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Tag: copy-and-paste

  • iPhone Gets Copy and Paste – Finally


    Apple has released details of a new version of the iPhone OS, with over 100 new features including finally adding copy and paste.

    However, another much desired issue – allowing for background tasks from third party applications – remains unresolved, despite rival handsets running Google Android and the as-yet unlaunched Palm Pre able to support background apps.

    The reason given for the delay in delivering such an obvious feature as copy and paste – Apple said it wasn’t easy to do and security issues needed to be resolved with copying information between applications.

    Apple also announced that there are to be over 1,000 new APIs for iPhone developers.

    Among some of the other new features that will be introduced on OS 3.0 this summer are:

    • Push notifications will be standard in iPhone 3.0.
    • In-App purchasing
    • MMS
    • Peer-to-Peer connectivity
    • Third-party Accessories
    • Turn-by-Turn directions
    • A landscape keyboard option
    • Voice memos
    • System-wide Spotlight searching
    • Stereo Bluetooth audio devices are now supported through the use of A2DP technology

    iPhone OS 3.0 will be available in the summer. It will be a free update to all iPhone users, while iPod touch owners will have to pay USD $9.95 for the upgrade.

    Due to hardware differences, features such as A2DP and MMS won’t be available on the original iPhone.

    iPhone developers will be able to get the beta of OS 3.0 almost immediately.

    During today’s iPhone 3.0 Preview Event, Apple announced that its iPhone OS, which powers both the iPhone and the iPod touch, is now on 30 million devices — including 17 million iPhones by December, 2008.

    Apple also announced over 800 million App Store downloads to date, and 800,000 iPhone SDK downloads.

  • Copy And Paste On The iPhone – Finally


    The lack of copy and paste on the iPhone could soon be a thing of the past if a new web service called Pastebud is as good as it appears.

    Although still to be launched Pastebud’s creators have put a demonstration of their service on YouTube showing how iPhone users can copy and paste text from Safari into Mail and between web pages.

    Based on the YouTube demo, it works through bookmarks that allow users to go between Web pages and email.

    Users are then able to highlight text and hit a button to copy, flip to the another page and hit paste.

    As a web-based service users don’t have to download software onto their iPhones – meaning it bypasses Apple’s App Store altogether.

    While Pastebud may be quite limited in copy and paste capabilities, it will definitely be gratefully received by iPhone users.

    Video below:

  • Copy and Paste comes to iPhone

    Openclip framework adds Copy and Paste without violating the iPhone SDK agreement

    A college student has developed an open source framework that allows cross-application Copy and Paste on the iPhone.

    Zac White says his Open Clip framework uses a shared space on the iPhone that can be accessed by applications to enable Copy and Paste – without falling foul of the iPhone SDK agreement.

    Apple forbids applications from running in the background because it would take up too much of the iPhone’s resources.
    Also, developers are not allowed to create plug-ins that make their apps work with other apps on the iPhone.

    However, when a developer adds the OpenClip framework to an iPhone app, that app can then access the common area and write to it, and read from it, thereby enabling copy and paste between participating apps.

    In an interview with Geek Brief’s Cali Lewis, White explained that OpenClip is a way for developers to include system wide Copy and
    Paste on the iPhone.

    The Oklahoma University student has started a non-profit, open-source community project for OpenClip.
    “It’s a device that allows apps to talk to each other,” he said. “It’s a very extensible way to get data between applications.”

    A key element is for as many apps to implement the OpenClip framework – since the wider the participation, the more apps users can Copy and Paste between.

    White suggests iPhone users email app developers about the advantages of OpenClip and asks app developers to show their participation by placing the OpenClip badge on their websites.

    He stressed that the framework created is not on a jailbreak phone and fully complied with Apple’s SDK agreement.

    In the interview with Geek Brief, White explains how he met iPhone App Store developer Juviwhale (creator of the MagicPad app) at iPhone Dev Camp, where the OpenClip framework was developed as a “weekend hack”.

    He effectively gave MagicPad’s localized cut/copy/paste cross-application functionality with the open-source OpenClip framework.
    It uses the API used by Apple on OS X to allow developers to easily implement OpenClip with the minimum of coding.

    Zac White

    White explains that the biggest factor was making it easy for developers to integrate it into their  apps, including having the documentation written for the API on Apple.com.

    Another element he considered was ease of transition for developers and users when Apple, finally, implements its own Copy and Paste. By adopting the API used on OS X, White expects a future transition to be “very easy”.

    He does admit that OpenClip has some limitations. “It is completely possible that apps that use this wouldn’t get on the App Store. Not for any real reason other than it will eventually step on Apple’s toes,” he said.

    “It is also conceivable that the technology this is built on will break in the future. The hope is that the update that breaks this also brings copy and paste support.

    Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s head of iPod and iPhone marketing has previously stated that cut, copy, and paste is on the future feature list.

    But his view that the function is not a “priority” is not shared by many users.
    Please let us know what you think about the OpenClip development and how – if at all – Apple will respond to it.