Disruptive Technologies

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Jay Loomis – iPad, Yes!

I’ve been using an iPad to take notes and keep my life as paper free as possible for a couple years. I’ve used several different note taking apps together with .pdf readers, which has made it possible for me to avoid a lot of paper, and I can access all my notes whenever I have my iPad. It’s really practical and useful in so many different ways, from brousing, to writing papers, creating music, editing vids, blogging, etc. I use a Zagg keyboard which makes it easy to type (because I can’t type effectively on a touch screen). I think of my iPad as a mini computer with a touch screen – a much appreciated companion!

I first started using Paper 53 to take notes, and GoodReader to read .pdfs. For the past few semesters I’ve been using Good Notes to do both. I’m looking forward to checking out Evernote to see if it will even more convenient somehow – especially for scanning handwrittten notes, that sounds promising.

My main gripe about the iPad is: NO USB PORT. I understand that this is part of their business model, and it helps Apple make more money, but a USB would be really useful for extra storage and MIDI hook ups. There are adaptors, but a dedicated USB would be great – especially because my iPad only has 16G of storage, so I have to consolodate space on a regular basis.

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4 Comments

  1. The no USB port thing is a pain at times, but I could see how it could be a real limitation with the kind of work you do. There does seem to be a large number of audio packages available and I am always amazed that software we used to be hundreds of dollars for are under ten bucks on the iPad.

    • It’s true! I remember when any program would cost hundreds of dollars – that’s another thing I love about apps and the iPad: cheap but extremely useful software!

  2. Ahh yes, I once used the “Camera Connection Kit” to hook my MIDI keyboard into an iPad and it was magical. I was disappointed my iPhone 5 didn’t have the same ability. Actually I hear since iOS 7 it may work now though?

  3. I agree, It would be nice to be able to attach my bamboo tablet for drawing sometimes since it has a larger surface area.

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