Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

GoodReader = MUST-HAVE app

r0k said:
Even now there is no software (that I have found) that allows me to use an AFP (apple) or SMB (linux/windows) shared folder from my iPad. Lame, Lame, Gimpy and Lame. I can use ftp, sftp and ssh from my iPad and that's good enough because most of my files are on Linux boxes and are available via ftp. But I don't have ftp enabled on my Macbook and would rather not if I didn't have to.
Click to expand...

OK, you are correct it doesn't support 2 methods of communications (or 100 others for that matter)... but from the ipad you can grab files from ftp, email, www, box.net, idisk, google docs. and from your computer you can send it over wifi or via usb sync. Plus your original comment was: And having to use iTunes and a usb cable to get non-music content to and from a wifi equipped device does not meet my definition of easy... which isn't really true.

I don't work for the company but I find all of these methods to be more then acceptable especially for .99.

Honestly this and Jump are the only two apps I've purchased for the ipad. I just wish I could get folders/passwords on the default video app. Don't really want my 5 year old watching episodes of Spartacus instead of Princes and the Frog.
 
anthonymoody said:
I think this issue is WAY bigger than multi-tasking to be honest. Doing two (or more) things at once is certainly 'nice' if not entirely necessary. But the benefit of even that is limited if the stuff from app A doesn't play nicely/easily with the stuff from app B.

We need either:

-a built in file system

OR

-hooks to allow apps to cleanly get documents in/out from one app to another
Click to expand...

After using the ipad for awhile, I'm starting to agree. I can live without multitasking, flash, camera, etc... BUT, I think having a file system is such a basic thing that I don't know why its not on there. Also printing would be nice too. A file system and printing are two VERY basic features.

I guess Apple is thinking having a file system would make things more complex, and they are striving for simplicity. But I think a very basic file system would not make it more complex, but make it more usuable to the average user. The fact iWork on on the iPad also is making a file system necessary.
 
Bodhi395 said:
After using the ipad for awhile, I'm starting to agree. I can live without multitasking, flash, camera, etc... BUT, I think having a file system is such a basic thing that I don't know why its not on there. Also printing would be nice too. A file system and printing are two VERY basic features.

I guess Apple is thinking having a file system would make things more complex, and they are striving for simplicity. But I think a very basic file system would not make it more complex, but make it more usuable to the average user. The fact iWork on on the iPad also is making a file system necessary.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I think if created in the usual Apple fashion, it could be both simple and powerful. At this point my wish list in order of importance is:

-file system
-printing
-email searching (in the body of the email, and within subfolders)
-multi tasking
 
anthonymoody said:
I think this issue is WAY bigger than multi-tasking to be honest. Doing two (or more) things at once is certainly 'nice' if not entirely necessary. But the benefit of even that is limited if the stuff from app A doesn't play nicely/easily with the stuff from app B.

We need either:

-a built in file system

OR

-hooks to allow apps to cleanly get documents in/out from one app to another
Click to expand...

I agree. No filesystem is a huge blunder that is aggravated by the inclusion of iWork apps that beg to have the ability to manipulate files.

But at least with multitasking, I could launch goodreader and leave it running as a web server to drop files then go start RemoteTap and drag/drop files using (remotely) my Macbook.


supermanx said:
OK, you are correct it doesn't support 2 methods of communications (or 100 others for that matter)... but from the ipad you can grab files from ftp, email, www, box.net, idisk, google docs. and from your computer you can send it over wifi or via usb sync. Plus your original comment was: And having to use iTunes and a usb cable to get non-music content to and from a wifi equipped device does not meet my definition of easy... which isn't really true.

I don't work for the company but I find all of these methods to be more then acceptable especially for .99.

Honestly this and Jump are the only two apps I've purchased for the ipad. I just wish I could get folders/passwords on the default video app. Don't really want my 5 year old watching episodes of Spartacus instead of Princes and the Frog.
Click to expand...

The 2 methods iPad doesn't support are methods which are routinely supported by devices that traditionally run iWork. Will I return my iPad 'cuz it doesn't do AFP and SMB? No. I'll find a workaround because I happen to like the device. It is the right size and shape to fit my needs and I'll choose to put up with this quirk. Will it kill Apple if they ignore this issue and focus on others? Only if their competitors figure this out first. Apple has a compelling ecosystem in iTunes to tie its users to iThings. If they fail to develop a compelling case for some sort of ecosystem for iPad, they run the risk of competitors luring people away with minor upgrades like (my case) the ability to seamlessly move files around or (your case) the ability to password protect media content or organize it in folders. BTW, I should mention that there is a parental controls filtering type feature on the iPad. You can turn it on before handing the device to a youngster and turn it off when they give it back.
 
r0k said:
Drag & drop is way plenty easy when it doesn't require walking down two flights of stairs and plugging in a usb cable. :eek:

I've gotten in the habit of never plugging my iThings in to the "mothership". I only have a few hundred songs on my iPod Touch and none on my iPad so the only reason I ever plug in is to back up. I don't mind that my podcasts don't get updated. Also having my Macbook in my basement office is a deterrent to plugging in.

Back when I had a Palm TX, I used to be able to hotsync via wifi: Contacts, apps, music, everything. That was so 2005. Here it is 5 years later and I cannot do the same thing with the iPad. Hopefully Apple will toss me a few bones at tomorrow's OS 4.0 announcement.
Click to expand...

You really want to praise a company that walking on the edge of bankruptcy? I want wireless sync too but it's important to buy things from a company that won't die a few years later, giving you zero support.

What's the point of an iPod if you don't add you music to it? It's akin to having a computer but not installing software since you must insert a CD or download a .dmg file from the internet.
 
r0k said:
BTW, I should mention that there is a parental controls filtering type feature on the iPad. You can turn it on before handing the device to a youngster and turn it off when they give it back.
Click to expand...
Problem with parental control is it still displays the video just requires a code to play them, and how can you assign a rating for movies you copy to itunes?

I agree APPLE should support smb, ect... just like they should support a filesystem with password protection. I just don't expect it from a .99 document app. I was actually pretty impressed they did the wifi share its especially helpful on machines that have pdf but I dont use for itunes.
 
MikhailT said:
Umm, it's already here.

DQMlj.png
Click to expand...


AWESOME.

The end of all the wifi/email/dropbox craziness for transferring docs.

Looking forward to be able to do this on my iPhone 3GS, I hope we get 3.2 soon.
 
Bodhi395 said:
After using the ipad for awhile, I'm starting to agree. I can live without multitasking, flash, camera, etc... BUT, I think having a file system is such a basic thing that I don't know why its not on there. Also printing would be nice too. A file system and printing are two VERY basic features.

I guess Apple is thinking having a file system would make things more complex, and they are striving for simplicity. But I think a very basic file system would not make it more complex, but make it more usuable to the average user. The fact iWork on on the iPad also is making a file system necessary.
Click to expand...

It's interesting that someone like myself, who wasn't going to get an iPad but did and someone like you who had no reservations are kind of meeting in the "middle" as far as functionality.

What I mean is - there are things I was frustrated with which led me to not want an iPad. Things that I thought were actually counter-intuitive. Every time I mentioned one - I was sure to get pounced on because people said that the general public didn't want/need features or specs I was seeking. And maybe the general public doesn't. We shall see.

But now with actual use cases, we are seeing that for the iPad to truly excel, it does need additional functionality. And this is far from an "I told you so" post as I've change my tune (a bit) rationalizing my purchase by deciding that what the iPad lack I would just do without. Meaning - I just won't use the iPad for content creation - but rather a really nice media device + web browsing/apps. I do think the potential is a lot greater. But not until Apple extends this functionality. It's not practical to compose something in lite versions of pages/numbers/keynote if you can't share it easily. Or port back and forth to your computer without losing formatting, and other things.

Just one example.

The iPad "should" be about simplifying tasks and making life easier. It goes against the very nature of the product if you have to do 7 steps using 3-4 different apps just to get something done. That's a time waster - and certainly not the simplicity people on this message board were heralding that the general public needs or wants.
 
RMXO said:
I got goodreader but I'm starting to wonder if I should of gotten Readdledocs instead.
Click to expand...

This is my go-to app for all my technical PDFs. I tried a couple others and liked this one the best. However, I bought Goodreader the other day anyway and think it's good too.

I'd get both and figure it out for yourself. It's not expensive.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

The only thing that bothers me is that I don't get the option to open PDFs from Mail with it.
 
I wonder if the author would consider adding support for CBR and CBZ files, or at least support for ZIP and RAR archives?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back