So, I was out at the Apple store in Ralleigh, NC this weekend while my brother got his iPhone. (yea, a little jealous)  While there, I thought I’d check my facebook account on their WiFi.  The facebook app came up blank for a couple of seconds and then went away.  Seemed strange, so I tried it again and then tried 3 other apps which all failed as well.

A little background:  Before leaving for the weekend I’d updated to the 2.0.1 firmware released the night before.  As it turns out this corrupted my downloaded apps and rendered them useless.  The blue shirts (specialists) at the Apple store took a look, but didn’t know what to do and suggested I try to restore it from the last backup.  Not satisfied with that answer, I messed around with it while my brother was getting his phone activated.  The quick solution I found was to delete the apps and download them again from the app store.

Apple keeps track of what you’ve purchased, so if you’re worried about having to pay for it again, don’t.  (I wasn’t concerned as all the apps I have so far have been freebies…)  The app store states that you’ve already purchased the app and asks you if you really want to download it again. This was a minor inconvenience, but much better than the restore that I wouldn’t have been able to do for a few days.  (being away from home and all…)

So how do you delete the apps you ask?  Simple:  just touch an app icon and hold until it shakes.  Then tap the (X) on each app you’d like to delete.  (only works on 3rd party apps…)  I also asked a blue shirt about the possibility of Apple releasing a Tasks app that syncs like the other included apps (ActiveSync) and was told that Apple doesn’t make apps for the app store, only 3rd parties.  Since I had an Apple branded app from the app store on my iPod at that very moment, I was no longer inclined to ask the blue shirts anything.  Apple obviously doesn’t keep them very well informed.  (not too excited about the “geniuses” either…)  Don’t worry Steve, I still love you’re gear…