iPad: The Missing Manual

iPad: The Missing Manual
by J. D. Biersdorfer

iPad: The Missing Manual
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Book Summary Information

Author: J. D. Biersdorfer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-06-08
ISBN: 1449387845
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Book Reviews of iPad: The Missing Manual

Book Review: Probably a waste of money, though there are some nuggets
Summary: 2 Stars

I've not been a huge fan of the missing manuals series. I wouldn't say I dislike them or think they are useless, but I'm just not the target audience. Odds are you may not be said target audience either.

Before continuing check:[...] odds are whatever you were hoping for from this book has been addressed by Apple's Supplied Manual.

So who is the target audience? I'm an IT professional, I work primarily on Linux servers and know painfully little about Windows desktop computers. I use a Mac for most of my work/day for the last ~3 years, and have yet to hit a real wall on Windows (though mostly I'd install Linux if it came to that). I bought the OS X missing manual for 10.5 and found a few nuggets of useful information which I mostly don't use because that isn't what I use the computer for anyway.

If this sounds somewhat familiar in theme, this book may be for your relatives, whom you help because compliance is quicker than resistance followed by compliance anyway. So, they have little incentive to look in the book ... so ... not them.

I've had my iPad for 2 very busy weeks at work and here is what I got out of the book:
- Google Maps: I was missing how to switch map view. Once i found that I didn't know what "traffic" was. This is covered in two paragraphs (maybe 1?).
- 3G & WiFi - turn off what you don't need to save power.
- Bluetooth headphones - make sure they are stereo.

What I felt was missing:
- keyboard shortcuts: for the external bluetooth keyboard ... that info is quick to google anyway, but ... why isn't it here?
- deeper information.

The iPad is an appliance, you are locked in and really there is not much freedom in how you use it. Given the competing devices don't exist (Samsung's Galaxy tablet was announced the week I'm writing this) and IOS 4.2 is apparently going to be the first version for iPad is due in November, not much is going to change here. The user interface is easy to use and Apple has made sure of this. Criticisms here are not with the (apparent) lack of a manual, which this book addresses, but with Apple's practices and frankly if that is what upsets you, you don't need help to drive this product, and likely you don't buy an Apple product.

So who would benefit from this title. My parents probably wouldn't. They got their first own computer about 2 years ago. There are occasional questions but they seem to actually try to work out solutions, so odds are they'd not have any show stoppers of problems. So, again, who would benefit:

If the person in question has never used an Apple computer proficiently, and they are likely to look up their question, this book is for them. Alternatively, if they've never used a computer and don't know the associated lingo, then they need to read (or at least attentively browse) the book cover to cover and they will be learn. Odds are they will enjoy the read, if they want to learn that is.

This book is a reference and as the title implies, it should have been in the box. But really it was, go to [...] I would estimate at least 80% overlap. This book is not bad. It is well written and organized, and tries to anticipate real world needs. This is obviously great, but ... I doubt that's worth their asking price. Also, significant portions are dedicated to Pages, Keynotes and Numbers, which are not installed on the iPad by default anyway.

Add to that, that IOS 4.2 and above will likely change a few of these things, and more importantly ADD features that weren't there, which means this book will be out of date before 2010 is over.

Summary of iPad: The Missing Manual

Apple's iPad is the perfect personal media center. It lets you search the Web with WiFi, helps you stay in touch with its built-in email application, and allows you to read books, magazines, and newspapers in full color. You can also play games, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, and create documents, layouts, and slideshows with iPad's iWork suite.

With iPad: The Missing Manual, learning how to use this new device is a snap. The clear step-by-step instructions, undocumented shortcuts, workarounds, and lots of practical timesaving advice help you learn each feature and application -- presented with the renowned Missing Manual wit and easy-to-read format.

  • Learn how to shop in the iPad's integrated, custom-designed bookstore
  • Use its full-color, large-screen eBook and ePeriodical reader
  • Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with the iWork "lite" productivity suite
  • Use iTunes to organize and manage media files
  • Get connected to the Web with built-in WiFi and the Safari browser
  • Orient yourself with the iPad's GPS and map technologies
  • Locate and download custom-built games
  • Use the iPad's built in email, calendar, and contact applications
  • Run any and all iPhone apps on the iPad
View Pictures on Your iPad
By J. D. Biersdorfer

To see the pictures you synced from your computer, tap the Photos icon on the iPad?s Home screen. Then tap the Photos button at the top of the screen to see your pictures in thumbnail view, filling the iPad screen in a grid. If you chose to copy over specific photo albums, tap the name of the album you want to look at. Mac syncers can also tap the Events, Faces, or Places button to see photos sorted in those categories, as page xx explains.

On the thumbnails screen, you can do several things:
  • Tap a photo thumbnail to see it full-size on the iPad screen.

  • Double-tap an open photo to magnify it.

  • Spread and pinch your fingers on-screen (those fancy moves described in Chapter 2) to zoom in and out of a photo. Drag your finger around on-screen to pan through a zoomed-in photo.

  • Flick your finger horizontally across the screen in either direction to scroll through your pictures at high speeds. You can show off your vacation photos really fast this way (your friends will thank you).

  • Rotate the iPad to have horizontal photos fill the width of the screen or to have vertical photos fill its height.

  • With a photo open, tap the iPad?s glass to display a strip of itsy-bitsy thumbnails of all the photos in the current album at the bottom of the screen. Tap or slide to a thumbnail to jump to a particular picture.

When you tap the ^ icon in the menu bar, you can set a photo as wallpaper, assign a picture to your iPad?s Contact?s program, send a pic to MobileMe, or start a photo slideshow. To get back to your library, tap the Photos or album-name button at the top of the screen.


Email Photos

If you want to share your photographic joy, you can email one or a bunch of pictures right from the Photos program:
  • One photo. To email the photo currently on-screen, tap the iPad?s glass to make the photo controls appear, and then tap the ^ icon in the upper-right corner. Tap the Email Photo button. The mail program attaches the photo to a new message, ready for you to address.

  • Multiple photos. To email a bunch of pictures at once, tap open the album containing the photos. Tap the ^ icon in the top-right corner and then tap the pictures you want to send (blue checkmarks appear in the corner of the thumbnails to show you?ve selected them). Tap the Email button to attach them to a new message. If you have a draft message in progress, tap the Copy button, then switch to the mail program, open your message, and hold down your finger until the Paste button appears. Tap it to paste in the pictures.

Delete Photos

You have two ways to delete photos from your iPad. If you synced photo albums from iTunes, connect the iPad to the computer, open iTunes, hit the Photos tab, and turn off the checkboxes by those albums. Click Apply and then Sync to ?unsync,? or remove, those pix from the iPad?s gallery.

If you have pictures in your Saved Photos album you want to ditch, you can delete a currently open picture by tapping the T icon and then tapping the Delete Photo button. To delete multiple pictures from the Saved Photos thumbnail view, tap the ^ icon, then tap the unwanted pictures to assign the Blue Checkmarks of Selection. Tap the small red Delete button on the top-left side of the menu bar. There?s a blue Cancel button on the other side of the menu bar if you change your mind.

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