To make sure you use your time wisely, consider making a daily to-do list and storing it on your iPad. That way you can glance at your daily tasks and avoid getting distracted. While you can create a to-do list with the Notes app, you might prefer a dedicated to-do list manager such as Things or Sorted, as shown in Figure 39-1.

Figure 39-1. Things makes it easy and fun to create and manage to-do lists.

Many people have released ebooks in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) that aren’t available in EPUB format. If you don’t like reading PDF files directly within the iBooks app, try a special PDF reader such as GoodReader or SimplyPDF. With either app, you can store and read all your PDF files as easily as you can read any ebook in iBooks, as shown in Figure 39-2.

Figure 39-2. GoodReader lets you read your favorite PDF ebooks.

If you have a Macintosh running Parallels (http://www.parallels.com/), you can run multiple operating systems such as Windows or Linux. If you download the free Parallels app, you’ll be able to remotely connect to your virtual machine. So if you have Windows running as a virtual machine on your Macintosh, just run the Parallels app on your iPad, make sure your iPad is connected to the Internet, and you’ll be able to remotely control your virtual machines on your Macintosh.

By accessing Parallels remotely, you can run Windows or Linux programs directly through your iPad.

Even if you love your iPad, it’s likely your company is still in the Dark Ages of computing—namely, using Windows computers. If those Windows computers use the Professional edition of Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7, you can remotely access and control those computers through the Remote Desktop app.

By using the Remote Desktop app, you can use Windows without having to touch an actual computer. Although you can’t run Windows directly on an iPad (not that you would want to), the Remote Desktop app gives you the next best option for using Windows over an Internet connection (which is the best way to use any Windows computer).

The Contacts app that comes with iPad is great for storing names, addresses, and phone numbers, but not so flexible if you need to store other types of information. For those who need a more versatile database, grab a copy of Bento. If you have Bento on your Macintosh, you can share databases, but even if you just get Bento for the iPad, you can create custom databases for storing any type of information you might need, as shown in Figure 39-3.

Figure 39-3. Bento gives you a simple database for storing information.

The Notes app that comes with iPad can be handy for typing notes, but if you need to sketch drawings, then consider PaperDesk or Penultimate. Both apps let you draw and save simple sketches, as shown in Figure 39-4.

Figure 39-4. PaperDesk lets you sketch and type notes.

No matter which type of iPad you have (WiFi only model or WiFi and 3G model), you may occasionally find yourself in places without Internet access, such as in an airplane. To prepare for such times without Internet access, use Offline Pages to store copies of your favorite web pages (when you do have Internet access) so you can view these pages later (when you don’t have Internet access).

If you’re familiar with the iPhone, you know that it comes with a free calculator app. Oddly enough, the iPad lacks this simple calculator app, so grab a free copy of PCalc Lite, which gives you a full-blown scientific calculator, as shown in Figure 39-5. Plenty of free alternative calculators are available in the App Store as well—just search for them!

Figure 39-5. PCalc Lite gives your iPad a calculator app.

Many of the top news sites provide their own unique (and free) apps specially designed for retrieving and displaying news on an iPad. By using one of these free apps with an Internet connection through your iPad, you can read world, sports, and financial news, as shown in Figure 39-6.

Figure 39-6. News apps let you choose the type of information you want to read.

If you want to know the local forecast, tap into the Weather Channel app. Not only can you see the forecast, but you can also view maps, track storms heading through your area, and watch videos of weather occurring in your area and other parts of the world, as shown in Figure 39-7.

Figure 39-7. Check your local weather conditions through the Weather Channel.

If you invest in the stock market, you may be interested in tracking your stock portfolio and keeping up with the latest financial news. Naturally, this requires an Internet connection to retrieve the latest financial information, but this app provides a list of the latest financial news headlines along with a list of your stocks so you can see how they’re doing throughout the day, as shown in Figure 39-8.

Figure 39-8. Bloomberg can keep you up-to-date on news from the financial markets.

For serious artists, grab a copy of Autodesk’s SketchBook Pro. Based on the computer version of SketchBook Pro, this app essentially turns the surface of your iPad into a canvas for drawing or painting with your finger, as shown in Figure 39-9.

Figure 39-9. SketchBook Pro turns the iPad into an artistic canvas.

If you like the idea of painting and drawing on your iPad but don’t want to spend any money, download the free Adobe Ideas drawing app. Instead of scribbling ideas on the back of a cocktail napkin, you can pull out your iPad, run Adobe Ideas, and start writing or drawing ideas, as shown in Figure 39-10.

After you’re done drawing or sketching an idea and decide you don’t need to save it, you can shake your iPad to clear the screen, like an Etch A Sketch. If you do want to save your pictures and use or edit them on your computer, just email the pictures to yourself and retrieve them off your computer.

Figure 39-10. Adobe Ideas lets you draw pictures on your iPad.

For kids or anyone who just enjoys creating simple drawings, get a free copy of Doodle Buddy, as shown in Figure 39-11. Besides letting you draw and paint by mimicking chalk or paintbrushes, this app also includes pre-drawn images that you can paste into your creations.

Figure 39-11. Doodle Buddy turns your iPad’s screen into a finger painting canvas.

The most obvious free app to download is iBooks, which gives you access to Apple’s iBookstore and lets you organize and read your ebooks. If you have a Kindle, download a free copy of the Kindle app so you can read all your Kindle ebooks on either your Kindle or your iPad.

For another alternative to Apple’s iBookstore, download a free copy of the Kobo app. Just like iBooks, Kobo organizes your ebooks and lets you shop online for more books. With so many options for reading ebooks on your iPad, you can choose what you like best.

If you subscribe to Netflix, download this free app, and you can watch streaming video directly on your iPad. Now you can watch your favorite movies without waiting for the mail to arrive, as shown in Figure 39-12.

Figure 39-12. Netflix can stream your favorite movies directly to your iPad.

Watching movies through Netflix can be nice, but if you want to watch your favorite ABC TV shows, then get the ABC Player app for free. With this app you can see what’s playing or stream episodes of your favorite shows and watch them on your iPad, as shown in Figure 39-13.

Figure 39-13. The ABC Player app lets you watch your favorite ABC shows on your iPad.

One way to keep yourself amused with your iPad is to sing along while listening to any songs you’ve stored on your iPad. Another way to amuse yourself with music is to create your own songs. Although it’s not always practical to carry around an electronic keyboard, it is possible to turn your iPad into a musical instrument with JamPad or Virtuoso, as shown in Figure 39-14.

Virtuoso can help you learn the notes on a keyboard while JamPad lets you play keyboards, guitar, or drums to develop your music skills, or just play sounds to keep yourself or your kids amused on a long car ride or plane trip. If the racket gets too annoying for others to hear, bring headphones or ear buds to restrict the noise you make to your own eardrums.

Figure 39-14. Virtuoso can teach you the notes so you can practice your keyboard skills.

No matter how large your music collection may get, chances are good you’ll want to listen to something different. To help you find songs from different artists that you might enjoy, download the Pandora app.

Pandora lets you type in the name of your favorite recording artist or song, and then it plays only those songs that are similar to your chosen artist or song. By doing this, Pandora can help you discover new recording artists and songs that you might never have heard before.