Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Emacs on an iPad

andschwa.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 113 posts

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#91

Post by z9znz »

sgt wrote: post #11

It's really impressive what an iPad can do. But this setup requires you to always have a connection, and the author said that he had replaced his laptop with an iPad completely. What do you do if you're offline (or if reception is bad)?

To replace or supplement remote, you can carry a little Raspberry Pi. This guy makes a nice video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3qn1nqw-Gw

I have previously setup a Hetzner server (EU) with openVPN and Code Server, and then I was able to really have the benefits of pretty secure dev environment that was always on, easily accessible, and powerful. Of course it required a connection to use, but the bandwidth requirements were low. Latency requirements were more important, but they weren't as harsh as if you were using a remote desktop.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#92

Post by ilovecaching »

I use an iPad Pro 12.9 inch and a Magic Keyboard as my primary dev machine and I love it. I have large bare metal servers I can connect to where I run vim+tmux using Termius. I also have a desktop, MacBook Pro, and a Thinkpad so I actively choose to use the iPad. The beauty of the iPad is I can tote it around in a small bag everywhere, it has cellular, and when I’m not deving I can pull it off and watch movies, play games, draw using the best tablet out there.

My whole setup can also be used with emacs. I have an emacs config as well and have tested using Eglot etc - basically the same setup as what I have in Vim.

The real power move here is to stick to a terminal based workflow. GUIs lock you down to a machine and a platform. Using a terminal based editor, tmux, etc. allows you to be instantly portable, infinitely flexible, and allows you to work anywhere.

SSH is also the other power tool. I mean SSH is actually insane. If you understand SSH agent forwarding, port forwarding, proxy jumping, you can actually be anywhere with any keys you want, proxy dev as a prod environment, use services on any computer anywhere you want, it’s absolutely incredible what you can do with SSH.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#93

Post by z9znz »

2pEXgD0fZ5cF wrote: post #54
monkin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of companies are moving into development in cloud, for example GitHub. Which is a future for many use cases, and for which iPad is an ideal device to work with. > And you then still have to deal with keyboard issues.... What kind of issues?

> and for which iPad is an ideal device to work with But it's not, the opposite actually. Any kind of serious typing requires a proper keyboard. If you have to carry a tablet, which is essentially just a screen, and a keyboard, you might as well just take a laptop and gain the ability to take advantage of a general computing device.

A real keyboard is absolutely necessary for real work, as you say. I think what makes the iPad Pro attractive is that it can have a real, decent keyboard (and trackpad) that is optional depending on your momentary need.

Unless one flies business class, there is often not enough space between seats to comfortably use a traditional laptop. With a tablet, you can at least do something.

The other big thing is that iPad Pros have very high screen brightness. For working outside it's a big benefit, as most portable laptops don't get that bright. The M2 Air and the M* Pros do, but you can't just pull the screen off when you only need a screen.

The best of both worlds, imo, is to have an M2 Air and an iPad Pro. When you're at a desk to do real work, you get the full laptop benefit plus the big iPad Pro as a second monitor. When you're on the daily outing, you take either or depending on your expected need. But you do now have a $5000 setup, which is more than many people would like to spend for a little more flexibility.

If Apple hadn't done such a great job with the M* Air, it would be easier for me to consider some other vendors' 180 degree folding laptops. But the silence of my Air and the amazing battery life are hard to give up.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#95

Post by guestbest »

narrator wrote: post #39
minifridge wrote: post #31

Title is misleading. Emacs is on a VPS not running natively on ipad

Probably wouldn't be allowed because of the app store rule against apps with embedded languages.

Emacs really isn’t allowed for the same reason TeX isn’t, everything needs to run from one binary. The single binary requirement of the App Store is surprisingly limiting.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#97

Post by peatmoss »

minifridge wrote: post #31

Title is misleading. Emacs is on a VPS not running natively on ipad

At some point I’ll stop falling for the click-bait. No emacs is a good portion of the reason my iPad Air collects dust. I wanted something portable to do my most critical work functions when traveling. I love the portability, and it supports most of what I need for work. I underestimated how important emacs was to my general productivity.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#98

Post by fmajid »

smoldesu wrote: post #71
fmajid wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jony Ive was the problem. Many things have improved since he was effectively fired. Note that his position was axed, no designer will ever again wield the power and influence at Apple he abused.

> no designer will ever again wield the power and influence at Apple he abused. Besides whoever is in charge of designing MacOS.

macOS plays second fiddle to iOS at Apple.

Ive was Chief Design Officer. Now check Apple's Leadership page (https://www.apple.com/leadership/). Design is nowhere to be found on it. It had temporarily been assigned to HR chief Deirdre O'Brien, no more, and Design co-chiefs Alan Dye and Evans Hankey report to the COO Jeff Williams, a.k.a. the Department of Everything Else. It's not a surprise both Dye and Hankey are leaving the company.

While I think Ive was mostly harmful to the company once the strong guiding hand of Steve Jobs that kept him on the straight and narrow went, it's not good to have this level of instability in the critical function of design either. Expect years of mediocre product design and stagnation ahead. On the plus side, no more butterfly keyboards, cables that fray if you look at them funny, or portless Macs either.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#99

Post by b3morales »

guestbest wrote: post #95
narrator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably wouldn't be allowed because of the app store rule against apps with embedded languages.

Emacs really isn’t allowed for the same reason TeX isn’t, everything needs to run from one binary. The single binary requirement of the App Store is surprisingly limiting.

Not sure what you're referring to. It's absolutely standard for iOS apps to load dynamic libraries that are bundled along with them. Additionally, Emacs itself doesn't consist of more than one executable.

Re: Emacs on an iPad

#100

Post by fmajid »

fdsaf34qgf423 wrote: post #77
fmajid wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jony Ive was the problem. Many things have improved since he was effectively fired. Note that his position was axed, no designer will ever again wield the power and influence at Apple he abused.

But I am assured that Design is the key to everything! How will we be able to make things that humans can use, without Designers? At least, that's what Don Norman, ex-Apple, told me in the seminal book.

Ive was good as an executor of Jobs' vision. By himself, his designs were self-indulgent and putting form above function, the exact opposite of Dieter Rams' approach that he claims to draw inspiration from. That said, Apple cannot sustain its aura and profit margins with me-too design, going too far in the opposite direction.
Post reply on HN