Nature had decided to put on a show of her own. She was constantly threatening to pass a storm our way which would delay the process as we scurried to shutdown the electrical equipment, tarp over the lumber, and sandbag items to keep them from blowing away. However, we had come prepared with iPhones. With the help of apps like The Weather Channel and WeatherBug, we could monitor if any storm was coming our way and how severe it was. Having that minute by minute information at the palm of our hand helped us decide if our time was best spent taking on a big or small project, or more rainproofing. The predictive radar on The Weather Channel Max was especially helpful to determine whether we had to cancel a show or not.
In addition to the iPhones on site, there were a plethora of Macs making it look like we raided a local Apple Store to stock the Production Trailer. David Wilson, the sound designer, composed the soundtrack in Logic Studio. Playback was handled by a MacBook running QLab, a top notch application to program and control audio and video media. The canned audio along with 22 wireless microphones was fed into a Mackie TT24. The TT24 can be controlled by a computer via USB, but the software is PC only.
There was no wifi on site, so the iPhone was invaluable for reading email, looking up manuals we had forgotten, or checking the production calendar. I had forgotten to download some attachments before arriving (a license key for QLab and some cheat sheets), but thanks to the tethering hacks available, I was able to get the necessary documents onto the MacBook.
It’s no wonder that the app store is blooming with programs appealing to niche markets. The iPhone is the ultimate multitool. Let’s go beyond the fact that it’s a computer the size of your hand with almost always access to the internet. I believe it’s ubiquity in becoming the do-anything phone comes from the fact it can mimic so many other devices. You can draw with your finger, interact in 3 dimensions, take pictures, record audio, and find your location. I’m excited to see more developers create bluetooth or dock accessories. While Apple’s engineers continue to find new things to include, everyone else can expand what the iPhone can interact with from printers and keyboards to secondary screens and card readers. Apple currently maintains very tight control with what they will and will not allow developed. Apple needs to improve their relationship with iPhone developers and open up what they will allow.