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i just saw WWDC08 &...

i.maverick

i.maverick

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 13, 2007
216
0
somewhere I belong
i finally went ahead and saw it yesterday and if you have seen it you would have also seen how the SVP (forgot his name) showed it was so easy to create apps recognize the accelerometer and change their orientation. "It's all built into the SDK" he said. So isn't it actually funny how some of apple's own apps don't that and we really want them to like notes and text and mail?
I think it's funny! And now in the latest version of the SDK, even the ipod does that. It changes orientation!!
:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, but they're bettering that; Calculator v2 has a horizontal scientific mode for example.
 
There have been many times where I wish they would give the ability to turn the darn thing off. Why can't they do that? It wouldn't be too hard.
 
Not all applications really benefit from being able to rotate. I'm sure Apple would have no problem making all of their apps do it if they really wanted.
 
admanimal said:
Not all applications really benefit from being able to rotate. I'm sure Apple would have no problem making all of their apps do it if they really wanted.
Click to expand...

then why dont they. you gotta figure that they have people monitoring these forums, and there has been so much discussion about it, cant they take a hint
 
waterskier2007 said:
then why dont they. you gotta figure that they have people monitoring these forums, and there has been so much discussion about it, cant they take a hint
Click to expand...

Any company that monitors forums and just immediately does whatever forum posters are bitching about now wouldn't last long. It is easy to get lost in ones little own world but people on forums represent only a fraction of Apple 's userbase. And I don't mean in volume, I mean in market share, as in people who frequent forums are what you call advanced users and their tastes seldom ring in sync with the taste of the average consumer who will always outnumber us by many folds.

In the big perspective of things we don't matter much, better if we all realize that.
 
kamiboy said:
Any company that monitors forums and just immediately does whatever forum posters are bitching about now wouldn't last long. It is easy to get lost in ones little own world but people on forums represent only a fraction of Apple 's userbase. And I don't mean in volume, I mean in market share, as in people who frequent forums are what you call advanced users and their tastes seldom ring in sync with the taste of the average consumer who will always outnumber us by many folds.

In the big perspective of things we don't matter much, better if we all realize that.
Click to expand...

i understand, but its not like its some technical feature we want. and apple knows the horizontal keyboard is good, they have it in safari. and it is a feature that would go under the radar, would not have the capability to negatively effect anyone because it is something that is only there when you want it, so i think its stupid for them to not include it
 
kamiboy said:
Any company that monitors forums and just immediately does whatever forum posters are bitching about now wouldn't last long. It is easy to get lost in ones little own world but people on forums represent only a fraction of Apple 's userbase. And I don't mean in volume, I mean in market share, as in people who frequent forums are what you call advanced users and their tastes seldom ring in sync with the taste of the average consumer who will always outnumber us by many folds.

In the big perspective of things we don't matter much, better if we all realize that.
Click to expand...

It's much less of a deal than you're making it, though. This thread is about how simple it apparently is to enable the horizontal keyboard. As also mentioned above, the keyboard can and is used that way in other Apple programs. There is no reason it shouldn't be available and apparently it wouldn't take more than 5 minutes to do it. The question isn't why shouldn't it be there, or what percentage of Apple's customer base do we represent, but simply why isn't it there?
 
If they make all of these easy changes now what would there be left for updates. See they upset some people and then provide it in a update. It keeps the iPhone buzz alive and makes everyone think they are getting new features (which they are).

Kind of like with Leopard, they can say we have 300+ features added that Tiger didn't include. Look at most of the 300+ features and you realize a lot of things are similiar to the type of changes we all want to see on the iPhone.

Maybe when iPhone OS2 is launched they will spout 50+ new features that OS1 didn't include.

It would be a bad business model to create the perfect OS.
 
guys.. the point I was trying to make was that apparently it is very easy to make the apps change orientation. But apps like notes and text and mail, which should, do not change orientation. Maybe it's because if apple lets iPhone users type mails in landscape which is a lot more convenient, so many people would be content with just the iPhone, they wouldn't bother with buying a notebook.
I'm not sure but it may be the case since so many people just want to surf the net and send and receive mails. But on the other hand, the iPhone is handicapped without a computer as u can't put music or videos and photos or :ringtones: on it. They did cripple the bluetooth as well. So what could be holding them back? Clearly so many people would be able to type a lot more easily on the landscape orientation. oooo...texts would flow.!!
:rolleyes:
 
i.maverick said:
guys.. the point I was trying to make was that apparently it is very easy to make the apps change orientation. But apps like notes and text and mail, which should, do not change orientation. Maybe it's because if apple lets iPhone users type mails in landscape which is a lot more convenient, so many people would be content with just the iPhone, they wouldn't bother with buying a notebook.
I'm not sure but it may be the case since so many people just want to surf the net and send and receive mails. But on the other hand, the iPhone is handicapped without a computer as u can't put music or videos and photos or :ringtones: on it. They did cripple the bluetooth as well. So what could be holding them back? Clearly so many people would be able to type a lot more easily on the landscape orientation. oooo...texts would flow.!!
:rolleyes:
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i dont think iPhones would take away from laptop sales. i think the people who try and say that a phone can take the place of a laptop are downright insane
 
waterskier2007 said:
i dont think iPhones would take away from laptop sales. i think the people who try and say that a phone can take the place of a laptop are downright insane
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ya.. i did contradict my own point later. so what could be the reason they refuse to make landscape universal.? They themselves admitted that it's pretty easy!!
:confused:
 
i.maverick said:
ya.. i did contradict my own point later. so what could be the reason they refuse to make landscape universal.? They themselves admitted that it's pretty easy!!
:confused:
Click to expand...

Just because it's easy, doesn't mean it has to be in there.

Maybe they figured that it wasn't that good.

Maybe they heard your cries and are going to update it. Maybe they also heard the people who hated landscape mode and didn't want it landscaping in every single application.

It's also the same argument as "why can't they make the navigation bars use an image/texture in the SDK like the Notes application? It's so easy"
 
Niiro13 said:
Maybe they figured that it wasn't that good...

... Maybe they also heard the people who hated landscape mode and didn't want it landscaping in every single application.
Click to expand...

Not a very good point and a purely idiotic angle on software development.

To respond to those who want it, the point is it would be easy to add. To placate those who don't want it, remind them that they don't have to use it. It's not hard to simply not change the orientation of the iPhone while you're typing.
 
i.maverick said:
ya.. i did contradict my own point later. so what could be the reason they refuse to make landscape universal.? They themselves admitted that it's pretty easy!!
:confused:
Click to expand...

Well, I'm one of those that remains on the other side of the debate regarding landscape texting. First, the keyboard becomes a new monster, in that it takes on a whole new dimension, by becoming this bohemith-like keyboard that remains unnavigable with just my two god-given thumbs (I attempt to emulate my son and all of his friends lightning speed texting mannerisms); stretching here and there, striking the next door neighbors of the "y" or "t" keys. Second, the text screen or email screen tends to move above the keyboard and sometimes out of sight; this is most devastating to "hunt and pick" typists because now they can't see what they are texting or typing. God-forbid they should accidently send out a partially constructed email or text message, as might be the case in the landscape mode. IMHO. :cool:
 
My programming senses are tingling. They are telling me that in the world of software development things are never as easy as dragging and dropping features into an application. I don't think it is as easy as they made it look at WWDC, in truth doing even the smallest changes to a program often has unforeseeable consequences.

Of course it could also just be that Apple doesn't feel said apps would benefit from landscape typing. Perhaps they have aesthetic reservations, they do care about those kind of things a lot at cupertino, which is why we all love them so much.
 
however...

kamiboy said:
My programming senses are tingling. They are telling me that in the world of software development things are never as easy as dragging and dropping features into an application. I don't think it is as easy as they made it look at WWDC, in truth doing even the smallest changes to a program often has unforeseeable consequences.

Of course it could also just be that Apple doesn't feel said apps would benefit from landscape typing. Perhaps they have aesthetic reservations, they do care about those kind of things a lot at cupertino, which is why we all love them so much.
Click to expand...

Just $0.02 from a software developer:
First, there are always more tasks to do than people to do them. You prioritize things just like anywhere else...
Second, just because a function is available, it doesn't do away with the fact that you've got to do other work to support the change, i.e., redesign the rest of the screen so it's usable.
Third, Apple is very big on the "user experience". It may be that Apple has looked at this and decided that in some of these apps, having a landscape keyboard makes the rest of the application less than usable.
 
I agree with the OP. Apple clearly has realized it may be useful to have landscape typing at times, as they put it into Safari a long long time ago. Now, the ability to type in landscape may be available across their apps in the July 11th release, but if it isn't, I think it's legitimate to ask why not.

For people who hate typing landscape ... you don't have to. In the same way you type in portrait mode in Safari (presumably), you can do so in the other programs. There really isn't any reason not to include the functionality from the user's perspective. It's a pure value-add.

The point of this thread (I believe) is that, up until WWDC08, there may have been some thought that the reason for the omission of landscape typing is not from the user side, but from the programmer side. Maybe, for some hard-to-believe reason, it was difficult to implement the feature in these other programs. But now we see how easy it is from their side too.

If it's easy to include the functionality, and it's a benefit to some users (without harming others who don't want it), why has it been over a year to include when it was there in Safari from the beginning IIRC? I can't believe they would hold a feature as simple as this out as a selling point for later on.
 
benmrii said:
Do you have trouble maintaining the vertical orientation of the iPhone while you're texting? Because adding a horizontal option doesn't mean you have to use it.
Click to expand...

It only happens when I'm utilizing the internet, and I would have to rotate the iPhone to keep from using the app in landscape view. What I've done previously is scroll with the flip on a finger to adjust the screen to where I can see it, and continue to type. So, I'm basically being forced to use it, if I happen to be utilizing the internet in landscape view.
 
Well, I'm not trying to go back and forth with you, but we're talking about texting so your point is moot. I can understand and respect your frustration with web-browsing, but since you are already texting with the iPhone vertically there's no reason why you couldn't continue to do that, regardless of an addition of a horizontal feature.

I'm sure there are some valid reasons somewhere as to why there isn't horizontal texting, but I've never seen one on these boards. And the fact that there are a few, like you, who wouldn't use it is a pointless argument, because no one would force you to.
 
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