It looks as if iOS 4.2 aggravated the occasional problem with the compass getting stuck on North. That helped me track it down. It apparently wasn’t an iOS bug that I originally thought, but came as a result of something that was really badly documented in the way the magnetometer was being handled. And 4.2 made it more sensitive to that issue. My 3GS on 4.1 works fine, but my iPhone 4 on 4.2.1 was hit and miss when it came to aiming. But...

It seems as if the compass has gotten wonkier over the past few weeks. It was pretty stable for me at least until recently. I’ll hit the boards and see what the story is on this. Maybe a subtle mod in 4.2 perhaps.

Early Thursday morning, November 18, is the peak of the legendary Leonid meteor shower. It is expected to deliver a modest 15 to 25 meteors per hour as compared to thousands at peak years (2002/2003), but fun nonetheless. Best times to observe are predawn on Thursday, but if you’re hardcore about this, you can start late Wednesday evening. Bring popcorn and hot cocoa, and of course, your iPhoneTouchPad. To commemorate this event and to help my...

I have just uploaded the most current preference and quickstart files for both Distant Suns 2 and Distant Suns 3. Several users have asked for these so they can reference them off line. Download them here .

October 16, Saturday is the Fall Astronomy Day (not to be confused with the Spring Astronomy Day). Amateurs from around the world are asked to haul out ol’ “Betsy” or whatever they name their telescope, over the weekend to let their friends and neighbors have their very first ever look through a scope. So to encourage people to look up, I am offering Distant Suns 2 for sale at only $.99. Distant Suns 3 is also on sale for half off, and is...

Good news, for all of you patient and kind Distant Suns types, 3.1.1 went up live to the Appstore last night fixing the compass bug that caused it to flip 180 degrees when in landscape mode. A  number of smaller things were tossed into the mix. Some have reported the compass staying stuck on North. I see that at times but it goes away when I change my position by a few feet.. So I am convinced that it is an iPhone/iPad issue and not a Distant...