Good to hear from you. You’ll find a whole bunch of iPad enthusiasts in this Forum who are only too willing to help other iPad owners and to hear of their experiences. Don’t be afraid to post any questions you may have or use the ‘Search’ button near the top of the Forum web page. I usually find I discover one new interesting and useful piece of information about my iPad every day - and often not even what I was looking for!!
As Pluto6 suggests, the iPad cannot be hard-wired to the Internet. Several Forum members have wondered whether the iPad dock-to-USB connector could be used with a separate USB-to-Ethernet adaptor to connect the iPad to a wired Ethernet network. Unfortunately, this is not possible. The iPad's dock-to-USB connector does not provide a 'universal' USB interface, of the sort that you have come to expect from, say, a PC. It has only a couple of
very specific applications - charging the iPad, connecting to the iPad dock-to-SD card
adaptor, connecting to the iPad dock-to-VGA adaptor etc and, as far as I am aware (other Forum members will, I am sure, step in here if my advice is incorrect) could never be used to provide an wired Internet connection.
So, to use your iPad to connect to the Internet at home, you will need some type of wireless interface - either WiFi or 3G. However, providing a WiFi wireless network if you already have a wired network is very straightforward and inexpensive, so this shouldn't really be an obstacle to using your iPad at home. There are several 'adaptors' out there in the market that provide a 'plug-and-play' solution. Don't hesitate to get back to the Forum if you need any help here.
Hope to hear from you soon with your thoughts about the iPad.
Have fun and enjoy your iPad
Tim
Scotland