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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

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Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#461

Post by ghaff »

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…

I literally can't remember the last time I took a laptop out on a train or a plane. If it's a short trip, I may get by with just my phone (or phone + Kindle) but for longer trips I like the iPad as a media consumption and note taking device even if, to the OP's point, it's not really a laptop replacement.

That said, I'm going on a few week--mostly recreational--trip in a bit and I'll just take my phone and my iPad. It will be fine for note-taking at the conference I'm attending and I really just want media consumption and a browser on something bigger than my phone for everything else.

An iPad is probably one of my more optional devices but I've gotten almost 10 years out of my current model so it doesn't feel like an unreasonable luxury even if I mostly use it when traveling.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#462

Post by masklinn »

mvdtnz wrote: post #264
pavel_lishin wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Maybe it's an American thing but I don't think I know a single person who owns or uses an ipad, with the exception of rich parents who use them exclusively to distract children. I certainly don't notice a lot of ipad users in airports or trains.

I’ve got a fair number of family members who use them as their routine browsing devices. They don’t have laptops tho.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#463

Post by bemusedthrow75 »

TheCapeGreek wrote: post #455
bemusedthrow75 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>We really get crammed into trains. Sincerely, from someone in the third world who has taken UK public transport. You don't. I don't say this to disparage your message, but hopefully to give some gratitude for the nice things you do have over there. I found it most amusing how people would get antsy and annoyed when a train was more than 5 minutes late in the UK. For years of me taking South African trains, if there…

People here don't really get upset about trains being even ten minutes late. That's normal.

And as far as safety is concerned, when every seat is full and there's already very little seat-to-seat distance, the aisle is crammed with people face to back with nothing to hang on to, and the vestibules are all full to the point that people are standing with nothing to support them if the train brakes hard, that is a crammed train. Dangerously so -- indeed, often illegally so.

And this is quite normal, routine and unexceptional at commuter times, and that is not talking about the underground, where it is routine to be packed in to the point that someone's nose is against the window (mine was, yesterday).

I'm sure there are trains elsewhere that are worse. There's nothing I can do about that; it doesn't really change my observation.

(I'm not sure there's a really good point about gratitude here, either, when the people paying for these services where they don't get a seat have to take out substantial loans to afford the annual ticket, whereas you can travel from Cape Town to Johannesburg, with a sleeping car berth, for about 20% more than the amount it costs me to travel an hour into London at off-peak times. But that's a separate point.)

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#464

Post by whynotminot »

mvdtnz wrote: post #264
pavel_lishin wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Maybe it's an American thing but I don't think I know a single person who owns or uses an ipad, with the exception of rich parents who use them exclusively to distract children. I certainly don't notice a lot of ipad users in airports or trains.

Maybe it is an American thing. iPads here are nearly as ubiquitous as AirPods.

More for planes than trains though. Most people just read their phone on a train commute.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#465

Post by vorpalhex »

zulln wrote: post #8
vorpalhex wrote: post #2

I just left for a trip today and have a macbook I purchased three days ago along for the ride. Both the spouse and I were uncomfortable with only having ipads - and within 4 hours of landing it's already been the right call. It's a shame. A full desktop OS in iPad form factor is basically a holy grail.

What are you missing? If only a few tasks you could just VNC to a “desktop OS” for these tasks. I would assume most things that requires such OS requires an internet connection anyway. I still primary use a laptop, but that is because I like the form of it. So I have no actual experience trying to survive with only iOS.

If I have to VNC into a real machine then the iPad has failed. I'd rather just spend a few lbs of weight budget and bring a real laptop.

The only way to make VNC worse is to have to do it on a $1000 locked down tablet.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#466

Post by vorpalhex »

jodrellblank wrote: post #267
vorpalhex wrote: post #2

I just left for a trip today and have a macbook I purchased three days ago along for the ride. Both the spouse and I were uncomfortable with only having ipads - and within 4 hours of landing it's already been the right call. It's a shame. A full desktop OS in iPad form factor is basically a holy grail.

> " A full desktop OS in iPad form factor is basically a holy grail. " A holy grail you've been able to buy for 7 years; Microsoft Surface Book with detatchable screen. High quality hardware, beautiful screen, best touchpad on a Windows laptop I've used, but the removable screen to make it a tablet just ... isn't very useful.

I have a Windows Surface 7. The battery life is insufficient for travel and Windows is not reliable enough for me to trust it.

It served as a overspec baby cam monitor for a few months but we had so many issues that the second time I went to reformat it, we replaced it.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#467

Post by ghaff »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #399
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…

Imagine we took this approach to cars A convertible is for sinny days, it has no roof at all, you should use another car on rainy days. A Smart is a 2 seater for trips to the city, its easy to find parking And a Hummer is for trips to the countryside, it won't fit into any parking spot in London. You should buy all three and use the right tool for the job

Less common with individuals but a lot of households in the US have two vehicles that are optimized for different purposes. I did for about 20 years--but finally sold the "fun" two-seater once I stopped commuting.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#468

Post by rufus_foreman »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #399
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…

Imagine we took this approach to cars A convertible is for sinny days, it has no roof at all, you should use another car on rainy days. A Smart is a 2 seater for trips to the city, its easy to find parking And a Hummer is for trips to the countryside, it won't fit into any parking spot in London. You should buy all three and use the right tool for the job

>> Imagine we took this approach to cars

An RV with a bike rack towing a car.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#469

Post by dazc »

roland35 wrote: post #452
throwaway2037 wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Have you tried buying a place in London?? Not sure if this is sarcasm or not!

It's non-intended sarcasm. Lot's of people who work in London spend 2 hours (each way) a day travelling through open countryside in order to have both a decent job and somewhere basic to sleep at night.

People who actually live in London tend to be either very rich or unemployed.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#470

Post by nedrylandJP »

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.

Except in this example the iPad and the MacBook both have a hemi (M1) and nearly identical body weight (especially if you add a keyboard)
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