When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.

In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.

As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.

Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.

For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!

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We do a decent amount of social media coverage here at Ars, but not everything that happens with Facebook, Twitter, and the like is worth its own story. Sometimes, though, we happen across things that make us say "huh, that's interesting." It turns out there are a lot of things we thought we knew about social media users, but not all of them are true. Here are a few tidbits we gathered that may surprise some of you.

A rather surprising article hit the front page of the BBC on Tuesday: the next generation of hard disks could cause slowdowns for XP users. Not normally the kind of thing you'd expect to be placed so prominently, but the warning it gives is a worthy one, if timed a bit oddly. The world of hard disks is set to change, and the impact could be severe. In the remarkably conservative world of PC hardware, it's not often that a 30-year-old convention gets discarded. Even this change has been almost a decade in the making.

The problem is hard disk sectors. A sector is the smallest unit of a hard disk that software can read or write. Even though a file might only be a single byte long, the operating system has to read or write at least 512 bytes to read or write that file.

Not too long ago, David Finland built a device capable of communicating with just about any model of iPod via the dock connector using an Arduino Nano, PodGizmo breakout board, an old USB iPod connector, and a momentary switch. While it may not sound like a big deal, there is more to it than one might think: namely programming a device (in this case the Arduino Nano) to be able to receive, interpret, and respond to messages sent from an iPod. 

This means teaching it to speak Apple Accessory Protocol and, although proprietary in nature, it has been fairly well documented around the Internet. Finland slung some code so that his iPod touch was hooked up to one of the famous Staples Easy buttons in his car. Now he could easily play and pause his iPod touch without having to fiddle with the on-screen controls.

Fast-forward several months and Finland had all but forgotten about the project when he was asked by the folks that run Make magazine to talk about it. In particular, they wanted him to talk about the library he created for communicating with Apple’s portable audio players. He said yes, and decided to dive back into the project and attempt to add additional functionality to the project. 

Finland's first go around only involved tackling the the Simple Remote portion of the Apple Remote Protocol, which handles things like mute, next playlist, skip, and turning the device on and off. With newfound interest, however, he has now tackled the Advanced Remote portion, which opens up a bevy of new functionality, including getting names of songs, albums, artists, and track time; toggling shuffle and repeat mode; and all the other neat functionality that iPods have.

This newly released library of code will surely appeal to the do-it-yourself hackers who love tinkering, soldering, and programming. Someone could theoretically even build his or her own iPod speaker solution with a plethora of different options and feedback. The more daring could hard-wire a solution to a car’s in-wheel audio controls. Personally, I envision some sort of bicycle solution that docks the iPod on the handlebars but allows riders to control the device without taking their hands off the handlebars. An even more enterprising individual could rig something like this up to a sudden motion sensor so that when someone enters a room, the iPod begins to play.

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Though the 3G-equipped version of the iPad will only be able to get data services from AT&T, Verizon apparently sees the introduction of Apple's tablet device as "an opportunity" for the company to sell data services. A supposed internal sales memo published by Engadget reveals Verizon's plan to push its MiFi mobile hotspot for the WiFi-only version of the iPad, which will be available April 3.

The memo points out that the WiFi + 3G iPad won't go on sale for at least a few weeks after the WiFi model, costs $130 more, and can only get service through AT&T, which the memo describes as "an overloaded network with limited coverage." Ouch.

To be fair, the extra $130 includes GPS hardware in addition to the 3G radios, and AT&T continues to make improvements to its network. But, if you don't want to wait, don't want to pay extra, or just don't want to use AT&T service, Verizon has a point—a mobile hotspot like the MiFi (which can connect up to 5 devices at once) can make a good alternative.

A MiFi 2200 from Verizon will run you $50 with current promotions and a two-year contract; without a contract expect to pay about $250. However, Verizon's plans aren't as generous or affordable as the data options AT&T offers for the iPad. Through AT&T, you'll pay $15 per month for up to 250MB of data or $30 per month for unlimited via AT&T, and those plans don't require a contract. With Verizon, you'll pay $40 per month for up to 250MB, or $60 per month with a 5GB cap. Prepaid, non-contract options start at $15 per day with a 75MB limit. Like AT&T, however, your plan also includes free access to Verizon WiFi hotspots.

Sprint offers a branded MiFi 2200 as well, though you can get it free after a $50 mail-in rebate. The company only offers one data plan, though: $60 per month with a 5GB cap (and a 300MB cap on roaming). Sprint also offers the Sierra Wireless Overdrive 4G/3G hotspot for those in an area with WiMAX coverage. Though it costs $100 after rebate, for the same $60 a month you'd get unlimited 4G data and 5GB of 3G data.

For a 4G-only option, you can go directly through Clear to get a 4G USB modem and a Clear Spot WiFi adapter that works with up to eight devices for under $200 total. Data plans start at $40 per month for 4G-only access, though bundles with home service or 3G fall-back are also available.

Other combinations of mobile data modems and/or mobile hotspots are also possible, and it's probably worth it to check with the provider in your area to see what options are available. Despite the extra cost of the WiFi + 3G iPad and the associated data plans, you're not likely to find a cheaper alternative. But going this route means you'll have data access for other devices, such as a laptop, iPod touch, or Nintendo DSi, and can serve data to multiple devices at the same time. The extra flexibility may fit your particular needs and justify the extra cost.

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One of the most striking images from The Terminator was the weapon he carried and used in his first attempt on Sarah Connor's life: the .45 Longslide, with laser sighting. Who can forget the scene in the gun shop? The gun was likewise such a striking presence on screen it was used on the film's poster. There are T-shirts dedicated to the gun.

Terminator was released in 1984, and while laser sights on weapons are common now, when the film was first shown the red laser was able to communicate something subtle and powerful to the audience: this is a machine, deadly accurate and futuristic. It made the Terminator seem other-worldly and terrifying. At a party during CES, Deputy Editor Jon Stokes and I bumped into some representatives from SureFire, a company that specializes in tactical flashlights. We talked about some of our favorite moments with technology in cinema, and The Terminator came up.

"We created that laser!" I was told. They told me the gentleman who built the prop was named Ed Reynolds, and he was still with the company. More than a little jazzed about bumping into a fun part of film history, we knew we had to get the full story behind the Terminator's gun.

Apple COO Tim Cook's warning from early 2009 wasn't the only one that handset makers received before Apple sicced the lawyers on HTC last week. According to a research note from Oppenheimer analyst Yal Reiner, Apple began warning top executives at companies such as HTC and Motorola in January that it wasn't too happy about seeing allegedly iPhone-related IP showing up in proposed new products.

According to "industry checks," Cook's comments last January during the quarterly analyst call—that Apple "will not stand for having our IP ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal"—were taken seriously by the likes of LG, Samsung, and even Nokia. Though the Palm Pre openly flaunted multitouch capabilities (what most handset makers believed were at the heart of Cook's warning), its sales numbers haven't proven to be much of a concern for Apple so far.

In an announcement published last week, Nokia's Valtteri Halla revealed that Intel and Nokia are planning to launch the public MeeGo source code repository by the end of the month.

The MeeGo project began to take shape last month when Intel and Nokia announced plans to merge their respective Linux-based mobile computing platforms into a single open source software project. The unified software platform, which consists of technology from Maemo and Moblin, will be designed for use on a wide range of device form factors and will support both ARM and x86 architectures.