Looking at buying iPad2. Couple of questions...

[reddead]

Get him a samsung galaxy tab 10.1,excellent replacement for the ipad2....the only problem would be the lack of apps....

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[extendedforecast]

I actually pulled the trigger on ipad2. I really can't go Android with him as much as I'd like to. I really would like android like functions for the music in this case. Someone here reminded me I can just initially sync once and be done with it. I agreed to manage his iTunes when he needs local copies and he knows how to use the Amazon cloud. I think it will be ok. Since its a good kindle reader and more of a laptop replacement he'll use it a lot more than Touch. The touch is just too small for him to do anything on...particulalry virtual keyboard...to use it for more than an iPod.


I really can't work with iTunes with a tablet. So I really can't use IOS. I have a few field offices where I have to add files to and take files from certain folders in Network storage. There is just no easy way to do this in iOs it seems without a jailbreak. I wonder if Apple recognizes the enterprise usage limitations iTunes syncing imposes on their product. Well I'm sure they do. But man a real file browser and samba support would be killer. Although honestly I'd probably stick with an Android tablet. I really love the Xoom.

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[jsh1120]

I actually pulled the trigger on ipad2. I really can't go Android with him as much as I'd like to. I really would like android like functions for the music in this case. Someone here reminded me I can just initially sync once and be done with it. I agreed to manage his iTunes when he needs local copies and he knows how to use the Amazon cloud. I think it will be ok. Since its a good kindle reader and more of a laptop replacement he'll use it a lot more than Touch. The touch is just too small for him to do anything on...particulalry virtual keyboard...to use it for more than an iPod.


I really can't work with iTunes with a tablet. So I really can't use IOS. I have a few field offices where I have to add files to and take files from certain folders in Network storage. There is just no easy way to do this in iOs it seems without a jailbreak. I wonder if Apple recognizes the enterprise usage limitations iTunes syncing imposes on their product. Well I'm sure they do. But man a real file browser and samba support would be killer. Although honestly I'd probably stick with an Android tablet. I really love the Xoom.

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Interesting perspective. Your husband and my wife sound like siblings. Coming from a Unix/Linux/Windows/Android background myself, I found adjustment to the iPad to be at least puzzling, if not painful.

I knew, of course, that I'd face some issues in moving into the Apple environment, but what I didn't fully appreciate was that the iPad really isn't a small computer; it's a giant iTouch. And as one of the mods here put it, it's an "app-centric," not a "file-centric" device. Once I got my head around that concept, I realized why I was so puzzled by much of the philosophy that seems to drive the iPad.

You're right, of course, that the tight integration with iTunes is a royal pain. Not only because, as you noted, it undermines any sort of corporate integration for the iPad, but because it provides such lousy search and browse functionality for apps. I spent about three hours last night looking for a few apps in different categories and must have re-entered my search criteria at least 50 times and paged time and again through apps I'd already examined. Argghhh....

All in all, the effort to use a system designed primarily to market songs as an application marketplace and a central file management system for millions of users strikes me as insane. Oh well. The device itself is marvelous. I'm used to putting up with bizarre corporate decisions by hardware and software firms. I live in Redmond, Washington.

[extendedforecast]

Ha ha. That's funny. I know how you feel. Our laptops are Windows 7. But I run a dedicated Linux desktop output to a Sony Bravia TV. (Its on like a month and a half of up time right now!) Just navitage to the right input on the TV and bam all unrestricted media content. I use the Xoom as (among other things) a giant remote. The media server software I have running is so much better than Microsoft's (which is a total CPU hog.) But ultimately I need to manage the media from the giant remote so iTunes is just one giant stumbling block. The media server will still pick up iOS devices for the purposes of displaying centralized content but i'm still having trouble pushing media to and from them. You HAVE to use iTunes for that. No other way around as it seems Apple will never approve an app that can (godforbid) copy one file from NAS to the device without the syncing rigamarole. So now Im really stuck between deciding on keeping iTunes on his laptop or the Linux server box (although realistically I'll have to duplicate some content on both.) This is really a pain as it defeats the purpose of a dedicated Linux box with a NAS mounted as its external drive.

But you are right the iOS devices are just big app launchers. This is good for the hubby in that I can give him the 5 apps he needs and if he needs to start over he can just hit home button. He is restricted to what the app does and that's a good thing. Tap an icon and.it just works. But for me it also means lots of workarounds for managing files.

The hardware of the iPad is nice. Although not fully as good as the xoom. But my real hang up is its entire iTunes philosophy of total control of local content/file management. It seems to fly in the face of the quicking trend of using cloud based solutions particularly for collaborative content in the enterprise setting. I mean...who wants to use a group Dropbox? Lol. I guess companies could design proprietary apps with Apple's blessing.

Still it's too hard for me to not be in control of the file management. It's too hard for me to learn how to not multitask. As much visual pop as the iPad hardware has (it really is light and gorgeous and colorful) I don't think I could ever learn how to use an app launcher. As more average users set up more home networks with the help of services like media center and twonky and more businesses move to cloud file management it'll be interesting to.see how long Apple holds on to its iTunes philosophy. I mean, it seems so 2002 right? The draw used to be one iOS based device that does everything. That gap has closed. It will always have its market but I'm guessing in 10 years it will look just like apple/Microsoft did in the pc market just on mobile devices.

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[iDevice.mobi]

Hi. I purchased a Motorola Xoom tablet about a month ago and I can safely say it has replaced most of laptops day to day tasks like sitting in the living room and checking email, surfing the web, watching TV shows/movies etc. Now my husband is a bit jealous since he's still firing up the Windows 7 lappy whenever he wants to do any computing. He's not the most tech savvy individual however.

I don't think I want to get him a Xoom as I feel it wont be too friendly to a non power user. I'm pretty sure he can handle the easier iPad. I did get him an iPod touch a couple years ago and he can use everything on it except iTunes. He wont use iTunes to manage his music so the device has been pretty much rendered useless in our house. So on iPad2, what are the other options for adding music files? He loves his music. If he could easily select and copy music files (which we have all stored on the NAS) to the iPad2 it will be a hit. If not, it will become another expensive paperweight. So I'm curious what are the options (I suppose app wise) for syncing music.

On Xoom I have a file browser that opens the NAS and the local files (I just navigate to the music folder) and I just select all, Deselect the certain songs I don't want and just hit copy. This will overwrite the music folder wirelessly. The other option I can use is storing all my music in Amazons cloud and selecting from their app which songs to store locally. He likes both these options. Can I do this on iPad2 or is it stuck with the iTunes environment?

I know he's not going to deal well with Androids multitasking and foreground/background programs. Notification pop ups will just confuse him although he is ok with home screen push notifications on iOS (I have to hide all of his icons in the Windows OS.) And once he is presented with both a backing out and home screen button...he will just get dizzy. I know this because I made the mistake of getting him a Windows 7 phone because I thought it looked easy. iPad2 has a single be all end all button. This is what I'm dealing with. Lol. Please tell me there's an app that's an alternate iTunes that will sync wirelessly upon a manual selection and I will order this thing.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Great, you are are one of very few XOOM buyers because Xoom is the biggest flop of the year. Stuck with iTunes or blessed with iTunes ?
We have thousands of amazingly useful lectures from reputed and learned professors from Harvard, Stanford universities.
Ok Xoom users hardly care about those, research shows what kind of people use Samsung Galaxy or Xoom.lol
They care about cloud music which is available on every device that is connected to Internet. There is nothing new about that, technology deprived people can just be exited to see tacky Xoom commercial.

Have you ever heard of WebDAV server? Just upload music there from iPad and then stream, what's the big deal. You can copy ,move the song, make playlist,email to friend,share on Facebook,Twitter.You can skip the song, watch full length movies too.

I have AirVideo on my iPad and also AirPlay, I can access server from iPad and listen to any song,watch any movie, I can convert the movie format wirelessly and then add them to WebDAV server or iTunes again wirelessly. I can control media from any corner of the house, while having beer in my swimming pool , I can change the music on my home theater system wirelessly.

While lying on bed, I can watch any movie on my 1080 P TV or on my projector. And you are stuck on cheesy cloud music which have been there for ever. Every person who have little knowledge about tech knows cloud based music management is so simple and old.

Shoot a video ,edit on iPad and add effects then stream directly to HD TV in seconds without any cable or hook ups.

Its fun to see how tech bankrupt people go crazy about a technology which has been there forever. Companies like Motorola,Samsung just change the term little bit and these ordinary people go crazy.
iPad still holds 75% and many hospital,airlines, corporate offices and Universities have incorporated iPad into their operation. None did that for tacky Xoom that has hardly any apps which makes it totally useless. Xoom plays FLASH, who cares? iPad can play HBO without flash. iPad can stream live TV,can play video from every site plus plays every TV show from abc for free.Not only that iPad has the maximum magazines available.

Many medical and business student have made iPad as their primary reading device because many major books are available on it. Xoom is just a poor and incapable cousin of iPad.

[SweetPoison]

Just a reminder to keep this thread civil and discussion respectful or it will be closed and appropriate sanctions distributed.

[extendedforecast]

The cloud is one way around iTunes for sure. But i wasnt really talking so much about cloud music and how great i think it is. I certainly know its been out for a decade. I more invoked it as a possible work around for iTunes. I use Amazons cloud sometimes now but not often. Mostly if I buy an album on the road I sometimes hold it there and transfer it to the NAS media server later. I'm pretty sure we can still get that on iPad through the safari browser. I was more worried about local copies for travel as his iPad is wifi only. And things like plane trips seemingly still require local copies (as not every carrier or even airport offers free wifi.)

So if I buy space on web DAV can I overwrite the local files on the iPad with it? Playing from the cloud is ok but he'll probably want to add albums I buy and add to the media server. I guess I wouldn't mind using web DAV as a workaround but I dont like having to upload and maintain music files in two places (ie both Amazon and WebDAV.)

Obviously my most preferable solution is to be able to download local copies from my files on my media server. All I'm saying here is iTunes doesnt work at all with my existing infastructure. I like the device...but I just bought an album my husband would like to listen to on an upcoming trip. I have no idea how to get that from my existing media server to his iPad. I guess I copy it to the NAS, put the folders on his computer hard drive, add the folder to iTunes and re-sync. Probably a half hour process. I just want to make sure there isn't a better way (ie app) that can do this.

I'm not anti iPad. I just can't use one. I need to be able to take and put files copies from multiple server storage folders at various field offices. Not to a cloud. Not to a dropbox. To an server. Thats how its setup. I can't change that. To my knowledge iPad can't do this without an iTunes installation. I cannot sync iPad to 8-10 different servers. I don't dislike the iPad. I bought one for my husband. But I just can't use it. It was not a purchase option. I like the Xoom a lot as a device in and of itself. Like the iPad its a really excellent device. But the most important consideration was that I can use it for what I need it for.


EDIT: I Just want to add I hope I'm not coming off as totally lazy here. as someone earlier said, sync it once and be done. Even if I update the files with an iTunes sync once a week...no biggie. Realistically this isn't a ton of upkeep. Couple hours a week maybe. I was just hoping there'd be a better way to integrate it with existing infrastruture. I know iPad will be used a lot.more than Touch. So I'm just trying to make it as easily as possible.
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[parias1126]

Sync once, be done! If your husband wants any other music, he can simply open iTunes from his iPad and buy what he wants to listen to. It will then be added to his collection. If he wants it backed up to his computer, you can do it for him. I don't see why he couldn't do it though. After it's set up initially, all he is doing is plugging the iPad to the computer via the connector it comes with. ITunes automatically opens and it begins to sync. No work from the user required. Ghats pretty user-friendly if you ask me.

As far as the Xoom goes, I can't wait to get mine. I have an iPad and iPad 2. Love my iPads, but the Xoom will be a fun new toy to play with!

P.S. I think we have the same husband! lol

[extendedforecast]

Omg he still doesn't understand playlists. And on any given album he only likes half the songs. But then he gets annoyed with shuffle mode because he has to skip songs he doesnt like. Which is how I tried to teach him about playlists. But that was way too much right clicking apparently. Then I had to explain that we don't delete songs from the library. We uncheck them in the Touch's music list.

Then we tried manually manage music. It took 10 tries to explain it won't add one album. It will overwrite the whole Touch with one album. Oy.

He never saw a computer until he started his last job. I got my first tandy when I was 7. But everything else on iOS is fine for him. The push notifcations are clear. The more simple apps are really easy. Its just iTunes that causes this major mental stumbling block with him. Lol.

Oh yeah you'll totally love the Xoom. Its a ton of fun. Lots of customizations. Lots of things you can do with it in connection with your existing hardware. I won't root mine until after tbe 4g upgrade because I don't want to take any chances...but after I'll start loading some custom kernels and Overclocking. I haven't put the thing down since I got ut. Its my first Android device and I'm a huge fan!

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[iDevice.mobi]

You can do remote sync on iPad with many servers simultaneously. App GoodReader on iPad provides both option download from server or sync to the servers. Its your preference weather if you want to change the local files.It also allows you to download music from different websites ( I don't know the legal aspect, I am happy with iTunes)

I use WebDAV servers for documents and once I edit the document locally, it's updated on the server automatically. I need this feature but I want I can turn it off.
To download,upload,sync or play the songs, you don't need iTunes.Another app is Qnap which supports NAS and you can sync all your media and also share with friends. Qnap is available on Android too so both of you can share the same music.There are many other Network Attached Storage apps like PlugPlayer.

But if you wanna get rid of iTunes completely then that's impossible because you have to sync with iTunes for software updates.