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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

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Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#201

Post by ksec »

jll29 wrote: post #149

The key sentence here is: > This is the fundamental difference between the Mac (a platform that basically lets developers and users do anything they want) and the iPad (where if Apple doesn’t specifically allow it, it can’t be done). Apple (since Lisa/Mac, after Apple II, which had an open architecture) likes appliances and to control the user experience, so the iPad is "more Apple" than Macs are. Whenever I am waiti…

Which is precisely what Apple wants. They want each devices to be their own, they want you to buy them all, and to carry them all.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#202

Post by jmmv »

j45 wrote: post #197
jmmv wrote: post #193

That’s why I like my Surface Go 2: it lets me carry a real OS in a tiny tablet form factor. I take it everywhere and it has been my only travel laptop for a couple of years. I have even done local Rust development while on flights. If only it wasn’t so frigging slow… it’d be awesome.

Its great to run linux too. The 12" Macbook is a great contender too.

Hm, does it? I’ve been tempted to install Linux but I’ve found conflicting information online about how well it’s supported, and the small SSD doesn’t lend itself for dual booting.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#203

Post by legends2k »

tiffanyh wrote: post #145
madeofpalk wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like all things Apple, iPad is great if you only use it for the exact, limited use cases it was designed for. The moment you start to be beyond that slightly it completely falls apart. Contrast it to a more general computer running macOS or Windows, which does a poorer job at what iPad does best, but it has a much longer tail where the complexity ramps up linearly, compared to the hockey stick of iOS.

> ”Like all things Apple, iPad is great if you only use it for the exact, limited use cases it was designed for.” That’s actually the definition of a product. To create something for specific use cases. That’s not an Apple problem/issue. Sure, I could use my Toyota Camry (iPad) to haul lumber - but it’d make more sense to use a truck (MacBook) that was designed for those use cases.

Totally respect this viewpoint. I think the parent comment is about the shame of having a powerful device that could be programmed but is locked down only because the manufacturer thought so: an iPad can do a lot more but isn't allowed to just for it to appear as an appliance.

In your analogy, it's like a truck is clothed as a Camry but it really needn't be.

I guess it's the difference between a geek's and generalist's viewpoints.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#204

Post by TillE »

drewg123 wrote: post #36

I really, really wish that Apple had not let developers opt-out their apps from running on M1/M2 Macbooks. My use case is a long flight where I want to watch a movie on a screen bigger than my phone. For a while, some of the streaming service iOS apps ran on my MBP. In fact, I subscribed to HBO Max partially because their app worked on my MBP. But since their rebrand to Max, it no longer works.

I sympathize to some extent with their reasoning here, that developers for good reason want to sell separate macOS and iOS apps, and that they don't want a lot of customers complaining about a lousy UX.

But there are plenty of cases where I cannot fathom why the developer has opted out. Like, Genshin Impact won't let you play on macOS, because ???

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#205

Post by oflannabhra »

hhh wrote: post #24
oflannabhra wrote: post #18

I know Apple has a strong resistance to the two-in-one form factor, but an M-series MacBook Air with detachable screen that seamlessly transitions between macOS and iPadOS is basically my dream device.

The iPad pro is basically this, but just needs to be able to swap when you hook up the Magic Keyboard.

It doesn’t offer macOS. My whole point is that when I have a keyboard I don’t want to be touching a screen, and I want the power and freedom macOS offers to be able to do productive work. I also want iPadOS for other types of interaction, like reading or watching, or drawing.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#206

Post by htoi24u234234 »

politelemon wrote: post #29

I'm also looking for a two in one, a tablet that can be a laptop. The best I've found is a surface, and I think dell has some two in ones too. The surface feels like the right call because it's just light enough to be a powerful tablet, but not so power hungry that it's stationary. I think they've hit the right balance here. It's a shame this form factor isn't so common, and what would be perfect for a vacation would…

Have you looked at Asus Z13

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#207

Post by ChiMan »

I've never understood the attraction of the iPad for travel with any hint of work. Today's modern laptops, whether a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or the typical corporate 14-inch Lenovo, take up so little room and weight that it's hard to imagine giving up a real keyboard simply so you can carry a few extra pair of underwear that, in today's modern fabrics, can be carried in the pocket of a laptop sleeve anyway. Heck, even when my trip combines business and personal, it's no challenge at all to carry two laptops--my own, and the company's, in the same attache.

I just don't get it.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#208

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

crazygringo wrote: post #158
jll29 wrote: post #149

The key sentence here is: > This is the fundamental difference between the Mac (a platform that basically lets developers and users do anything they want) and the iPad (where if Apple doesn’t specifically allow it, it can’t be done). Apple (since Lisa/Mac, after Apple II, which had an open architecture) likes appliances and to control the user experience, so the iPad is "more Apple" than Macs are. Whenever I am waiti…

> You'd think depending on the person, they'd travel with EITHER their phone OR their iPad OR their laptop But why would you think that? I don't want to have to pull out my laptop (or even iPad) for phone calls or to check a quick e-mail. Obviously there are types of real serious work that can only be done on a laptop. And then I'm bringing the iPad to read books on, which takes up a lot less space than if the books…

> a single laptop did in the pre-Air days.

I used to travel with the first Apple Luggable[0] (and extra lead/acid batteries).

Times have changed.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#209

Post by PaulHoule »

I used to carry a big desktop replacement but now I think different and carry an iPad. I use it as a terminal for a better windows computer than the one I used to lug around.

I use two (2) applications for productivity: Safari to run web applications and the RDP client for everything else.

I think different. Instead of getting an expensive special-purpose keyboard, I have my choice of any compact Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

I'm not waiting for Apple to do anything, although I am waiting for the 40th anniversary of Apple's 1984 Superbowl ad. I'm hoping somebody runs a parody of it, because if you don't control your computer, your computer controls you.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#210

Post by evilduck »

jll29 wrote: post #149

The key sentence here is: > This is the fundamental difference between the Mac (a platform that basically lets developers and users do anything they want) and the iPad (where if Apple doesn’t specifically allow it, it can’t be done). Apple (since Lisa/Mac, after Apple II, which had an open architecture) likes appliances and to control the user experience, so the iPad is "more Apple" than Macs are. Whenever I am waiti…

Besides any of its standalone functions, an iPad makes a useful secondary display when traveling with a Mac, plus it serves as pretty large external battery pack for any other devices if needed. I’m not backpacking everything, I usually have a carry on, but it never felt more cumbersome than toting a magazine around.
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