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Are you saying the apps shouldn't be full screen, but in windows ? Nope. But again, a back button would be nice. (Or maybe a forward and back button, to scroll through open apps).

Double tap the home button. Tap on the app you were last on or other apps you were on recently. Simple, done.
 
I think the multitasking can definitely be improved. It reloads stuff a ton, and the fullscreen-ness of every app is slow going.

To check your mail/calendar/stuff takes quite a while as you have to open up each app and let it load before moving onto the next one.

Sure, it reloads, but seconds... not minutes or several minutes. I can remember starting up a windows computer. It takes 2 to 3 minutes to load.

Maybe it is your bandwidth. It is not the device.
 
Oh, you mean a desk top or laptop. What is the hang that everyone has with real multitasking ? It's not like you use the iPad to rip DVDs while you surf the web. I think the iPads 'multitasking' works great. What is really needed is a back button. Better input??? If storage is lacking, you should have gotten a model with more storage, or learn how to better manage your data. Also, try File Browser and Drop Box.

I honestly feel that even if the iPad came with a TB of storage, people would still complain about the storage.

Edit: What is wrong with the speed?

Look, I'm tired of people thinking i'm a hater. I have one. It's fine for what it is.

It is slow, even internetwise. It's not even close to a machine that most people who create anything could use as a main device, and it has plenty of room for improvement.

I really hope they drive a bus into that room and make it happen., but it's a ways off.

To the above poster..

I get 2mbps down.. and I agree with the quoted text, it's slow. Most of that is down to RAM and processor... my guess is more the former
 
Lack of a files system is probably the biggest impediment to using an iPad in place of a an actual laptop/desktop. The power, flexibility and speed of a laptop/desktop is probably another factor as well.

I love my iPad, it fits a need that makes my life a lot easier. What it does, it does great. That doesn't mean it can replace my laptop.
 
Those 4 finger gestures that were in beta would go a long way to navigating apps like that, but after seeing the widget type setup, it would be great to have all the basic stuff right on the lock screen, or home screen. Email, iCal, and maybe RSS all on one screen/view.

In general I'm hoping iOS5 branches the iPad off from the iPhone a bit. Not drastically, but OS wise, a screen that big shouldn't be exactly the same as the iPhone.

Are you saying the apps shouldn't be full screen, but in windows ? Nope. But again, a back button would be nice. (Or maybe a forward and back button, to scroll through open apps).
 
Using the Numbers demo spreadsheet it looks nice and powerful, but it would be tedious trying to make a full spreadsheet ON the iPad.

Do you sync it to anything outside the iPad?

It wouldn't be so bad to make a spreadsheet on the iPad that looks simple/easy, but I'd need to be able to transfer the data to a real spreadsheet at the end of each month.

i created it on the ipad, wasn't tedious at all for me
 
I love the people who think the iPad will ever be a fully-functional computer. This is not what it was ever designed to be. However, when one thinks of it as a tethered input output device, the possibilities are endless.

One can, via wifi, access and manipulate data on a cloud/server arrangement. That having been said, I am in the medical field. The electronic medical record (EMR) in my hospital is accessed via internet on desktops or ToughBooks. What I need is someone to port the software to the iPad.

When one understands the niche of the iPad and starts to develop software for it, then the iPad can truly be a useful business tool. But all you who want a file system, you just don't get it.
 
Xcode
iPhone/iPad SDK

A virtual keyboard/environment optimized for coding...

Maybe an all-function organizer widget at the home screen

Maybe a upgraded version of Keynote mobile and an external accessory to use as a projector for presentations. Oh, and use the iPhone as a remote to change slides. Or swipe on the iPad

Thats all. :)
 
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the question was "what would need to be added for the ipad to be your only computer for your job?"

First i would need my own, i can't pry the "family" ipad out of the wife's hands for more than 20 minutes.

Second, the people at the Uni need to update their grading software. Right now I can go 99% of the way on the iPad, but after all the reading, marking, comments, and unit building you know what I can't do? Enter a freaking grade. Don't see how that is Apples fault, the blackboard system we use at my school forces me to use two different browsers, depending on what I am doing at the time. No browser I have ever seen lets me use 100% of the system.

POS.
 
If they made it a desktop with a keyboard and mouse with a 21 inch or larger display and it ran Windows 98 or higher (a requirement for software I use), it would be perfect. However, I have that already and prefer to have the iPad for consuming media.

Remote access/desktop control software is the best way to use it as a desktop computer. You get the benefit of using both OSX and Windows and programs that only run in those environments without destroying an OS that is made specifically for a tablet.
 
You can do this now, with the dock to VGA connector. You can swipe/navigate on the iPad (though I don't know how media files work), and I believe you can use an iPhone with it too?, not sure)

Maybe a upgraded version of Keynote mobile and an external accessory to use as a projector for presentations. Oh, and use the iPhone as a remote to change slides. Or swipe on the iPad
 
First I have to say, I am not missing very much to make it my sole computer to use for work. The following are the things that it needs for me:

1: the ability to manipulate, and correct photos, like photoshop. The photoshop app, is not good for that at all. It is only good for cropping the whole picture and/or adding effects to the whole picture. I can not edit a section of the picture.
2.: better spreadsheet program

I can do everything else for work on my ipad now, except those things. I can log in and use all of the functions of my work ERP system. If I didn't have to sync and use photoshop, I probably wouldn't need another computer for anything except warcraft.
 
The iPad isn't meant to be a computer replacement. I don't understand the people who want to make it work like that.
When you buy a car, do you expect that it will be able to fly?

The iPad is a great consumption device, and it also has some use as a productivity tool, but it cannot replace a full blow desktop computer. It will never be able to edit AVCHD 1080p video, it will never be used to convert mkv files to mp4 using Handbrake. I will never use it to write design documents for my customers. It will never have the computing power to run the things I have on my Mac Pro running.

Having said that, I am sure that with every new iPad generation, that we will see it becoming more capable. The thing is, so do computers! They also become even more capable and fast.
I loved using it, but as I got a Macbook Air, I decided to sell it and wait for the iPad 2.
 
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petvas,

what you use your computer for != what everyone uses their computer for.

For my mother the iPad already has replaced her computer.

If all you ever do in your car is head to the store and maybe go see the kids once in a while, you don't need something that can also compete in the indy 500! (see, i can make a bad car analogy too)

Over and over and over again, this forum is not the average consumer, what you do on your computer is not representational. 95% of iPad users don't care about handbrake, don't know what FLAC is, would need google to tell you what an mkv is, and most important, they don't care.

If the next iPad has a simple way to sync and update that doesn't require a computer, it will replace a computer for many users.

Think about it, if Apple sold an airport with a drive for backing up, and itunes built into it, plus the standard printer port, that would be all many people need. Printing, networking, itunes, backup, all in on device. Include an app to control and monitor it and that plus iPad would be the only "computer" many people would need.

Not you. But many people.

I swear, the single biggest issue in the forums here are the inability for people to realize that universe doesn't revolve around them personally.
 
Oh, I don't know...let's see what key things the iPad is lacking relative to my general computing needs:

- 8GB RAM
- 500GB internal drive
- Quad core CPU running at over 2.5GHz
- Dock to allow it to connect to a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.
- Microsoft Office for Developers
- Usable file system
- Multi-reader card slot
- Blu-ray drive (writer)
- Ability to create and mount virtual machines
- True multitasking
- HDMI, VGA, and DVI out

The iPad is NOT replacement for a general purpose computer. Now, if you happen to just use a computer for surfing the net and for the most basic of tasks, then yes, iPad can fulfil that role. For 99% of the population, iPad or similar devices will likely be a complimentary device.
 
petvas,

what you use your computer for != what everyone uses their computer for.

For my mother the iPad already has replaced her computer.

If all you ever do in your car is head to the store and maybe go see the kids once in a while, you don't need something that can also compete in the indy 500! (see, i can make a bad car analogy too)

Over and over and over again, this forum is not the average consumer, what you do on your computer is not representational. 95% of iPad users don't care about handbrake, don't know what FLAC is, would need google to tell you what an mkv is, and most important, they don't care.

If the next iPad has a simple way to sync and update that doesn't require a computer, it will replace a computer for many users.

Think about it, if Apple sold an airport with a drive for backing up, and itunes built into it, plus the standard printer port, that would be all many people need. Printing, networking, itunes, backup, all in on device. Include an app to control and monitor it and that plus iPad would be the only "computer" many people would need.

Not you. But many people.

I swear, the single biggest issue in the forums here are the inability for people to realize that universe doesn't revolve around them personally.

Of course I know that everybody uses computers for different things. I do not expect or want everyone to have my needs or opinions.
Even people that seem to be perfectly ok with the iPad as their sole computer will need at some point to do really basic stuff, as burning a cd, or even watching a DVD a friend gave to them. They won't be able to do it.
The iPad will certainly fulfill the needs of people who would normally have no computer. Of course I cannot deny that for some people the iPad would replace a PC (that they didn't really need at the first place).
 
Of course I know that everybody uses computers for different things. I do not expect or want everyone to have my needs or opinions.
I also think it would get tedious having to speak for everyone in the world and what change they would need to make it their only work computer. Also, the OP asked what changes would be needed to make it "your sole work computer"...I don't think they wanted me to produce a list of every single job and the different conditions they would need for it to be their only work computer.
 
I also think it would get tedious having to speak for everyone in the world and what change they would need to make it their only work computer. Also, the OP asked what changes would be needed to make it "your sole work computer"...I don't think they wanted me to produce a list of every single job and the different conditions they would need for it to be their only work computer.

Exactly. All I am saying is that for me the iPad cannot replace my computers. I also believe that most people that do know why they have a computer, that they wouldn't be able to use the iPad alone.
 
No.

You said "The iPad isn't meant to be a computer replacement. I don't understand the people who want to make it work like that."

That is speaking for everyone. Coming back after that to back-peddle your answer is just weak. You announced what it is and what it does and said everyone who used it differently is wrong. That is what i responded to.

If that isn't what you mean, don't say it.
 
No.

You said "The iPad isn't meant to be a computer replacement. I don't understand the people who want to make it work like that."

That is speaking for everyone. Coming back after that to back-peddle your answer is just weak. You announced what it is and what it does and said everyone who used it differently is wrong. That is what i responded to.

If that isn't what you mean, don't say it.

I forgot I wrote that, but yes, I meant it. Apple didn't create the iPad as a computer replacement. The iPad reaches people that normally cannot get along with a normal computer. If someone is happy with the iPad as his/her only computer, then it is fine by me (not that they would care).
 
I think for most people, iPad couldn't fully replace a computer simply because to do nearly anything on it you need a computer, but I was mainly thinking what it's missing for people who routinely use two computers in what they do. A desktop, and a laptop.

There's lots that the iPad won't be able to do (ever) do that I can do with my laptop, but for day to day things (work and such), the iPad is almost that computer for me at the moment. I assumed that would be the case for alot of other people.

I think touchscreen in general will never replace a full on keyboard for any 'real' amount of work, but for those who don't need too much input on the go, it could be the all-in-one stop.
 
I might give that a go at some point, just creating a spreadsheet on the iPad to input the data, which I can then sync/sort later. Wouldn't be ideal as I'd have to deal with it again, but it beats scanning paper documents.

i created it on the ipad, wasn't tedious at all for me
 
I might give that a go at some point, just creating a spreadsheet on the iPad to input the data, which I can then sync/sort later. Wouldn't be ideal as I'd have to deal with it again, but it beats scanning paper documents.

I have tried creating spreadsheets on the iPad. Yes, it can be done but I would do it only if I didn't have any other computer.
It is great to have the iPad on your hands and to be able to touch the screen and really feel the iOS experience. The problem is that Touch input doesn't really help productivity. It is great for media consumption or for doing stuff that isn't complicated.
 
>What are you missing before being able to use iPad as your sole work computer?

A reason to do so.

This question is like asking what my screwdriver would need before I could use it as my primary hammer? Well, it would need to be a hammer......
 
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