New operating system for Apple Tablets

Just upgraded both my iPod Touch and iPad with the new IOS 4.2. So far so good - it adds a lot of good features to the system that were sorely needed (like you can play music while surfing the web or working on it). Also, the new folders really help to clean up the desktop.

Anyone else upgrade yet and what do you think of the upgrade?

Gonna do it this evening for home and tomorrow as test for the 1000+ we are looking to roll out at work.

Just to give you a heads up, Al - it took a little over a half hour to download the update and install it. Of course, iTunes does all the work, but I still thought I'd let you know how long it'll take.

I wonder if they are getting bandwidth slammed.

H_Rocket said:

I wonder if they are getting bandwidth slammed.

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I doubt it; it's a pretty big file and it requires a full backup and restore to install it. I was running the Gold Master version on my iPad for several weeks before upgrading to the released version yesterday. It's a very worthwhile upgrade to do.

Mario

I upgraded and my iPad is better behaved when it comes to frequency-hopping Wi-Fi.

OT - can anyone port OpenRocket to an iPad App? I'd pay 9.99 for that!

H_Rocket said:

I wonder if they are getting bandwidth slammed.

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My question is, does downloading/installing a needed update count against people on a structured data plan?

gdiscenza said:

I upgraded and my iPad is better behaved when it comes to frequency-hopping Wi-Fi.

OT - can anyone port OpenRocket to an iPad App? I'd pay 9.99 for that!

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That would be awesome, but since it is written in Java, not a trivial task.

Any sign of AirPrint?

bytesiz said:

That would be awesome, but since it is written in Java, not a trivial task.

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There appears to be a JRE port in Cydia. Anyone know the state of that?

MarkII said:

Any sign of AirPrint?

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AirPrint is included in the release. It works well printing to a Epson printer shared by my Windows 7 host.

I don't currently have a wireless printer so the AirPrint feature isn't useful for me right now. A close friend of mine (who bought his iPad the first day of release so we had to drive to Louisville and stand in line for a couple hours to get it) also has the new Apple TV and says the AirPlay feature works great. I really like the folders and multitasking, but changing the orientation lock switch to a mute button making a fairly complex series of actions do what that switch used to do sa little annoying. Oh well - the new op system does make the iPad a bit easier to use and more useful for me.

mperdue said:

AirPrint is included in the release. It works well printing to a Epson printer shared by my Windows 7 host.

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I found it. It works fine with my HP Photosmart Plus. I am doing a shakedown and setup for an iPad that is a gift to a family member. (Can't afford one for myself! ) The giftee doesn't have, has never had and has never used a computer. (I know - this is a bit of a gamble. It was not my idea.) The success of the gift is dependent upon being able to use the iPad, including printing from it, without ever using a host computer.

I don't see how I can view photos on my TV. Isn't that part of the upgrade?

After having to uninstall my iTunes, uninstall Quicktime, reinstall both, then download the new software, then install the software on my iTouch (a process that took over 2 hours) I finally got the new update on my Itouch. After the half hope download onto it I restart my Itouch and I rest out the be software.

Cool the folders are nice its working great now let me do something productive.....ok all music related apps in one folder. Ok two apps in...three....bring for over, then let go....wait....its not doing anything....wtf....try stopping things....frozen.....dang it...home button, home button, home button...nothing......top button....nothing....damn...force shut down....finally something....

It went off and now it back on and everything else is great!

Sorry I was hoping for better

Gnomad said:

There appears to be a JRE port in Cydia. Anyone know the state of that?

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AFAIK it exists, but Apple doesn't allow things written in environments other than Cocoa/Obj-c. Although, they have apparently loosened the rules somewhat of late.
On the other hand, a port of OpenRocket to Android would probably be much easier, as a lot of the java code could be re-used. You'd need to completely re-do the interface though.

Marlin523 said:

I don't see how I can view photos on my TV. Isn't that part of the upgrade?

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Eh?

I have a first generation iPod Touch, and can view pictures & video on a TV, with the proper cable. Could do that when I first got it.

-Kevin

frenchie16 said:

AFAIK it exists, but Apple doesn't allow things written in environments other than Cocoa/Obj-c. Although, they have apparently loosened the rules somewhat of late.
On the other hand, a port of OpenRocket to Android would probably be much easier, as a lot of the java code could be re-used. You'd need to completely re-do the interface though.

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That is absolutely false. There are many programs in the app store that were developed using 3rd party tools and SDKs. Apple doesn't have a problem with any of them. I use some of these tools for my own iOS development work. They only have a problem with environments that allow executable code to be installed from sources other than the app store. The Apple/Jobs haters will tell you it's to increase sales while others will say it's to prevent the easy introduction of viruses and spyware. I suspect it's a bit of both.

FWIW, I use Visual C++ on my PC to develop my iOS code. This setup uses gcc to actually compile and link the code. Apple has never had a problem with this setup - several top selling apps have been developed this way.

The upgrade itself went well once I figured out how to get things set up on my network. (I'm a newbie to Wi-Fi, a real newbie to iOS and a journeyman with networking in general.) It took awhile, though; iOS 4.2 is a big file. I didn't think to time it, but it seemed to take 20-30 minutes to complete the process starting with the initiation of downloading. It also performed a backup of my data; I have had the iPad such a short time (less than a week) that I hadn't even thought to do that yet. It didn't warn me to do a backup or ask me if I wanted to do it; it just proceeded to include that step on its own. So the backup and subsequent restore was included in the time total. The last time I installed a major upgrade, as opposed to a maintenance release or a service pack, of any OS was at least 7 years ago.

The only issue I have with iOS and the iPad in general is the utter paucity of information regarding how to use it. I guess it's supposed to be so intuitive that little to no documentation is required. I must not be quite intuitive enough, though. I'm sure it doesn't help that I have never used any other iOS device, or any touch interface, before this. I had to do some digging in Apple's site before found out how to use AirPrint and the folders feature. The process for the latter seems rather odd to me. Drag the icon of one app onto the icon of another one to create a folder? Weird. I haven't tried because I haven't had any need to so far.

mperdue said:

That is absolutely false. There are many programs in the app store that were developed using 3rd party tools and SDKs. Apple doesn't have a problem with any of them. I use some of these tools for my own iOS development work. They only have a problem with environments that allow executable code to be installed from sources other than the app store. The Apple/Jobs haters will tell you it's to increase sales while others will say it's to prevent the easy introduction of viruses and spyware. I suspect it's a bit of both.

FWIW, I use Visual C++ on my PC to develop my iOS code. This setup uses gcc to actually compile and link the code. Apple has never had a problem with this setup - several top selling apps have been developed this way.

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If it's false, then that's wonderful. I am quite certain that, at least for a few months, apple banned/planned to ban anything created with third party tools or using languages other than Obj-C or javascript, but I think perhaps they never enforced it. I'm also quite certain they lifted those restrictions recently.

In any case I'm glad the restrictions no longer exist. And for the record, I don't hate Apple, I just worry about the restrictive nature of the app-store-only system (and really hope it never becomes that way on the mac! not that I expect it to.)

frenchie16 said:

If it's false, then that's wonderful. I am quite certain that, at least for a few months, apple banned/planned to ban anything created with third party tools or using languages other than Obj-C or javascript, but I think perhaps they never enforced it. I'm also quite certain they lifted those restrictions recently.

In any case I'm glad the restrictions no longer exist. And for the record, I don't hate Apple, I just worry about the restrictive nature of the app-store-only system (and really hope it never becomes that way on the mac! not that I expect it to.)

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Development has never been restricted to objective c. Third party tools have been used pretty much since the beginning. Many people misinterpreted a part of the license and concluded that the restriction existed even though it didn't. Apple recently reworded parts of the license to clear up the misconceptions.

mperdue said:

Many people misinterpreted a part of the license and concluded that the restriction existed even though it didn't. Apple recently reworded parts of the license to clear up the misconceptions.

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I dunno, the wording of this statement from Apple when they reworded the license makes it sound like more than a misinterpretation to me:

Apple said:

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.

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IMO, it was an attempt by Apple to put Adobe in its place, and it didn't go down too well...

Phil

Openrocket is GPL anyway, and Apple's restrictions are not compatible with redistribution of GPL code and apps. Mention it to them about some GPL app, and they'll happily just remove the app from the store (pity about any hard work that's gone into creating such apps).

You could write a free app that does something similar. You could also buy an app that does something similar. It already exists - I assume there's some way that apple fans can search for it in the store?

Certainly with the restrictions there are now, and the fact that Jobs can pull any app or change the rules whenever he likes is a showstopper for me. All credit to Apple though for creating a $1bn market out of something what would otherwise have been free elsewhere.

WiK said:

I dunno, the wording of this statement from Apple when they reworded the license makes it sound like more than a misinterpretation to me:



IMO, it was an attempt by Apple to put Adobe in its place, and it didn't go down too well...

Phil

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Adobe Flash is still not permitted since it allows an app to download executable code, which was the whole point of the license change. Many people assumed that this extended to other development tools based on the poor wording of the change. They did change the wording to be more specific and released it with the above statement. However, at no time did Apple reject any apps based on the use of C/C++ or non Coco UI components. The use of these tools has always been permitted.

mperdue said:

Adobe Flash is still not permitted...

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When you say Flash, do you mean something like a Flash plugin for a browser on iOS? Or the iPhone Packager which is part of Flash CS5 and allows developers to translate Flash apps into iOS machine code? Which Apple really didn't like (see point 6)... I was referring to the latter in my post above, if that clarifies anything.

Either way, I still don't see where the "poor wording" thing comes from, all the sources I've seen related to that license change point to Jobs talking about how intermediate layers between platform and developer are a bad thing.

Though I suppose it's a bit redundant now they've changed it back. :confused2:

Cheers,
Phil

WiK said:

Though I suppose it's a bit redundant now they've changed it back. :confused2:

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More than a bit redundant. Anyway, my point to the original person commenting on iOS development was that Apple never restricted developers to the use of only Obj-C and Coco. Other tools have been permitted all along. Even more are permitted now.