Yay, PDF on iPad! - Nature, here I come!

As I mentioned, the Safari browser on the iPad I tested in the store always crashed when trying to open a .pdf file from the nature.com website. Now I found out that the same problem doesn't occur on my iPad (strange...) but, honestly, I couldn't care less, since there is the great app Goodreader, which allows you to open and import files from an integrated browser and also from Safari. You just have to add a "g" in front of the URL and, voilá, it imports and opens the file in Goodreader. You can even access files from your Dropbox, Google Docs, Me or other cloud storages (couldn't find Ubuntu One ...). Tried .pdf files up to 150 MB and still worked.

 

The obstacle concerning contacts management I was able to circumvent using Ubuntu One to sync my contacts to a FREE webserver. I have to repeat FREE this time, since MobileMe costs 79,00 € per year and I think that difference is relevant.
Yay, now the only thing missing is my nature paper to illustrate all this functions with, but I will spend the next years working on that issue ;-)

More iPad Fun

Already having accumulated experience in cutting SIM cards as a Sharp phone user (Japanese phones use hyperSIM cards instead of SIM), I did not waste a second and made a nice microSIM for making 3G networking abilities working. You don't even need a template for that, since it is easy to guess how the microSIM should look like. Only had to look up my providers APN settings again to finish setup.

I had a really annoying experience when trying to organize my email contacts, since it is impossible to define groups on the iPad. Since I am using a trial account of MobileMe I thought "whatever, let's use that one" and met the next obstacle. The me.com website doesn't open under Linux. Gooooood, so Apple wants me to use a specific operating system in order to organize email contacts??? Did I mention how much you have to pay for a Me account? So I switched to Windows (need that for Indesign and friends) and - surprise - found out that Me doesn't work with Thunderbird. I mean, come on, Thunderbird. How exotic is that, eh? Sooo, opened the website (it supports Firefox??? What a feature!) made some nice groups and, wow, instantly they appear on my iPad. More to come :-p

What I need to become a great researcher #1

Now the path to the next scientific breakthrough has been laid! I got myself an iPad :-p Basically any gadget with a half eaten fruit on its back is essential for pursuiting any major scientific goals. Only the pdf support is an underwhelming experience since the safari browser crashed regularly when trying to open papers from nature.com. I hope they will be able to fix that issue.

The Apple Store Munich (where I had to buy it, because finding an iPad in my Town is still kinda difficult ...) has quite a picturesque location, eh? Directly at the Marienplatz; therefore, I just had to take a quick picture (using my Sharp Aquos phone, no fruits on the back :-p ). And, of course, a quick shot of the product that will be hopefully worth the journey.