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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

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Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#511

Post by shreyshnaccount »

noduerme wrote: post #254
shreyshnaccount wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that's my problem with it- if I buy a device and what to do whatever with it, who is the company to specifically stop me from doing that? I'm not asking them to design anything special for me, just allow open access to the device so that the community can build whatever we want

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…

I dont think that expecting that the device I own runs code I want it to run is unreasonable

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#512

Post by blokey »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #394
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…

> The iPad is a much better tablet than the Surface but useless as a computer? I needed to apply for a visa -It can't even handle that simple task! Like all I had to do, is collaste togesther a few dozen documents (bank statements, utility bills, etc.), merge all them into PDfs and organise pages cronologically. Couldn't even do that. whats the point of having a great processor in an iPad if it's all wasted. This is…

That sounds odd. Even without installing any apps from the AppStore it can do that.

Open the PDF (or print the webpage to PDF if needed), tap to insert other PDFs into that one (so assembling / merging the documents).

Drag any pages into the order you want, save the file.

What’s missing?

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#513

Post by QuarterReptile »

fouc wrote: post #279
camillomiller wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s generational. In Berlin I see plenty of students that now actively use it while studying in cafés for example.

Yeah it's amazing how many iPads + Apple Pencils students have these days. I notice this in Thailand universities as well.

Almost all of the students in the undergrad engineering courses I teach seem to use them. 10 years ago, I had a Samsung Note tablet that was great for coursework: it made comparatively trivial the then-daunting task of keeping all your coursework organized and having it with you when you needed it. It was great back then, and now they're significantly cheaper with Apple. If the Samsung options were comparably cheap and sporting reading-friendly screen ratios, I would've skipped Apple altogether.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#514

Post by emodendroket »

makeitdouble wrote: post #431
emodendroket wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I believe you but in the end I use it a lot more than my laptop despite its limitations and generally don’t want to try and do the things you’re talking about with it (I’d probably be sitting at my desk with my real computer if I wanted to).

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#516

Post by lanstin »

iraqmtpizza wrote: post #446
Retric wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The limitations removed by a computer is the size of my working memory. Draw a line, type something, or whatever and suddenly it stops competing for space in my head. The idea space I can explore with a computer is so many orders of magnitude larger it’s practically unbound by comparison. However, by saving those thoughts to a computer suddenly they are more likely to be tweaked than discarded. I’m not bound to inclu…

I fail to see how a box's position on a digital whiteboard is considered more up for debate than a box on a real whiteboard. Have you ever used a real whiteboard in a collaborative environment? When you move it, you have to redraw all the lines to and from it. Also, what is your point?

The mechanism of using a general purpose computer is so engaging that people stop to argue about the color of the bike shed instead of attending to the conceptual,world where the problem they are trying to solve lies. People spend their mental energy optimizing trivial things instead of writing the great American novel of our century or creating an infrastructure to allow decentralized, non-advertising based products that bring the benefits of networked communications and less of the harm.

At least I think that is the point.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#517

Post by lanstin »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #372
TheHappyOddish wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak for him, but I find m iPad incredibly useful. I sign and review documents quickly, tap out emails on the go, watch movies or TV shows, use it as a reference screen if I'm in a rack and need diagrams, manuals etc. Like most modern computing devices (laptops, phones, smart watches, etc) it has crossover functionality with some devices but not in all cases, and in some it is the superior device for varying…

But you can do all of those things very well on a laptop. Especially if you're trying to travel light, and you know you need a laptop, I don't understand why you'd pack the iPad as well.

Because I use it to read hacker news, can sprawl out across the couch, holding it in one hand, and peacefully enjoy my time till my son wakes up.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#518

Post by lanstin »

gherkinnn wrote: post #377
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #356

Missing from this article: why is he traveling with his iPad at all? He loudly asserts "I’m not leaving my iPad at home" but does not explain why. From where I'm standing, the iPad is a crappy platform that has no reason to exist. It's a worse Mac. I can maybe see artists using an iPad for the touch screen, but that use case only exists because Apple refuses to give the Mac a touch screen.

Outside of work I use my iPad. I don’t work on holidays, I pack my iPad. I just prefer it. Why is a preference so hard to accept? Are we going to argue about favourite colours next?

What would the OP be for that? Apple default colors don’t allow my favorites?

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#519

Post by delecti »

Shawnj2 wrote: post #324
avidiax wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I've got a Microsoft Surface Book (3rd gen), and it works great. It works just how you'd expect in any configuration (laptop, tablet, or with the screen mounted backwards). The stylus has fantastic battery life too; I've only replaced the AAAA (quadruple A) battery once in 3 years. My main complaint is that I got the 15", and a 15" tablet is awkwardly large. In retrospect I probably would have been happier if I had gotten the 13".

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#520

Post by emodendroket »

tomatocracy wrote: post #406
imhoguy wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep old Yoga 13 in a drawer. I think it happened still too early for its time - too heavy as tablet, fans, small screen vs form factor, font hinting quite bad in vertical mode, Windows8 clunky interface, battery... I think today's Macbook Air M2 with 360deg hinges, touch and some iPad like UI-mode would be a holy grail for the article author.

I find the Microsoft Surface Pro works in this niche much better than the Yoga devices - they're lighter, smaller and the keyboard cover can be removed entirely for a tablet experience.

That would help but some of what I found annoying was the delay in transitioning between modes and software generally not designed with tablet mode in mind. Not sure if the situation has improved in the last few years on those points.
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