ipad | Genealogy Gems

Who Knew the iPad Could Do This?

by Lisa Cooke | Jan 9, 2013 | 01 What's New, images, iPad, Mobile, Video

If you got an iPad or tablet for Christmas, you may have spent a good deal of time playing angry birds and checking your email. (Come on, be honest!)

But, if you got a copy of my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse, then you have moved well beyond hurling squawking pudgy red birds at piles of wood, and you are now pivoting to your pad for nearly every area of your family history research.

But who knew that the iPad could do this?!!:

The iPad, PC and Android Phone Can All Play Nice for Genealogy

by Lisa Cooke | Nov 8, 2012 | 01 What's New, iPad

In my last post I shared Genealogy Gems Premium Member Cherie’s questions which revolved around using her iPad for Genealogy. I

balancing gadgets ipad tablet laptop phone sync

answered her first question about using Dropbox, and today I’ll answer her second question:

“How much confusion/trouble, etc., is there in working between a Windows platform on your computers, an Android platform on your phone (if that’s what you have), and an Apple platform on your iPad? My daughters are urging my to get the iPad, but everything else I work in is either Windows (computers) or Android (smartphone). Basically, I’m looking for comments from users of, especially, iOS and Windows. How easy is it to transfer and/or sync info between the two?”

I have the exact scenario Cherie describes: a PC, Android phone, and iPad. But it’s no problem!

Many apps are available across the various platforms. And as in my last post, Dropbox holds the key to super easy file sharing among your computing devices. I also have an iMac which I don’t use that often, because I personally prefer the PC. However, even though the iPad is an Apple product, it is a different, and easier, animal to deal with. In my book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse, I start you off by explaining the “tablet mindset,” which focuses on tasks and apps. Once you embrace that concept, the transition is a breeze.

By having Dropbox on your computer as well as the apps on your phone and tablet, you’ll be able to easily share all of your files between devices. Simply save the file to Dropbox on one device (and I recommend setting up various folders within Dropbox for further organization) and then open Dropbox on your other device and the file will be there waiting for you. And the real beauty of Dropbox is that if you alter the file on your tablet, as soon as you resave it the file will be synchronized through the Dropbox service and updated on all devices. You’ll never find yourself working on an outdated copy of a file again!

You can learn more about using Dropbox with your iPad in Chapter 7 and throughout my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse.

How to Transfer Photos to Your iPad

by Lisa Cooke | Nov 7, 2012 | 01 What's New, iPad

From the Genealogy Gems Mailbox:

I have 2 questions about using an iPad, although I think one of them applies to any tablet.

1) When you take photos how do you transfer them from your camera or phone onto your iPad?

2) And much more importantly, how much confusion/trouble, etc., is there in working between a Windows platform on your computers, an Android platform on your phone (if that’s what you have), and an Apple platform on your iPad? My daughters are urging my to get the iPad, but everything else I work in is either Windows (computers) or Android (smartphone). Basically, I’m looking for comments from users of, especially, iOS and Windows. How easy is it to transfer and/or sync info between the two?

Sincerely,
Cherie
Genealogy Gems Premium Member

Cherie, those are great questions, and ones that I am guessing many genealogists have! In this blog post I will tackle your first question:

1) When you take photos, and you want to transfer them from your camera or phone into your iPad the answer is simple: Dropbox.

Start by going to www.dropbox.com and taking just a few minutes to take the Dropbox tour at https://www.dropbox.com/tour. This gives you a quick overview of how it all works. Then sign up for a free account. Download Dropbox to your PC, and then install the free Dropbox app to your iPad, smart phone, etc.

Now that you’re all ready to go, when you snap a photo with your phone or iPad just upload it to Dropbox. You can then pick up the photo on any of your devices. Here’s how to do it:

Open the Dropbox app on your phone or tablet and press the UPLOADS tab from the tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
Press the plus sign
Tap the photos (or videos) you want to send to Dropbox from the photo gallery.
Press the UPLOAD button at the top of the screen.
The photo will be filed in Dropbox under the first letter of the name of the image.

(Good news for iPad users with iOS version 4.0 or higher – longer uploads will continue to transfer even after you exit the app.)

Stay tuned to this blog because I will be answering Cherie’s second question in my next post!

You can learn more about using Dropbox with your iPad in Chapter 7 and throughout my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse.

Using the iPad for Genealogy: Do You Need the 4th Generation iPad?

by Lisa Cooke | Oct 27, 2012 | 01 What's New, iPad

In all the hullabaloo about the iPad Mini, you may have missed hearing much about the new iPad that will be hitting stores Nov. 2. But if you picked up the “New iPad’ about 8 months ago, you may be wondering if you really need to be looking at the newest version. The answer is: it depends. Here are some question you can ask yourself to decide:

Do I need more speed?

Most people I’ve talked to are very happy with the speed of the the “iPad 2” and “New iPad” (#3). However, the next iPad will sport a A6 dual core processor with quad core graphics boasted to be twice as fast as the A5 in the previous version. So if you need speed, it’s definitely worth a look. (And the battery life is to remain at the current 10 hours.)

Am I going to upgrade to the iPhone 5?

It will sport the new smaller Lightning connector, and the new iPad will as well. In fact, you’ll be seeing the Lightning connector from now on. If you aren’t upgrading yet, just be aware that you’ll have to deal with two different cords if you upgrade your iPad.

Do I plan on spending a lot of time on Skype, Google Hangouts, or other video communications?

You’ll look your best if you make the switch thanks to the upgraded 1.2MP FaceTime HD front facing camera.

Still undecided? Here are a few more details on the 4th Generation iPad:

– 9.7-inch LED backlit multi-touch IPS Retina display (1024 x 1536 pixels)

– 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera

– 5MP iSight snapper

– iOS 6

– Lightning connector, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, 4G LTE

– 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable Li-poly battery

Use Your iPad for Genealogy

No matter which version of iPad you have, my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse will show you how to put it to work for all your genealogy needs!