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Corsair.Noir

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2010
54
0
My Ship
I know it's not new and most have been using it for years but seriously why does everything have to run through itunes? To me, itunes cripples the ease of using the iPad. It makes everything take sooo much longer, has errors, have to try things over and over, and has so many limitations (only being able to sync to one library for example). Why is apple against simple drag and drop? You can't even update the OS without it? My PSP could update through wifi why can't the iPad? Does anyone know any work arounds to minimize the need for itunes? itunes is such a big fail for me :(
 

Battlestar

macrumors 6502
May 9, 2010
407
0
Boston
I believe that this is the way that Apple keeps control over what you can load on your device. They will never allow you to drag and drop like you can to alot of the smartphones.

If you need more access then Jailbreaking is your answer.
 

hsotnicam8002

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2008
467
121
United Kingdom
I've become to realise that the iPad is just another money-making machine for Apple through iTunes. Everything takes you there, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac desktop music. The iPad is new and an innovative style of (semi)computing. But I think people will tire of the lack of desktop usability (as in the Mac OS). It prevents easy file transfer, printing etc. If Apple won't give us what we want, I'm just going to Jailbreak my iPad like I did my iPhone, and stuff them! They've had plenty out of me over the years now they think they've got me hooked they can rape me at will. It's not going to happen. They'll get a kick in the bollocks and deserve it!
 

Corsair.Noir

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2010
54
0
My Ship
right now my girl and I are sharing an iPad. originally we had planned to get an additional one so we could each have our own but after being forced to endure itunes I don't see myself getting another ipad/ipod/iphone unless they improves or completely eliminate the need for it.

I am so pissed with the whole only being able to sync to one computer/library without having to overwrite/delete everything. The iPad is portable so being able to add content from various computers seems like a no brainer. We have 2 desktops and one notebook, all with different content on each one. The iPad was originally synced on the notebook. If I want to put something from desktop #1 onto the iPad I first have to use a flashcard or email the file to the notebook then go through the hassle of syncing just to get one file onto the iPad... that's just f@#king stupid. I don't even want to sync period... all I want to do is add ONE damn thing. Way too many steps and wasted time just to get ONE thing onto the iPad. If someone knows a better way please let me know. (I'm just hoping it's not yet another "well just spend more money on this app in order to do something it should have been able to do in the first place")

Argh I hate itunes
 

macbookairman

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2008
900
9
Nebraska
right now my girl and I are sharing an iPad. originally we had planned to get an additional one so we could each have our own but after being forced to endure itunes I don't see myself getting another ipad/ipod/iphone unless they improves or completely eliminate the need for it.

I am so pissed with the whole only being able to sync to one computer/library without having to overwrite/delete everything. The iPad is portable so being able to add content from various computers seems like a no brainer. We have 2 desktops and one notebook, all with different content on each one. The iPad was originally synced on the notebook. If I want to put something from desktop #1 onto the iPad I first have to use a flashcard or email the file to the notebook then go through the hassle of syncing just to get one file onto the iPad... that's just f@#king stupid. I don't even want to sync period... all I want to do is add ONE damn thing. Way too many steps and wasted time just to get ONE thing onto the iPad. If someone knows a better way please let me know. (I'm just hoping it's not yet another "well just spend more money on this app in order to do something it should have been able to do in the first place")

Argh I hate itunes

:confused: Did you ignore my suggestion?
 

hsotnicam8002

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2008
467
121
United Kingdom
:confused: Did you ignore my suggestion?
Seems like he did because it didn't add anything useful. The requirement to use the desktop for file transfer (without opening iTunes) is what he wants, and so do many other people. I think we bought the ipad hoping that sense would prevail at Apple and after they got the initial version of working hardware into the marketplace, they would quickly provide iOS4 to (semi)computer-enable the machine, within its processor capabilities. So file drag and drop, wifi transfer, direct (and indirect) wifi printing etc, etc would to possible. Hey, they are not a big deal - most phones can do that. Mind you, most phones can make calls but the iPhone 4 is hit and miss on that front, so I suppose wanting to print your Pages document from the iPad is a lot to expect.

Apple has got to get its act together and stop releasing half finished products then moving onto the next, leaving customers disappointed and dissatisfied. And ... if a customer is dissatisfied, whether others like it or not, that issue needs taking note of and dealing with.
 

Corsair.Noir

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2010
54
0
My Ship
:confused: Did you ignore my suggestion?

no, the link didn't originally work for me (and I was in the middle of my rant ...lol). I just tried the link again and followed the instructions... definitely makes a HUGE difference... but it does limit the types of files (having no luck with some file types, including photos, that I was able to add through syncing with the app used to open them). And yes I'm still very much looking to be able to use the iPad more independently without having to hook to itunes or even a desktop for that matter. I would like to be able to arrange/rearrange/create folders etc within the iPad itself. Thanks so much for the link.


still wishing for a itunes free iPad.
 

seajay96

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2010
403
1
right now my girl and I are sharing an iPad. originally we had planned to get an additional one so we could each have our own but after being forced to endure itunes I don't see myself getting another ipad/ipod/iphone unless they improves or completely eliminate the need for it.

I am so pissed with the whole only being able to sync to one computer/library without having to overwrite/delete everything. The iPad is portable so being able to add content from various computers seems like a no brainer. We have 2 desktops and one notebook, all with different content on each one. The iPad was originally synced on the notebook. If I want to put something from desktop #1 onto the iPad I first have to use a flashcard or email the file to the notebook then go through the hassle of syncing just to get one file onto the iPad... that's just f@#king stupid. I don't even want to sync period... all I want to do is add ONE damn thing. Way too many steps and wasted time just to get ONE thing onto the iPad. If someone knows a better way please let me know. (I'm just hoping it's not yet another "well just spend more money on this app in order to do something it should have been able to do in the first place")

Argh I hate itunes

you can use something like MobileMe, Dropbox, GoogleDocs, etc. for wireless file transfer

there are also apps out there like GoodReader that can transfer directly to your iphone/ipad over a wi-fi network

either method (once initial setup is done) takes about the same amount of time as transferring something by usb key
 

kiranmk2

macrumors 68000
Oct 4, 2008
1,509
1,929
The main problem is Apple assumes that everyone has their own computer and their own portable device and their own media. This is fine for young people and students, but as they start to settle down and have families, the need for shared media grows. Look at the upsurge in NAS units in the last few years - there is a definite need to have a centralised media store that can be accessed from any device. So far the Apple apps like iLife and iTunes don't really support this. Sure you can share libraries, but you can't sync these to mobile devices. Perhaps it's time for the mobile devices to start running iTunes themselves so they can access/sync shared content.
 

Hammie

macrumors 68000
Mar 17, 2009
1,549
72
Wash, DC Metro
The main problem is Apple assumes that everyone has their own computer and their own portable device and their own media. This is fine for young people and students, but as they start to settle down and have families, the need for shared media grows. Look at the upsurge in NAS units in the last few years - there is a definite need to have a centralised media store that can be accessed from any device. So far the Apple apps like iLife and iTunes don't really support this. Sure you can share libraries, but you can't sync these to mobile devices. Perhaps it's time for the mobile devices to start running iTunes themselves so they can access/sync shared content.

Even MobileMe family pack is crap in this department. I would expect at the least a shared calendar but nope, you cannot see each others calendar. My wife doesn't want to see my cluttered calendar, and I don't want to see hers, but a shared one that the kid's stuff is on would be ideal.

I'm not sure where Apples head is when it comes to this stuff. :mad:
 

wesk702

macrumors 68000
Jul 7, 2007
1,809
368
The hood
I've become to realise that the iPad is just another money-making machine for Apple through iTunes. Everything takes you there, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac desktop music. The iPad is new and an innovative style of (semi)computing. But I think people will tire of the lack of desktop usability (as in the Mac OS). It prevents easy file transfer, printing etc. If Apple won't give us what we want, I'm just going to Jailbreak my iPad like I did my iPhone, and stuff them! They've had plenty out of me over the years now they think they've got me hooked they can rape me at will. It's not going to happen. They'll get a kick in the bollocks and deserve it!

Lol, of course it is. Why wouldn't it? It's their business model, and a successful one at that.
 

abriwin

macrumors member
Apr 1, 2009
96
0
After reading these rants

and searching in vain for a simple app that does what Apple should have done in the first place, ie allowing wifi transfer of files etc without having to be funneled through an an application that was designed for music.

I am beginning to wonder whether I should waste £500 on a piece of crap that doesn't work like other Mac hardware. Jeez surely two Mac products should be able to communicate simply without the resort to
a) a piece of software designed in the first place to download music
&
b) second party apps that have had to be created because Apple didn't get it right in the first place.
Shame on you Mr Jobs.

This sounds like almost everyone is so frustrated with moving files on the HypePad that the iPad just can't work like other Mac OS machines that it's hardly worth getting. Remember what Mr Jobs said a while back, that Apple didn't know how to make a netbook that was a piece of crap, seems he was wrong. Most £300 netbooks work better than the iPad and have innies as well as outies!

Maybe I'll just stick with my little Acer Aspire One running Linux where I can transfer files easily from Mac to Acer and vice versa where I can increase ram just by putting a bigger SD chip in one of the SD slots or move files in the same way or by popping a usb pen in one of the 3 usb ports.

Mr Jobs sir, seems like you were wrong, Apple can make a piece of crap and some of the three million who bought an iPad will quickly learn it's shortcomings and it will get shoved in a drawer after the honeymoon to gather dust.

rant over.
All I wanted was a netbook running MacOSX
 

JeromeOD

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2005
68
0
We all knew it wasn't a crappy net book running os x.

GoodReader / Filebrowser....access to network files whatever without iTunes. Can't see the problem, it's pretty elegant software.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
Not being a standalone device is why I almost didn't get my mother her iPad. (It is her first computer.)

It was ridiculous that I had to have it sent to me first, because it cannot even be activated without iTunes.

It's even worse that she cannot get OTA updates.

This is what makes me look forward to Android slates. I'm hoping they're smart enough to let you use the darned thing right out of the box without 1990s style cable tethering.

*grump*
 

Les Kern

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2002
3,063
76
Alabama
why does everything have to run through itunes? To me, itunes cripples the ease of using the iPad. It makes everything take sooo much longer, has errors, have to try things over and over, and has so many limitations

They may decide to call it something else in the future, but for now it's what they use for syncing. I have absolutely no issues like you describe as it's been rock solid for me.
 

nalk7

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2008
211
21
It's alright as long as you have a computer at all times. But when your main computer is broken like mine, it's a bit more of a headache. I've been really looking forward to updating iOS, however it can't be done :( I'm confident this will be added eventually when apple opens up their North Carolina data centre. Maybe it'll be an iOS4.x feature :rolleyes:
 

3lionsbecks

Suspended
Jul 19, 2010
607
119
Ontario, Canada
I know it's not new and most have been using it for years but seriously why does everything have to run through itunes? To me, itunes cripples the ease of using the iPad. It makes everything take sooo much longer, has errors, have to try things over and over, and has so many limitations (only being able to sync to one library for example). Why is apple against simple drag and drop? You can't even update the OS without it? My PSP could update through wifi why can't the iPad? Does anyone know any work arounds to minimize the need for itunes? itunes is such a big fail for me :(

I do see the issue here and i experience it a bit with my iPod touch between my iMac and MBP. My Touch is only 32gb and thats the problem...can't just sync my whole library because of too many videos so I sometimes for get which computer to sync it to and choose the wring one that changes my library (because I don't have it set up exactly the same on both computers)

I don't have this issue with my iPad because I got the 64GB model. I just sync the entire library so it isn't an issue.

I do see if you only have 16gb or 32gb that syncing between machines would be a real pain.
 

blackNBUK

macrumors 6502a
Feb 19, 2010
607
35
UK
I feel like the only one but personally I've found the media syncing to be one of the best parts of the iTunes system. I know that once a song or video is in my iTunes library it will end up on both my iPods and my iPad with no extra work apart from plugging the cable in. Using Smart Playlists I can even automatically slim down my library for smaller devices. Photo syncing with iPhoto also works well. In comparison I found manual drag-and-drop on an older MP3 player to be a lot more work.

Of course to make the iTunes syncing work you really do need to have a single iTunes library that contains all of your media. I'm also not saying that I think the system is perfect. Wireless syncing would definitely be a nice addition, especially if it was scheduled to automatically run once a day.

I would agree that the Document Sharing interface is much clunkier though. Having to go through iTunes to copy files one by one to my iPad just seems to be a half-baked solution. I think that this really exposes the mismatch between the library based Apps on the iOS devices and the file based applications on OSX. Fortunately this hasn't really effected me because I haven't wanted to work on documents on my iPad however I think that Apple are going to have to sort-out the interaction between App libraries and between App libraries and files if they really are serious about the iPad for work.
 

Ciclismo

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
830
72
Germany
I don't have this issue - I actuall quite like using iTunes instead of drag and drop as that requires a bit more organisational work (creation of folders and sub folder etc.).

As for the "why do I still need a computer?" rants - the iPad is a tool, like a smart-phone, that is an extension of but not a replacement for a full-blown stand-alone system such as a PC (for example). Otherwise it would have a CD-DVD drive, a larger SSD and a whole bunch of ports (USB, Video and Mic in etc.). But then you end up with a very large and heavy device with moving part and lots of nooks and crannies that attract dirt.
 
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