Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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I've always hated how the pages on book curve as you near the binding - unless you absolutely destroy the book and splay it wide open. Plus, it gets tiring on your hand/fingers to have to hold it open constantly. And no matter what you do, you have to hold the book in your hand the entire time. And for hard back books, you frequently have to use 2 hands. Not relaxing in the slightest! On the iPad, however, I can read almost hands free. I've got the Apple iPad case, and in chair, I can prop it up on my lap without any issue. In bed, I can have it on my lap, chest, or propped up against a pillow if I'm laying on my side. All I need to do is tap the border to turn the page occasionally. Reading in the dark is awesome because I don't have to worry about bright spots or shadows on the page. The light is evenly distributed - and adjustable - across the entire page. It is soooo much better than reading a book has ever been. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Apple Historian
Join Date: May 2004
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The only thing is, I do wish it were a bit lighter, but I expect it to shed some weight in the future. Last edited by Messiahtosh : 2010-08-02 at 15:42. |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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None of these systems are exactly perfect (physical arrow keys or a D-pad are the best), but they all work much better than having to tap your finger in the exact right spot. It's almost impossible to put the cursor on one side or the other of a punctuation mark. You just have to sort of do trial and error. With so much screen space, it would have been nice if they had included arrow keys. But I suppose entering text isn't really the point of the iPad. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Would I be willing to make the necessary sacrifice(s) to achieve that? No. The only ways I can see to make the unit lighter - given the technology that they have right now are: - reduced battery capacity - plastic body instead of aluminum - plastic screen instead of glass Those are trade-offs that I would not make. As battery technology gets better, they should be able to make lighter batteries that last just as long. Until then, I think they struck the proper balance between size/weight and design/capabilities. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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There's another option - give it a smaller screen. Which may happen. A 7" iPad would address many of the concerns about weight and portability, and it might actually make it easier to type on.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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I guess I consider that more of an additional device, rather than a tradeoff to the current device. I'd love to see it though - not as a replacement, but as another option.
Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Apple Historian
Join Date: May 2004
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I agree that it would be so much easier to type on a smaller screen, by being able to effectively reach all of the keys with the thumbs. The current iPad is a bear to type on, after a while. It's fine for quick replies or short messaging, but not for "real" typing. Unless you have Adrien Brody hands, the iPad in its current state, is pretty tough to type on.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Interesting little 'kickstand' for iPad and iPhone now available. These don't look like they'd work if you have the iPad in a case. If you're still going 'bareback' with yours, then something like this could be handy to have around.
http://movie-peg.com/ Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
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The honeymoon is over, coincidentally so is summer. Anyway, with the fall semester here, I'm starting to feel like the iPad is slowly losing its appeal. My usage habits require a nice portable device. And while portable, the iPad is a little shy of versatile for me. It would be nice to have a keyboard during classes, but the biggest problem is in the lab. My institution is big on IP, and for whatever other reasons doesn't provide a wireless network in the labs. I need a device with an ethernet port. How archaic, but I suppose it is a bit more secure.
My options are limited, and I love my 17" MBP but I don't really want to carry it around on a daily basis. It isn't really the size, I'm more worried about something happening to it. I bike every day to school, and don't want to have to think about dropping or losing this behemoth. I'm thinking of scoping out the refurb store and scooping up the cheapest MacBook I can find, just so I have something to beat on. It doesn't need to be fast, doesn't need lots of processing power, or storage. Anyway, in a nutshell I've started to produce and need something to keep up with me. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Not a ton of things to choose from there currently, but maybe there doesn't need to be...just one offering there now, but it's a current-generation MacBook refurb for $849 ($150 off new)...that's 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, 8x SuperDrive, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics.
Nothing to sneeze at. And with the RAM and hard drive being so easily upgradeable, those are two things you can easily do on your own for not a lot of money, if/when the need arises. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
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I wouldn't think that the iPad would be a workhorse for serious class or lab work. It does not replace a laptop for that, I would think.
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M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
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I know Paul, that's what I'm seeing and salivating about. I'd pull the HDD, throw in a small SSD and we'll be cooking with fire. Only thing I don't like is the C2D - but I can't imagine needing tons of speed for day to day stuff.
Paul, how long do these usually sit around the store? If it disappears by tomorrow are the chances pretty decent that it will reappear in the next week or so? (I know you're the Refurb guru.) Yeah, this situation isn't a knock on the iPad (really probably doesn't belong here) - it's more of a feeling like I ran into its first real limitation. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Off-topic (click to toggle):
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Not sayin', just sayin'
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My wife surprised me with a 32 GB wifi iPad last night for my birthday. It's syncing at home right now. I have so many photos I want to put on it, but that is going to take a while.
As far as the Photos app, I know it has Faces and Places, but is there any way outside of iPhoto (which is not available to me right now) to tag those things for the iPad, say, on a Dell PC? That's all we have these days to use as home base, so to speak. |
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I have had the iPad (32GB + 3G) since i5t was first released in the UK and unlike a lot of gadgets i buy, it is still used everyday. So it is off to a good start already!
As far as its useful-ness goes, i find myself using it mainly in bed (OK that sounds dodgy but it isn't used in that way! ) or on the sommute into work. Since it acts as my Sonos controller, i use it in the morning and night, in bed, to play some tunes and then do some net surfing or emailing at the same time. But because it is 3G it is most at use on my 2hr round commute everyday. Travelling into London on the Tube, i find it so fun to just surf the net, watch movies/tv (even live TV over 3G) or catch catch up on the news on the way in. And doing this the battery lasts for the whole week without charging. The biggest problem, like others have mentioned, is the refreshing of web pages due to the lack of RAM. Thats is super annoying and it makes the whole browsing experience so much slower. I would also like to see background loading of tabs. Also the inclusion of a front facing camera, to make video calls, would have really made this an unbeatable product. I am looking forward to more high quality newspaper and magazine apps coming onto the iPad as that will make it even more useful in the morning. |
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¡Damned!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
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The outfit I'm working with at the moment just took their iPad, some custom glass, a hood, this software and a couple hours work and turned it into a pretty damn nice teleprompter.
I was impressed. So it goes. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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The iPad experience keeps getting better. Today I learned that I can read ESPN The Magazine digital edition using the free Zinio app. I had been subscribed for a while, but didn't know how to get it onto the iPad. I also subscribed to Stereophile for the first time in years. It's only $9.95/12 issues.
Last edited by ezkcdude : 2010-08-27 at 12:52. |
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Not sayin', just sayin'
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I have to say that for all those folks who think the interwebs are going the way of the dodo, Safari for the iPad (and wide adoption of HTML 5 and Ajax technology) makes a lot of apps unnecessary. I don't know if I would bother with some apps since I have access to their websites anyway without any real screen or UI issues.
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Less than Stellar Member
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I've found that my iPad is providing some differentiation in the way I use my machines. I read *a lot* on the iPad and do some minor text entry, etc. On my computer I rarely go to Google Reader anymore but I still do the heavy lifting and my iPhone is relegated to those (many) times I find myself with a few minutes to kill. Previously, there was a gap that neither my laptop/desktop nor my iPhone could fill easily.
If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong. |
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Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472 Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
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1.) I think what's impressed me the most is how full featured Safari is. For a "mobile browser" it's really very powerful. I love the bookmarks bar dropping down when you select the address bar. It was totally unexpected the first few times. It's also blazing fast on my home network. Second up is how awesome iPad apps are compared to iPhone apps. There are a handful of apps I had that were already coded for both so it was nice to see such a big display on the new screen.
2.) The lack of iOS 4 still is pretty disappointing to me actually. The next up would be the lack of a "safe, kid friendly login". When I hand my iPad to my kids they have already figured out how to delete apps. It sucks too when the app has data contained in the app that you lose when this happens. I'd love to have the ability to set a pin that prevents adding, removing or changing app locations. 3.) What has differed from my expectations most would be how much I use it. I wasn't expecting to use it much at all. This is why I held off on getting one until I could justify it. Now I use it everyday and multiple times at that. Like torifile mentioned somewhere else, I use this for all my RSS feeds now. Safari is left with the feed count stacking up. I didn't think I'd use this anywhere near as much at as I do. 4.) I've had this one since July 17th and love it. 5.) Typing on it works well in a pinch, but I haven't replied to this thread yet because I'm normally going through the forums on my iPad now and I hate typing anything more than a few lines on it! It's better than typing on my Dell Mini 9 Hackintosh, but that's only because the keyboard is so cramped on the Mini 9. The lack of tactile feedback and no physical sense of home row make it a bit of a pain. It's fine for short typing bursts but I won't use it for something that needs more than a spacebar or enter key to format. Overall I'm in love with this device though. It was well worth the price I paid for it. It plays all the videos formatted for my AppleTV and even pairs with my cell phone for a hotspot without a hitch. It works like a charm for everything I need it for. It's awesome! Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it. |
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Less than Stellar Member
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iPad + Netflix streaming of Dollhouse + 2 rubber stoppers + treadmill = win
I normally hate running on a treadmill but the weather has been so awfully hot and humid running outside seems like death. My iPad made this run much more enjoyable. Yes, it was slower than usual but I ran longer, too. If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong. |
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Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472 Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
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I just submitted feedback for an upgrade to the iPad (and all other iOS devices) but figured I'd copy it here too so you can see the one new challenge I've been faced with.
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Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it. |
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Veteran Member
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I wonder if Apple could provide a password so that you can also prevent iTunes from randomly rearranging your apps when it is syncing!
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Less than Stellar Member
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Even better: Dollhouse season 2 premiere + web streaming from my Mac + iPad + treadmill. All I need is a slingbox and the iPad would replace that small LCD tv I thought I'd put up there.
If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
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Review: "The iPad, five months later"
Very positive assessment by somebody who uses it constantly. Interestingly, he doesn't mind typing on it even for drafting newspaper articles, which seems to be more than most do using the virtual keyboard. For longer stuff he fires up a bluetooth keyboard. When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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There are finally some apps coming out that enable "cloud editing". To be specific, with Droptext ($0.99), you can edit any ASCII-formatted text files within any folder you have created on Dropbox. You can also add new files or folders. There's no formatting options, as it's only a text editor. This is exactly the kind of productivity app I've been waiting for, because prior to this, I had no way to edit the many .tex files I keep on Dropbox on my iPad.
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Other than being cheaper and working with a different service, I don't see what Droptext does differently from WriteRoom?
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
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How does the iPad handle large images? E.g. http://imaging.nikon.com/products/im...e/pic_002b.jpg (a sample photo from the Nikon D3X).
Since I'm into photography I frequently encounter really large JPEGs on the web, which often bring Safari to its knees on my MBP. (Firefox does vastly better with this, but its image resizing algorithm is crap in comparison.) Does Safari on the iPad even attempt to display images as large as the one I've linked to in this post? |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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It's funny how almost every post I make these days, you make some kind of smug comment on it. Do you realize that you're doing that? There's another way to handle those types of responses. You could have said something like, "hey, ez, have you tried WriteRoom? I find it useful. What about you?" I'm sure you're a great guy in the real world, but you come off as accusational with me in almost every post. Oh, well. As for your question, Droptext (as the name suggests) syncs with DropBox. WriteRoom doesn't (to my knowledge). That's why I'm using it. Last edited by ezkcdude : 2010-09-12 at 15:01. |
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