2008: Yearly Archive

Big ups to hrmpf.com for remembering a certain Apple patent: “Portable Electronic Device with Interface Reconfiguration Mode.” Basically it shows a portable device clearly letting you know you’re in “reconfiguration” mode by way of jiggly icons. While I personally don’t much like the jigglies, I will admit that, as rener and archie say, it does make it unmistakable that you’re in the “move stuff around” mode.

So either Gear Live somehow managed to snag a leaked version of 1.1.3 or they’ve perpetrated perhaps the greatest “gotcha” in recent memory. Probably the former, as it’s looking more and more like 1.1.3 is the real deal. So what’s coming (and what’s likely to get a mention at MacWorld) is pretty neat:

• Ability to add bookmarks to the SpringBoard (homescreen)
• Ability to rearrange programs via the nausea-inducing “jiggle mode”
• Ability to (finally!) send SMSs to multiple people
• Google Maps gains the neat tower-triangulation Tower Tagging* location trick, plus a hybrid satellite/map directions

Of course, there are some things that we figured would be easy adds that a missing – namely Stereo Bluetooth support. Still and all, it looks like a decent enough upgrade and it’s clearly a step towards getting the iPhone ready for that upcoming SDK. As for when the rest of us will get to take this 1.1.3 step, that’s still shrouded in mystery.

*Edit: not triangulation, but ‘tagging.’ See comment by Archie (and septimus, in a minute). Thanks!