Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019 • Hacker News Board

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#131

Post by windowsworkstoo » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 6:31 AM UTC

Daneel_ wrote: post #120

voltagex_ wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike Apple, but one thing I'll say in their favour is that I can wander into any Apple store and get a replacement device when it breaks (or maybe even a repair if I'm lucky). Lenovo, on the other hand took weeks to get back to me and then quoted $400AUD to replace the display backlight - with someone else's name on the quote. If I've got LTE connectivity, I'm probably going to remote in to some other box with a…

Lenovo offers a next business day on-site replacement warranty that covers accidental damage. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’ve used the service a few times over the past five or so years and it’s been excellent. It really wasn’t that much extra, and it’s a no-brainer when you consider how valuable all the lost time from a multi-week replacement.

Bang on - all the major PC manufacturers offer this (for a small price of course). you typically get a tech and a part sent out next day, or even within 4 hours on the right plan

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#132

Post by reustle » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 6:38 AM UTC

nl wrote: post #90

reustle wrote: post #18

The iPad Pro will become a viable "pro" device when they finally stop artificially holding it back by not allowing a full version of Safari. Edit: and of course mouse/trackpad support

Isn't it literally a full version of Safari, just a different (and correct) user agent? So really it's a site's use of user agent rather than media queries which is breaking things for you?

I attempted to use an iPad pro as a primary device for a few weeks. It seemed to be more than just the user agent. Things were rendered wrong, it seems some browser defaults we're also different so if the site developers assumed they were there, it looked funny. Switching to "request desktop site" wasn't always a solution

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#133

Post by thirdsun » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:01 AM UTC

reustle wrote: post #132

nl wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it literally a full version of Safari, just a different (and correct) user agent? So really it's a site's use of user agent rather than media queries which is breaking things for you?

I attempted to use an iPad pro as a primary device for a few weeks. It seemed to be more than just the user agent. Things were rendered wrong, it seems some browser defaults we're also different so if the site developers assumed they were there, it looked funny. Switching to "request desktop site" wasn't always a solution

I hope I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're arguing against responsive webdesign.

Any decent website should look exactly the same on the iPad and a desktop window of equal size. If it doesn't, the developer rather than the browser is to blame.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#134

Post by amasad » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:08 AM UTC

epynonymous wrote: post #105

amasad wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Repl.it ceo here. We've evolved a lot in the past 18 months, most importantly we added priper file and filetree support! Give it another shot and email me with feedback so we can get better. Oh, and we have a big sprint coming up for better support for tablets and touch in general.

i checked out your jobs site, that is the coolest thing ever, a command line terminal with links as directories and files, very nice work.

Thanks so much! Please refer people :)

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#135

Post by _ph_ » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:09 AM UTC

a-ve wrote: post #106

This seems like an exercise in masochism. Why would you want to code on an OS targeted for smartphones and without any native compiler support? To those who want LTE connectivity, I don't think you know there's a device called the Thinkpad X1 with this functionality built in. Or is it that coding on tablets is considered "hip" these days?

One wouldn't currently buy an iPad with the idea of it being your prime development device - you would get a laptop. But the iPad is a beautiful hardware, so if you end up owning one, sooner or later any developer or tinkerer will try to use it as a coding device. And for those, who manage to get around the current limitations, it is a great device to use.

This is on the one side a nice hacking challange, on the other side it should document the software gap, Apple needs to address. If Apple would just offer a Unix sandbox app - like Termux - I would upgrade to the latest and greatest iPad pro in a second.

APPLE - are you listening? There is easy revenue to pick up, just in case you are looking for extra revenue.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#136

Post by rixrax » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:11 AM UTC

cageface wrote: post #130

groby_b wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you actually brought a device to be repaired within the last few years? They take it in the back to diagnose it, come back with a sad expression and tell you they need to send it in, and you can pick it up in a week. (And that's not even mentioning the fact that most Apple stores are a zoo, and you can easily spend an hour waiting for your 'Genius' appointment)

They wanted to take my 2017 MBP for a week to replace the faulty keyboard. I was forced to buy a new machine because I can’t afford to be unproductive for a week. Having a $3000 machine sidelined for a week by a design flaw that oringinates from Apple’s obsession with making pretty and thin devices over any practical considerations means I will be taking a very serious look at a windows laptop for the first time in o…

Exactly same story here. Second time that 2017MBP went for a repair I drove to a Best Buy and got a 2017 Razer Stealth.

Life is suffering: on Razer I replaced Windows 10 with Ubuntu (which at that time wouldn’t work without long list of patches and tweaks; it’s better now with recent kernels), I hate the touch display, I would have preferred 1080p display over 4K, but at least modern Linuxes mostly do display scaling well enough. And then there is the touchpad. Which is several years behind MBP touchpad. And it’s not like it was much cheaper than the MBP.

But It runs google docs and Emacs as well as the MBP did. And has the keyboard that works. So I’m just fine.

I may in a year or two try MBP again. We’ll see.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#137

Post by bdcravens » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:15 AM UTC

cstejerean wrote: post #124

groby_b wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you actually brought a device to be repaired within the last few years? They take it in the back to diagnose it, come back with a sad expression and tell you they need to send it in, and you can pick it up in a week. (And that's not even mentioning the fact that most Apple stores are a zoo, and you can easily spend an hour waiting for your 'Genius' appointment)

If I was in a hurry I’d buy a replacement device, restore from iCloud, and then return it in a week when my original device is back from warranty.

That’s a lot of cash to tie up.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#138

Post by acover » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:22 AM UTC

0xADEADBEE wrote: post #67

ianai wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m able to get an absurd amount banged out with just my thumbs. I’ve taken comprehensive meeting notes this way. Possibly the reason to do it for coding would be the ability to code from anywhere for quite a while on battery/cell. Mosh does not take up much bandwidth or power. As an example, I worked on some professional projects over mosh on my iPhone to my home network from work. My job at the time made a lot of t…

This is fascinating - thank you so much for replying. I used to have input speed back when we had physical buttons on phones but with the advent of touch-screens, that has deteriorated for me. I hadn't considered how useful it would be to have when a small laptop isn't available. Another commenter mentioned working on a train; I can certainly see the use-case. Thanks for the insight!

Do you use swype gestures? The improvement for me was big.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#139

Post by Fnoord » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:24 AM UTC

a-ve wrote: post #106

This seems like an exercise in masochism. Why would you want to code on an OS targeted for smartphones and without any native compiler support? To those who want LTE connectivity, I don't think you know there's a device called the Thinkpad X1 with this functionality built in. Or is it that coding on tablets is considered "hip" these days?

> To those who want LTE connectivity, I don't think you know there's a device called the Thinkpad X1 with this functionality built in.

Cut out the condescending tone, please.

If I want a device with LTE connectivity build-in there are options out there such as my smartphone (USB-OTG, BT, WLAN), a USB stick, or a so-called MiFi (mobile WiFi). The latter is essentially a portable LTE modem utilizing WLAN so any client supporting WLAN can connect with it to the internet.

Re: Coding on an iPad Pro in 2019

#140

Post by arvinsim » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 7:28 AM UTC

I will take the "inconvenience" of having to bring a "bulky" MacOS device anyday over having to recreate my coding workflow just to accomodate the iPad Pro.

I chalk up trying to code on the iPad Pro as one of those exercises akin to tinkering/customizing on Linux. Interesting and fun but not really something you want when you want your tools to get out of your way and just get things done.