# Using Tablet or iPad (Android?) with Windows? OT NT



## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

This is certainly off topic and not trains related but I suspect I am not the only person somewhat confused with the assortment if everything from iPods to Tablet computers to iPads and their compatibility or incompatibility with Windows based computers. Somewhere in here fits the Android operating system.

We probably have folks here using just about everything so this seems a good place to ask about the differences.

This is really NOT about which might or might not be better than others but mainly about how they differ in operation and what incompatibilities one will run into when moving data or images from one to another.

If we start with a simple situation of using IBM compatible computers operating with Windows XP or newer and Microsoft Office 2003 (or compatible word processors and spreadsheets) along with Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat, what will or will not work in terms of moving data and photos between the IBM compatible computers and a Tablet or iPad computer? 

I have never used or owned an Apple product. I did use a little inexpensive tablet computer for a little while but never really got to know it.

How complex is it to get tablets/pads to work with Windows & MS Office and what would be needed to make them work together?

If this is too complex a question to post, is there a website that would explain the differences? I don't want to become an expert - just figure out the basics. I ordered an iPad (sight unseen) so eventually I'm going to have to figure out how to use it with what I already have.

If easier, just send me an email with your phone number and I can phone to talk.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Chris_Haon (Dec 28, 2011)

I have owned many windows based pc's as well as mac computers. I have 3 iPads in the house and they will work very well with either mac or windows pc. the great thing about the iPad is you really don't need the PC. The iPad is a PC in and of itself. Honestly I hardly connect my iPad to my computer anymore unless I am copying over pictures or videos. Just to give you a little side story. my parents house burned down a year ago and when it came time to replace the computers (they had 2 dell desktops) they each bought an iPad and a printer. No "PC's in the house". 
My dad uses a keyboard hooked up to the iPad to type word documents and do his antique telephone stuff in excel. My mom uses her iPad mostly for email and pictures. So when you ask about do they work well together yes an iPad works well with a traditional PC but you really don't need the traditional PC.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Chris_Haon on 23 Mar 2012 02:21 PM 
I have owned many windows based pc's as well as mac computers. I have 3 iPads in the house and they will work very well with either mac or windows pc. the great thing about the iPad is you really don't need the PC. The iPad is a PC in and of itself. Honestly I hardly connect my iPad to my computer anymore unless I am copying over pictures or videos. Just to give you a little side story. my parents house burned down a year ago and when it came time to replace the computers (they had 2 dell desktops) they each bought an iPad and a printer. No "PC's in the house". 
My dad uses a keyboard hooked up to the iPad to type word documents and do his antique telephone stuff in excel. My mom uses her iPad mostly for email and pictures. So when you ask about do they work well together yes an iPad works well with a traditional PC but you really don't need the traditional PC. 

Hi Chris,

Like you I've owned and used many PC's (since 1982) but mostly IBM brand and a few IBM compatible (other than Commodore 64 & Radio Shack 100). I use PC's sort of like TV's. I like having them handy where I happen to be working or relaxing. With routers and DSL and buying surplus PC's the cost has been minimal. It has been about 10 years or more since I last bought a new PC. When the iPad came out we bought one for our autistic granddaughter but not for us. When the iPad 2 came out there were already rumors of an iPad 3 so I waited but now the computers (P-IV with Windows XP) are showing their age so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and buy the new iPad for myself and for my wife but I don't want to spend a lot on software since I don't need more than what we have with Windows XP and Office 2003. I would hate to have to buy MS Office again just for the iPads but I do want to be able to create and read Excel and Word documents and move them between the iPad and Windows PC's.

A desktop PC with a keyboard and mouse and wide screen monitor is very convenient and practical as I am 67 years old and my eyesight is not that great (same for my wife). I did order a keyboard for the iPad but I know that I would not be very happy with the little iPad display if it was all that I had to live with no matter how good the resolution is. I know there is a HDTV accessory but that (so far) does not sound very practical.

If I had to order two MS Office packages that would be cost prohibitive (assuming that it is even available for an iPad). If it was a PC I could install Office free (due to the type of license I have). I could even live with it if I could transfer a current single install Office PC license to a single iPad.

You mentioned your parents are using Word and Excel. How are they doing that with the iPad?

Many thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Are you using OnLive Desktop?

http://desktop.onlive.com/

Is it any good?

I also found this:

http://amazing-ipad.com/2011/06/no-...-for-ipad/

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Moving data and pictures is no sweat, you would probably use the USB interface, but you can find things to do this wirelessly. 

If you want to OPERATE on the "data", like edit a word file, then you need to look at the programs available, they are out there. I prefer the Android operating system, more flexible, less restrictions on software, and you can use programs that did not come from the "market"... iPhone/iPad requires you to install stuff ONLY from the Apple store... Android will allow you to install from a file, wirelessly on an arbitrary web site, etc. 

The extra resolution on the iPad display is probably wasted on you since your eyesite is not so great. 

Remember, neither of the operating systems is the same as windows... so none of your windows software will work on either. 

Greg


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

The New iPads do not have a USB port.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/27/ap...-adapters/

"The Daily is reporting via unnamed sources that Microsoft is planning to roll out Office for the iPad in 2012."

Resolution is always extremely important. Highest resolution means I can give some of it up if I wish to read without glasses but it is still there if I need the higher resolution. My eyes are 20/15 but I need glasses for close up work. 

3X glasses would be of little use if looking at a CGA display.









Jerry


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

I converted to Apple years ago and have no regret. I am not a big gamer so I do not miss the PC. I will admit that there are software that I wish I could use on my mac ,like QSI program but I have gotten by just fine. I do not think that Mac is better than PC but I do find it is much easier to use and I no longer have to waist my time trying to fix it. 

In my opinion depending on what you do with your computer will drive you to one or the other.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I think whether or not a tablet will work for you depends in large part what you do with your computer. I've thought about picking up a tablet several times, but I do things on my machine that I couldn't do with a tablet - AutoCAD and running CNC equipment to name two. If one merely wants to browse the Net and send/receive emails, a tablet would suffice. If, otoh, one wishes to do serious processing, I doubt a tablet would work. Myself, I switched to notebooks exclusively several years back (mobile workstations actually), and would never go back to the limits of a desktop.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Well, I tried to respond to this thread on my tablet, got frustrated and came back to my PC. I got a Transformer Prime (Android based) tablet for Christmas. I love it for playing games, and web use. I just got the docking station that goes with it a week ago or so. It has a keyboard, touch pad, USB and SD ports. Battery life is 18 hours. The battery in the keyboard charges the battery in the tablet when it is docked. Anytime you want to use it as a tablet, you just pop it off and away you go. It is really slick.

I do like the keyboard, but I still have the same problem I always have with netbooks and laptops; I inadvertently hit the touchpad and screw up the cursor position while I'm typing. You can turn off the touchpad, but as soon as you do you need it so it's a pain.

I don't know why I couldn't make this post in the MLS editor using my tablet keyboard. It just didn't like it. I don't have problems anywhere else.

As to PC compatibility: I have a "remote desktop" type of app that connects me to my desktop PC, where I access my e-mail and everything else on it in the Windows environment. While you can use this in tablet mode, it is much easier to navigate in Windows with the touch pad on the docking station.

I haven't really used it yet, but there is an app called "Polaris Office", that has all of the MS Office type of programs. It's free.

My biggest complaint about the tablet is that I am now "wasting" hours on end playing video games (all free apps).

There is no way I would replace my desktop PC with a tablet, but they have their place. 


@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## gtrainman (Jan 5, 2008)

I was in the same boat last fall. 
I wanted something smaller that my 15 inch laptop for traveling. 
Trying to decide and;

I bought a 10.1 inch netbook loaded with Windows 7 starter, and upgraded to Win 7, 32 bit home premium, Intel dual core 550 processor, Nvidia ion graphics, led screen, built in camera, 250 gig Hd, 2 gig ram (upgraded from 1 gig), larger battery pack, wireless N card, 3 USB ports, VGA port, 1 HDMI port (nice for plugging into newer larger tv's to watch movies at Hotels) built in card reader, ect. PS, and a external CD/DVD DL rewritable drive.
http://www.compusa.com/applications...=A50-10160

All that for close to the price of the Apple ipad and I can do a heck of a lot more with my netbook than an ipad!


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## gtrainman (Jan 5, 2008)

http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1015PN/#download


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I have no problem making posts from my android phone or tablet, and on android I have the choice of the built in browser, the Dolphin browser or Firefox... 

Greg


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

I bought a 10.1 inch netbook too. Great when I need portability. Much smaller and lighter than my old notebook. 
For $19.95 I bought a Delhomme GPS for it. Now I have a GPS for the car with a large screen without it being too large and heavy. 
So for $200 I got a computer and GPS. 

I'll not give up the desktop work stations I built. Laptops and smaller just don't hold up as well. I'm still using a dual cpu work station I built years ago. 
The netbook is the third "laptop" I've had to buy. The second laptop I gave my wife, but I've had to replace the hard drive twice as well as the battery twice. 
Ralph


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); 
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2452...me_tf201_review_a_breakthrough_performer.html 
This is what I have ... http://www.pcworld.com/article/2452...ormer.html

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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I doubt that I will be able or want to give up my desktops ($100 each used with dual-core P-IV) now that I picked up wide screens for them for about $100 each. I like sitting at a desk and having a full size wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. I think my PC desktop computing is in suspended animation in that I don't plan to change anything unless and until MS forces me to by discontinuing support for Windows XP and Office 2003. Perhaps next year I may need to start looking for a decent laptop computer since mine are prehistoric.

As I see it the iPad and tablet computers are sort of a toy (no offense intended to those who like them). I can't see myself spending a lot of time with them on a desk or in my lap where I would have to bring a keyboard (mouse?) or hold the tablet in my left hand while I type with my right.

I realize this is not a fair description - it is just what I imagine not having ever owned or used an iPad and I only had the tablet a relatively short time before it was stolen.

At this point I don't know what I don't know which is why I started this topic. The iPads should be here within a few weeks. I figured that the millions who have been buying them and have made Apple iPads the undisputed leader with a vast majority of the market cannot be wrong.

Thanks for the comments. I look forward to hearing from others as well. Its not a question of what is the best since I've already ordered the iPads. Now its a question of getting the most out of them when they get here.

Jerry


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally, I think tablets are a new device...and should be thought of that way. Now, I'm a computer scientist/engineer, so I know they're a computer...but so is a GPS actually. To me...an iPad is just a crippled computer. It'll do stuff computers do...but poorly. So, why consider it a computer?

As I said, I think the right way to think about tablets is as a new device. It's like when heat pumps replaced air conditioners for cooling your house...they're different devices. But, tablets allow for two fingered expansion/contraction. It turns the picture so you can read either in landscape or portrait. It turns on...it doesn't boot. It runs for much longer than laptops do on batteries. It's extremely light. And it's extremely small. They talk cell phone...computers usually don't. It's a fixed box...no modifications possible. All of this stuff makes it unlike a computer.


If what you do with your "computer" is be a consumer of information mostly with a little bit of input...then a tablet device is likely to be all ya need. On the other hand, if you use of a "computer" is to DO THINGS OTHER THAN READ OR DISPLAY...a tablet is a poor device to use. You need a computer.

And...there is room for both. The computer in the den to do all your TurboTax on....to do PowerPoint stuff for work...to do CAD for GRRing...etc.....and the tablet in the living room to read the MLS stuff...and the news....and your emails and FACEBOOK.

But me...I live with a laptop on my lap to keep me warm. I'll probably not change.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Jerry - I'm puzzled. You don't know anything about an" iFad" other than all of the hype you see on TV and you are apparently buying two of them right out of the chute? 

Personally, it really urks me that Apple gets so much free advertising every time they come out with something new, or even just an upgrade. 


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Del Tapparo on 25 Mar 2012 08:33 PM 
Jerry - I'm puzzled. You don't know anything about an" iFad" other than all of the hype you see on TV and you are apparently buying two of them right out of the chute? 

Personally, it really urks me that Apple gets so much free advertising every time they come out with something new, or even just an upgrade. 


@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); 

Hi Del,

When the iPad 1 came out I never seriously considered buying one for myself but after discussing what it could do vs other computers used at our severe autistic granddaughter's school (a touch screen monitor cost more than an iPad and our granddaughter could never operate a conventional computer) we bought it for her but not having one ourselves we were of little help to her or her teachers.

When it iPad 2 came out, again we passed on it.

I will soon be 68 years old and the iPad may be my last computer. I figured it is finally time for me to find out what all the hoopla about it is all about and in the process perhaps find ways to get more for Emily out of her iPad.

When the Commodore 64 came out I tried it to figure out what it was for. When the IBM PC/XT came out I tried it out to figure out what it was for. Commodore spent their money to successfully create their market and IBM spent their money to successfully create the PC market. I think Apple deserves the credit (and the profit) for having invested their money and successfully created a market for what I consider (hopefully very incorrectly) a crippled computer - aka a touch screen monitor with a low level computer inside it.

I'm a hands-on person. The only way I will know for sure if the iPad has any real value for me and my wife is to buy it and get to know it. As for buying two, after 45 years of marriage it would have been very unwise of me to buy myself one without buying one for my wife - even if she never uses it or learns how to use it.

When a lot younger it was most important to know what we could afford to buy and to prioritize how we spent our limited income. Now that we are older (still unfortunately on a limited income), sometimes it becomes a question of buying something while we are still "young" enough (and still have enough learning skills left) to learn how to use it and to have enough "time" left to enjoy it.

In my lifetime I have only ever purchased two new cars. I am contented driving 10 - 30 year old cars and occasionally treating myself to new electric/electronic toys. Everyone's situation is unique to them.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think the rest of the people on limited incomes would consider two $600 experiments outside of their limits. 

In any case, yes the Apple hoopla is great for Apple, people with perfectly fine iPads rush out to buy the latest version, while (most) people look for a greater "delta" to replace a perfectly good computer. 

In my company, many people look at it as a status symbol. 

Greg


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

In my company, many people look at it as a status symbol. Sorta like the first LED digital watches when they came out. hehehe


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## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Just a tidbit on trivia... Mobile devices including tablets and smartphones now account for almost 9% of the traffic on MLS these days. As part of the overhaul I'm working on, I will try to make it more friendly to these devices. Del, you tablet doesn't like the rich text editor. You should be able to post using the quick reply at the bottom of pages still. I will look to see if there is a way to detect the mobile device and serve up only the basic text editor if that is the case...


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Everything is relative. In no way am I suggesting that everyone or anyone should rush out and buy an iPad. Its your money so it is 100% up to everyone else (with no prompting from me) to decide how to spend or how not to spend their money.

To put things in perspective my first real PC was in 1982 when I bought an IBM PC/XT which had a 4.77 MHz processor, 20MB hard drive. I also bought an IBM CGA monitor and Epson RX-70 dot matrix printer (3M financed the purchase for employees which I paid back at $100 a month for 36 months). 3M had concluded that no one would ever need anything better than a CGA monitor and would not allow me to upgrade to an IBM EGA monitor. That IBM "system" cost me (in 1982 dollars) 50% more than the two iPads total cost. For 5 years I had to put up with fellow salesmen and management telling me that personal computers had no place in the workplace. I had to hide my activities and communications with corporate IT personnel as I developed my computer systems until 1987 when things finally changed.

Before buying iPads we bought $78 Pandigital tablets (mine was stolen).

The simple truth is that computers and iPads are not much different from garden railways. The two iPads were about the same price as a single USAT J1e Hudson and the iPads will get a LOT more use.

I would buy Aster locomotives IF I could afford them. I cannot afford Aster so I settle for others at a significant lesser cost. Some of us buy LGB others buy Aristo-Craft others buy Bachmann or USA or Hartland etc. etc. etc. Regardless of which brands I buy or which power supply I choose I still enjoy reading about those who do buy Aster or Accu-Craft or whatever and about those who run battery power or other things I do not do.

The facts are that there have been around _25 MILLION_ iPads sold so far world-wide. 15 MILLION were sold last year and already 3 MILLION New iPads have been sold.

I am unwilling to take the position that there are _25 MILLION_ people with more money than brains. Instead I am taking the position that _25 MILLION_ people know something that I do not know. Perhaps instead of them being stupid, just maybe they might have discovered something that is better than what I have done up to this moment in the world of computing. 

I have heard that the iPad has around 70% of the market. That ups the total users to 35 MILLION.

Just like the IBM PC I expect that in a few years comparable (or better) tablets and pads will be available at a fraction of the price. I'm not willing to throw those years away since the iPad is available now and 25 MILLION people think it is the best and worth the price.

I suspect that within a few years MLS members who own iPads may account for as much as 50% of the MLS members. I don't "do" smart phones but a friend brought his over yesterday as we were running trains and he showed me a video on his phone of a train running on his layout. How much more impressive (and convenient) would it have been to have seen that video on a 9" iPad rather than on a tiny phone?

Think how well we could promote the hobby if all of us had iPads (or equivalents) that we could take to train shows (or to our kid's and grandkid's schools) and show off our (or our club's) garden railroad? While it is not in my current plans, an iPad could be connected to a conference room's or school's HDTV to give a presentation about garden railroading to large audiences. Sure, you could do that with a laptop but in my case when I travel I expect to be leaving the laptop at home and taking the iPad with me on my infrequent trips. The iPad is going to be FAR easier to pass around to show one or more people whatever photos or videos are on it. With 64 GB capacity, that is a LOT of photos or videos - in High Definition.

As I said, I am not promoting Apple or the iPad. I started this topic because I believed I would be able to find folks here who already are using iPads and they could tell me how to get the most out of what I ordered. FedEx just left so now we have two covers, a keyboard and a Camera Connection Kit.

Jerry


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Shad - You are right. I just tried the Rich Text Editor again with horrible results. And now this with the Quick Reply, no problem. Thanks the tip.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

deleted


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I AM willing to take the position that there are 25 million people with more money than brains.... that's as easy to maintain as the millions of people who play angry birds at work on their smart phone... 

After all, 25 million world wide is nothing compared with the 1 BILLION in USE in 2008.... 3 years ago, that's 1,000 milliion... 

The over 1 billion pcs in USE compares to the 25 million ipads SOLD, not all of which are in operation... in fact many Apple sales are selling the new version to the same person... many are thrown away when the battery fails, because it is not user-replaceable, not the ipad or the iphone.... (great racket) 

Greg


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey Greg, one really tangental question (and I'm not being a smart-ass here): What the heck does "delta" mean? Our well-off friend whose husband invented a very successful software for the banking industry (and made a lot of money, but who unforunately died of the Big C) uses that word all the time when talking about finances and stuff. My DW and I nod, knowingly, but don't really have a clue what delta means. Isn't it an airline or something?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

delta means difference or change, the delta between 2 values, or the delta meaning the change in a value. 

Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

and what the heck is "DW"?


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 23 Mar 2012 01:11 PM 

How complex is it to get tablets/pads to work with Windows & MS Office and what would be needed to make them work together?

Thanks,

Jerry


Posted By Jerrys-RR on 26 Mar 2012 01:06 PM


As I said, I am not promoting Apple or the iPad. I started this topic because I believed I would be able to find folks here who already are using iPads and they could tell me how to get the most out of what I ordered. 

Jerry
"I AM willing to take the position that there are 25 million people with more money than brains"

It would be very nice if those who are so determined to prove that I made a mistake when I spent MY money to buy MYSELF and MY WIFE a couple of iPads would un-hijack this topic and start their own topics promoting the toys of their choice so that others who actually own iPads and are happy with them might get a word in to address my original questions.

I clearly stated that the iPads were ordered BEFORE I started this topic. The decision to buy them had been made. It was a done deal. It is insignificant to me whether others approve or disprove how I spend my money.

If I had to choose between being super rich or super smart, I would take the money any day. People with more money than brains are often called employers and people with more brains than money are usually called employees.









I've never been an employer and its been many years since I've been anyone's employee. The iPad suits me just fine and my wife is looking forward to hers very much. She does not play Angry Birds at work or at home but she recently retired so when she is now at work she is the boss and she could play Angry Birds if she wanted to. If our daughter wanted to play Angry Birds, as the co-owner of the shop, no one would care. Meanwhile Marilyn does love to play Farmville on her laptop. I may think it is dumb but who cares? After all, I play with toy trains. 

I suspect that rather than play Angry Birds at work some of us are reading/posting on MLS when they are at work. What's the difference?

Jerry


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with Mike on this one that it is a new tool. I haven't got one (yet) but I could see it being very useful in the workshop. There are lots of times when I'm scratchbuilding something where I would like to have a picture beside me that I could easily zoom in on etc., as I go. I could also see it being useful for making sketches/notes as I go. So if I'm machining a part it would be nice to grab the tablet, take a picture or quick video, attach a note or drawing and carry on. I know i'd do a lot better job of documenting than I do now. I think it's natural for people to want to try something new where it grabs their imagination. 

Keith


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Marilyn made the observation that the iPad should be perfect for my current project of inventorying my trains. My plan was to photograph everything one item at a time and then describe it so that if something happened to me she would have an idea of what is what.

I think the iPad has a GPS of some sort built in. It would be nice if that will link with Google Earth so I could follow a train ride etc. in real time with Google Earth.

As Marilyn suggested I should be able to use the camera in the iPad to import the photo of the loco etc. at the same time that I am creating a file describing what the item is. Rather than a camera with a bunch of photos being taken upstairs to be uploaded to a desktop and then merged it could (hopefully) all be done at the same time on the iPad.

With a 64GB memory I can easily transfer ALL of my photos and PDF files from any and all computers to the iPad thus making it relatively easy to find a photo matching an unidentified piece of rolling stock. In effect the iPad may make it possible to have one-stop-inventorying of my trains - assuming I can get it to work with my Excel files.

I have had problems sending photos from a computer or DirecTV connection to a HDTV. For some reason some seemingly identically formatted files work with the HDTV while others do not.

There are a lot of things that come to mind that may or may not be possible. It will be interesting if perhaps challenging to find out what the iPad can or cannot do but with the iPad leading the market it is to be expected that developers will be rushing to be the first with new apps(?).

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

You just have to face it: some people are going to hate anything and everything Apple does. It's sad that those people are hijacking this thread. Like Jerry said, the order has been placed, and Apple's got the money now. 
Jerry, I think that you'll love the iPad and find that you forget about any other computers in the house. When a baby figures out how to use a computer (yes, I did call the iPad a computer) instantly, that company sure must be doing something right.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 28 Mar 2012 01:06 PM 
When a baby figures out how to use a computer (yes, I did call the iPad a computer) instantly, that company sure must be doing something right. 

You hit the nail right on the head there. 

As I had mentioned we have a severe autistic granddaughter. She cannot read normally and she cannot type or use a conventional computer - but she can draw far better than I can on a computer and somehow she figured out for herself how to use MS Paint.

At her school they have touch screen computers for the kids and at one point Emily had a sort of touch screen computer (quite expensive) but she never seemed to get much use out of it.

Based on what I saw in her classroom I thought the iPad (1) just might work for Emily so we bit the bullet and bought it for her. She instantly took to it and figured out how to do several things with it so our money was VERY well spent. Not having an iPad ourselves there was little we could do to help Emily with hers.

What folks don't seem to realize is that Apple got it right in the very beginning. While IBM (understandably) focused on number crunching and designed the PC around text and numbers (as with Lotus 1-2-3) with their 8086/8088 chips, Apple went the other direction and started out with graphics based chips. Windows is nothing more than a complicated (processor intensive) work-around to get an IBM PC (8086/8088) compatible chip to emulate a graphics chip.

Windows was an attempt to make a PC intuitive and graphical. IMHO Apple has proven once again that when it comes to making computers intuitive, Apple continues to be the champ.

I don't care much one way or the other about Apple, Microsoft etc. but I learned long ago that people are a lot smarter than they are usually given credit for. When millions line up to buy something (anything) history usually proves that they were right.

Its a free world and I chose to give my money to Apple. No one told me anything about the New iPad and I saw no advertising about it. Two weeks after we bought Emily's iPad 1 the iPad 2 was announced (exchanging the iPad 1 for an iPad 2 was not an option). I told Marilyn then and there that whenever Apple came out with an iPad 3 I was going to buy it because I figured that by the time they had made all the iPad 1's and 2's they should have figured out what features would be the best and have worked most of the bugs out of it.

I've never seen or touched an iPad 2 or New iPad and its been over a year since I last saw Emily's iPad 1. It may be a toy, it may be a gimmick but I know I am going to have fun with it.

I don't get the doom and gloomers. The worst that could happen would be that I would be unhappy with it and that prospect should make them very happy.

Jerry


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry just wait till you watch You Tube HD videos or look at pictures on the new ipad unbelievable. Our daughter came over and gave us one on the 17th. We are not trying to replace anything just having fun with it and adding the downloads from the app store (mostly free ones). You and the wife will enjoy them, I would if I could ever get it away from my wife.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

One thing I plan to look into is that I use Hotmail and Windows Live. That includes the ability to upload files to SkyDrive and then work with Excel, Word and PowerPoint even on computers that do not have those programs installed on them.

I am guessing that I should be able to do the same thing with the iPad and just create an Excel file on another computer, upload it to SkyDrive and then, using the iPad, work with that file on-line so that when done the Excel (or Word or PowerPoint) file will be available to any computer with MS Office installed on it.

Is anyone doing this and if so how does it work?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Henson on 28 Mar 2012 03:50 PM 
Jerry just wait till you watch You Tube HD videos or look at pictures on the new ipad unbelievable. Our daughter came over and gave us one on the 17th. We are not trying to replace anything just having fun with it and adding the downloads from the app store (mostly free ones). You and the wife will enjoy them, I would if I could ever get it away from my wife. 
Hi Henson,


I did not know that You Tube had HD videos!

Maybe Reba will get you one for your birthday if you behave yourself (and leave HER iPad alone).









Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 28 Mar 2012 03:54 PM 
One thing I plan to look into is that I use Hotmail and Windows Live. That includes the ability to upload files to SkyDrive and then work with Excel, Word and PowerPoint even on computers that do not have those programs installed on them.

I am guessing that I should be able to do the same thing with the iPad and just create an Excel file on another computer, upload it to SkyDrive and then, using the iPad, work with that file on-line so that when done the Excel (or Word or PowerPoint) file will be available to any computer with MS Office installed on it.



Apple has apps like Pages (similar to Word), Keynote (similar to Power Point), and Numbers (similar Excel) that open Microsoft files (Word, Power Point, Excel). You could also use iCloud instead of SkyDrive.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Rail Planet on 28 Mar 2012 04:30 PM 

Apple has apps like Pages (similar to Word), Keynote (similar to Power Point), and Numbers (similar Excel) that open Microsoft files (Word, Power Point, Excel). You could also use iCloud instead of SkyDrive. 

That's the sort of info I will need when the iPads get here. I will probably have a lot more questions then.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

I was just at Bestbuy playing with "the new" iPad... the screen looks pretty sharp.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 28 Mar 2012 03:54 PM 
One thing I plan to look into is that I use Hotmail and Windows Live. That includes the ability to upload files to SkyDrive and then work with Excel, Word and PowerPoint even on computers that do not have those programs installed on them.

I am guessing that I should be able to do the same thing with the iPad and just create an Excel file on another computer, upload it to SkyDrive and then, using the iPad, work with that file on-line so that when done the Excel (or Word or PowerPoint) file will be available to any computer with MS Office installed on it.

Is anyone doing this and if so how does it work?

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry...the basic answer to your query here is NO...you can't do that. Technically, you can...but you'd better be one of those kids that works as a tech for a big computer store. What you know how to do with Hotmail, Windows Live, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc will help you when you LEARN ANEW to use the "equivalent" orograms (and I use that term lightly) on your iPad. And...you'll learn that files from MS Office and the iPad programs. are NOT interchangeable unless you really understand stuff like comma separated files and TXT files...and using them to interchange data really sucks...but it sorta works. If you were thinking you could do an Excel spreadsheet and save it and just use the Excel file in a iPad program...nope. Same for all the MS programs for the regular user...for the advanced user, it can be done...but poorly.


If you into texting or Tweeting, I suppose an iPad would be fine because the entries are so short...but to type stuff like I'm typing here...not good.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 28 Mar 2012 12:58 PM 
Marilyn made the observation that the iPad should be perfect for my current project of inventorying my trains. My plan was to photograph everything one item at a time and then describe it so that if something happened to me she would have an idea of what is what.

I think the iPad has a GPS of some sort built in. It would be nice if that will link with Google Earth so I could follow a train ride etc. in real time with Google Earth.

As Marilyn suggested I should be able to use the camera in the iPad to import the photo of the loco etc. at the same time that I am creating a file describing what the item is. Rather than a camera with a bunch of photos being taken upstairs to be uploaded to a desktop and then merged it could (hopefully) all be done at the same time on the iPad.

With a 64GB memory I can easily transfer ALL of my photos and PDF files from any and all computers to the iPad thus making it relatively easy to find a photo matching an unidentified piece of rolling stock. In effect the iPad may make it possible to have one-stop-inventorying of my trains - assuming I can get it to work with my Excel files.

I have had problems sending photos from a computer or DirecTV connection to a HDTV. For some reason some seemingly identically formatted files work with the HDTV while others do not.

There are a lot of things that come to mind that may or may not be possible. It will be interesting if perhaps challenging to find out what the iPad can or cannot do but with the iPad leading the market it is to be expected that developers will be rushing to be the first with new apps(?).

Jerry

Now...see now...you've got me thinking I might need one of these new confangled devices. I do like the inventory idea...for my house stuff too. I like to link photos and voice descriptions of the item and text. Forget making it run Excel...think that's a step too far to expect.


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Posted By Mike Reilley on 28 Mar 2012 07:21 PM 

Jerry...the basic answer to your query here is NO...you can't do that. Technically, you can...but you'd better be one of those kids that works as a tech for a big computer store. What you know how to do with Hotmail, Windows Live, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc will help you when you LEARN ANEW to use the "equivalent" orograms (and I use that term lightly) on your iPad. And...you'll learn that files from MS Office and the iPad programs. are NOT interchangeable unless you really understand stuff like comma separated files and TXT files...and using them to interchange data really sucks...but it sorta works. If you were thinking you could do an Excel spreadsheet and save it and just use the Excel file in a iPad program...nope. Same for all the MS programs for the regular user...for the advanced user, it can be done...but poorly. 

OK. I got to disagree with you. You can email yourself an attached Excel document from a desktop and open it on the iPad in Numbers if you don't want to do the whole syncing (or iCloud) stuff. If you look at any of the apps that I listed previously, you'll see that Apple says they can open, edit, and export the Windows files. We're not talking about any weird .js or .exe files or anything. 
Or use Dropbox so your files can be pushed to, and edited, and kept updated on all your computers (that includes the iPad).


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

...nope. Same for all the MS programs for the regular user...for the advanced user, it can be done...but poorly. 
OK. I got to disagree with you. You can email yourself an attached Excel document from a desktop and open it on the iPad in Numbers if you don't want to do the whole syncing (or iCloud) stuff. If you look at any of the apps that I listed previously, you'll see that Apple says they can open, edit, and export the Windows files. We're not talking about any weird .js or .exe files or anything. 
Or use Dropbox so your files can be pushed to, and edited, and kept updated on all your computers (that includes the iPad).

Well...I gotta say you could be right...cause I haven't personally used Numbers. But...I'd be VERY careful saying you can "edit" an Excel file with Numbers...as I'd believe there would be significant limits on what can be edited unless someone went to all the fallderall of cloning Excel's capabilities. All of the success stories I've heard in the use of MACs on networks that are predominantly PC based, are based around BOSSES...SUPERVISORS...reading email and running data base stuff.


Apple has for years made it appear through their advertising that they can "suck up" the bad MS stuff and interchange with it. Experience in many businesses that really USE the MS applications in Office have shown there are LOTS of gotcha's when you try to build a system that has MACs and PCs trying to use the full capability of the MS Office Suite and it's MAC clone. For simple stuff...they are interoperable. For fancy stuff...much less so.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Heh, heh, sorry to interrupt, but since Del asked two pages ago--"DW" stands for "dear wife," a term I picked up on another site. Of course, in NASCAR, it once stood for Darrell Waltrip, but he done re-tired.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Double post.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Chris Scott on 29 Mar 2012 07:54 AM 
FWIW, 

The markets have spoken on Apple's success and value (current and loking forward); 
Stock price circa 1995


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Hi Guys,

That is exactly the sort of information I am looking for. 

It sounds like the iPad is pretty much (at least for now) incompatible with directly interchanging Excel files back and forth. Its been years since I last worked with comma delimited files and that is not something I would want to relearn.

The problem is that I don't know what I don't know which makes it hard to know what it is that I need to learn.

I have been surprised to find many doctors are already using iPads when their offices are using IBM compatible PC's which makes me think that somewhere someone is working hard to come up with the ability to integrate the iPad with MS Office - but maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.

Still no word about the iPads shipping. Apple is still showing 1-2 weeks.

Many thanks,

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

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Posted By Jerrys-RR on 29 Mar 2012 08:32 AM 
It sounds like the iPad is pretty much (at least for now) incompatible with directly interchanging Excel files back and forth. Its been years since I last worked with comma delimited files and that is not something I would want to relearn.

I think the Excel files could work on an iPad







... but it is always possible that they don't







. I would really look at Dropbox (see https://www.dropbox.com/ and https://www.dropbox.com/ipad ) I think with those your possible editing of Excel files (between Excel and Numbers) would be a lot easier.
There is also the possibility that you don't find it necessary to do much work on the Excel documents on your desktop. You might do most or all of the work in Numbers and then export the document as an Excel file so it could be opened on your PC (if needed).
Apple makes it more and more easy to use files from Windows on Macs, iPads, etc. but Windows doesn't offer any help using Mac or iOS files on Windows.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Dropbox sounds very interesting. It puzzles me that it is free which makes me wonder where they make their money (sort of like Windows Live but that has ads - I would guess that Dropbox also has ads).

With all the talk about identity theft I am uncomfortable with uploading my files onto web based storage but the spreadsheets could be sanitized and not contain any personal information.

Good idea - I will look into it.

I also ordered AppleCare. For $99 it includes 2 years tech support and supposedly will even replace it the iPad if dropped and broken (for $50). I'm not sure if it includes assistance with using Apple Aps like Numbers but it would be nice if it does.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

AlwaysOnPC is an iPad app that turns an iPad into a PC. Full office suite, browsers Chrome& Firefox. Adobe &Flash support. Cloud SW. 
Goto; AlwaysOnPC.com to download. I have limited use so cannot comment or review.


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 29 Mar 2012 09:18 AM 
Dropbox sounds very interesting. It puzzles me that it is free which makes me wonder where they make their money (sort of like Windows Live but that has ads - I would guess that Dropbox also has ads).

With all the talk about identity theft I am uncomfortable with uploading my files onto web based storage but the spreadsheets could be sanitized and not contain any personal information.


No ads... you get 2GB of space and after that it you have to pay for more storage. Dropbox is safe and very widely used by people that have multiple computers/devices and need certain files synced to all of those devices. There website is also encrypted, uses https, etc.


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 29 Mar 2012 09:18 AM 
I also ordered AppleCare. For $99 it includes 2 years tech support and supposedly will even replace it the iPad if dropped and broken (for $50). I'm not sure if it includes assistance with using Apple Aps like Numbers but it would be nice if it does.


I don't know if there is an Apple Store near you but they often have free classes there about using their products. For example there could be a class about using iPhoto on a Mac, or iPad basics. Even if there isn't a class you could come in and talk to there employees if you had questions. Also there is the Genius Bar (see http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/ ).


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Dropbox is free for 2 GB, but if you want more storage, that'll cost you. That's where they make their $$. I use it two ways--first, as cloud-based storage for articles I'm working on so I can work on them on whatever computer I happen to be sitting in front of, and also as temporary holding space for file sharing between computers (for instance, if I need to send a large file that I cannot e-mail). It's much easier than FTP. 

Later, 

K


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 29 Mar 2012 10:05 AM 

I don't know if there is an Apple Store near you but they often have free classes there about using their products. For example there could be a class about using iPhoto on a Mac, or iPad basics. Even if there isn't a class you could come in and talk to there employees if you had questions. Also there is the Genius Bar (see http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/ ). 

Unfortunately the nearest Apple store is 40 miles away (about an hour drive each way) - on the far side of Little Rock. That is why I ordered the iPads online and why I am posting my questions here. The problem is that at this point I don't know what questions to ask.

I was going to ask if there are iPad forums but then I found this one:

https://discussions.apple.com/community/ipad/using_ipad

Are there other forums for the iPad? Is this one a good one? Are there better ones?

I realize that I am going to have to learn most of it by experience but since I have no previous experience with any Apple products I am looking for ways to make the learning process easier and faster.

Is anyone using iPads for model train or 1:1 railroad specific applications? If so what are you doing and how are you doing it?

What about using an iPad with MLS and other forums? Are there specific problems or tricks I need to know about? Shad mentioned problems with Rich Text editor. Does that apply to the iPad?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By East Broad Top on 29 Mar 2012 10:11 AM 
Dropbox is free for 2 GB, but if you want more storage, that'll cost you. That's where they make their $$. I use it two ways--first, as cloud-based storage for articles I'm working on so I can work on them on whatever computer I happen to be sitting in front of, and also as temporary holding space for file sharing between computers (for instance, if I need to send a large file that I cannot e-mail). It's much easier than FTP. 

Later, 

K 

Hi Kevin,

Since your articles include photos, how are you moving your files between (I presume Apple and non-Apple) computers? 

Your comparison with FTP suggests that Dropbox does not care what format the files are in because it just stores and transfers the files without doing anything with or to them. Is that correct?

Are you downloading the files, working on them and then re-uploading them?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

OK. Lets open another can of worms - 4G.

I ordered it (because it cannot be added later) but I don't see any reason why I would need it.

As I understand it, 4G is nothing more than enabling the iPad to access the internet via cell phone towers - which would be expensive to use (especially when WiFi is available so many places). 

I am not questioning why others use it but I am retired and I seldom go anywhere and I don't have an iPhone, iPod or anything else by Apple (or any sort of smart phone). I don't know what makes an iPhone different from other phones or what an iPod is or does but then I don't see that it would be important for me to know unless it was somehow linked with my future use of an iPad.

It seems to me that the only time I might need it would be at an infrequent train show etc. where I might want to go online but WiFi is not available at the show (or whatever place I might be).

According to Verizon I can turn the 4G service on or off on a month by month basis if I should want it - but I would pay by the megabytes for whatever plan I sign up for (which is also somewhat confusing). In effect I would be paying for my cell phone minutes but if I wanted to use the iPad, it would be on its own plan with its own expenses.

Does this describe it accurately or am I missing something?

One more thing (sorry) - I've heard that Apple computers are far safer from viruses etc. than Windows based computers. Is this true and does it apply to the iPad? Would you trust your iPad to access your bank and credit card accounts?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 29 Mar 2012 12:20 PM 
OK. Lets open another can of worms - 4G.



One more thing (sorry) - I've heard that Apple computers are far safer from viruses etc. than Windows based computers. Is this true and does it apply to the iPad?

You're pretty close on the 4G but you should know that 4G is really not 4G. It will save me some typing if I just direct you here: http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/01/tec.../index.htm 

About the viruses: Apple computers aren't really "immune" to them, but there are just very few out there. Think about it - you're a bad guy and want to ruin a bunch of peoples' computers. Would you write the program for Windows (chance to infect lots of computer users), or for OS X (Macs) (chance to infect very few users compared to Windows)? OS X is a more stable OS, but it's also largely a numbers game of the amount of people the virus could effect.

About the iPad and viruses: iOS (iPods, iPhones, iPads) is a closed OS, meaning the only way to get an app (or program - what ever you want to call it) is through Apple's App Store. You can't download an app from an website like on Windows. For Macs there is the Mac App Store, but apps could also be downloaded from a website, etc. Being a closed OS adds a lot to the safety of the system as far as viruses.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

That's correct, Jerry. Dropbox shows up on your desktop just as any other folder, so it doesn't care about file format, OS, or anything. Mac, PC, iPad, Android... doesn't matter. It's also got a web-based interface if you're on a public computer where you can't create a dropbox folder on your desktop. I've got my freight movement chart stored in Dropbox, so when I'm outside running, I can call it up on my iPhone and use that to tell which cars go where. 

Are you downloading the files, working on them and then re-uploading them? 
No, I'm opening them from and saving them to Dropbox--essentially an off-site hard drive. The files don't exist on either my Mac or PC. This way I don't have to worry about trying to remember which computer I was working on "last time," and which version of the file I'm looking at. When using it as a pseudo-FTP, I save the file to my computer, copy it and move the copy to Dropbox (so I have a copy here). Once it uploads, whoever else is sharing that folder gets a pop-up window letting them know a file has been uploaded, and they can go in and drag the file from the folder to their computer. If they copy the file from Dropbox, it stays in the folder until someone deletes it. If they just move it from the folder, it frees up that space. 

It seems to me that the only time I might need it would be at an infrequent train show etc. where I might want to go online but WiFi is not available at the show (or whatever place I might be). 
That's about it. If you're someplace that doesn't have WiFi and want to access the internet, you have to do it via a cellular network. If you don't envision yourself ever using your iPad outside the reach of a WiFi network, then you needn't worry about 4G. And many places (home, office, some stores and restaurants, etc.) have WiFi, and I'd expect it to become even more prevalent as time goes on. But if you're on the road a lot, away from WiFi hotspots, it has its advantages. If Verizon will let you go month-by-month with activation, that's a good way to go. Turn it on when you know you're going to be on the road, then turn it off when you get back home. 

I've heard that Apple computers are far safer from viruses etc. than Windows based computers. Is this true and does it apply to the iPad? Would you trust your iPad to access your bank and credit card accounts? 
Safer, yes. Immune, no. Viruses are few and far between, but there is malware and spyware that can infect Macs. It's not anywhere near as common, but you can't call it "nonexistent." The iPad operating system is different, so I'm not sure about viruses, etc. for that. Google searches don't turn a whole lot up. You'd think with the popularity of it, if viruses were prevalent, we'd hear more about it by now. As for on-line banking and credit cards on the iPad/iPhone, to my knowledge it's secure. I deposit all my checks into my account simply by taking a photo with my iPhone. I could do a lot more, but the user interface on the phone is inferior to the web interface on my Mac. Many small businesses use their iPads and iPhones as their credit card machines instead of renting one from the bank. That's what my wife uses for her biz. Everything we read about it gave us the confidence that it is secure. 

Later, 

K


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 
I read this thread and am posting my reply via my Ipad2.
I have found that I end up using my ATT 3G more than I thought I would. And yes it is a separate account from my IPhone.
I can sign up for the minimum and if I need more I just go into my account and change it. Then the next month I just change it back to the minimum.
it seems I end up in locations with no wi-fi or locked wi-fi and I enjoy the convenience of access wherever I am at so long as I have Signal. My Ipad2 also automatically switches to wi-fi when it finds it.

As for trains, I use my iPad for MLS, video, pictures and looking at train stuff on the Internet


Tommy
Rio Gracie 

Note: As I look at my reply, I see my post is all run together


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 29 Mar 2012 12:37 PM 

You're pretty close on the 4G but you should know that 4G is really not 4G. It will save me some typing if I just direct you here: http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/01/tec.../index.htm 


For reasons unknown to me I could not get your link to work but when I clicked on its properties, cut and pasted those properties, the link then worked.

It was interesting reading but did not surprise me:

_The International Telecommunication Union, the global wireless standards-setting organization, determined last month that __4G is defined__ as a network capable of download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). That's fast enough to download an average high-definition movie in about three minutes. _


_None of the new networks the carriers are rolling out meet that standard. _
_Sprint (__S__, __Fortune 500__) was the first to launch a network called 4G, going live with it earlier this year. Then, T-Mobile launched its 4G network, claiming to be "America's largest 4G network." Verizon (__VZ__, __Fortune 500__) plans to launch its 4G network __next week__, which it claims will be the nation's largest and the fastest. AT&T (__T__, __Fortune 500__) is expected to unveil its 4G network next year._


_Those networks have theoretical speeds of a fifth to a half that of the official 4G standard. The actual speeds the carriers say they'll achieve are just a tenth of "real" 4G._

In my case I never expect the advertised rates of anything. Centurytel/Centurylink has lied to me for years regarding the speed of my DSL but it is the only game in town so I have to live with it.

The iPad only comes with 4G so I will have to live with whatever speed it turns out to have but perhaps by the time I use it, it will be better. 

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By East Broad Top on 29 Mar 2012 01:16 PM 
I've got my freight movement chart stored in Dropbox, so when I'm outside running, I can call it up on my iPhone and use that to tell which cars go where. 


The files don't exist on either my Mac or PC. This way I don't have to worry about trying to remember which computer I was working on "last time," and which version of the file I'm looking at. 


Many small businesses use their iPads and iPhones as their credit card machines instead of renting one from the bank. That's what my wife uses for her biz. Everything we read about it gave us the confidence that it is secure. 

Later, 

K 


Hi Kevin,

You have my interest.

Can you expand on how you are handling your freight movement? That sounds like it would be fun with an iPad.

You mentioned *"either my Mac or PC"* so you are using the same files with both computers. Are these just text editors or anything more - like Word and Excel?

My wife is renting a credit card machine from a bank so again you have my interest. Where would I go for information on using the iPad as a credit card machine?

Thanks again,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By tmejia on 29 Mar 2012 01:38 PM 
My Ipad2 also automatically switches to wi-fi when it finds it.

As for trains, I use my iPad for MLS, video, pictures and looking at train stuff on the Internet 

Tommy Rio Gracie

Note: As I look at my reply, I see my post is all run together 


Hi Tommy,

Thanks for posting with your iPad2. It is great to know that it will automatically switch to WiFi when it finds it.

Perhaps Shad will be able to work out the text running together.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Is anyone using the ZAGGfoliio (advertised on the lower left to non-1st Class Members) or a similar keyboard/case? If so, what do you think about it?

It seems like it would solve the problem for those of us who are used to working with a desktop or laptop and are hesitant about using the screen as a keyboard.























Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

ZAGG has some cool stuff... I'm sure it works great. Personally, if I wanted a keyboard for an iPad I would buy Apple's wireless keyboard (see http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184LL/B?fnode=MTc0MjU4OTY ) but that's just me.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

I had even bothered with trying it yet, but since this thread came up, I just did.

I just created an Excel file on my PC, copied it to my USB thumb drive, put the thumb drive in my Transformer's docking station's USB port, and opened the file using Polaris Office.

Likewise, I was able to create a spreadsheet file in Polaris Office on my Transformer, save it to the USB thumb drive, and then open it in Excel on my PC. 
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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Can you expand on how you are handling your freight movement? That sounds like it would be fun with an iPad.
I built an Excel spreadsheet with a list of pieces of various rolling stock; hoppers, box cars, flat cars, etc., then set out a "rotation" for each car as it would move over the railroad over time. (I used days of the week.) A flat car would get loaded at one siding, then be delivered to a handful of other suitable destinations, then returned, that kind of thing. 

Here's a link to an early example: 

I grab a bunch of cars to set out on the railroad for the ops session (doesn't matter how many, except my siding capacity limits me to around 18 or so total), then pick a day of the week to start, and set out the cars in the appropriate spots according to what kind of car it is. Moving through each "day" takes me around an hour if I'm just plugging through from town to town. 

You mentioned "either my Mac or PC" so you are using the same files with both computers. Are these just text editors or anything more - like Word and Excel?
Yes. I've got MS Office on both my Mac and PC. Both my wife and I primarily use Macs, but the PC (laptop) is our "take with us" computer for vacations, etc. That, and we both have "hobby toys" that require PCs for their support software. I like to write my columns and reviews on the PC, since I can sit in the back yard and watch trains trundle around the garden in the process (at least when it's warm out). 

My wife is renting a credit card machine from a bank so again you have my interest. Where would I go for information on using the iPad as a credit card machine?
Check out the "Square" http://www.squareup.com/. It's a little square card reader that plugs into the earphone jack of the iPad/iPhone. The reader is free, and there's no monthly or annual fee, but they do charge 2.75% per swipe. 

Later, 

K


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 29 Mar 2012 05:54 PM 
ZAGG has some cool stuff... I'm sure it works great. Personally, if I wanted a keyboard for an iPad I would buy Apple's wireless keyboard (see http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184LL/B?fnode=MTc0MjU4OTY ) but that's just me. 

This is where I am trying to sort things out about how we will use the iPads. I ordered one Apple keyboard along with their pretty neat cover that folds into a stand - but that won't work in my lap sitting in a recliner in front of the TV.

The Apple keyboard and cover should turn the iPad into a desktop and my thought was to use the ZAGG set as a laptop. I still can't get a handle on how I will use the iPad holding it in my left hand and pressing buttons on the screen/keyboard with the other. Obviously there is a lot I don't know including how I will manage without a mouse.

Its all totally new to me and I will have to figure all of this out bit by bit once the iPads get here.

Thanks,

Jerry


----------



## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Hi Kevin,

Great info.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Because the IPad is a touch screen, the no mouse was not an issue. You just touch the screen, slide, drag your finger, tap the screen and bingo, it's easy. I'm not a typist, so holding the IPad with one hand and hitting the screen keyboard with the other is about as fast as I can go anyway. I never got use to the scroll pad on my laptop though so I use a wireless mouse with that. 
Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By tmejia on 29 Mar 2012 09:35 PM 
Because the IPad is a touch screen, the no mouse was not an issue. You just touch the screen, slide, drag your finger, tap the screen and bingo, it's easy. I'm not a typist, so holding the IPad with one hand and hitting the screen keyboard with the other is about as fast as I can go anyway. I never got use to the scroll pad on my laptop though so I use a wireless mouse with that. 
Tommy








Rio Gracie



Hi Tommy,

That brings up another issue (it seems there is always yet another issue).

How delicate is the iPad touch screen?

I see that there is an assortment of screen protectors available for the iPads. Is this important? Necessary? Or just a gimmick to sell more stuff?

It would seem that any sort of screen protector could have a negative effect both on the clarity of the display and on the accuracy of a pointing device pressed against the screen. For that matter the little Pandigital recommended some sort of stylus (any pointed object) for accuracy rather than a finger tip. Is that true for the iPad as well? In their ad Apple shows a finger drawing a long leaf thinner than the fingertip. That seems contradictory.

I suspect that I am not alone in being ignorant about but curious about the iPads. Being retired and living in rural Arkansas I have been out of touch with the business/corporate/educational world for a dozen years.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a screen protector on mine and on my IPhone. I also have the IPad cover and a back case. my thinking is the screen is the most important part of the IPad and I want to protect it. I haven't drawn with and I don't use a stylus - finger only. 

Tommy 
Rio Graci


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By East Broad Top on 29 Mar 2012 06:55 PM 
Can you expand on how you are handling your freight movement? That sounds like it would be fun with an iPad.
I built an Excel spreadsheet with a list of pieces of various rolling stock; hoppers, box cars, flat cars, etc., then set out a "rotation" for each car as it would move over the railroad over time. (I used days of the week.) A flat car would get loaded at one siding, then be delivered to a handful of other suitable destinations, then returned, that kind of thing. 

Here's a link to an early example: 

I grab a bunch of cars to set out on the railroad for the ops session (doesn't matter how many, except my siding capacity limits me to around 18 or so total), then pick a day of the week to start, and set out the cars in the appropriate spots according to what kind of car it is. Moving through each "day" takes me around an hour if I'm just plugging through from town to town. 

You mentioned "either my Mac or PC" so you are using the same files with both computers. Are these just text editors or anything more - like Word and Excel?
Yes. I've got MS Office on both my Mac and PC. Both my wife and I primarily use Macs, but the PC (laptop) is our "take with us" computer for vacations, etc. That, and we both have "hobby toys" that require PCs for their support software. I like to write my columns and reviews on the PC, since I can sit in the back yard and watch trains trundle around the garden in the process (at least when it's warm out). 

My wife is renting a credit card machine from a bank so again you have my interest. Where would I go for information on using the iPad as a credit card machine?
Check out the "Square" http://www.squareup.com/. It's a little square card reader that plugs into the earphone jack of the iPad/iPhone. The reader is free, and there's no monthly or annual fee, but they do charge 2.75% per swipe. 

Later, 

K 
I am wondering if the clones of Excel on other devices can execute the Macros and VBA functions of the PC world Microsoft Excel. 

I have several spreadsheets that have VBA functions that I have written that would be useless without the ability to at least run them and would be frozen in time if I could not edit the VBA programs for updates. (I wrote a Sudoku program to help me keep track of the numbers and I kept adding "aids" to do so until now I have a button labeled "Solve" that will solve all but the most difficult puzzles by repetitively calling the Aids until all the numbers are filled in. And I have a couple more "aids" I am working on to solve those more difficult puzzles. I'd hate to lose the ability to add those functions when I figure out how to do them!







) 

The last time I tried the Open Office version of Excel, it failed to execute some of the macros and knew nothing at all about the VBA functions (I even made a series of stupid mistakes and managed to overwrite my good copy of the spreadsheet with the file when I closed Open Office and lost the VBA portion of the file. My last backup of the file didn't have the latest corrections and enhancements to the VBA portion and I had to reinvent the wheel to get them back!)

Am i correct in assumming the egoFad version probably won't handle them either?


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I checked the shipping schedule for the iPad and I was surprised to see that it was shipped yesterday. Visions of it arriving tomorrow by FedEx came to mind - but then I clicked on "Tracking" and got a surprise:

Mar 30, 2012 6:08 PM
In transit

TA YUAN HSIANG TW

Mar 30, 2012 2:16 PM
In transit
LANTAU ISLAND HK


Mar 29, 2012 11:30 PM
At local FedEx facility
LANTAU ISLAND HK


Mar 29, 2012 6:23 PM
In transit
LANTAU ISLAND HK


Mar 29, 2012 4:38 PM
In transit
LANTAU ISLAND HK


Mar 29, 2012 1:57 PM
Left FedEx origin facility
SHENZHEN CN


Mar 28, 2012 10:11 PM
Shipment information sent to FedEx



Mar 29, 2012 3:26 AM
Picked up
SHENZHEN CN



I am guessing the CN is China, HK is Hong Kong and TW is Taiwan. It looks like Apple is shipping it direct from the factory to me. According to Google Earth (I wonder if Google will work with the iPad) the iPad will be traveling 11,385 miles to get here. Its amazing that they have free FedEx shipping for 11,385 miles. I would have expected it to be shipped by boat in a container. Apple profits obviously are pretty good when they can afford to ship this way.

If anyone is interested you can Google Earth to SHENZHEN CN and look around the city. I found it interesting but I did not spot the factory so far.

Just for the fun of it I did a check on FedEx and if I shipped a computer (2.9 lbs) to China, the shipping and insurance charges would total $221.10.

Jerry


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Apple doesn't actually manufacture the iPad...Foxconn makes it under contract to Apple. Foxconn is the electronics company that's taking a LOT of heat now about employing slave laborers and is under investigation by the PRC. One really unusual characteristic of Foxconn is Foxconn City...where their big factory is. They (FOXCONN) built the WHOLE city...not just the factory buildings...but also all the apartment buildings, the transit system, all the stores, their suppliers factories, housing for the suppliers employees, etc....for a population of over a million folks. 


FOXCONN link

It brings new meaning to the term "factory town"...and, if you dig into what they did, you'll understand why electronics manufacturing is NOT going to come back to the US unless it collapses economically there. US antitrust laws would NEVER allow that kind of relationship development.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought a doll in Florida once and had it shipped home to Iowa. I hurried home to be sure I got here before the doll did! The dealer sent me an e-mail with the tracking info the next day, so I watched the tracking info as it "left" city after city. It never said where it was "GOING" only where it had "LEFT". I tracked it "LEAVING": Mt. Dora, FL, Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN, Chicago, IL, and finally Davenport, IA. 

YEA! Often things would get to Cedar Rapids overnight and be delivered the next day... So I stayed home from work to be sure I was there when it was delivered (Things tended to dissappear from the foyer in the apartment building I lived in). 

But nobody came, so the next day I checked the tracking and found...

It "LEFT" Memphis, TN the day I had stayed home! Then I tracked it "LEAVING": Jacksonville, FL, Dallas, TX, Nashville, TN, Chicago, IL, Davenport, IA, Des Moines, IA, Hiawatha, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA. I don't know where it "went to" when it "left" Cedar Rapids, because that is where I live! (At the time they werer transistioning between a depot in Cedar Rapids to a new one in Hiawatha, so they had two active depots in the one small metropolitan area.) 

It was delivered THREE DAYS after that.

And each of those city names appeared one at a time per day... so 14 days of seeing where it WAS the day before, and no knowledge of where it was "GOING". And then 3 days wondering why it has not come to my house. (Actually, I called them on the 2nd day after I saw it in C.R. and they said it was scheduled for delivery the next day.)


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Hi Mike,

I too have been watching the news about Apple and Foxconn. I think Apple deserves all the bad publicity they are getting and perhaps something will be done about it - but I think anything will be PR and cosmetic at best. I don't believe Apple for a minute when they claim they did not know of the working conditions. I suspect Foxconn makes most of the computers (pick your brand) that we are buying. With their profits I believe Apple could be making the iPad here in the USA if they wanted to (assembly machines work for pennies per hour) but every penny of profit counts. I don't have to like the company to buy their products and I tend to lump all electronic manufacturers in the same boat.

I gave up when I discovered that my favorite IBM computers are now owned and built by Lenovo (a Chinese company).

Like you said "electronics manufacturing is NOT going to come back to the US" because even if Apple moved away from China it would simply be to a different Asian country.

IMHO Microsoft and the rest are no better as they too have moved just about everything off shore.

There is no way that US manufacturers can compete with the pennies per hour wages of Asian countries unless the US has tariffs to compensate for uneven manufacturing costs of US companies. A few US companies are starting to manufacture in the USA once again (and I would go out of my way to buy their products) but I don't see any likelihood that any of the multi-national corporations will ever do so. Its all about profits and the stock exchange.

I don't have any answers but I decided that buying or not buying an iPad would not change anything.

Jerry


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 30 Mar 2012 11:51 AM 
...

There is no way that US manufacturers can compete with the pennies per hour wages of Asian countries unless the US has tariffs to compensate for uneven manufacturing costs of US companies. A few US companies are starting to manufacture in the USA once again (and I would go out of my way to buy their products) but I don't see any likelihood that any of the multi-national corporations will ever do so. Its all about profits and the stock exchange.

... 


Actually, they can because the rejection rate of the FOXCONN output has reached as high as 50% lately. As I said earlier, what really keeps this kind of manufacturing from coming back to the US is that the US antitrust laws do NOT allow for the kind of corporate relationships that FOXCONN has with its suppliers...and THAT relationship makes it even cheaper to do the work there. 

It's NOT just the salaries...which are NO LONGER pennies per hour. In fact, the increasing salaries in China is why the LS train manufacturers over there are having issues...the Chinese have a developing middle class. My son moved his business back the US because of that issue...and the crappy quality of the products being made.


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Here's a report on the Foxconn factory: http://www.theipadfan.com/abc-nightline-report-apples-foxconn-factory-video/#more-3417 
What gets me is that those people want to work there so bad... 

The iOS devices have gorilla glass screens, so they're pretty strong (I've seen them with almost completely shattered glass and still work fine). 
Steve Jobs hated the stylus so I'm sure you'll be ok without one.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mike Reilley on 30 Mar 2012 12:05 PM 
Posted By Jerrys-RR on 30 Mar 2012 11:51 AM 
...
 
 

Actually, they can because the rejection rate of the FOXCONN output has reached as high as 50% lately.  As I said earlier, what really keeps this kind of manufacturing from coming back to the US is that the US antitrust laws do NOT allow for the kind of corporate relationships that FOXCONN has with its suppliers...and THAT relationship makes it even cheaper to do the work there.  
 
It's NOT just the salaries...which are NO LONGER pennies per hour.  In fact, the increasing salaries in China is why the LS train manufacturers over there are having issues...the Chinese have a developing middle class.  My son moved his business back the US because of that issue...and the crappy quality of the products being made.






Mike, I'm stumped, really 50% rejection? 43,000,000 iPads sold in 2011. Foxxcon must have made 86,000,000 iPads. And all those millions and millions of iPhones and other stuff. Maybe a decimal place or a few got lost, stolen or misplaced? Typically these things are measured in dpm. Not to include design issues like iPad3's battery overheating. Can I find that 50% info? (I'm just saying curiosity's got hold of me.)


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Chris Scott on 30 Mar 2012 10:50 PM 
....
Mike, I'm stumped, really 50% rejection? 43,000,000 iPads sold in 2011. Foxxcon must have made 86,000,000 iPads. And all those millions and millions of iPhones and other stuff. Maybe a decimal place or a few got lost, stolen or misplaced? Typically these things are measured in dpm. Not to include design issues like iPad3's battery overheating. Can I find that 50% info? (I'm just saying curiosity's got hold of me.) 
Well...NOT for the whole iPad. It's for the parts made that go into the iPad which are built at the FOXCONN plant. In some cases, up to half of the production of a particular part is rejected (before it goes into the iPhone, iPod, iPad). Within Apple, it's a big deal to get those production issues resolved.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mike Reilley on 31 Mar 2012 10:47 AM 
Posted By Chris Scott on 30 Mar 2012 10:50 PM 
....
Mike, I'm stumped, really 50% rejection? 43,000,000 iPads sold in 2011. Foxxcon must have made 86,000,000 iPads. And all those millions and millions of iPhones and other stuff. Maybe a decimal place or a few got lost, stolen or misplaced? Typically these things are measured in dpm. Not to include design issues like iPad3's battery overheating. Can I find that 50% info? (I'm just saying curiosity's got hold of me.) 
Well...NOT for the whole iPad. It's for the parts made that go into the iPad which are built at the FOXCONN plant. In some cases, up to half of the production of a particular part is rejected (before it goes into the iPhone, iPod, iPad). Within Apple, it's a big deal to get those production issues resolved. 

Those details are important. Who knows a 50% failure rate with one part one day could have been a 90% failure rate the day before with that part. That's a 500% improvement in just one day - now that's getting things done. Just how manufacturing goes and if it's Apple all the more. They're really aggressive in using never before technology. Lots tougher getting started. Progress comes really fast. It's all in the details and perspective vs headlines. You'd have to admit it's complicated.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

They are getting nearer and should be delivered Tuesday.









I noticed today that even the Jon Stewart Show is now being optimized for the iPad. 

It sure seems to me that the iPad is becoming a new world standard.

Perhaps Apple is shipping a FedEx aircraft load at a time to their Memphis Headquarters/Distribution Center and then FedEx is reshipping from there. Years ago (pre-jet) I co-piloted some FedEx contacted flights to that distribution center and it was simply amazing to see how they ran their operations even at midnight back then.

Jerry



Date/Time Activity Location Details 





Mar 31, 2012 3:49 AM 





*Departed FedEx location * 





*MEMPHIS, TN * 





Mar 31, 2012 12:12 AM 





Arrived at FedEx location 





MEMPHIS, TN 





Mar 30, 2012 3:18 PM 





Departed FedEx location 





ANCHORAGE, AK 





Mar 30, 2012 1:08 PM 





International shipment release - Import 





ANCHORAGE, AK 





Mar 30, 2012 10:47 AM 





Arrived at FedEx location 





ANCHORAGE, AK 





Mar 30, 2012 6:08 PM 





In transit 





TA YUAN HSIANG TW 





Mar 30, 2012 2:16 PM 





In transit 





LANTAU ISLAND HK 





Mar 29, 2012 11:30 PM 





At local FedEx facility 





LANTAU ISLAND HK 





Mar 29, 2012 6:23 PM 





In transit 





LANTAU ISLAND HK 





Mar 29, 2012 4:38 PM 





In transit 





LANTAU ISLAND HK 





Mar 29, 2012 1:57 PM 





Left FedEx origin facility 





SHENZHEN CN 





Mar 28, 2012 10:11 PM 





Shipment information sent to FedEx 





Mar 29, 2012 3:26 AM 





Picked up 





SHENZHEN CN


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I got a surprise today -the iPads arrived and I am writing this on mine. 

Lots to learn now.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

So far I have to say that the new iPad is somewhat frustrating to try to figure out. It reminds me of the Commodore 64 when I got it home and looked at a blinking period (cursor). It seems I need to buy "stuff" before it will actually do anything. There do not even seem to be any free games like Solitaire to kill time with (perhaps I will find some once I load I Tunes). I looked at the link for "Numbers" and found some very unhappy folks who had bought it and did not like it at all.

The instructions that came with it make LGB instructions look exceptionally good (joke).

I was happy to see that I could get to the iPad instructions - until I went to the doctor's office and found that the iPad instructions were on line only and since I had not activated the Verizon link I could not get online to read the instructions - as I waited for the lab to call me.

Then I figured I would contact Verizon to activate the iPad before I got to the dentist. I used my cell phone to find that Radio Shack was a Verizon dealer but they did not know how to activate the iPad. I went back to the cell phone and contacted Verizon only to discover that I needed to be at a computer in order to activate the iPad.

Meanwhile I found that somehow my password was not working and I needed to reset it but after numerous attempts to have a new password verified I found that neither my Centurytel email on a PC nor on the iPad itself showed the link I was supposed to click on to verify my account so I could get back into it and talk to Apple customer service. I also found that for unknown reasons my regular email account passwords were not being accepted either.

For what it is worth I had the same results as others in that I could view MLS fine but when I posted from the iPad all the text ended up on the same line. I did not try Quick Reply but that probably would have worked.

I have no doubt that in the end all of this will be worked out to my satisfaction but it really is surprising and frustrating to find this many glitches right out of the box.

It would probably have been a LOT better if I had a friend who already had an iPad and could walk me through it. At this point I don't even know how to do a System Info or anything like it to tell me what I have. Apple seems to assume that someone buying an iPad already has some sort of familiarity with how Apple products work.

No. I don't regret buying it. I just have not reached the point of being able to do anything with it.

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(data:text/css,);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Jerrys-RR on 02 Apr 2012 02:09 PM 
The instructions that came with it make LGB instructions look exceptionally good (joke).



No. I don't regret buying it. I just have not reached the point of being able to do anything with it.



Apple does this on purpose so you just have to start playing with it, and figure it out by using it.

At least you're staying positive... hit us with all your questions when you're ready.


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Using my IPad and Quick Reply 
The text does't run together 

As for games - just go to App Store icon and there are a lot of free games available to download. 

 Tommy 
Rio Gracie


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I finally got through to AppleCare support. Apparently the problem was that my local phone company's email service does not work well with the Apple (and other) systems so I was unable to get the link to verify my account. Now that is taken care of I have been able to start downloading apps like Pages and Numbers. I'm still not sure if I am getting PDF files like the Users Manual to download or if they will just work online.

One thing I am not clear on is that I paid for the apps and they showed up for installation on my wife's iPad as well (same Apple account). Do I have to pay for these apps again or are they free on the 2nd iPad? I don't really need them on the 2nd iPad but it might be handy if I did not have to pay for them again.

Eventually my wife will have to get her own I Tunes account (?) rather than leave everything going onto my credit card.

The tech support guy did not know if I could download PDF files or not. Not too impressive since I would think this would be a primary question.

The only game I downloaded was Angry Birds. It seems like that is pretty famous so I might as well try it. Kind of silly but I like it. At least now I know the sound works.

If I can find free Solitaire and free Hearts I'll be happy as those are about the only games I play.

So far I don't think the iPad will replace any computers for us but it will be handy for day trips and if I can find a GPS program (topo or aviation) and Streets & Trips and Google Earth I should be happy with it.

I have VERY large PDF topo maps of turn of the century railroads in Arkansas that I would REALLY like to find a way to upload to the iPad - plus all of my railroad/model railroad photos.

If anyone could walk me through uploading files from the PC to the iPad that would help a lot. Most files may be too large for an SDHC chip and I understand that the Camera (USB) adapter is not that good.

Jerry


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Foxconn Plans New Iowa Plant, Will Hire 10% Of State’s Population 


One of China's largest manufacturers, if not the largest, is outsourcing good manufacturing jobs to America.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I am writing this with the Apple wireless keyboard with the iPad almost flat (iPad cover folded into a sort of stand) on a table in front of me. 

I have to say that the keyboard is perhaps one of the worst (in terms of homing in on the keys) that I have used and the iPad is difficult (for me) to see well (when laying almost flat) either with or without reading glasses. Clearly I will need something to prop the iPad up to a more vertical position so I can see it better when using a keyboard. 

It looks like I will have to buy the ZAGG keyboard/iPad holder to use the iPad as a mini-desktop PC. 

I am am still having problems with getting passwords recognized. 

To be honest, I expected a 3rd generation iPad to have been more intuitive to learn. 

In fairness, it is a great step up from the little $78 Pandigital tablet I had previously and I am finding some very nice features such as the ability to locate (by GPS) a misplaced or stolen iPad (assuming WiFi connection) and even the ability to remotely lock and DELETE EVERYTHING from a stolen iPad. 

So far I would rate the iPad as enough of an improvement to justify (to me - all that concerns me) the $1,000 price tag. 

The nickel & dime prices of buying aps is annoying but a few dollars here and there is admittedly a LOT cheaper than buying MS Office etc. 

Perhaps if I was 20 years younger with better eyes and memory and interested in buying videos & music or still in the work environment I would have a much more appreciative and tolerant attitude (like I did with the original IBM PC/XT) but these days things like Aristo's Revolution with fewer features but easy to understand operations is more important to me than more advanced complicated features I would have to really work at to learn and try to remember. 

One major problem for me is the lack of an Ethernet connection since the metal buildings (and distance) of the camper, caboose and shop prevent any thought of WiFi operations from the house. Then too though an Ethernet cable would probably (eventually) yank the iPad off of my lap and onto the floor. 

Perhaps what I really need is an iPad XXL with a 15" screen and full size IBM keyboard. 

I think they call that a laptop. ; ) 

In fairness I think these iPads will get a lot of use and I am not going to regret buying them. The little Pandigital proved to be so small that I soon left it somewhere only to have it stolen. 

Perhaps the best comparison is that this iPad is like a cell phone vs a handy wired telephone handset with large illuminated buttons to push. I got rid of the smart phone Marilyn bought for me and went back to the Razor but even that is left turned off 99% of the time. Like the cell phone, I probably will get into the habit of never leaving home without the iPad. I still miss having a mouse. 

Jerry 

Note: I will probably have to come back and proof read this with a regular PC with a wide screen since, if I widen the type to read it easily, I have to keep scrolling back & forth to read it. I never thought I would see the day when I was the old foggie who resisted learning new electronic toys. I am learning how those old fogies thought back when I was the young upstart. 

It is very strange to type with the keyboard (I do like it better than holding the iPad with one hand and typing with the other) and then reaching to the iPad to move what I had typed so I can read it. 

I also miss ieSpell. I don't know if there is a way to get a spell checker but Apple probably sells an ap for it.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Its true, I really did have to walk over to this desktop to proof read and spell check my last post.

I am typing this on a regular desktop PC with a 20" wide screen at 150% zoom.

On the negative side something is wrong with this PC in that it is somewhat jerky in operation. It has anti-virus protection but it is clear something is keeping it from smooth operation - as seems to happen with just about every IBM compatible PC eventually. Perhaps the iPad will be less subject to such problems.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Chris Scott on 02 Apr 2012 08:18 PM 
Foxconn Plans New Iowa Plant, Will Hire 10% Of State’s Population 


One of China's largest manufacturers, if not the largest, is outsourcing good manufacturing jobs to America.




I'm a born pessimist.

Jerry



"April Fool's story. I even got the author to confirm: http://www.kptm.com/story/173067...ls-con"


Brian Mattix
OMAHA (KPTM) - An article posted Sunday morning by a TechCrunch.com editor reporting that manufacturer Foxconn, which makes Apple iPads and iPhones, was bringing a plant to central Iowa is nothing more than an April Fool's joke.
Blogger and TechCrunch editor John Biggs confirmed the hoax Sunday. The story claims Foxconn, which assembles about 50% of the world's electronics products, is going to build a large facility in Guthrie Center, Iowa. It also says the plant would employ about 300,000 workers.
The story mentions real people and places, like an actual Apple research analyst and Google's Council Bluffs data center, but some readers may notice that many of the quotes seemed a little off kilter to be real.
The story caught fire on social media throughout the day, with users posting it on Facebook and Twitter, with most users believing it.
But what would be a big boon for the Iowa and US economy is nothing but an April Fool. When asked about the story, the author, John Biggs told FOX 42 News via email, "I wish it were true but it isn't."
The story also made its way into the Google News feed, which may have also confused readers.
Danny Schreiber, Managing Editor of online tech news site Silicon Prairie News, says when it comes to online tricks, sites and bloggers keep pushing the envelope.
"I think Google has set the bar high for, 'how can we spoof our users,'" he says, "and every tech writer, every tech company continues to think, 'what can we do new this year?'"


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

OK. Something good to report.

I REALLY bugs me when I am watching something like CNN or The Jon Stewart Show only to have the conversation "continued" on their website.

We were just watching Jon Stewart and once again this happened so I went and got the iPad, found the Jon Stewart Show, bookmarked it, and easily watched the rest of the interview.

Compared with doing this with a desktop (not worth the bother) and a laptop (PITA) the iPad is so small and the resolution is so good that it is now going to live by my recliner so I can flip to those continued interviews.

It seems that watching stuff and listening to stuff is where the iPad really excels and, if that proves to be the case, the size and resolution of the iPad will justify the cost to me.

Jerry


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I sincerely appreciate your "review" of the i-pad. I can certainly emphathize and sympathize with you about having to learn something new and complicated. Language and vocabulary get ingrained in one's brain and learning a new language is not done in old age like it is done in youth... At "our" ages, we will forever be translating to/from our known language to a different one not learned in youth and struggle with grammar differences; whereas the youth will learn a different language and use it in its native form. 

With computers it is about the same. "We" are fluent (relativvely!) in PC and Windows (or in my case specifically, DOS ... and that does not mean "Denial Of Service", but "Disk Operating System"... and the "DOS" I learned was not MS-DOS, but the Hewlett Packard Operating System that existed many years BEFORE the "PC" was even thought was possible (1970s timeframe!)). So, jumping with both feet into the Apple world is difficult for "US". 

When I write software today I am still in the mode of trying to write the smallest program I can so it will fit in the minimal memory that computers USED TO have. The 1st computer I wrote software for (as a wage earner) only had 4096 words of memory for both program and data! So I often had to rewrite some routine that had nothing to do with the section of code I was working on, just to see if I could squeeze out one or two more words of memory to be able to make room for the new code.

I have been watching the TV commercials of people using an i-pad and have kind of had an itch to get one myself... they make it looks so easy! But I recognize in myself exactly what you are talking about in having trouble seeing the screen well and fumbling a bit with the different keyboarding technique and learning the Language, Vocabulary and Grammar of the Apple side of the computing realm, and I think I may fore go the attempt at suicide by drowning in it.

I read the other day that Windows is probably going away... at least the Windows I know (and love) and that scares me a bit. I have been looking at Windows 8 and it is just to foreign to me to want to get it. I find myself wishing I die before I have to transistion to it or the next version... But, since Microsoft has a history of making a mishmash of every other OS and reverting back to something sensible on the next version, maybe when Windows 9 comes it will revert back to "my" world and I will have less trouble doing translations in my head.

Again, thanks for the review and don't stop relating to us (ME!) your trials and tribulations... and Victories, too! (Victories are always good to hear!!!!







)


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 03 Apr 2012 10:31 AM 
I sincerely appreciate your "review" of the i-pad. I can certainly emphathize and sympathize with you about having to learn something new and complicated. Language and vocabulary get ingrained in one's brain and learning a new language is not done in old age like it is done in youth... At "our" ages, we will forever be translating to/from our known language to a different one not learned in youth and struggle with grammar differences; whereas the youth will learn a different language and use it in its native form. 

With computers it is about the same. "We" are fluent (relativvely!) in PC and Windows (or in my case specifically, DOS ... and that does not mean "Denial Of Service", but "Disk Operating System"... and the "DOS" I learned was not MS-DOS, but the Hewlett Packard Operating System that existed many years BEFORE the "PC" was even thought was possible (1970s timeframe!)). So, jumping with both feet into the Apple world is difficult for "US". 

I recognize in myself exactly what you are talking about in having trouble seeing the screen well and fumbling a bit with the different keyboarding technique and learning the Language, Vocabulary and Grammar of the Apple side of the computing realm

I read the other day that Windows is probably going away... at least the Windows I know (and love) and that scares me a bit. 

Again, thanks for the review and don't stop relating to us (ME!) your trials and tribulations... and Victories, too! (Victories are always good to hear!!!!







)


Thank you for your comments. 

We were about a decade apart as I was dealing with IBM's PC-DOS (2.11 if I recall correctly) and then MS-DOS but in the 1980's.

What younger people probably do not understand is that (at least in my case) my long distance vision is fine (20/15). Its the lack of ability to focus close up that forces me to wear reading glasses. Those glasses are OK with the iPad in my hand but no good for the iPad on a table in front of me and I'm not going to buy special eyeglasses just to read an iPad on a table.

Somewhere I have the newest MS Office and I tried the latest Windows but I hate them (because I do not understand them and don't want to spend the time and money to learn something new when what I have works and is paid for).

On the plus side the iPad is so totally new and SO different that I will probably end up learning just enough to cherry-pick the features that appeal to me and to ignore everything else.

I think a lot will depend on hearing "neat stuff" from others who have invested their time in learning what the iPads are really capable of and watching out for the features that appeal to me.

To balance this new "good" with another "no good" - I paid to get the 4G models partially because I was told by Verizon (before I ordered the iPads) that I could simply turn the 4G service on and off whenever I wanted to.

Today (once again) I contacted Verizon. The first operator was of little help but eventually passed me on to someone else. It turns out that I can activate the 4G service for $35 and then pay a minimum of $30 for the 1st months use. I could then turn off the 4G service if I wanted to but I would be TERMINATING the service and to use it again I would have to REACTIVATE the service (ANOTHER $35 ACTIVATION FEE) plus that $30 minimum monthly fee. I guess they did not lie to me - they just did not tell me I would have to pay $35 EVERY TIME I reactivated the 4G service. I still would have bought he 4G model because I just might need it sometime in the future (it cannot be added later) plus if we go on a trip and one of the iPads has 4G activated I believe the other iPad can link to the 4G service through it at no extra cost.

What really annoyed Marilyn is that back when we bought the iPad 1 for our autistic granddaughter Marilyn was told by Verizon that if she got the 3G version she would HAVE to use it (never disconnect it) and she then COULD NOT use the iPad 1 at home if they got WiFi (DSL). What makes this really bad is that our son still cannot get DSL at home but at the time we could have had UNLIMITED 3G service. Now 3/4G is no longer available with unlimited use so they have no affordable internet service available to them.

I can't figure out if it is incompetence or intentional misrepresentation that causes so much disinformation to float around regarding internet services. I will stay mad at Centurytel/Centurylink from when I discovered that I was paying more than TWICE what others were paying for DSL service from them. I read one of their ads quoting the lower rate and when I asked why I was paying more I was told it was because I HAD NOT ASKED TO PAY LESS!!!

How was I supposed to know that they had started offering faster service for less than half of what I had been paying - for over two years (when DSL first became available here)?

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Understanding the New iPad prices:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/
Wi-Fi [*]$499 16GB[*]$599 32GB[*]$699 64GB[/list] Wi-Fi + 4G [*]$629 16GB[*]$729 32GB[*]$829 64GB[/list]
To this could be added (among other things)

iPad Smart Cover - Leather $69
Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit $29
iPad - AppleCare+ $99
Apple Wireless Keyboard $69


iPad 2 prices:

Wi-Fi [*]$399 16GB[/list] Wi-Fi + 3G [*]$529 16GB[/list]


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 03 Apr 2012 11:33 AM Today (once again) I contacted Verizon. The first operator was of little help but eventually passed me on to someone else. It turns out that I can *activate the 4G service for $35* and then *pay a minimum of $30* for the 1st months use. I could then turn off the 4G service if I wanted to but *I would be TERMINATING the service and to use it again I would have to REACTIVATE the service (ANOTHER $35 ACTIVATION FEE) plus that $30 minimum monthly fee.* 

I guess they did not lie to me - they just did not tell me I would have to pay $35 EVERY TIME I reactivated the 4G service. 

I still would have bought he 4G model because I just might need it sometime in the future (it cannot be added later) plus if we go on a trip and one of the iPads has 4G activated I believe the other iPad can link to the 4G service through it at no extra cost.

Jerry


*Once again I was given totally false information by Verizon.* After 3 phone calls to Verizon I NEVER did get accurate information. 

*My comments that I had posted previously were TOTALLY WRONG - based on false information from Verizon!!!* 

I received an email from Apple and through it I was able to EASILY sign up for 4G service (right on the iPad with no contact with Verizon) for $20.00 per month for 1G downloads. 

THERE WAS NO SETUP CHARGE. 
THERE WERE NO TAXES 
I CAN CANCEL AT ANY TIME I TURNED THE 4G OFF 

so I cannot accidentally run up charges but now it is there and installed IF I want it this will probably all run together but would have been a real PITA to try to do this post in Quick Reply so I will try to cut and paste it into Quick Reply and see what happens. 

It would also have been a PITA to try to write this (deleting so much) without a keyboard because without a keyboard I would have to do all the deleting with the backspace key (unless I don't know something). 

I am writing this with the iPad on a coffee table and it is not great but it is working OK with my reading glasses. 

As a side note, not everything can be expanded such as the Verizon agreement small type contract could not be expanded. 

I still need to find some way to spell check. 

So much for cut and paste. I cannot highlight this entire page to try to cut and paste it. 

Jerry 

Note: once again I have gone to a desktop PC to touch up a post by the iPad.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

A few more things:

1. Marilyn absolutely LOVES the photos she has been taking with the iPad. There are two cameras - on facing you (take your own photo) and one on the back for everything else. The picture quality is great and with the ability to expand the photos you can zoom in on the details.

2. Apple claims it is easy to add photos to the iPad. So far I have not been successful at all. I bought the 64GB version with the intention of uploading all of my large scale photos and documentation to it but even though I have the SD and SDHC chips it calls for the iPad DOES NOT RECOGNIZE ANY OF MY PHOTOS on the SH/SDHC chips - most of which are plain old JPG images.

I get the impression that the iPad is designed to make it easy to send stuff FROM the iPad but it is most inconvenient to ADD stuff TO the iPad.

I have finally been able to upload books and PDF files to the iPad but it was complicated (for me) and the results have not been that satisfactory overall.

The trick seems to be figuring out just what the iPad was designed to do and to then focus on those things perhaps giving up (at least for now) those things it does not seem to have been designed for.

Considering the huge Pentium IV processors and the heat they generate I guess it is reasonable to assume that the iPads have a processor that may only do a small fraction of the chores a desktop PC is capable of.

As the list of things I am underwhelmed with about the iPad grows so does the list of things I and Marilyn really like grow. I don't think it really can be compared with a desktop or a laptop anymore than a Toy Poodle can be compared with a Great Dane. I would not think of a Great Dane as a lap dog.

Jerry


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## Doug C (Jan 14, 2008)

....How complex is it to get tablets/pads to work with Windows & MS Office and what would be needed to make them work together?.."

"BlackBerry PlayBook gets it done ..... Documents To Go View and edit Microsoft Word®, Excel® and PowerPoint® files and attachments with Documents To Go®, a powerful mobile office suite. . . ." excerpted from, http://ca.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/tablet-features.jsp?lid=ca:bb:Software:TabletSoftware:BlackBerryPlayBookOS2.0&lpos=ca:bb:Software
Pricepoint http://ca.blackberry.com/where-to-buy/tablets/ 
Caveat emptor (sp?), as some u.s.based resellers are scalping rightnow ... simliar to some resellers of g-gauge track when they heard prices of AC track was going up (1-2yrs back ?) they jacked all their existing shelf stock uppppp and then they 'whine or wonder', when no one is buying !! 
Did anyone even bother looking into the RIM playbook, or did ya follow the marketing of the apple . . . ? RIM PB is the way i will be going when funding permits !! 


later, doug c


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Some further progress - actually pretty significant progress...

I finally figured out how to transfer images (mainly JPG) from my PC to the iPad. 

The trick was to download (free) iTunes to the PC and then to SYNC the iPad with the PC by plugging the iPad into the PC. While the iPad does not have a USB port, the charging cable ends with a USB connector that fits into the charger and the same cable is used to plug into a USB port on the PC (unusual but it works).

After most of the day was spent downloading, the iPad now has 57*GB* of photos (about 14,500 photos) on it. I guess this is ALL of the photos I had on the PC. I am now VERY THANKFUL that I bought the 64*GB* iPad. The 57*GB* of photos was just a coincidence as I had never bothered to check to see how much disk space my images were taking.

The quality of the photos is understandably FANTASTIC but...

once again there is a downside...

On the PC I have folders within folders and sometimes even more folders within those folders. From what I can see, the iPad only sets up a single level of folders so (for instance) the LGB folder contains what were sub-folders of locos, passenger cars, freight cars, power supplies etc. etc. etc. Rather than the LGB folder which on the PC has 73 sub folders, there are now 5,015 photos under the single folder LGB. Worse yet, the display does not (that I can find) show any actual file names. I don't have any idea what order the photos are sorted into or if photos with duplicate names (in different folders) were copied or not.

I am sure that there are better ways I could have done this but the idea was to use the iPad to have access to all my photos and at least that has proved to be possible.

One thing that I am very pleased with is that my 1930 Arkansas Topo maps were transferred to the iPad including some that are around 20MB in size. The iPad does a great job of showing them at a great level of detail and seems to display them far faster than bringing them up on a regular PC.

For me this single feature makes the iPad justify its cost as it will be SO MUCH more convenient to carry with us cross country out of reach of power supplies, WiFi etc. In addition I have to admit that I am impressed that I transferred 57GB of data to the iPad without the iPad being charged (the jack for the charger was being used to connect with the PC) yet after the data was transferred I expected the battery to be just about dead yet it still showed a 90% charge condition. No laptop I have could have even come close to this.

I am not attempting to make any sort of comparison of the iPad to anything else. I don't have anything else and I have never bothered to look at anything else so my comments should be taken with that in mind. All I am trying to do is to walk others through my experiences with the New iPad and anyone else is welcome to do the same for anything else but it would probably be a lot less confusing to everyone if other products were discussed under a different topic. I'm not promoting the iPad for anyone or for any purposes. I am just making observations as I discover what it can or cannot do for me.

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(data:text/css,);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Jerrys-RR on 04 Apr 2012 05:50 PM 


For me this single feature makes the iPad justify its cost as it will be SO MUCH more convenient to carry with us cross country out of reach of power supplies, WiFi etc. In addition I have to admit that I am impressed that I transferred 57GB of data to the iPad without the iPad being charged (the jack for the charger was being used to connect with the PC) yet after the data was transferred I expected the battery to be just about dead yet it still showed a 90% charge condition. No laptop I have could have even come close to this.

It's great that some things are starting to come together. Not to be a downer on the battery thing, but the iPad is also charged through the computer, so it was transferring files and charging at the same time.

Also, I guess I assumed that you already had iTunes...


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Unless the message was in error, the iPad said that it was not charging when it was plugged into the PC. I had assumed that it would charge since it was using the same cable that connected it to the charger. Then too I was surprised that after many hours of downloading (SYNCing) the iPad still showed 90% charge. If it had been charging I would have expected 100% or almost 100% charge. 
As it turns out I was mistaken.

I did find an iPad forum:

http://www.ipadforums.net/forumindex.php

and one of the first things I found on it was a topic about this. Apparently the iPad does charge (but VERY slowly) when it is plugged into a PC.

Jerry


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## steam8hack (Feb 11, 2008)

Jerry: 
My opinions and only my opinions. 

Through the App Store (pre-installed app) Wifi apps for file transfers iPad-PC are available. 
Category; Productivity 
Search key words; " iPad pc file transfer" 
Returns 6 apps. (free to $1.99) 
3 w/wide variety of features including support for MS file formats; 
1. WiFi Files 
2. WiFi Download with File Sharing 
3. FTP Server 
One or more will allow you to keep all your folders and organization. 

You sell it short. Just waste some time. (not to be too blunt, but...) If you donâ€™tt just play around with it you will not become familiar with it, what it can do. Become very familiar with Settings (icon on home screen). Buy and try a book reading a book, one of the best features/capability of any tablet. Books are downloads so you do not need to be connected. 

Get used to looking for what you want/need in App Store with its 75,000+ apps under 22 categories, yes GAMES is one, before you start get crabby and venting here. 

App Store has many How To iPad resources. Whether it has "iPad for Dummies" do not know. ;-)) If not you can order it through Amazon. 

iPad - except for support for Flash and Java â€" has few if any short comings. 

You are wasting your iPad memory with all those photos and maps. Up load them to the Cloud or iCloud. If you do not understand the Cloud go the App Store for info. Apple gives users a default size and more is cheap, virtually no limit that you can have. For Access Wifi. It is available at nearly every fast food rest. or motel and wherever there is wifi you can access the Cloud with ease. You will absolutely get into situations where you will want or need your memory forcing you to delete, spend time transferring again or your iPad will get really slow. 

Buy a car charger. Buy a Screen Saver. Buy a case quickly â€" absolutely a requirement. 

A Great Case: 
http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Yoobao-Executive-Genuine-Xengadget/dp/B0057X4P2Y 
Slim, magnetic on/off works. Iâ€™ve gone through 3 different cases, found this is the best. If yours is an iPad 3 you will have to wait unless you buy one from Apple â€" pricy. iPad and iPad 2 cases will not fit iPad 3. 

Like I said at the start, just my opinions.


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## Doug C (Jan 14, 2008)

imore.com maybe of interest to the apple fans, and here is a link to their ipad area; 

http://www.imore.com/ipad/ ! 


nite, 

doug c


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By steam8hack on 05 Apr 2012 10:24 AM 
Jerry: 
My opinions and only my opinions. 

Through the App Store (pre-installed app) Wifi apps for file transfers iPad-PC are available. 
Category; Productivity 
Search key words; " iPad pc file transfer" 
Returns 6 apps. (free to $1.99) 
3 w/wide variety of features including support for MS file formats; 
1. WiFi Files 
2. WiFi Download with File Sharing 
3. FTP Server 
One or more will allow you to keep all your folders and organization. 

You sell it short. Just waste some time. (not to be too blunt, but...) If you don’tt just play around with it you will not become familiar with it, what it can do. Become very familiar with Settings (icon on home screen). Buy and try a book reading a book, one of the best features/capability of any tablet. Books are downloads so you do not need to be connected. 

Get used to looking for what you want/need in App Store with its 75,000+ apps under 22 categories, yes GAMES is one, before you start get crabby and venting here. 

App Store has many How To iPad resources. Whether it has "iPad for Dummies" do not know. ;-)) If not you can order it through Amazon. 

iPad - except for support for Flash and Java – has few if any short comings. 

You are wasting your iPad memory with all those photos and maps. Up load them to the Cloud or iCloud. If you do not understand the Cloud go the App Store for info. Apple gives users a default size and more is cheap, virtually no limit that you can have. For Access Wifi. It is available at nearly every fast food rest. or motel and wherever there is wifi you can access the Cloud with ease. You will absolutely get into situations where you will want or need your memory forcing you to delete, spend time transferring again or your iPad will get really slow. 

Buy a car charger. Buy a Screen Saver. Buy a case quickly – absolutely a requirement. 

A Great Case: 
http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Yoobao-Executive-Genuine-Xengadget/dp/B0057X4P2Y 
Slim, magnetic on/off works. I’ve gone through 3 different cases, found this is the best. If yours is an iPad 3 you will have to wait unless you buy one from Apple – pricy. iPad and iPad 2 cases will not fit iPad 3. 

Like I said at the start, just my opinions. 


Hi Steamshack,

I don't mean (or want) to sell it short but remember I don't know anything about Apple, iPads or aps. I have spent at least 24 hours (total) trying to figure out what I can or cannot do with the iPad including at least 4 hours on the phone with Apple.

A big part of my problem is that since I don't know what is possible I don't know how to find out what is possible other than try whatever comes to mind and phone Apple when all else fails.

I HAVE spent a LOT of time with SETTINGS etc. and rather than getting crabby and venting I am voicing conclusions that I have made AFTER long discussions with an Apple tech who has furnished the information my comments are based on.

I did buy the red leather case from Apple (pink for Marilyn) and Marilyn bought a soft case for me to put the iPad inside. I also have a car charger/adapter.

I considered iCloud but when I saw that 5GB was free and more had to be paid for I decided to wait and see before spending anything to buy more capacity. Other than photos I cannot see what the iPad would use that 64GB for. I have DSL/WiFi at home and I am retired so I don't have much need for access away from home but it is a feature I did want.

I will try your suggestions abut " iPad pc file transfer". Nothing would make me happier than to find out that I was given incorrect info by the Apple tech. 

After talking with him and trying what we discussed I had come to these conclusions: 

1. Photos could only be placed in one level of folders (no sub-folders or sub-sub-folders). This left me with as many as 5,000 photos in a single folder. I did work around this be moving sub-folders up a level to make them into folders with a common prefix.

2. Word/Pages documents did not allow for importation of ANY folders (everything went into a single location with no way to separate the files).

3. Excel/Numbers spreadsheets also did not allow for importation of ANY folders.

If, as you suggested, "One or more will allow you to keep all your folders and organization" I will be very pleased.

The first thing I asked Apple was whether there were any aps available to do what I was asking about. If Apple had trained their reps better and I had been told I could do these things I would have had no reason to come to the conclusions I did.

After all, I have paid a lot of money for two New iPads and I certainly would not have done that if I was not very interested in getting my money's worth out of them.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Doug C on 05 Apr 2012 05:42 PM 
imore.com maybe of interest to the apple fans, and here is a link to their ipad area; 

http://www.imore.com/ipad/ ! 


nite, 

doug c 


Hi Doug,

Thanks for the link. I've started browsing their forum.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By steam8hack on 05 Apr 2012 10:24 AM 
Jerry: 

You are wasting your iPad memory with all those photos and maps. Up load them to the Cloud or iCloud. If you do not understand the Cloud go the App Store for info. Apple gives users a default size and more is cheap, virtually no limit that you can have. For Access Wifi. It is available at nearly every fast food rest. or motel and wherever there is wifi you can access the Cloud with ease. You will absolutely get into situations where you will want or need your memory forcing you to delete, spend time transferring again or your iPad will get really slow. 

Some things I should add...

After reading your comments I looked up the extra cost of iCloud:
[*]10GB: $20/year[*]20GB: $40/year[*]50GB: $100/year[/list] To be able to backup the iPad to iCloud (or to use the iCloud instead of the 64GB iPad memory) would cost $100 a year (2 iPads = $200 a year).

Perhaps more important, iCloud simply would not be of much help to me because:

1. I am currently in the office in my shop (with bed, TV etc.) which is inside a steel building. I have two PC's here but no wireless (WiFi) because the wireless router is in the house. The router is too far away to use plus the wireless signal is incapable of penetrating the steel building (cell phones do not work in here either). I do have a DSL switch but it is hard wired and the iPad does not have an Ethernet jack.
2. If I go to the (steel) caboose the situation is repeated. There is another PC there but again no wireless (WiFi) and the iPad does not have an Ethernet jack.
3. If I go to the (aluminum) camper the situation is repeated. There is another PC there but again no wireless (WiFi) and the iPad does not have an Ethernet jack.

That leaves 3 PC's in the house that I use plus Marilyn's laptop. The iPads could work there but I suspect there would be a signal loss (slower speed) as the distance from the router increases which is why all 3 PC's are hard wired via Ethernet cable. I have a 2nd DSL line just for the caboose and camper because the distance exceeds the maximum for Cat 5 and I had too much trouble when I tried wiring them into the main DSL line.

In other words it would be cost prohibitive to attempt to use 4G here rather than the DSL and even without the cost factor, the 4G signal could not penetrate the metal construction of the shop, caboose and camper any better for the iPads than for cell phones. For me to consider iCloud over internal memory on our iPads would be cost prohibitive.

Another item I forgot to mention is that (unless I am mistaken - and I REALLY hope I am mistaken) my iPad now has around 14,000 photos and JPG images BUT there is NO WAY to tell the file name, file size or date taken of any of those photos etc. The Apple tech agreed that there is no way to identify individual photos on the iPad. If an APPLE tech tells me something it is difficult to assume that he does not know what he is talking about since he was trained by Apple to increase customer satisfaction with the New iPad. 

I am still looking for a way to download multiple PDF files such as instructions for my various locos and other train related documentation. All I have found so far are means of downloading individual PDF's.

It is not my intention to sell the iPad short. If anything my intention is to find every way possible to maximize my capabilities with the iPad. In effect what I was posting were my experiences to date. I had come to the conclusion that I have gone as far as possible (for me) in discovering what the iPad can do with regards to file management. I have pretty much spent all day, every day with the iPad since it arrived doing little more than reading about, communicating about and attempting to do stuff with the iPad. For me, everything hinges on file management. I will check out the forums to see what can be done with better file management.

As I think everyone knows by now, I have never owned an Apple product in the past and I have no previous knowledge of or experience with working with iPads, iPods, iPhones or anything similar. My comments reflect nothing more or less than my thoughts as I have worked with my iPad. For me to be proven wrong when I say the iPad cannot do something would make me quite happy as I really would love to discover that I underestimated something - anything about the iPads.

Right or wrong my observations about the iPad are primarily focused on how compatible it is with my PC's with Windows XP and Office 2003. That's why I titled this topic "*Using Tablet or iPad (Android?) with Windows*."

I am sure that there is an entirely different world of Apple users who have a completely different perspective of what they are looking for in an iPad. It is neither my intention to build up the iPad nor to tear it down. It is what it is - I just have to figure out what that amounts to - for me.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I think that I have gone as far as I can with the iPad here on MLS. I need to move on to iPad forums to discover how to do more of what I would like to do with the iPad.

I have come to the conclusion that comparing an iPad with a desktop or laptop PC is like comparing Apples with Oranges. They are simply not the same as exemplified by the limitations in posting here on MLS with iPads and other tablets.

Rather than trying to get the iPad to emulate a PC I think I will be more successful in just moving limited amounts of photos and data to the iPad and not trying to do all of the same things with the iPad that I do with the desktops and laptops.

Since I already know most of what I need to know about Office, Windows and Internet Explorer, the last thing I want to do is to spend a lot more time trying to figure out which new programs to buy and then how to use them - especially when I can avoid that learning process by just using a PC laptop with those programs on it.

*Anyone else who owns an iPad and knows more about them than I do (probably 90% of the iPad owners) is welcome to pick up here and continue with this topic.*

Just one sidenote...

I went to Best Buy yesterday and asked the salesperson who seemed to know most about their computers "what is your best laptop and why?"

Her answer was (naturally) "what are you looking for?"

My reply was that I wanted a laptop with a large (17") display with the maximum screen resolution but that resolution must be usable in lower rates as well. I did not want a laptop with a great resolution when the type was too small for me to read it but unreadable when brought down to a lower resolution.

Her reply was "no one ever bought a laptop because of its screen resolution."

I thought this was really funny as they were selling new iPads like hotcakes and about all Apple advertises about the new iPads is their "Retina Display" (screen resolution).

What I had described to her was that I wanted a laptop with a screen resolution that works like the iPad's screen resolution - and she had no idea what I was talking about.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Here are PC Magazine and PC World reviews of the new iPad along with both positive and negative comments about it:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401676,00.asp

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2520...ablet.html

and Wikipedia display comparisons:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...el_density

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 07 Apr 2012 09:33 AM 
What I had described to her was that I wanted a laptop with a screen resolution that works like the iPad's screen resolution - and she had no idea what I was talking about.

Jerry


[Rumor] Retina Display may head to MacBook computers



http://www.technologytell.com/apple...computers/


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Angry Birds, Jerry. That'll keep you busy!  

Keith


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Cougar Rock Rail on 09 Apr 2012 04:21 PM 
Angry Birds, Jerry. That'll keep you busy!  

Keith 

Darn Keith,

You have been peeking. I finally had to see what Angry Birds was so I downloaded Angry Birds HD and have become hooked on it. 

Eventually I showed it to Marilyn and she now loves it.

After your post I decided to see if I could download Angry Birds on the PC but discovered I would have to download or use something else (Google, Facebook etc.) in order to use it on the PC so I guess I'll stick to playing it on the iPad. I have to admit that after seeing a sample of it on the PC that really convinced me how much better it is on the new iPad - simply NO comparison - even if it is a game. It is like going from PONG to Flight Simulator in image quality.

www.angrybirds.com

Angry Birds is replacing Solitaire as my favorite game. I suspect I will eventually tire of it but in the meantime it IS fun.

Jerry


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Ha ha, I knew you would like it Jerry. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, I'm afraid. On one hand it seemed you were getting a little down on your ipad so I knew angry birds would cheer you up, but on the other hand I figured you would get hooked on it! Games are good way to learn new things.... 

Keith


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Cougar Rock Rail on 10 Apr 2012 08:52 AM 
Ha ha, I knew you would like it Jerry. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, I'm afraid. On one hand it seemed you were getting a little down on your ipad so I knew angry birds would cheer you up, but on the other hand I figured you would get hooked on it! Games are good way to learn new things.... 

Keith 

Hi Keith,

You are right. I was getting frustrated with the iPad. Reading the PC Mag and PC World reviews along with some iPad forums helped me accept the fact that I never will be able to do quite what I had assumed was possible with the iPad. I have always been an IBM rather than a MAC guy but in this case I have about come to the conclusion that what I may actually need will be a 15-inch MacBook Pro (when they get it out with a Retina display) and leave my PC's the way they are. If I continue to try to make a PC into being more iPad friendly it will probably be less interchangeable with the other PC's.

It has been many years since I last bought a new PC and it may be time to bite the bullet and do it.

Angry Birds is a good way to get back to enjoying the iPad and be less intent on learning everything about it in too short a time frame.

Now if I can find a Flight Simulator for the iPad (or wait for the MacBook Pro with a Retina display for it) I will be in heaven.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Flight simulator... how about space shuttle: "F-Sim Space Shuttle"


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry:


I'm late to your thread but my curiosity was peaked. I hit the highlights looking through. I noticed a couple of things I might be able to offer help. We have PCs and iPad2's so I'm familiar with the situation.


First, you can solve your wifi problems (in your home and out buildings) with 1 maybe 2 repeaters installed to match your situation. Important you are using a router/access point that supports 802.11n wifi protocol. You should not need any wired PC connections with the right hardware setup but you need some profession help setting up. 


iPads are great, very different and takes some getting used to. Geek Squad may be able to help here too. A couple of good forums (as good as MLS is) are your best resource. It takes some trial and error to fiind the forums worth sticking with. I find there are solutions to iPad to PC interoperability out there. iPad's (apple's OS) most frustrating 'feature' for me is Apple's (aka Job's absolute) refusal to support Flash and Java when at least 90% of the web uses them. There are iPad apps to get around it but they slow down the net. I use one but only when I have to.


All-in-all sounds like you've got a big investment in DIY. A pro would save you time, energy and frustration. I don't attempt DIY anymore at all. It's way too complicated and the tech changes way too fast to keep up. I use the Geek Squad. Friendly, rates aren't too bad and they seem to relish solving tech problems. They will make house calls. What distance limitations there might be I'm not familiar with. I'd come back to the point one more time, DIY is always problematic and recovery is brusing to one's ego. Not to feel bad, at least 85% of the public is in the same boat with you and me.


Good luck.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 10 Apr 2012 08:04 PM 
Flight simulator... how about space shuttle: "F-Sim Space Shuttle" 
I am more interested in light aircraft (real) flight simulators and WWII combat but you did give me the idea to look for them and I have loaded several of them. For some reason (updating?) I could not find Flight Simulator Pro (X?).

It never occurred to me that tilting the iPad could function as flight controls.

Perhaps it will take a little time for the simulators to be brought up to the new iPad's Retina display standards.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Chris Scott on 11 Apr 2012 10:44 AM 


Jerry:


First, you can solve your wifi problems (in your home and out buildings) with 1 maybe 2 repeaters installed to match your situation. 
iPads are great, very different and takes some getting used to. Geek Squad may be able to help here too. A couple of good forums (as good as MLS is) are your best resource. It takes some trial and error to find the forums worth sticking with.

All-in-all sounds like you've got a big investment in DIY. A pro would save you time, energy and frustration. I don't attempt DIY anymore at all. It's way too complicated and the tech changes way too fast to keep up. I use the Geek Squad. Friendly, rates aren't too bad and they seem to relish solving tech problems. They will make house calls. What distance limitations there might be I'm not familiar with. I'd come back to the point one more time, DIY is always problematic and recovery is brusing to one's ego. Not to feel bad, at least 85% of the public is in the same boat with you and me.


Good luck.
Hi Chris,

I had forgotten that I did have a wireless router in the caboose so that problem is resolved. If necessary I can unplug that router and plug it in instead in the camper so I can work around that as well. That leaves the shop and in the past I have disconnected the DSL from the house and connected it instead to a router in the shop (I do have an extra wireless router if needed). Another option is that it might be possible (I don't know) to connect a wireless router to an Ethernet output of another router that is currently connected to an Ethernet switch in the shop. The key issue is that I don't want to spend any more money on equipment as so far I have managed with putting very little money in the DSL systems. My Ethernet cables are all phone wires which work fine.

Best Buy is 30 miles away and about $25 in gas per round trip so I seldom go there. What I want to do should not be that complicated and I suspect the programs I have downloaded can probably do as much as any others but everything seems very limited in terms of being able to work with other stuff on the iPad. 

I have given up on my original plan for the iPad because everything I have read and tried seems to confirm that I cannot maintain image names, file sizes and dates taken etc. as I move photos back & forth between the iPad and a PC.

For now I have put the iPad project on the back burner and I will just play around with it unless and until I discover more meaningful (to me) things I can do with it. 

As you suggested, I will be spending some time on the iPad forums. I am retired so I have more time than money to invest in the iPads.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I went to a train show Saturday in Pine Bluff (Arkansas) where I was surprised to hear that UP 844 was just a mile away and expected to run past the train show. 

Not wanting to take a chance, I drove over to see it but I had no camera with me until I remembered that the iPad has a dinky little 5MP camera (2 actually - front and back). Still, it was better than nothing but I felt kind of weird holding up the iPad to take videos of 844. It was amazing to have a 9" preview of the videos being taken. The results were beyond fantastic. They are easily the very best train videos I have ever taken with any camera.

The problems started when I tried to upload them to this PC. Eventually I came to the conclusion that it was not worth the effort. The videos ran from 65MB to 95MB and over 165MB. They scrolled beautifully and the sound was great on the iPad but even when I did manage to upload the smaller videos the result on the PC was not near as sharp and with noticeable jerkiness (the iPad has image stabilization). On the iPad the videos were flawless and I could even center the playback on the screen plus zoom in while viewing.

All I can say is that there are distinctive features that are unavailable (no zoom etc.) and limited transferability but for use exclusively with the iPad to me they are beyond comparison.

I don't know how this could be evaluated because there is no standard to compare with. I think I am being pushed into buying a Retina display MacBook if and when they come out as I doubt much else will maintain the image quality. I will also probably have to get the HDTV adapter so the videos can be played back on an HD TV.

I also found that there are a wide variety of apps now available for autistic children and since the iPad 1 has neither a Retina display nor a camera it looks like I will be buying our granddaughter a new iPad as it may prove to be the best learning tool she has ever had.

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Look at the Apple TV for streaming video from your iPad to your TV ( http://www.apple.com/appletv/ )


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Rail Planet on 16 Apr 2012 04:36 PM 
Look at the Apple TV for streaming video from your iPad to your TV ( http://www.apple.com/appletv/ ) 

I'm not exactly sure how Apple TV would be different from the Apple Digital AV Adapter?

It sounds like the Adapter has to be hard wired (so would work without WiFi) and the Apple TV is wireless (WiFi would be required).

How difficult would it be to move from one TV to another?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Jerrys-RR on 16 Apr 2012 05:07 PM 
I'm not exactly sure how Apple TV would be different from the Apple Digital AV Adapter?

It sounds like the Adapter has to be hard wired (so would work without WiFi) and the Apple TV is wireless (WiFi would be required).

How difficult would it be to move from one TV to another?

Thanks,

Jerry

Yeah, it's similar to the adapter, but wireless. You can also buy/rent movies from Netflix and the iTunes store (with out an iPad, Mac, iPhone, etc.), plus a few other things.

I would think it would be pretty easy to move it around... you would have a power cable, HDMI cable, and Ethernet (if you're not connecting via WiFi).


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

A couple of updates:

1. The ZAGGfoliio case/keyboard arrived and it is nice but with my eyes and the iPad's small screen it (the ZAGGfoliio) will probably only be useful to me as a small portable desktop because I cannot focus on the screen with it on my lap unless I zoom in too much to read without constant scrolling. On the plus side, when I travel, the ZAGGfoliio provides a nice protective cover and, when placed on a table, the full keyboard is a lot easier to use (two handed) than holding the iPad with my left hand while typing with my right hand. There are a few limitations to the keyboard compared to a full size keyboard but some of that can probably be overcome by features I am not yet familiar with.

2. I found a spare wireless router so I tried it feeding it with the Ethernet cable from the house modem/router. I just unplugged the Ethernet cable that went to the computers in the shop and plugged in the wireless router instead. I did not install the software on the computer and left the computer out of the circuit. All that is connected is the wireless router and through it (wireless to) the iPad. I suspect the speed is reduced a lot but the iPad does not seem to have anyway of showing its connection speed so I cannot say for sure how fast it is. This is probably a worst case scenario because the shop office is at least 150 feet from the house modem/router and inside a steel building plus using 24 ga. telephone wires for Ethernet cables.

I still have to sort something out with the Apple TV. I was going to order it but the information I found so far is somewhat vague regarding how it connects with the iPad and with the HDTV and how good the signal has to be in order to view HD television through an iPad. I did not even find Apple TV under New iPad accessories which makes me wonder if there might be a future (higher resolution?) version to be introduced later.

I have to admit that I continue to find the "World of Apple" to be confusing to someone like me who grew up in the "World of IBM."

What is not clear to me is whether the iPads would be much easier to use with a MacBook Pro as compared with a Windows computer. 

Jerry

UPDATE: I just found this: *"Apple launched the new revamped version of Apple TV, alongside the new iPad."*


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Usually a wireless router has other wired ports to connect to other devices. Just get another ethernet cable and reconnect your shop computer to the wireless router and it will work just like it did when connected directly to the modem. The iPad and the shop computer will share the bandwidth of the modem, but that is usually not a problem unless several devices are downloading video simultaneously.

Wireless is usually something around 50 Mbps and all devices set to the same channel/frequency will share that bandwidth, so if you have another wireless router nearby on the same channel/frequency they can interfere with each other. Some wireless routers sample the airwaves when first powered up to see what channels are presently in use and select a channel that has the least detectable usage... But others only let you, the user, change the channel if you want to, which means you have to study the manual to even know that you CAN change it! Of course, then you need a way to know what is presently in use so you can pick which channel is best for your situation. I use the free "XIRRUS WiFi Inspector".

Your computer samples all the channels looking for a network that it already knows about or presents you with the list of those it found so you can choose one.

There are (I think) 11 channels assigned for WiFi use, but some of them overlap the adjacent channel (stupid, but they do!). You look to see what is in use and then log-in to the router (like it is a web page) and select the appropriate tool and pick the channel you want. Presently on my system in my house I am seeing five wireless signals on channel 6, two on channel 11, and one on channel 1 and another on 7, so those poor people using channel 6 are all sharing their 50Mbps with at least some of the others. It is possible that I am right between them and they do not see each other but if I had my wireless on that channel I could experience degraded operation, depending on the strength of their signals (one of which I know is my next door neighbor and it is almost as strong as my signal). Some of the signals my system detects are very weak and probably would not cause me much interference if I set my WiFi to the same channel.


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Jerrys-RR on 24 Apr 2012 12:29 PM 
I still have to sort something out with the Apple TV. I was going to order it but the information I found so far is somewhat vague regarding how it connects with the iPad and with the HDTV and how good the signal has to be in order to view HD television through an iPad. I did not even find Apple TV under New iPad accessories which makes me wonder if there might be a future (higher resolution?) version to be introduced later.


UPDATE: I just found this: *"Apple launched the new revamped version of Apple TV, alongside the new iPad."*

Yup, Apple has a new Apple TV (supports up to 1080). The iPad connects to it by what they call AirPlay (see http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airplay/ ). The iPad and Apple TV just need to be on the same WiFi network.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

For better or worse Apple found the key to my pocketbook. 

It turns out that Apple DID come out with a Macbook Pro with the Retina display and we decided to make a trip to the Little Rock Apple store (for the 1st time) for the purpose of learning something about Apple computers.

We went there with a long list of questions about all the things we ran into with the new iPads and about Apple vs IBM etc. etc. etc. I had heard that the new 15" Macbook Pro with the Retina display was to be shipping in 2 - 4 weeks but hoped they might have a display model to play with. 

As luck would have it, not only did they have a display model but they had one model that arrived today and was available for delivery. It happened to be the model I was most interested in.

The Retina display did it for me. I am now home with the new Macbook Pro and writing this with it. Just as with the iPad I can zoom the Retina display in or out and the resolution stays fantastic regardless of how much or little I zoom in or out.

My cardiologist showed me how he is able to flip between Apple and Windows with his iPad and to use his iPad for full access to his Apple Air(?) but for me (for now) I am going to give up on Windows and use this Macbook without Windows but probably put Office on it. For an extra $99 I have unlimited 1 year one on one tech support which I will use to the fullest to get the most from the iPads and Macbook.

As for the subject of this topic I would have to say that for now I have given up on trying to use the iPad with Windows. We will probably just use the iPads for simple tasks such as email, weather, games etc. and use the laptops (Marilyn's HP and my Macbook) for any serious computing. 

Have I learned anything worth recommending Apple or Windows to others? No. Not really. From my perspective they are like Apples and Oranges. Try them both and decide for yourself which you like best. 

The fact is that I did not buy iPads and a Macbook. I bought a little Retina display with a very limited computer attached to it and a larger Retina display with a much more powerful computer attached to it. I would have preferred a 17" Macbook Pro but apparently that has been discontinued for lack of sales and it is highly unlikely that it will ever be made with a Retina display.

For most people the Retina display may not be that big a deal but to me (because of the particular characteristics of my eyes) the Retina displays made the choice of these computers a no-brainer for me to decide to buy them. 

The bad part of it for me is that I have never before owned any Apple products so I may have a lot to learn as I adjust to using the iPads and Macbook.

My thanks to those who have helped me with this topic.

Jerry


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By Jerrys-RR on 26 Jun 2012 03:25 PM

The bad part of it for me is that I have never before owned any Apple products so I may have a lot to learn as I adjust to using the iPads and Macbook.

Jerry,

I use both Macs and Windows computers - best advice I can give you if you used Windows all your life and are now trying a Mac - don't automatically try to do things on the Mac the same way as on Windows.
Many things are similar or even the same, but a lot are not.

If you're not sure how to do something, either try it intuitively and what you think is logical - works most of the time, or use the contextual menu, or try the Help menu (very top of the screen) which has become quite good over the years.

Knut


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Great! The new retina Mac looks awesome... But it's not cheap...


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the good info. What I do does not fit with the Apple product line and so I am tied to my laptop. I am really interested in the new Surface Tablet that Microsoft is introducing.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By Bob Pero on 26 Jun 2012 05:51 PM 
Thanks for the good info. What I do does not fit with the Apple product line and so I am tied to my laptop. 
I'm not pushing the Mac, but you do know that Macs will run the newer versions of the Windows OS just fine ever since Apple switched to Intel processors.
There are several ways to do that - none require a "hack"


Anyone remember this from 2007?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/136649-3/in_pictures_the_most_notable_notebooks_of_2007.html

And what might be coming with Windows 8?
http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/could-the-best-windows-8-laptop-be-a-mac/


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

I would agree with krs - apple makes it very easy to run windows on a Mac. 
I'm not counting on the Surface... But I wouldn't be a potential buyer anyway.


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

I appreciate everyone's comments. It has been several days since I got the MacBook. In the meantime Marilyn and I have spent most of the days discovering what we could about the iPads and MacBook. I also spent most of a couple of days at the Apple store. My cardiologist was right - they really did go out of their way to help me with the transition and surprisingly there has been no effort made to sell me anything. When I did decide to buy something they made no effort to get me to buy from them rather than from Apple online.

It reminds me of the good old days around 1982 when we had the local IBM Club that held meetings at the local IBM office with free assistance from IBM reps. No free lunch certainly applies as both IBM and Apple were/are expensive but how do you put a price tag on having free and immediate competent technical advice? For $99 I now have 1 year unlimited technical support for ANY and ALL of my Apple devices and I can make individual or group appointments for technical assistance whether at the Genius bar or through One on One.

The MacBook Pro adds a new dimension to using the iPads. I still consider the iPads to be severely handicapped computers for any serious applications but with the MacBook I am finding that, having the same or similar programs/apps on both, it is making the use of both much more efficient.

I ended up buying MS Office 2011 for the MAC (not the windows version) and reinstalling Office 2010 on my old Dell with Vista. I will make myself learn the new 2010/2011 formats since I intend to keep anything not specifically designed for the MAC off of it. I've had way too many problems/viruses etc. with the Windows based computers to even consider installing Windows on the MAC.

By the same token I also bought and installed Numbers, Pages and Keynote on the iPad and MacBook Pro. Gradually I will will become comfortable with them as well as with Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

I heard from Microsoft that they are getting ready to discontinue support for Windows XP which strengthened my resolve to transition from my Windows XP computers to the MacBook and iPads. That will leave us with my desktop running Vista and Marilyn's laptop running Windows 7. 

At the Apple store I also heard that they are getting close to releasing a new program for Autistic children that is supposed to be very good so I ordered a new iPad for Emily which I will swap with her and then use her old iPad 1 as a backup. That way if she accidentally breaks the new iPad I will still have her old one for her. Remarkably the old iPad has survived these past years without damage (a few dings here and there) and the new iPad will be covered by a new warranty covering accidental breakage.

Getting back to this topic's name, I still intend to end up with the iPads having "Windows" by finding a way to log them into both the MacBook and the Dell computers via the Internet giving the iPads full control and access to everything on the host computers. Part of this is my plan to use an iPad downstairs at the layout taking inventory (including photos) with an iPad but recording the results on the MacBook on the floor above (connected via the wireless router).

I have been told of several programs that will do this but so far no one seems to think that any of these programs are significantly better than the others so I am taking my time on that project and first working on learning as much as possible about the iPads and MacBook. 

I'm not suggesting that this is the best way or even a good way to do this but the key for me is simply the "Retina Displays." It is so far ahead of anything else I own or have used (for my eyes) that there was no question that I had to have the iPads and MacBook Pro based on nothing more than their Retina Displays.

To each his own. I am not making any recommendations or suggestions regarding what anyone else should do - unless they also have eyes that make it very hard for them to work with other computer monitors.

If I were to make a list of everything I like about the iPad and MacBook Pro I could easily make a list equally long about what I don't like about them. The Retina displays make the negative list inconsequential because the displays are so important to me. I could add to this that the never ending problems I've had with Windows based computers both convinced me to keep Windows off the MacBook and justified the high prices I ended up paying. In fairness to Windows I have not bought a serious new computer in about 15 years so I am not making valid comparisons.

Jerry


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Whether your comparisons are "valid" or not, I certainly appreciate reading your perspective on the subject. I am simply going to have to go find a Retina display to see what it is all about.

The only thing keeping me on a Winders PC is the software I have written to run in that realm. Just don't want to give up some of the things I am really tied to... if I could find a way to port them to a MAC, I'd probably jump on the bandwagon, but I have not found any method to do so yet.

Again, thanks for reporting your perspective on this. Good stuff!


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 30 Jun 2012 11:11 AM 
Whether your comparisons are "valid" or not, I certainly appreciate reading your perspective on the subject. I am simply going to have to go find a Retina display to see what it is all about.

The only thing keeping me on a Winders PC is the software I have written to run in that realm. Just don't want to give up some of the things I am really tied to... if I could find a way to port them to a MAC, I'd probably jump on the bandwagon, but I have not found any method to do so yet.

Again, thanks for reporting your perspective on this. Good stuff!


Thank you for your comments. To be accurate about the Retina displays, it is not that the Retina display has so much better a resolution than other displays (it does) but MUCH more important (to me) is that I can dumb down the display and still keep amazing resolutions at ALL levels of magnification. On all other monitors I've had to try to find a resolution that I can read (perhaps requiring a large display) only to lose resolution at other magnifications. 
With the iPads I can zoom the display with my fingers on the screen and on the MacBook Pro I can do it with my fingers on the touch pad. Neither is perfect all the time but they are beyond compare (in my opinion) with any other display I have ever seen.

Also, the iPad takes amazing videos. One I took of UP 844 was 32mb in size but most of that was lost when I tried to move the video to a Windows PC. I assume I will get much better results with the MacBook Pro.

That does bring up another issue. It will take days (no kidding) to download the programs onto the MacBook that I bought yesterday. Most programs are being downloaded via WiFi and many are multi-gigabytes in size.

The MacBook did not come with a DVD drive but although I bought one, the Aps Store assumes you will download the apps and programs.

Transferring my files from the Dell is another matter. I had the files backed up on a WD portable hard drive (also MAC compatible) but I had to reformat the drive before the Mac could read it so it could not be used to transfer files. As for direct transfer, that would require Thunderbolt cables (extra cost) or Ethernet (not on MacBook). 

Another issue is that my Epson printer came with MAC drivers but while the HP 2400 & 2500 printers came with MAC drivers, the MacBook cannot read them (I was able to download drivers from HP). With the HP 1100 Laser-jet - there are NO drivers available.

Apparently it is very easy to partition the Mac hard drive and run Windows with Bootcamp (free) or Parallels ($79.99) which may be your answer but my concern is making my Mac vulnerable to viruses that target Windows (I may be all wet about this).

Worst of all I now have arthritis in one finger (comes and goes) and typing aggravates it.

Another issue may be the MacBook on the internet. A couple of days ago (when I logged onto MLS with the MacBook) I could not use the quote function for some reason so I want to be sure to state that I am not recommending anything - I have no ideas about what I might discover with the iPad and MacBook. I know that a lot of funny things happen when using the iPad on MLS. To counter this, it seems that every website, news program etc. is becoming iPad compatible and just about every news-person seems to use Mac computers.

There is no question that a buck goes a LOT farther with Windows computers but it seems that I have become just one of many who are abandoning Windows for Apple. I have no love for Microsoft or Apple but I'm now 68 years old and fed up with trying to keep my computers from driving me nuts so I will try anything just in the hope it will be better.

Take a look at Bootcamp and Parallels. I've heard they are pretty good (no personal experience).

Anyone with experience (good or bad) with current Apple products and service is welcome to chime in.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

A couple more comments...

It has been a year or more since I finished my layouts and bought any train stuff. Up until then I was broke all of the time, Now it seems that amazingly I have started having some spare cash to fix my cars and buy some non-train toys.

With it over 100 degrees outside now and for the immediate future I will probably be running Trainz on the MacBook rather than any trains outside.

An Apple guy told me my MacBook Pro will be top of the line for at least 6-7 years but the first flight simulator I looked at calls for a faster CPU for maximum performance. 

Unfortunately it appears that RR-Track is not available for the Mac.

If it was not for the Retina display I would probably have purchased a Mac desktop (faster) rather than the MacBook Pro.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Posted By krs on 26 Jun 2012 03:45 PM 
Jerry,

I use both Macs and Windows computers - best advice I can give you if you used Windows all your life and are now trying a Mac - don't automatically try to do things on the Mac the same way as on Windows.
Many things are similar or even the same, but a lot are not.

If you're not sure how to do something, either try it intuitively and what you think is logical - works most of the time, or use the contextual menu, or try the Help menu (very top of the screen) which has become quite good over the years.

Knut


Hi Knut, 
You have hit the nail on the head. For someone (like me) who has been brought up on DOS and Windows what may have developed to be intuitive for a Windows user may be counter-intuitive when switching to a Mac.

I am sure that a lot of this is due to Microsoft and Apple dancing around copyright laws and infringements. It is like Ford and Chevys (for those who still have manual window - no pun intended - cranks). If you turn a Ford window crank clockwise, you can bet that you will have to turn a Chevy window counter-clockwise.

Eventually a lot is becoming clear. Where Windows uses CTRL A, C, V etc. look for Mac to use command A, C, V etc.

Just getting to the top or bottom of the screen can be very frustrating at times and when I think I've figured something out I still find surprises - many of which also surprise the Apple reps when I ask or show them.

It really is a different world. Changing from Windows to Mac is not only expensive - it is also not for the faint hearted.

On the plus side, I have been very annoyed for many years about being charged over and over for the same programs to put them on various Windows computers. So far at least, once I buy an Apple program I can put that same installation on multiple computers at no extra cost.

Some people say you do not need anti-virus on Mac's but uncharacteristically Norton anti-virus if free for Macs (I don't trust any anti-virus program).

Jerry


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## Rail Planet (Jan 22, 2012)

Apple and Microsoft have opposite concepts... (Apple) low priced software on expensive hardware; (Microsoft) expensive software (think OS licenses) on cheap hardware. Apple in definitely starting to win (I'm writing this on an iPhone, go figure).


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I think Apple is finally reaping the rewards of making their products available cheap to the public schools. The kids that got to use them in school are now entering the workforce and have their discretionary income for home computers, so they are buying what they learned on. It ain't "better", it is just what they are familiar with. PC's are still the industry standard and will continue to be so until the new batch of employees overwhelm the system with the desire for what they "know".


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

There have been some interesting developments.

I think I mentioned that I bought a New iPad for our severe autistic granddaughter Emily. First I backed up her old iPad 1 and then restored the backup to her New iPad. Yesterday her mother (our daughter-in-law) brought Emily over to get her New iPad. 

Emily's eyes lit up when she saw the New iPad (cameras are the main new feature for her - plus the new Retina display). Emily took to the New iPad like a fish to water and was soon running through it like an expert. I mainly had to show her how to take photos. Emily can barely talk but somehow the iPads makes sense to her.

I kept Emily's iPad 1 and downloaded everything from my iPad 3 to it so I now have the used iPad 1 to bounce around with me wherever I go while keeping the iPad 3 for home use and for less hazardous travels.

Marilyn, being a mommy, decided she "had" to buy a used iPad 2 for our grown son to help him sell cars on Craig's List (I've never used Craig's list). Marilyn found an iPad 2 in Little Rock on Craig's List so we "had" to go immediately so she could buy it. As per an appointment made, we went to a Walgreen's in Little Rock at 7:30 last night. I intentionally parked in front of several people at the DVD rental machines outside Walgreen's. The guy never showed and stopped answering his phone. I happened to notice a LRPD police car cruising around.

Today Marilyn found this on Craig's List:

http://littlerock.craigslist.org/mob/3118991948.html

It had been the same ad and same phone number that we had responded to.

Clearly we had been targeted to be the next victims of these criminals. I must have had some sort of premonition because as we were heading to Little Rock I told Marilyn to call our son and tell him we were heading to Walgreen's in Little Rock to buy an iPad off Craig's list and to give him the phone number in the ad.

I have since contacted the Little Rock Police and gave them what little information we had.

I have never been so close to being robbed and it is not a good feeling. It may be just as well but I have a Concealed Weapons permit (I'm a licensed CWL Instructor) and I never thought to carry anything with me. A Walgreen's parking lot would be safe, wouldn't it?

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Here it is almost a year later and things have pretty much worked out for me as follows...

I still consider the iPads fail to qualify as computers but instead to have created a totally new category (Tablets I guess).

To qualify my comments, I have not made any serious effort to look into anything beyond Apple and Windows 8 devices. In no way is it my intention to imply anything good or bad about any other products or brands.

For me it was the recognition that its all apples & oranges & peaches & pears. I finally accepted as fact (for me) that Apple cannot meet my needs that are best solved with Windows (such as MS Office and RR-Track) and that Windows cannot do many things as well as iPhones, iPads and Apple computers can do.

A key thing for me was when I ended up with iPads and an iPhone with Siri I fell in love with it. Now if I am driving I can tell Siri to find and call a number for me. Then when I look at my email on an iPad I can talk to Siri and Siri will type my email for me.

This past year I moved to Macbooks, Mac mini's, Windows 8 desktop and laptops. The combined cost was less than my original IBM PC/XT and CGA Monitor. For me Apple could not effectively replace Windows but Windows could not compete with the features Apple offered.

The reality is that it has taken me an entire year to become fairly comfortable with IOS 6, Mountain Lion and now Windows 8. I would not claim to be proficient with any of them but between Apple Care, Apple One-on-One and Geek Squad at least I now have access to someone who has to put up with all my questions until I am satisfied with their answers.

Jerry


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought a Surface Pro a month or so back (I'm using it now in fact). It has a lot that I like... especially the ability to run legacy apps I have or essentially anything that will run on a Windows desktop or notebook. On the whole, I'm quite happy with it, but it could never replace my notebook (mobile workstation actually). However, for browsing the web, doing email, instant viewing of my drone footage, and portability of a few legacy apps, it works great!


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

For me the defining issue has been my ability to read the screen without (reading) glasses. 

The Retina Display of the iPad 3 provided me with the ability to zoom in to a scale I could read without the loss of resolution I had always experienced with my Windows XP computers. That led to the MacBook with a Retina Display but the 15" screen limited the width of text in emails and forums.

Windows 8 Magnifier on a 17" laptop works reasonably well but again the text scrolls left and right of the screen.

It used to be that I bought computers based on specifications and software but now my eyes dictate which computers I buy.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I accidentally ran across this old topic of mine and as I read through it I realized that the iPad 1 for our autistic granddaughter led to (new, used & refurbished) iPads 2, 3, 4, Mini, Air & Air 2 for self, wife, son & daughter in law & inexpensive Win 8.0 laptops for son's family. Between the iPads, Mac's & Win 8 - 10, the result is that the old iPad 1 started a path of opening the Internet to our entire family when prior to that iPad 1 only myself and my wife had computers & home access to the Internet.

In a way the demise of LGB & Aristo helped as train purchases have pretty much been replaced with Apple purchases.

iOS, OS X & Windows continue their evolutionary progress and I don't see any of them being replaced or obsoleted anymore now than back when I started this topic.

I guess the only real change for me has been that Office on OS X and Windows 10 has little extra value to me or to my wife over Windows XP Pro & Office 2003 but the iPads have taken over our family.

It would be hard to explain exactly why, when and how that happened.

Regarding my topic title, my personal decision was to keep Windows off of all of our Apple devices but to enable my Apple devices for both Office and iWork. I no longer use Andriods other than as TV remotes etc. (nothing against Androids - our daughter's family love them) we just choose not to mix Androids with iOS devices.

This is not a recommendation for or against anything. I just want to keep everything simple for me - Windows only on PC's & Apple iOS & OS X without Windows but MS Office on everything.

If I end up with Windows on a tablet it will probably be a Surface Pro 4 if that can be considered a tablet/laptop.

Jerry


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## Jerrys-RR (Jun 21, 2010)

Jerrys-RR said:


> This is certainly off topic and not trains related but I suspect I am not the only person somewhat confused with the assortment if everything from iPods to Tablet computers to iPads and their compatibility or incompatibility with Windows based computers. Somewhere in here fits the Android operating system.
> 
> We probably have folks here using just about everything so this seems a good place to ask about the differences.
> 
> ...


3 1/2 years have now passed but still nothing does it all for me. It still takes me 3 operating systems:

iOS for things of short term value
OS X for important non-Windows stuff
Windows 10 for my historical stuff & stuff that only runs on Windows

I may use Dropbox & iCloud but I consider them to be a poor substitute for a true file system.

This post is to assure an email link to my old posts.

Jerry McColgan


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

This is not a computer forum. It's a trains forum. Since we all use computers to access MLS, and some of interface computers to our trains, a cartain amount of computer info is relevant... but resurrecting three-year-old topics is going over the top. There's already two or three computer topics that are current. Do we also need this one again? I think not.

Please remember, this is a Large Scale Train forum... not Facebook.


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