So I just updated my iWork apps and found the new iDisk integration to be pretty sweet. You can “copy from” and “copy to” iDisk, which opens a popover window allowing you to browse your iDisk.
Conversely, you can “Open In” from within iDisk itself into iWork apps.
Is this our file system?
With this and built in printing coming in iOS 4.2, I may finally retire Goodreader (my de facto file system) and replace it with iDisk. I may also retire Airsharing (which I use only for printing).
I’d still prefer to have something that feels a little more robustly integrated into the device itself. But perhaps that is coming…
EDIT: NOPE!! Just dug a little bit more into the iDisk app and it lacks even rudimentary file management tools. At the very least I need to be able to create folders, search for files, and cut/copy/paste docs from place to place within iDisk. i.e. The stuff you can do with Goodreader!!!
The iPad Alone 
Hi, I just bought my first iPad (am typing this message on it to you now and this is also my first forum comment with it too) and like you plan to use it as a replacement for my laptop. What I had been using on my iphone to back up my laptop files was a program called file app pro. There is a free version but the pay version has the ability to create folders, rename files, and move them. Have you tried it? It is also available for iPad.
Welcome to iPad land 🙂
I don’t know the app you mention, but goodreader offers great file system functionality (and it’s what I have been using). BUT I’d greatly prefer to use something more tightly baked into iOS, or at least more tightly knitted with Apple’s productivity docs. While other office suites currently seem to offer generally better features than do the iWork apps, and dropbox and others are currently better than iDisk, my hope is that Apple leapfrogs them all with something super compelling.
GoodReader is even better now with PDF annotations.
File system is still a sore spot for me as we’ve discussed in the past Anthony. Using the iPhone and the iPad – even with 4.1, I am surprised there is still no way to reply to an email and attach a document. You can only do this via 3rd party apps (and that doesn’t reply but create a new email).
And you have to use a 3rd party app and are limited to what files it hosts to what you can attach vs just using the mail.app which is native.
You would think that since Apple launched ping – they’d be more social networking “aware”. Why does the photo app not have the ability to directly upload to twitter or facebook? Why aren’t’ simple things like crop available natively? And for the love of all that is holy – why did they REMOVE the ability to send a photo with the actual fileNAME. Every time I send people photos they all have the same name.
Meanwhile, they make great strides and focus on things like HDR to improve imaging. Great. But I’d like some BASIC functions considered too.
/end rant
Try WebDAV with Dropbox or Box.net? The Dropbox app is much better than iDisk imo.
Thanks. I have indeed set up Dropbox and WebDAV. I’m still toying with the idea of going whole hog on this but feel it prudent to wait for the iOS 5 preview to see if Apple isn’t going to offer something better, presumably tied to MobileMe, etc.
I also found that sugarsync can be made to auto sync my entire docs folder on my household iMac. I can then in turn use the sugarsync app on the iPad (which can be set to store local copies) BUT they don’t offer WebDAV. Argh!!