CopyPaste
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ChevronWP7 updater pulled, places phones into 'non-serviceable state' of mind
We've had our phones in a number of states (Vermont is particularly lovely), but stopping by a "non-serviceable state" isn't exactly high on our list. Sadly, every user of ChevronWP7.updater may have unwittingly paid a visit to this place, that tool being pulled offline after Microsoft contacted its developer. It seems that anyone who used it to update their WP7 handsets to NoDo may now be in a bit of a bind. According to Microsoft those phones may not be able to receive any future updates -- ever. MS did warn people against using this updater in the first place, but we're still hopeful that Big Redmond will find a fix. If not, well, hope you like that copy & paste.
HTC HD7 finally gets NoDo, WP7 users revel in the splendor of copy / paste
Last week, Microsoft released a NoDo update schedule for all of its WP7 devices, and it looks like T-Mobile's sticking to the plan. That's right folks, T-Mobile's HTC HD7 owners are officially the first to get a crack at the OTA NoDo download through the Zune software. T-Mo announced on its Twitter feed and website forum that the update has commenced, and our tipsters confirm that some have indeed already received the new software. The announcement states that users will only start getting the update today, and will get a pop-up notification telling them when its available. So if you haven't yet been hit with your dose of NoDo, rest assured that help is on the way. Update: Quick clarification, T-Mobile customers will be getting OTA notifications, but must download the update using Microsoft's Zune software. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Trophy spotted in the wild, sporting Verizon logo
If you had any remaining doubts whether the HTC Trophy would be playing for Team Red, you can leave them at the door -- a tipster just sent us a high-res version of the above image, and says it's running the latest version of Windows Phone 7, complete with copy/paste support. Our anonymous source says it seems exactly the same physically as the European version we reviewed in October, save for a last telling tweak -- instead of the orangish-yellow innards, it's got red highlights around back. [Thanks, Anonymouse]
Microsoft rolls out copy and paste update to Windows Phone 7 developers
There's still no word on a public release, but Microsoft has now finally at least given Windows Phone 7 developers the long-awaited gift of copy and paste. That word comes straight from Microsoft's director of developer relations, Bandon Watson, who confirmed today's release on the PPCGeeks podcast last night, and also announced that the Windows Phone Developer Tools software was about to cross one million download mark. In addition to copy and paste, the new update also includes a number of performance improvements that promise to speed up application launch times -- here's hoping the release is also a sign that Microsoft is about to speed up the roll out to Windows Phone 7 users.
WP7 update with faster app load times, copy and paste is real; release date remains nebulous
As has been discussed before, Windows Phone 7 is set to release a major update later this year, but it appears that the boys in Redmond may finally be ready to send out an OS refresh that will substantially improve the existing WP7 user experience. First and foremost, copy and paste is included, which given how long we've been waiting for that functionality, would be more than enough to appease the majority. The update, however, also promises significantly lower load times for third-party apps due to improvements made in memory management. We don't have details on the specific tweaks made, but generally, the changes allot more memory for pre-loading applications to hasten things significantly. Who knows when users will receive the upgrade, but here's hoping it's sooner rather than later. Peep the video after the break to see just how much faster you'll get to start honing your Fruit Ninja skills when the mood strikes.
Stereoscopic copy-paste finally brings that clone tool into the third dimension (video)
With the right software anybody can be photo editing guru, eliminating redeye, removing unsightly blemishes, and maybe adding an image of Godzilla lurking in the background just for fun. However, if you've been unlucky enough to try to do the same in 3D you know just how distinctly unsatisfying that experience can be. Maybe not for long. Thanks to NewScientist we just caught a glimpse of an October presentation made by Swiss engineers Joren van Baar and Wan-Yen Lo called "Stereoscopic 3D Copy & Paste." It is, basically, exactly what it sounds like, tools that let you define various objects and planes on a stereoscopic image, similar to how you might grab a shape with the magic wand tool, and then duplicate it and move that shape around on both parts of the 3D photo. The software handles re-creating shadows, automatically tackling occlusion too, and while the results aren't perfect, particularly if you're trying to change perspective or partially occlude an object behind something that's transparent, it certainly trumps trying to do it by hand. Check out the video below and take a moment to be thankful that you didn't have to buy gifts for all those kids above.
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore live from D: Dive Into Mobile
We're about to hear from Microsoft's Joe Belfiore at the D: Dive Into Mobile event -- stay tuned, there's no telling what could happen! (copy paste copy paste copy paste copy paste...)
Windows Phone 7 shown copying and pasting on video
You unfortunately still have a bit of a wait in store for your off-the-self Windows Phone 7 device, but those lucky enough to have a developer device are now starting to receive an update that includes the much anticipated copy and paste functionality, and we're now seeing the first videos of it in action. That expectedly functions much as we've heard before, and it appears to work reasonably well in the (admittedly brief) video. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself. [Thanks, Austin]
Windows Phone 7 Series won't have copy and paste
Ready for another long, drawn-out copy and paste controversy to overtake your every waking moment for a year or two? Good: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won't be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series... so that's that. Kind of ironic considering that the WinMo of old has been enjoying the functionality since time immemorial, isn't it? Of course, anything is possible going forward -- they've said on several occasions in different talks and sessions this week that they're already looking at a number of enhancements that were scoped out of the initial release of the platform -- but for the phones you buy this holiday season, don't expect to be copying anything between apps. Update: We just super-double-ultra-plus-confirmed this with Microsoft -- Windows Phone 7 Series will not have copy and paste functionality. There is a data-detection service built into the text-handling API that will recognize phone numbers and addresses, but Microsoft says most users, including Office users, don't really need clipboard functionality. We... respectfully disagree? Sure, let's leave it at that.
Manage your iPhone's clipboard with Snippets
The cut, copy, and paste features (finally) included in version 3.0 of the iPhone OS greatly improve the productivity of the iDevices. However, there is room for improvement. Enter Erich Bratton with his clipboard manager app, Snippets, available now in the iTunes App Store [iTunes link]. Snippets offers a way to organize bits of text that can be accessed quickly to paste into emails, text messages, notes, and other places. The clips can be categorized into a number of pre-determined or user-created folders as well. To help get new users comfortable, the app comes with a variety of canned responses and other text pieces, some of which are hysterical.The real power of Snippets lies in the ability to paste or create text in the app for later use. Think of it as boilerplates for your iPhone. If you find yourself writing similar things over and over, simply create an entry in Snippets. When you need to write that same text next time, visit the Snippets app first, view the desired text block (which automatically copies it to the clipboard), and then paste it into whatever app you'd like. It really couldn't be much simpler.The canned responses included with Snippets are worth its price of $.99 alone, in this blogger's opinion. But even if you are wittier than I and appreciate original pieces of text, Snippets is a great app with a very easy-to-use interface that I plan to use again and again. In fact, I might just start using it to write some generic paragraphs that I can use in every review. What a time-saver!
iPhone finally gets copy and paste!
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_finally_gets_copy_and_paste'; No surprises here: Apple just announced that iPhone OS 3.0 will support copy and paste. A double-tap auto-selects the text you want with movable "grab points," and a pop-up edit bar display buttons for cut, copy, and paste. Finally! It works in every major app, including SMS and Safari, and what's more, there's also "shake to undo," which is exactly what it sounds like: a quick shake brings up a box that allows you to undo and redo c/p actions. It's a pretty nifty implementation, sure, but it's a little silly we've had to wait this long for it, don't you think?
New copy / paste paradigm in the works for Storm?
Storm firmwares have been leaking out of Waterloo at a positively breakneck pace for a couple months now -- and naturally, new builds of the operating system are liable to bring along new functionality every once in a while. Here's a particularly interesting one: it seems like RIM might have some sort of new clipboard action in store for an upcoming release, adding a visible box around text that you want to select -- just drag the handles on each side to make your selection. Considering that fingers tend to be a little fatter than your average line of text, it seems like a solid plan, but so far, there's no word on when we might see this in a leaked build -- let alone a build officially released by a carrier.[Via BlackBerryNews]
Unofficial copy / paste comes to the iPhone... again
There have been several efforts to bring some semblance of a clipboard to the iPhone since Apple has stubbornly, steadfastly refused to do so. So far, they've been somewhat meaningless and unhelpful (though totally well intentioned) largely because they've only worked with apps specifically designed to take advantage of them, when in reality, probably 80 percent of the stuff you want to copy from (or paste to) is in the iPhone's built-in apps. Enter Clippy, which attaches to the standard keyboard and adds true copy / paste to the out-of-the-box apps plus a smattering of third-party ones. The catch? It only works on jailbroken handsets -- this is about as far from making it to the App Store as anything you can imagine. It's still under development and bugs are still being ironed out, but for those of you who've gone ahead and pwned your phones, check Cydia for the goods.[Thanks, Cody]
Clippy brings copy/paste to jailbroken iPhones
Those with jailbroken iPhones who use the Cydia package manager discovered a new add-on in the past day or so -- Clippy, from iSpazio, which introduces a method for copy and paste to the iPhone.According to users, the add-on inserts two buttons into the system keyboard -- one for copying and another for pasting. Those who have tried it out say that it only accepts user-entered text and copies over one line at a time, which can get cumbersome.Sebastien over at the iPhone Download Blog gives a detailed overview of how the application works. "After installing the application, type any text you want and simply hit the "123″ button on your keyboard to show the copy/paste buttons. Tap "copy" and start selecting the text you want to copy. Tap "copy" again to end the selection. Then tap "paste" to paste this text where you want it to be." This implementation isn't up to Apple's standards for grace and ease, but it seems workable.My iPhone isn't jailbroken, so I haven't had the chance to try out Clippy. If you've downloaded and had a chance to try out the app, please let us know your impression in the comments.Thanks to all who submitted this!
OpenClip says iPhone firmware 2.1 breaks it
Anyone getting used to the cross-app clipboard framework for the iPhone wrought by OpenClip, heads up: your party might be drawing to an end. The organization says that apps no longer have access to the common storage areas of other apps in the latest beta of firmware 2.1, which basically puts the kibosh on the very reason OpenClip is able to do what it does. They're throwing around a couple ideas -- one of which would involve creating a funky-looking contact in your address book to marshal data between apps, while another would see data get pushed to a server, a move that Apple would effectively be unable to stop. Then again, with rumors still fresh that real copy / paste is coming in 2.1, maybe these guys want to hold off for just a bit to see what happens.[Via AppleInsider]
Third-party clipboard framework for iPhone in the works
Developers are mad as hell about the copy / paste situation on the iPhone, and they're not gonna take it anymore. Despite rumblings of the long-overdue feature making an appearance in version 2.1, a grass-roots effort has been started in the form of OpenClip.org to implement a totally independent, third-party clipboard solution that apparently manages to remain entirely within the bounds of Apple's airtight SDK agreement that significantly limits what App Store apps can and cannot do. Some eleven apps are already listed as having pledged support for the OpenClip standard, which will inevitably be wiped out if Apple decides to do something official -- which, let's be real, should've happened ages ago. Follow the break for a video demo of OpenClip in action.[Via MacRumors]
Copy / paste app for iPhone is meaningless, has no bearing on anything
What's the sound of a tree falling when no one's around to hear it? What's the sound of one hand clapping? And perhaps most importantly, what's the purpose of a clipboard when only one app can use it? Development shop Proximi is making a pretty big stink about its MagicPad app for the iPhone, touting its homegrown copy / paste functionality as part of a rich text-editing package to help shore up the handset's weak sauce (read: non-existent) office app suite. That's all well and good -- the app looks well-executed and provides a core function that should've been present across the entire iPhone to start -- but without buy-in from Apple, the clipboard's stuck in the MagicPad sandbox. Cool? Yes. Should Apple be paying attention? Yes. Useful? At this point, barely.[Via MacRumors]
