A bit off topic ? iPad and PC world

Posted by Dr Andus
Jul 25, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Wojciech wrote:
>I am considering buying the new iPad device and use it mainly as storage for documents and notes I need to carry with me.

The iPad is not the first solution that would come to my mind if you want to use it as a storage device. You would probably be better off with some portable hard drive or flash drive. On the other hand if you want to be able to get work done while away from a PC, then it does offer some solutions.

>Here come a few questions: (1) what is the simplest way to transfer MS
>Word (doc and docs) and PDF documents to iPad, edit/comment on them, and transfer them
>back to my PC? I guess, most of these things can be done
>via Goggle Docs or using Evernote, but maybe there are other simple and productive
>ways?

The iPad is not exactly convenient for transferring files back and forth. It can be done, but usually involves several steps. The easiest solution I found was to have an initial transfer of all the files via the iTunes software on the PC using the USB cable or a WIFI connection. After that I simply use email to move new or modified files back and forth between my PC and iPad. All the main PDF readers and MS Office editors on iPad can export files and comments via email. Similarly, it only takes one click to import a PDF or Word file from my email. I do use Google Docs and DropBox (the free version) occasionally but I find that using email involves less steps and is quicker in the end.

The main problem with the incremental email method is the lack of synchronisation, as I do end up with a different set of files on the PC than on the iPad after a while. But this doesn’t bother me as I mainly use the iPad as a mobile device for working on one file at a time, and once I’m finished I send it back to the PC and use that as the main storage.