I'm a new iPad owner who also has to play tech support...help!

[txniteowl]

So, I've posted once or twice, but making my official "Hi! I'm new here!" thread. I was gifted an iPad 2 (32gb, wifi) about 2 weeks ago when my mother "upgraded" to a new iPad (64gb, LTE) through her business. She only had the iPad 2 for about 7 months and while she did use it, she didn't do so as extensively as she could have. I've recently moved home and as part of my "keep" I'm to help her figure out how to get the most of her iPad so she can stop hauling her laptop everywhere and only take the iPad to offsite meetings. I've never had an iPad before (though I do have an iPhone 3GS) so I have a bit to learn as well. And even though I've had the iPhone, I didn't use it as extensively as I could have either. In fact, I would often go 6 months+ without connecting it to itunes. I also have no Mac experience...in fact, I worked for a PC manufacturer previously.


So, there's my brief background. Despite my ownership of the 3GS, consider me a baby when it comes to knowledge and understanding of iOS/iPhone/iPad/iTunes/iCloud, etc.


There are probably 2 or 3 (or more!) things I'm looking for immediate input on for my mother.


1. Calendar
My mother's workplace uses Outlook and an Exchange server. Now, I haven't even looked at her iPad's built-in calendar yet to see how it does, but the catch that I will need help with is this: On her laptop, her view also includes a second calendar (a supervisor) to which she has read access. She needs to be able to see both calendars on her ipad if she is to start leaving the laptop behind. Can the built-in calendar app do this (and if so, how?) or what calendar app would be appropriate?


2. remote pc access / remote file access
Since the plan is to leave her laptop in the office, we'll need to make sure that on occasion she can remotely access either it or the server where her documents are stored so she can grab a file if she needs one that she didn't copy onto the iPad. Her office has a web site she can login to for access to her laptop...they are apparently running Small Business server 2003 with a "Remote Web Workplace" offering. Only problem is that it uses ActiveX, so you can't use it from Safari on the iPad. Probably the access to focus on is access to her laptop...so that she can also run a remote session of Word/Excel as needed and copy files to her Dropbox folder. I'm fairly certain she will NOT want to pay $129.99 for LogMeIn Ignition nor will she want to pay $$ for a monthly subscription (ie. LogMeIn Pro?). But I don't think we will really need sound or HD video. Are Jump Desktop or Splashtop the best options?


3. Note Taking
My mother is a list maker. LIST MAKER. So, I need an app that she can both type and handwrite into. Something that allows her to create folders for different projects. Something to put meeting minutes into (though she can/might also do that in Pages). And something that will sync to her iPhone. She doesn't need to be able to edit/write from the iPhone, but she needs to be able to access/refer to her notes.


4. Pages/Dropbox
I've been doing some reading and I think I have this figured out. We have my mom setup with Pages and Dropbox, so she can open documents. But, saving back to Dropbox would be nice too. My understanding is that maybe the easiest way to do this (and I need EASY! for her) is to use a WebDAV service (DropDAV/iSEMStorage/otixo) so that she can use the WebDAV option from Pages to save back to Dropbox. Is this right?


Thanks for any tips and feedback. If I should just re-ask some of these questions in either the iPad at Work section or the iPad apps section, just let me know. I know I'll have further questions as I figure out what I am looking for for myself!

 

[Meg_Durbin]

I'm in a similar situation myself. My users not only want to move files between devices but also collaborate. I tried DropBox but found the collaboration doesn't really exist as it requires the non-author user to copy it down locally and not put it back. For just a single user though, I found that in QuickOfficeHD there is a plus sign in the bottom left corner that allows you to place the file in any app in the popup list which includes DropBox.

I thought SkyDrive might be an option for collaboration, but so far I haven't figured it out. I liked the fact that I could create an account using my work email address, and I downloaded it to the iPad, but then I couldn't get documents downloaded so I could edit them. I had played with Google Docs but was disappointed that you have to have a Gmail account. I don't think my users want to create and manage another email account. However, I did note that it was super easy to access files through Google docs and that little popup list I referenced for QuickOfficeHD has Google Docs on it! I did play around with the rules on my GMail account and have it forwarding email to my business account, but still not totally happy with the separate account.

 

[Meg_Durbin]

Btw, I see there is a Forum for iPad in Business and Education - you might check it out.

 

[Meg_Durbin]

You might also check out Mochasoft in the Apps store - they have several remote access apps - free or inexpensive depending on what you need.

 

[txniteowl]

Yes, I'll probably post part of this in that Business section.

I was looking at the QuickOffice you mentioned and considering that over DocstoGo. She's already bought Docstogo though, so for now I'll have to see what I can make work for her.

Thanks!

 

[Mickey330]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Good to "see" you and I hope you enjoy your visits.

I am going to close this thread, given that you posted the same questions over in the Business sub forum. Please don't post the same topic more than once as it fragments the conversation and makes it hard to follow. Not to mention - its against our rules.

Please keep all your updates and comments in your other thread here: http://www.ipadforums.net/showthread.php?p=522258

Thanks for your understanding.

Marilyn