1) Go here and download Handbrake for the Mac:

http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

2) Put a DVD into your Mac, launch Handbrake, choose "iPad" from Handbrake's presets. Rip the DVD.

3) Drag the resulting file to iTunes

4) Sync the movie to your iPad.

5) Repeat for each DVD you want to import. Expect to spend and hour or more per DVD.

To buy new movies, use iTunes to connect to the iTunes Store, find the movie you want and buy it. Download it to iTunes and sync with your iPad. Or, you use iTunes on the iPad to buy and download directly to the iPad. You can also download rentals, but rentals are deleted 24 hours after you start watching them.

The answer to all of your questions is "it depends".

If you downloaded the apps directly to your phone and used 3G rather than wifi, that would have used data. Many, but far from all, applications will connect to the Internet during use. If you are connected by wifi when that occurs, it will not use part of your data plan. Otherwise, it will.

With iOS 5, Apple introduced iMessages. iMessages are the same as text messages except they can only go to other iOS 5 users. iMessages will use your data plan. Text messages use the 3G connection and will not use your data plan. However, you either have to have a text messaging plan with your carrier or will be charged individually for them. The only way to tell iMessages from test messages is the color of the background in the Messages app. One is blue and other other is green.

FaceTime requires that both sides of the conversation are connected by wifi. Moreover, FaceTime requires that the wifi networks have a number of ports open. As a result, the time in which all factors are correctly aligned seem to be rather few.

Assuming that you are using a well-designed banking application -- and the one with which I am familiar are -- it will be secure to check your bank balance. If you are using MobileSafari to check your balance, that is just as secure as doing it from a computer.

Both of the last two posters seem unnecessarily hostile to the original poster. Both of you have had the opportunity to express your viewpoint. But, since that viewpoint does not appear to be particularly constructive to the original request for support, I'd like to ask both of you to please refrain from additional posts in this thread. Thank you for your cooperation.

I can't answer from a legal perspective, but since I am the recipient of many emails complaining about content on this site I do have some advice. Avoid writing a heavy-handed email. Just be very casual in a "I know you didn't mean for this to happen and it's really coincidental that it did" sort of way. I wouldn't bother asking for a disclaimer, but just for her to change the name. Even if you have a legal recourse, it will be time consuming and expensive to pursue it. So, don't even hint about it. Do everything you can to avoid the appearance of bullying her. I think you will have a lot more luck getting her to help because she is sorry to have caused you a problem then you will getting her to help because you have forced her to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump was a businessman before he started the Apprentice

Not a very good one. His companies filed for bankruptcy 4 times:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-filed-bankruptcy-times/story?id=13419250#.Tt5zQWDB994

He was lucky to be given his father's real estate development firm. That gave him a good headstart.

How many things did Steve Jobs touch that failed before he became a saint? I have more respect for someone who has failed over and over again and then succeeded than someone who got lucky.

Are you saying if your family gave you a job and wealth you would turn it down?

Exactly -- remember the Newton? Those afraid to fail are too timid to lead. I'm certain that Trump is more successful at this point than anyone on this message board.

I remember the Newton. Specifically, I remember that it was John Sculley's project and was developed after Jobs had been kicked out of Apple and had started NeXT Computer. At NeXT, Jobs led development of the NeXTSTEP operating system which was transformed into OS X when he returned to Apple. During his time away from Apple, Jobs also bought Pixar. After Jobs' return to Apple, NeXTSTEP/OS X was the basis of iOS which is used by iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Pixar was sold to Disney, making Jobs the single biggest shareholder in Disney.

Jobs did not come from a wealthy family. Quite the contrary. While he was a risk taker, he actually had very few failures in his career. Even when he failed in his battle with Sculley for control of Apple, Jobs turned it into one of the greatest successes ever. Trump was given his business. In the immortal words of Ann Richards (talking about George Bush), he was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. It seems you also believe that he hit a triple. In reality, he has repeatedly been tagged out when trying to steal bases. By the way, how much risk has Trump ever really taken? It's easy to gamble with other people's money. Failure meant sticking it to his investors, not ending up homeless.

I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the "American-made" Town and Country is manufactured in Windsor, Ontario.

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe reasonable snark was deleted. It was funny! Whatever, slow snark night I suppose.

Get used to it. I am tired of the non-stop meanness that goes on around here. I am going to be much more aggressive in combatting it. There is nothing "reasonable" about making fun of someone whose only offense was working very hard to do something nice for someone else.

Anonymous wrote:Who would have thought that the Brookdale Community College glee club would be so offended by another person's success.

Dude, did you just go off your meds or something? You just posted almost a page and a half of messages (with one other poster adding a couple). You totally sock puppeted with several replies to your own message. It's one thing to suggest Donald Trump has intellectual horsepower and make everyone thing you are crazy, but your behavior is now confirming the fact. Get a grip.

Anonymous wrote:
Let the talking heads interview Lada Gaga -- for debates I'd like two things 1) the intellectual horsepower to understand the issues they are asking about; 2) no obvious bias. Brian Williams fails on both accounts -- and he is considered the best in his business.

LOL. Intellectual horsepower:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/19/trump-stumbles-over-abortion-issue/

"Trump was asked if he believed there was a right to privacy in the Constitution... He responded, 'I guess there is, I guess there is... And why, just out of curiosity, why do you ask that question?'"

"When NBC's Savannah Guthrie wondered how that line of legal theory "squares" with his pro-life stance, Trump said, "Well, that's a pretty strange way of getting to pro-life. I mean, it's a very unique way of asking about pro-life. What does that have to do with privacy? How are you equating pro-life with privacy?"

"To answer Trump's question, the United States Supreme Court equated the right to privacy as grounds to legalize abortion in its controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade decision."

Maybe 1 horsepower. There are lawnmowers with more.

Someone keeps reporting posts in this thread and asking that I respond. However, I can't respond if you don't leave an email address.

I am very sorry for the losses suffered by both of the above posters. I didn't immediately respond to the original request because I wanted to give it some thought. I am generally reluctant to create new forums. However, it is very difficult not to acknowledge the need explained in the above posts. I will give it a little more thought.

I've been trying to diagnose this issue for a few weeks. Sometimes it seems related to the database and sometimes not. I keep tweaking database settings, but the problem always returns. The bottom line seems to simply be the number of users we have these days. Have you noticed how many people are using the forums when it gets slow? We will probably have to throw more hardware at it.

Children, children. Please try to get along. Remember, if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all.

Anonymous wrote:Probably not legally actionable, but if I were your attorney I would advise you not to do it. It looks malicious -- if whatever the atty complained about was in fact defamation, and then you escalate by publishing the document asking you to stop, it is not going to make you look good to a judge, and could be used as evidence of malice. It also might spur whoever to actually sue you.

If what they were complaining about were clearly defamatory, I would remove the post without question. In all likelihood, someone would have pointed the message out to me well before it reached that point and I would have removed it. I have no interest in seeing this site used to defame either people or businesses. The letters I am asking about deal with cases that are either not clear cut or clearly not defamatory.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe that people would actually hire attorneys because of posts on DC Urbanmom. ...

I'm guessing a lot of these letters come from lawyers who are friends/relatives of the people who are pissed off. The lawyers are writing as a favor. The whole point of having the lawyer write on letterhead is to intimidate in a way non-lawyers cannot. I get these kind of requests from friends and relatives fairly often. My firm prohibits me from doing this (because of possible malpractice and conflicts issues), so I usually turn them down.

It has been my impression that many of the letters are written as a favor. They seem to expect that at the first sign of legal letterhead I will be dancing to whatever tune they are calling. When that doesn't happen, I generally never hear from them again. I am also very surprised that people will immediately go the route of involving an attorney. I am very accessible and willing to discuss potentially defamatory posts in a reasonable and civil manner. But, the normal tone of these letters just makes me irritable. They end up being counterproductive.