A Small Present

[ffutures]

I was expecting to get my retirement present on Thursday but to my surprise they did it today. Fortunately I'd written a speech of sorts over the weekend, so I just about managed to stay coherent.

The main thing they gave me was a rather nice 16gb iPad which I'm assuming is the latest model - I don't actually know how to find this out from the diagnostic screen but it has a retina screen (which is lovely and clear) so I'm pretty pleased. Just charging and registering it now. At some point I think I will want to get a cover / keyboard, any recommendations that won't break the bank? And are there any must-have apps treat won't cost a packet?

The other present was a framed whole school staff photo, which I'd intended to order as a memento until I found out it cost twenty-odd quid. Fortunately I apparently mentioned it loudly enough that someone thought of buying it for me.

Anyway, the rest of the week will be a bit anticlimactic now, but it's a nice present to remember the school by, and with a bit of luck I'll eventually learn to type faster - this has taken me nearly twenty minutes!

Later: how do you get mouse-over text on an iPad? Xkcd ain't the same without it!

Comments

[ckd]

You don't. Go to m.xkcd.com to get a mobile-fied version with a "tap to show alt-text" option.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

OK, thanks!

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Lidl occasionally do a keyboard case which I'm using right now to type this comment, at about half the price of the regular articles.

I use DocsToGo for writing, FTPOnTheGo to transfer files when I have to, and I've written and performed songs using Chordbot and Thumbjam or Seline Ultimate, all of which I recommend. With a 16Gb model I think you will find as I did that the issue rapidly becomes not cost but available space. Most apps are very reasonably priced at the moment, but you need to leave at least a gig clear for updates.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Those sound like really thoughtful gifts.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I'm well pleased - I just need to get used to typing on a screen and/or get a keyboard.

[johnreiher.livejournal.com]

So, it's time to start putting around in the garden, throwing rocks at the rabbits gnawing at your cabbages? Or will you be one of those "Let's get out there and grab life by the business end and squeeze it till it screams" types that jump out of planes, dive with sharks, and other bucket list madness?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Relax, clear my flat a lot and get some redecorating done, write more, etc. etc.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

He can't afford to relax yet, it's the last few days that are the most dangerous!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Well, tomorrow will be a bit hectic but after that hopefully I can get the last few things ready for my successor by Thursday.

[stevegreen.livejournal.com]

Nice to know you were so appreciated.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

It is - or they REALLY don't want me to come back for a long and protracted revenge...

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

I've got a 64 GB iPad, and I think they're up to 128 GB. Chances are you'll only fill it if you watch a lot of video on it, or read big textbooks with lots of embedded video. (My copy of Wilson's Life on Earth is around 2.5 GB and it's only half-written!)

I've been using a Logitech combination keyboard/cover. Attaches with a magnet, just like the Apple smart cover, and can also turn the iPad on/off like the smart cover if you want. Only 2-3 mm thick, very light, runs for a month on a charge even when I forget to turn it off. (Connects via Bluetooth.) Acts as a stand for the iPad, too.

http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/ultrathin-keyboard-cover

Anyway, I really like this keyboard.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yes, that looks like the sort of thing I want, most of the others I've seen look horribly clunky.

[armb.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, enjoy your retirement.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

48 hours to go, but thanks in anticipation.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

The best keyboard for the Retina iPad, bar none, is the Logitech ultra-thin keyboard cover. It has the same magnets-on-the-edge fastening as Apple's covers, but it's also a very nice bluetooth keyboard. Cost: £69, if I remember correctly.

EDIT: this is the same one that robertprior is recommending.

You'll want a neoprene sleeve to keep your iPad and keyboard-cover from getting dinged up; I'd recommend a Samsonite Airglow, but at £20 you might think it's a bit pricey.

Apps: it depends what you want to do, but Dropbox with a 2Gb account is free (file storage/syncing with your other machines), and the Dropbox iOS app is free. I'd recommend Documents to Go Premium Edition -- around £12 -- for Word/Excel/Powerpoint editing (premium edition supports Dropbox). Kindle app is free, as an alternative to iBooks; there's a great epub reader called Marvin (also free -- they charge for in-app purchase of different colour/font themes). Feedler for RSS feeds is free and good (£2 to upgrade to an ad-free version with bells and whistles). GoodReader is excellent for PDFs.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Dropbox is a good idea, I'm already using it on my laptop and main PC, but I'll have to try to remember my password etc.

Thanks for the other recs, documents to go is probably essential, and the free versions of the readers.

Apps

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

I confess I'm partial to Pages, but that's because I use Pages on my Mac, as my main word processor.

Safari for web browsing works OK for me, so never felt the need for another browser.

Flickr Studio if you want to browse Flickr, especially after Mayers' redesign. Lots faster on my iPad than the desktop version is on my MacPro (over the same connection).

Eyewitness if you want to see great photography from the Guardian. Wider Image ditto from Reuters.

I've been using Flipbook as a newsreader. There are probably better ones out there, and I'm not super-happy with it.

TPE (The Photographers Ephemeris) is cool if you take a lot of dusk/dawn pictures and want to plan for where the sun and/or moon will be on a given date.

If you want to keep up with science, Nature has an iPad-only subscription for $36 that gets you every weekly issue on your iPad. The disadvantage is that you _only_ get the iPad version, so you can't print the articles, or view them as a PDF (which is handy for graphs). I'm thinking I may drop my subscription to this level next year (after I've made certain I have electronic versions of my back issues saved on my computer). The new iPad Nature app is easy to use, and what I wish more iPad magazines looked like.

If you like airplanes, then X-Plane is worth checking out. Decent flight simulator and cheap.

BBC iPlayer to watch programs when you want to watch them.

NFB will let you do the same thing for NFB documentaries and shorts (National Film Board of Canada).

Beethoven 9 is a great app if you like the symphony, but it will take about 5 GB of your memory.

NFB Pixstop if you want to make stop-motion animations. Free app, works quite well.

Re: Apps

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Forgot to say thanks for these recs.