What functionality of an iPad can I use with Ubuntu?

Solution 1:

You cannot even boot an iPad until you connect it to iTunes. Personally, I installed iTunes on a WinXP VM at work (with permission) to activate it; activation this way works fine.

WARNING: Do not attempt to upgrade iOS on the iPad from iTunes running on WinXP in a VM - it will fail half way through the process and leave the iPad in a state of limbo which requires a non-virtual WinXP + iTunes to rectify.

• You can install apps directly from the AppStore app on the iPad itself. This merely requires an iTunes account, which you must have in order to activate the iPad anyway.

• I've not personally had any luck transferring music or videos to the iPad (using libmobiledevice1 on Ubuntu 9.10).

  • You can use the iPad as a mass storage device, but since iPad apps don't seem to have a concept of "file-system" they will never see them. Even the VLC app (no longer available) can only play videos which have been "shared" with it via iTunes.

• I have not tried running iTunes in Wine myself, but Wine's website gave the Jan 27 2011 release a 'Gold' rating (cf. http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=1347)

(Oh, and I typed this on my iPad, so I guess it can at least do some things right. Although there's no way to type a backtick AFAICT)

Solution 2:

I have an iPad 2 and I only use Ubuntu. There are free apps with which I can download my media to my computer, and files that I need I can send to myself with my email.

You only need to connect your iPad with itunes once -- I do this in the Apple store. You can create your app-store acount in the iPad before that, or in the Apple store or in the itunes of someone else.

The only problem is that I don't have still music in the iPad.