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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

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Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#431

Post by makeitdouble »

emodendroket wrote: post #230
makeitdouble wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It comes down what you actually want to do. My time spent on the iPad was defined by what I couldn't do, and it was extremely frustrating, I ended up not doing it instead of go getting the laptop from across the house. Windows is not refined nor optimized for tablet use by any measure, but it actually does the job, instead of showing a cute and extremely refined middle finger half the time. The breaking point for me…

I don’t know about anyone else but my expectations are not for my iPad to be suitable for serious development work or whatever. I want to read books and magazines, surf the Web, and watch videos. And for that it’s arguably better than a laptop. At least I find myself using it for those things much more.

You still hit weird limits. Perhaps the M1 is a better value proposition now, but with the A series transcoding videos was choppy at best, and you'd have to choose to "share" them to VLC every damn time.

Youtube playback would stop everytime another video starts playing somewhere (additional fun when it's just a video ad that actually had no sound in the first place).

SMB file management is still an afterthought, so you end up needing a plex server dealing with all the complexity the iPad can't deal with.

Browsing is the same, outside of the Safari limitation, extensions are few and tab management a pain in general.

For books and magazine it's kinda the same. It works fine for light use. It becomes frustrating if it's something you actually care about.

In the end, I realized I actually care less about visual polish and more about having complete functionalities, at the price of dealing with Windows and managing a computer instead of an appliance.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#432

Post by ravenstine »

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…

Too bad that USB-C is so poorly designed from a mechanical standpoint. Apple's Lightning connectors are robust, but for some reason the consortium that developed USB-C decided they needed to make it more complicated so that both the male and female connectors are prone to wearing out and getting loose.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#433

Post by roody15 »

MacBook Air m1 at 800$ blows iPads out of the water. Small, portable, great battery life and flexible enough to get work done without requiring a variety of “pay as you go apps” to put basic functionality back into an iPad.

My dream is some form of MacOS being released on iPad Pro instead of iOS … not going to happen but would absolutely buy one if it happened.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#434

Post by QuarterReptile »

makeitdouble wrote: post #216
nicbou wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad is a much better tablet than the Surface. The art and note apps are incomparably better. The ebook reader apps too. iPad OS is limited, but it's fine for reading, writing and sketching. It's good to do that on a separate device that is not connected to work stuff. I can bring my iPad in the bedroom because it's just a fancy book. Windows is also far too needy for this sort of device. I returned my Surface af…

It comes down what you actually want to do. My time spent on the iPad was defined by what I couldn't do, and it was extremely frustrating, I ended up not doing it instead of go getting the laptop from across the house. Windows is not refined nor optimized for tablet use by any measure, but it actually does the job, instead of showing a cute and extremely refined middle finger half the time. The breaking point for me…

Ironically, whatever the other advantages of the Surface Pro as a tablet, it's so hampered by physical dimensions for reading to make the rest of the question moot. I had a SP3 for 6 years as a primary laptop, but it was not a good offering for reading. Maybe more recent ones have improved the aspect ratio, weight and distribution, and bezels.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#435

Post by throwaway2037 »

bemusedthrow75 wrote: post #369
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only Apple iPads or are you using the term generically? I'm guessing you're in London or another major city? Similar to the parent I only ever see iPads in two places, the hands of rich kids in restaurants, and in primary schools.

Only Apple iPads as far as I could see, but by no means only the most expensive or newest. Non-Apple tablet devices really are not often seen in the UK (some convertible PCs, the occasional Samsung tablet). If you spend a lot of time on public transport, an iPad isn't really that much of a luxury item. It's a really pragmatic choice, and at least in the UK an entry-level or recent secondhand iPad is not much more exp…

    So is a very cost effective way to make use of what might be 2+ hours of every working day.
Here is the first mistake. Get rid of the ridiculous commute. Then, you will not need an iPad!

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#436

Post by qudat »

Shawnj2 wrote: post #328
ycombinete wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Tablets are smaller than laptops. It makes a huge difference when traveling and sitting in tight spaces. Further, the iPad is “always on” so it’s very easy to use quickly.

It’s really great for media consumption because of it.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#437

Post by throwaway2037 »

nottorp wrote: post #342
mr_tombuben wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use an iPad exclusively at home on a couch/in bed. It's really great for low effort media consumption/web browsing, but I couldn't imagine bringing it with me somewhere instead of just taking a laptop. Even for media consumption on a train or airplane, I prefer a laptop because of it being easier to prop up in a cramped space.

Yep. I have an iPad (cheap, not pro) on my nightstand. I take the laptop when traveling because who knows what I'll need it for.

Why a "cheap" iPad instead of a much cheaper Android tablet?

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#438

Post by sdflhasjd »

ravenstine wrote: post #432
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…

Too bad that USB-C is so poorly designed from a mechanical standpoint. Apple's Lightning connectors are robust, but for some reason the consortium that developed USB-C decided they needed to make it more complicated so that both the male and female connectors are prone to wearing out and getting loose.

> male and female connectors are prone to wearing out and getting loose

And yet despite the sheer number of USB-C devices I own at all ends of the cost scale, this has only ever happened to my 2017 Macbook Pro.

And on the male side, Apple dutifully makes up for the claimed robustness of the connector by making some of the worst cables.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#439

Post by kaba0 »

diffeomorphism wrote: post #296
noduerme wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not defending Apple here (I'm not an iPad or iPhone user) but why would you expect a tablet to substitute for a general computing platform? My "tablet" is a Boox Nova Air C that runs full Android on an e-ink screen, but I only use it to read books, sketch, and to hand-write notes. I don't let it connect to any website I have to login to, because I don't trust the software. I don't even have a keyboard for it. Onc…

Because a surface does that and so have all tablet pcs since Windows XP times. > once you are planning to carry a keyboard. Apple sells you a keyboard cover, Samsung does, Microsoft does. They are ridiculously expensive for what they are (buy a few HHKBs), but seem very popular. > at that point. That is the point. After adding all that, you would expect your tablet to do all that. Hardware wise it totally could, but…

The vast majority of people can do everything they would ever want from a desktop computer on an ipad. Programming is a niche usecase.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#440

Post by gizajob »

iraqmtpizza wrote: post #382
gizajob wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“iPhones and iPads are not simpler or less distracting than a typewriter” Yeah, my point. Please read my comment before negating it as matter of course. Beethoven’s ears breaking is a slightly different issue than technological limitations - his technology of ink on paper was still the same. He wasn’t playing each orchestral part one by one when he wrote his symphonies, he just couldn’t hear his main composing instru…

>Nujabes didn’t pioneer lo-fi. What do you want? I guess you mean he only pioneered good lo-fi that wasn't Grandmaster Flash cringe. How did Niggaz Of Destruction pioneer lo-fi? You completely skipped over my point about the internet but ok.

I mean he didn't really pioneer anything.
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