No doubt some of you will have seen a comment I made in the Sneek Peek thread about getting an iPad.

Well I'm thinking of getting one (at least for a short while), but I've got some questions I'm hoping those of you who use these devices, can answer for me in serious, non argumentative fashion.  I'm all for a good laugh as long as the meat of the reply is genuine enough.  So like I said, I'm thinking of getting one, but it all depends as there are some prerequisites - and that is what I'm asking about here.

Question 1:
Often when I've been curious about a particular app, I've been able to Google it, which in turn leads to the App Store where I can read about it, but the problem is, it won't let me search for anything else without installing iTunes on my main computer.  I am not, repeat not, installing anything made by Apple on my main computer - especially iTunes.  So what would happen if I had an iPad, would I have to install iTunes or can I access the complete App Store without having to do that?  I'm assuming that iTunes is also for iApps as well, but I'm just making sure that it does and that it will work diorectly from the iPad over either Wi-Fi or Cellular - with no other computer involved.

Question 2:
Assumuing I can do what I said in Question 1, can I buy Apps by topping-up with an iTunes card from, say, a Superstore, and again without having to register the card to a desktop installation of iTunes?

Question 3:
I'm fully aware of the Pro-level audio-based Apps which companies like Akai, Korg, and Steinberg produce, so it would be nice to make use of those Apps on the move, when and wherever the fancy takes me.  Great stuff, however, I'm used to working with professional audio standards and I'm afraid 44.1 just isn't good enough.  I looked at Apple's website a while back and simply couldn't find anything in the specifications of iPad about the highest supported bit and sampling rate of the hardware.  It mentions codecs etc, but I'm not interested in that crap, I work uncompressed and therefore need to know the spec of the actual hardware, what are it's hardware limits?

Question 4:
In relation to Question 3, say the limit was 24/96, does that mean all audio Apps will run at that rate when I need it to?

Question 5:
When I buy an App, will I be able to backup the installation file for it?

Question 6:
Apple specify the storage in GB, but is all of this storage free or is it taken by iOS, and if it is taken by iOS, how much of it is taken?

Question 7:
I've often kept an eye on the resellable value of these devices, and while it's impressive, I couldn't help but notice that recently there are a lot of them being practically given away due to being ID locked or something.  I don't see how something can be locked to the point it cannot be reset, so what is that all about and what is causing those people to find themselves in those circumstances?  If you forget your password then surely the device can be reset as long as all the data is erased, so I don't get it.

Question 8:
If I decide to sell it on, is there a way to test that the device is no longer associated with your Apple ID, or do you simply have to trust that it has disassociated itself at your own request?

Question 9 :
Is there any Poser and Anime Studio Apps for iPad, meaning anything with the same purpose?

Question 10:
Is it true that Apple employ only the finest Asian Virgins to sculpt these iPads out of solid blocks of Aluminium?

So that's pretty much it, I really need to know these things, and I must stress that the audio thing is especially important to me cause if I end-up producing anything worthwhile on it with those lovely Apps, it needs to be at a good sampling rate, not wasting my time with 44.1, everything I do gets recorded to analogue in the end so I want as high as sample rate as possible.  Oh, and that reminds me, on the off-chance anyone here uses Sony 7506 Monitoring Headphones plugged directly into their iPad, how does it handle them, does it drive them perfectly fine, or does it make them sound weak?

Any help appreciated, and please play nice ;-)

Hi

For me an iPad is just a big iPhone, and i know what i'm talking i have a 6+ (and 3 Windows Phone and 2 Android). i'm sorry if i hurt somebody but Surface is the Queen, even better i run Poser 10 on my Vivotab Note 8 ;)

I just play with my room-mates ipad, she has a samsung too. I do all of my web activity on my android phone otherwise, my artmaking computer (mac) is offline and wireless disabled. She also has a windows desktop which I only use if absolutely necessary. So... can't really answer your questions.

Deep breath

If ipads were constructed out of fossil embedded amber carved by defiled Czech slave girls (bearing an uncanny resemblance to Aletta Ocean) suffering from pseudobulbar affective disorder... I might be inclined to buy one.

 I use my ipad for a combination of entertainment and work; were I store all my documents for when I travel for work and still able to communicate with the office via email or Skype. I also have music and games installed on it as well, and travel programs so I can locate transportation or use the city's local transportation in various countries. If I'm going on vacation, it pretty much replaces my laptop for basic usage.

You can buy gift cards for programs in it creates a credit on your account and you just use another card when you run out of credit. If you sell your ipad, you can wipe it.. if you install the findmyiphone program you can also remotely wipe it if you get it lost/stolen.

My job has a pilot program for switching over to surface pros for traveling, but I'll probably keep the laptop because the surface simply doesn't have the breadth of programs IOS has, so I would end up bringing my ipad anyway. Besides my work laptop as a Nvidia card in it so I can do material settings while I'm out of town, so I don't want to give that away ;) My job provides interactive services to tvs and mobile devices (including mobile streaming via SM video servers) and support IOS and Android, but not Microsoft because of their poor platform support. The things we can do with the other mobile devices, but just isn't there with Microsoft, though you'd think they would have gotten it together by now. 

Also if you get a surface, you will need to buy a size double what you need since MS takes about half the memory for itself; so a 32GB device would only have 16GB available, 64GB has around 32GB, etc. Hopefully Windows 10 handles memory much better. There's not any Poser-type apps for ipads since it's purpose is a mobile device and built for longer battery life. You could run 3d apps on a surface, but you probably would strain your eyes trying to looking at a small screen.  

I will answer these as best that I can as I'm currently on my IPad. Lol

Question 1. ITunes comes preinstalled, however I think you can remove it without adverse affects. 

#2 Probably, but I can't say for certain as I don't do any purchases on my iPad.

#3. I have no clue about that. Sorry. I don't seem have issues running stuff and game play is fairly quick even in this old machine. I guess that would depend on the specs of your iPad.

#4 can't answer that either. 

#5. You can reinstall any purchased apps as much as you need to and you can store stuff in the Cloud.

#6. I don't think the IOS uses that much space but high resolution photos do.

#7  Maybe on the newer ones but my aunt sent me the one I'm using now and it had no ID attached o it, but I'm sure if you know the password to your iCloud or have it set to an email account like hotmail or something, you can recover that.

#8  You can completely restore it to factory and your Apple ID remains yours.

#9. Don't think so but I can check and get back to you.

#10. This thing is pretty sturdy. Been dropped on multiple occasions and still works great!

I do use headphones but not Sony and the music is crystal clear for me. Keep in mind, my IPad is a generation 2 so it's a bit outdated. Sorry I couldn't help on #3 & 4. Maybe someone else will come along and answer that for you. 

Hope this helped.  Have a creative day!

FFS, this forum just ate a massive reply, must have taken me a bloody hour or more to write it - and man I feel sick :-(
Thanks all, for the responses, I'll have to reply tomorrow now, this damn forum!

OMFG ...

Yeah man, any serious writing you're gonna do on here, copy paste from a text editor. You know that. 

I know, and I usually do on big posts but it was one of those moments where you don't rememeber until you've already hit the button, and then it's too late.

Seems as if they're doing stuff with the forum, cause even just now it must have taken me around half an hour to even get this page.  For some reason it keeps cutting out and throwing-up blank pages most of the time.  I'll leave my post until later today.

I'm currently still looking into something but at least there's some good news, and it's probably just as well I lost my previous reply as a lot of it would be wasted now that I've found some stuff out, so anyway ...

@Anthanasius
I thought about the ASUS VivoTab, I do like it (a lot actually), but there are some major problems with it for me.  I heard Microsoft intend to drop the ability to use desktop programs on a tablets.  In a way I can see sense in that because I can imagine that programs designed for the desktop would be a pain in the arse to operate on a small touch device anyway.  It's cool that it can do it (ideal even), but for how long, and like I said, not very practical.  The other problem I have (the main problem) is the Windows OS itself, cause for some reason, the idea of using a Windows-based machine on the move in some parts of Europe, fills me with dread.

The reason I'm considering an iPad is because I'm planning a property hunting trip around Europe (looking for a small woodland or whatever), and while I know some of the countires I'll be visiting are favourable when it comes to crime statistics, there's a lot of uncertainty about the rest and there is no fixed route I intend to take, I really have no idea where I'll end up.  And fact is, I'm going to find myself in some of the darkest corners of Europe during my trip, and I don't fancy using a Windows-based machine in a cafe, connected to someone else's Wi-Fi.  Many internet cafes in some of those places are no-go zones for a mobile device unless you absolutely know how to protect it properly.  I just feel like I can trust Apple and an iPad more than I can trust Microsoft and Windows in a situation like that.  Then of course there's viruses and malware creeping into Windows that the iPads aren't effected by.

I intend for the trip to be perpetual until I find somewhere, and that means that eventually, the iPad will have to be trusted to transfer money and deal with all the legal crap that goes along with buying any form of property etc.  I just can't risk the little I have on something as flakey and insecure as Windows.  For some reason it just feels like I'd be asking for trouble if I travelled with a Windows-based machine.  Of course that could be absolute nonesense and the opposite could be true, but it's just a gut feeling, it's something I'd rather have the iPad for than a Windows or Android device (even though Apple screw-up a lot as well).

@Primorge
In the Balkan regions of Europe I think there are lots of Slave Girls, and a lot of the women there have looks like that girl you pointed out.
I'm guessing your eyes would be out on stalks if you saw some of them :-P

Those Czech girls have long been a major source of idyllic women we see on the web, on European Erotica sites etc, they're usually Czech or Russian.

@Male_M3dia
Thanks for that, and out of curiosity, how accurate is the geolocation system on an iPad?  If it's accurate to say a few meters or something, that would be pretty neat cause it means I'd be able to get geodata from the property agents and find the place myself, camp there, get a feel for the various locations etc without having an annoying agent following me around.  And do you know how much the iPad uses for iOS, does it come out of the storage?

@3DFineries
Wow, I didn't think you'd be speaking to me anymore, but thanks for the info - I appreciate it :-)

I still need to know about iTunes cards though, and whether I have to register it to a desktop computer, that's really important cause I won't do that.  I expect to be able to go into a Superstore, buy an iTunes card with cash, and then add that amount to my Apple ID which can then be used to buy Apps directly from the iPad.  The major BUT is that I MUST be able to do this without having to register a desktop installation of iTunes anywhere in the process, cause that's something I simply am not prepared to do.

Anyway, I suppose I can find that out from Apple easy enough, that's just basic stuff.  But some good news is about the audio.  I still don't know what spec of DAC it has on the headphones output, but I've read something about the iPad handling audio up to 384KHz, which is just nuts, I really wasn't expecting that - even 192 or 96 would have been perfectly acceptable.

Some other good news (and I'm pretty made up about this) is that the camera can capture in RAW both for stills and video.  That's pretty damn awesome, to have a camera that will capture RAW video at 24FPS is worth the double the price they're asking for it, though the App that does it will have to drop in price before I buy it, I'm not paying a hundred quid just for the app.  But yeah, wow, with RAW recording, if I can get good quality out of it in low light with careful lighting and exposure, it's actually better quality than the Canon I was after, and with the bonus of a built-in 9-inch video monitor!

Blimey, a lot has changed since I last looked into the camera, the app developers weren't even allowed access to manual video controls last time I looked.
Hmmm ...

Let me do that again ...
Hmmmmmmmmm ...

Insert A Big Cheesy Grin Here

@ pumeco

I use Itunes cards all the time to buy apps and music as I'm not comfy about leaving my credit card info on any store. I've never been able to enter a card number on my ipad to activate it. For that I have to use the itunes desktop app using your Apple id. Once the credit is in your account you can buy using that via the ipad app. So if you're traveling you should be able to put credits on your account by itunes cards and then redeem them via the ipad. For this to work your ipad has to be "paired" with your ID and the PC . Each apple device typically has to be authorized via the main itunes app to do this according to my experience.  BUT Before giving up you might want to talk to someone at your local Apple Store, or check with Apple's tech support. There might be a way to circumvent it for purchases.

Backups and upgrades also go WAY more smoothly if done while the device is connected to itunes on a PC. I know you can do wifi backups and that a PC will recognize an Ipad as an external hard drive. I've gotten photos off that way. But I've never done a full backup.

I've found the geo locating functions to be VERY accurate- at least in the US. It will pin point me to the exact location. Also I can pinpoint the location of my iphone or ipad to the spot with the "Find my ipad" app. Now I've never taken my US bought ipad to Europe so I have no idea if there are any international restrictions like you see with DVD regions etc. I've treid buying apps from the UK app store and have been denied access because it's a US based ipad. So you need to look into that before taking it on a long trip.

My ipad is a crucial part of my graphics art workflow. It holds my vast collection of reference materials ( photos, anatomy text books, software texts and turorials etc.) I also use it for sketching concepts  using a Wacom Intuos Creative Sylus 2. I also use several of the Adobe Apps ( I confess I am a slave and yes I have tried ALL the free alternatives and they don't work for me ;-) ) and  Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro. 

Am I happy with itunes? Heck no. It is slow and my desktop is no slouch. It's even worse after the recent upgrade where they added all that Apple Streaming BS ( which I won't use). But it's a necessary evil to get the benefits of using my ipad to the best of it's abilities and it's playback is still better on my PC than Windows Media player.

I've never had an android based tablet, but that might be a better option. There's some nice ones out there and a ton of apps. I DID have a Microsoft Surface for a little while but I sold it after 6 months. It was slow and a LOT harder to get my photo collection on it than my ipad.  More importantly it was one too many Windows devices to deal with ( one desktop and one laptop is enough!)

Hope this helps

@3DFineries
Wow, I didn't think you'd be speaking to me anymore, but thanks for the info - I appreciate it :-)

I don't mind helping out when you're  being genuine and need help. I like this you well enough. And not a problem.  I help when I can.

1. As of iOS 5 or 6, iOS-based devices became first class citizens; i.e., they no longer required a host computer to be registered or to download content from ITMS.
2. You don't have to register the card.
3. I don't know but audio and video encoding/decoding are handled by specialized chips in most mobile devices the way GPUs handle graphics on desktop computers.
4. In the context of the above answer, application software is going to follow the hardware's capacity.
5. Someone who has iTunes installed on a desktop computer and syncs with their device has automatic backup. Remember that iOS devices aren't registered as USB Mass Storage devices so plugging one into a computer does not result in the device appearing on your desktop with an exposed filesystem, and even if they did the filesystem is not guaranteed to contain a single package for you to back up. 
6. The storage is shared. iOS takes up as much space as its developers deem necessary, and the iOS 8 update irritated a number of device owners whose storage wasn't large enough to accommodate both the update and their existing installed apps.
7. The firmware in iOS-based devices and Apple branded computers contain an anti-theft feature where the device can be registered with iCloud to a specific Apple ID. When this is done, the devices/computers periodically phone home when there's an active data connection and if the Apple server has the device's serial number listed as stolen, the device prompts for a (user-set) unlock code; after a limited number of failures, the device actually bricks its own firmware making it useless. One of the dirtiest scams being run is selling a used Mac laptop at deep discount, then when the purchaser later gets prompted for this unlock, the previous owner charges an exorbitant price to furnish it. 
8. Once you correctly log out of iTMS on your device, the user settings are gone. Also, you can make the device reset to factory settings. If you've registered your device with iCloud for antitheft, you will have to deactivate this at iCloud's website.
9. No, and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one. There are genuine limits on what a tablet can be expected to do compared to a desktop computer, no matter what startup CEOs say to get press coverage. ARM architecture was specifically designed to be low power consuming, not powerful and just as PNG didn't aim to replace JPEG, ARM doesn't aim to compete with desktop CPUs. Your desktop computer can render graphics competently and encode/decode multimedia using nothing more than CPU without slagging the OS; a mobile device depends very strongly on being able to pass off those number crunching tasks to specialized hardware and without it would be about as sophisticated as a Nintendo DS (which itself requires two ARMs to handle processing, I/O, video/audio and 3D rendering simultaneously).

My thoughts.

I have a Kindle fire hd ... It doesn't use iTunes (Amazon ... custom, a stable and virtually unhackable version of android)

No connection to Microsoft or Apple. Price is much better.  Heavy duty construction. And ... I had my computer hacked last week, while I've beenwaiting for my tech support guy to get back from vacation my Kindle has been my only computer and it hasn't let me down yet. 

As for programs like Poser etc. Only thing close is a sketch app that accompanies the latest version of Photoshop. I'd have to do more research though. One drawback mostly for me due to my visual impairment ... I don't always catch my typos or the auto complete errors.  Just to give you a little tid-bit of thought.

Boni

Found this for you: http://www.alienthink.com/posetool.html closest thing I have found to Poser.

Boni

@mjmdvm
Thanks for that, although what you wrote threw-up a new concern regards the apps.  When you mentioned Adobe apps you said you confess to being a slave but it's the only one you can use.  What do you mean by slave?  They haven't started that rental crap on apps now have they, like they do with the Creative Cloud?

I'm not sure what you meant by that.

On the plus side, I'm glad you mentioned the stylus you use, cause if you have any recommendations there, please go ahead, I'm very interested to know.  One of the things I'm looking forward to is practicing drawing on it, but I can't be doing with those idiotic fat-ended rubber things.  I saw a thin tip once, but it was a cheat cause it had a surround on it - so I didn't like that one.  I've seen some really impressive drawing apps on YouTube, it's just the stylus designs that piss me off, and I don't mind paying a fair price for it as long as it's usable and accurate with a thin tip.

I can imagine those idiotic fat-ended things would be like trying to write your name in the sand with your cock-end!

@Duane
Thanks for that, and thank god I don't have to install iTunes otherwise that really would have been it for the iPad.  Strange what you said about the power of these things though, I was really surprised to hear you say that.  When I think back to the desktop machine I used to run Poser 3 on, for example, it was just a single core 200MHz with 16MB RAM and a 2GB hard disk.  Compare that to an iPad Air 2 and there is no comparison, lol, it must be 50 times more powerful if the spec is anything to go by.  I can't imagine why an iPad would even break into a sweat running something like Poser 3, or hell, even Poser 10.

That said, I'm not into iPad hardware so I'm pretty clueless about how it all ticks (and Apple's website is no help either on some things).  One unfortunate thing I do know is that if I want to make use of those high sampling rates and the RAW video format, I'll need a large capacity or a way to offload footage.

@3DFineries
Sounds like I'd better behave myself then, but the problem is, if I do that, I might lose my reputation as a forum badboy, and I kinda like it ;-)

@Boni
Sorry to hear you got hacked, but if you're using a Windows machine, that's part of the deal, that's why I won't use Windows over Wi-Fi, it's bad enough over a direct connection - so screw that.  I agree, the Amazon Kindle is a great peice of kit, if fact I read it's more powerful than the iPad, but it's still Android even though Amazon havew customised it, and I have the same issue using Android over Wi-Fi as I do Windows, I just don't trust it.

Thanks for looking-up that app, and guess what, the reason that tool was designed is the very reason I want a Poser program on the iPad, so it's ideal really.  I want it so that I can create a model, pose it and morph it, and then take a screenshot of it.  Then load the screenshot into a painting app and use it as a tracing layer.  I'll definitely pick that up, though it's a shame Poser itself isn't on the iPad in some form.  Maybe SM are waiting for someone else to take their business, who knows.  BTW, I can't remember the name of it, but there's quite a sophisticated sculpting app as well, just like on a desktop, a bit like a baby Mudbox I think it was.

Anyway, not related (or maybe it is), but for some reason this song makes me think of my upcoming trip and iPad decisions :

The stranger sang a theme
From someone else's dream
The leaves bagan to fall
And no one spoke at all ...

The tree-lined avenue
Begins to fade from view
Drowning past regrets
In tea and cigarettes ...

I think it's telling me something ... (a truly beautiful track though) :

This app poses but doesn't morph. $7.00 US appropriate.

Boni

@Boni
True, but check this out (you can get it on Android as well as iOS):
Click Here for official site.

I don't know if it would work due to file formats, but it might be possible to load that model (or even a model exported from Poser) and sculpt or morph it in that app, then use it as a layer in whatever 2D painting app you use.   My today is dedicated to finding out about that bricking thing Duane mentioned, don't like the sound of that so I'll have to look into it.

Hi, as a Mac user since the early 90's here is my honest point of view on the IOS devices,

Go Android...!!

I love My MacBook and all of my serious CG Production Software is on the Mac OS with the notable exceptions of ; Iclone Pro( Win only) and natural Motion Endorphin(again win only). for these I use My Win7 PC.

For mobile devices I simply prefer the freedom and completely open nature of the

android OS.

I love having the option of getting any android Device and Rooting it to enable "super user" status and installing and custom android rom that I might desire.

I also like the often huge price differences between Android based and Apple hardware.

As far as running poser or some other CG App on a tablet,

I dont understand peoples obsession with doing this.

Tablets etc. are by definition consumption Devices.

Yes I have "Quick office Pro" on my Customized Kindle Fire and can knock out a simple power point presentation or edit some MS word docs, on the road in a pinch.

But for serious Creative graphics you still need a "real" Computer.

I understand that tablets are becoming more "powerful" 
But at what cost compared to a comparable laptop as far as CG/3D rendering with PBR engines and the like.

I dont see Tablets coming anywhere close to the performance of even the most basic off the shelf PC's & laptops and then there is the matter of the way we interact with tablets 

Yes I love that I can whip out my Samsung Galaxy Smartphone with one hand and check my Email with my thumb.

I however, shudder to think what it would be like trying to move keyframes in a spline graph editor or Dope sheet  using a touch screen device.

I understand that devices like the Surface tab from MS have attachable keyboards & mouse option for input.

But seriously before I throw $500 USD at a Surface tab  I would buy a USED slightly older gaming laptop  and have a graphics card capable of easily Running Blender Cycles,Daz Studio IRay etc etc.

Until these matters are addressed ,I dont See tablets Supplanting real computers for 
CG Creation. 

I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.5 tablet (latest model) and I use Photoshop, Autodesk Sketchbook, Corel Painter, and several other art apps for while I'm traveling back and fourth between the VA for therapy and home. I can work on texturing and or documents using (non-microsoft word apps that save in word formats). The GPS on it is great and the screen responds amazingly. The screen is very vibrant and the sound is awesome (I'm half deaf due being around a lot of rifle fire in Iraq). I can actually hear apps sound effects and music without having to turn the volume all the way up. I know this doesn't answer any of your questions but I did want you to know there are tons of options out there for you to look at.

OMG, pumeco was calling the Apple users iDiots for using iPads and now he is getting one as well so he must be an iDiot as well!!!
Dumbass!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl With Blade

@Wolf
You'll have to excuse Roxie and her little outburst, she's not been filled-in properly yet, so I'll do that after I've replied to you ;-)

I hear you, and to be honest my take on these devices has not changed, I still think they're a disaster waiting to happen but I need something light and as energy-efficient as possible for my trip.  I traveled with a nice light, Magnesium-bodied Sony VAIO some years ago and even that was a pain in the arse to carry around in a backpack.  I need something small but as powerful as possible cause it has to serve as my only means of computing and comminication wherever I find myself.  You mention the power of a gaming laptop, but seriously, that would totally go aginst what I need it for, I'd be better off with the VAIO.  Truth is I see the iPad as only a temporary measure (needs must) but as the thing is going to cost me a pretty penny, I thoroughly intend to have a play around with some of the Pro-level audio apps I've seen for it.  They're designed from the ground-up for an iPad so they're pretty awesome, I have to say.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in permanentyl owning one, and that just might happen, but even if I do end up keeping it I'll only ever use it for what it's good at, nothing else.  You'll see when I speak to Roxie in a moment, that I also have a spiteful reason for considering an iPad ;-)

At the end of the day I'll either take a liking to the thing or I won't, so I've set myself a maximum of £75 (maybe £100 at a push) to spend on apps, ones I've kept my eyes on for a long time.  l'll just have to see how it goes, I might not even buy one - but I need something smaller than a laptop, something that is as secure as possible and something that allows me to pursue my interests on the move - and the iPad appears to fit the bill better than the others.

@fictionalbookshelf
Wow, stay safe out there, sounds like you're not in an ideal position for relaxation!  Thanks for the info, again though, I thoroughly intend to make use of those apps I've had my eyes on for some time now, they really are very nice, well designed apps, but the problem is none of them are available on the Android platform - none of 'em :-(

To most people, the apps I have interest in would be completely boring, but here's the three main audio apps I'm wanting, cause with just these three apps, I can produce absolutely anything I want (to the quality any 'Pro-Studio' can):
Click Here for Droolworthy App 1
Click Here for Droolworthy App 2
Click Here for Droolworthy App 3

There's a lot of crap even for the iPad, but those three apps are by brands I've always known and worked with their gear, and that's clearly studio-grade stuff purpose designed for an iPad.  The problem is, none of those products are available on Android.  If they were, I'd at least give Android and it's devices a second look and see what i could do about securty on Android, but without them, the 'draw' just isn't there for me.

And now to deal with Roxie's little outburst ...

Roxie Wrote:
"OMG, pumeco was calling the Apple users iDiots for using iPads and now he is getting one as well so he must be an iDiot as well!!!
Dumbass!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl With Blade"

Ok Roxie, my sexy little sock-puppet, you can speak now, so tell me, did you read my initial post properly?
Yeah, you was asking about iPads!!!
Correct, but what did I put emphasis on, what did I say was especially important to me?
All that technical crap about audio sampling and bit rates!!!
Correct, and why did I say that was important?
Cause you want to record it to analogue???
Exacly, cause I intend to record any project I might do, to analogue - and what is that in my avatar, Roxie?
That is a Vinyl, and Vinyl is cool!!!
Right, vinyl is cool, and what is the biggest threat to Apple's music business?
Vinyl!!!
Exactly, so wouldn't it be totally sick and spiteful to produce something really cool entirely on an iPad but release it only on Cassette and Vinyl?
Hahaha, yeah, that's cool pumeco, I'm sorry for doubting you!!!
That's ok, Roxie, and remember what I said about pumeco always being one step ahead and always having an Ace to play.
Yeah, that's cool, but you're still a dumbass!!!
Ok, but look on the bright side, at least you'll be able to transfer yourself to the iPad and come on the trip with me!
OMFG, thankyou pumeco!!!
You're welcome, Roxie!

Insert My Usual Devilish Grin Here

@All
Been looking into that bricking thing, and like Duane said it's to do with using Apple's Cloud, so I'm not really concerned about that as I won't be using the cloud - although I still don't like the idea of it.  I read one article about it and it totally contradicted itself stating that they cannot be de-bricked even by Apple, and then went on to say an employee who sabotaged a device by reporting it stolen (therefore bricking the device), later decided to provide the password and therefore de-bricked it.

So, I'm still no wiser on that one, I mean can it or can't it be de-bricked if you remembered your password after bricking-it?

Anyway, looks like I'll have to sell my soul to the Devil (or rather a Devil), I'm not carrying a laptop around for possibly months on end, so I'll have to get the iPad.  The only choker now is the capacity, the greedy b@stards, the price difference just because of difference in capacity is way off, and so is charging another £100 just for a f@cking SIM slot.  So what I've decided to do is hold-off for a short while and see what gets announced at the next Apple Brainwashing Conference (AKA Keynote).

Knowing my luck, if I were to buy one now, they'll probably come along a week later and announce a new model with an SD card slot or something, so providing it's not too far off, I suppose I'd better wait and see what spec the next model has.  I've decided to get the iPad Air 2, so if I wait for the next model to be announced, it means it'll drop £100 in price, so even if the new model doesn't offer an SD slot, I'll still means I get an iPad Air 2 £100 cheaper if I wait, so it's best I do - I'm not made of money.

So, anyone know when the next Keynote is due?
Do they generally follow a routine in announcement times?

Have some good news and bad news.  The bad news is I just read through 26 pages of Apple hate due to a real showstopper:
Click Here for 26 official pages of hate (even on Apple's own website).

Glad I stumbled upon that, I mean that's all I need in the middle of nowhere, a cable I daren't bend, it would never survive life in a backpack :-(

But yup, that's 26 pages of complaints from as far back as 11-Feb-2013 right up to two days ago!  Apple still haven't fixed it, what a bunch of clowns, those cables are essential to usage of the device.  It's annoyed me enough it could well cost them the sale of a new iPad unless I can find one I know is relieable with a good reputation (but I shouldn't have to buy another).

The good news is that Android is suddently looking more appealing to me, especially after spotting this app (you have to admit it's pretty awersome):

Yup, that's me, right there in the middle;  I'm a sheep, but I'm the 'Black Sheep' or rather the 'Rebel Sheep' as I like to call myself these days :-D

Honestly, never thought I'd see the day when I bought one of these things, but needs must - need it for a trip.  I've had it a few days now, I understand how it works and thankfully have not needed a desktop iTunes installation (which is just as well cause it would have been promptly retuned had that been the case).  I managed to get some retro porn onto it easy enough, but I feel like I've hit a brick wall when it comes to music.  As I said before I even bought one, I will never buy music or video from Apple (only Apps), I will only ever pay for physical music and video (virtual is fine as long as it's free).

The problem is I can't seem to find out how to do that thing where you can add your physically purchased CD's to your Apple ID as purchases.  I know it's possible cause I heard it some years back in an Apple Keynote, but can't remember which one.  So how do I do that, how do I have my physically purchased CD's added to my account as if I'd purchased them from Apple, basically just for convenience - so that I can take some of my albums on the trip with me?

If anyone knows how to do that, please let me know, it's the only thing I've not been able to find out about.  I don't mean 'ripping' to iTunes, I mean to do it so that it actually registers as an album on my Apple account.  As for the iPad experience itself, so far I'm impressed (but already knew I would be).  The apps I purchased so far are every bit (and even better) than I thought they would be - so I'm happy so far.

I suppose only time will tell whether that Music Video I posted earlier in the thread, will be representative of an iPad purchase in the way I thought it might be!
Anyway, I'd love to know about that CD thing if anyone knows!

I see ... so it's like that is it? ... now that I've joined the dark side and got an iPad, no one is speaking to me!

Well that's just horrible, I need some music on my iPad and not one of you millions of millions of iThing users have told me how to register my CD's on my Apple account, so that's just sick!  Have to say, this whole Black Sheep lark isn't all it's cracked up to be if people discard you for owning an iPad - I feel disowned and all alone now.  The only person getting any use out of that iPad so far, is Roxie, she's literally taken over - she transfers herself on to it every day and uses iMPC PRO to make her beats!  She's even made a folder for herself called 'Roxie's Beats - KEEP OUT'.

She's having a heck of a lot more fun with it than I am, put it that way!

BTW, I notice that there is no way to search by price using the built-in iTunes app.  Was hoping to raid the iTunes music store for some free tracks to be going on with, but no, they don't even have free tracks on the entire store as far as I can tell.  And no, before anyone asks, I don't want a free U2 album.  Bit unfair that, actually, and I don't get it, I mean there are plenty of free apps and you can even search by paid or free, but not for music!

What happens with those who want to release something for free? ... Stupid iTunes!