Enoch’s Thoughts

A few weeks ago I bought an iPad. This came as a shock to my spouse, who had suggested one as a gift several months ago, and which I declined. I guess it felt too soon. As much as I appreciate the appropriate use of technology, I’m not an early adopter. My wife has a Macbook, and I have a Mac Mini as my personal machine, stashed in an out-of-the-way room that serves as my office and music space. Most of the action in our house happens in the kitchen and den which form one long room. The TV lives there, and it’s where my wife’s laptop spends most of its time.

I thought the iPad would allow me to spend more time in the main living area, rather than having to retreat to my hideaway anytime I wanted to check e-mail or look up an obscure Internet factoid. So the main requirement was that I could type on it, and move the typed information from the iPad to the rest of the world. I also wanted to know whether it would serve as a replacement for a laptop, for example, for my mother-in-law, who is similarly tethered to her iMac.

Before I bought it, I tried one at work to see if I could even type on the soft-keyboard. I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked. I have an odd, multiple-finger, hunt-and-peck style developed over years of desperation, but it works fine, thanks in part to the auto-correct function in Notes.

As far as the second question, I decided pretty quickly that it wouldn’t work very well as a laptop replacement. The first thing you see when you power it up is “Connect me to iTunes!” It really is designed to sync with a mother ship. Plus, there are some things the browser just won’t do, like play Flash-based content, or certain transactions involving pop-up windows. There are lots of reasons even a non-techie user needs a main computer. But if your spouse, significant other, roommate, or co-worker has a “real computer” they don’t mind sharing, you might pull it off.

My initial assessment was that the iPad was going to be primarily a content-consuming device. Although I could get my typed text out of the device two different ways (both involving copy-and-paste), there just didn’t seem to be much in the way of creation tools and mechanisms. I mean, the thing doesn’t even expose its file system!

But in short order, I found some tools that allow drawing, crude music creation, and other types of content generation, and I’ve now concluded that, though it will never take the place of a full-fledged computer, I can find plenty of useful things to do with it.

In addition to text-based functions (note-taking, blogging, web site updating), I’ve used it as sheet music (really simplifies page-turning), designed a shelf with it, and created, edited and posted several blogs (including this one). Not to mention worked far too many crosswords (the interface compares favorably with my previous preference, pen and newsprint), seen some amazing pictures, and done very poorly on a racing game (turning the iPad to steer is not my favorite interface, although it seemed really cool the first time or two.)

The day I tossed it into Maybelle for a trip to Athens was the day I realized that I have started thinking of it as a tool rather than a “computer.” It feels more rugged than a laptop, and I can use it for several days without worrying about power. Even though I bought the cheapest model, it is still a little pricey for the average consumer, but, like the other iDevices, I suspect the price will come down and the functionality will go up.

Since I primarily purchased it as a text input device, I have not really been an app hound. Even so, I have already accumulated 17 applications, three of which I paid for. I’ll close by listing the apps more or less in order of how much I use or value them. I’ve included Apple iPad apps (marked with “@”), and the paid ones are marked with their prices. I’ve added a brief comment, explanation, or example where appropriate. If you are not interested in iPad apps, this is a good place to find something more interesting to read, perhaps in my archives 🙂

Notes @	This is my main workhorse. I take meeting notes, jot down ideas, keep a TBD list, just about anything involving text except coding.
Safari @	Despite its shortcomings when I try to do something complex, the Safari browser works well enough to answer most of my inane queries, and occasional crossword cheats.
Mail @	For years I have used the Mac Mail client, and I have it set up to sort mail by sender and type: people in my address book, businesses, organizations, newsletters, etc. The rest go into a folder called “possible spam.” Despite the absence of a similar sorting mechanism on the iPad, I frequently use it to check mail and send replies. Its primary shortcoming is the inability to attach “files” to an e-mail I am sending. (It keeps asking, “What’s a file?”) Other applications, however, do use Mail to send files, such as Adobe Ideas, which sends drawings as PDFs.
Stanza	I started using Stanza as a free e-reader on an iPod Touch I used at work. Even though Stanza was bought by Amazon, they have pretty much left it alone. It offers multiple sources for paid and free content, but my favorite function is that I can drag multiple PDF files into it while connected to iTunes. If not connected, I can still e-mail PDFs to myself and open them in Stanza. I have already used it to replace sheet music at a gig, and to display electronic pay stubs and bank statements while balancing accounts in Quicken. The screen resolution is sufficient that it is almost as good as printing them out, without killing so many trees.
NYT Crosswords	Note that this free crossword app includes a good sampling of puzzles, but a paid subscription (about $17 annually) gets you access to all puzzles back to October, 1996.
Settings @	I find myself tweaking the brightness at least twice daily – I turn it to minimum so I can read or work puzzles in bed with minimal disturbance of others. Ok, other. Note: if you plan to complete a NYT puzzle in bed, turn down the sound – else your otherwise silent experience (and your domestic tranquility) will be shattered by a raucous victory tune.
Calendar @	I have a method of uploading my personal calendar to our family web site, but it is a multiple-step process, and so I don’t do it regularly. By syncing my iPad calendar (still manual’ but fewer steps) I am more likely to keep current.
FTPOnTheGo $9.99	This is obviously the most expensive app I have purchased, but it is worth it. I maintain several web sites (none for profit, by the way) and this allows me to update them any time I have WiFi coverage. I can also create html pages from scratch, and it has a great keyboard layout, featuring all of the letters and numbers, plus most of the critical special characters, all visible at once.
Contacts @	Unlike my calendar, I have never figured out a good way to manage addresses and phone numbers. I have a Great Idea for an address book, but haven’t built it yet. Someday. Meanwhile, being able to sync contacts from my Mini to my iPad has proven to be a useful substitute.
InCode $2.99	There are times when you don’t want auto-correction. InCode is clean and untarnished. It reminds me of PFE, an ancient Windows Notepad replacement that I put on every computer I use at work. Plus it has its own file system, including folders, and, like Stanza, I can drag and e-mail files into and out of it.
App Store @	Although I’ve only acquired 17 apps, I have searched for scores more, just to see if a particular app exists. In fact that’s my main use of the App Store. It’s like geek window-shopping.
Adobe Ideas	This freebie app is a cool introduction to tablet-based drawing. You can start with a blank canvas, or with a photo, particularly useful if you didn’t get your fill of drawing moustaches on people in elementary school. I actually used this to sketch out a shelf idea I had using some old doors (see image). I used the drawing to make up a materials list, and then built the shelves (see other image). Only this morning did I discover that the limited number of colors it displays is simply a preset palette – I suppose it supports “millions” of colors, although I haven’t actually counted them to make sure.
Guardian Eyewitness	This photo stream from the British newspaper is sponsored by Canon. It features 100 striking news photos, a new one every day, and includes the original caption and a photo tip for each picture. Great app.
WordPress	My postings live on an instance of WordPress hosted on my wife’s web server, so this is a natural. I don’t use it a lot, but it is nice to have the option.
GTRacing Free	I saw this game in the Apple store, and thought it was cool. I play around with it occasionally, but it suffers from the same problem as most video racing games: I can drive a real car without crashing into things – why can’t I drive a video car equally well?
iTunes @	Like the App store, I use this more to look stuff up than to actually purchase, although I do succumb occasionally.
SailX Trainer	This is actually an iPhone app. It’s a live sailing strategy game in which you compete against other on-line players. It’s interesting and fun, but I don’t know much about racing strategy, so I mostly watch.
Virtuoso	This is the piano application shown on some iPad commercials. I features a duet mode, where two players can play at once. Jayne and I have been practicing Chopsticks in case we are ever called on to play in public.
3D Drum Kit $2.99	I don’t have a drum set at the house, so I thought this would fill that void. Not quite, although when run through headphones or a sound system, it sounds pretty good. I have a minor goal to create a sample jazz duet using the iPad piano, drum kit, and my Mini version of ProTools. Should really rock the house.
C Aquarium Lite	This was a “wild hair” acquisition in the middle of a brainstorming session. It took me a couple of hours to figure out how to add fish. (Hint – the fish menu slides up from the bottom.) Mildly amusing.
Picture Frame @	The “Origami” option provides a cool display of selected photos stored on the iPad. Password (if you have set one) not required.
Photos @	Synced from iPhoto; can group by albums, events, or view entire library. No editing functions. Allows more slide show flexibility than the picture frame function.
Planets	A cool sky map that uses your location to display what you can see right now. Too bad Atlanta has so much light pollution.
iPod @	I mostly listen to music while donating platelets, for which my old iPod nano is more suited. The iPad speaker is as good as most laptops, but hardly high-fidelity.
Maps @	Works ok, but with only WiFi connectivity, the Map capability is really not available when I might need it, namely lost on some lonely highway. I plan to have a backup map.
Videos @	I loaded a couple of QuickTime movies I created. They work. The video resolution is actually pretty good – 1024 by 768, if memory serves.
YouTube @	I got lost the first time I tried to play a YouTube video and it threw me into this app.
U-verse	Since I don’t have U-verse at home yet, I loaded this to try one of our lab installations. Works. Would presumably be more valuable on my own personal account.
iBook @	I haven’t loaded any books into iBook, I guess because Stanza works so well for me. It’s not obvious how I load PDFs into iBook, assuming it is possible.
VLC	Video LAN Client is an iPad version of a tool we use regularly at work to convert between, and explore, different video formats. This app just plays video clips loaded through iTunes. I have yet to find much benefit, but that could change, I suppose.
NYorkerAC	Plays 20-second animated versions of New Yorker cartoons. Also mildly amusing.

Questions welcome!