iOS 5 ... Debacle

Let me get right to the point:

If you own an original iPad and you have enabled multi-tasking gestures using Xcode, don't upgrade to iOS 5 just yet. If you do upgrade, you'll lose multi-tasking gestures altogether. What's more, you won't be able to re-enable multi-tasking gestures with Xcode. Simply put, you're screwed. At least for now.

*** Update on 10/21/11 ***
There is a workaround/hack for enabling gestures on an iPad 1 with iOS 5. It's described here.
*** Update ***

Apple makes a lot of good decisions and design choices, but any human organization makes mistakes. In this case the mistake was to disable multi-tasking gestures in iOS 5 for the original iPad. If you have an iPad 2, you're cool - go ahead and upgrade. Perhaps the decision to discriminate against the original iPad was made to ... um ... encourage those users to upgrade to the iPad 2. If so, this was bush league, below the belt, bull$hit.

To my knowledge, there is no technical reason to not allow the iPad access to multi-tasking gestures. I enabled this feature, using Xcode, for at least a dozen iPad owners running iOS 4.#.#. And guess what? Multi-tasking gestures worked just fine. The iPad 2's faster processor was not required. And I know several pilots who rely on multi-tasking gestures for their iPad to be a more useful and well-rounded EFB.

So what can you do?

Apple may choose to fix this. In fact, it could have been a mistake and not a marketing choice. For now, if you are an original iPad owner, don't upgrade to iOS 5.

If you are an original iPad owner and you've already upgraded or if you are miffed (I would be if I hadn't already upgraded to an iPad 2), go here and give Apple an earful. If enough people complain, surely Apple will see the error of their ways.