iPad as external storage?

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I currently have a MBP 17" 500GB @ 5200 , i5, 2.53ghz

I want to mainly use it to record. (Logic Pro/GarageBand)
I would like to keep my HD as clear as possible. I was considering buying an iPad since I browse the web a lot and send emails mostly. and using the iPad to store my iTunes library and iPhoto pics on it instead of on my MBP.
Would this work?

Im just not sure if after I transfer the music/pics over to the iPad and remove the music/pics from my MBP, after I connect it again to add some more music/pics, will it try to "sync" and ultimately delete everything on the iPad and leave it empty as my MBP?

Thanks in advance for the info. :D
 

bobtomay

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That is a distinct possibility.

On top of that, $700 for 64 GB of storage doesn't make a whole lot of sense when for $100 you could get 1,000 GB.

Beside that, bringing over the whole windows thing of keeping your system drive that clean is just not needed to keep a smooth running system with OS X.
 
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Not just to hold the music/pics. I will also use it to browse, email, cough*craigslist*cough lol

So, its not only to keep my MBP free of the extras, it will be used as a secondary web browser. The ability to hold the music/pics is a plus so that I dont keep them in my MBP.

Im considering this because apparently, the more info you have on your HD, the slower recording software(or other software for that matter) works slower. So, if im trying to record 6 tracks at a time, having a busy HD would hinder how smooth the recording software records on the HD as im using the program.

What do you think?

My question remains as to how the iPad holds music/pics. Does it rely on the MBP as the "host" of these files and when you transfer them to the iPad and delete them from the MBP, once you reconnect the iPad to the MBP will it want to sync with it? Thus deleting the music/pics from the iPad?
 

bobtomay

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Yes, your computer is the repository of the music, videos, pictures, etc. on the iPad.

Don't know where you're getting this info, but someone is way off base here, and I'm on the extreme end of those that recommend maintaining a large amount of free space on system partitions.

The more data (info) on your drive does not necessarily slow anything down if you maintain an appropriate amount of free space on the drive. Having 10% or less of your system partition with music on it, is not going to affect your other apps unless you're trying to listen to them while you're recording. Maintaining a 40-50% free space on the drive - means you could store 250-300 GB of data on that drive and not see any significant slow down caused by the lack of free space.

A "busy" hard drive has nothing to do with the amount of data stored on the drive.
Data being "stored" on the drive does not cause a "busy" hard drive.
Opening and running applications cause a drive that read from and write to the disk can cause a "busy" drive. So, if you have a bunch of other applications open and running simultaneously with your recording software then you might see some issues.

Let me also say, I really like the iPad. So, I'm not trying to convince you not to get one, but the reasoning you're espousing is not really valid at all.
 
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I was considering buying an iPad since I browse the web a lot and send emails mostly. and using the iPad to store my iTunes library and iPhoto pics on it instead of on my MBP.
Would this work?
Sure it will work... but how lucky are you?

If you would ever need to restore your iPad for whatever reason, you would lose everything.

If your iPad were to break and you needed to have it replaced, you would have no way of putting all your stuff back on the new one.

And when it comes time to replace the battery, Apple doesn't replace your battery, they exchange your iPad for another one (most likely a refurbished unit).

If you are really worried about it, you can back up your entire iTunes library to CD or DVD's and then clear out your computer's library. You could also store your "stuff" on a cloud like DropBox.

The bottom line is to have some other place for your irreplaceable stuff besides on your iPad alone.

The three rules of computing are, "Location, Location, Location." No wait, those are the three rules of real estate! The three rules for computing are, "Backup, Backup, Backup!"
 
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Gotcha... I had always read/heard that having a lot of info on your HD would slow down the ability for your recording software to write on your HD while recording live. Ill have to look it up again to verify.

1991-C4... Im assuming, Corvette? :) (soon to be Vette owner here)
I have a Seagate 320GB external HD, is it as easy as selecting the whole iTunes library and dragging it over to my Seagate drive? (im guessing make a folder for it first) So everything would be backed up on the Seagate.
When I purchased my MBP (and left my HP Laptop!), i took the iTunes music and put it on the Seagate. (looked messy) But when I grabbed the music and dragged it to iTunes it sorted everything out, which was great.

Again, I ask if I back up my music/pics to my external drive but also have it on an iPad, after having deleting everything on my MBP and I connect the iPad to it, will it delete everything on the iPad because of the "sync"? Will the sync process clear out the iTunes library and pics because my MBP will be empty?
 
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Yes, I do drive a 1991 Corvette coupé (when its not in storage... like it is now).

You don't have to sync anything from your MBP to your iPad if you don't want to! Other than backing up your stuff, the only other real reason to hook your iPad to your PC is to update the software.
 
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Nice... South Texas always has driving weather :D

Reason i ask is because every time i connect my iPod to my MBP it automatically goes to sync and doesn't ask if i want to sync. Thats why I'm afraid that if and when I get an iPad it will sync after I transfer everything out of the MBP and delete it causing the iTunes library and pics to delete by syncing.
 

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