These days, I find myself using my iPad more and more as my main computing device on the road. Some recent OS & app updates brought some killer improvements that have let me leave my laptop at home more often. Here’s my favorites these days:
Be social with the Twitter app – The official Twitter app runs in the background, and whenever you’re mentioned in a tweet or you get a direct message, a notification pops up. Just like a full-blown laptop, you can switch over to Twitter, reply, and then switch back over to your app, right where you left off. This was the biggest thing I was missing at conferences – I wanted to take notes or work on my blog, but get alerted when someone asked me a question on Twitter.
Give better presentations with Apple Keynote – This is the Apple equivalent of PowerPoint. It opens PowerPoint files, and when combined with the VGA dongle, it can display PowerPoint slides on a projector. Just like PowerPoint’s presenter view, you get a presenter view on your iPad too! There’s two serious drawbacks. First, writing slide decks from scratch in Keynote on an iPad is hell, and second, while the VGA dongle is plugged in, you can’t plug in the charger. This isn’t a dealbreaker given the iPad’s excellent battery life (usually 8-10 hours), but it’s a bummer. At conferences, I spend most of my time running around like a SQLChicken with my head cut off, but I present for at least an hour a day. That would be the perfect time for me to plug in and recharge the iPad, but no dice.
Read everything with GoodReader – this file viewer on steroids lets you read PDFs, Office documents, and much more, plus syncs with a file server, cloud server, FTP server, and even Google Docs! I keep all my reference material with me on the road so I can answer questions faster.
Sync thoughts with Elements – I’m old school, and I keep all my notes in text files. I use Elements as a text editor on my iPad, and it automatically syncs all my text files across my phone, laptops, and iPads via Dropbox, a free cloud file share service. Elements does one thing, and it does it extremely well.
Manage my blog with WordPress – the best blogging platform has an app for writing posts, doing quick fixes on the road, and moderating & responding to comments. It works on both iPads and iPhones, by the way.
My favorite other apps for traveling – I use Night Stand HD as a beautiful alarm clock while my iPad or iPhone is plugged in (and it never locks the screen), the free TripIt to track all my travel plans in one place, and Ambiance as a white noise generator.
My favorite games – I’m playing a lot of Angry Birds HD, Cut the Rope HD, Loops of Zen, Grand Theft Auto, Train Conductor 2, and The Incident. Most of those have free versions to try out, too.
My favorite iPad cases – Ladies in the audience, I probably have more bags than you have purses. I looove bags, and I’m not ashamed to say it – although I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve got more than a dozen laptop or iPad bags in rotation right now. Here’s my favorites:
- Small – iPad-only messenger bag – Booq Push – when I want to take only the iPad and nothing but the iPad. It’s extremely minimal, but the construction is just awesome. Top-notch quality. Leave your power charger behind, though, because the only thing you can bring with this is a USB cable, headphones, a VGA dongle, and airplane tickets. Available at Amazon. (But not Prime as of this writing.)
- Medium – iPad shoulder bag – Booq Taipan XS – slightly larger with pockets to bring chargers, a small digital camera, and more little goodies. Available at Amazon. (But not Prime as of this writing.)
- Large – iPad, DSLR, and more – Tamrac Rally 5 – I recently picked up a more serious digital camera and a couple of lenses, so this bag has become my leisure-trip carryon. It houses my iPad, Lumix GF1, lenses, chargers, and whatnot in a smaller case than a typical laptop bag. Tamrac makes a whole series of laptop + camera bags, including the Rally 7 for 15″ laptops plus DSLRs and lenses.
I know what you’re thinking, though. “Brent, I don’t have an iPad, and I don’t want to hear any more about your cool toys.” Well, I’ve got good news – make that great news. I happen to know somebody who’s giving away ten iPads plus software to monitor your SQL Servers just in time for the holidays. Watch this space!
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Great post – and some very useful suggestions on apps. I think I also have a very good idea who will be giving away the iPads 🙂 I will definitely be watching this space! The VMware stuff is what is luring me in for an iPad purchase.
Was holding off for a HP Slate, but I may have to look into an iPad. Love reading your stuff.
Ha! Thanks, sir!
Someone at our Charlotte SQL PASS Chapter meeting had a DODOcase. Have you seen one? It makes the iPad look like a fine hardbound journal. It was so impressive that Stacia Misner, our featured speaker for the evening, ordered her own. Check them out at http://www.DODOcase.com
Yeah, I think they’re really attractive, but I’m not too fond of iPad cases without shoulder straps. I’ve got a couple of folios and stands, but I find myself rarely using ’em. The DODOcase is gorgeous though.
I’m calling my shot. One of these days I WILL win an iPad. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But one day. And on that day, I shall re-read this post for app tips.
I’m heading to New York this weekend and seriously thinking about grabbing an iPad whilst there, under the guise that it will make me more productive 🙂 I’ve been totally lost since loosing my iTouch. Left it in the front seat pocket of a plane, doh! Apple “must” know when someone else uses a stolen device because of the reg code but whatever…
The iPad is cheaper in the US than over here in the UK and what with the 20% VAT rate coming in to effect next year too, now is the time to get your techie fix in people!
Hey Brent, nice article, although I am not an Apple fan. Do you think there’s any possibility that someone somewhere will develop an emulator to run MS SQL CE on iPad’s? maybe then I’d buy one 😀
Henrico – no, that won’t happen anytime soon, but I usually run SQL Server in a virtual environment anyway so that I can rapidly test new versions and third party apps without any compatibility issues. VMware has a client coming for the iPad, but in the meantime, I use LogMeIn, which lets me access my VMware hosts from anywhere. That way, I’ve got a full-blown lab with me at any time, including clustering, domain controllers, etc.
Brent – thanks for these. Already downloaded Night Stand and Ambiance. Those are gonna make travelling a little less clunky. Quick question – what about push notifications? Do you get woken up by Twitter mentions or NY Times updates, for example?
Jon – I turn off the sounds for most of my notifications, including Twitter. I figure if I’m not looking at the device, there’s nothing in those notifications that I need to know about right away. The only apps I have sound notifications enabled for are Continental and TripIt (for travel problems).
Tactical ipad… That is what Amstutz needs.. Sends email deflect bullets.. Might also be a hit in the Windy City!
Cheerz
Z
Here are two great apps:
– Flipboard [Facebook, twitter all things social]
– Evernote (syncs notes across all devices)
Merill – yeah, I like Flipboard a lot. It’s become my favorite user interface for Facebook. I keep hearing people rave about Evernote as a replacement for Microsoft OneNote, too. I’m a text file guy, but one of these days I’ll break down and give it a shot. I just hate having my notes tied into some kind of service that might go down or go under. I’ve been taking notes with text files since the early 1990s, and I’ve seen way too many companies go down in that time.
Yes, you should give it a try. Text files are good but when you need something richer that can store images with notes then your out of luck.
I love OneNote and the Windows Live online integration is awesome. The web view doesn’t work on Safari yet though, so no luck on the iPad.
Merrill, I have gone back and forth with OneNote, but the WindowsLive integration made it much more useful because I move between multiple computers, net book, and now iPad. I use MobileNoter to sync OneNote between my laptop and iPad…. And I love my DODOcase too!
some highlights I use my pad for and apps:
– displaying SSRS reports on the fly
– RDP access to address server issues
– Cisco VPN access to work and email
* Digitially Imported for music
* Netflix for movies
* SSH terminal for those linux machines
* Osmos HD
I have been watching the space from day one without anything updated who is giving away the iPad. Do you actually use one for work related DBA purposes? What app (Perfmon etc) work with iPad?
Yes, I use my iPad for work. It doesn’t run Windows, but if you like to remote desktop into your ore machines, like a development management server, it works great.
I’m announcing the giveaway on the blog this morning! Woohoo!