What can & can't an iPad do?

[EssentialParado]

It's a personal entertainment device, not a business device.

That's funny, I've been using my iPad to run my two businesses for the last 8 months or so, only needing my Mac roughly 5-10% of the time.

The iPad is very-much a business device when you find the apps you need. I needed to open a .rar the other day = Filer Pro. I need to make a zip folder of documents and images and email it = Goodreader. Need to sign PDF contracts = PDF Expert. Need to download files from a website or server = iCab.

Really, that 5-10% I use my Mac for is almost completely video conferencing, printing, and syncing. Which will hopefully be solved with the iPad 2 and in getting a wireless printer.

Only thing an iPad can't do for me is upload files to a website using just safari.
Eg. I wish I could go to an image upload site, and when I click browse it would let me upload a file from my photo library.. Even better would be a 'documents' folder to store other file types and let safari access that as well...

For me that would really blur the line between regular computer and tablet... A very simple "file system" with out giving too much access or over complicating things.

Maybe one day .

Safari can't do this, but iCab can. Imagine if Apple released iPad Safari 3.0 —this is iCab. It's on the App Store and highly recommended.

 

[ZilogZ80]

That's funny, I've been using my iPad to run my two businesses for the last 8 months or so, only needing my Mac roughly 5-10% of the time.

The iPad is very-much a business device when you find the apps you need. I needed to open a .rar the other day = Filer Pro. I need to make a zip folder of documents and images and email it = Goodreader. Need to sign PDF contracts = PDF Expert. Need to download files from a website or server = iCab.

Really, that 5-10% I use my Mac for is almost completely video conferencing, printing, and syncing. Which will hopefully be solved with the iPad 2 and in getting a wireless printer.

Anyone who can't appreciate how an iPad can be used as an effective business tool has either a) never used one or b) is not in business

 

[seajay96]

That's funny, I've been using my iPad to run my two businesses for the last 8 months or so, only needing my Mac roughly 5-10% of the time.

The iPad is very-much a business device when you find the apps you need. I needed to open a .rar the other day = Filer Pro. I need to make a zip folder of documents and images and email it = Goodreader. Need to sign PDF contracts = PDF Expert. Need to download files from a website or server = iCab.

Really, that 5-10% I use my Mac for is almost completely video conferencing, printing, and syncing. Which will hopefully be solved with the iPad 2 and in getting a wireless printer.

You know you could just use Goodreader for these 2 functions also

absolutely one of the top ten most useful apps for the iPad

 

[Gryzor]

We'll just keep this your little secret.

Do what you like, it still doesn't make the iPad a computer replacement. It's like getting a Totota MR2, putting on an after-market Ferrari body kit, screwing as much out of the engine as you can, and calling it a replacement for a real Ferrari. Riiiiight....

 

[VPrime]

Safari can't do this, but iCab can. Imagine if Apple released iPad Safari 3.0 —this is iCab. It's on the App Store and highly recommended.

I tried icab, but it doesn't let me upload to some sites ( probably the way the site is coded).. But overall it is quite a bit better.

 

[GfulDedFan]

Do what you like, it still doesn't make the iPad a computer replacement. It's like getting a Totota MR2, putting on an after-market Ferrari body kit, screwing as much out of the engine as you can, and calling it a replacement for a real Ferrari. Riiiiight....

As I posted previously, the iPad is a great supplement for a computer...

and to that I add

....for both home and enterprise.

 

[herdnerfer]

Internet porn

If you and your wife are into surfing for porn on the Internet, you may wanna get a MacBook. iPad is definitely not porn friendly, or maybe the porn sites aren't iPad friendly, something like that....

 

[ccf]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the replies.

One thing I'm concerned about is I keep hearing Safari gets hung up when several windows (or tabs) are open. Is this true?

I figured it would mostly depend on your internet speed, but like I said, I know just enough to be dangerous. Can the iPad not handle extensive surfing?

 

[deeddawg]

If you and your wife are into surfing for porn on the Internet, you may wanna get a MacBook. iPad is definitely not porn friendly, or maybe the porn sites aren't iPad friendly, something like that....

So are those (porn) the flash sites that are so important to some folks?

I'd been wondering why some people felt flash was so important yet I hadn't noticed any issues with the sites I visit. We clearly aren't visiting the same sites! Since I don't go to the porn sites I hadn't missed the lack of flash.

 

[trajen]

If you and your wife are into surfing for porn on the Internet, you may wanna get a MacBook. iPad is definitely not porn friendly, or maybe the porn sites aren't iPad friendly, something like that....

LMAO! I definitely won't be getting an iPad then.

 

[Cheerwino]

We'll just keep this your little secret.

Excellent!

Is there an App for that?

 

[EazyWeazy3]

So are those (porn) the flash sites that are so important to some folks?

I'd been wondering why some people felt flash was so important yet I hadn't noticed any issues with the sites I visit. We clearly aren't visiting the same sites! Since I don't go to the porn sites I hadn't missed the lack of flash.

You don't need flash to view certain sites.

Personal experience.

 

[thesmoth]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the replies.

One thing I'm concerned about is I keep hearing Safari gets hung up when several windows (or tabs) are open. Is this true?

I figured it would mostly depend on your internet speed, but like I said, I know just enough to be dangerous. Can the iPad not handle extensive surfing?

Not enough ram to have many tabs open. Apple cheaped out and put a pitiful 256 megs of ram in the iPad. Wait for the iPad 2 and it should be bumped up to 512 megs (this will catch the new iPad 2 up to what phones were using last year).

 

[asdfx3]

Not enough ram to have many tabs open. Apple cheaped out and put a pitiful 256 megs of ram in the iPad. Wait for the iPad 2 and it should be bumped up to 512 megs (this will catch the new iPad 2 up to what phones were using last year).

This is one of the most unfortunate weaknesses of the iPad. Even if you embrace it for what it is rather than viewing it as laptop++ there are some limitations that make it a less than flawless experience.
I'm actually selling my iPad in the hopes that either the next revision or one of the android tablets will provide a better experience for my uses.

 

[redman042]

It's a personal entertainment device, not a business device. If they wanted it to replace a laptop, they would have given in a proper file system or sold you a Macbook Air...

Re: Your first sentence... I heard the exact same statement from many of my coworkers a few years ago regarding the iPhone. "It's not a serious smartphone, it's a toy." Now about 80% of my coworkers carry iPhones and use it for business.

Re: Your second sentence... The iPad is NOT a laptop replacement for most people. You are right about that. But it is a terrific supplement. How much it can supplement your laptop depends on what you need. For some, it can replace it entirely. For others, hardly at all. For most, quite a bit.

 

[goosnarrggh]

Terminal is the equivalent of the Command Prompt, no? Windows has a command line input interface as well.

Install something like MSYS, Cygwin, or "Microsoft Windows Services for Unix" on your Windows machine, and you'll have varying subsets of a POSIX userland, including a sh-compatible shell, to work with. Then you'll have something worth taking the time to compare to the Mac OS X Terminal.

Note: In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications" (the new name for Services for Unix in those operating systems) is only available in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions.

 

[miamijim]

Correct me if I am wrong...

But does not using Air Sharing give the iPad the File system everybody thinks it so needs.

I have Air Sharing on mine and am able to do the whole files and folders thing with no problem whatsoever.