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

iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 167 posts

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#151

Post by 0xCMP »

FreezerburnV wrote: post #114
0xCMP wrote: post #45

I think I'm going to sell my existing 9.7" to get the new 10.5" to get a bit more space to work with on this new version of iOS. I can't wait until I can really use iOS the way I use my mac. Which at this point really is based on either mobileOrg getting better or some app coming out where I can easily manage a rich personal knowledge base/wiki on the iPad.

Have you found/tried Trunk Notes before? It's literally a wiki, with light scripting capability. There's also Editorial, which includes Python for scripting, though I'm not sure how well it will work as a wiki/knowledge base.

I have editorial, which I love, but it does not have that wiki style feature. Great for markdown though.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#152

Post by 0xCMP »

walterbell wrote: post #104
0xCMP wrote: post #45

I think I'm going to sell my existing 9.7" to get the new 10.5" to get a bit more space to work with on this new version of iOS. I can't wait until I can really use iOS the way I use my mac. Which at this point really is based on either mobileOrg getting better or some app coming out where I can easily manage a rich personal knowledge base/wiki on the iPad.

Have you looked at Scrivener on Mac/iOS? Used by writers doing research. http://2doapp.com on iOS/Mac has robust WebDAV sync and can handle large databases.

Yes, I have it, but most of what I do isn't so much writing, which I believe it's a great tool for. Most of the writing tools out there are mainly for writers and not more researchers like me (learning stuff about development and etc.).

I have actually now started to think maybe I use DEVONThink instead and I get all the features I wanted, but I guess the UI on the mac isn't the nicest. Then again going from Emacs to this is probably nicer.

Ugh so many options. I like OrgMode and Emacs as it is! Why can't I just use one thing and focus on all the things I need to write down and figure out.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#153

Post by walterbell »

0xCMP wrote: post #152
walterbell wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you looked at Scrivener on Mac/iOS? Used by writers doing research. http://2doapp.com on iOS/Mac has robust WebDAV sync and can handle large databases.

Yes, I have it, but most of what I do isn't so much writing, which I believe it's a great tool for. Most of the writing tools out there are mainly for writers and not more researchers like me (learning stuff about development and etc.). I have actually now started to think maybe I use DEVONThink instead and I get all the features I wanted, but I guess the UI on the mac isn't the nicest. Then again going from Emacs to…

For tracking concepts while learning, this is a fun app, but no Mac version: http://www.mindscopeapp.com

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#154

Post by seanwilson »

thirdsun wrote: post #136
seanwilson wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just not intuitive though is the point. You've already double clicked the app icon, now a window appears with the same icon that you have to double click again to launch it? I moved from Windows to Mac after a long time hearing about how great Apple usability was and I could never understand the logic behind the app install workflow.

So, I guess you also hate zip files too? You didn't double click the app icon - you double clicked the container that contains the app you are about to open or move/install to your apps folder. I think the drag and drop approach to installing apps is as easy as it gets.

> So, I guess you also hate zip files too?

No because ZIP files serve a completely different purpose so require a different workflow.

> You didn't double click the app icon - you double clicked the container that contains the app you are about to open or move/install to your apps folder. I think the drag and drop approach to installing apps is as easy as it gets.

Having a dialog walk you through the install is clearly requires less steps and less prior knowledge than having to teach the user they just opened a container and not an app (how would they know this?) and that they have to drag and drop to install.

Have you tried installing an APK file on Android? You get asked if you want to install it and you're done.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#155

Post by seanwilson »

zimpenfish wrote: post #143
seanwilson wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always found installing apps on desktop completely unintuitive as well. You double-click a downloaded package, see a window containing the app icon (...why?), drag and drop the icon into your app folder usually with no feedback after then you have to manually launch the app e.g. using cmd+space. Why not just have a "do you want to install this app?" dialog when you click on the app file the app launches after?

This surely depends on how the author has packaged the app - I've installed 3 apps recently which came as `.pkg` files that popped up a "Installing this app" dialog (and then offered to put the `.pkg` in the trash when they was done.) Other apps come as a DMG which launches an installer; some are just DMGs with files to drag to Applications.

I'm confused why Apple hasn't pushed for a simple default installer that most downloaded apps use then. It adds to user confusion as well when installers behave differently.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#156

Post by dgfgfdagasdfgfa »

mcintyre1994 wrote: post #56
dgfgfdagasdfgfa wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The current app-switching tech in iOS 10 is mostly unusable for multitasking because they animate it into some kind of bullshit coverflow control that looks pretty but is slow and has every app you've ever started on the ipad to page through. Is it any snappier/easier to use now? Can you do the whole 'I'll just switch over to the other app to copy something and switch back' in a second or two yet? Even the weird 'you…

4 finger swipe left/right is the best option on iOS 10 imo - it's about as good as the 3d touch swipe on iPhone.

WTF is a 3d touch swipe. How is this feature hidden behind a gesture? I'm irrationally angry this is so hard to find.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#157

Post by k2enemy »

0xCMP wrote: post #45

I think I'm going to sell my existing 9.7" to get the new 10.5" to get a bit more space to work with on this new version of iOS. I can't wait until I can really use iOS the way I use my mac. Which at this point really is based on either mobileOrg getting better or some app coming out where I can easily manage a rich personal knowledge base/wiki on the iPad.

I'm in the process of switching from vimwiki to the built in Notes.app.

The big change is switching from links for organization to folders.

In vimwiki, I did a lot of scripting to manage/edit plaintext notes. Notes.app on the desktop has pretty good applescript support, so scripting is still an option although it is more cumbersome than operating on a directory of text files.

However, it is very nice to have an iOS app designed to view/edit my notes. I'm also really enjoying using the apple pencil to take notes and having them integrated into my computer text notes. Notes has a lot of integrations throughout iOS and macOS so that has been nice too.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#158

Post by 0xCMP »

walterbell wrote: post #153
0xCMP wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I have it, but most of what I do isn't so much writing, which I believe it's a great tool for. Most of the writing tools out there are mainly for writers and not more researchers like me (learning stuff about development and etc.). I have actually now started to think maybe I use DEVONThink instead and I get all the features I wanted, but I guess the UI on the mac isn't the nicest. Then again going from Emacs to…

For tracking concepts while learning, this is a fun app, but no Mac version: http://www.mindscopeapp.com

Wow that really is a cool app. Awesome concept/implementation. Thanks for showing me that. I wish there were better lists of these kinds of apps.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#159

Post by mcintyre1994 »

dgfgfdagasdfgfa wrote: post #156
mcintyre1994 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4 finger swipe left/right is the best option on iOS 10 imo - it's about as good as the 3d touch swipe on iPhone.

WTF is a 3d touch swipe. How is this feature hidden behind a gesture? I'm irrationally angry this is so hard to find.

3d touch on the far left of the iPhone, and it'll go into the app switcher. If you swipe fast to the right you'll switch straight to the next app. Again, no idea how you're meant to discover it.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#160

Post by 0xCMP »

k2enemy wrote: post #157
0xCMP wrote: post #45

I think I'm going to sell my existing 9.7" to get the new 10.5" to get a bit more space to work with on this new version of iOS. I can't wait until I can really use iOS the way I use my mac. Which at this point really is based on either mobileOrg getting better or some app coming out where I can easily manage a rich personal knowledge base/wiki on the iPad.

I'm in the process of switching from vimwiki to the built in Notes.app. The big change is switching from links for organization to folders. In vimwiki, I did a lot of scripting to manage/edit plaintext notes. Notes.app on the desktop has pretty good applescript support, so scripting is still an option although it is more cumbersome than operating on a directory of text files. However, it is very nice to have an iOS a…

Honestly, if I could just make links easily between notes I'd be pretty set with Notes.app except for the fact that code is kind of hard to write in it. i.e. snippets, etc.

I tried using it because you're right, it's one of the better experiences on iOS/macOS since it's been designed to be well done from the ground up. I should probably try the new iOS 11 one before completely writing it off because I heard on Gruber's latest podcast that the app has gotten way better now with the big iPad productivity push.

Post reply on HN