I have an ipad question about file sharing

[Eel O'Brian]

How do I share files between apps?  Like, for instance, sharing pdf and ebook files between different readers?  I know how to file transfer and import through itunes, but how do I make the same files available to multiple apps?

[Cormacaroni]

Dropbox is handy for this - you can choose which app to open stuff up in each time you dl. There is no file system in the OS though ( this was the original plan so it might appear later I guess - iOS4?). The dropbox app and service are both free btw.

[Cormacaroni]

sent you a pm about Direct Connect btw.

[Eel O'Brian]

cool, thank you

[Eel O'Brian]

So, now all of a sudden it takes forfuckingever to do a backup on itunes, literally one hour passed and the bar barely moved

searched around, tons of threads everywhere about the problem, and apparently it's because of the file import/sharing thing in itunes, and if you delete those apps the backup speeds up, but what's the fucking point in that

also, comiczeal no longer allows me to import comics from itunes anymore for some mysterious reason, they just won't show up in transfer at all

$600 for this goddamned thing that i've been fucking around with for over an hour trying to get the sync/backup to work right, when that crappy android tablet would take all of 2 minutes to drag and drop over 2 GB of files

if i can't figure out a way to get it to work without it taking hours then this thing is worthless to me

"it just works"  - what a load of horseshit

fuck apple

[Reb]

I used iTunes once, did the rest through the iPad.
Just drop the comics in Dropbox.

[Eel O'Brian]

consensus on the internet seems to be "don't ever back up your ipad" and i guess other than the hassle of restoring clean and reinstalling every app you had on it if something goes wrong, there's really no reason to

i love the hardware (still the best touchscreen i've ever used, and battery life is insane) but the itunes software flat-out sucks goat dick, no doubt about it - freezes often, and takes a goddamned eternity to do anything

it amazes me that apple has the balls to specifically market this thing to the technologically-challenged, everything they produce ends up having the same problems and frustrations as any other tech or software out there

[TakingBackSunday]

may be a dumb question, but...PC or mac?

[Eel O'Brian]

PC, but according to complaint threads i've read the ipad's eternal back up is an issue on either

[Reb]

consensus on the internet seems to be "don't ever back up your ipad" and i guess other than the hassle of restoring clean and reinstalling every app you had on it if something goes wrong, there's really no reason to

i love the hardware (still the best touchscreen i've ever used, and battery life is insane) but the itunes software flat-out sucks goat dick, no doubt about it - freezes often, and takes a goddamned eternity to do anything

it amazes me that apple has the balls to specifically market this thing to the technologically-challenged, everything they produce ends up having the same problems and frustrations as any other tech or software out there

I think your needs are too specific. If you just use it for web browsing, playing music, watching YouTube, etc its smooth sailing.

[Eel O'Brian]

I dunno, man, being able to smoothly transfer files and expecting a back up to take less than 4 hours doesn't seem like too much to ask of a $600 magical and revolutionary product.

[Reb]

I'm not saying it's ok, but I think the technologically-challenged will run into less troubles.

[Cormacaroni]

agree with Eel. It is only with the greatest reluctance that I have EVER booted up iTunes on Windows, and the iPad doesn't improve it in the least. The file sharing is primitive - you can't do anything with the files already ON the iPad, it doesn't tell you which applications are using the most space, etc. Literally all you can do is associate some files with some apps. Still an amazing product but it's very frustrating sometimes. Once you get the thing mostly filled up though, it becomes much less of a problem. I use iTunes maybe once a month for big file dumps, the rest is done by Dropbox.

[Eel O'Brian]

yeah, i'll probably just go with dropbox for most things, along with the occasional overnight itunes back up

[Van Cruncheon]

i have never used itunes for anything, it is all dropbox

[Eel O'Brian]

in other news, comics on ComicZeal look like your favorite actress's vagina on this thing, they almost pop 3D if it's a good scan

The DC and Marvel comics apps are too clunky and filled with useless extra "feature" crap

Cloudreaders is a great, free pdf reader

the extra screen space makes FPS games like NOVA and Brothers in Arms almost tolerable

CineXPlayer lets you load up AVI/Xvid movies and play them, and it's free, better go snatch it up before Apple decides to snatch it off

Netflix instant watch is just awesome

youtube continues t

also, i made a call from skype and felt like a jackass speaking into the top of the ipad

[Cormacaroni]

Yep, agreed on the looks. I've actually been giving away my old trade paperbacks - unless it is printed on quality paper stock, it just looks way better on iPad so no point keeping them. At this point, it's either free scans or expensive deluxe hardcovers for me, I think. I've bought a few things from the official stores (out of a vague sense of obligation to cast a vote for day-and-date digital comics) but the pricing is just stupid. When they get a good amount of stuff up every Wednesday at 99c, I'll buy more I guess.

[chronovore]

sent you a pm about Direct Connect btw.

Send me a PM with information as well; the Direct Connection term is baffling to me. I assumed it was some kind of codeword enabling homosexual hookups.

If you still have TPBs to pass out, I'll happily take some off your hands. I love TPBs and am not doing the digital comics thing yet, except in front of an actual PC.