iPad - I cannot believe this. The community should be aware.

[John Fligg]

Nothing to do with NT6 but I have just found out that if using an iPad the Browse button to upload images is disabled.

Googling shows me that the iPad does not and cannot support the upload of images directly. That is a MAJOR drawback of the iPad which I have always hated anyway.

My client tells me that the app recommended to get round this cannot be used as it will "jailbreak" the machine and she does not want to risk that.

Wow - I really cannot believe this limitation.

Just thought the community should be aware of this very serious drawback of ANY web app and the iPad.

Of course if anyone knows of a workaround I would welcome that.

John

[AZIS350]

John, the reason for this is due to security purposes. Apple is abiding by regulations in restricting the ability for photos to be uploaded to remote servers. It is not a drawback of the iPad but rather a reality of the world we live in. In fact they have been blamed at times for not providing enough security to prevent this from occurring.

From a developers standpoint, the iPad offers tremendous revenue opportunities. With somewhere around 70% of the tablet market at least in the U.S., it opens up a new income stream. We've made hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the iPad, so I'm rather a fan of the iPad!

[John Fligg]

Not that I wish to start an argument but why is the iPad the ONLY device with this restriction then?

Perhaps I had better cease all activity with NT6 and the like if my record keeping solutions cannot store diagnostic images on a Cloud server!!!!

I agree that the iPad is a good source of income but with all due respect, if the world is moving towards working "in the Cloud" then how on earth can we work if we cannot upload images???

It is not just my thought but that of apparently many people who find they cannot use common websites to upload CV's etc. using the iPad. It seems a nonsense.

My Dell allows me to upload images, my clients Galaxy Tablet does and many other makes do. And these are machines bought in the last 6 months.

I use Rackspace - so why do they not discourage me from uploading images?

Anyway this is not the place for an in depth discussion but at least I have raised the issue and others must make of it what they want I guess.

John

[AZIS350]

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/tk-ios-gives-developers-access-to-photos-videos-location/
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401067,00.asp

[bshields]

Hi

Frankly i dont buy the "security" argument because native iphone/ipad apps can access media and the camera (that link posted earlier refers to native iPad/iPhone app NOT webapp).

The problem is webapps require more glue to make this work. If you really want this feature use phonegap (phonegap.com) and wrap your webapp as a native iphone/ipad app and it will work.

Regards
Bill

[AZIS350]

Native apps can access media/camera only if they have been approved by Apple (not referring to non-approved apps requiring jailbreaking). So there is some accountability on the part of the native app developer in that case. I included the link because it does refer to native app's and the security concerns that have been brought about, and the California Attorney General had brought up. You can therefore appreciate the total lack of security allowing a web app to upload images anywhere the app wanted. No approval required, no accountability, etc. Visit the wrong web address and all your images get uploaded without your permission. Even Google recognizes this now and may take steps to tighten access. I"m not making a comment on whether it is right or wrong to invoke this type of security. I'm simply responding to a post that stated "That is a MAJOR drawback of the iPad which I have always hated anyway" and bringing to light some recent movements that partly explain the reason for the restrictions. Apple was responding to privacy concerns, and Google is now looking at the same situation. So everything has to be put into context here.

[Bruce]

>> Perhaps I had better cease all activity with NT6 and the like if my record keeping solutions cannot store diagnostic images on a Cloud server.

The leap from iPad to "cloud server" to NT6 is somewhat disingenuous.
Of course there are limitations as to what can be done by different bits of hardware. To suggest you should cease development because one bit of hardware has a limitation seems a tad like an over-reaction.

Yes, you can definitely make a native app on iOS that takes pictures and uploads them to a web site. And nothing precludes you making such an app work in conjunction with the rest of your web site. In the meantime I'm guessing there's at least _some_ other useful functionality you can offer your customers that are using iPads. and yes, staying on top of what tablets are available, and what they allow is going to become part of your job as you recommend which one is best for your customers' needs.

cheers
Bruce

[John Fligg]

Bruce - I would have thought you'd have realised my comment was very much tongue in cheek <g>

Of course I would not stop development of NT6 or any other software because of this issue.

I am telling my clients not to use the iPad if they want to upload images but use any other tablet device.We do recommend one in particular that we use. If they decide to ignore a known issue then that is their problem <g>

John