iOS 4.2 GM: New Multitasking Bar, MobileMe Login Changes

[fourfour44]

Also, has any once else noticed that you can fit 20 apps in each 4.2 iPad folder? My iPhone 4 software is still downloading so I'm not sure if it's 4.2 universal or iPad only but it's fantastic. My home screen looks so bare and empty!

UPDATE: iPhone 4.2 is still the same, old, lame, 12 apps per folder.

Damnit Apple.

Well it makes sense because of the screen size. Aside from making a generic "games" folder on my iPhone, I can't think of any other grouping of apps I would need to have more than 12 of grouped together in a folder.

What I wish they would do on the iPad is allow more apps per page. It can easily fit more than 20 app icons per page, there's such a large gap between the icons. They let you fit 6 in the dock, but only 4 in each row. If they allowed more per page, I probably wouldn't need to even use folders, at least not in the way I use them on the iPhone.

 

[Eminemdrdre00]

Monthly pricing for Mobile Me would be nice. And I like the 6 icons in the doc for iPad.

You could always have 6 icons in the iPad dock.

 

[rfahey]

Still can only stream audio to my Apple TV (2nd gen); is my ATV going to need an update or something?

 

[shakeman0]

So does 4.2 allow for custom SMS tones? I can't find a straight answer. Custom tones would be AWESOME!

 

[ntrigue]

I'm no newb but I am not seeing the Airplay icon on iPad or iPhone running 4.2 GM? I have the new multitasking bar but just a space where Airplay should be.

 

[derek]

Brightness controls for fast access

At long bloody last.

Thank you Apple!

Palm OS had brightness accessible via a simple upward swipe of the stylus. iOS is catching up.

 

[cnstoll]

Just so you guys know...Apple ID's and MobileMe accounts have always been tied to each other...

I use the same Apple account for iTunes, MobileMe, iOS Developer program, Apple Store, etc. There is no notion of separate MobileMe accounts and there never has been.

I think it's ridiculous that this line has been taken by literally ever tech blog this morning. Even a simple fact-check would have shown this is false. I know people this MobileMe sucks, so none of these writers have probably ever used it, but that's no excuse for wildly guessing about what you're writing.

I expect better from MacRumors in particular. This isn't Gizmodo afterall.

 

[Mal]

Just so you guys know...Apple ID's and MobileMe accounts have always been tied to each other...

I use the same Apple account for iTunes, MobileMe, iOS Developer program, Apple Store, etc. There is no notion of separate MobileMe accounts and there never has been.

I think it's ridiculous that this line has been taken by literally ever tech blog this morning. Even a simple fact-check would have shown this is false. I know people this MobileMe sucks, so none of these writers have probably ever used it, but that's no excuse for wildly guessing about what you're writing.

I expect better from MacRumors in particular. This isn't Gizmodo afterall.

See, the thing is you don't get it at all. Apple ID's and MobileMe have not exactly been tied together in any functional way. You can use a MobileMe address as your Apple ID, sure. You cannot, however, use MobileMe's services with just an Apple ID, which is what the existence of this option on the screen would seem to imply. The way this is structure, it could definitely imply being able to use MobileMe services with an Apple ID, not just tying together your MobileMe account and your Apple ID.

I suspect they will release a simple version of MobileMe with just email, contacts and calendar syncing, no iDisk or Back To My Mac or the other services. If they do, that's what I'll end up with. I don't think I'll renew MobileMe right now as is, I don't use the services often enough to be worthwhile.

jW

 

[apraetor]

Google

please please please give us some kind of Free contact sync. Save me at work from all the customers who don't know how to back up their own phone.

You can set up a Gmail account on the phone, and have it sync contacts... that's been a feature for a while now.

 

[cnstoll]

See, the thing is you don't get it at all. Apple ID's and MobileMe have not exactly been tied together in any functional way. You can use a MobileMe address as your Apple ID, sure. You cannot, however, use MobileMe's services with just an Apple ID, which is what the existence of this option on the screen would seem to imply. The way this is structure, it could definitely imply being able to use MobileMe services with an Apple ID, not just tying together your MobileMe account and your Apple ID.

I suspect they will release a simple version of MobileMe with just email, contacts and calendar syncing, no iDisk or Back To My Mac or the other services. If they do, that's what I'll end up with. I don't think I'll renew MobileMe right now as is, I don't use the services often enough to be worthwhile.

jW

No I totally get the speculation. Everyone loves to guess when Apple will make some of the MobileMe services free for all Apple users.

What I take issue with is this, from MacRumors:
"Apple may simple be linking Apple IDs and MobileMe accounts for a consolidated login."

They've never been separate. You even acknowledged that.

From AppleInsider:
"It looks like Apple is making it possible for iOS-device owners to use MobileMe by signing-in with their Apple IDs – and perhaps, tie together their existing accounts."

They go on to mention all the places AppleID's are used, without any mention that MobileMe accounts are all tied to AppleID's. This is not new.


I probably should have commented somewhere else like AppleInsider. They screwed it up way more than MacRumors did, so I apologize. But still. Everyone keeps saying that this could mean they're tying the accounts together. They have always been tied, frankly, this is beyond argument.

It's fine to speculate that they might eventually make the MobileMe services free to AppleID holders who have not paid for them...but that's not how these articles are wording it. They're saying the two have always been separate and that's wrong.

 

[obiwan]

It's fine to speculate that they might eventually make the MobileMe services free to AppleID holders who have not paid for them...but that's not how these articles are wording it. They're saying the two have always been separate and that's wrong.

The point I was trying to clarify was that it's possible to have an AppleID without a MobileMe account, but not vice versa.

 

[cnstoll]

The point I was trying to clarify was that it's possible to have an AppleID without a MobileMe account, but not vice versa.

What you were describing sounds more like a problem with GameCenter than something having to do with MobileMe. The fact that MobileMe is tied to your AppleID (again, more proof that what I was saying is true) is hurting you because you can't just de-couple your Wife's account because then she loses her syncing, email, and so forth.

But at the same time, since you're sharing AppleID's, she'd also not be able to install any apps you've bought, or music you've downloaded that's associated with that AppleID, if you were to switch her phone to a different one.

So in short, the integration of MobileMe and AppleID's has always existed. And it seems to be working great for single users. But it sure would be nice if GameCenter had a notion of seperate devices, and not just seperate AppleID accounts.

 

[obiwan]

What you were describing sounds more like a problem with GameCenter than something having to do with MobileMe. The fact that MobileMe is tied to your AppleID (again, more proof that what I was saying is true) is hurting you because you can't just de-couple your Wife's account because then she loses her syncing, email, and so forth.

But at the same time, since you're sharing AppleID's, she'd also not be able to install any apps you've bought, or music you've downloaded that's associated with that AppleID, if you were to switch her phone to a different one.

So in short, the integration of MobileMe and AppleID's has always existed. And it seems to be working great for single users. But it sure would be nice if GameCenter had a notion of seperate devices, and not just seperate AppleID accounts.

I've always wondered the best way to set this up for a household, with multiple devices, different users, and one common syncing library/account. It seems that it's much easier for single users to set this up personally than for several users.

The 'home sharing' feature and syncing of multiple iPods/iPads etc. with iTunes go some way to solving the problem - but going down the route of having completely separate AppleIDs and forking out for the MobileMe family pack in addition to setting up separate user accounts on a jointly owned Mac seems a bit overkill for what's required. Integrating MobileMe and AppleID's seems to work against the 'household' idea. (Which I agree doesn't work well with GameCentre when you have 2 iPhones and 1 iPad all linked to the same AppleID!)

It would also be overkill to have a separate Mac per person with individual iTunes/Apps/Music collections, that are separately synced to their respective devices.

I just wonder whether changes are afoot for how the existing AppleID / MobileMe service works.

 

[ciaran00]

You can set up a Gmail account on the phone, and have it sync contacts... that's been a feature for a while now.

-Gmail does not do contact groups
-Found out this morning that Gmail obnoxiously renames items in Contacts, like phone and IM types.

I am constantly amazed by Google's half-assed solutions.

 

[Tannerozzy]

For everyone having the MobileMe log-in issue after updating to GM, try logging with username@mac.com instead of username@me.com

That just fixed it for me!

 

[shandyman]

I know those apps are suspended and persisted to disk ( I use 'suspended' to describe this mechanism in an earlier post ) , but you know what - all this is very much a task manager in another form... running app vs suspended app / list of running apps vs list of suspended apps persisted to disk

I have to remove them from the 'Multi-task bar' manually, i.e., close the application - to remove them from their persisted state. Managing a list of suspended applications that are persisted to disk.

All of this is very much task manager like... very much the same, different strategy of keep an application 'open' to allow you to return and continue from where you left off. I don't understand how people think the "Multitask-bar" is not a task manager.

And no, they aren't some placebo affect when starting the application from the suspended state because these games start from the start when launching from a clean slate.

its not a multitasking bar or a task manager, it's a fast app switching bar, like recently used documents. if i close something in there but go into the app normally, it's still in the same place, like facebook, etc. some games also resume from where i left them when doing this too. really go back and read the documentation as you just really sound like you don't actually understand it.

 

[LunaticRed]

There's something I'm missing here I think. Everywhere I've read implies that you will be able to print from an iPad or iPhone to a regular (no wifi) printer if it is hooked to an Airport or a Mac. In fact, with the present iOS, there are apps that have given the ability to print this way already (e.g., HP iPrint).

From the site: http://www.apple.com/ipad/software-update/

"Print mail, photos, web pages, and more directly to a printer on a wireless network." This would include printers networked through an Airport; there is no stipulation about a Mac being needed for this, that would be stupid.

As far as I understand it, iOS does not include the printer drivers necessary for the majority of the makes and models of printer out there, unlike Mac OS X. So, if the printer doesn't have the ability to operate "driver-less" (like the new HP printers), it needs an intermediary with the printer drivers installed (your Mac/PC).

The wording on the Apple iPad Software Update page may be misleading, but it does not say "Print directly to any printer on a wireless network". So, if you have a capable printer, then the statement is true. Also, as much as I would like to be wrong, I don't believe an Airport Base Station has enough space to store all the printer drivers needed for it to print without a Mac/PC.

Of course, every printer manufacturer is free to develop separate apps that include the drivers to use their printers, like HP has done with iPrint.

 

[shandyman]

Looks like GameCenter got a little attention too.

New achievement icons and now complete percentages for achievements that support it

i had that in 4.1, depends on the game...

 

[shandyman]

So does 4.2 allow for custom SMS tones? I can't find a straight answer. Custom tones would be AWESOME!

you can assign ringtones to people, but nothing obviously about custom yet, but i wouldn't count it out until we have the final version of iTunes 10.1 as chances are, that's what's needed to enable it, like back when we got custom ringtones...

 

[sanford]

An expanded MobileMe with some services for free would help justify that giant datacenter Apple is building.

Google offers quite a few cloud based services integrated into Android. This might even the score a bit on the cloud services battle front.

Yeah, but then Android sucks. After spending a couple hours restoring my daughter's Android phone after she forgot, or the OS -- it's a KNOWN issue across many Android devices from different manufacturers -- didn't properly interpret some ridiculous "pattern lockout" option, I know this from experience. It's one thing to flub your lockout and have to restore the device to factory configuration, losing all your data. It's another thing that after the factory restore the device is unusable because it won't recognize ANY, old or new, required account credentials for services of the SAME COMPANY that makes the OS. This is analogous to setting a passcode for your iPhone, forgetting it, having to factory restore the iPhone, foregoing your data backup because you've forgotten the code, and then being unable to ever use the iPhone again because it requires a MobileMe login but won't recognize your old one or a new one you setup after the fact.

For many Android users this is the "convert-to-doorstop" feature. I eventually lucked out by pulling the battery four or five times during firmware restore, which could have bricked the device, but finally managed to flush the lock condition. Perhaps I should have zapped it with a Cardiovert paddle. My kid lucked out, since her photos and videos were recovered -- because they were by happy chance written to the SD card. A feature? I suppose so, except for purposes of security it's a gaping hole, since nothing stored on the SD card is protected if you opt to use a lockout code on the device.

As usual, Apple products have their flaws, but ultimately there's Apple and then there's everyone else. I'm afraid I'll need a toilet in the house replaced, the plumber will put in an Android-managed replacement model, I'll flush it the wrong way and then I'll have to spend the rest of my life running down to the corner cafe to use the bathroom.

 

[Ajmbc]

This is a little deviated from the previous discussion, but does anyone with access to the beta know if Apple has included a Dvorak software keyboard for iPad or iPhone?

 

[philr5150]

Sorry, I have to reply to the Android-lockout dude.

I've got an Android so I'm familiar with that screen. It gives you 10 goes to get it right, then it will ask you to re-confirm your email account details. Kinda like with an iWhatever, on the 10th wrong password entry, the device can be erased. There is nothing wrong with that security model. It's no different to a PIN number really - you have to draw then confirm a pattern, joining a minimum of 4 dots. If your daughter forgot that, well then tell her to use a simpler one. Don't blame the OS for the shortcomings of humans.

My 4 yr old son regularly plays with my phone and has (as I call it) "hard-locked" the phone where he's tried to join all the dots. Enter my Gmail address and password et voila, it's unlocked, no harm done.

If you hate Android that much, buy her an iPhone. But don't make the security PIN too complicated in case she forgets it.

 

[MythicFrost]

Sorry, I have to reply to the Android-lockout dude.

I've got an Android so I'm familiar with that screen. It gives you 10 goes to get it right, then it will ask you to re-confirm your email account details. Kinda like with an iWhatever, on the 10th wrong password entry, the device can be erased. There is nothing wrong with that security model. It's no different to a PIN number really - you have to draw then confirm a pattern, joining a minimum of 4 dots. If your daughter forgot that, well then tell her to use a simpler one. Don't blame the OS for the shortcomings of humans.

My 4 yr old son regularly plays with my phone and has (as I call it) "hard-locked" the phone where he's tried to join all the dots. Enter my Gmail address and password et voila, it's unlocked, no harm done.

If you hate Android that much, buy her an iPhone. But don't make the security PIN too complicated in case she forgets it.

That wasn't the posters point:

It's one thing to flub your lockout and have to restore the device to factory configuration, losing all your data. It's another thing that after the factory restore the device is unusable because it won't recognize ANY, old or new, required account credentials for services of the SAME COMPANY that makes the OS.

He did format it, afterwards it wouldn't accept any of his account credentials or something like that -- so he couldn't use it.