Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

iBoon or iBane? That’s what I intend to find out.

So far my ownership of an Apple iPad has been an uneven experience. It’s fun, fast and full of cool apps that do things I never knew needed to be done. But despite the rumor that it’s the best way to experience the web, it doesn’t play Flash, so the enjoyment of many websites is limited.

And I’m frustrated because I haven’t found a convenient way to upload a few hundred images.

The recommended procedure is to sync photos via iTunes. But unless I’m misreading the specs, iTunes creates a second database of images that’s equal in size to the original, essentially robbing me of hard drive space on my host computer. Here’s what Apple’s website says:

How much hard drive space do I need to sync my photos?
You need to have about as much free space on your hard drive as the size of your collection of photos. iTunes constructs a photo database on your hard drive in order to make photo syncing fast when you add new photos in the future.

I ordered the Camera Connection Kit ($29), which includes an SDHC slot and USB interface. I’ll let you know how that works out.

I plan to chronicle my iPad experiences here on my Shutterbug blog, and explore how photographers might use this potentially potent tool. I sincerely hope that you do the same by offering comments that relate your personal experiences. —Jon Sienkiewicz