New iPad Air Wi-Fi - Personal Review - Comments.

[mpeirce]

I'm not totally educated on what constitutes an electronic "jail" but I'll offer this thought. When you need an app that takes your paid content and locks it up into a proprietary format, that feels like jail to me.

Example, it seems that Itunes creates "access routines" for content. That is, one no longer has an MP3 file that is open to use by various apps chosen by the buyer, but rather a song in a loaded database owned and controlled by Apple. Maybe I've got this wrong? Maybe there are ways around it or I've misunderstood the problem?

Actually Apple dropped music DRM back in 2009. If you don't like the format the music is delivered in from Apple, you can convert it to MP3 inside iTunes.

Movies are stilled DRMed, but it's not Apple (or Amazon's fault) it's the movie industry.

 

[Lsbcal]

Actually Apple dropped music DRM back in 2009. If you don't like the format the music is delivered in from Apple, you can convert it to MP3 inside iTunes.

Movies are stilled DRMed, but it's not Apple (or Amazon's fault) it's the movie industry.

Does this mean that I can take an MP3 file out of iTunes? If so, then I guess it is not jail after all.

 

[explanade]

iOS and Mac OS are based on unix, BSD to be exact.

As for philosophy, the open source philosophy derives from people like Richard Stallman, who thinks that software should be free, that there should be no such thing as a commercial software business.

Only problem is that to attract the bright people it takes to write good software, the pay has to be attractive. People can write open source software for awhile but at some point they have to earn a living. A lot of OSS is written by people who are paid for programming but do some work on OSS in their spare time.

Oh and BTW, Google is a commercial enterprise, which wields control over Android, which they target as an advertising platform, since that is where they make their money.

So this talk about an open philosophy and "freedom" in the context of commercial products sold by companies which are as capitalistic and profits-driven as any other -- oil, chemicals, commercial agriculture, you name it -- is misguided and curious to say the least.

 

[AllDone]

Does this mean that I can take an MP3 file out of iTunes? If so, then I guess it is not jail after all.

I'm not sure that I understand this question. I play iTunes MP3s from my Windows laptop through Sonos (controlled by my iPad!) all the time. Some of those files were purchased from Apple, but most were not. The iTunes software was a free download.

I was a Unix person too. I didn't see much use for an iPad until I actually got one.... Now it's pretty much the only thing I use. And use it I do -- for many hours per day.

 

[photoguy]

Does this mean that I can take an MP3 file out of iTunes? If so, then I guess it is not jail after all.

The music files are just sitting in your hard disk. You can navigate using finder (equivalent of windows explorer) and just copy them. All of my music files are from my own CDs (apple lossless format -- no DRM).

 

[explanade]

Does this mean that I can take an MP3 file out of iTunes? If so, then I guess it is not jail after all.

You can take an mp3 out of iTunes or put it in. You can make copies so it's in iTunes and in another part of your drive so that if you want to use a Sansa audio player, you can copy it there.

In fact there is utility software for copying unprotected iTunes content to Android and other non Apple devices. That is third party software.

You can also rip your own DVDs and load it in iTunes to sync to iPads so you don't have to buy movies and other video content from iTunes. It is more work and takes some time though.

I have about 80 gigs of music, videos and apps. in my iTunes library and I've spent maybe $20-30 in 10 years, consisting of a few apps that cost a few bucks each, an audio book which was $10-15. Never bought a song or video from iTunes and 95% of the apps were bought free, including things like 1Password which I got when they were running a free temporary promotion.

 

[mpeirce]

Does this mean that I can take an MP3 file out of iTunes? If so, then I guess it is not jail after all.

Sure you can. (I did this "just to make sure it works" before my posting)

Here's a good example of how to do this:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23902309#23902309

Apple isn't really interested in trapping people in a jail, seriously it's not.

Apple will often use an open standard when it can (examples: USB, DisplayPort, WiFi, Bluetooth, iCal, pdf) but doesn't hesitate to create its own when an existing standard doesn't exist or when the existing standard leads to less than great user experiences (examples: MagSafe, Thunderbolt, AirPlay).

If you don't want to buy Apple products that's cool. But don't use the excuse that Apple's locking you in a jail. Apple's just trying to make its little world so comfortable that you'd rather not leave it.

I've been happy in that little world for about 30 years ;-)

 

[explanade]

Thunderbolt is an Intel standard, just like USB.

Apple does try to give people incentives to buy more of their products, like you can use the same apps on iPhones and iPads, can use FaceTime and iMessage between them.

Also iOS devices and send content to Apple TV be Airplay to make it easy to put content on your big screen TV.

But they support Windows PCs since they are the dominant platform and most iOS device owners have Windows.

 

[Lsbcal]

Thanks to all above who posted on iTunes and MP3 files. Helps to reduce my anti-Apple bias.

The high prices for Apple products are a problem for me. My son feels differently though and bought an Iphone recently. He used the reasoning "it just works" but I should mention that he's in advertising and has a much thinner dollar reserve then I do.

It's fun to go back and forth on this one. Beats politics. I don't want to offend anyone who likes Apple products as I can see the attraction. Recently when I was in an upscale shopping center, there were two electronics stores, Microsoft and Apple. You can guess which one had 10x the customer body count in those stores.

 

[mpeirce]

> It's fun to go back and forth on this one. Beats politics.

And it comes without the whiff of bacon!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

> It's fun to go back and forth on this one. Beats politics.

And it comes without the whiff of bacon!

OR, the forum police/gestapo

Back to the iPad. Is there and application out there some place that can edit Word, Excel, PPT etc? I did purchase a Keyboard so that part I am happy with.

Here is what would help me:

1) An App to do the above.
2) An App to copy to and from Windows and a I/F to do it. (USB Style?) Somebody mentioned Documents?
3) A File Manager for managing files like Unix/windows
4) A Print app that works in the background to print to regular IP Printers (I have no AirPrint Devices) but I do have a good laser color) I did download a print app that runs on it's own but it is cumbersome.

See! For all you skeptics out there, I am trying........ Seems a shame to sell it for so little, and it was Free.

 

[Midpack]

The high prices for Apple products are a problem for me. My son feels differently though and bought an Iphone recently. He used the reasoning "it just works" but I should mention that he's in advertising and has a much thinner dollar reserve then I do.

Admittedly Apple doesn't offer low budget anything, but for comparable performance/features the Apple Mac/laptop premium seems to be noticeably smaller today than it used to be, but there is still a premium. And in the case of iPhone, Samsung seems to be charging as much for the latest Galaxy 4 as Apple does for the 5S.

 

[explanade]

Pages and Numbers are suppose to import and save in Word and Excel but I think the more complex documents with macros and some complicated formatting won't work.

There are rumors that MS is working on iOS and Android versions of Office but they're probably going to try to boost sales of Surface and Windows 8 tablets with Office first before releasing on iOS or Android.

2. I don't think there's a direct way to do it. You can use things like DropBox or you can use app-specific documents. For instance, there are a lot of apps which can view PDFs and you would either load those through iTunes or email PDFs to an email account that you can open on the iPad and then it will give you options to load the PDF to some other apps.

Specifically, you can open PDFs in iBooks this way. There are some paid apps. which let you edit and/or mark up PDFs.

But other types of formats, like Office, would depend on certain apps. Like I said, Pages can open Word docs and Numbers can open some Excel files. Keynote probably can open some PPT files.

Photo apps like iPhoto and Photoshop Touch can open JPG and RAW photo files. There are rumors Adobe is going to release LightRoom for iPad.

I believe there is a version of Turbotax for iPad but I don't know how they send files between the PC and iPad versions.

I think the latest Windows version of Quicken will let you open your Quicken data in a free iPad app. Again, not sure how they send data over. Probably you have to log in through your Intuit account. Or they may use iCloud.

Other file types, it depend on whether there are apps. available to open those file types. Either you load the files through iTunes or the app. developer will provide another way.

But you're not going to be able to mount the iPad on your PC and drag and drop files, unless maybe if you jailbreak.

3. I haven't tried these but these promise some kind of drag and drop functionality, for copying files over from your computer to the iPad:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/files-app/id595075818?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/files-document-reader/id294150896?mt=8

But for complete file system access, you probably need to jailbreak. Now even if you do get full file system access, if you transfer certain file types, you of course need an app that can open and process those file types.


4. I doubt any printing app. would work in the background. Not sure, because I haven't really used it. All the printer vendors (HP, Epson, etc.) offer apps. which support some of their printers.

Just Google your model and see if there's a way to print from iPads.

There are some third-party printing apps. which claim support for wide range of printers, such as:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/print-print-to-all-printers/id299423224?mt=8

Obviously you have to have some kind of printer which is on the same network as your iPad will be, unless some apps. support USB printers which are connected to your router (if your router supports USB printing) or your computer.

 

[explanade]

Admittedly Apple doesn't offer low budget anything, but for comparable performance/features the Apple Mac/laptop premium seems to be noticeably smaller today than it used to be, but there is still a premium. And in the case of iPhone, Samsung seems to be charging as much for the latest Galaxy 4 as Apple does for the 5S.

They do tend to run more promotions though. YOu'll see sales where you can get it for $99 for a 2-year contract instead of the usual $199.

 

[mpeirce]

OR, the forum police/gestapo

Back to the iPad. Is there and application out there some place that can edit Word, Excel, PPT etc? I did purchase a Keyboard so that part I am happy with.

Here is what would help me:

1) An App to do the above.
2) An App to copy to and from Windows and a I/F to do it. (USB Style?) Somebody mentioned Documents?
3) A File Manager for managing files like Unix/windows
4) A Print app that works in the background to print to regular IP Printers (I have no AirPrint Devices) but I do have a good laser color) I did download a print app that runs on it's own but it is cumbersome.

(1) ...
There is "Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers" from Microsoft, but that's currently just for iPhone.

Apple offers it's iWork suite of apps for both iPhone and iPad. Page's reads Word files, Numbers reads Excel files, Keynote reads PowerPoint files. Compatibility isn't bad, but not perfect and it's an import/export situation.

(2) ...
You can get documents in/out these apps using the browser version of iCloud.com (yes, these apps all exist as web apps too). Email is another option.

(3) ...
iOS doesn't expose the general file system. I don't expect it ever will. It's philosophy. Each app keeps its own apps in its own sandbox. There are solutions like Dropbox, but Apple doesn't support that from its own apps.

(4) ...
AirPrint is how apps print on iOS. There is no real general work around, as you saw, there are some specific apps that print pdfs and such, but they are not a general solution.

Most new printers support AirPrint. My Dad bought this $100 laser printer from Amazon last month
that supports AirPrint, duplex printing, and WiFi networking. Very nice printer. Not the answer you want, but AirPrint removes the need for iOS printer drivers, so it's an example of Apple going with something new to give a very good user experience.

 

[Midpack]

Back to the iPad. Is there and application out there some place that can edit Word, Excel, PPT etc?

I bought the iOS Numbers app for $9.99. I've been surprised at how well it converts Excel spreadsheets, some surprisingly pretty complex functions and graphs come across intact - but not all. But IMO it's not reasonable to expect a $10 app to replicate Excel in full. So it depends on exactly how complex your docs are, and no tablet can be expected to perform like a PC. For example we have an Excel file with a lookup table 1500 rows by 10 columns. My Numbers app can run it, but it's unacceptably slow, so we don't.

And my iPad can open and read Word docs with no app, but not edit. I assume iOS Pages (also $9.99) might be able to edit Word docs, but someone else would have to verify as I have no hands on experience.

 

[explanade]

With new iOS devices, iWork should be free:

Apple Makes iWork Free, Adds Collaboration and Many Other Features

So the OP should check the App Store and see if he can get those for free.

 

[photoguy]

The high prices for Apple products are a problem for me. My son feels differently though and bought an Iphone recently. He used the reasoning "it just works" but I should mention that he's in advertising and has a much thinner dollar reserve then I do.

You can get substantial discounts if you are part of the developer program (the best) or can access edu pricing (not quite as good). Refurb (from apple) is also option that I've used in the past and is great. This primarily helps with the high end laptops/desktops -- not sure about ipads/iphones.

I always sell my old apple products on ebay/craigslist when I upgrade. Basically this knocks off a significant chunk of the new price (maybe 25%) of the replacement device.

 

[Ronstar]

OR, the forum police/gestapo

Back to the iPad. Is there and application out there some place that can edit Word, Excel, PPT etc? I did purchase a Keyboard so that part I am happy with.

Here is what would help me:

1) An App to do the above.
2) An App to copy to and from Windows and a I/F to do it. (USB Style?) Somebody mentioned Documents?
3) A File Manager for managing files like Unix/windows
4) A Print app that works in the background to print to regular IP Printers (I have no AirPrint Devices) but I do have a good laser color) I did download a print app that runs on it's own but it is cumbersome.

See! For all you skeptics out there, I am trying........ Seems a shame to sell it for so little, and it was Free.

1. I don't know about PPT, but I use Pages for word docs and Numbers for excel docs.

2,3. I use Filebrowser or run files from my Dropbox.

4. I use an eprinter, but I don't know if there's an app that enables printer to a regular IP printer.

 

[tulak]

You could alway try GoogleDocs and access your content using the Google Drive app. I use this for viewing, but I'd never do any real input on an iPad.

Regarding the ecosystem, I actually prefer it's controlled. Apple products for the most part just work and a big reason is because of this control. As someone that has to deal with the tech issues in our house it's a big plus. We have a lot of Apple products and the time I spend fixing issues is small. As I said, big plus.

Of course, it's not everybody's cup of tea. It's good to have choices and competition. I'd be real tempted for a Nexus 7, but I enjoy my iPad Air and don't really have a reason to change.

 

[ERD50]

...
(4) ...
AirPrint is how apps print on iOS. There is no real general work around, as you saw, there are some specific apps that print pdfs and such, but they are not a general solution.

Most new printers support AirPrint. My Dad bought this $100 laser printer from Amazon last month
that supports AirPrint, duplex printing, and WiFi networking. Very nice printer. ...

Just want to point out, the printer you linked (Brother HL-2270DW) does not support AirPrint. I know, I have one, and if you look at your link, you'll see you need to step up to the HL-5450DN for AirPrint support.

That said, the HL-2270DW does support Cortado Workplace (also shown in that link), and this is a free app. I plugged my HL-2270DW into one of the wired ports of my wireless router, installed Cortado on DW's iPad and Android smart-phone, and I can print wirelessly from them. Seems I had a few head-scratching/glitchy moments getting Cortado set up, maybe it took a reboot or something for all the apps to see it, but it seems to be working great now.

That HL-2270DW is a big seller on Amazon, and gets great reviews. My Canon ink-jet with cheap carts ( ~ $2) finally gave up the ghost after almost ten years of use. I had purchased the 2270 for my Mom when her inkjet died, one for DD when her inkjet died, and one for other DD when she needed one at school. Replacement toner is cheap - $15-$30 for 2700 pages (something like that - the 'starter cart' is supposedly 700 pages, but you can get more, see below). I miss the option of printing a little color when I want, but it's nice not wondering if I'll need to run a 'print head cleaning cycle' to get a good print or if a cart will run out in the middle of a page.

BTW, set to 'toner saver mode' and 'continue on low toner' and you will get far more life out of a toner cart. I also set print density to -6 (lowest), and the print is fine for my needs. Not sure how much toner that saves, but it can't hurt.

-ERD50

 

[mpeirce]

Just want to point out, the printer you linked (Brother HL-2270DW) does not support AirPrint. I know, I have one, and if you look at your link, you'll see you need to step up to the HL-5450DN for AirPrint support.

Sorry about that. Yes, the HL-2270DW doesn't have AirPrint. I was confused in that my Dad bought this one and uses it with his Mac. My Mom bought the Brother HL-5450DN, which does have AirPrint support, but no Wi-Fi (you have you plug it into a wired network that also has Wi-Fi to use it with your iPad/iPhone) to use with her iPad.

I personally print so very little that I never replaced my honking HP laser printer that work provided me back when. I get by with an HP Photosmart 5520 inkjet printer/scanner. It does do AirPrint and Wi-Fi.

 

[ERD50]

Sorry about that. Yes, the HL-2270DW doesn't have AirPrint. ... .

Oh, no problem, I just didn't want someone to come away with the wrong impression, and maybe make a purchase that wouldn't work out as they hoped. This whole printing business, especially with mobile thrown in, sure gets confusing. At least I know it has my head spinning.

From what I understand, that Cortado workplace basically works by having you send the document up to 'the cloud', and they have a print server with drivers for many printers, and they can send the print commands to your printer from their server (after you've configured and given access and all - which their app takes care of for you). Pretty amazing to me.

In fact, that has stirred up an old question I had on printer drivers in general, I will start a new thread, and come back and update this post with a link.

and here is the new thread, for anyone interested:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/tech-question-printer-drivers-70461.html#post1411621

-ERD50

 

[explanade]

I would think you'd want Wifi printers and possibly locate the printer outside.

They spew particulates of ink or toner material into the air.