14 DAY TRIAL // The new iOS 8.0 has been released and it comes with a host of new features, but at least one of them looks suspiciously like something used in Ubuntu for years.
It's not something out of the ordinary for an operating system to copy some features used in a different one. In fact, this is done on a constant basis and it's one of the reasons all the current OSes are somewhat similar. That is especially useful when someone implements a feature that turns out to be immensely useful. That will land in other OSes sooner or later.
The new iOS 8.0 brings numerous features, but it stays true to its form and it doesn't stray too far from the original path. It's not all about fixes and changes, as some new features have been added as well. One in particular has drawn our attention because it sounds very familiar: the new Spotlight search.
Out with the old, in with the new from others
iOS users now have a more comprehensive Spotlight search feature that should prove to be much more powerful and more encompassing. Users are now greeted with this message: "In addition to searching your iPhone, Spotlight now shows suggestions from the Internet, iTunes, App Store, locations nearby, and more. You can change this in Settings. Learn more..."
Maybe the resemblance is not obvious right from the start, but let's imagine, just for a moment, that we change just two words in that paragraph. It might sound like this: "In addition to searching your Ubuntu, the Dash now shows suggestions from the Internet, iTunes, App Store, locations nearby, and more. You can change this in Settings. Learn more..."
Granted, the Ubuntu Dash doesn't provide information from iTunes, but you get the idea. Online searching has been implemented in the Dash for a few years now and it's been refined over time. There have been some security issues in the beginning that got fixed, but the same can't be said about Spotlight.
Online search is not secure by default
What happens with the searches made by users? Are they stored by Apple, discarded, or shared with partners for a better user experience? There are some serious security questions that have to be asked, but it's uncertain if iOS users will do that.
The fact that it resembles the search implemented in Ubuntu is less important, although it wouldn't kill them to say "hey, we saw this cool feature in Ubuntu and we really wanted to have it." That's all it takes.