I have been searching for a WebDAV compatible cloud storage service since I started playing with Pages on the iPad. 16 GB is plenty for storage if you’re only doing word processing and simple spreadsheets but since Apple gimped the iPad’s file manager (it’s non-existent), I had to resort to some Googling to finally settling on using Box.net.
<rant>
Apple’s iWork suite for iPad (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) natively support MobileMe’s iDisk function. But a MobileMe subscription costs $99! There are so many free cloud storage services nowadays that charging for $99 a year is just outrageous. If Dropbox can give me 2 GB for free with a dead easy sync app for every platform, why would I pay for MobileMe to get iDisk that’s supported by Apple devices only? That’s stupid, roll out free MobileMe or die.
</rant>
So if you’re like me and is unwilling to sync with iTunes to get at the files created on your iPad, here’s how to get WebDAV working with Box.net.
Server: http://box.net/dav
Username: your Box username
Password: your Box password
Done.
PS: Dropbox can be extended with WebDAV functions using a 3rd party called DropDAV. It works relatively well and is painless to setup, but I wrote this for Box because it had native WebDAV support. There is however a problem with Box, there is no Mac desktop client. Kind of silly if you think about it. So if you prefer Dropbox (I always have) then check out DropDAV.
The new iPad 2 technical specifications are out and it’s not half bad. The new Apple A5 system-on-chip is basically a dual-core ARM chip (CPU) paired with a better PowerVR chip (GPU), no RAM specification reveal but iFixit will have a teardown shortly after the March 11 US launch date.
I was hoping for a simultaneous worldwide release this year. At least Apple was able to set a target date for the 2nd batch. So the US gets iPad 2 on March 11, rest of the developed world (note: Canada, Japan, Europe Union) gets it on March 25. No target date for the Southeast Asian or Middle East regions yet. I assume there will be mass grey market shipments from Japan to other Asian countries and the Middle East can dip into the EU shipments earlier. Price premiums be damned.
There are some disapointments too. Where is the Retina Display? I guess IPS screens are still expensive and the amount of pixels that is required to power a “Retina Display” is not yet energy efficient enough. Same goes out to the Thunderbolt rumours. Having an direct input/output port on the iPad is not realistic yet, the controller Thunderbolt requires will probably make the iPad 2 twice as thick.
I do like the fact that Apple is making a new dock adapter that will output to HDMI. $39 is hefty for an adapter but the pro-HDMI haters can finally be quiet about it. The new “Smart Covers” are meh.
New free iPad-only apps include FaceTime, Photo Booth. Looks like FaceTime will finally switch to a different way of initiating calls. Too bad Apple is charging $0.99 for the Mac version.
iMovie for iPad and GarageBand for iPad are nice, if you need them. Is it me or does Apple seem to refuse to adopt universal binaries for their own apps? I would like to pay $4.99 for iMovie once and have it work on all iOS devices please. It appears that I was wrong, iMovie will be universal. Yay! GarageBand probably requires the screen real estate like Pages, Numbers and Keynote, therefore is iPad-only.
To be honest I am more excited about the fact that Random House is now on iBooks than the iPad 2 announcements. At least I have iOS 4.3 to look forward to come March 11.
Seriously. Zuckerberg called iPad a computer.
In-stat show some interesting statistics forecasting up until 2014. Basically in a nut shell: Desktop PC will continue to decline while notebooks and other mobile form factors begin to overtake.
For some reason they’re counting iPads as a mobile computer but not counting any other smartphones even though iPhone and iPod are just smaller siblings. I wonder how the bar graph will look when everything is added.