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Where is the file-system, printing, and real email search tools in OS4?!?
- Thread starter anthonymoody
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While no file system, I think the added feature of being able to open email attachments in other apps is a big plus. So you can easily email a document to your ipad and open it in pages for intance. That makes file sharing with the ipad a bit easier.
Yeah, printing aside, I think everyone hating on the need for a "file system" is missing the boat completely. We're not asking for access to the filesytem, so much as something as simple as a "box" to drop files into. I would even be fine with using something like iDisk or Dropbox if a local copy could be downloaded and then synced when back on a network.
The fact that I can't grab a text document, edit it in Pages, save it, and the open the same document up in any other application to view/edit is simply asinine. I am surprised nobody asked about this in the Q&A after - instead we got some douchebag asking about a porn app store like Android has.
If Apple is in any way pitching the iPad as a productivity device (the availability of Pages, etc. weould seem to indicate so), this should have been a no-brainer. I'm sure they are aware of it, I just wonder what the thinking is.
Or even throw us a bone with Bonjour access. Setup Bonjour as an App, allow it to acess the file folder (nevermind that it doesn't exist), and send the file to print on a networked computer running bonjour - no need for the driver to reside on the iPad/iPhone.
Everyone's so interested in building the iPad back into a laptop. When will people see that it isn't and wasn't intended to be?? Sure they'll integrate more features into it, but if you need hardcore computing then get a laptop. Plain and simple.
Sorry, but Apple itself set the stage for this by bringing out their iWork productivity apps for iPad. You can't realistically have productivity apps (ie. be productive) without an easy, fast way to move files and data around, especially with this iWork suite that's supposed to be integrated both within its own components, and to other spaces such as the desktop versions and iWork.com. It just makes no sense. I'd love to go download all 3 iWork apps, but I'm just not going to do it until they sort this out because they're basically useless until it's done. It's like saying here, I'm going to give you this awesome new car, it's got everything you ever wanted in a car, and it runs on spoogetonium crystals! Have fun!
Maybe they will. I'm sure there will be a seperate event for the iPad, as it only showed the iPhone in the event. OS 4.0 for iPad will come this fall, so who knows what they are going to add. And it's called iPhone OS 4.0, not iPad. I think they are going to base it on the same cores, but will call it different. So for the iPad, iPad OS, and for the iPhone, iPhone OS.
Storing a file in a folder that more than one app can access is "hardcore computing?" LOL
True lol. But this is only one of many threads complaining that the iPad doesn't do enough. What's next? 3D modeling complaints??
Actually there are apps that do 3d modeling, but I can't save a stupid file to a network. To me that is a problem. Jobs was talking cloud computing. Well, lemme see the cloud computing portion of saving files to the cloud.
YES! If it doesn't run 3DS Max at 12 teratexels ner nanosecond it's a piece 'o crap!
< Did you notice how I switched to Comic Sans just for that rant? talk about rubbing salt in the wounds...
>In a way, I think the filesystem thing has been answered. You simply can't deal with email attachments without some sort of file handling. If this means you can pass files from email to iWork and back again that's progress. Of course I'd rather have a Finder but I'll take the ability to manipulate files and pass them around between apps any day. Actually, not any day. I'd like it now but Steve Jobs says I might have to wait until after Thanksgiving!
Did you notice we also get quick view? What good is quick view if there isn't some sort of file handling going on? As soon as OS 4.0 comes out, I'll load it on my 2G 'touch and see what I can see. It won't bother me terribly if multitasking doesn't work as long as I can investigate the handling of email attachments. If I can detach a pdf file from an email and it's somewhere on my device I can find it, I don't care if they call it a file system or a file cistern, as long as I can work with files.
Today's announcement had a lot of bad news. If you have an older device you don't get multitasking. If you have an iPad, you gotta wait until "Fall" to get the "good" OS. Ads are coming to our iThings. Lots of Ads, big time. But I don't assume the filesystem news is bad... yet. File management was not mentioned explicitly, but I think this was tempered by the explicit reference to working with email attachments which really boils down to working with files.
Good point. That's sort of what Palm did when they wanted to give more capability to their proprietary PalmOS that could only handle prc and pdb files in internal memory, they created a hidden partition called "built in" that was able to hold photos and as it turns out any other kind of native file. Of course, this sort of trickery isn't needed on OS X (which is what iPhone OS is really based on). But if Apple insists that we live in a kind of NON von neuman architecture where applications shall not be able to write to the filesystem on which they are stored and can thus not modify themselves while they are running, Apple can at least open up the photo-roll "sandbox" to every kind of file other than applications.
Meh. You’re forgetting that each printer manufacturer would have to develop ARM-based stripped down drivers for their printers, which is not realistic.
If you noticed in the keynote, “Wake on Wireless” is an API listed in iPhone OS 4.0.
iPhone sends Bonjour wake command to Mac/PC, Mac/PC wakes up, accepts data from iPhone and sends data to installed default printer using Bonjour and the installed print driver, then goes back to sleep.
Boom. A solution that makes sense.
Unfortunately, we’re not at the point yet where an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad can operate independently of a full-blown Mac/PC.
However, I could see Brother, Canon and HP developing printer specific iPhone apps for certain newer model printers. These apps would be able to open your Pages file, etc and you could print from there. Maybe these new iPhone-compatible printers would have rasterizing capabilities built into the printer hardware side instead of the printer driver side. Unlike now, where the PC/Mac does all the work and the printer hardware is pretty “dumb.”
One thing is for sure, Apple is not going to allow printer drivers to be installed into the iPhone OS.
Attachments
What the iPad, and every other computer with WiFi needs, is for Printer companies to get together and come up with a single unified standard for printing with their products. Whatever happened to Postscript? Printer markup languages? Simple ANSI text printing when a text file is sent to a printer port? Copy document.txt LPT1 maybe?
After seeing the teardown of the iPad you realize it's primarily the iPhone/Touch hardware strapped to a big battery and a big screen. I'm convinced MS could do the same with it's Zune HD and/or Windows Phone 7 hardware to create a better competitor to the iPad than everyone's stripped down PCs are proving to be. I've got several pocketable devices that can playback HD video to a digital TV, easily demonstrate slick/smooth graphic UIs, and are running off chips designed for cell phones and mp3 players. Magic? Small low power graphics-centric chipset and associated circuit board + huge battery and a nice screen.
After seeing the teardown of the iPad you realize it's primarily the iPhone/Touch hardware strapped to a big battery and a big screen. I'm convinced MS could do the same with it's Zune HD and/or Windows Phone 7 hardware to create a better competitor to the iPad than everyone's stripped down PCs are proving to be. I've got several pocketable devices that can playback HD video to a digital TV, easily demonstrate slick/smooth graphic UIs, and are running off chips designed for cell phones and mp3 players. Magic? Small low power graphics-centric chipset and associated circuit board + huge battery and a nice screen.
Then you're just foolish. Apple has made it clear from the first announcement the iPad is NOT intended to be a computer replacement. Hell, they even require a PC or Mac to activate that darn thing.
So basically you bought the iPad for the wrong purpose. And now you're upset.
Clearly you haven't used these "productivity" apps. If you had you'd realize they are highly watered down versions of their real counterparts. Even if you had a filesystem and printing, you'd quickly find the apps to limited for any real work. They are intended for quick / minor edits and reading. That's it.
He also alluded to widgets on the iPad in the Q&A session.
iPad will probably have its own event, either mentioned during WWDC or perhaps at the iPod Touch event if its a late autumn update.
This event was mostly for iPhone / iPod Touch. These devices don't have as much of a glaring need for a file system and printing, especially without iWork. Don't worry, I'm sure Apple is working on something great. I'm hoping for wireless syncing through the cloud on their new server farm. Printing shouldn't be that hard. Some of these iPad-only 4.1 features will probably work their way into the general iPhone update come 5.0. I said it in a thread the other day, iPad will be the 4.1 from the advertising logs. 4.1 makes even more sense now that we know it will be updated later on. Didn't 3.1 come out last fall?
iPad will probably have its own event, either mentioned during WWDC or perhaps at the iPod Touch event if its a late autumn update.
This event was mostly for iPhone / iPod Touch. These devices don't have as much of a glaring need for a file system and printing, especially without iWork. Don't worry, I'm sure Apple is working on something great. I'm hoping for wireless syncing through the cloud on their new server farm. Printing shouldn't be that hard. Some of these iPad-only 4.1 features will probably work their way into the general iPhone update come 5.0. I said it in a thread the other day, iPad will be the 4.1 from the advertising logs. 4.1 makes even more sense now that we know it will be updated later on. Didn't 3.1 come out last fall?
I will give Apple one thing. iPad does do a ton of stuff better than a netbook. But they shot themselves in the foot by releasing iWork for iPad without any decent way of managing documents.
Bad UI is excusable for a 3rd party dev, but completely unacceptable for first party development.
Bad UI is excusable for a 3rd party dev, but completely unacceptable for first party development.
A basic storage folder is all that it is needed. I should be able to download a pdf from safari and then read it in something like Good Reader. Then afterward be able to attach it to an email and send it to someone. All of these apps have their own "sandbox" that their files live in.
My general rule is if so many apps have to go out of their way to find a way around a limitation, then that limitation should be eliminated. There are a ton of printing apps, but you have to open it and then use their apps to get the file and print it. Just seems to be pretty basic functions that are missing.
My general rule is if so many apps have to go out of their way to find a way around a limitation, then that limitation should be eliminated. There are a ton of printing apps, but you have to open it and then use their apps to get the file and print it. Just seems to be pretty basic functions that are missing.