iPad to lose Orientation Lock in iOS4! :(

jacksonian said:

It doesn't have to make noise when an email comes in. You can change that in the settings.

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So? You can lock the orientation with a setting now, too.

So, the point is that you want the slider to mute and think that everyone else wants the same thing. Not everybody does. And when we say that, you give us reasons like you did above. And when we point out that you could have prevented that already with a software setting, you say that we can now change the mute with a software setting.

It's a circular argument. Just recognize that not everyone wanted this. Either set of functions could have been hardware or software configured. One way is more convenient for your usage pattern and another way is more convenient to my usage pattern. To each his own.

jacksonian said:

So, the point is that you want the slider to mute and think that everyone else wants the same thing. Not everybody does. And when we say that, you give us reasons like you did above. And when we point out that you could have prevented that already with a software setting, you say that we can now change the mute with a software setting.

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Please quote EXACTLY where I said I think everyone wants the same as me.

Go ahead. Take your time. I'll stay up another half hour for you.

What I don't like are all the statements like:

Muting the iPad is easy--just hold down the volume button for an extra second (or fraction thereof).

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because, at least on the iPhone, the two are not equivalent. I'm looking forward to having a switch that mutes all the alerts without silencing the movie I'm watching.

And I'm sure you'll be responding really soon now with that quote where I said this is the best for everybody.

Look up a few posts and you'll see Schweb's "all the other users" quote. My apologies for lumping you in there, but your comments seem similar.

I'm so sorry that you don't like statements that muting the iPad is easy with the volume rocker. But it is.

I'm glad you're looking forward to the new feature.

Hope you didn't stay up on my account.

I installed iOS 4 GM a few days ago, and the rotation lock being changed was not that bad. I used to use it all of the time, in fact i would only turn it off when i wanted to rotate, and then instantly turn it back on. I find now that 90% of the time I don't need to use it- the 10% of the time I use it, i can put up with double clicking and tapping the icon.

BTW, in addition to there being an orientation lock button, there is a brightness slider, volume slider, media buttons, and an icon to go to the currently playing app, like iPod, Pandora, or YouTube (yes, you can listen to youtube videos while doing something else)

jacksonian said:

Look up a few posts and you'll see Schweb's "all the other users" quote. My apologies for lumping you in there, but your comments seem similar.

I'm so sorry that you don't like statements that muting the iPad is easy with the volume rocker. But it is.

I'm glad you're looking forward to the new feature.

Hope you didn't stay up on my account.

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Wow...you seem so overly upset about this. Why not just sell your iPad so you can get some peace?

No point in arguing about it, just enjoy your orientation lock the little time you have left before you only have the new way.

jacksonian; said:

I'm so sorry that you don't like statements that muting the iPad is easy with the volume rocker. But it is.

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You're still missing the key difference here. Muting with the volume rocker is not the same as an iPhone-style silence switch. Let me try explaining it this way:

Volume rocker down for two seconds: iPad goes completely mute. No sound comes out of the speakers at all. Notifications don't go "ding" and movies & music are silenced.

Mute switch: Apps still make sounds, but notifications are silenced. The iPod and Netflix apps still behave normally. Someone on the Macrumors forum who's running 4.2 already confirmed this is how it works.

I keep thinking I need to record a video demonstrating the difference and why it's important. My iPad is becoming my main computing device, and a lot of times it sounds like a pinball machine with all the emails coming in and reminders from reQall. That's handy if I'm trying to be productive and stay on top of things. But if I'm watching a movie, it gets annoying really fast. I have to rewind constantly to hear what was covered up by the DING!

So go ahead and say that holding the volume rocker down will mute the iPad all you want. That doesn't bother me. What irritates me are people who think the mute switch duplicates the functionality we already have on the rocker. They're two different things. Hopefully the difference will become clearer once 4.2 is released to the general public. I'm not saying everyone will like it, but perhaps the reason for it will become clearer after people try it out.

I'm glad you're looking forward to the new feature.

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I'm looking forward to 4.2 in general. It sounds like it's going to be a major upgrade to an already awesome device. I'd be running the GM already if it didn't break the NYT crossword puzzle app (they've submitted an upgrade, but Apple hasn't approved it yet).

Hope you didn't stay up on my account.

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Nah, but it was a good excuse to play a couple more games of Quake before bed.

I can readily understand now why this is important to those wanting the mute switch. The arguments make sense.
My only quibble is since I don't use my iPad that way why can't they make it a config option under general settings; that way we all could have what we want.

schweb said:

Wow...you seem so overly upset about this. Why not just sell your iPad so you can get some peace?

No point in arguing about it, just enjoy your orientation lock the little time you have left before you only have the new way.

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Wow...not sure what you're reading. I'm not upset at all. I thought my posts were clearly the opposite. I love my iPad, enjoy the heck out of it. I didn't have any problem with the volume rocker button like you did.

Like I said earlier, to each his own, it's all good to me, wasn't upset, wasn't trying to pick a fight with anyone, was only making the point that not everyone was begging for the change.

csixty4 said:

You're still missing the key difference here. Muting with the volume rocker is not the same as an iPhone-style silence switch. Let me try explaining it this way:

Volume rocker down for two seconds: iPad goes completely mute. No sound comes out of the speakers at all. Notifications don't go "ding" and movies & music are silenced.

Mute switch: Apps still make sounds, but notifications are silenced. The iPod and Netflix apps still behave normally. Someone on the Macrumors forum who's running 4.2 already confirmed this is how it works.

I keep thinking I need to record a video demonstrating the difference and why it's important. My iPad is becoming my main computing device, and a lot of times it sounds like a pinball machine with all the emails coming in and reminders from reQall. That's handy if I'm trying to be productive and stay on top of things. But if I'm watching a movie, it gets annoying really fast. I have to rewind constantly to hear what was covered up by the DING!

So go ahead and say that holding the volume rocker down will mute the iPad all you want. That doesn't bother me. What irritates me are people who think the mute switch duplicates the functionality we already have on the rocker. They're two different things. Hopefully the difference will become clearer once 4.2 is released to the general public. I'm not saying everyone will like it, but perhaps the reason for it will become clearer after people try it out.

I'm looking forward to 4.2 in general. It sounds like it's going to be a major upgrade to an already awesome device. I'd be running the GM already if it didn't break the NYT crossword puzzle app (they've submitted an upgrade, but Apple hasn't approved it yet).

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Thanks for explaining the difference. I don't have any notifications going off, so it wasn't an issue for me. But I can see how for your usage that would be a big deal.

As Kash said in an earlier post, the orientation lock on the IPhone only works for locking into the portrait mode. If you wish to lock your IPhone in a landscape mode, you can't!

It would seem to me that would be a distinct disadvantage over the current button in the IPad because most of the time, landscape would be the orientation that you would use.

I am one of those that doesn't particularly care for the change either. Appreciate the explanation from csixty4. Have had an iPhone for 3 years, but never have used the mute switch for that purpose. I can certainly understand why some would want it now and makes good sense also.

I'll certainly take the trade off in changing the orientation lock to a mute button with the addition of a brightness slider there also. Right now I'm in the settings at least a half dozen times a day just to do that.

I use orientation lock frequently. If I want to mute the device I would just turn the volume down all the way. You can just hold the volume down button.

Why not just keep the rotation lock switch the way it was on the ipad?

Having 2 ways to mute, no way to landscape lock, and an inconvenient way to portrait lock is a BIG step backward.

Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be

First of all the lock works in both landscape and portrait on the iPad. Second, it isn't nearly as incovenient as I feared. Honestly, I still don't see any added functionality from having the mute switch, but others do and I can live with the change. Not that much of a problem.

XCode247 said:

I use orientation lock frequently. If I want to mute the device I would just turn the volume down all the way. You can just hold the volume down button.

Why not just keep the rotation lock switch the way it was on the ipad?

Having 2 ways to mute, no way to landscape lock, and an inconvenient way to portrait lock is a BIG step backward.

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The mutes are different, they don't do the same thing.

The mute switch only mutes system sounds so it's great for when youre watching movies or streaming Pandora, etc.

This is the same behavior as the iPhone and iPod touch.

But given the other incorrect statements in your post, I'm going to assume you either don't have an iPad or aren't using 4.2.1?

So we lost the screen orientation switch and the mute switch doesn't actually mute - or at least it doesn't mute everything.

Hmm - that makes as much sense as having a 'pedestrians only' street which still allows buses and taxis - it only stops some of the traffic, but pedestrians still have to watch out for vehicles.

Of course, we still have the volume rocker to mute everything else. Maybe Apple could make it so the volume rocker only mutes the sounds not muted by the mute switch?


Edit - for the record, I do have an iPad and I preferred the switch as it was

Nighthawk4 said:

So we lost the screen orientation switch and the mute switch doesn't actually mute - or at least it doesn't mute everything.

Hmm - that makes as much sense as having a 'pedestrians only' street which still allows buses and taxis - it only stops some of the traffic, but pedestrians still have to watch out for vehicles.

Of course, we still have the volume rocker to mute everything else. Maybe Apple could make it so the volume rocker only mutes the sounds not muted by the mute switch?


Edit - for the record, I do have an iPad and I preferred the switch as it was

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I've decided it's pointless to argue any more with the "mute switch zealots" as I'll call them. As it seems they can't grasp the reason for the mute switch to function as it does.

Oh well, hopefully they can go on with their lives.