Tested with a macbook pro and a mac mini server, each sharing the iTunes library to a first generation iPad.
Requires:
- shared local wifi connection
- ios 4.3 device
- iTunes 10.2 or greater on a Mac or PC
- An AppleID
A. Enable Home Sharing in iTunes on primary iTunes machine(s)
-- In iTunes menu .. Advanced->Turn on home sharing.. enter AppleID when prompted
B. Tap into the Home Sharing from the iPad
-- Settings->iPod->Home Sharing.. enter the identical AppleID used on the Home Sharing machine when prompted
C. In the iPod app on the iPad
-- Tap the "Library" icon in the list of available media. A "Home Sharing" panel appears which allows switching from "My iPad" to any listed shared libraries.
Shared libraries automatically appear to iOS 4.3 devices when they are on the same wireless network, using the same AppleID credentials. The network setup is zero config for the user in other words.
In Pictures:
iPad Favs folder listing from library "My iPad", listing is from last sync, not from sharing.
Select a different shared library. Share names are based upon user login names for machine in question. "Doug Brethower" on macbook pro, "dougbrethower" on mac mini server.
Note in this case, a couple of music videos are now available in the iTunes share, that were not available from iPad syncing. Ritchie Blackmore's "Man on the Silver Mountain" and Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs"
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ritchie-blackmores-rainbow/id404206
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bridge-of-sighs/id263386585
It really works, and it really works slick.
Get the Find My iPhone app, install it on the iPad.
First time it opens, you will be prompted to sign up for the free version of Mobile Me if you are not already a Mobile Me subscriber. The current free version is dedicated simply to finding iDevices.
Then on a computer, login in to http://me.com and enter the Mobile Me credentials that apply to the device to be found.
Find My iPad, Searching
Find My iPad, Found
Find My iPad, Send Message
Find My iPad, Message Sent
What it looks and sounds like on the iPad. http://lakedata.net/index.php/eng/Apple/Find-My-iPhone
Multi-tasking on the iPad .. http://www.gilsmethod.com/multitask-ipad-ios42
ios 4.2 on iPad where did the screen orientation lock go? Double-tap home key, scroll to far left of bottom pane. See Multi-tasking link for more info.
PDF files, the Portable Document Format is a standard way to communicate electronically across platforms. The advantage is that documents render visibly the same on Windows, Apple, Linux and unix operating systems, with no additional software required. That makes the PDF format ideal for email communications, and document storage.
Creating PDF Files
In Mac OS X, creating a PDF is easy. From any application with print functionality, print to PDF is a button click that selects PDF format rather than sending the job to the printer.
PDF Print in OS X
Then the pdf file can be emailed as an attachment or stored for future reference.
iTunes
PDF capability is a well hidden feature in the latest releases of iTunes.
When e-Books became available for sale in the iTunes store, pdf storage came along for the ride. iTunes is a dead simple way to store and distribute pdf documents, especially onto mobile devices.
1. Print your content to PDF. I just re-discovered some excellent content by Martin Bauer. I might have even printed some of this stuff back in the day. If so, I would not begin to know which rathole of papers it is in. This time I simply Print to PDF, save it on my desktop with descriptive name of "Martin Bauer Content MMT Missing Link"
2. Drag and drop this PDF creation from desktop onto the iTunes icon. If Books was not already a listing in the left pane of the window along with Music, Movies, etc, it now appears.
PDF listing in iTunes Books
3. The file remains on the desktop, delete it, email it, whatever else needs done with it immediately.
4. The PDF file now syncs with iPhones, iPads, mobile devices in accordance with iTunes settings for the device.
PDF book shelf on iPad
5. Also, the PDF file may be restored to anywhere in the file system on demand. Drag and drop it from iTunes to the desired location.
I know how much everybody likes to buy printer ink and finely hammered out dead trees, but when you don't have the time or money, this can make a handy interim solution.
Bonus Feature
An added bonus, is that once in iTunes, the PDF document can be categorized using the same folder structures used to organize music collections. That way a single file can automagically appear in numerous folder locations as needed, without creating multiple copies or shuffling to and fro.
With that headline, and searching for a way to profile multiple iDevices, I started looking into it.
Could not find the older 2.1 version, figured 3.1 would be backwards compatible even though the download page specifically says it is for ios 4 devices.
Downloaded it here.. -- http://support.apple.com/kb/dl851
Discovered it is not compatible with iPad, that could have been accomplished with a little reading..
-- http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9184323/A_look_at_Apple_s_updated_iPhone_Configuration_Utility by Ryan Faas
-- http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-releases-iphone-configuration-utility-3-1/58435 by David Martin
Then no luck finding 2.1 on Apple site.
Fortunately, a Google search found 2.1 at:
-- http://mac.brothersoft.com/apple-iphone-configuration-utility-2.1-download.html
Then trying to launch the 2.1 version crashes instead of starting, quite reliably, arghh!
Hunted down and deleted the plist file in ~/Library
2.1 then launches.
Somehow, probably the magic of xml?, the test configuration profile that was set up in 3.1 is still there in 2.1 even with plist file removal.
Regardless, it all is working now.
Took a little while to iron out the details, but of course it works, and it works well. Not sure of the load on the server. But if loads get too high, easy enough to move to Podcast, QTSS formats, or increase Web server capacity.
http://webportalmaster.com/index.php/eng/eZ/Advanced/Embedding-iPad-Capable-Video-into-eZ-Publish
Another interesting way to serve video to the iPad is to simply create a directory structure at the Web server root, set the directory index listings to display, then browse straight to the desired content in the form of the original file.
Also interesting, grabbed this shot straight from the iPad device, no itunes sync required. Just use the image capture utility built into Snow Leopard.
Image Capture App for easy iPad screen shot transfers.
The bookshelf on the iPad starts off looking rather empty, just a "Winnie the Pooh" unless other books were previously downloaded in iTunes.
Stocking the Shelves
Project Gutenberg has about 30,000 titles, most of them free as in price and free as in freedom to use as you see fit. Google Books, at where else but books.google.com is another trove of epub titles.
Download a favorite in ePub format, drop the file on the iTunes icon on the dock. If not there already, a "Books" category will appear in the iTunes library, the book is available on the iPad after the next sync.
Huck Finn from gutenberg.org
Convert PDF to ePub
UPDATE - PDF files are now embraced in their original format within iTunes. No need to convert. Drag and drop any pdf file onto the iTunes icon on the dock. Boom it is in iTunes books folder. From there, rename, create subfolders, do what makes sense for your situation. These PDF docs can sync with mobile iDevices for access to text info on the go. END OF UPDATE
If, like me, you have information in pdf format scattered all over the place, this is a prime opportunity to make them more useful, and stock the shelves of your iPad at the same time. Simply convert the pdf files to epub format using calibre.
Converting pdf to epub is not strictly necessary to use them, just a nice way to flesh out the iBook shelf. Goodreader* will read pdf files and a whole lot more just fine without the need to convert anything to epub.* http://www.goodiware.com/goodreader.html
Print to PDF is standard in OS X, so it is easy to stock iBookshelves with information while saving the trees.
Calibre by Kovid Goyal
Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. Download it here.. http://calibre-ebook.com/download_osx
Install it and start it.
1. Drag a pdf file from finder and drop it on the calibre icon in the dock. This inserts the file into the calibre library.
-------2. Click the "Convert eBooks" icon at the top, be certain epub is listed as an output format, then clickOK to do the deed.
-------3. Next, select Save to Disk from the toolbar at the top.
The pdf file is saved with the author name serving as the top level folder structure.
Beneath that folder structure is the book name and an .epub file for the book.
Drag the .epub file to a running iTunes instance in the dock. The book appears immediately, with a nice cover page, in the Books library in iTunes. If a Books LIbrary is not already displayed, it is created by the drag and drop of an .epub file.
Just that simple.
iBooks Library - Shelf View
iBooks Library - List View
"I've used it to take notes at events, record interviews (one area in which it simply excels), write my articles and columns, and break the ice with nervous interviewees."
--Austin Leeds, Lowendmac.com
Don't know who Austin Leeds is, or where he goes to school, but nice of him to share his real world experiences. He is replacing a 10 year old powerbook with an iPod, so some "fan boy" would be expected. But he sticks to the facts and throws in some interesting analogy.
"..If computers were writing surfaces, desktops would be writing desks, laptops would be folding tables, the iPad would be a clipboard, and the iPod touch would be a reporter's notebook." -- emphasis mine
His article is the best real world practical, on the ground, rundown of iPad features and faults that I have seen to date. Hopefully the 3G models have started shipping so I can find out for myself soon. I had never thought about the speakers which he says are great, was pretty sure printing would be no problem and glad to see that confirmed. A nice informative rundown from a practical point of view.
Full Story..
http://lowendmac.com/reviews/10rev/ipad-here-to-stay.html
UPDATED
Make that TWO content producers..
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/ipad-dj-rana-sobhany/
Updated again
Soon to be too numerous to count, the iPad is a game changer.
Jason Seiler -- http://jasonseilerillustration.blogspot.com/2010/05/ilove-ipad.html
SketchBook Pro, yes that sketchbook pro -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro/id364253478?mt=8
Walt Mossberg review for the Wall Street Journal gives a low hype, good detailed view of what to expect from the iPad.
Using an iPad to accomplish as much of his tech as possible, he finds:
- the landscape keypad is useful enough, works great for email
- battery life while watching movies 11 hours plus
- HD video format is not compatible with screen resolution, black space or cropping are choices
- No tabbed browsing in Safari
- Speedy
- Can be used as digital picture frame
- Weather, clock, and stocks, popular iPhone apps are missing
- "by far the best implementation of the newspaper I have ever seen on a screen"
Writing long documents, and viewing flash videos were the two things that would make him pick up one of his notebooks, a lenovo or a mac.
Full article..
Which makes it perfect for many, if not most, business uses.
Apple took over music distribution, by innovating digital technology and giving people what they wanted, before people even knew they wanted it. They will now do the same thing for too many business uses to count.
Add walkie talkie capabilities to a note pad or clipboard. That way people need not run back and forth to exchange information. No papers to shuffle, lose or file. Just simple two way communications that anyone can use. Text, pictures, video, a digital paper trail. Any more would make it less powerful. People will realize soon enough, this is what they wanted all along.
We may get to see that paperless office soon. After twenty years of hype, it is about time.
Touch an album, review and play songs. Touch a toolbox, see all the tools in the box. Touch a tacklebox, see all your lures.
Instead of files and folders, viruses and firewalls, user accounts and all that stuff, just hand it out and let people use it for precisely defined needs. Just like iTunes, everything is already in place to make it happen, it was just waiting on the right tools combined with the right designs.
Fancy display of inventory for a Walkie Talkie, Touch to drill deeper.
iPad widely disparaged by pundits as an oversized Touch.
http://aaplinvestors.net/stats/ipad/ipaddeathwatch/
The same crew who lambast every Apple innovation that simplifies users interfacing with digital tech. It is a bad thing, doomed to failure, when users can interface without humbling themselves.
iTunes would never work, the iPhone doomed to failure, the Touch a useless toy, the app store too self serving, now the iPad is not enough of this or that. How many billions of all that stuff will it take to convince them? Have they noticed the satisfaction ratings of these solutions versus old tech solutions?
The Paperless Office Then
The paperless office crew is stuck in a time warp. In twenty years they have failed to fulfill the original promise of office automation. They instead created legions of geeks and techies who exist solely to service the great and mighty facade that tech is difficult. And another legion who write about it. Bells and whistles proclaim the next step forward.
They fail to realize there are greater legions, users, who after two decades of waiting, now want something that works. We have had it with the hype. Tech nirvana is near, the next great thing coming soon. Maybe it has arrived, it is just buried in a mountain of features we don't use? Hire a complexity consultant to sort it out, or get simple tech.
The Paperless Office NOW
The oversized Touch is exactly the market Jobs and Apple target. 40 million or so tiny versions of this device and OS in circulation in the course of a few years. Kids with their Touches get it. They are already paperless. The trees thank them.
Us old timers with fat fingers and tired eyes may now enjoy the top feature of the Touch, simplicity. The tiny keypad and tiny screen are transformed into something anyone can use. Simple on the big screen is the Main Feature.
Apple, Yet Another Failed Product
Actually they now are proclaiming, finally, an Apple mistake.
Make no mistake. The iFlop will be the same dismal failure as iTunes. 10 billion served. Users flock to tech that combines simple with useful.
More..
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Some manufacturers see possibilities for a table style device. Maybe a few of these will be the loaded version that suits the bells and whistles mentality..
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/ipad-could-see-50-tablet-rivals-this-year/
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/hands-on-with-the-terrible-stantum-slate-pc