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Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

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Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t. That’s the point. I want to have device that adjusts to my needs instead of keeping a zoo of specialized devices. iPad Pro has powerful enough hardware to be a full blown productivity machine when connected to a keyboard, but convenient enough interface to be a media consumption device in bed.

"Zoo" is quite the exaggeration; we're talking two devices instead of one. I'd rather have an iPad Pro for the bedroom (!) and a high-powered desktop Mac for the office than something that tries to be both of those things and ends up failing at both.

> I'd rather have an iPad Pro for the bedroom (!) and a high-powered desktop Mac

That’s not what people in the thread suggest though. They’re talking about MacBook Air. Which is also a nice point, good luck bringing your beefy desktop Mac anywhere with you.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is only "very nearly", wouldn't something larger like an s8 ultra be better? Also "by a mile" is a stretch. It might be better but all $1000+ tablets are reasonably close enough to be happy with any of them.

16:10 is an abomination.

4:3 does happen, just coincidentally, to damn-near match the aspect ratio of a 2-page spread on a comic, too (~1.3 width/height on an open comic book, 1.333... for 4:3, 1.6 for 16:10) which means a larger screen in a wider ratio might not actually be any benefit (or not enough to justify the extra weight/unweildiness, perhaps) for that particular narrow use case.

Which, it's a very niche and specific thing, but still, if we're talking "what's the very best device for that exact thing, disregarding all other concerns", having a 4:3 screen ratio's an advantage over all the other common ones.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except most people don't need a full-feature general purpose computer. "I want to code on a tablet" is a pretty niche market. The M1+ iPad Pros are pretty good digital creation devices. Lots of photographers use them in their workflows now. Doing a quick (but still high quality) edit at an event, so the customer has something to share immediately is a huge value add.

I am used to being able to write code on my 'computer'. That's my standard definition of 'computer' -- or maybe let's call it 'personal computer'. I can't write code on my microwave for my microwave; I can't write code on my TV for my TV; and I can't write code for my iPad on my iPad -- this means all these devices are computer-powered 'devices'. They are NOT 'personal computers'. At least, this is how I see it. And…

this means all these devices are computer-powered 'devices'

Exactly. My iPP is a "personal media consumption device" - anything beyond that is a bonus.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#444
post #268

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

Yes, iPadOS has deep, lingering deficiencies as an OS for professional use. But their ads and keynotes are convincing, so I can't blame people falling for it! There's this weird juxtaposition of a terrible productivity machine combined with some mature, amazing and easy to use software in the demos, and Apple makes it look like iPads can be deeply embedded in your workflow and people have fun and laugh as that tiny d…

> I want them to figure it out

They've figured it out long since, but they're making more profit as it is now.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#445
I use a laptop for work or when I need to use Xcode but I’ve been able to create music and code just fine by piggy backing a raspberry pi. The USB-C port on the iPad can power the pi and run an Ethernet connection. From there I can terminal in or VNC. The iPad becomes my monitor and I use the keyboard case and everything is pretty ok.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#446
post #268

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

Yes, iPadOS has deep, lingering deficiencies as an OS for professional use. But their ads and keynotes are convincing, so I can't blame people falling for it! There's this weird juxtaposition of a terrible productivity machine combined with some mature, amazing and easy to use software in the demos, and Apple makes it look like iPads can be deeply embedded in your workflow and people have fun and laugh as that tiny d…

I used to work in architecture, and I think that's where something like an iPad really shines. It was possible to have all the drawing sets on the iPad, and mark them up on the job site to send back to the office for revisions. Being able to annotate them with photographs of the site conditions and redlining as you talk with the foreman is excellent, it makes things a lot more seamless.

Yes, you weren't going to do any actual CAD work and still need a workstation in the office, but as a digital notebook, it's excellent.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because if so, that's enough to run 4 simultaneous instances of Linux!

How well will that work with the modern web and modern web browsers?

Great! On paper it could handle Apache and NGINX like a charm, your modern web browsers would have no trouble accessing it.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#450
post #330

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

> how good the M1 MacBook is The primary deficiency of the macbook, and about 95% of all modern laptops, is the keyboard. Primarily the height reduction of the up/down arrows in the arrow key cluster. Nothing is more maddening for code navigation than these terrible, terrible keyboards. Same with the Esc key on many laptop keyboards, in which they are either size-reduced or eliminated entirely. (yes, I know I'm "supp…

> (yes, I know I'm "supposed" to use hjkl, but jk has never mapped to up/down in my brain, despite trying)

I felt this way for a while, until I turned off / remapped my up/down arrows, and forced myself to use hjkl. You pick it up pretty quick after that.

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