Apple iPhone and related items (cont.)

[joustmaster]

If they are files that an app on your phone understands, you can open them in the app. (In fact the mail client natively reads a lot of stuff anyway, so you can read word docs for example without having to open anything else.) The file is imported into the app and saved via whatever method the app supports. Cloud drive apps often claim to understand everything so that you can save it to whatever drive it is.

hmm. doesn't sound right.
I often get emailed zip files full of all sorts of config files, keys, and binaries that need to be sent elsewhere by several different methods.
Not the sort of file that has any identification to it that links it to any specific app.

 

[xenon]

So I can't save an attachment from an email, and use the files in it?

You can, sorta.

I have a shit load of ebooks on my NAS and either email them to my phone or have an FTP client on it to download. As long as you have an app on the phone that supports the file format, you can open it in it. I haven't bothered trying sending MP3s this way. There's an app for my NAS for streaming.

Itunes on Windows is fucking awful. People say it's better on Mac. I don't care, I hate using software that wants to manage my media and won't let me transfer with simple drag and drop from the desktop OS. SO I rarely bother syncing.

 

[joustmaster]

You can, sorta.

I have a shit load of ebooks on my NAS and either email them to my phone or have an FTP client on it to download. As long as you have an app on the phone that supports the file format, you can open it in it. I haven't bothered trying sending MP3s this way. There's an app for my NAS for streaming.

Itunes on Windows is fucking awful. People say it's better on Mac. I don't care, I hate using software that wants to manage my media and won't let me transfer with simple drag and drop from the desktop OS. SO I rarely bother syncing.

what if the file doesn't have an extension or a standard format, but I want to then sftp it somewhere, or copy it to an smb share?

 

[xenon]

hmm. doesn't sound right.
I often get emailed zip files full of all sorts of config files, keys, and binaries that need to be sent elsewhere by several different methods.
Not the sort of file that has any identification to it that links it to any specific app.

I haven't tried this TBF. But maybe using Dropbox, it might be possible to email arbitrary filetypes as attachments from it. Just guessing.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

hmm. doesn't sound right.
I often get emailed zip files full of all sorts of config files, keys, and binaries that need to be sent elsewhere by several different methods.
Not the sort of file that has any identification to it that links it to any specific app.

In that case you would need an app that reads zip files (of which there are lots). That would open the zip file and you could then do stuff with the contents with other apps, like emailing them.

Depending on the details it might be a huge pain in the arse. This is one of both the pros and cons of iOS, the heavy sandboxing. Terrific for security obviously but file access is basically by passing files from one app to another. A lot of apps use cloud drive APIs to bypass this, so you could save a document to Dropbox and then open it from an app.

 

[xenon]

I use FTP2Go as an FTP client. I'll try downloading and uploading a zip file later.

 

[joustmaster]

no, I don't want to ftp a zip file, or email the contents of one.

most likely i would want to transfer an individual file from a compressed archive, using sftp or a smb share.

It seems like iOS can't do the things I need.
Which is a shame as they are nice well built phones. (and aren't stupidly huge).

 

[xenon]

Just seen Fridge's reply.

I'm being thick, can't work out how to upload with FTP2Go. Can download and unzip files to the phone though. But yeah, drop box type app probably more straight forward.

e2a The app I'm using does FTPS and SFTP too. Searching for a samba
client brings up a free file viewer app but CBA to try it ATM.

A proper Linux phone would be good. Shame that Ubuntu one never got off the ground.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

no, I don't want to ftp a zip file, or email the contents of one.

most likely i would want to transfer an individual file from a compressed archive, using sftp or a smb share.

It seems like iOS can't do the things I need.
Which is a shame as they are nice well built phones. (and aren't stupidly huge).

You can certainly do that. Open the zip file with an unzipper app. Send one of the component files with an sftp app. I expect some sftp apps can do the unzipping themselves.

 

[joustmaster]

You can certainly do that. Open the zip file with an unzipper app. Send one of the component files with an sftp app. I expect some sftp apps can do the unzipping themselves.

i'm not sure how that works.
does the file magically appear in the local file system that the sftp client has access to?

 

[joustmaster]

i'm going to have to borrow one and have a play around.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

i'm not sure how that works.
does the file magically appear in the local file system that the sftp client has access to?

It's all passing files between apps, that's the paradigm. I get a zip file in the mail app. I pass that file to the unzipper app which unzips it. I pass a file from the zip to the sftp app or the word processor or whatever.

 

[xenon]

I think as elbows says, the apps are sandboxed. When I download stuff using FTP, those files are visible within the FTP app. If I tap on one and the filetype is recognised, one of the options is to open it in xyz, another is send by email.

 

[joustmaster]

It's all passing files between apps, that's the paradigm. I get a zip file in the mail app. I pass that file to the unzipper app which unzips it. I pass a file from the zip to the sftp app or the word processor or whatever.

makes sense.
its a lot more hoops to jump through. but i can see why.

 

[xenon]

Argh cross posting.

 

[joustmaster]

I think as elbows says, the apps are sandboxed. When I download stuff using FTP, those files are visible within the FTP app. If I tap on one and the filetype is recognised, one of the options is to open it in xyz, another is send by email.

so you only get a list of specific apps, not all?
surely the sftp app will be available for all files?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

makes sense.
its a lot more hoops to jump through. but i can see why.

It's generally possible to do pretty much anything, just it may take longer sometimes than if you didn't have sandboxing.

Personally I happily admit that my main business use of my iPhone is saying "fuck off I'll do it when I'm back in the office / when I have time / when it isn't the bloody weekend / just fuck off". I rarely need to even switch apps to do that.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Oh, and telling people I'll be late for work because "the trains are terrible"

 

[xenon]

so you only get a list of specific apps, not all?
surely the sftp app will be available for all files?

The FTP app I use can download anything to it's own download space. If the file's a pdf, I can open it in the ebook app I use. If it's a zip file, I can unzip it within the FTP app. If it's a filetype that I don't have an app for, it just sits in the download space but you can email or upload it elsewhere.

It's not like a regular OS where you can open or send any file to any program and have complete access to the filesystem. The sharing between apps such as above, has to be written into them.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

You can, sorta.

I have a shit load of ebooks on my NAS and either email them to my phone or have an FTP client on it to download. As long as you have an app on the phone that supports the file format, you can open it in it. I haven't bothered trying sending MP3s this way. There's an app for my NAS for streaming.

Itunes on Windows is fucking awful. People say it's better on Mac. I don't care, I hate using software that wants to manage my media and won't let me transfer with simple drag and drop from the desktop OS. SO I rarely bother syncing.

Thing is, iTunes is drag and drop. If I want a tune on my phone I just drag it into a a playlist. Job done.

 

[editor]

I can't wait for everything to be changed again.

 

[editor]

Thing is, iTunes is drag and drop. If I want a tune on my phone I just drag it into a a playlist. Job done.

iTunes was the worst piece of music software I have ever installed in my life.

 

[xenon]

Thing is, iTunes is drag and drop. If I want a tune on my phone I just drag it into a a playlist. Job done.

I spose. But I hate using Itunes. I find it just gets in the way.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I haven't used iTunes to transfer files to apps on my phone for... well actually I can't remember the last time. Maybe some huge movie file to go to VLC.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

iTunes was the worst piece of music software I have ever installed in my life.

That's because you made the mistake of putting it on a PC

It's a lot better on a mac. It does desperately need a complete overhaul though IMO.

 

[spanglechick]

That's interesting, coz my iPhone has never crashed. Ever. The only time I've even rebooted it is when I've had to due to installing OS upgrades. Whereas my last Android handset was a buggy, crash-tastic heap of crap. I guess a lot of it might be down to particular (shit) apps, if you can avoid them you'll be OK on either platform...

My first iPhone (3) froze very occasionally. Maybe three times in two or so years. Got a bit buggy at the end, occasionally closing apps I was using.

My 4s, otoh, was a total lemon after about 15 months. It didn't just crash, it wiped the whole thing to factory settings every few weeks. I was counting down the days until upgrade.

My 5s is splendid, so far (6 months). No crashes, lags...

 

[souljacker]

Anyone who slags off iTunes should be thankful they don't need to use Kies.

 

[editor]

Anyone who slags off iTunes should be thankful they don't need to use Kies.

Good news is that you don't have to use Kies. You don't even have to install it.

 

[souljacker]

true

 

[Mojofilter]

Isn't the same true of iTunes though? What do you actually have to use it to do?

Can't you use something like Google Music for transferring music and Dropbox / Google Drive etc... for everything else?

I don't think that I've physically connected my phone to computer with a cable since my first iPhone (3G).

Edited to add - just remembered that you can sync with Wifi. Not done that either... Never had the need.