Weblog of Mark Vaughn, and IT professional and vExpert specializing in Enterprise Architecture, virtualization, web architecture and general technology evangelism

Tag: Apple

VMware View client for the iPhone

Disclaimer: I am an avid VMware user and I work from a VMware View 5 desktop on a regular basis.

With that being said, I am still disappointed in VMware’s lack of a View Client for the iPhone. They have created a client for the iPad, with full PCoIP support. In fact, this is a very impressive client with creative solutions to the “touchscreen to mouse” problems when using an OS like Windows XP or Windows 7 that was not created for use on a touchscreen device. Using gestures and even a virtual trackpad, navigating a Windows desktop in this client is pretty intuitive.

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VMware has also released a similar client for Android, working on both Android tablets and phones. However, the iPad client WILL NOT WORK ON THE IPHONE! This is very frustrating. As I ask around within VMware, I regularly hear that there is no interest in the end-user community for an iPhone client. On that point, I have to disagree. I am not only an end-user that would love to have this client, but I regularly work with customers that are also asking for this feature. Look at almost any blog post written on the topic, and the comments will be full of people asking for VMware to provide an iPhone client.

With as much discussion as I see and hear for this, it escapes me why VMware thinks there is no interest. Is the iPhone the ideal format for accessing a VDI desktop, no. However, if you want “anywhere, anytime” access to your desktop, your smartphone is the one device you always have with you. I currently have to leave RDP enabled on my VDI desktop, which prohibits me from using some advanced PCoIP features. However, I do this to support the WYSE Pocket Cloud app on my iPhone, as that is the only way to access my desktop in a pinch. On several occasions, I have had to resort to this method for fulfilling quick requests or fixing issues prior to performing a demo.

Even if I am an anomaly, and no one else would ever use this feature, I am still surprised that VMware has not placed a higher priority on it. If nothing else, I would have thought this would be a marketing priority. Even if no one will use it, this is an item that VMware needs on the menu.

If you agree, or disagree, let me know. Hopefully, VMware is listening and will make the iPhone View client an early 2012 gift.

Issues with Synergy2 and OSX Lion

Almost two years ago, I published a blog post on using Synergy2 to share a single keyboard/mouse with multiple computers. At the time, I was using Windows XP, OSX 10.5 and SuSE Linux. (http://blog.mvaughn.us/2010/02/26/synergy-mac-windows-linux-get-along/). Scott Lowe also did a recent post on Synergy.

Over the holidays, Santa was nice enough to bring me a new iMac for video editing. However, since I am not totally getting rid of my old XP workstation that was my former video editing platform, this was really pushing my limits on desktop real estate. On days like today, when I am also using my work laptop, the three computers and keyboards were simply too much. Time to setup Synergy2.

However, this time I ran into some real issues with using my iMac as the Synergy server. The mouse was working fine on other desktops, but the keyboard was sending all commands to the iMac, regardless of what screen the mouse was on. I finally ran the Synergy2 server as root and all worked fine. That was not acceptable, I did not want this to run as root. However, that did narrow down the issues and I finally found the answer in this thread on a similar issue (Post #102 – http://code.google.com/p/synergy-plus/issues/detail?id=47).

To save you the time, you need to go into OSX “System Preferences” and select “Universal Access” in the upper right corner:

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Once there, check the box for “Enable access for assistive devices”

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After that, I could run the Synergy2 server as a non-root user and all of the keyboard issues went away. If you are experiencing a similar issue, I hope that this helps.

Read-Write NTFS on Mac

I recently added two new Macs to my collection, with OSX Lion. As with all of my Macs, one of the first things that I did was to add NTFS read/write support. It was a little different with Lion, so I put together a quick post for anyone else looking to do this.

First, go to http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/2010/09/ntfs-3g-for-mac-os-x-201088.html and follow the “NTFS-3G for Mac OS X 2010.8.8” link under the “Download” section to get the NTFS-3G files.

Next, open the “ntfs-3g-2010.8.8-macosx.dmg” file that you just downloaded

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Double-click “Install NTFS-3G”. Acknowledge the warning that comes up:

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Select “Continue”:

Select “Continue” to acknowledge the license:

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And then “Agree” to the license statement:

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Then click on “Install” to begin the installation:

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I always select “No Caching” here, as I use mostly USB devices for NTFS and occassionally forget to cleanly unmount them (oops):

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At the end of the installation, click on “Restart” to complete the install:

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Though it always worked well for me in Snow Leopard, NTFS-3G did not work in Lion…so there are a few more steps to complete this. For the time being, ignore these errors:

After the reboot, you will now need to download OSXFuse to replace MacFuse that came with NTFS-3G. To do that, go to http://osxfuse.github.com and click on the download link in the upper right hand corner to get the OSXFUSE-2.3.8.dmg file. Once complete, mount the dmg file:

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From here, click on “Install OSXFUSE 2.3”. The next several steps will look familiar from the NTFS-3G install. Click “Continue”:

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Click “Continue” again to acknowledge the license:

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Click “Agree” to accept the license:

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The first two install options should already be checked. Also check the “MacFUSE Compatibility Layer” box and click on “Continue”:

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Click “Install” one more time to begin the installation:

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OSXFUSE does not ask for a restart like NTFS-3G did, so you should be able to simply click “Close” at the end of the installation.

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You should now see “FUSE for OS X” and “NTFS-3G” in your System Preferences for OSX (on my MacBook Pro, OSXFUSE removed MacFUSE, but it did not on my iMac…odd)

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From here, I was able to mount NTFS volumes as read/write. To be safe, you may want to perform one more restart.

Now, this method worked and I have moved a LOT of data to and from USB mounted NTFS volumes, I do still get this error on occassion:

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However, in each case, the volume actually was mounted. If I have time, I will look into this further and post an update with anything that I find. Until then, I will just continue to ignore the message as it is not accurate.

This was definitely easier to setup in Snow Leopard than in Lion, though both reportedly have full NTFS support present but disabled. Hopefully Apple will enable this support in the native OS soon.

iPad as my primary device with Clamcase

I have often commented on how the iPad has changed the way I consume technology over the last 18 months. It has gone back and forth as my primary device, for a number of reasons. Battery life, size and functionality simply make it easy to use for extended periods of time. I have over 100 documents and technical books on my iPad, along with training/reference videos and other technical resources. I even use VMware’s View client for the iPad to access a Win7 desktop back in the office when I need to.

However, there has been one drawback. When I need to take a lot of notes in a short amount of time, the iPad keyboard is not very well suited for that. For a long time, I carried a ThinkOutside folding bluetooth keyboard that I had purchased years ago for an old Windows Mobile device. It worked, but it was a hassle to keep track of and I was constantly having to fix minor cracks and other battle damage from travels.

I was preparing to buy a case with keyboard built in, looking at one of the leather portfolio versions. Just as I was about to make that purchase, a friend of mine introduced me to the Clamcase case for iPad. It transforms the iPad into a small laptop, without limiting the overall functionality. I can use my iPad like a laptop, fold it half way back to use the case as a display stand, or fold the case all of the way back to simply use it as a tablet. The real test came last week, as I used it in all three roles while attending VMware’s VMWorld 2011 conference in Las Vegas.

As a VMware partner, I was entertaining clients at various event, speaking in sessions and attending partner briefings. As a blogger/writer, I was attending press conferences, documenting the many announcements, and judging in the Best of Show awards. I did not want to carry a big bag with my laptop and adapter cables all day, so I opted to carry only my iPad in a small messenger bag. It was great! I was able to sit and use my iPad like a laptop to take notes in sessions and press events. I could quickly review presentations prior to speaking events, and event use my iPad as a traditional tablet when walking the expo floor to review products for judging. If I need to, the iPad can easily be removed from the Clamcase for independent use, but I never found that to be necessary.

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This is the second incarnation of the Clamcase, adjusted slightly for the iPad 2. My only complaint is that it does not always sleep my iPad when I close the case. I think the foam pads, meant to protect the screen, are actually keeping the magnets from making the proper contact with edges of the iPad screen. It worked,  but was hit or miss on making proper contact. This was not a big deal, I simply turned my sleep timer back on and all is well.

The Clamcase has finally made it possible for me to truly use my iPad as my primary device. I now take it to all of my meetings with clients and rarely bring the laptop. If you are looking for a case/keyboard for your iPad, I strongly recommend taking a look at the Clamcase. Check out their site for more information on these great cases.

iPad vCenter Client

Had to throw out a quick comment on the new iPad vCenter Client from VMware.

For over a year now, VMware has offered the vCenter Mobile Access (vCMA) appliance. I have used it internally, but it has never caught on as well as I had thought. One drawback was the lack of SSL support, and that was fixed last week. Here are some quick screenshots of vCMA in action (these were on an iPad, it is really made to be viewed on a smaller PDA or phone screen, so some screens have excess whitespace):

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vCMA was a great tool, but it just got better. VMware has developed a new iPad vCenter Client that leverages the vCMA to provide an even better user interface. Like the vCMA, the iPad vCenter Client can only do about 50% of the standard functions available in the Windows vCenter Client, but they are now committed to growing this application and adding more functionality. From some of the pre-launch discussions I was able to be in, VMware is very excited about this tool and anxious to begin expanding it’s functionality. The iPad client connects through the vCMA, and I am not sure I will be exposing it to the internet any time soon. I only operate a lab, and the vCMA now has SSL support, but I have VPN access and will likely use that to allow vCMA to stay behind the firewall…for now. Here are some shots of the iPad client, and you can see how much it improves on the previous vCMA interface:

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As you can see in the images above (click on any to enlarge them), you can view the stats for ESXi hosts and for the VMs from the main screen. There is a small stats icon in the upper right corner of each VM’s image that will change its image form a banner representing the OS to a stats chart. Once you drill down to a VM, you can perform start/stop/suspend/restart functions, as well as restore snapshots. You can also view recent events, monitor stats and perform tests (ping and traceroute). Not bad for a convenient app you take with you on an iPad.

Steve Herrod, CTO at VMware, officially announced the iPad vCenter Client this morning, along with a link to this article on VMware’s CTO blog site.

Eric Siebert (virtualization guru and fellow vExpert) also wrote a great post on this at vSphere-Land. Be sure to follow the “full article” and “part 2” links at the bottom of the article to get more information and installation instructions.

As great as this client is, do not feel left out if you do not have an iPad (or if you use one of those inferior tablets…Aaron ;-), you can still use the vCMA from almost any mobile browser on a cell phone or tablet. Though the interface is not as refined, it will provide the same basic functionality.

iPad – The Business Use Review

In my initial post reviewing the iPad, I mentioned my struggle with deciding if I would use it for home or work. This was a surprise, because I did envision it being anything but a home media device. In the first 48 hours, I was surprised to see my thoughts on this changing. However, that introduced a new problem; to allow my family to use the iPad, I really needed to not have it syncing with my business Exchange account. I do not want to risk unwanted messages being accidentally sent from that account or, even worse, data being deleted. After 3 weeks of using the iPad, this post will cover what I have learned and how I plan to use it for work.

First, I never undock my laptop to carry it around for meetings anymore. It stays at my desk and my iPad goes to meetings. It has hundreds of pages of project documents stored on it, and can access SharePoint to gather more if needed. Add in a bluetooth keyboard and this is a great portable platform.

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When I am away from the office, I will either use just my iPad and iPhone to connect to WebEx meetings, or I will use the iPad to reference materials while I use my laptop for the WebEx or Live Meeting session (I wish Live Meeting worked with iPad).

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My iPad is viewing project docs, iPhone is on a conference call and laptop is connected to a Live Meeting session. The frozen lunch, that was a mistake 😉

In general, the iPad has not replaced my laptop. I am a “power user”, and simply have too many utilities to abandon a laptop at this point. However, it has replaced a large portion of what I used to rely on my laptop for, and it actually does a better job at most of those tasks. In truly fit the bill of being better than a laptop at some things, and better than an iPhone at some things. Convenience, UI, battery life and simple geek points aside, it is largely the apps that have moved this from a home media device to a work device, so let’s look at the apps I am using:

Let’s start with the native apps; Notes, Mail, Contacts and Calendar. You can find a lot of reviews on these apps, so I will be brief. The layout and usability of each of these apps is a huge improvement over the iPhone version. Notes was very easy to use, and I found myself using it to store all kinds of thoughts. The biggest drawback…no folders. To use it extensively, I would need to be able to better organize my notes into folders. Calendar is probably my favorite’ with it’s landscape format providing a complete view of my daily and weekly schedule. I found myself often leaving this open in landscape mode at my desk. As nice as the contacts/calendar/mail apps are, I am very used to these apps on my phone and will likely end up disabling them to make my iPad more family friendly. At the most, I may leave the calendar sync in place. However, if you use multiple email accounts on either the iPad or iPhone, I recommend iSignature to manage multiple email signatures.

Next, I will look at the apps that Apple should have included (and I imagine they will put back in future releases). I installed Pcalc Lite to make up for the missing calculator. I also installed Voice Memos to replace the missing voice recorder. These are not critical apps, but still very useful. I am hoping that the native versions of these apps were left off to allow time for Apple to retool them in a manner similar to the email and calendar apps. I would have preferred a simple native version up front, with improvements alter, but the makers of Pcalc Lite and Voice Memos picked up the ball (thank you).

As for Apple’s paid apps, iWorks was well worth the money. For those unfamiliar with iWorks, Pages is a word processor, Numbers is a spreadsheet app and Keynote is a presentation app. I can use Safari to connect to our corporate SharePoint server and open documents, then I get the “Open in…” dialogue in the upper right corner that will allow me to open word/excel/powerpoint documents for editing on my iPad. This same dialogue also exists for email and calendar attachments. This is a very nice interface, and I think the Numbers interface is very nice. In just a few minutes, I was able to use it to create a spreadsheet that took VMware cluster stats and calculated capacity based on an equation (may be a session at VMworld, but that’s another story). Though I have only used Keynote to view a few PowerPoint files, I have really enjoyed using Pages and Numbers. The iWorks suite was an immediate purchase for me, and may be what initially made me begin to see the iPad as much more than just a media device.

For me, the next apps that I added were the WordPress and Analytics Lite applications that I had used on the iPhone to manage my blog and check my Goggle stats. Analytics Lite is still an upscaled iPhone app, but the WordPress app was rewritten for the iPad. I wrote my initial iPad review on this app, and am writing this on it right now. I maintain multiple blogs, and this app allows me to easily manage my pages, posts and comments on all of these sites.

Another useful app that got a nice redesign was the YouTube application. Anyone at fails to see this as a business tool needs to seriously reconsider their definition of a business application. Companies like VMware have their own channels on YouTube, and provide a lot of educational videos to give in depth information on their products and services and to give insights into their technology direction. I have found this to be extremely valuable.

On the topic of social media, I have also found TweetDeck to be an extremely valuable app. This may also challenge your definition of a business tool, but I only use twitter for professional communications. The information I have learned from the people that I follow on Twitter has been invaluable at work. I have also been able to reach out for advice and get a range of quick responses to provide me with good input as I look to narrow down targets for further research. I would say this app is up and running on my iPad at work even more than the calendar app.

The next category is totally job specific, a set or tools I use in IT. This includes VNC Lite for connecting to my iMac and RDP Lite for connecting to workstations and servers. I also use Touch Term for establishing ssh sessions to my iMac or to other unix/Linux devices. And for personal connections (family and friends tech support calls), I use the LogMeIn app. As you can tell by the many “Lite” apps that I have already mentioned, I am adverse to paying much for apps. However, I did cough up the $29 for the LogMeIn app on the iPhone. This app had saved me several house calls, and I was very pleased to see it updated for the iPad. Not only was the iPad version free (an extension of the iPhone app I already owned, and not an entirely new app), but it also had some significant improvements to take advantage of the iPad improved screen size.

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LogMeIn app connected to my home PC.

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This is RDP Lite. Not as nice as LogMeIn, but free and better for direct connections.

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Quick ssh session with Touch Term.

Two other IT tools that I find useful for quick data lookups are DNS Lookups and Net Utility. Where the purpose of the DNS Lookups app should be pert obvious, the Net Utility allows me to perform network pings, port scans and whois lookups. Both of these are iPhone apps that upscale for the iPad, but these apps are not really visual anyway.

I have also found the improvements to the WebEx application to be very useful. This has allowed to multi-task and watch several presentations from other meetings (don’t tell my project managers). Even when at my desk, this allows me to put the meeting presentation on my iPad and free my computer screen up for…well, multi-tasking again.

Finally, I have saved my two most valuable apps for last. iSaveweb and GoodReader have not only provided business value, but they have eased my back pain. I removed a pile of papers and files from my backpack that was over 3 inches tall. This was several hundred pages, and is now all on my iPad for easy retrieval. I used iSaveweb to capture all of my web pages for offline reading. These were mostly articles that I wanted to read, though I had been carrying some of them over over a year. All of my documents and PDF files were placed in GoodReader. GoodReader not only organizes everything into folders and interfaces with my DropBox account, but it also indexes everything for searching. Both iSaveweb and GoodReader also provide interfaces for easily exposing their files shares on your network to upload and download files, though GoodReader can also share files in a number of other ways. If it’s web interface was a little nicer, it may replace iSaveweb altogether. Not only is GoodReader free, but it is likely the single most valuable business app for the iPad.

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Before GoodReader, I was carrying this three ring binder home every night and to most of my meetings during the day. I also had a stack of several hundred documents and articles in my backpack…all in GoodReader now.

I am still looking for a good app to take and organize notes in. GoodReader can take notes, but I am not blown away by that part of the app.

Overall, I hope is will give you a little information on the many ways that an iPad can provide you with business value. For the price, the many non-business uses, the long battery life and the amazing interface, finding these many business uses for the iPad was a pleasant surprise. In fact, I know several initial iPad purchasers that are seeing this value as well, and it may just drive some of us to buy a second iPad.

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iPad review

I will begin by admitting that I am an Apple fan. I do not own a modern Mac, but I own two iPhones and use an iMac at work (and am anxiously awaiting the release of the i5 MacBook Pro). I love the iPhone, and have found at it has almost replaced my home PC for e majority of my daily usage (email, web surfing, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc).

At home and work, my iPhone is a constant companion. So, when I heard rumors of the iPad, I was intrigued from the very beginning. However, I am skeptical and needed to know it would deliver on the promises…or at least have good reason to believe. I avoided pre-ordering and decided to instead reserve one at my local Apple store. That way, I could actually look at it in person before making the financial commitment, and still be guaranteed one should I want it.

To pull the trigger on this purchase, I needed the iPad to be exactly what Steve Jobs said it would be: positioned right in between the iPhone and a laptop, offering value and functionality that neither had. I wanted an easy user experience, high quality graphics, quality materials, long battery life and an improved user experience. I did not just want a bigger iPhone, I wanted something that would leverage the increased size to offer new features.

In the interest of full disclosure, when I went to the Apple store about 10am on April 3 (waiting to let the lines die down before I went), I was 97% sold. It would have taken an unpleasant surprise to make me chose not to pick up my reserved iPad.

I was planning to make this a new home media device, maybe even using it as a photo frame. It would be for my kids to play games like Smack Talk, for my wife and I to check email and social networking updates, and for ad hoc web browsing or book reading around the house. Although these would still be a great use for a second iPad, I quickly began to see that my initial iPad would be a business tool. I will do a follow up post on the iPad as a business tool, and stick to a simple review of the iPad for now.

First, when you open the box you are looking at what looks like a small MacBook Pro screen. You have a brushed aluminum body with a vivid glass screen and display. The picture quality is amazing. It boots fast, even from a cold boot. The new processor is a clear performance improvement over that of my iPhone 3Gs. I also found the weight and form factor to be pleasant, not too heavy or bulky and easy to carry.

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Yes, I was the geek that took his Apple Newton to the iPad launch

The new layout for mail, calendar, contacts and notes was very impressive, making good use of the increased screen real estate. The sound quality was actually a little better than I expected. Some of the upscaled iPhone apps like Facebook look grainy, while other upscaled apps like Brothers in Arms look pretty good. Then there are apps like Pandora and The Weather Channel that have been reworked for the iPad, and they look amazing.

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There has been a lot of buzz around the iPad as an eReader, and it lives up to the hype. iBooks look amazing and are very simple to download. You can also highlight words to open a selection box allowing for copy, search, dictionary look ups and bookmarks. You can drag your finger along the bottom of the book to quickly jump to any page in the book, swipe your finger to turn the pages, or use quick keys in the upper right to adjust font size and brightness or to perform a word search. Having used my PDA phone/iPhone as a Bible reader for over 4 years, I have found the ability to perform word searches in books to be a huge plus. You can also simply search for the word “free” in the iBooks bookstore and you will find thousands of free books. For most books, you can also download a free sample of the book that will include the first 30 pages or so.

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Typing in portrait mode is a true hunt and peck experience, but I have found the landscape keyboard to be very useful. In fact, I am typing this entire post from the WordPress app on my iPad. It only take s a few seconds to adjust to the keys, and a fee minutes to kick the poor habit of not watching what my pinky fingers are doing. At first, I had a tendency to let my pinky fingers rest on the keyboard and this generated a lot of unwanted keystrokes.

To make typing even better, Apple has finally embraced the HID protocol within bluetooth. HID, or Human Input Device, will allow a bluetooth keyboard to be paired to the iPad (and soon the iPhone wi OS4). I have an old ThinkOutside folding bluetooth keyboard that I used to use with my previous PDAs and Windows Mobile phones. This was the first thing I tested on my new iPad, and it worked perfectly. Though I am not using it now, it does make typing much easier. Another advantage of the bluetooth keyboard is that you get rid of the on-screen keyboard and regain that screen space.

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iPad with my folding bluetooth keyboard and a MiFi hotspot

For a case, I recommend the black folding portfolio case from Apple. Apple is simply calling this product e “iPad case”, and it folds back to make a stand. This can be used to either hold the iPad upright for display or at a slight angle to improve typing. I would strongly recommend this case. I also hope to add a screen protector soon, as finger smudges do tend to build up on the screen. I currently use the Power Support anti-glare film on my iPhones, and plan to buy one of these for my iPad as soon as it is available. I have found these to be very good at both reducing finger smudges and reducing glare outdoors.

For battery life, I have been very impressed. Even with bluetooth and wifi turned on all the time, and with a great deal of daily usage, I am getting two days out of each charge. Here is a link to a more deliberate battery test from Cali Lewis.

Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase. When I truly believe in something, I can be a pretty effective spokesperson. In the last week, I know of 4 people that have left a demo of my iPad and gone straight to the Apple store to buy one. My only challenge is how to balance this between being a home media device and a business tool…without having to buy a second one. In fact, the support for distinctive users would one of my few complaints.

I have been open with my likes, so I will be open with my dislikes. I wish that I could separate my content from that of other users. For now, if I want to share this with my family, I may have to stop syncing it with my work email. I cannot risk an accidental deletion or an errant email being sent from that account. Given that I am constantly tied to my iPhone with access to my work email, this may not be much of a sacrifice…but still an inconvenience. I would also like to see a common file store for all apps to place files in. All in all, those are my only two wishes. I have a few ore things that I would “like” to see, but I already know they are on the horizon with iPhone OS4.

I also chose the WiFi version of the iPad, without built in 3G. I could not stand to pay another monthly fee for internet service that was tied to one device. My thoughts were that I would either get a mobile hotspot like the Verizon MiFi or hope that Apple/AT&T will fulfill their promise to enable tethering on the iPhone. You can also jailbreak an iPhone to make it a mobile hotspot, but have always been very reluctant to do that with a device I rely on so heavily.

I will follow this post up with one on business uses for the iPad, and another on my favorite apps. For now, I will close this off and upload fit to my server. I will still use my computer to do a final review and to add some images. I can do that from this app, but I need to get this post completed. Maybe I will explore more of these new WordPress features in a follow up post.