Introduction

But as I sat there for a few hours, browsing the Internet, sending some emails, listening to my music, and collecting information for a book proposal I was writing, the battery on my laptop died. I’d gotten about three hours of work from the battery and was now looking at having to head to my office to finish what I was doing on the large, clunky desktop computer. Fighting the urge to get off the couch, I tried the onscreen keyboard on my mobile phone to send an email. It was frustrating. I’d been browsing a website with my phone’s web browser and squinting to find some answer to a technical question my dad had pitched to me, and I kept tapping the wrong link and launching the wrong page.

Longer battery life, larger onscreen keyboard, larger screen, web browsing, email...all of a sudden, the iPad was starting to sound like a very good solution. I’m a bit impulsive at times about new technology (to my wife’s dismay), so I placed my order and got one of the very first iPad tablets from the Apple Store (and still have it now, four years later). After just a few weeks, I was sold. The iPad was a game changer for me.

Jump forward four years and I cannot imagine getting through my daily activities without my iPad. I’ve continued to upgrade, and I’ve found new ways to use the additional processing power and iOS features to make my work and home life easier. Along the way, I’ve been forced by necessity to find new and interesting ways to get things done with my iPad—mainly because I try to resist turning to my MacBook Air laptop and Windows desktop computer. Wherever possible, I always try to reach for the iPad first.

This book’s origin came about because of my intense desire to avoid using a laptop or desktop computer. If I find a task that cannot be performed by my iPad, something that forces me to reach for the laptop or head to my office for the completely immobile desktop computer, I will eventually begin a focused search for a workaround—a solution that will let me transition that task to the tablet. Although I have a few tasks that are yet to be solved by the iPad, almost every task I’ve historically performed on my laptop or desktop computer is now done with my iPad. Where there’s a will, there’s a way...and this book is all about the “way.”

Friends, family members, and complete strangers...they’ve all stopped me over the years to ask me to show them some trick they’ve seen me do with my iPad. “How did you do that?” is a frequent question. “I didn’t know you could do that!” is a frequent response to my demo.

The iPad is great. If you have one, you know how enjoyable the little device can be. But I have a strong suspicion you’re not pushing your own iPad to its limits. There are likely some things you can do with that tablet that you’re not doing...or might not know can be done!

I’m hoping to surprise you throughout this book by showing you some ways to make that iPad earn back its price. If you can find just one or two tricks in this book that save you a few minutes (or even hours) of work a day or week, my job is done. The iPad is supposed to make the online experience more fun, less stressful...easier. If your iPad isn’t doing that, you’re reading the right book. Stick with me, and learn just how your iPad can become an indispensible tool for home and work. By the book’s end, it’s my hope that you’ll be looking at the tablet in your hands and calling it by a new name—Ultimate iPad.