If you’re a three user like myself, you may know that when you sign up, you’re assigned an @three.com.au email address. This is a regular email address you can use on any device to send and receive emails. What you may not know is that three’s voicemail system emails you voicemail messages to that address, with the voicemails attached as .WAV files. The service is free (except for the data it uses) and a good alternative to calling up the voicemail number and working through the voice prompts..

For the last year or so, I’ve had my three email account set up on my iPhone. I haven’t minded using it, but it’s a little inconvenient, particularly because it only works reliably whilst on 3’s data network (ie: not on Wifi).

So, for the last couple of months, I’ve been developing a web app aimed at making listening to your voicemail on 3 a little easier. It’s called 3 Voicemail (original, I know) and it looks like this:

I’ve had a few beta testers playing with it over the last few weeks, and it’s still not 100% complete, but I’m happy enough with it’s state at the moment to release it to a wider audience. For the moment it only retrieves and plays back the messages, but more features will be added whenever I have the time.

If you’d like to use it, follow the instructions below. If you are using it, and have any feedback at all, whether it be “something’s broken” or “I’d like to be able to do X” please let me know.

Get Ready

Before you start, you’ll need your 3 email address [usually firstname.lastnameX@three.com.au] and your voicemail PIN. (Your 3 email address can be found by logging into My3 and going to My Details -> Service Details.)

NOTE: Your voicemail PIN is [probably] different to your account PIN [the account PIN is the one you use to login to my3] so make sure you’ve got the correct one.

Obviously you’ll need some voicemails to listen to, so get a friend/coworker/loved one to call you up an leave a message.

Please also be aware that:

1. Disclaimer: This is in beta, so I can’t guarantee this won’t destroy your iPhone. It shouldn’t, in fact I’m pretty sure it can’t, as it’s just a web app, so it’s like going to any other web page. It hasn’t destroyed mine yet, so I think you should be fine. Anyway, I take no responsibility for anything that happens with your phone as a result of using this app. As a result of my crappy PHP skills, I also can’t guarantee that your information is 100% safe using this app. As far as I can tell, it’s reasonably safe, but If you are at all concerned, don’t use it.

2. Privacy: Usernames and passwords are stored as local cookies on your iPhone, so I don’t see either of those. Your voicemail messages are downloaded as .wav files to my server. I will eventually set up a function to delete them automatically from my server [but not the email server] once the’ve been listened to, but at the moment they stay on my server until I actively delete them. Obviously they take up a lot of room on the server, so I’m deleting them at least twice a week. You have my word that I won’t listen to them, but if you have any privacy concerns, probably don’t use this app.

Instructions

1. Grab your iPhone, open safari, and go to http://andrew.harrison.org/3mail. You can use Wifi or 3G, 3 Voicemail will work with both.
2. You’ll be prompted to add it as a home screen app, so hit the + button on the Safari toolbar, and then “Add to Home Screen”
3. Tap the new icon on the home screen, and the app will launch. Type in your 3 email address and your voicemail PIN, and hit “Onward”. You’ll be taken to the voicemail list.
4. From that list, tap on a message to listen to it. It will take a few seconds to download the message to my web server, and then it will take you to the Quicktime player, where it will download the message to your phone. This can take time, depending on how fast your connection is, and how big the message is. I don’t have any control over it once the Quicktime player appears, so be patient.
5. Once the message has been played back, it will automatically log you back in and show the list of messages again.

When you’re done, you can just quit the app and it will automatically log you in the next time you launch it. If you don’t want that to happen, just hit the logout button before you quit the app, and it will prompt you for your password next time you launch it.

That’s all there is to it at the moment. I have some features planned for the future, and am actively developing it whenever I have spare time. If you have a feature you’d like to see included, feel free to contact me and let me know. If it’s feasible and I think it’s a good idea, I’ll put it on the drawing board.

Once again, any feedback at all is appreciated and encouraged. I’d love to hear what you think of the app, and definitely want to know if you encounter any problems. I’m maintaining a bug list below, so check if the problem you’re having is a known issue.

Known issues

• Non-voicemail messages won’t show, however the messagelist will be blank (rather than showing the “no messages” notice on the login screen) if there are no voicemail messages, but some non-voicemail messages in the inbox.

Before 3 became an official iPhone carrier, I started playing with functions on the iPhone to enable features and automate settings for use on 3. I’ve since created a few different bits and pieces to play with and enhance the user experience whilst using an iPhone on 3.

Contents

1. 3 Voicemail App
2. Simple My3 Usage
3. 3 Carrier Bundle
4. Enable Tethering and MMS (No longer working in 3.1+)

1. 3 Voicemail App

I recommend you read the Full post, as it contains some important privacy information. The quick instructions are as follows:

1. Grab your iPhone, open safari, and go to http://andrew.harrison.org/3mail. You can use Wifi or 3G, 3 Voicemail will work with both.
2. You’ll be prompted to add it as a home screen app, so hit the + button on the Safari toolbar, and then “Add to Home Screen”
3. Tap the new icon on the home screen, and the app will launch. Type in your 3 email address and your voicemail PIN, and hit “Onward”. You’ll be taken to the voicemail list.
4. From that list, tap on a message to listen to it. It will take a few seconds to download the message to my web server, and then it will take you to the Quicktime player, where it will download the message to your phone. This can take time, depending on how fast your connection is, and how big the message is. I don’t have any control over it once the Quicktime player appears, so be patient.
5. Once the message has been played back, it will automatically log you back in and show the list of messages again.

2. Simple My3 Usage

Update

I’ve made a couple of changes to this. You should delete and re-add the Home Screen icon to see the changes. I’m fiddling with this as part of a related, more ambitious project, so stay tuned.

If you’re on 3 with an iPhone, you almost certainly have a data pack. If so, you may also find it frustrating that the My3 portal shows call cap usage and data usage on two different screens, requiring 3 clicks to get between them.

To make it easier, I’ve created a simple page that pulls in both screens [in iframes] and displays them one after the other. It’s also got an icon specified so you can add it as a webclip to your iPhone’s home screen. It will only work when you’re on your mobile data [not on wifi] and will login automagically the same way it does when you go to My3 normally.

3. The 3 Carrier Bundle

Update

iTunes 9/iPhoneOS 3.1 disabled unsigned carrier bundles (or something to that effect – I’m not quite sure what actually changed) so I’ve updated my bundle to v6.4, which seems to get around the problem. I’ll be keeping my bundle at 2 full versions higher than the official bundle from now on, as that seems to make everything keep working.

Apple has allowed authorised carriers to create carrier-specific settings for APNs [internet access points], voicemail, carrier logos, call diversions etc. as a single package called carrier bundles. These bundles are essentially .zip files with the .ipcc extension, and contain images and property list files with the required settings. 3’s carrier bundle disables some features that are nice to have, so I’ve created my own carrier bundle that re-enables these features. Follow the instructions below to install.

Instructions for Mac are as follows. Windows has similar instructions, but step 1 has a different command which can be found here (I can’t vouch that this works, I don’t have a Windows computer/iPhone to test it on).

1. [iTunes 8.2+/iPhone 3.0+ only] Quit iTunes, fire up Terminal and put in the following command: defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE and hit enter.
2. Download the Carrier Bundle and unzip it, you should have an .ipcc file.
3. Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes, then select your iPhone in the sidebar.
4. Hold option and click the “check for update” button and select the .ipcc file. iTunes will load it to the phone. You may need to reboot or remove/replace your SIM/toggle aeroplane mode to see the changes.

4. Enable Tethering and MMS (Redundant and no longer supported)

Update

This method is unnecessary as the carrier bundle above now includes these settings. You only need it if you do not want the rest of the goodies the carrier bundle comes with. THIS METHOD NO LONGER WORKS – UNINSTALL THE PROFILE IN iPhone OS 3.1+

The following solution will allow you to tether your computer to your iPhone and also send MMSes:

1. Fire up MobileSafari on your iPhone and go to the .mobileconfig file directly
2. It will open up an Install Profile screen, telling you it’s going to Enable Tethering. Tap Install.
3. It’ll tell you it’s not authenticated, don’t worry too much about it, it’s just that apparently I’m not an actual mobile phone carrier according to Apple. Hit Install again.
4. It will do its thing, then after about 10 seconds it will have installed. Hit “Done” in the top right. It will take you back to Safari.
5. On your iPhone, go into Settings -> General -> Network, you now should have a new option for “Internet Tethering”. Follow the instructions to set up your Mac for tethering.

MMS Settings need to be added manually as follows:

Go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network

Set up as follows:

• APN: 3services
• Username: [blank]
• Password: [blank]
• MMSC: http://mmsc.three.net.au:10021/mmsc
• MMS Proxy: 10.176.57.25:8799
• MMS Max Message Size: [blank]

A note on customisation

I welcome all feedback and feature requests, however I won’t be customising the carrier bundle or the voicemail app for any other carriers. If you’d like to adapt my methodology for use on other carriers, I’m happy to answer specific questions that you may have.

This post is now here solely for posterity, and will not be updated in the future. I’ve combined all my 3/iPhone related tools into a single entry that contains all the various bits and pieces of information you need to use them.

Update – June 18th

Enabling .ipcc loading

Enterprising Mac users have figured out that a simple defaults command in the terminal can enable .ipcc files to be loaded. The command is: defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE and it means that you can install my 3 carrier bundle. I haven’t yet updated it to include the tethering/MMS instructions but will do so shortly.

.mobileconfig generators etc.

Additionally, it seems that the .mobileconfig method is the way to get around that “we’re going to charge for tethering” bullshit various carriers around the world are spouting. There’s a bunch of already-generated .mobileconfig files at help.benm.at that will let you download them straight to your phone, and someone has built a custom generator at http://tetherme.lstoll.net/. A few people have asked if I can create other files for other carriers. Because I can’t test on any other carrier, I can’t guarantee these files will work, and because of that I don’t want to create them. Use one of the sites above to get one for your carrier.

Thanks

Also, thanks to all the people that have written in both from the contact form and on twitter to say thanks for the .mobileconfig file. I replied to the first few emails, but I’m a bit inundated at the moment so I can’t guarantee I’ll get through all of them.

Enabling Tethering

In iTunes 8.2, Apple disabled the ability to load custom .ipcc files – a set of instructions for setting up your iPhone for a particular carrier. The files also allows the carrier to enable and disable features such as MMS, data roaming, and tethering, and set their carrier logo etc.

[I created a carrier bundle for 3 a few months ago (will now only load on pre-8.2 iTunes or if you've jailbroken)]

As a result of this, it’s impossible to enable tethering on Three, an unsupported carrier, as the feature is disabled by default.

The solution: .mobileconfig. These files – which can contain similar information to .ipcc files, but for specific functions – are allowed by Apple, and are executed on the phone, not through iTunes.

I’ve created a .mobileconfig file containing instructions for enabling tethering on 3.

Instructions

1. Fire up MobileSafari and go to the .mobileconfig file directly OR Download the 3Tether mobileconfig file, unzip it, and email it to yourself, then open up the email on your iPhone and tap the attachment.
2. It will open up an Install Profile screen, telling you it’s going to Enable Tethering. Tap Install.
3. It’ll tell you it’s not authenticated, don’t worry too much about it, it’s just that apparently I’m not an actual mobile phone carrier according to Apple. Hit Install again.
4. It will do its thing, then after about 10 seconds it will have installed. Hit “Done” in the top right. It will take you back to Mail/Safari.
5. On your iPhone, go into Settings -> General -> Network, you now should have a new option for “Internet Tethering”. Turn it on. It will turn bluetooth on if it’s not already.
6. On your Mac, go to the bluetooth menu, and set up your phone as a new device. Follow the prompts – you DO want to set it up as a PAN device.
7. Plug your iPhone into your Mac with the USB cable. You should be prompted to set up a new network device. It’ll be pretty straightforward.

That’s it. If you want to connect via USB, just plug the phone in and it should start straight away. To connect with Bluetooth, just select the iPhone from the bluetooth menu item and select “Connect to Network”.

Update

MMS Settings need to be added manually as follows:

Go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network

Set up as follows:

• APN: 3services
• Username: [blank]
• Password: [blank]
• MMSC: http://mmsc.three.net.au:10021/mmsc
• MMS Proxy: 10.176.57.25:8799
• MMS Max Message Size: [blank]

Note: You may need to restart your phone/remove and replace your SIM/toggle Aeroplane Mode to get the changes to work.

1. Everything in the future is EXTREMELY loud.
2. There are fires everywhere, all the time, even in places uninhabited for extended periods.
3. Despite the decimation of humanity, Sony [the Vaio line in particular] appears to be thriving.
4. If your name is John Connor, people in the future will say it over and over again ad nauseum.
5. If your skeleton has been replaced by metal, but not your internal organs, those organs can be donated.
6. Even if you have a cold, hard, steel skeleton, you will still be warm enough for girls to cuddle you.

__&__     ”I’ve fallen on the ice and I can’t get up.”
H_O_H     ”There’s a boulder on the rugby pitch. Someone call the police!”
~~\o/~~     ”I see a drowning man, but I can’t swim, so he will have to drown.”
>-ii-< iiii     "Go fetch mother, a giant crab is attacking the penguins."
~n=n”- IIIII     ”There’s a wolf at my door and my house is made of sticks. What the hell was I thinking?”

More emoticons here. Other noteworthy posts worth reading over there are 307 (about mail tiles), 306 (about fixing sports) and 309 (about time travel). There are probably more good ones, but I have work to do so you’ll have to find them on your own.

Note: My original Twitter username was @harrisonx. I changed to @adnrw some time in 2008.

Fig. 1: Total amount of tweets over time. The first 100 updates took a long 83 days to be posted, with the next 400 occurring within the next 19 days. The next 1,000 updates took only 41 days. I’d say that 41 days was the point where Twitter became a regular part of my online life.

Fig. 2: Average Tweets per day over time. This graph may as well be called “amount I’m addicted to Twitter”. Once again, after the first 83 days/100 updates, my average tweet rate increased 5-fold in 20 days [that's the steep incline in the graph] and then doubled again over the next 40 days. Over the last 600 days it’s slowly and steadily risen about 20%.

I’ll update this post when I have time to make more pretty graphs.

Smallprint: The graphs are created from a very small set of data [basically: the tweets I've favourited that have relevant data in them, such as my 1-yr twitterversary and 100/200/300 updates etc.] so they aren’t quite accurate. They’ve also been smoothed, so anomalies in the data are not shown – there should be times in fig.2 where the post rate drops significantly whilst I was away etc.

Update for posterity: I currently am following 762, have 759 followers, and 8914 updates.

Marking the celebrations of the now 50-year old iconic museum, a new exhibition, titled From Within Outward, just opened in the Guggenheim in New York, showcasing over 60 works of the museum’s famous creator; none other, than American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Despite that awfully written introduction, Wallpaper have managed to procure a number of images from the exhibition, showing various plans and sketches, as well as what look like models of Wright’s work, including a few buildings that were never constructed.

It’s all fixed now, and everything should be back to normal.

Update: Apparently I spoke too soon, and got the new structure wrong. All better now.

The fires at the moment have destroyed around 250,000 hectares [about 620,000 acres or 1,000 sq miles] and has destroyed entire towns. 750 homes have been lost.

Because the winds were so fierce, and changed direction, the fire spread extremely quickly and unpredictably. People were trapped before they could activate their fire plans.

Many of the places affected by the fires are small towns, places no one would otherwise know about. But a lot of them are larger areas, places people visit on holidays and the like.

Marysville, a town that has been completely destroyed, was a popular town amongst our family and friends for holidays when we were younger. Kinglake, where the majority of the homes have been lost, was where Habo had its camp last year. Healesville, which has not been terribly hit but still badly affected, is a popular tourist spot, often travelled to with Melbournians that have friends visiting Melbourne. I’ve been through Koo Wee Rup a dozen times on the way to various camps and holidays.

It’s absolutely terrifying.

At last count, the official death toll stands at 108. It started at 25 at lunch time yesterday [about 18 hours ago] and watching it go up by the hour was just devastating.

About 30-40 people have died in their cars on the side of the road as they tried to flee. There are scores of paddocks full of dead livestock. Trees are blackened, having exploded upon catching fire. Houses are decimated. People’s entire lives have been destroyed. The footage on the news and photos online are just awful.

They’re the worst bushfires here in history, surpassing Ash Wednesday in 1983 and Black Friday in 1939.

If you’re interested in reading more, the best news coverage is from ABC News and The Age.

Update: 173 have now been confirmed dead, with the highest estimate being 300. The total area affected is now around 300,000 ha – approximately one third of the state.

The Big Picture has some excellent photos of the devastation.