Don't have mine yet, but new here - I have odd questions =0)

Hey all.

I was back and forth over whether or not I wanted an iPad. I'm not the biggest Apple fan, but I have had Macs before, and still have an older video iPod. (Full disclosure: I think the iPhone is a piece of crap. Always have.)

Anyways, why I might have wanted one is that I'm a digital artist and a minimalist, so I've been trying to slim down. I had a laptop with a Cintiq, then I got a convertible tabletPC, then i got a slate tabletPC. Seeing Sketchbook Pro (my drawing program of choice) and Brushes available on the iPad made me think I might be able to use one after all.

So now, I don't even have to decide - I *won* an iPad at an office raffle thing. =0) It's not arrived yet, but I have time to get to know it, I suppose, before it arrives.

Here are my odd questions:
1. Is there any way to use it WITHOUT a host machine? I'd really like to not have to keep one of my computers JUST to make the iPad work. I'd transfer my files to it, and then from that point forward only need wifi and the app store, as far as i can tell. Maybe the camera kit.

2. More an app question: I know the iPad doesn't exactly do central file storage - but can I do a drawing in Sketchbook Pro, for example, and then close SBP and open another app to edit, say, the color saturation, maybe add some photoshop type effects, etc??

3. I know dropbox is good for cloud storage - is there an app that allows opening from dropbox, editing and saving BACK into dropbox? (or another similar service, of course)

I think that's all for now. Greetings and salutations =0)

Do you need a host PC? You iPad needs to be registered (using iTunes) before you can do anything to it, but fortunately, this only needs to be done once. After that, you can fly solo all you want with the understanding that there is no backup of data you acquire on your iPad. When you sync with iTunes, the first thing it does is back up everything before it starts transferring files.

The other issue is firmware updates. These are only available through iTunes. There is going to be a fairly significant iOS (operating system) update some time this fall that will incorporate significant functionality, namely multi-tasking, to the iPad.

As far as clouds, I am not familiar with Drop Box (but I know what it is), but I use Box.net.

I think that's all for now and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping to be able to go totally one-machine with the iPad as with the tabletPC, but I understand the limitations you've illustrated.

My girlfirend's desktop PC has iTunes on it, but I wouldn't want to intermingle all my stuff with hers in iTunes - is there any way to run a completely separated second instance of iTunes? Otherwise I'll have to do something else, like co-opt my old laptop in the basement running the arcade machine.

Well, the answer is maybe...

You can sync several (I think the number is 5) iDevices to a single iTunes library, but you can only sync an iDevice to 1 library. In my case, my wife and I have totally separate computers because she thinks my taste in just about everything (music, books, movies, etc.) sucks. She is entitled to her opinion even if it is wrong! But separate computers makes for a peaceful co-existence.

But I digress...

You can sync your iPad to her computer without transferring anything to your iPad. Once iTunes sees your device, you can go in and "cherry pick" what you want from the library to be loaded on to your iPad... all of it, none of it or some of it.

Ohhh, so it sounds like you're saying I'd have to pull all my files into her library, and then pick them out of it when syncing. I don't think we could do that and both stay sane, hence why I was asking about one machine running two separate instances of iTunes.

As far as I know, you can't have two separate copies of iTunes on the same PC. I suppose you could have a dual-boot system and it would work that way, but then only one of you could use the computer at a time and that sounds like a...

oh by the way, nice Husky! I have one myself; 2-1/2 yr old female we just got a couple months ago, named her Shinobi.

Also, I see you have a 16GB. The one I won is also a 16, but I was thinking of trading up when I got it (Apple says I can just do that at the store) because hell, I have more than 16GB in music alone! How much storage does a typical "full load of apps" take up?

Thanks! The dog in the picture was Kodiak. He died in November 2008 at 14½ years old. Truth be told, we let him live too long. So I use this picture as a tribute to him. He was the Alpha male and we had a special bond. We have 6 dogs (3 Siberians, a Malamute, a Collie and a Catahoula Leopard Dog) all of whom were rescued from shelters or one of Missouri's infamous puppy miils. We can't save them all, but we can do our part.

But anyway, apps don't take up very much room at all. The biggest hard drive hogs are videos that can be 1-1.5gb (or larger).

To give you an idea, here is a screen shot of the contents of my iPad. I have 44 apps and the green space shows how much space this takes up relative to the total amount of space available.

Well, RIP Kodiak =0(. Awesome about your rescue dogs - ours is a rescue as well, her parents split up and neither were able (willing?) to keep her, and besides, they kept her in a garage. She's pretty obstinate, but we love her very much.

Spacewise, looks like I don't have anything to worry about with Apps - I'll just need more space for music, pics (I'm an artist) and video. I hope one of the local Apple stores has a 64GB available.

Well actually, I never thought of that! Each user has their own "My Music" folder so I guess that would work, but it still doesn't resolve the issue of only one person being able to use the computer at a time.

If you are just looking for something "bare bones" for keeping all of your stuff, you can get an eMachine from Wal-Mart for less than $300. Add a cheap monitor and you are still less than $400. Or you could go really cheap and get something off of Craig's List.

Really, 2 computers is the way to go! But OTOH, I am on my 3rd marriage, so maybe I should stick to computer advice and stay away from relationship advice!

LOL - two computers; if only!

Right NOW the stable is at:
- Her desktop
- Her *old* desktop, currently just plain dormant with no peripherals
- My slate TabletPC (just bought to replace the convertible tablet for less money)
- My old laptop (basement, running arcade emulator)
- incoming iPad
- outgoing convertible TabletPC (just sold it for 2x what I bought the slate for, and I'm just now about to send it out)

Plus, up until about 2 weeks ago my GF had a company laptop on which she worked from home, but now she's changed jobs so that's finally gone - AND i'm trying to put together an HTPC for under the TV.

So I'm actually trying to pare down in a huge way. I can use one of the others for storage I'm sure, until I get the HTPC in here. I don't need to keep videos on the iPad - hell, I don't even need to keep music on it, really, since I keep that on my 5G Video iPod - I just was trying to actually get down to housing everything on the single most portable, minimalist thing possible. MAN that would be nice.