I wanted to get this post up on my new site that goes with the new thing I’m working on but CSS is kicking my arse and it looks hackneyed. So I decided to post it here and when the site is live, I’ll move it over there…

It’s no secret, I’m a sucker for all things Apple. I have an iPhone (and have had one since they first came out), a MacBook Pro, a Mac Mini that’s hooked up to my TV (along with a Roku box and AppleTV), an old G4 iBook, an iMac and the most recent edition to my little Apple family is my iPad. And I’ve named it “Crow.” Yes. I name my gadgets.

So, Crow and I have been together since Christmas 2010 when my dad, my technology pusher, gave it to me as a gift. This past week my husband gave me an Apple wireless keyboard so I can type faster on Crow. It’s not like the on-screen keyboard is bad or anything, I just lose about 40 WPM off my normal typing speed and my thoughts don’t get translated directly when I write on it.

In the few days I’ve had the keyboard bluetooth’ed to Crow, I’ve written the majority of an ebook. It was so easy and helped me focus so well that I decided that I’d write and design the entire ebook on Crow (that’s my iPad if you’re still confused).

So here’s what I’m using:

• Apple iPad Tablet (32GB, Wi-Fi)*
• Apple Wireless Keyboard*
• Apple Pages app
• iWork.com Beta to store/share/backup my work
• Adobe Ideas app
• PhotoShop Express app
• Pogo Sketch stylus (Burnt Orange)*
• Cheap picture stand from the craft store (until I get my iRest)

And here’s how I’ve been using each one:

I sketch some ideas and created the main title graphic as well as various illustrations for my ebook using Adobe Ideas. You can draw with your finger or a stylus which is what I use. Color selection is limited to the “themes” you can build using photographs (this is my favorite feature).

This app is free, but you can buy Layers for $4.99. These work like layers in most graphics programs.

You can save images as pdfs and email them or save them to your iPad’s photo album.

Then I take the sketches and open them in the PhotoShop Express app, which is also free. I can crop to my heart’s content and save those as well into my photos.

Now, writing in Pages on my iPad is a completely new and intimate experience. I tweeted this the other day and I do mean intimate. I can touch my document. Move things around with my fingers. Pinch to resize images I place in my document from Crow’s photo album. And since the iPad’s MO is single-focus, I’m not distracted or tempted to click away from what I’m working on.

Pages is $9.99. There are other word processors out there, and you could use Google Docs if you wanted, but they don’t have the layout capabilities that Pages does.

I can’t describe how giddy I am with this whole new way of creating. I don’t have to wait for programs to launch. I don’t have to worry about being distracted. I’m using my hands to interact with my creations instead of just a keyboard and mouse. I feel more creative using my iPad, and things just flow.

I’m sensing a whole new level of creative output for me… Keep an eye out for the product I’m launching soon on getting a grip on those hundreds of ideas floating around your head. I’m creating the ebook part of it entirely on my iPad. The graphics, the text, and the final PDF will not go through my MacBook Pro except to read it.

And that’s how I’m getting this shit done. Do you have an iPad? Or some other tablet that helps you get your shit done? What do you use? What do you find about this new way of computering?

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