General Queries
As of the time of this update (Dec 29th 2008, 22:43), the system is just coming online and we're still uploading some parts of the connector functionality.
FreqLoader is meant to allow you to track and manage your own stations of interest. However, a large component of the effort -- and what we're still working on getting up on the live server so late at night -- is the sharing/networking aspect.
The goal is to allow people to share their own finds with others, and in turn profit from the knowledge of other FreqLoader users, by exchanging lists of stations through the groups or directly amongst themselves... that's what all the "sharing" stuff is about.
We're uploading the 'groups' functions of the connector tonight and tomorrow. As it is currently almost "empty", the best thing would be to head to Connector::Groups and tap Create Your Own, then you can share what you have with the group and, eventually, download stations uploaded by other group subscribers.
An iPhone or iPod Touch, updated to be running at least the 2.2 version of the operating system.
If you are uncertain, check your device's version through the Settings::General::About on the phone, next to Version. You can update the device through iTunes if necessary.
If your device meets the requirements (basically an up-to-date iPhone or iPod Touch), installation is easy.
Simply head to the iTunes App Store, and... well actually it will only be up there in a few days, on Dec 15th but that depends on our friends at Apple.
No. However, much of the fun happens when you can access the internet.
Anything to do with navigation (such as location or bearing lookups in the Locator), call book searches, geocoding of addresses, Sharing, the Connector, database backups or a few other such functions will require network access.
You can of course access all your stations and logs without connectivity at any time.
If you are going to be using any of the network-related functions, you need to ensure it is enable prior to launching FreqLoader.
You enable this the same way as for any network access, like when you use the Safari browser to see web pages, for instance by going to Settings::Wi-Fi and switching the Wi-Fi button on.
No. The answer is similar to the above question about network access. You can do anything with your stations and logs without an account or network access. If you do have access to the internet, you can also see your current location sans-account.
The Connector and everything that goes with it such as sharing with groups and friends will require an account. But it's free, and the setup is a simple one step process.
You can connect with others who have similar interests using FreqLoader. Being a fan, friend or foe describes the type of relationship you have.
Becoming a fan, for instance of a person found in a call book search, only stores their contact information in your local database so their entry may come up when you do a local search.
Making a friend request also adds the persons entry to the database as above and, in addition, sends the person a friend request. Once the request is accepted by the other party, you're relationship status is changed to "friends". Friends can exchange entries easily and message each other through the system.
Marking a person as a foe removes any friend status that might exist and disallows further contact or friend requests from this person.
Your account is yours to keep and use as you see fit, though anyone found to be abusing the system, disturbing other users, generally acting in an uncivilized manner or otherwise not following the rules of conduct may see their account disabled.
This isn't likely to be of great concern to most anyone, but we thought it should be mentioned ;-)
There aren't any additional fees. We may, at the behest of FreqLoader users, offer additional services for a nominal fee but these will not be mandatory for the foreseeable future.
FreqLoader site users are expected to behave in a civilized manner, and that's pretty much it.
Abuse of the system, harassment of other users, content of an inflammatory or derogatory nature may be removed and could lead to account suspension or termination at our discretion.
In short the "rules" are:
- Users can have one account per device.
- Users don't have to join groups, share content or use the site at all but if they
do they are expected to play nice.
- Abuse of system resources for unintended purposes will kill the site, and thus won't be tolerated.
You own the content you create.
However, when you share data with others they can of course do what they please with it and the question of ownership becomes one to resolve amongst yourselves. In addition, when uploading content to the site (sharing with groups and friends or otherwise), we may inspect and reuse it as well, for any purpose.
The program does not do any sharing, data mining, uploading or nosing around without your explicit knowledge and consent.
This means that FreqLoader has received a warning from the iPhone OS that the RAM is mostly used up. Safari, Mail and the Ipod apps all run in the background, using up memory that FreqLoader or other applications may need.
If you receive this error message, you can choose to ignore it and it may go away. If it keeps popping up, the application is at risk of being forcefully terminated by the iPhone, so it may a good time to restart your device.
You can restart your iPhone by holding the sleep/wake button for several seconds until you are prompted to shut down your iPhone with a red slider. After the iPhone appears to be powered off, wait a moment. Then hold the sleep/wake button for a few seconds and your iPhone should restart. Apple provides their own iPhone Troubleshooting Assistant which describes how to restart your iPhone and more.
Finally, FreqLoader itself can in some instances use lots of memory too. Other than a few "special" apps like Mail, the iPhone is designed to run one single program at a time.
But FreqLoader with its multiple tabs, each of which can be drilled down many levels, acts almost like 4 applications in one and can place high demands on the system--especially if you are using lots of images/web content. For instance, if you are logged into the Connector, have the current location displayed in the Locator tab, are editing a station and a log entry all at once you may also get memory warnings.
In this instance, the best thing is to go back to the top level of the tabs you aren't using by double tapping the tab icon at the bottom of the view and then switch back to the tab with the task at hand.
This is a common problem with many applications for certain devices. It may be corrected by restarting the iPhone/iPod (as described above).
If that doesn't solve the issue, try the methods described in this Apple iPhone Support thread.
