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

Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

sixcolors.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 630 posts

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#321

Post by devnullbrain »

gizajob wrote: post #80

I wrote a 160,000 word book this year on an iPad Air with smart keyboard (I find how the pro keyboard doesn't fold all the way back to allow holding the iPad landscape too big of an annoyance to buy one). I think it's a brilliant device, and while limited, does do some things better than the Mac - annotating PDFs and ebooks with the Pencil being one of them. Also nice to hold a document one is working on in landscape…

I haven't used an iPad keyboard but 160,000 words is about 159,000 more than I could stomach writing on a Macbook keyboard - which is the best laptop keyboard I've tried.

Perhaps I'm spoiled.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#322

Post by raverbashing »

orthoxerox wrote: post #304
hahajk wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More importantly for an airplane, you can't watch Netflix (or most streaming movies) offline on a laptop. Though I've never used a Surface, maybe you can do that with some kind of mobile app that runs on a hybrid thing.

That's what files are for.

Ah but the new generation doesn't know what a "file dialog" is. I wish I was kidding

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#323

Post by iraqmtpizza »

gizajob wrote: post #277
iraqmtpizza wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is nothing creative about swiping on an app to update a feed of algorithmic nonsense, true. which is 99% of what people do on phones in my experience. even tablets.

Yeah but it’s not Apple’s fault the general public are lazy and stupid. I’m a creative and don’t do those things so much - I make records and read philosophy and write whatever book takes my fancy on the same device. It’s not Apple’s fault that when given a handheld supercomputer people use it for instagram - a black mirror reflects the good and bad of the human and that’s where we are. Steve Jobs really did want to…

I do remember breaking my ankle on my bicycle as a child; I don't recall having to jailbreak my bike, though.

How does BitTorrent work via the app store by the way? Kappa.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#324

Post by Shawnj2 »

avidiax wrote: post #308
deergomoo wrote: post #190

The iPad software has been lagging behind its hardware for so long now. My iPad and laptop both have an M1; the laptop has more RAM but they are effectively equally capable on paper. And yet, due to a series of entirely artificial restrictions, my iPad is useless for entire categories of applications. That power sits unavailable for me to ever utilise. I’m sure the iPad Pro can live up to its name if you’re an artist…

> It’s a terrible shame because I think there really is value in a computer that fills the space between a phone and a “real” computer. Apple has the technical capability to make a Macbook that is separable. The screen comes off and makes an iPad. It also has the technical capability to make a bi-modal OS. OSX with a HW toggle switch that allows OSX/iPadOS modes. The switch could be nearly seamless. The unlimited fre…

To be fair Microsoft has their own version of an iPad that converts into a laptop and it doesn’t work that well from what I heard.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#325

Post by PeterisP »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #154
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, depending on whether they are private people, non-technical "creatives" or IT/technical/dev folks, but instead, everybody appears to be travelling with ALL THREE devices instead I can't answer a call or text my family with my laptop while I'm on the go. I can't plug my macbook into a car to use maps or play mus…

> I can't answer a call or text my family with my laptop while I'm on the go

That's interesting, for me, any texting (usually via whatsapp or signal) is far, far more convenient on the laptop than on the phone, so far that if I expect a longer response, I'll rather find a place to sit and pull out the laptop than try to type all of it on the phone; and for calling people also videocalls on laptop are more convenient for me than the phone, so again, if it's more than a one-minute conversation, I'll rather put down the phone and call them through the laptop.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#326

Post by HWR_14 »

selestify wrote: post #284
PaulHoule wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to have a pink netbook that ran Microsoft Streets and Trips that I used together with a Bluetooth GPS. I had a power adapter that plugged into the cigarette lighter of the car and also a line in cable for the stereo. I could play music with Windows Media Player and have turn-by-turn directions work flawlessly. It was particularly good for road trips with a navigator in the passenger's seat as it had a great us…

Why would the bus driver know or care that you’re using their WiFi?

The bus driver probably didn't know or care about the wifi, just this car that kept strangely in pace with him. Maybe the driver thought OP was going to intentionally get in an accident for some insurance scam.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#328

Post by Shawnj2 »

ycombinete wrote: post #309
ginko wrote: post #258

This article explains why you can’t travel with only an iPad (and a phone presumably) but doesn’t seem to bother explaining why you can’t just travel with a small laptop and phone. What does the tablet add that makes it indispensable for travel? Just the media consumption? I never used a tablet for an extended amount of time so maybe I’m missing something here.

I travel with just an iPad and a Phone. The iPad is great for media consumption while traveling. e.g. playing some games or watching shows, and it's good enough to do some cramped work in a pinch (sales and business management). Also take notes/sketch with the pencil, read a book/article. Most of the things I would use the iPad for can be done better with a more dedicated, or more versatile, channel. Like a laptop, o…

I still don’t understand why a laptop wouldn’t work for most of those use cases if you already are carrying one. Sure it’s a bit tedious to use a huge laptop on a plane but a 13” laptop will fit on your lap and in your bag nearly as easily as a 10” tablet.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#329

Post by isametry »

TillE wrote: post #204
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 ???

Same for Minecraft (Bedrock Edition, the one written in C++, not Java). They unchecked this "allow to run on Mac" checkbox the instant it got added.

Mojang (= Microsoft) hates the idea of Minecraft Bedrock running on Mac with a burning passion. If you told me they somehow lobbied Apple to add this option to the App Store specifically because of Minecraft, I would have believed it.

Because this is at least the second time they have had a Mac port of Bedrock basically right in their hands, yet actively decided not to release it (the first one being Education Edition, which also runs on the Bedrock engine and is like 90% the same game – and they offer it for macOS, yet never bothered to release normal Minecraft the same way).

The other port might've cost them probably a few days of work (basically an asset swap, because the engine is done). This version (running on M-chips) they could've gotten for free, yet they killed it too.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#330

Post by Philpax »

asu_thomas wrote: post #232
nine_k wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's simple. A laptop is a keyboard-oriented device, packing a,lot of computing power. It has the shortest battery life, and requires a desk, or at least a seat, to operate comfortably. A phone is a handheld device, one which is always on you. It necessarily has a smaller screen, no separate keyboard, and only has a decent battery life because it sleeps most of the time. It can have serious peak performance, but has…

Having worked in many graphics roles for 20 years, I have never heard of a professional wanting to use an iPad for their work, yet this thread is full of people claiming the iPad is some artist dream tool. It is not even close to true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procreate_(software)#Notable_u...
Post reply on HN