I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Category: Mobile Applications

I’m a big fan of mobile applications. It started with the Palm OS and Windows Mobile, and has continued with iOS and Android. Who knows where mobile apps will go to next, it’s a journey, and an interesting one at that. If you’re looking for more on mobile apps then also check out the menu sections for pages on specific apps and things I’ve done with them.

A simple IFTTT app arrives for Pebble

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I noticed it on the Pebble Time store the other day and installed it. It seems easier to use than the other one I have, which only seems to work intermittently. Also, this one has three slots to trigger different recipes, all using the IFTTT maker channel, which is expected.

I haven’t had any time to try it out as yet, mainly because I have thought of three things I want to automate via the IFTTT maker channel. Perhaps I will, and then I’ll tell you how it works out.

Finished a new track with NanoStudio

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En Hiver in NanoStudio
En Hiver in NanoStudio

I’ve been a big fan of NanoStudio since it first launched, but I’ve rarely finished anything that I’ve started with it. Today I’ve finished a piece that I began ages ago. It’s an old track that I’ve re-worked and I’m really pleased with it.

Recording En Hiver in AudioShare
Recording En Hiver in AudioShare

AudioShare is an awesome swiss army knife of mobile audio. I used it here to record the track in so I could then move it into …

En Hiver mastered in Final Touch
En Hiver mastered in Final Touch

Which made it sound even better, or at least that’s what I think. The final track will be up on SoundCloud later.

I quite enjoyed this game

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Lifeline for iOS
Lifeline for iOS

I really enjoyed this game. Not as much as Monument Valley, but it was fun to play. I especially liked the fact that you played it through the lock screen and via notifications, which came through on my Pebble Time, which was fun.

I’m not a big gamer, as I’ve mentioned before, but this kind of text based adventure game was fun, a bit old school, which is perhaps why I like it.

Back at the Liberty Festival with SoundLab

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SoundLab at the 2015 Liberty Festival
SoundLab at the 2015 Liberty Festival

So this is the second year I’ve been at the Liberty Festival with SoundLab. This year was a bit damp and wet, but fun nevertheless. We still had a lot of people come along and play and enjoy themselves, so it was a good day all in all. I’m glad that I was able to be a part of it.

iPads at SoundLab Liberty Festival 2015
iPads at SoundLab Liberty Festival 2015

Even though it was wet we had a steady stream of people wanting to try out new ways to make music, and experiment.

A bit of Theremini and AlphaSphere
A bit of Theremini and AlphaSphere

My favourite calculator app (Tydlig) needs to do more

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I really like Tydlig, it’s a little calculator app for iOS and it has a great design, but it needs to do a few more things to be truly great. Here’s my current wishlist:

  1. Be able to store calcs as files or applets or something like that
  2. Be able to reference external numbers like dates and times and be able to update stored calcs / applets in the background
  3. Have a URL schema of some kind so it can be automated
  4. And lastly, and least probably, integrate with IFTTT.

If it could do the first three things that would be amazing. A real step forward.

I’m not a gamer, that’s for sure

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I just often don’t really get games. I can play for a while then I just get bored. I don’t think it’s the fault of the games of their designers, I just think that I don’t get gaming anymore. I used to (a very long time ago) like some games. Titles like Doom, Myst, Riven. I enjoyed those games, but in recent times I’ve found very few games that have taken my fancy.

However, that seems to be changing a little. Mostly I tried out music based mobile games, and some of these I got on well with, but not always. Now I’m starting to find a few apps / games that I am getting on with, so I’ll be posting my thoughts on these soon. I thought that someone might find that useful, or at least interesting.

So when will there be a Pebble IFTTT channel?

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Now that would be super useful. I’m sure that it was promised a long time ago, possibly when the first Pebble watch came out, but it never really happened. Well, it didn’t happen at all.

The nearest thing to it is an app called This Button for Pebble, which allows an HTTP push from your Pebble. That’s really useful, but I’ve only been able to get it to work intermittently so far. Perhaps I need to persevere with it.

Of course, a real IFTTT channel would be better. Ideally for me it would have:

  • Battery status
  • Accelerometer function
  • Access to buttons
  • Access to the microphone

That lot would do for a start anyway. That would be fun to play with and create recipes with on IFTTT. I’d like to see that.

I wonder if it’ll come about?