So here using my IPad as my primary device. Here are tips and notes:
- If you are using your MacBook for network sharing because you are on the road and there is only one network connection. Here is what you do. Connect your MacBook to a wired connection. You can’t share a wifi one. Then go to Preferences/Network and click on Internet sharing. Not on the create a network entry. That is only for trading files between machines, not on routing to the internet. If you have Mac Norton, you have to disable the Firewall because it blocks internet sharing and does it silently (nice of it!).
- You have to get the Apple case. There are many others out there, but the Apple case seems to be the only one available now that let’s you prop it up
- You have to get a cloth to carry with you. The screen gets incredibly gross with fingerprints
- I did a presentation from it, so you need the $10 versions of Keynote, Numbers and Page. These are PowerPoint, Excel and Word workalikes. Keynote is actually very amazing. Better in many ways than powerpoint because it uses the touchscreen so well.
- You need to buy PrintCentral so that you can print from the device. This does require that you have a print server because it uses a proprietary protocol. Or you create a special gmail account and then when you email to it, it will print. I haven’t tried this yet, but pretty important. Probably will dedicate a Mac Mini that’s just lying around just to do this.
- Get AirVideo. This thing automatically connects to your main video machine. It doesn’t work with Time Capsules or NAS, but needs a machine that streams and transcodes. That trusty Mac Mini is a good choice to do this đ If you don’t want to go to this trouble, download Mac Vuze. This let’s you drag and drop basically any video file and then you drop it on the iPad icon and it transcodes and automatically puts it into iTunes. Very good work and it works like a charm before you go on a trip.
- The games are incredible. I love the driving things on the iPad because it feels like a real steering wheel. Other good ones are Runway which is really fun on the iPad and Sudoku is really fun.
- For video, there are so many streaming sites, but the must haves are Netflix (for $10/month) you get access to 25000 movies in the US only though, ABC Player which gives you free ABC movies. And then of course fox.com offers all its movies for free for its shows. Pretty terrific
- For reading, NY Times and BBC is great (WSJ might be but I’m too cheap to buy a subscription). Reading is a dream on this thing.
- The VGA connector is a ripoff, but works like a charm with Keynote. I haven’t tried the USB dongle, but it is supposed to be good for camera and also it includes an SD card reader.
