So, yeah, uhm, I bought an iPad 2 today. I still don't think anyone really needs a tablet, but that doesn't mean I didn't want one. I wanted to wait until the HP TouchPad was announced, but now that it has, it seems it won't be coming to The Netherlands any time soon. As such, the iPad 2 it was. A few quick fist impressions.
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Member since:2006-02-05
Well yes, your experience was pretty much "limited" and not an accurate representation of what it normally is to use one. But I agree, the iPad in its factory setting doesn't do much except browse the web.
It's like Windows with no software installed on it. Not much to do with it, unless Notepad & Minesweeper is all you need :-)
Member since:2005-07-06
And yet to fail to take into account changes made in IOS 5. Yes, right now there are limiting issues but that is because the design was for it to hook up to a computer from day one rather than an independent device in its own right. The design was never hidden and it is hardly apples fault that you're trying to use a hammer instead of a screw driver.
Member since:2009-04-03
Member since:2009-12-26
Member since:2005-07-12
Member since:2006-03-07
Windows is pretty useless until you install some applications too.
If ibook or whatever wasnt on it them its either a free app or came with an ios update. You can most definitely download pdfs from the browser to it to read later as ive done this several times.
And if you want to do more than browse the web and read email you will need to download some apps. There are plenty out there to do whatever you want. Ssh, remote desktop, vnc, netflix, hulu, games, idos - install windows 3.1, whatever insane thing makes you happy. Hell, I use it with my dcs a-10c for touch mfd's.
Dont knock the device until youve become familiar with it to not make false statements though.
Member since:2008-01-29
- No, you don't need a credit card.
- To sync (contacts, calendards, reminders) with gmail, you need to set the account up as an Exchange account.
- Since when is IM standard on smartphones?
- Install a filemanager (ie air sharing) and you can use "open in" to store pdf's.
You could at least pretend you gave the iPad a real chance.
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Appfour added, among other features, C/C++ support to its new version of AIDE. From Android-IDE, "Now you can write parts of your app or your whole app in C/C++ on your device. AIDE supports the Standard Android NDK toolchain (GCC 4.6 + Bionic, STL, ...). No changes are necessary if you want to build an app developed on a PC with Eclipse. C/C++ development is fully integrated: Build errors appear in the error list and files can easily be navigated to with Go to file. The editor supports C/C++ syntax highlighting."
Ars nails it: "The answer is that Google did announce what amounts to a fairly substantial Android update yesterday. They simply did it without adding to the update fragmentation problems that continue to plague the platform. By focusing on these changes and not the apparently-waiting-in-the-wings update to the core software, Google is showing us one of the ways in which it's trying to fix the update problem."
"It is good for programmers to understand what goes on inside a processor. The CPU is at the heart of our career. What goes on inside the CPU? How long does it take for one instruction to run? What does it mean when a new CPU has a 12-stage pipeline, or 18-stage pipeline, or even a 'deep' 31-stage pipeline? Programs generally treat the CPU as a black box. Instructions go into the box in order, instructions come out of the box in order, and some processing magic happens inside. As a programmer, it is useful to learn what happens inside the box. This is especially true if you will be working on tasks like program optimization. If you don't know what is going on inside the CPU, how can you optimize for it? This article is about what goes on inside the x86 processor's deep pipeline."
"It was the only moment I heard regret slip into Otellini's voice during the several hours of conversations I had with him. 'The lesson I took away from that was, while we like to speak with data around here, so many times in my career I've ended up making decisions with my gut, and I should have followed my gut,' he said. 'My gut told me to say yes.'" The world would've been a much different place - Apple would have been less dependant on Samsung for its chips, which probably would've meant less money for Samsung to develop its Galaxy business.Glass is getting some love at Google I/O as well. New applications have been released - Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Elle, Tumblr, and CNN. Perhaps more interesting: the newly announced Google Glass Developer Kit will allow offline applications and direct hardware access - great for hacking and expanding Glass' potential. This kit will really allow hackers to put Glass through its paces."But Beck and Merrill decided that simply banning toxic players wasn't an acceptable solution for their game. Riot Games began experimenting with more constructive modes of player management through a formal player behavior initiative that actually conducts controlled experiments on its player base to see what helps reduce bad behavior. The results of that initiative have been shared at a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and on panels at the Penny Arcade Expo East and the Game Developers Conference." Absolutely fascinating stuff. I'm a League of Legends player, and to be honest, the community isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be. I'm happy Riot games has the guts to employ science to address the issue.
Member since:
2009-12-26
I was given an iPad to do some testing for a project we're working on, so I got to use it for a weekend.
First thing I noticed how incredibly useless it is in its factory state. I didn't want to register with Apple and give them my personal details (do they still require a credit card for App Store access?), so I didn't download any apps.
Proceeded to sync with my Google account, worked fine, no contacts or bookmark sync though. Also no IM on board (iMessage won't help, as it is once again a new proprietary platform, probably unable to talk to any other IM service).
Next thing I wanted to do was download a PDF I wanted to read for a lengthy train ride - not possible. No download option in the browser. Also no PDF reader. Was only able to open that file in the browser, so I had to be connected (I had the WiFi only model).
The rest of the weekend I used it as paperweight.
So yeah, that was my first impression with that device. Can't wait to try out the TouchPad.