Thanks Esther. I noticed after posting that I was sometimes getting an error message saying that the operation could not be completed invalid argument which I still get with Aol Radio after about 20 minutes. I don't see it with any of the other applications now since we restored the IPod. I seem to have less network issues now too; knock on wood. I will check out those apps. Thanks so much.
On Feb 20, 2010, at 9:08 PM, Esther wrote: > Hi Carlene, > > I'm not sure whether my comments about wireless use of the iPod Touch will > help you, but I'll make a couple of suggestions, and I'll also cc this to the > viphone list in case others have seen your issue. You mentioned that > recently apps like Pandora, AOL Radio, and iBlink Radio that used to stream > for hours now stop after about 20 minutes, and that you seem to get better > results (e.g. 45 minutes) with VO off. Also, you mention that when this > happens, you are occasionally prompted to choose a network to join. I'll > answer these two points in separate paragraphs. > > I find that my iPod Touch app performance can be affected by the amount of > memory that is used on my system, just as on my computer. VoiceOver also > uses these resources, so the other thing that can happen when memory usage is > high is that VoiceOver may break up on the iPod Touch, or app performance can > be sluggish, if memory is required. (Streaming radio apps use caching on > your device to play.) When I first got my iPod Touch, and before the > firmware upgrades for OS. 3.1, I noticed that when I did experiments on > uploading files through MobileMe and other sources (trying out other ways to > read PDFs and documents, or play media files transferred to the iPod Touch), > I would see performance issues where files would stop playing and the like. > I was trying to "stress test" my device, and I was transferring/playing large > media files that I expect to use up memory when I saw these issues. So I went > searching for an app to free memory and got System Activity Monitor ($2.99) > from Recession Apps. In these cases I invariably found that memory usage > (reported in the app, which displays information in a fashion that is very > like the "System Activity Monitor" utility that runs on the Mac) on the iPod > Touch was low, and using the free memory function of the app improved > performance as well as app stability. The iPod Touch is also supposed to > release memory used by apps when you power down the device and restart it, so > you could also try that. However, I generally don't want to turn off my iPod > Touch to resolve these problems, so I use the free memory option of System > Activity Monitor. Some of these issues supposedly got better after the > firmware update last fall. > There's a detailed post in the Mail Archives about how to use the System > Activity Monitor app to free memory. Just skip over the bits that describe > the Koi Pond app that is also described in the same post: > http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg14638.html > (Info about Koi Pond and System Activity Monitor apps (Long) [was Re: user > opinions on some apps?]) > > You also asked about sometimes being prompted to choose a (wireless) network > when the app stops streaming. This is perhaps a separate issue about iPod > Touch device performance. I'll give you my own experience and speculations > here, and this wireless performance description appears to be independent > about whether VoiceOver is running. I don't see any issues with losing a > wifi connection when the signal is strong. I also don't think that I get > prompted for a password when the wifi signal is weak, and the network only > has WEP security, but I'm less certain about that. What I do know is that > the iPod Touch 3GS model seems to have more difficulty picking up and > maintaining the connection to WiFi networks when the signal is faint, and > when there is WPA wireless security, in comparison with earlier models of the > iPod Touch used in the same circumstances. And I suspect that at least part > of this failure to maintain good wireless connection when signals are faint > and/or encrypted with WPA security is due to the way the OS 3.0+ firmware > runs, rather than actual quality control issues in production from model to > model, since a number of users of earlier generation iPod Touch models > reported problems with maintaining WiFi connections after applying the > upgrade to 3.0 and again after the upgrade to 3.1. Here's the link to the > Apple TroubleShooting document: > > http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1398 > (iPhone and iPod touch: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections) > > Now, I'm using an Apple AirPort Express (admittedly, 5 years old, but with > the latest firmware and WPA encryption), so this is Apple's own hardware. > Doing the various network resets on the iPod Touch and restoring the contents > of the device has not changed any of the behavior, nor have things changed > with the latest OS 3.1.3 software. I think the problem lies with how > frequently the iPod Touch software queries the wireless network, and its > action in stepping down the connection if it thinks a network may not be > present to save battery power. This is pure speculation, but it does explain > the way that I can run partial workarounds. Also, I asked someone who got the > earlier iPod Touch as a freebie as part of an educational purchase order of a > Mac, and then bought the iPod Touch 3GS to try out the connection. Exactly > the same content installed, both using the latest OS, and the iPod Touch 3GS > cuts out intermittently where the older generation iPod Touch does not. > Again, this only happens when in a location where the WiFi signal is low, and > where there is WPA security enabled. > > The two things I do to handle the low wifi signal plus WPA encryption case: > 1) I reconnect using the WiFiTrak app, which gives me information on current > signal strength, detects WiFi networks below the limits reported by the iPod > Touch's native WiFi connection app, and tries longer to establish a > connection before timing out. In the low WiFi signal case, when the iPod > Touch disconnects, it sometimes does not take my network selection, but will > ask me again to type in a password; this never happens with WiFiTrak. I > think its a timeout setting in the native app. > 2) This sounds a bit weird, but works for me: I play an internet radio > station at low bit rate in background through the ooTunes app switching over > to Safari. (I think WunderRadio can also do this). What this does is keep > the WiFi connection active. Otherwise, what happens is that if I'm not > actively using the WiFi connection in the low signal level case, the > connection drops out eventually when the iPod Touch is idle. Again, my guess > is that the OS software is set to drop the connection relatively fast, if it > doesn't detect activity or a strong WiFi signal. With a low rate of flow > through, my WiFi connection never drops out. Because this is running in > background, I can access any of the apps that rely on an internet connection > without problems -- read news, download new books from Kobo, etc. Obviously > when I do this I don't have a problem with memory usage on my iPod Touch. > I'm not trying to stream movies, or pull in huge downloads. > > This has been a rather long commentary. I'd love to hear any responses, > especially from the viphone list users, about the low wireless signal case. > Probably only the iPod Touch users will be able to check this out. Also, > hear are a list of the applications I mentioned: > > • System Activity Monitor ($2.99) by Recession Apps -- it should say "3GS > Update! With Free Memory and Battery Level" > http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/system-activity-monitor-3gs/id306192663?mt=8 > > • WiFiTrak (Find Free WiFi) ($0.99) by Bitrino > http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wifitrak-find-free-wifi/id294771472?mt=8 > > • ooTunes Radio - Recording and Alarm Clock ($4.99) by Oogli LLC > http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wifitrak-find-free-wifi/id294771472?mt=8 > > All these apps work and are available internationally. > > HTH > > Cheers, > > Esther > > carlene knight wrote: > >> Hi: >> >> I hope this isn't too off topic, but I wondered if anybody else is having >> trouble with their IPod Touch regarding wireless? I used to be able to use >> my Touch for hours wirelessly, but now it stops every 20 minutes or so. >> It's done it on Pandora with a subscription, AOL Radio and IBlink Radio. My >> husband's IPhone has no issues, and neither do our computers on the rare >> occasion we use it for them. Sometimes it asks me to choose a network, and >> sometimes it doesn't. seems as though the problem is better when I turn VO >> off. I've listened to Pandora for about 45 minutes with VO off. Does >> anybody else have this issue? Do I need to get my IPod looked at? Thanks. >> Any suggestions as to how to fix this problem or advice would be greatly >> appreciated. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > carlene knight http://carleneknight.blogspot.com ckni...@knight-toolworks.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. 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