at the end of the day from being in the chair so much! I noticed I think my posture throughtout the day might have been more upright. Forcing myself to get out of bed @5am (and go to bed @9pm Sunday evening) is rough. There sure is a huge difference in the amount one can squat using the smith machine and not. I am glad I am finally not using it.

    There is a new guy at the gym, doing a similar workout. We are intersecting on the gym's loan squat rack M&F. Not good. It slows me down.

    I've found the B-workout, with the deadlifts, is a much faster workout then A. The dips, holy hell, do they end up zapping every once of energy I have left at the end of the workout (and by then, there's not much left let me tell you).

    I'm sore. Yes, I admit it. I lift first thing in the morning. I get up @5am and drive to the gym. The rest of that day, I've not been sore. But about the afternoon of the next day, my ass my ass my ass!! So that evening when I get home from work I stretch and stretch and rub and stretch. I'm considering trying to implement some stretching/cardio/yoga on the Tuesdays/Thursdays inbetween each workout to help.

    I did not "watch what I ate", however I did try to eat something more then 3 times/day. Which, by the end of the week, I had to! I was hungry about every 3 hours. Not the "I'm bored" hungry, the "my stomach feels empty and is now growling" hungry. I'm not too concerned about what I eat. My meals usually consist of:








    My normal daily diet
    MorningAfternoonEvening
    Bowl of oatmeal, glass of v8, green tea Leftovers from prior evening dinner or a baloney/turkey sandwhich, apple, banana, veggies, yogurt Roast, Chili, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Pork, Spaghetti, veggies (steamed++), salad. Rarely desert.


    So now I'm supplementing with a piece of fruit and maybe a granola bar @10am and 3pm. One day I ate a pre-dinner at 5pm. Dinner's normally at 6:30 (depends on when I get home from work too).

    This week was also more difficult on the diet; my wife made a pan of Apple Dumplings the Sunday before I was to start this. It's a rare thing - about once every year or two. So each evening through the week we had Apple Dumplings ala-mode for desert.

    [1] using healthcentral.com's measurement method

    [2] I actually did Power Cleans here (ie going from the floor, all the way above my head, on each rep). Woops!

    [3] Barbell Row or Power Cleans, your choice according to 5x5, just remember to alternate

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    Monday, August 25, 2008

    A PhD qualifies you!

    Re: The Global Warming Petition Project

    It would seem a PhD instantly qualifies you for a hell of a lot outside of your area of expertise.
    Compare this to the people who actually study this stuff full-time: Climatology (40), Meteorology (341), Atmospheric Science (114). LOL.
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    Thursday, August 07, 2008

    Monday, July 28, 2008

    cuil must be better

    www.cuil.com must be a better search engine -- when you search for "Miserable Failure" you get both GW Bush's white house page and Jimmy Carter's page as well >>Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments

    Friday, July 25, 2008

    AT&T's direct fulfillment deal for iPhone

    My wife's iPhone came in this week (Tuesday, infact). We picked it up last nite. I had ordered it from the closest AT&T Store 2 saturday's ago.

    The direct fulfillment process was great. No long lines. No BS. When the phone shipped, I received an email notice. When it arrived at the store, they emailed me. We went it with her (now old) sprint phone. The guy ported the number. Tried to sell us accessories. And we were on our way home.

    The next time we upgrade iPhones, I'm doing it w/ the fulfillment process. No lines, no bullshit.

    So far she seems quite happy with it. Now she wants her own iTunes account, Jotta account, etc. >>Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments

    Wednesday, July 23, 2008

    Everything's a changin'

    Of late, I've been geeking out. We are in the midst of changing everything. We've moved from CVS and CVSweb to SVN with Mantis and ViewVC (integrated, of course). We've moved from physical hardware to VM's. And we're moving from Perl and LAMP to Objective-C (Cocoa) and C# (.Net). Obviously I've been doing a lot of reading lately. These are huge changes and often by the end of the week my brain is fried. So far I'm hanging in there. We'll see how well this all works out in a few months. >>Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments

    Tuesday, July 22, 2008

    iPod Touch app bundle solution

    A while back I posted about not being able to reinstall my iPod Touch's application bundle.

    If found a solution....

    Sell the thing on Craigs list and buy an iPhone v2 :)

    The trouble is, after seeing the new phone, my wife wants one too.
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    Wednesday, June 25, 2008

    iPod Touch application bundle won't reinstall

    I bought my IPod Touch 16GB new in Fall 2007. Loved it. When the January Application Bundle became available, I paid up and got the new apps. Loved 'em. Been using it ever since.

    This week I needed to wipe all my information off the iPod. So I hit http://www.apple.com/support/ and started reading. I found HT1376 Installing, verifying, or reinstalling the iPod touch January Software Upgrade. Perfect, I can wipe it via a factory-reset and it'll reinstall the new apps. Just what I needed.

    Ah but no. The new application bundle doesn't reinstall. I filed a support by clicking 'support' within iTunes itself. No answer.

    So I went to the Apple discussions boards and found this thread: Restored iPod, can't get january software update.

    Apparently I may not be the only one with this problem.

    Since I've yet to receive a response from Apple wrt the support request filed in iTunes, I went ahead and sent email to support@apple.com explaining all this today.

    We'll see if Apple's support responds and what they say. I've asked them to either send me the app-bundle, or make my iTunes account show it in the queue or tell me what to do to make the application bundle be reinstalled. That's all I want - the app's that I paid for!!

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    Thursday, June 12, 2008

    iPhone Orig vs iPhone 3G Cost comparison

    Erik doesn't like the iPhone 3G Pricing. So I thought I'd compare the numbers...

    I put together a quick cost comparison spreadsheet on google docs. The way I see it, the new phone cost $6.00/mo more then the old phone did.

    IMHO, If that's a deal breaker, you shouldn't be spending anywhere near $80/mo for a phone.

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    Monday, June 09, 2008

    Ohio's Strickland is screwing up

    Re: State shouldn't limit flexible workweek

    Strickland is screwing up (see Strickland takes away flexible hours and State workers back to 8-to-5). He's messing with state worker's schedules. He's making it more difficult for people with kids (single parents even more so), unionized workers and people taking classes to stay employed with the state.

    Why does it take Strickland's office to deem such policies down upon management of State Agencies. Can't those whom run each agency not manage their own employees time, schedule and workload? Don't they know their own employees the best to judge how to handle them? Really, is the state going to lose money if an employee leaves for an hour to go to a dentist appointment and then work an hour late to make up the work?

    With the brain-drain of higher-educated people leaving the state for jobs why would one create rules that prevent them from shifting schedules to take classes and/or training. That seems counterproductive to keeping a highly educated workforce.

    If Strickland's moves are meant to drive people to leave state employment, it's working. Those that can leave, will. Those that can't leave, won't. Let's be realistic, those are the bottom dwellers that private employment would never employ in the first place. He'll claim that his leadership has saved the state vast sums of money. In reality, he's driving away from state employment those that are most wanted. He'll claim up front goals and savings. But just a few short years from now all state agencies will feel the pain two-fold.

    I'm beginning to regret having voted for him. And that's saying a lot, because Taft's administration was a total flop. And they mention this guy from Vice President with Obama? The thought makes me want to scream!

    Also related: Ohio State Workers Are Coping: It’s Now 8 to 5, With a 5-Day Week and Strickland Diet to Slim Down Government, Gambling Machine Expansion to Fatten Coffers


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    Thursday, May 22, 2008

    Why is China still a 'developing country'?

    So why is China still referred to as a "currently developing country"? (1/4 way down ) when they manufacture most of the goods that are purchased in the US? I mean, really, if a country has the infrastructure to produce that much, and the people enough to produce that much, and the infrastructure to keep all those people alive, they're no longer developing.

    You can't argue that "the country is so vast that populations/parts don't have running water and electricity. Well, technically you can argue whatever you'd like. But the US has parts where there is no running water, and no electricity.

    You can't use Government as a factor. They have one. It's stable. There are many countries that wish they had this.

    If it's because parts of their population are uneducated (the same can be said about the US, honestly) - that's by choice of their government. Their government's making fistfulls of money yet they chose to only spend $19/student on textbooks. Does that make them a developing country?

    So why is this? Will someone from the lazyweb please explain this to me? >>Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments

    Wednesday, May 14, 2008

    You've got friends!

    Recall, from the sys-admin days of ol' (yes, we know you did your due and did the peon job years ago) the AOL sound "You've got mail!" that you'd hear buzzing from people's machines?

    I saw the following picture in my email inbox. It made me think of that damned annoying "You've got mail" sound, but instead "You've got Friends". It seems in Ohio, once the weather gets a bit warmer everyone gets their camera out.



    I guess on one hand it's "nice to have friends". The funny thing is, look at the dates. That second weekend in may there were a lot of shutters 'a clickin' :)
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