Hi,

I have just started a Open University course and I am thinking of buying an iPad for my studies.

I would like to transfer all my course study texts & videos which are PDF files and Avi files to the iPad so that I can read/watch them as and when.

If you connect the iPad to your PC - can you just drag and drop the files?

I don't seem to get on very well with iTunes etc which is why I am asking about being able to just transfer files like you would with Windows on a PC etc.

Bren.

If you use GoodReader they have a tiny desktop app (GoodReader USB) which opens a double pane explorer window allowing full drag and drop without iTunes being involved. Very fast and efficient. Also with the latest upgrade to good reader you can fully annotate and highlight PDFs.

There are also apps such as VLC and Cineplayer which will play avi files but they will have to be loaded via iTunes. Though you can convert avi's to iPad native mp4 via the free program Handbrake.

TBH I don't use video players anymore prefering to stream all videos from my desktop using ZumoCast. Best of all it will also let you view your docs and photos as well. This is useful if you want to save on iPad storage.

Also useful for your studies are mindmapping tools and notetaking apps and there are a couple of good discussions on these on the forums, so do a quick search

A couple of other appsI personally use are Evernote which syncs between ipad and desktops/laptops (free). NotetakerHD for hand written notes, though there are others which will record sound at the same time, and Poplets which is a simple mindmapping app for sketching out papers, ideas etc.

Hth and good luck with your studies

Oh my gosh!

I never knew that you could do all this, it sounds like the iPad is an excellent tool for studying.

Do you think that it is worth paying the extra for the 64GB rather than the 16GB?

I am going over to the USA soon and iPad's are cheaper over there - maybe I should buy one from there, I am not sure if this is techinically illegal. I hope not.

Thanks from a very excited Bren.

Originally Posted by brennaboy

Oh my gosh!

I never knew that you could do all this, it sounds like the iPad is an excellent tool for studying.

Do you think that it is worth paying the extra for the 64GB rather than the 16GB?

I am going over to the USA soon and iPad's are cheaper over there - maybe I should buy one from there, I am not sure if this is techinically illegal. I hope not.

Thanks from a very excited Bren.

Speaking for myself, I make very good use of the 64 GB of memory.

But I work for people who are very fond of very large PDF and Powerpoint files.

IBooks will very neatly store and display PDFs with bookmarks and highlighting. Vlc will play avi.

Feel free to buy one from the states.... Remember to include state sales taxes into your calculations though, as most US advertised prices don't include them unlike British VAT.

Is it wrong for me to say Dropbox in another thread? The easiest way to get PDF's on an iPad in my opinion.

Dropbox is another simple solution. The nice thing of course being wireless.

I was going to add to use Dropbox for easy file transfer/sync.

What's this mindmapping stuff? Point me please.

Very good thread on the subject on these forums a few weeks back. A quick search will easily find it.

I too use Dropbox but still find the goodreader usb app fastest when both machines are running.

But isn't goodreaderusb Mac only?