Apple releases iPhone OS 4.0 beta 2 to developers
A second, pre-release version of iPhone OS 4.0 has been released to developers building apps designed for the new system, just weeks after Apple announced the initial beta.
The new beta of the upcoming 4.0 reference release includes "significant API additions" as well as a new tool that makes it easy to provision a device for development, developers familiar with the new software report.
The new APIs largely flesh out the new multitasking and background processing features related to audio, VoIP telephony, location services, and Task Completion. Apps can now request a ten minute period to complete a task, up from an initial five minutes.
The new build also includes a new animation effect in the multitasking user interface, which swipes the current app out of view to reveal the app the user chooses (below, from the Italian iPhoneHacks.it).
Improvements to GameKit (publicly branded as Game Center) and expanded support for Internet mail features are also rolled into the new release, as well as support for LLVM-GCC and Clang LLVM as new compiler options for iPhone development.
The new beta of the upcoming 4.0 reference release includes "significant API additions" as well as a new tool that makes it easy to provision a device for development, developers familiar with the new software report.
The new APIs largely flesh out the new multitasking and background processing features related to audio, VoIP telephony, location services, and Task Completion. Apps can now request a ten minute period to complete a task, up from an initial five minutes.
The new build also includes a new animation effect in the multitasking user interface, which swipes the current app out of view to reveal the app the user chooses (below, from the Italian iPhoneHacks.it).
Improvements to GameKit (publicly branded as Game Center) and expanded support for Internet mail features are also rolled into the new release, as well as support for LLVM-GCC and Clang LLVM as new compiler options for iPhone development.
Comments
My big hope of course is better document handling but I'm not holding my breath
Am liking the idea that beta updates bring more stuff though.
All I really care about is the addition of a proper Dvorak keyboard. The cost of doing the update is probably much less than the profit of 100K+ dvorak users who would instantly buy the iPhone as result. But I'm not holding my breath.
+1
Jeebus how difficult is it to bring Dvorak to a virtual KB?
+1
Jeebus how difficult is it to bring Dvorak to a virtual KB?
It'd probably take one of Apple's programmers a few minutes or less. Just set up the new keys and layout.
Improvements to GameKit (publicly branded as Game Center)...
Doesn't GameKit include Game Center? Something called GameKit is available in OS 3.0 (I think it lets you connect iPhones/touches locally, among other things).
Also, the current iteration of Pandora does NOT play in the background.
All I really care about is the addition of a proper Dvorak keyboard. The cost of doing the update is probably much less than the profit of 100K+ dvorak users who would instantly buy the iPhone as result. But I'm not holding my breath.
The world uses Qwerty, sorry.
Also, the current iteration of Pandora does NOT play in the background.
Pandora has to apply the multitasking API to the app. You wan't see it in tell it released.
All I really care about is the addition of a proper Dvorak keyboard. The cost of doing the update is probably much less than the profit of 100K+ dvorak users who would instantly buy the iPhone as result. But I'm not holding my breath.
There are plenty of Dvorak keyboards if you Jailbreak.
There are plenty of Dvorak keyboards if you Jailbreak.
The fact that there are "plenty" Dvorak keyboards if you jailbreak just proves how lame they are. It's confirmation that they are only of interest to obsessive geeks with binary personalities. Android market has almost nothing that is of any value to regular real people, all the apps are ugly geeky copies of iPhone apps.
If Android gives the developer the "freedom to create," why hasn't anyone made anything for Android that's actually useful (to more than the developer), that actually works (without bugs), and has an interface that isn't some butt-ugly monstrosity from the last century?
The fact that there are "plenty" Dvorak keyboards if you jailbreak just proves how lame they are.
How exactly does one relate to the other? While it's true that the Dvorak layout is not as popular, that still doesn't change the fact that if you do learn the layout you can type significantly faster with much less fatigue and chance for repetitive injury.
It has nothing to do with Dvorak being "lame" or only for geeks. Nice red herring tho!
The world uses Qwerty, sorry.
The english speaking world does, yes. Go anywhere else, and the keyboard is either slightly different (western europe), quite different (eastern europe), or massively different (all parts of asia -- arabic, chinese, etc). In Mac OS X at least, there is support for dozens of keyboard languages that have fewer mac or iPhone users than there are english speaking dvorak users. Of course, OS X also has phenomenal dvorak support, built-in.
I use dvorak because I broke my wrist 5 years ago and am now prone to RSI... aka repetitive stress injuries. I had to have two surgeries to clear up carpal tunnel brought on by the trauma of the wrist injury. People do incredibly asinine things to mitigate RSI, like buying funky-shaped keyboards, wrist pads, etc. Guess what: the amount of time it takes to get used to Dvorak is less than the time it takes to get used to an "ergonomic" keyboard. Moreover, companies go out of their way to support the "disabled." This can't be profitable. Most Dvorak users I know did so because of RSI, and got hooked because it's so damn good. Supporting Dvorak thus benefits the "disabled" and probably makes profit. I can see this as being one of those things that Steve has axed because he's a complete douchebag -- that is his character. If Google releases a Dvorak layout on their phone, I'm going there.
And external video display of any iphone screen, not just video playback. It's already there - they use it in every iPhone demo - why can't they let the rest of us use it?
How exactly does one relate to the other? While it's true that the Dvorak layout is not as popular, that still doesn't change the fact that if you do learn the layout you can type significantly faster with much less fatigue and chance for repetitive injury.
Actually, no.
Dvorak is snake-oil and has been debunked in the past.
http://reason.com/archives/1996/06/01/typing-errors
http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...o-slow-typists
Wonder if this beta has Find My iPhone working?
Nope.