TiPb nation, rev up your ZOMGS and get ready for SQUEEE -- the Apple Online Store is down world wide.

Now before you get too excited, this is not for the White iPhone 4. That's been delayed until later this year. Unfortunately, this time it's probably not for any iOS devices. If the rumors are true, what we'll see today are 12-proc Mac Pro, updated iMac, 27" LED displays, and maybe -- just maybe -- the MagicPad multitouch trackpad for the Mac.

Give us your best guesses in the comments and we'll find out just as soon as the store comes back up.

We recently covered the new OpenClip project, and expansion of what was first demonstrated with MagicPad, and we liked both their implementation and their moxy in trying to pip Apple to the cut and paste post. Not everyone was as entirely impressed as us, however. John Gruber of Daring Fireball questioned whether or not the developers were really respecting the App Store SDK agreement. Since OpenClip aware applications write to their own sandbox'd Documents directory, but read the last-modified chunk from other applications Documents directory, Gruber considers it more of a loophole, and cites Apple's iPhone OS Programming Guide:

Not simply that no other application can write to, but which no other application can access. That this restriction is not yet enforced at a technical level (such as is the case with an app attempting to write outside its own sandbox) does not mean it’s permitted.

Worse yet, Gruber points out that the current Beta 4 of the upcoming 2.1 firmware DOES enforce complete denial-of-access to other application's Documents directory:

The OpenClip demo apps, which work as advertised on iPhone OS 2.0.2, do not work in the current 2.1 beta, because apps are no longer able to read or even see other apps’ sandboxes.3 To be clear, this change is clearly not in response to OpenClip; Apple began seeding the 2.1 betas with these tightened sandbox restrictions before OpenClip debuted, and the iPhone OS Programming Guide has stated all along that apps can’t “access” the contents of other sandboxes.

However, I'm not entirely certain any of that matters. OpenClip, based on my understanding, was never intended to be a long-term solution, merely a proof-of-concept to show that cut, copy, and paste could be done in an elegant manner on the iPhone, to keep a spotlight on the continued lack of cut, copy, and paste support from Apple, and to encourage the discussion of the issue and implementation.

In that regard, I think they've already succeeded.

Following up on the earlier post about OpenClip, the new open-source framework for implementing a shared (i.e. cross-application) clipboard for the iPhone, the video above highlights developer Zac White's presentation at iPhoneDevCamp2. Not enough for you? Okay, TiPb had another chance to talk with the innovative folks at Proximi (makers of MagicPad, the original proof-of-concept for this functionality), who were kind enough to share a few more details with our readers.

Check out he Q&A after the break!

(Responses courtesy of Brian Radmin of Proximi fame)

TiPb: Hi Brian. Thanks for the heads-up on OpenClip. We have a few questions for you, but is there anything you'd like to start off with?

Brian: Hey Rene. To preface this, our sole intentions are to promote app-to-app copy / paste, not Proximi, Inc. While we made MagicPad and worked with Zac White to establish OpenClip.org, it is truly a collaborative effort with most of the credit being owed to him (Zac is a student developer at the University of Oklahoma).

Watching Cali Lewis' video, it looks like the OpenClip implementation UI is varying by application. (i.e., slide-up buttons for Twittelator, static buttons for WordPress, and the existing pop-ups in MagicPad). Is this intentional, simply providing a Core-like service Apps can use as they wish, or are you eventually hoping to standardize the interface for usability, like the CMD/CTRL X/C/V conventions?

In our proposal for copy / paste / text-selection candidate (http://magicpad.proximi.com/video.php), we discussed the different types of applications and why we felt variation in UI experience was necessary.

Do you still see this effort as "proof-of-concept" pushing Apple towards implementing cut/copy/paste themselves (making you obsolete, as you mentioned last time), or are you now figuring it will take so long for something official to come down the pipe, you want to provide truly robust solution yourselves?

We are definitely hoping Apple makes OpenClip obsolete. True system-wide copy / paste is not possible without Apple. We just hope our efforts help speed the process along and provide additional utility to iPhone users in the meantime.

Finally, is auto-correction playing nicely with cut and paste yet? (Or is Gruber going to yell at us again =) )

We've taken a lot of time to implement auto-correction in MagicPad, and while we've had success with Roman character keyboards, non-Roman languages are not functioning properly. The lack of Apple's documentation on the auto-correction method is making it really difficult to integrate with our UI for text-selection. Trust me, we're trying, but Gruber will still be yelling at us... =)

Thanks Brian! Can't wait to see more OpenClip aware Apps. Also can't wait for Apple to get serious about implementing this (or whatever their ultimate take on the functionality ends up being) officially.

Cali Lewis over at Geekbrief.tv recounts how iPhone App Store developer Juviwhale (who previously spoke to TiPb about his work on MagicPad) met up with a college student named Zac White at Dev Camp, who turned MagicPad's localized cut/copy/paste functionality into cross-application gold with the open-source OpenClip framework:

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. Zac White’s Open Clip framework uses a shared space on the iPhone. Any application that includes Open Clip can then access the common area and write to it, and read from it, thereby enabling copy and paste between participating apps.

Bottom line, it looks like any developer can add OpenClip, and instantly gain access to the shared cut/copy/paste pool. (Two of the apps demonstrated, sing a similar slide-up set of buttons to the proof-of-concept David Friedman showed off a few weeks back)

If this doesn't get Joz to bump official support up the list... it may not even matter soon.

(So long as auto-correction plays nicely with this implementation?)

Tired of waiting for a cut, copy, and paste on the iPhone? MagicPad -- a Note App replacement that also features Rich Text editing (buh-bye Marker Felt!) -- sure was. Witness the above proof-of-concept video. Ladies and gentlemen, the holy grail of iPhone feature.

Curious as to how they implemented their solution, and what challenges they faced? So were we, so we asked them. Read on for their answer!

Head of Product Development for Proximi, Juviwhale, told TiPb:

"The greatest challenge we faced when while developing MagicPad was attempting to develop a User Interface solution for text selection, copying and pasting on the iPhone that was simple and elegant yet versatile enough to be applied system wide.

What we have implemented in MagicPad is the first step towards a larger goal. We feel that MagicPad is a case study for the implemetation of standard UI for text selection and actions on the iPhone.

We also hope that Apple will soon define and implement a user interface for the iPhone which will make the demand for our product evaporate.

MagicPad is a starting point, a limited demonstration of what we are proposing as a candidate User Interface for text actions on the iPhone. We understand that whatever User Interface Apple implements will most likley define how users interact we touchscreen interfaces for generations.

We will actually detail our full comprehesive UI with a step-by-step video tutorialls on how our text editing system could work accross the iphone on our website shortly."

The referenced video, which is basically our thesis statement and thought process behind our proposed system and how it would integrate system-wide, should be on our site shortly. We are not marginalizing the complexity of the issue and understand why Apple has taken so long to implement something; copy & paste on the touchscreen is akin to the next generation of right-click. An elegant solution doesn't just happen overnight, and MagicPad is hopefully just a launching point.

Just like early Mac developers helped further push the platform and provide impetus for solutions Apple has not yet had considered, here's hoping Apps like MagicPad do to same for the iPhone.

Thanks to Proximi, Brian Radmin, and Juviwhale.