I upgraded my iPad to iOS 4.2 today. I was so happy. Then I spent 30 minutes wondering why I lost my audio… until I remembered one of its new ” features” : Transform the iPad’s screen lock into the mute switch.

Yes, I’m dumb. After writing and whining about it for months, I completely forgot about it. But if I forgot about it, one could count that the majority of the shoppers who bought the iPad might be having an analogous reaction: Why there’s no audio and why the bloody screen won’t stay put inside the position I would like it to? If truth be told, everyone in Gizmodo staff testing the iOS 4.2 beta has hated this new ” feature” for the last two months. They simply couldn’t get used to it.

Apple argues that that’s to assist developers and make multitasking better, but they give a software lock, which sort of defeats their own argument. The alternative argument is that this unifies the iPad and iPhone’s switches, but while within the iPhone it is sensible as mute-because the iPhone is a telephone-the iPad is a reader and a multimedia machine. Orientation lock is smart, that is why people need/want/love the screen lock switch whenever they’re in bed or the sofa.

Now, users should click twice on the home button, slice their finger left and tap to lock the screen. Who the hell designed this bloody behavior? The developers of Mortal Kombat? Why not use the tap, tap, swipe left, swipe down, draw circle, double-click FINISH HIM! combo? Because that might be just as stupid as changing the generally known-and widely beloved-behavior of this switch to the mute function, which was already well served by the quantity keys.

The petition

So here’s the deal, while you’re one of the most six million iPad users in the market who, like me and everyone with iPads I know, loved the lock button to really lock the screen, please write:

Hey #Apple , change the #iPad switch back to screen lock!

Write it inside the comments or for your Twitter or Facebook pages. And please pass this petitio around, spam your pals with iPads. We’d like the screen lock back where it belongs.

Source

This post is tagged: double click, last two months, Mortal Kombat, multimedia machine, mute function, new-features-, please write