It's really easy to skip over the scads of links your friends and others post to social networks each day, but Flipboard makes it easy to appreciate the myriad blog posts, news stories, and other sources thanks to its gorgeous news magazine design. Sync your social networking accounts (or just pick topics and feeds) and watch as Flipboard creates a magazine customized just for you.

With luck, you'll be able to perform all needed tasks on the iPad (or your Mac), but for those rare moments when you might need a Windows install handy, OnLive Desktop does the unthinkable: it puts a streaming, cloud-based Windows desktop on your iPad screen. The free service has notable limits, but if you like what you see, you can subscribe for way more features and better speeds.

The iPad excels at much more than consuming media, as evidenced by Paper by FiftyThree, the intuitive and beautifully designed sketch app that won Apple's top honors in 2012. The free app lets you create digital notebooks to fill with sketches, random missives, or stunning works of art -- whatever you want to fill them with. Premium add-ons enable optional features for power users.

Safari is a fine tablet browser, but those used to a bit more functionality from desktop browsers might want to seek out a third-party alternative. Chrome is the browser we keep coming back to on iPad, as Google's option shines with synced open tabs, bookmarks, and passwords from the desktop version, plus the search/URL omnibox is handy and Incognito browsing allows private surfing as desired.

Say all you want about a crisp, freshly printed comic book, but after using Comixology's Comics app, it's tough to go back to plastic bags and backing boards. With more than 30,000 books available, including same-day-as-print releases, discounted collections, and a rotating selection of free issues within (quality stuff, too), it's tempting to rekindle a lost love or simply go digital out of convenience.

Catching up on friends' various happenings is a breeze with the official Facebook app, which looks a fair bit like the current web interface but is a more comfortable fit for finger taps and swipes. Not only does the app make couch-based status updates a simple task, but you can easily snap photos within, chat with online pals, and catch links to the App Store versions of top Facebook games and apps.

Browsing Wikipedia can sometimes feel like falling into a black hole, as you click from link to intriguing link for long periods of time, so why not lay on the couch and do it on your iPad? Wikipanion for iPad makes it easy to enjoy the endless pursuit of information, especially with the contents listing in landscape view. Keep it handy for researching random TV references!

With Apple giving its built-in YouTube app the heave-ho in iOS 6, the company had to scramble to create a downloadable version, which is useable but unremarkable. Luckily, Jasmine - YouTube Client has stepped in to fill the role of a go-to YouTube viewer, with a free app packing a slick and uncluttered interface that rarely shows you more than you need to see while browsing.

Want to see the world without leaving your living room? The wonderful Google Earth app opens up the stunning sights of the planet for curious viewers on the iPad, letting you swipe around the planet and then dial down to view minute details of virtually anywhere. Whether you're planning prospective trips or simply want to see famous sights, Google Earth allows globetrotting with taps and swipes.

Sure, you can search up a storm in Safari or Chrome, but wouldn't you rather use something that really feels designed around the iPad's strengths? Izik is an intriguing newcomer that serves up its results in slick, scrollable rows, with each showing little blurbs with headlines and images. Even better, it sorts the results by category, making it a cinch to find exactly what you're seeking.

The large screens of the iPad and iPad mini make them perfect devices for reading, and Apple's own iBooks is our pick for the top storefront and reader platform on the App Store. Amazon's Kindle app is nearly as sharp, but iBooks lets you buy books and other materials directly within the app using your Apple account, and the reader interface nails the look and feel of its physical counterparts.

Sure, the iPad may not be the most portable digital camera replacement around, but the larger screen does make it a fantastic device for simple photo editing. Simply import your snapshots from another device and fire up the great Snapseed, which allows all manner of light tweaks, filters, and frames to be applied to digital photos with extremely minimal effort, though it can yield stellar results.

When used on an iPad, the official Twitter app finds a nice balance between the full-fledged browser version and the streamlined iPhone experience, making catching up on your timeline a total snap without it feeling cramped. From your tablet, you can tap out tweets and share photos, as well as follow a whole bunch of useful, life-enriching feeds -- like @Maclife!

You don't need to shell out a ton of cash to further your education. Apple's own iTunes U is a tremendous resource for lifelong learners, compiling free digital courses on a wide array of subjects presented by Stanford, Yale, MoMA, and other noted institutions. And if you are still in school, your professor can use the app to build experiences around lectures and other aspects of the course.

There's nothing quite like curling up with an iPad and reading a fantastic feature article, or catching up on the links you couldn't read during the week. Pocket (Formerly Read it Later) enables the act of saving web articles for another time, saving the text to its service via a browser or app and making it accessible from any device in an easy-to-read format. Don't blow off great stories; just read 'em later.

Don't let the name mislead you. Find My iPhone is every bit as functional and essential on the iPad, as Apple's should-be-built-in tool allows users to track down any missing or misplaced iOS device or Mac using another iOS device. For iOS 6 users, you can trigger Lost Mode when your iPad goes MIA, as it displays your phone number and prevents access while you track its movements.

While it requires a subscription for continued use (a free one-month trial is available for new members), Netflix is such an incredible entertainment resource for iPad owners. Held within are many thousands of films and TV episodes, all ready to be streamed to your screen via Wi-Fi or 3G/LTE. And with video-out support, you can use an AV adapter to run it directly on your television.

It's really saying something when an app that has the sole purpose of displaying one new photo per day is considered a go-to app. It's to the credit of The Guardian Eyewitness that it's captured our attention since it debuted alongside the iPad launch, as its daily photo selection is rarely short of breathtaking, making it the kind of app you'll want to crowd family and friends around to share.

What's so cool about Zeebox is the way it serves as a constant companion for your TV experience, which makes perfect sense as your iPad will likely be within reach. More than a mere digital take on TV listings, Zeebox includes a constant stream of tweets and comments that act like a constant commentary when friends aren't nearby, plus it shows you what's hot and trending on the tube.

If you use your iPad for jotting down thoughts, keeping notes in class, or anything else that requires storing text, be sure to snag Evernote. The cloud-based resource offers not only a slick note-taking interface, but also the ability to sync your notes between all sorts of devices, putting your class notes on your iPhone and Mac automatically. And frequent users can tap into additional features for a fee.

For iPad owners who use the tablet for more than simply taking in media, a resource like Dropbox can be seriously essential for moving files to and from the device. The cloud-based service has a very useful app that lets you easily transfer all sorts of files between your iPad, Mac, iPhone, and nearly any other device, which is perfect for sending documents, photos, and other bits to and fro.

When it comes to chatting up pals across networks and communication forms, Imo Messenger is the jack-of-all-trades that sure comes across as a master, as well. It'll take in all your various chat accounts, be it AIM, Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Skype, Steam, or one of several others, and then let you talk up a storm in one location. Plus, it includes free VOIP calls and a voice IM feature.

Epicurious is not only a slick-looking app, but also an excellent resource for both cooking enthusiasts and kitchen newbies in need of a few good ideas. The free app includes a wealth of recipes pulled from various sources, complete with separate panes for ingredients and directions, and heavy users can pay a couple bucks to unlock a recipe box that syncs with the web version.

Trying to keep up with a variety of interests without visiting dozens of websites? Pulse News for iPad not only impresses with style, but also does a stellar job of delivering updates from scads of sources, which are sorted by topic or genre so you can create little feeds of recent updates. Stock each section with favorite sites and watch their latest stories come flooding in every time you load the app.

Streaming radio fans have several high-profile options on the iPad, but we're fond of Songza, an app that puts a couple interesting tweaks on the formula. We particularly appreciate the lack of audio ads and restrictions despite being free, but Songza's main hook is the ability to pick music based on your mood, thanks to its Concierge function. It's an appreciated spin on the old streaming jukebox.