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So I bought an iPad...

JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,952 Posts
edited September 2012 in Strut Central
...for my 77-yr old dad. He's not got it yet, but he's always spending all afternoon on youtube when they visit us kids, so I'm helping him out. It's as "Fisher-Price" as possible, so hopefully no late-night "I don't know what I've done, but..." calls. Damn you, apple - it's the right tool for the job. Just setting up email account for him and mum and iCloud etc.

And while I was at it, I got one for the wife and kids, so we can face time and all that. So, feeling dirtier than Xtina, please cut down my learning time and tell me what the must-have appz are? Photo, video etc...

Thanking t3h Strut in advance...

  Comments

  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    My mum has one. She spends hours every night on it playing solitaire and mahjong, catching up with friends via email. My sister's kids (2&4) love it as well.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    An unsung property of iPad is that it is very useful as an aid for re-connecting with lapsed intuition skills.

    A pity then, that like Moke's folks, mine use it for mah jong, angry birds and snooker sims.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,952 Posts
    Angry Bird, doe... Think about it. The pigs. Stealing the future of the kids. Totalitarian stazi. Are we going to sit around and mope or are we going to sue-is-hide their playground down (pretty soon)? Heavy subtext.

    Or perhaps it's because someone had already done Galaxians.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,952 Posts
    batmon said:

    Has anyone told Steve Aoki about this?
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    J i m s t e r said:
    batmon said:

    Has anyone told Steve Aoki about this?

    I bought that app thinking I could use it for my gig in Guatemala a few months ago as it was much cheaper/easier than lugging two tables and a 57 around unfamiliar territory all by myself. After messing with it for 10 minutes or so I was like "EFF THAT" and bought a Numark controller for $1000 (which I promptly returned upon my return).

    Nowadays I just use my iPad as an overpriced universal remote via this thing and to get through my Google Reader quickly (though all I do is 'star' items then go straight to my Macbook to read them in more detail).
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    this was fun

  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    If you've got a decent laptop then I think an ipad is pretty redundant. Unless you have a specific task or want a light weight device for watching video on your commute or something.

    -

    Jim, apps that could be useful / interesting;

    Evi - an app version of Siri for Ipad & Ipod touch
    BBC iplayer app
    TuneIn radio
    TvGuide
    Spotify
    The Night Sky - probably more of a iphone app as it really needs the gps, but great if your kids are interested in stargazing.
    Apps specific to websites you visit regularly can be very useful (twitter, facebook etc) rather than just going through the browser.

    I've found the ipad very handy for using as a digital recipe book, there are a bunch of cookery apps although I can't vouch for any specifically. And you can just use the web browser for free anyway.

    I found the camera on the ipad to be pretty awful tbh, although it's ok for facetime. Unlike the iphone or touch using it as a camera or for video is a waste of time. And I've never tried to edit video or photos on it so can't speak on what's good there.
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    oh, yeah. get Dropbox and then you can download hella comic books. maybe not awesome for your pop, but that's one of the maybe 4 things i use it for
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    my pops also just got one after going thru 2 or 3 other crappy little tablets and he loves it!

    He now belongs on this site:

    http://lookstupidtakingphotoswithanipad.tumblr.com/
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    vintageinfants said:
    oh, yeah. get Dropbox and then you can download hella comic books. maybe not awesome for your pop, but that's one of the maybe 4 things i use it for

    More info please! I've been wanting to revisit the old G.I. Joes my mom threw away.
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    I enjoy my 3. Reading on it is pretty damn good.

    I use it mostly for my photos. Much better showing pics with.

    Also use it for...

    As a second monitor for my work computer...

    Reddit - Alien Blue HD
    Facebook app is decent on it
    Skype/Facetime
    Star walk HD app is awesome.
    TuneIn
    Various streaming apps - BBC, and other TV channels apps.
    Air Video and Plex - Watch all my movies and TV apps that are on my home server.
    iMashine to mess around
    Flipboard
    Fifa 12


    Many apps I just wait until they go on sale....
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    Herm said:
    vintageinfants said:
    oh, yeah. get Dropbox and then you can download hella comic books. maybe not awesome for your pop, but that's one of the maybe 4 things i use it for

    More info please! I've been wanting to revisit the old G.I. Joes my mom threw away.

    the comic viewer is called ComicZeal and I think you can use it to download comics, but I download the torrent version and Dropbox it to the iPad because it's easier and free-er
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    vintageinfants said:
    Herm said:
    vintageinfants said:
    oh, yeah. get Dropbox and then you can download hella comic books. maybe not awesome for your pop, but that's one of the maybe 4 things i use it for

    More info please! I've been wanting to revisit the old G.I. Joes my mom threw away.

    the comic viewer is called ComicZeal and I think you can use it to download comics, but I download the torrent version and Dropbox it to the iPad because it's easier and free-er

    Thank you, sir!
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    Probably a silly app. I grabbed it, but not tried yet. It's free for a bit.

    AirVinyl
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/airvinyl/id482570332?mt=8
  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    Good reader and Instapaper changed my life.

    Instapaper lets you put a link in your browser that saves the article on screen for later reading. So, as you browse, you can just keep saving articles for later. I just hit refresh on the ipad before my commute and I'm good to go.

    Goodreader hooks up with Dropbox and Google Docs (both of which are critical for my job) and lets me open up various document formats, set optimal margins, highlight/mark them up, add comments, and save my place for later. I do occasionally buy books through Amazon and use the Kindle app, but some older/out of print/shit i dont want to pay for, I just torrent and drop in dropbox, and it shows up on my iPad ready to go. Great for work, or catching up on the classics.

    Note that neither of these are 100% parent approved, especially good reader which has literally hundreds of features. Both cost a few bucks too.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Facebook is cool.
    I have a handfull of food apps.
    Usa Today

    I used to have Stream To Me which i could access my computers music library to use in the bedroom, instead of being limited to what Itunes has in my ipads storage.
  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    That comics app looks pretty good. I tried a free manga app on my ipod, but the screen is just way too small.

    I have to cosign Plex though it's pretty f'ing great. If you've got a decent connection on your home broadband it means you can have your entire home media library with you where ever you can find wifi.
    That said, I'm thinking of switching over to XBMC and getting a Raspberry Pi to use for my set top box.
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    pssssssssssssssssssssssssssst
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,952 Posts
    Herm said:
    vintageinfants said:
    Herm said:
    vintageinfants said:
    oh, yeah. get Dropbox and then you can download hella comic books. maybe not awesome for your pop, but that's one of the maybe 4 things i use it for

    More info please! I've been wanting to revisit the old G.I. Joes my mom threw away.

    the comic viewer is called ComicZeal and I think you can use it to download comics, but I download the torrent version and Dropbox it to the iPad because it's easier and free-er

    Thank you, sir!

    Last night I found a free reader, "Cloud Readers" (yes, with the s) and although it says it only reads .pdf and .cbz, I tried it with my .cbr "Dark Knight" stuff and it was perfect. You can xfer files to it wirelessly from my main Win7 laptop via port 8080 on the iPad (it will give you the url when you tell it you are uploading to it). Nice.

    Tell you what I am missing, from being a Windows user - the u, d, l, r arrow buttons. And it's auto-correct is intrusive. Naturally, being an "I.T. Professional" :cough: I've not read the manual or user guide, so will just have to tough it out (I.T. guys will never read a manual - it's like asking a TdF rider to run a triple-ring).

    Also bought Plex, thanks for the headzup. Currently uploading my photos to LiveDrive (haggled the online storage in the deal) and it's been upping for 2 days. 10Gig done, just 60Gig to go...
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