On 5/6/2012 3:41 PM, Robert wrote:
> I have numerous Apple products, but have just got serious with an
> iPad. I just got one yesterday and have some questions. I also have
> some Android products and there appears to be some big differences in
> capabilities.
>
> First, is there an app that is equivalent to Finder in OS X or
> Windows Explorer in Windows?
Not without jailbreaking the iPad -- the whole concept of "file
structure" that is important in OSX or Windows or Linux is not part of
the iPad design. The files for each app on the iPad are stored in a
specific area of storage for that app, and the only way to have more
than one app look at the same file is to "send to" the other app, in
which case your iPad will now have 2 copies of that same file, and edits
done in one app won't show up in the other app unless/until you "send
to" that file again.
My guess is that Steve Jobs, for all his wisdom, didn't quite foresee
the huge number of users that would be trying to use the iPad in place
of a computer and therefore he didn't allow the operating system nor the
app designs to work like their counterparts on more traditional computers.
>
> Second, it looks like file transfers are either done through iTunes
> (haven't tried), the cloud (such as Sugarsync or Dropbox or iCloud),
> or through a WIFI-type app such as USB Disk. Is there an app or a
> way for my iPad to just show up as a drive if I plug it into the USB
> port without using iTunes?
>
See the answer I gave above -- none of the iPad's storage shows up "as a
drive." Unless you jailbreak the iPad, that is. I haven't done it, I'm
only passing along what I recall reading in previous threads on this issue.
> Third, I notice that I can tap the screen and the document or webpage
> will increase slightly in size. I can pinch out to make it even
> bigger, but then I have to scroll side to side to read the document.
> Is there a way around this?
>
Around what? If you make the document bigger, the amount shown in the
display will by definition be smaller than the virtual page it's a part
of, which will require scrolling. On some apps you can change the font
size and in that case it re-pages the file, but zooming in on the
display will necessitate scrolling to see that which has been pushed
off-screen.
> Perhaps jailbreaking will solve most of these issues? This iPad 2
> has iOS 5.1. I will probably take it back and "upgrade" to the new
> iPad if I keep it. Is there a way to jailbreak 5.1 yet? I don't
> care if it is a tethered jailbreak or not. When I had an iPhone, it
> was a LOT more useful jailbroken.
>
It sounds as if the same will be true for you once you've jailbroken the
iPad.
--
David H. Bailey
dhbailey@davidbaileymusicstudio.com
