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The iPad is frustrating

FrankieTDouglas said:
In case you missed his original post, he specifically mentioned the need to download PDF files posted from his teacher. Where you got video streaming out of that, I don't know.
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OP said "PDA," and I didn't know quite what that was, but "PDF" certainly makes sense as an interpretation. My point is that there's a lot of content out there that can be downloaded from the internet using apps built for the purpose.

Ditto for web-based content, including .pdfs. I have an iPhone, not an iPad, but I can download .pdfs very easily. For example, I just used it to navigate to TraderJoes.com, clicked on Stores, clicked on Find A Store, and clicked on their Northern California link. Voila, a .pdf listing of the region's stores opened up in new window. Went back and clicked on their Southern California link. It opened a second .pdf in a different window. It also has no trouble opening .pdfs emailed to me.

I guess I'm still a little mystified what the OP wants to do.
 
sjinsjca said:
I guess I'm still a little mystified what the OP wants to do.
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My university has a website, like all other, where your teachers distribute syllabuses, readings, slides, and grades. When I send it to my email, i can open it in another window fine. However, I thought i would be able to open it in pad notes or keynote and be able to manipulate them, highlight or take notes on the sides, filling in the blanks where they delete the key phrases, etc.. I'm not trying to download torrents or anything, I am old fashioned and b buy my music. I just want to have a file folder to organize all these and be able to download them, this isn't possible right now, and it is frustrating, there is no easy way to do this task. I want to use this as my laptop and get a desktop, all i ever do is word processing and power points. I'm a political science major, not computer programming or engineering or anything that requires intricate tasks.
 
One thing we have to remember is that laptops and the iPad are completely different device categories. Sure they are both mobile, but the iPad will never be able to replace full featured general purpose computers, at least in its current configuration and capability set. A clear distinction must be made between the two devices, and Apple confirmed this in the original product introduction video. Note that the iPad fits between the MacBooks and the iPhone. It was never meant to replace one or the other, simply an accessory for the "quick and dirty" work you may find yourself needing to do. Quick and dirty as in, I need to go check the MacRumors site, quick pull out the iPad and surf away. Make sense?

You are in college, right? I'm pursuing my Ph.D...it is all about research...and more research. I know some people here have claimed it wasn't "clear" as to what features the iPad would and would not have. This is simply not the case. Watch the original introduction video with Steve Jobs, I think it is more than clear what this device was designed for and able to do. It runs the iPhone OS, that right there should remove all doubts of what it can and cannot do.
 
The solution is a lot easier than jumping through hoops: download iPDF. Then, when you're browsing the Internet and you come across a PDF you want to download, copy the link. Go to iPDF, paste the link, and it'll download it for you.

I think the iPad has a lot going for it, especially in it's first iteration. I expect a software update in July will address many shortcomings, as I don't think apple knows how people will be using it yet.
 
magicandmystery said:
The solution is a lot easier than jumping through hoops: download iPDF. Then, when you're browsing the Internet and you come across a PDF you want to download, copy the link. Go to iPDF, paste the link, and it'll download it for you.

I think the iPad has a lot going for it, especially in it's first iteration. I expect a software update in July will address many shortcomings, as I don't think apple knows how people will be using it yet.
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A solution has already been posted and he decided to ignore it.

Speaks for itself.
 
rtay said:
My university has a website, like all other, where your teachers distribute syllabuses, readings, slides, and grades. When I send it to my email, i can open it in another window fine. However, I thought i would be able to open it in pad notes or keynote and be able to manipulate them, highlight or take notes on the sides, filling in the blanks where they delete the key phrases, etc.. I'm not trying to download torrents or anything, I am old fashioned and b buy my music. I just want to have a file folder to organize all these and be able to download them, this isn't possible right now, and it is frustrating, there is no easy way to do this task. I want to use this as my laptop and get a desktop, all i ever do is word processing and power points. I'm a political science major, not computer programming or engineering or anything that requires intricate tasks.
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Thanks for the clarification. I can see why you're frustrated.

The iPad's lack of an apparent (or at least user-accessible) file system is the root of your issue. This is both (1) a breakthrough feature speaking to an entirely new computing paradigm, and (2) a point of frustration for people who, like you, want to use different apps on a file.

I suspect you'll get satisfaction at some point as the device and its app ecosystem evolve. For now it has it Day One set of functionality, and that doesn't measure up to your particular usage. I hope you can give it some time, but meanwhile it's not going to replace your laptop. It isn't meant to. Yet.
 
anubis said:
I'm surprised you're surprised by this. It was very apparent from the moment the iPad was announced that it would not be capable of doing the things you've described.
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When you think about it, the iPad is marketed as having the best web-browsing experience. Period. If you're not able to do something basic like download a PDF, that's not best. Actually, that's worst. Even my "dumb" phone can download PDF's...
 
Remember the iPad keynote? Jobs said that for the iPad to have a place in the market it needs to be better than a laptop and a smartphone for browsing, email, photos, video, music, games and ebooks.

Jobs is a great salesman alright :(
 
thejadedmonkey said:
When you think about it, the iPad is marketed as having the best web-browsing experience. Period. If you're not able to do something basic like download a PDF, that's not best. Actually, that's worst. Even my "dumb" phone can download PDF's...
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no one ever accused Job's descriptions of new products as being accurate. :)
 
Pared said:
A solution has already been posted and he decided to ignore it.

Speaks for itself.
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I have already said i have good reader. I'm not looking to read the PDFs, I'm looking to manipulate them. I have said this like two times. You havegreat reading skills Speaks for itself.

As for me not researching the product, I did. I looked stuff up all the time. They made iworks for the iPad, that proves they want content creation on it. I thought being able to download PDFs would be a given. What is one good reason why this ios not available.

Jobs is no fool, he knows he can't sell a $500-800 movie viewer, ebook reader, and web surfer to a mass market. I paid $100 less than a MacBook would cost me with my student discount. That's laptop range. He wants it to kill net books, he said it, then it has to be able to do some net book tasks. If people ruin their ipadsince downloading stolen files, that's their problem.

This device isn't only about that. You guys are fools if you bought it to only use for that reason. I knew at the very least jail breaking would let me use it like a laptop. I'm not trying to steal apps or anything like that, i ma trying to download PDFs and multitasking so I can read a PDF and take my online quiz at the same time. Why is that not standard? I know multitasking is coming, I don't care about that, but this is restricted so bad it's insane.
 
rtay said:
You guys are fools if you bought it to only use for that reason.
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Well there's obviously no helping you now that you're on your soapbox.

You can save PDF's. What you're asking for isn't available, seeing as you want to multitask.

As others have mentioned, had you done your homework you'd know this.
 
Pared said:
What you're asking for isn't available
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Yet.

Lots of features we take for granted with the iPhone were not available when it first came out. Things like cut-and-paste were added with OS updates; other features like 3G compatibility came with new models. Heck, even the App Store came a year into the game.

To my eye, Apple did a fine job of implementing a core set of Day One capabilities for its first-generation iPad, enough to make it worthwhile to own for a whole lot of people. I mean, I understand the OP's point, but egad, where was this kvetching about the Kindle, a far less capable platform which was introduced at $399? Here we are, a couple years later, and the Kindle has grown not at all in significant capabilities or features. Similarly, things like the PSP remain one-trick ponies. Meanwhile people keep mentioning netbooks but I can tell you, I have a recent one right here, and they are an absolutely dismal user experience, just toss-against-the-wall horrible to live with. Steve Jobs said the iPad will kill the netbook. I hope he's right, but he never said it would happen on Day One.

So Apple has introduced a fascinating new machine which blitzes the Kindle, games like a PSP, provides most of the capabilities of netbooks (and again, "most" is qualified by it being only Day One) and offers much potential for the future... and some folks aren't satisfied.

Well, frankly, for something to have been subjected to wall-to-wall media coverage since January and described (derided, even) as "just a big iPod Touch" and then turns out to be something more than a big iPod Touch but still technically a big iPod Touch, it should be no surprise that it shares many of the iPod Touch's limitations. At least on Day One. Unlike the iPod Touch, it is less constrained by a weensie screen, and some of those limitations will go away as the app ecosystem and Apple's own software updates start to spin up.

Give it time.
 
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