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Help me find something cool for my iPad to do...

A

AceCoolie

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
187
0
My iPad sits in a dock at my desk during the day. I'd like it to be doing something cool/fun/interesting. I've got FlickStackr for slide shows but that has gotten boring as has Weather+. Does anyone have any ideas for cool things it could be doing?

Thanks!
 
AceCoolie said:
My iPad sits in a dock at my desk during the day. I'd like it to be doing something cool/fun/interesting. I've got FlickStackr for slide shows but that has gotten boring as has Weather+. Does anyone have any ideas for cool things it could be doing?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

That really depends on what you think is cool. Planetary is cool to me.
 
If you have HBO, get the HBO Go app.

Rip your DVDs and watch them.

Become productive whilst on the throne for prolonged periods of time.

Become familiar w/ WebMD so you know what to do w/ your hemorrhoids acquired from being productive on the throne for prolonged periods of time.

Find a friend who doesn't have one, and bask in joy of his/her tech lust.
 
I think the OP was looking for something it could be doing while it's sitting in the dock all day.
 
sapporobaby said:
Sell it....
Click to expand...

Dork. I never said I didn't use it. It's just some of us have real jobs and can't play with toys all day. I should add that it's on my desk at work so I doubt my boss would appreciate me watching movies all day.
 
I'm sitting at my desk with two computers and four monitors, two each. You'd think I couldn't find anything useful to do with my iPad but you'd be wrong. It fits nicely (in the Origami Workstation stand) on the desk between the two sets of monitors and can be moved easily from one computer setup to the other when I need to take notes. In effect, it has replaced the old fashioned notebook I used to jot down notes without blocking information on my monitors.

Yeah, I have various high tech solutions for syncing the computers I work with...Evernote, DropBox, OneNote, etc. But it's often just easier to leave my iPad open to a note taking app that accepts both typed entry and handwriting. If the information is worth saving, I email or sync the notes with the cloud.
 
I like the note taking idea. Basically have it replace pen/paper on your desk.

A simple idea is to have your Calendar/ToDo list always open and in your face. Could reduce procrastination...

Is there any way to run Folding@home, SETI or other distributed computing project on the iPad?
 
AceCoolie said:
Dork. I never said I didn't use it. It's just some of us have real jobs and can't play with toys all day. I should add that it's on my desk at work so I doubt my boss would appreciate me watching movies all day.
Click to expand...

Dork? You're the one asking for people to help you with something you purchased. That sort of makes you look, well immature and the dork comment confirms it. Did mommy and daddy hold your hand when you bought it? Did you smash your piggy bank and count your pennies to buy it? If by now, you have no clue what to do with an iPad, my comment still stands. Sell it or give it someone that is not as clueless. As for having a real job, there are plenty in this very forum who have real jobs but don't need a group think when it comes to using a device they've already purchased.

P.S. For many to most, the iPad is a tool rather than a toy (again confirming my immature statement). Now back to mommies basement with you.

----------
sigamy said:
I like the note taking idea. Basically have it replace pen/paper on your desk.

A simple idea is to have your Calendar/ToDo list always open and in your face. Could reduce procrastination...

Is there any way to run Folding@home, SETI or other distributed computing project on the iPad?
Click to expand...

Unless someone ports a "lite" version of SETI, I would not get my hopes up. It is processor intensive and would simply eat away at performance. Even when running in the background.
 
Right. I'm immature but your smart aleck "sell it" comment and attempts to insult me and and call me poor wasn't? Rather than be helpful and offer suggestions on apps that are useful for display in a work environment, you come here with little mans disease trying to be all high and mighty and impress us with the list of toys in your sig. It's painfully obvious who's mature and who isn't.

It sounds like you're the one trying to delude yourself into thinking the iPad is some critical tool. Do you have buyers remorse? Trying to justify your purchase to yourself? Rational people realize an iPad is nothing more than a fun toy. Sure, people find ways to justify it's use but the only tool I see here is you.
 
AceCoolie said:
Right. I'm immature but your smart aleck "sell it" comment and attempts to insult me and and call me poor wasn't? Rather than be helpful and offer suggestions on apps that are useful for display in a work environment, you come here with little mans disease trying to be all high and mighty and impress us with the list of toys in your sig. It's painfully obvious who's mature and who isn't.

It sounds like you're the one trying to delude yourself into thinking the iPad is some critical tool. Do you have buyers remorse? Trying to justify your purchase to yourself? Rational people realize an iPad is nothing more than a fun toy. Sure, people find ways to justify it's use but the only tool I see here is you.
Click to expand...

Whoa....Sparky. Wow, did you take a trip down the rabbit hole. I said sell it because if you have no clue by now how to use an iPad, then you never will. It was more comment on your mentality than your wealth. I have no clue nor do I care how much money you have or don't have. I'd still say sell it if you were a millionaire, billionaire, gozilliaonaire, etc... The fact that you need help to decide how to use a device that you purchased shows that you do not understand the device in the first place. It's only been on the market for a year or so...

Your second comment about it being a toy further adds nails to your uniformed coffin. Maybe the professional photographers, pilots, students, banking execs, lawyers, etc.. that have incorporated the iPad into their WORKFLOWS would beg to differ and take offense at your toy reference. Again, your lack of understanding is becoming more and more apparent. As for buyers remorse, unlike you, I know what I buying before I plunk my money down. It's called an informed purchase. Go look it up. The iPad3 is coming. Start doing some research now before you embarrass yourself again.

Class dismissed.
 
Wow. You just don't give up do you. I know perfectly well why I bought the thing. I use it for games, ebooks, netflix, surfing the web while laying in bed etc. All things I was able to do BEFORE I had an iPad. Your premise that I have no clue how to use a product that I've purchased is wrong. Get over it.

Now, tool or toy? Being a professional photographer myself (in addition to being a senior software engineer), I also have ShutterSnitch, EyeFi cards as well as several other photography related apps. I've used it on many shoots for displaying pics for clients, managing model releases, etc. A tool is something REQUIRED to do a job. Unless your using the iPad as the camera, it's a pretty crappy tool for a photographer, however, it's a nice toy. Do I find ways to use it? Sure. Could I function as a photographer without it? You betcha.

Let's keep going. Can a student function without a iPad? Bingo. Pen an paper work great and people have been reading from books for a long time now. Is it nice to have an iPad in school? Sure. Is it required? Nope. You seem to be smart enough to see where this is going so we'll skip the bankers and layers. Just because you find a way to use something doesn't mean its a tool.

Finally, you expect me to believe that you have anticipated every possible way in which you will ever use your iPad prior to making a purchase? I think not. Not only do I research items before purchasing them, I'm continually looking for ways to get more value out of them by finding additional uses beyond the ones it was originally purchased for, hence the reason for my post.

So, since your so keen to psychoanalyze me via my post, let me rephrase it to alleviate your concerns:

Hi everyone. I'm a middle aged, college educated, successfully employed man that after researching many different tablets, used his disposable income to buy an iPad for reading books, playing games, watching movies, and surfing the web. I like taking it to work with me where I place it in a dock on my desk and usually display pictures or a weather app. While I'm perfectly happy with my purchase, I've been wondering if there are any other applications that I should consider that would be useful and/or entertaining while it's sitting there. Thanks for your consideration.

There, I think I've covered all your concerns that I'm a young momma & daddys boy who's poor and had to raid his piggy bank to buy a product that he had no use for and won't ever be able to figure out. Now do I have your permission to solicit other members of the forum for a discussion on possible apps to use at the office?
 
Some people can't stand the fact that we have money to spend on toys if we want
 
Podcast!

I personally listen to podcasts during the day at work.... so maybe try that....

(I recommend The KiddChris Show - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kiddchris-show/id458160118 )

There are so many good podcasts out there, or even have a look through Itunes University...and learn a new language or something new about the solar system? Listen to an audiobook? All easy things to do at your desk without using the screen, so you can have your earphones on and still be busy doing your work ;)
 
AceCoolie said:
Wow. You just don't give up do you. I know perfectly well why I bought the thing. I use it for games, ebooks, netflix, surfing the web while laying in bed etc. All things I was able to do BEFORE I had an iPad. Your premise that I have no clue how to use a product that I've purchased is wrong. Get over it.

Now, tool or toy? Being a professional photographer myself (in addition to being a senior software engineer), I also have ShutterSnitch, EyeFi cards as well as several other photography related apps. I've used it on many shoots for displaying pics for clients, managing model releases, etc. A tool is something REQUIRED to do a job. Unless your using the iPad as the camera, it's a pretty crappy tool for a photographer, however, it's a nice toy. Do I find ways to use it? Sure. Could I function as a photographer without it? You betcha.

Let's keep going. Can a student function without a iPad? Bingo. Pen an paper work great and people have been reading from books for a long time now. Is it nice to have an iPad in school? Sure. Is it required? Nope. You seem to be smart enough to see where this is going so we'll skip the bankers and layers. Just because you find a way to use something doesn't mean its a tool.

Finally, you expect me to believe that you have anticipated every possible way in which you will ever use your iPad prior to making a purchase? I think not. Not only do I research items before purchasing them, I'm continually looking for ways to get more value out of them by finding additional uses beyond the ones it was originally purchased for, hence the reason for my post.

So, since your so keen to psychoanalyze me via my post, let me rephrase it to alleviate your concerns:

Hi everyone. I'm a middle aged, college educated, successfully employed man that after researching many different tablets, used his disposable income to buy an iPad for reading books, playing games, watching movies, and surfing the web. I like taking it to work with me where I place it in a dock on my desk and usually display pictures or a weather app. While I'm perfectly happy with my purchase, I've been wondering if there are any other applications that I should consider that would be useful and/or entertaining while it's sitting there. Thanks for your consideration.

There, I think I've covered all your concerns that I'm a young momma & daddys boy who's poor and had to raid his piggy bank to buy a product that he had no use for and won't ever be able to figure out. Now do I have your permission to solicit other members of the forum for a discussion on possible apps to use at the office?
Click to expand...

You bring up good points. Let's have a go shall we?

You were doing all of these things before the iPad, so why buy it in the first place? To answer, because you wanted one. Fair enough. With that being the case wouldn't it have made sense to see what you EXTRA things you can do before you buy it? Something to consider for your next purchase.

Tool or Toy... For sure let's forget lawyers. 100% agreement there. However, do you really need a computer or a mobile phone? Nope, but they sure do make your life easier don't they? Sort of like progress huh? From the Pony Express, to telegraph, US Postal service, email, so on... While the iPad in your eyes is a toy, for many it is a valuable tool that makes their life and workflows easier.

You go on to state that you are a professional photographer. Fair enough. I know a thing or two about photography as well and the first thing I did was to stock up on photo apps that will help (tool) me to be a better photographer and make my photography more productive. With that I submit: www.terrywhite.com (extensive use of the iPad). Apps: Filterstorm, Colorsplash, Photogene, Luminance, Portfolio (a must have for photographers),Easy Release... The list goes on. When I go on a shoot or vacation, I can leave my MBP at home and just use my iPad with the apps listed. Is it a toy? Hardly as it fills my travel needs as a tool. Lesson learned? The use of toy vs. tool is subjective and relative to needs.

Other apps: CineXPlayer, VLC, EyeTV (you need cable and a tuner), Tuner, Zinio, Skype, Fring, etc... From the looks of it, it appears that you have not spent much time looking for apps on iTunes which has about a bazillion apps (not all useful for sure)...
 
AceCoolie said:
Right. I'm immature but your smart aleck "sell it" comment and attempts to insult me and and call me poor wasn't?

It sounds like you're the one trying to delude yourself into thinking the iPad is some critical tool. Do you have buyers remorse? Trying to justify your purchase to yourself? Rational people realize an iPad is nothing more than a fun toy. Sure, people find ways to justify it's use but the only tool I see here is you.
Click to expand...

You know, you kind of had a point with the smart arrse remark argument, but then totally threw it all away with your naive remark about the ipad being nothing more than a toy.

Just because you can't imagine a proper use for the ipad beyond a toy, doesn't mean there aren't many. My iPad has changed the way I work. And I'm sure there are plenty more like me around.

----------
sapporobaby said:
You bring up good points. Let's have a go shall we?

You were doing all of these things before the iPad, so why buy it in the first place? To answer, because you wanted one. Fair enough. With that being the case wouldn't it have made sense to see what you EXTRA things you can do before you buy it? Something to consider for your next purchase.

Tool or Toy... For sure let's forget lawyers. 100% agreement there. However, do you really need a computer or a mobile phone? Nope, but they sure do make your life easier don't they? Sort of like progress huh? From the Pony Express, to telegraph, US Postal service, email, so on... While the iPad in your eyes is a toy, for many it is a valuable tool that makes their life and workflows easier.

You go on to state that you are a professional photographer. Fair enough. I know a thing or two about photography as well and the first thing I did was to stock up on photo apps that will help (tool) me to be a better photographer and make my photography more productive. With that I submit: www.terrywhite.com (extensive use of the iPad). Apps: Filterstorm, Colorsplash, Photogene, Luminance, Portfolio (a must have for photographers),Easy Release... The list goes on. When I go on a shoot or vacation, I can leave my MBP at home and just use my iPad with the apps listed. Is it a toy? Hardly as it fills my travel needs as a tool. Lesson learned? The use of toy vs. tool is subjective and relative to needs.

Other apps: CineXPlayer, VLC, EyeTV (you need cable and a tuner), Tuner, Zinio, Skype, Fring, etc... From the looks of it, it appears that you have not spent much time looking for apps on iTunes which has about a bazillion apps (not all useful for sure)...
Click to expand...


Now there's a great reply.
 
Last edited:
smoking monkey said:
You know, you kind of had a point with the smart arrse remark argument, but then totally threw it all away with your naive remark about the ipad being nothing more than a toy.

Just because you can't imagine a proper use for the ipad beyond a toy, doesn't mean there aren't many. My iPad has changed the way I work. And I'm sure there are plenty more like me around.
Click to expand...

I can sort of see his point with the smart arse remark because I did not explain it but from the way he made his point about the iPad, it did not seem like the right device for him. Still might not be completely but at least as this thread has evolved, I have a better understanding of what is on his mind.
 
This thread has gone downhill and unfortunately, I have to admit it's my fault. For this I apologize. I'll concede that the iPad is more of a tool to some people than to others.

Back to the subject of the thread, I've tried several apps for my iPad while I'm at work. He's a brief summary of them:

1. FlickStackr - Great app for displaying Flickr images. I usually have this going throughout the day. A word of caution, however, as I've tried to view the "Explore" section which is the most interesting pictures on Flickr and gotten a few NSFW images.

2. Weather+ - Nice app that displays a moving background image depicting current weather conditions with a clock and current forcast overlaid on top. This works fine in the office but just gets boring after a while.

3. Observatory - Great looking app that displays a clock and tons of other planetary info. I honestly don't understand half of what it displays.

4. Flipboard - The main screen shows a slideshow with captions based on your feeds. This is really nice as it's informative on top of the slide show. The downside is the huge Flipboard logo that takes up have the screen. Also, the slideshow time delay is based on the UI animation speed value and since I'm jailbroken and have upped my speed, the slide show runs really fast.

5. Fox News - Seems like lots of the screen is wasted showing stuff that doesn't update and the slide show is only 14 images long. The bottom news ticker also runs to fast to read based on my UI hack.

6. Substrate - Free screensaver type app that draws lines on the screen. Looks kind of neat but I wish the colors & patterns could be changed more. It all starts to look the same after a while.

7. Display Link - I tried using this to utilize the iPad as an additional monitor for my machine. My plan was to display Wire Shark or some other network monitoring tool on it. This worked fine for a little bit but after about 10 min, the connection drops and Display Link wigs out. This seems like it might be the best solution but I need a better app. There was a suggestion for Air Display. Maybe that's better?

So, these are a few of the things I've tried. I have a hard time believing that I'm the only person that takes their iPad with them to work and sets it on their desk during the day. If you do this, what apps do you use?

Once again, I'm sorry for stirring up contention.
 
AceCoolie said:
This thread has gone downhill and unfortunately, I have to admit it's my fault. For this I apologize. I'll concede that the iPad is more of a tool to some people than to others.

Back to the subject of the thread, I've tried several apps for my iPad while I'm at work. He's a brief summary of them:

1. FlickStackr - Great app for displaying Flickr images. I usually have this going throughout the day. A word of caution, however, as I've tried to view the "Explore" section which is the most interesting pictures on Flickr and gotten a few NSFW images.

2. Weather+ - Nice app that displays a moving background image depicting current weather conditions with a clock and current forcast overlaid on top. This works fine in the office but just gets boring after a while.

3. Observatory - Great looking app that displays a clock and tons of other planetary info. I honestly don't understand half of what it displays.

4. Flipboard - The main screen shows a slideshow with captions based on your feeds. This is really nice as it's informative on top of the slide show. The downside is the huge Flipboard logo that takes up have the screen. Also, the slideshow time delay is based on the UI animation speed value and since I'm jailbroken and have upped my speed, the slide show runs really fast.

5. Fox News - Seems like lots of the screen is wasted showing stuff that doesn't update and the slide show is only 14 images long. The bottom news ticker also runs to fast to read based on my UI hack.

6. Substrate - Free screensaver type app that draws lines on the screen. Looks kind of neat but I wish the colors & patterns could be changed more. It all starts to look the same after a while.

7. Display Link - I tried using this to utilize the iPad as an additional monitor for my machine. My plan was to display Wire Shark or some other network monitoring tool on it. This worked fine for a little bit but after about 10 min, the connection drops and Display Link wigs out. This seems like it might be the best solution but I need a better app. There was a suggestion for Air Display. Maybe that's better?

So, these are a few of the things I've tried. I have a hard time believing that I'm the only person that takes their iPad with them to work and sets it on their desk during the day. If you do this, what apps do you use?

Once again, I'm sorry for stirring up contention.
Click to expand...

Never mind the contention. What would you like to do? I suggested some very good photography apps, as well as some additional apps. What is it you like? Games, productivity apps, etc.... Your criteria seems very broad. I take my iPad to work daily. It sits on my desk but I do things with it.
 
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