Fast Running Blog

So I was thinking that it would be really cool if we had a running blog app for iPhones, iPods, iPads, etc.  ;)

Okay so many of you didn't really understand my question. I don't mean being able to update our blogs from the Safari app, I'm talking about having a FRB app available in the app store.

It would be cool if you could do a blog entry from an iPad or iPhone.  Currently, it's only possible to enter miles and comments.

I agree an app would be nice (but don't hold your breath). That said, my android tablet does work pretty well on FRB, and I can do anything from it that I can do from a desktop computer. Maybe you could install Firefox for your iPad, and it might give your more functionality. In other words, it might be a browser limitation, not an operating system limitation.

Kam - I got a tip from Neil about using the iPad to update your blog. If you are using the Safari browser, it will work you turn off javascript (which only takes a second or two). Otherwise like Paul said, other browsers might work. I need to install something else and see if it works. I'll play around w/ it tonight and report back if I find an easy solution.

Turning off java also works on Android browsers. It's the formatting tools located above the input box that need java and prevent things from working correctly. Turn off Java, the formatting tools go away, and it works fine.

Thanks for the tips, Jake and Paul.  After removing my foot from my mouth, I took one more baby step out of idiot territory.   :)

Sasha told me download and use the free browser, "Opera." It has worked well for my ipad, iphone etc.

Seriously in the information age an app would be so cool!  It would be nice to see it happen rather than be told to use a different browser  :)

There is an Android app now (Fast Running Friend). It is good enough for my purposes, but not yet for general public - you have to use an external computer to type in the data (I made it this way because the collected data is on a watch), initial configuration requires manually editing a file on your SD card, to interface with it you have to type a URL that the mobile device tells you to go to, if you want to change your WiFi you have to edit the config file on the SD card again, and a few other quirks. But it can keep track of your time and distance, and it will run on pretty much any Android device, although the target was MotoACTV watch. If the quirks do not scare you, grab it from

http://asksasha.com/moto/FastRunningFriend-1.5.apk

Brief instructions:

- learn how to install an APK manually (one day I'll get around to putting it up on the market)
- after you install the APK and have run the app for the first time the magic is in /mnt/sdcard/FastRunningFriend/default.cnf (or if you mount the SD card externally, /FastRunningFriend/default.cnf
- fix your WiFi credentials there
- the exit button in the app pops up a menu, you can use it to turn on/off GPS or Wifi
- when you turn on WiFi, it starts an HTTP daemon and give you a URL you can enter into your browser to interface with it. You can enter other configuration parameters, including your FRB username/pw and edit the workouts that are stored on the device, and post them to Fast Running Blog

The reason for manual WiFi config is that I wrote this primarily for MotoACTV, where configuring WiFi without an external computer is rather tricky - I suppose I could have created an interface for it, but I did not. I could have just checked if there exists an on device WiFi profile as well, but I did not, so here you go. One day I'll fix that, especially if somebody requests it.