It's now official... As if it wasn't before. Geekdom has been attained. I have now purchased an iPAD. I did not opt for the 3G. I did buy the 64GB wi-fi. I already have a 4G hot spot device so I did not consider the 3G. So far, ease of setup has been great. The size for use on a plane was the primary reason for the purchase. It also has an expected battery life of more than double that of my MacBook. Great for international flights.
I've been thinking of getting one as well. I want to wait though and see what other offerings will be out there in the next few months.
I've ben taking both my personal laptop and my business laptop on international trips. That makes the carry on very heavy. The main purpose of having the MacBook with me is to stay connected with my personal e-mail accounts and web sites that I don't care to access through my AMAT computer. :shock: No, not those kind of sites. AMAT frowns on personal use of computers and blocks some sites. There is hardly a week that goes by that I don't have business on Gunbroker.com, DefensiveCarry.com or Ebay. I also access the Skybox as well as the Yahoo and CBS sites for fantasy leagues. One other issue that has been bothering me: I have been keeping our finances on Quicken ever since I obtained my first computer in 1987. I do keep back-ups but the MacBook is not backed up while on business trips. It is backed up on a network drive at home. If something happened to that computer while away, I could lose a lot of data. The MacBook will stay home with Cindy keeping Quicken updated from e-mails sent from me every day. This wi-fi enabled IPad will allow all of that at 1/2 the weight while still providing a large enough screen for me to see it easily.
Why don't you subscribe to Carbonite it's an online backup service cost's 50$/year and it doesn't matter where you are if you are connected to the internet it backs up your critical files. http://www.carbonite.com/en/default.aspx I use it.
Good idea... I'll try that. Still needed the Ipad for plane usage. My gut's too big to use a large notebook when I have to book last minute flights and have to fly coach. :? Dandy little instant on device for email, surfing the net, reading books, and watching movies.
Ahhhh us high tech farmers are way ahead of you urban geeks, I got my iPad 32gigs a few months ago and have to say it's the cat's ass!!! The cons are typing with one finger and Apple not having the ability to play anything with flash.... If you can live with this it's better than sliced white bread.... We were so influenced with apple that my wife has a new 27" all-in-one iMac now...... Steve Jobs is my hero now!!! :shock: You will love it Tom... Factoid: This post was typed with one finger on an Apple iPad
Tom...back up the Quicken Data to a Flash Drive while you're on vacation. (Just don't lose both the flash drive and the Mac).
Ralph, Why one finger? Although smaller, ii have a full QWERTY keyboard that pops up. Stu, Call me paranoid, but my first thought was generated by all those safety lectures on the plane. Although it would be one of my least worries, i keep thinking about: in the event of a water landing, leave all personal items behind. I have encrypted a lot of insurance information and account passwords. Cindy is a smart lady but I want to make it as easy as possible for her if something were to happen.
Not sure I understand the problem...all that stuff should still be back on your home network...I assume you don't change insurance info and passwords while you are travelling. If extended travel, the cloud (Carbonite) would work well...but why not just email a Quicken backup to Cindy...unless your data is so confidential that you don't trust sending it over email...but if that is the case why would you put it up on the cloud?
The problem with e-mailing backup to Cindy is that I run a Mac. She runs IBM. The two data formats will convert but it is a difficult process. One of these days, I am going to get her ready to make the transition and then things will be easier.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh guys... you're killing all the reasons for me to get one. Cindy reads these boards! :x :x :x
Yes... Quicken for Mac data file is different from the PC version. When I made the switch over a year ago, I had to use this procedure that took over an hour to convert between PC format and Mac format. I hated the Mac format when I first converted. Now I have grown accustom to it and wouldn't want to go back.
Tom I get the enlarged keyboard as well but I must have fat fingers, thank the makers for auto spelling correction.... It really is a delight to operate, tell Cindy you cannot go wrong with this purchase....
Tom, you are making this harder than it needs to be. Who cares about the Mac/IBM stuff if you're just backing up? Email her the file (she can still get it) and when your plane crashes and all your laptops and ipads and cell phones are destroyed (but you of course miraculously survive)...the file is intact, at home, waiting for you to buy a new Mac (or Cindy can get one, should you be in the hospital for a day or two fooling around with European nurses)...and the data is all right there.
... At least for the first few hours of that international flight. iPad runs up to 10 hours on a charge. 64 gig flash drive cuts way down on battery usage.