iPhone Software 2.1 to stifle open source copy-and-paste effort

[AppleInsider]

An open source project aimed at bringing universal copy-and-paste support to Apple's iPhone has hit a major roadblock due to security-related changes in the next version of iPhone software, according to the group's organizers.

The initiative, dubbed OpenClip, was conceived by student developer Zac White earlier this month after an Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority. Many iPhone users worldwide don't agree with that stance, however, and often single out a lack of the feature as one of the handset's most glaring omissions.

To address the problem, OpenClip sought to develop an source framework that developers could use as a means of implementing the Cocoa-based NSPasteboard functionality into their apps, without violating the terms of Apple's iPhone Software Developers Kit.

Essentially, the framework made it easy for iPhone developers to utilizes a shared space on the iPhone, allowing any application that used the new framework to read and write data from the common area, thereby allowing copy-and-paste between participating apps. A video demonstrating the concept can be seen below.

Developers of nearly a dozen applications almost immediately vouched support for framework. Future versions of Twittelator, MobileChat, and MagicPad were listed on the OpenClip website among the applications that would eventually see support for the unofficial copy-and-paste framework. But not if it runs counter to Apple's plans to plug perceived security holes in the iPhone's software.

On Friday, White updated the OpenClip website, noting that changes discovered in beta 4 of the upcoming iPhone Software 2.1 break his copy-and-paste concept because the new software no longer allows apps to access to the common storage area of other apps.

Cut and Paste for iPhone from Cali Lewis on Vimeo.

White's not throwing in the towel just yet, however, arguing that "though Apple is killing the concept behind the current OpenClip, that doesn't mean we can't change the concept." His new idea proposals include a share clipboard that could be stored in an Address Book card or even on a remote server.

"The address book version, would have to write a very weird looking address book card to your address book. It would probably get synced and it would show up on your Mac or PC or even MobileMe. I'm not too cracked up about that, but I would be interested to know what users think of that," he wrote. "The network solution is impossible for Apple to shut down, but it is no easy task."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

... Apple's move to circumvent the OpenClip initiative begs the question of whether the company's official copy-and-support solution for the iPhone (and iPod touch) has been re-prioritized in light of recent third-party activity...

This is wrong. As mentioned on John Gruber's website days ago the changes in iPhone OS 2.1 were in the works from the beginning and the developers of OpenClip knew that from the start. Apple is not "circumventing" OpenClip, OpenClip was taking advantage of a temporary "hole" that was always going to be closed.

[Enigmafan420]

It is clear that this is an in-demand feature that is lacking from iPhone OS. If Apple doesn't want a 3rd party solution-they better offer the feature and quickly.

Love my Jailbreak for my phone-Apple has little to say about unofficial software

[sandau]

Apple kills clippy.



but personally, i haven't had a real need to copy and paste, but others might.

i'd rather have the capability to play my music while using my game applications. this is silly.

[woofpup]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

This is wrong. As mentioned on John Gruber's website days ago the changes in iPhone OS 2.1 were in the works from the beginning and the developers of OpenClip knew that from the start. Apple is not "circumventing" OpenClip, OpenClip was taking advantage of a temporary "hole" that was always going to be closed.

Yes, Apple is simply closing what they deem a security risk; they don't want malicious code to be able to sniff data from a common location that apps share. If apps can see each other's data (via a common app storage area), then there is a security risk - in Apple's collective mind.
Hopefully, Apple will come up with their own solution.

[SpamSandwich]

Whatever, they should allow this kind of invention to continue. Especially because it comes from people who clearly love to use Apple products.

[Matthew Yohe]

"Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority. Millions of iPhone users worldwide don't agree with that stance,"

Source?

A Google search +Copy +Paste +iPhone finds under 1 million pages. I'm sure many do want copy and paste, but you can't just blindly say that millions don't agree without some source.

[sapporobaby]

Originally Posted by spamsandwich

whatever, they should allow this kind of invention to continue. Especially because it comes from people who clearly love to use apple products.

thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you !

[Ringo]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Meanwhile, Apple's move to circumvent the OpenClip initiative begs the question of whether the company's official copy-and-support solution for the iPhone (and iPod touch) has been re-prioritized in light of recent third-party activity.

This statement really hurts my brain. That's quite a statement considering that the iPhone developer documentation states that such an action should not be possible (the fact that it was possible in 2.0 - 2.0.2 was a bug). Further, the beta that closed the hole was seeded to developers before the OpenClip project detailed the inner workings of their framework. Either Apple has a man inside the project (tinfoil hat time!) or they simply fixed what is clearly a bug.

[Hudson1]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Whatever, they should allow this kind of invention to continue. Especially because it comes from people who clearly love to use Apple products.

Not if Apple has any intention for the iPhone to gain traction among corporate users. For the iPhone to be accepted there, Apple is going to have to convince them that it's as secure as a Blackberry. Permitting applications to blow holes through security sure won't help that cause.

[Foo2]

Being able to search web pages and e-mails for text strings is of far greater importance to me. Not that copy/cut/paste isn't desired.

[TranceMist]

It's surprising that Apple doesn't have cut-n-paste on the iPhone to begin with.

However, it's not that surprising when put in context with the fact that they're in bed with the Recording Ass. Of America.

[ktappe]

Originally Posted by Hudson1

For the iPhone to be accepted (among corporate users), Apple is going to have to convince them that it's as secure as a Blackberry. Permitting applications to blow holes through security sure won't help that cause.

OK, so Apple should implement cut & paste, and THEN fix the security hole. It's their order of operations here that is going to irk a lot of people.

Or Apple could actually determine if the data being written to (or already in) the shared area was written by the function call that has been agreed to by the development community. If so, Apple could allow the data to remain, but block all other accesses to that shared area. Point is, there is a way for Apple to allow this function to continue while also tightening security. But noooo, Apple must do it their way and everyone else gets the highway.

People ask me frequently if I'm happy with my iPhone. I hesitate. They notice this. And the reason I hesitate is because of things like the cut & paste deal and new firmware. The iPhone is great, but it could be astounding. It's Apple keeping the platform from improving at this point. They need to let their baby bird out of the nest to spread its own wings.

[F1Turbo]

Originally Posted by Foo2

Being able to search web pages and e-mails for text strings is of far greater importance to me. Not that copy/cut/paste isn't desired.

+1

We need Spotlight search on the iPhone.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Whatever, they should allow this kind of invention to continue. Especially because it comes from people who clearly love to use Apple products.

and here we see that the exciting inaccuracy about Apple "circumventing" hackers promulgated in this article takes root in the public mind ...

Seriously, I'm sure the news is more exciting this way, but could AppleInsider do a bit of research maybe?

Now the whole story is going to be about Apple "shutting down" the OpenClip guys when in fact that's the central inaccuracy of the article.

[gilles_deleuze]

Using an addressbook entry to store clipboard data? Come on, copy-paste should not be based on a hack. I'm sure Apple will implement something pretty soon.

Also, I agree that a sandboxed app should not be able to read from other apps' directories unless that's explicitly sanctioned by the API. Wonder how such a glaring omission ever made it into ANY build of the iPhone software.

[solipsism]

I like Zac White's take on all this. He is thought through a solution and then is trying to find alternatives instead of complaining when Apple patches up a hole. His video on how Apple could implement a systemwide copy/paste is very thorough. I think Apple will do pretty much everything, if not everything, he discusses in the video, below. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a gander. White even discusses how Apple has a lot more hurdles to tackle than White had for hi MagicPad app.

• http://magicpad.proximi.com/video.php (video)

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Apple is not "circumventing" OpenClip, OpenClip was taking advantage of a temporary "hole" that was always going to be closed.

That is very sensationalist on AI's part.

Originally Posted by Matthew Yohe

"Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority. Millions of iPhone users worldwide don't agree with that stance,"

I agree with Apple, here. I want the current features to be ironed out first. I want the phone to be stable. That is a lot of stuff to take care of and should all come before Apple introduces another feature to the mix, especially one that requires every single applicable application to be rewritten to include this feature. It's just adding a Clipboard, it's adding all the ways a user can execute a cut/copy/paste function.

Originally Posted by Foo2

Being able to search web pages and e-mails for text strings is of far greater importance to me. Not that copy/cut/paste isn't desired.

That would be nice to have, as well as Mail searching. How could that be implemented in Safari?

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by sandau

...personally, i haven't had a real need to copy and paste, but others might.

I haven't really either. When I say really though, that means I have had, but not often. When you do need it though it would be great to have, and it should be added. As I said before; I think they should add text clipping using the magnifier and a prolonged still hold to initiate it.

Like this!

[Kasper]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Fix the article already.

I fixed Katie's article an hour ago. I addressed the issue almost immediately. Maybe your cache is still showing the initial revision.

K

[wizard69]

Sad but true, this really is poor reporting on Appleinsiders part.

As to cloy and paste well if go about purposefully trying to implement something that is clearly the domain of your toolkit supplier you are bound to run into problems.

As to Apple and IPhone bugs; well this is about the worst software release I've ever seen from Apple. I spport them 100% in their quest to fix all the bugs in 2.0.x. There are more than a few!!!!!!!!!!!!! In any event I thought that Apple already had a way to exchange data via URLs. Maybe that could be extended to copy and past.

As to Appleinsider please realize that your credibility is tied to your reporting. We don't expect the accuracy and research of the Wall Street Journal but at least a little effort. If you continue down the path of sounding like a womans supermarket magazine you are bound to loose a considerable amount of readership.


Dave

[Cleverboy]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

This is wrong. As mentioned on John Gruber's website days ago the changes in iPhone OS 2.1 were in the works from the beginning and the developers of OpenClip knew that from the start. Apple is not "circumventing" OpenClip, OpenClip was taking advantage of a temporary "hole" that was always going to be closed.

AGREED! PLEASE correct this article. This is poor misinformation bordering on propoganda. Please read Gruber's article. When Apple screws up, I want to hear about it. When a developer misfires on what they thought was possible, blame should go where it belongs.

~ CB

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Cleverboy

AGREED! PLEASE correct this article.

Kasper wrote this 15 minutes ago to Virgil...

I fixed Katie's article an hour ago. I addressed the issue almost immediately. Maybe your cache is still showing the initial revision.

[onceuponamac]

cut and paste will hopefully be added by apple - it would be a great add. A this point - I'm just hopeful that they do something about reception issues and battery life - ever since installing 2.02 - my battery gets to only 20% in less than 5 hours and this is with only moderate use... unfortunately, I'm out of the 30 day window so I can't return the device - but I plan to try....

[bloggerblog]

off topic: Safari on the iPhone should be made to cache opened websites. It currently reloads the whole page every time I switch from one window to another. It should never have to reload open pages except when the user hits the reload button.

[Fast Fred 1]

Originally Posted by onceuponamac

cut and paste will hopefully be added by apple - it would be a great add. A this point - I'm just hopeful that they do something about reception issues and battery life - ever since installing 2.02 - my battery gets to only 20% in less than 5 hours and this is with only moderate use... unfortunately, I'm out of the 30 day window so I can't return the device - but I plan to try....

Yeah I'm waiting for better battery life..... i'm working on this cool Stun Gun App.

[ktappe]

Originally Posted by gilles_deleuze

copy-paste should not be based on a hack. I'm sure Apple will implement something pretty soon.

That's what people were saying 9 months ago.

[Cleverboy]

Originally Posted by ktappe

OK, so Apple should implement cut & paste, and THEN fix the security hole. It's their order of operations here that is going to irk a lot of people.

Exactly WRONG. The "order" is that 2.1 was in beta, without the security problem, before OpenClip was even proposed. You should read the Gruber article. Here it is, for anyone too lazy to Google it:
http://daringfireball.net/2008/08/ra...penclip_parade

This is not accurate. It’s more like “slipping through a temporary loophole” than “no foul”.

Not simply that no other application can write to, but which no other application can access. That this restriction is not yet enforced at a technical level (such as is the case with an app attempting to write outside its own sandbox) does not mean it’s permitted.

And, indeed, in the 2.1b4 release of the iPhone OS, it is enforced. The OpenClip demo apps, which work as advertised on iPhone OS 2.0.2, do not work in the current 2.1 beta, because apps are no longer able to read or even see other apps’ sandboxes.3 To be clear, this change is clearly not in response to OpenClip; Apple began seeding the 2.1 betas with these tightened sandbox restrictions before OpenClip debuted, and the iPhone OS Programming Guide has stated all along that apps can’t “access” the contents of other sandboxes.

DO YOUR RESEARCH.

~ CB

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by onceuponamac

cut and paste will hopefully be added by apple - it would be a great add. A this point - I'm just hopeful that they do something about reception issues and battery life - ever since installing 2.02 - my battery gets to only 20% in less than 5 hours and this is with only moderate use... unfortunately, I'm out of the 30 day window so I can't return the device - but I plan to try....

Apple has some great hints re battery life: http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

Great reception here and promising to get better. Maybe as these two article report, reception is not Apples doing as much as it it the carriers'. http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/0...-iphone-3.html and http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=444&a=440573

Rogers has been great. EDGE ...126kbps 3G .... 1.411Mbps and apparently as they up the cap it will be even better.

By the way, I got my bill the other day and my Data Usage is only 42 MBs for the first 3 week. Can't see how I will ever max 400 MBs let alone the 6 GBs got on the intro deal.

Anybody else wish to disclose their actual usage, or am I right to presume that most of the folks that participate here don't have an iPhone in the first place?

Oh, back to the article, can't for the life of me think of where I would need copy and paste on the iPhone to such a degree as to become so paranoid as some express here. Speaking for the dozen or so colleagues who also have an iPhone, this is one feature, or lack thereof, that has yet to be mentioned let alone a concern.

[onceuponamac]

i used just over 130,000 KB my first month - hard to imagine getting anything close to 6GB (although, we have unlimited data in my jurisdiction) unless they enable movie downloading via wireless v. wifi...

[EruIthildur]

Originally Posted by onceuponamac

i used just over 130,000 KB my first month - hard to imagine getting anything close to 6GB (although, we have unlimited data in my jurisdiction) unless they enable movie downloading via wireless v. wifi...

Heh. I don't use a 'ton' of data compared to what people my age usually do, but I'm at 1.5GB for the first month, and I'll probably hit that agin this next month. If someone didn't have anything to do this Summer with the iPhone, 6 GB is entirely likely.

[†MiMiC]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Whatever, they should allow this kind of invention to continue. Especially because it comes from people who clearly love to use Apple products.

Exactly! If this is a security issue, then Apple should work to allow this while maintaining security.

Originally Posted by Matthew Yohe

"Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority. Millions of iPhone users worldwide don't agree with that stance,"

Source?

A Google search +Copy +Paste +iPhone finds under 1 million pages. I'm sure many do want copy and paste, but you can't just blindly say that millions don't agree without some source.

I for one!

[TenoBell]

Originally Posted by †MiMiC

Exactly! If this is a security issue, then Apple should work to allow this while maintaining security.

How exactly do you secure a security hole while leaving it open?

[TenoBell]

Originally Posted by Abster2core

Anybody else wish to disclose their actual usage, or am I right to presume that most of the folks that participate here don't have an iPhone in the first place?

I felt I used the first iPhone regularly last year. When I switched to the new iPhone, I saw that over the past year I'd downloaded a whopping 3.5GB.

[emulator]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

How exactly do you secure a security hole while leaving it open?

Hey, it's Apple; they can even do that. According to the millions of iPhone users, they invented 3G after all.

[iPeon]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The initiative, dubbed OpenClip, was conceived by student developer Zac White earlier this month after an Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority.[/url][/c]

Sensationalism reporting at it's best. Did Apple say that it would never, ever implement copy and paste into the iPhone?

Low priority until what is achieved? Or is it low priority forever? Given the issues surrounding V2.0 one can see why copy and paste is a low priority at this time.

Reporting half truths is irresponsible of you AI.

[gilles_deleuze]

Originally Posted by Abster2core

can't for the life of me think of where I would need copy and paste on the iPhone to such a degree as to become so paranoid as some express here. Speaking for the dozen or so colleagues who also have an iPhone, this is one feature, or lack thereof, that has yet to be mentioned let alone a concern.

It's not a deal-breaker, but there are plenty of everyday situations where a simple copy-paste would come in handy. Say, somebody emails you to meet her on Niwuwezijds Voorburgwal and you want to look the street up in Maps. Unless you speak Dutch or have photographic memory, you'll find yourself switching back and forth between the apps and cursing whoever considered copy-paste extraneous or low priority.

[Cleverboy]

Originally Posted by Kasper

I fixed Katie's article an hour ago. I addressed the issue almost immediately. Maybe your cache is still showing the initial revision.
K

The problem for me, is that I read the original article, and even "immediately" beggars an "UPDATED:" notation, especially when the title of the article continues to give the false impression that the 2.1 update will "stifle open source copy-and-paste effort", when it would be much more accurate to say that the 2.1 update will "pose a challenge to the open source copy-and-paste effort". To "stifle" something isn't a passive action like what we have here.

The reason why this bugs me, is that people count on sites like this to give them accurate information AND impressions, and I think its absolutely great when those impressions are accurate. One of the reasons I don't read Gizmodo much, is because they have a tendency to be more "sensationalistic" in how they portray stories. Apple Insider has been much more analytical, and that's why I like it... and where I see an excellent mark of distinction.

Much like Gruber, I immediately found OpenClip's assertion regarding a "shared area" very curious, considering that seemed to defeat the purpose of sandboxing each application (application interchangeability being the main reason an office suite isn't practical yet). I didn't have the background to dig into the code or find a clear description of what it was doing, but verifying the long term viability of such a "shared area" sounded like a huge priority before engaging in substantive development.

It's looking like this was more a developer gaff than any intentional action on Apple's part to "stifle" the 3rd party development of copy and paste. The "Address Book" method also sounds dubious at this point. I'm curious if anyone has thought to use a WebKit instance to store copy/paste info in a client-side database? That seems like an extremely viable and very sturdy avenue to build on. Any clientside HTML would have the same domain and thereby the same access to the database created and viewable through the iPhone's "Settings" area, like Google Translate's database is.

~ CB

[Cleverboy]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The initiative, dubbed OpenClip, was conceived by student developer Zac White earlier this month after an Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality on the iPhone remains a low priority. Many iPhone users worldwide don't agree with that stance, however, and often single out a lack of the feature as one of the handset's most glaring omissions.

I also want to point out another inaccuracy in the article that still remains. Copy & Paste does not "remain a low priority" for Apple. This is more "creating" of the news. The paraphrased quote from Joswiak that this is supposedly derived from says:

Why isn’t there cut and paste? Apple has a priority list of features, and they got as far as they could down that list with this model, Joswiak said. In other words, they don’t have anything against cut and paste. They just judged other things to be more important.

Which means, we don't know WHERE copy & paste is relatively on Apple's list of "to dos". We don't know if its HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW. We just know that it hasn't been completed yet, but that Apple is aware of the request. Back in January, an Apple representative had allegedly been tapped for info by SvenonTech, and had said:

Well, I hunted someone down at Macworld to give me the answers and after a long search and pass off after pass off from Apple employee to Apple employee, I finally got an answer. The deal is, Apple is aware of the desire for this option and it is working on it in the labs as we speak. The trouble it is having is implementation. How to easily call up a copy or cut option and then the paste action.

John Gruber also noted that it seemed very reasonable to be an implementation related issue and not simply a "low priority" dismissal of the need.

The reason its important not to cede this point, is that Apple is known to work very hard on its interface issues, and generally arrives at an implementation that is at once uniform and deeply considered for its unintended impact. We know from various reports that Apple had been working on a useable model for their iPhone SDK shortly after the iPhone's launch. Reading all the quotes from Apple, "Web Apps" was always one level of a multi-prong strategy for what Apple wanted to promote. --When Jobs finally made his announcement, it was characterized as "giving in" even though even Erica Sadun, from TUAW had noted how accessible (while rough and unfinished) the system was to program.

Unlike the "half-ass and ship it" or "inconsistency city" mentality that other phone makers have employed I can appreciate that Apple seems to be concentrating on creating as secure and consistent an interface for developers, as they are for consumers. I'm still a little disappointed that Microsoft's "Deep Fish", which seemed to be so much of what people wanted to see... never actually got out of the "Technical Preview" stage, and was recently... and finally killed off. It does however show, that companies like Microsoft and Apple can work very hard on things... that in the end, may never be truly acknowledged for the sweat equity put into it.

Recently, Apple's removal of "Push Notifications" from the latest beta builds of the iPhone OS, was reported in some circles as some form of "abandonment" of the promise to provide the service.

Apple provides little explanation for the removal and says only that the notification code has been pulled for "further development" inside the company -- with no mention of whether it will reappear in a future beta.

Taking the service out of the beta version puts non-Apple developers at a temporary loss, making it impractical for them to further development of new apps and updates that will depend on live, always-on data until the feature is returned to these handsets.

The last sentence seems to be struggling to decide whether:

a.) Apple is going back on its promise to provide the feature. b.) Having the feature appear in betas only to be recently removed from a new beta, is of serious concern to non-Apple developers. c.) Having the feature's architecture reworked affects present concerns for the development community.

I'm thinking "none of the above". The context of this update, to me... would be served by knowing whether there were growing problems borne out in the existing implementation, whether the existing implementations were vestigial or somewhat fully working features, or at the very least... much more context regarding whether Apple has played "pick-a-boo" with important publicly announced new features before in their beta periods. Also, because "notification" relates to Mobile Me, it would have been nice to highlight Apple's problems with that rollout, and note that overhauling the architecture of the Push Notify system might also relate to the appointment of Eddy Cue to head up (in Job's words) "all of our Internet services" (iTunes, App Store, and MobileMe).

Yet... the article seemed to focus more on the idea of Apple taking something away, instead of giving insight into the workings of the beast (something Ars Technica seems to do a good job at on a regular basis, and Apple Insiders In-Depth series have been excellent for).

Wordy criticism, I know... but if it helps to keep AI on its toes, hopefully its a help.

~ CB

[mdriftmeyer]

The Pasteboard Server for the iPhone will need to be done right, by Apple, before it's universal in the iPhone.

These "ideas" show very bad design choices and hacks to get rudimentary support that isn't going to be around for long.

[punchycool]

Clipboard is entirely necessary, if for only one small purpose that I for one use almost every day.

You have a meeting to attend; you go to your calendar and find the meeting is hosted by your clients, and you need to capture the 10-digit conference bridge line, and then remember a 6-digit passcode, and perhaps a leader code.

I should be able to copy the phone number and passcode(s), paste it into the phone dialer, back out the extra non-phone number digits, and dial it. Then, I should be able to do another paste and back out the phone number leaving the passcode in the phone dialer.

Of course, a better action would be to allow all semi-decently formatted phone numbers (perhaps 2-4 ways) to be clickable - and it generates a call.

Or I could stick with my pack of postIT notes and my manual ink pen to do the job

-Paul