I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode • Hacker News Board

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#181

Post by randomdata » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:31 PM UTC

bergie wrote: post #64

Sounds very interesting. I think the major downside would be that you can't really do any development while offline. I've done some of my most productive programming during flights and train rides, so that would be a downside for me. Maybe Android could give a little more of the "local productivity" option?

While I haven't replaced my laptop, I also do some coding on my iPad under certain circumstances. Instead of using an editor over SSH, I purchased Textastic. It supports SFTP and a host of other protocols, allowing you to edit offline and then sync with the remote host when connectivity is available. I'm pretty happy with that setup.

[1] http://www.textasticapp.com/

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#182

Post by pdenya » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:32 PM UTC

I'm surprised he didn't think it was worth going for a 3G ipad. I spend a decent amount of time working outside of my office on my laptop with a local environment. Impossible with this setup and no 3G. Maybe there's a tethering plan on his iphone to account for that.

Either way, this setup would be significantly less painful using a MBP to connect to linode instead of an ipad.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#183

Post by hack_edu » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:38 PM UTC

ynniv wrote: post #127

hack_edu wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And anyone who uses GNU screen ought to know about Byobu, which makes screen a bit more visual and easy to navigate. Especially perfect for headless instances. Not wanting to leave it is why I've not spent much time with tmux. Is there something similar for it?

Ah! This is excellent! byobu appears to make screen configuration (particularly status lines) easier, while otherwise keeping out of the way. I won't be switching to F-key controls right away (I have a soft spot for the iTunes and volume bindings on Mac keyboards), but since byobu only speaks when spoken to, it is a welcome addition to my workspace!

Great! You can switch between screens using Control-A and the screen number. I hadn't even known about the function keys until now.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#184

Post by seigenblues » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:39 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #162

agentultra wrote: post #35

This has to be the most ergonomically inefficient set-up ever! I also cannot fathom how to work with 21" at least). And a tiling window manager. And a decent mechanical keyboard... ok ok.. Interesting setup. I'd be interested in knowing how it works out in the long term.

Once upon a time programming was a lot of thinking, a little typing, and even less compiling. Maybe even some pen+paper and chalkboards. If you go back to that way of programming, I don't see why poor ergos would be a problem. Certainly not "in vogue" and I don't know if it's feasible today. Still an interesting thought.

why did this get downvoted? it's a valid point.

This is actually the first time i've seen a downvoted comment that i just, really can't understand why it was downvoted. Anyone care to explain?

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#185

Post by tdavis » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:40 PM UTC

awolf wrote: post #77

There are a lot of comments here from people acting as if not having two 24" monitors and a full mechanical keyboard would drastically diminish their productivity. This year I spent 4 months out of the country with only my 15" laptop while still working 8 hour days. I was surprised to find no change at all in how long it took to get shit done. I think we tend to kid ourselves about how much of a difference expensive…

I think it depends on numerous factors. For instance, I have spent so much time at a Kinesis keyboard that a laptop keyboard slows me down. Not by orders of magnitude, but enough to be annoying.

I used to exclusively work at two 24" monitors. Then I switched to a tiling WM and from many years on OS X back to Fedora. I found that the WM/OS switch improved my productivity to the point that I was better off on a 15" laptop with those two changes than before them on two monitors. And the setup was around $2,000 cheaper.

Now my ideal setup is a single large monitor along with familiar peripherals (Kinesis, trackball), xmonad, and Linux. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be happier with one monitor than two--or nearly as happy on a laptop as a desktop--I'd have said you were nuts. But, here we are.

I agree that the difference in productivity between the worst-case (Mac laptop) and best-case (Large monitor; peripherals; xmonad) is not orders of magnitude. But I would say that over time it has come to approach 2x, which is not at all insignificant.

And I think "expense" matters little compared to "comfort". If a keyboard that didn't cost $250 was just as comfortable for me, I'd buy it. In the case of this particular switch (laptop -> linode), the comfort level would be close for most tasks as I already live in Vim and things with Vim-like bindings. But the totally new window/peripheral interface would definitely slow me down. I've spent enough years comparing environments over long periods of time to know that.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#186

Post by catshirt » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:40 PM UTC

dpapathanasiou wrote: post #65

raganwald wrote: post #9

One fateful day, VMWare and OS/X conspired to trash my shared filesystem, losing several days of uncommitted code in the process. Several days of uncommitted code? We need to have a heart to heart talk about your process.

Insightful, and so close to a haiku as well... Here's an attempt: Mac lost my data Many days of work gone Cloud to the rescue

yours is not quite a haiku either.

    you say its haiku
    but you missed a syllable
    in your second line

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#187

Post by pivotal » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:41 PM UTC

awolf wrote: post #77

There are a lot of comments here from people acting as if not having two 24" monitors and a full mechanical keyboard would drastically diminish their productivity. This year I spent 4 months out of the country with only my 15" laptop while still working 8 hour days. I was surprised to find no change at all in how long it took to get shit done. I think we tend to kid ourselves about how much of a difference expensive…

I think that most people aren't saying that they need the two monitors, laser mouse, etc. It is more of an issue of what helps them work the best. I spend most of my day using vim in a screen session on a remote server as well, but if I switched to this setup I think I would feel cramped. Sometimes I open four terminal windows at a time and have firefox behind them in order to get something done. Sure, I could accomplish the same thing with the iPad, but it would feel like a lot more work. Resistance has a tendency to suck away productivity.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#188

Post by wizard_2 » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:46 PM UTC

BonoboBoner wrote: post #66

gujk wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could buy a second hard drive and put it behind your other drive and occasionally copy important files from your front drive up to your back drive.

Or use TimeMachine if you are on a Mac.

No, if TimeMachine screws up a file it stays screwed up for ever after every backup, there's no integrity checking. It also completly barfs on large files that change little by little. The best example of that is the entourage mail store, but any single file db will do. I've seen clients bit bad by these problems. Don't get me started on the time capsule...

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#189

Post by dotBen » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:46 PM UTC

cageface wrote: post #136

moconnor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true, but I'd be sacrificing the silence, the portability and the battery life. And the hipster factor, I guess. 102x768 isn't for everyone, but in text-mode it's all the same. I've no idea how many hours I've spent on a huge high-res monitor staring at a relatively tiny terminal window surrounded by a pretty desktop picture.

This is true, but I'd be sacrificing the silence, the portability and the battery life. And the hipster factor, I guess. A 11" laptop, particularly the new MBAs, is less cumbersome than an iPad + keyboard and far, far more useful as a real development tool. Other than battery life I just don't see the point of doing this other than the "hipster" factor. Just the ability to spin up a Rails instance on my own machine o…

I don't see the point of doing anything for the "hipster" factor.

Sometimes people are surprised that the reason I buy macs is not because they're metal and shiny.

Re: I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode

#190

Post by stock_toaster » Wed, Nov 02, 2011, 5:46 PM UTC

wes-exp wrote: post #154

Imagine an "iPad Pro" that had similar battery life and even an integrated keyboard. In addition to supporting the SSH workflow, it can run traditional GUI applications if you really need them. You don't have to wait: it's called the MacBook Air.

I really like the 13" Air form factor, but the high resolution and smaller physical size results in fonts that are a bit too small for my eyes these days. So, I stick with my couple-gen-back 15" with matte finish and 1440x900.