The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10 • Hacker News Board

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#151

Post by stillworks » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:17 PM UTC

akg_67 wrote: post #96

acqq wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The worst thing is that the forced over-simplification of the UI features did not make it easier to use for beginners. I believe Gruber argues completely the opposite: that the recent changes to add features like split screen make it more confusing (e.g. the example of his mother getting stuck in the split screen and calling him). He continues in the very article we comment here (emphasis mine): "if I could go back…

+1 I still haven’t figured out how to get split screen reliably and every time. But I don’t find a need for split screen either. A few times, I tried I had to google how to get split screen then I gave up. Also, sometime I automagically get split screen and can’t figure out how to get rid of it. Usually land up just closing apps in split screen and restarting apps.

I think if you find a compelling use case for it, you will figure it out :-)

I scan physical books to PDFs and read them as Quicklook from Files. Now, these books sometimes refer to other parts within the same book. So I almost always split the same book into 75:25 split. The smaller section section to move between the book/chapters, the larger section for focusing on.

I find this almost TWMish way of windowing actually helps me focus better than on the full MacOS.

Another use case. I write code on iPad(yes... I do), no.. not production code but something I am trying to figure out or learn. I code it in Pythonista (I have read about PyTo but don't need it just yet). If Python won't cut it then I type it out in Buffer Editor. Now I maintain an index of my code snippets in Numbers sheets to keep track of stuff. This time 50:50 split between the two and it works.

Most important use case, hand written notes. And with an App, searchable hand written notes.

On the iPad Pro, recently I found out it's possible to hook up a RaspberryPI as well for some more heavy lifting (but I guess by that point I would just not bother and bring a laptop)

And I have tried non Apple solution as well. A cheap Win 10 tablet followed by Surface Pro 6. With the Surface Pro I wouldn't need the RaspberryPI. In theory, it is the most comprehensive mobile platform and should do all of the above I have mentioned. However, the overall experience with that form factor and the clunkyness of Win10 as a touch based or tablet based OS spoiled it for me. I returned the Surface Pro.

Even with all it's limitations which I had to train myself to get around, iPad Pro is still the better mobile computing experience.

I dream that some day Apple will make a Thinkpad Yoga type device which will be running a full MacOS but will support the Apple Pencil and touch screen. OR an alternative dream is for Surface Pro to become less clunky in use as a tablet device.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#152

Post by davedx » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:17 PM UTC

Maakuth wrote: post #14

> How would anyone ever figure out how to split-screen multitask on the iPad if they didn’t already know how to do it? I actually recently got my first personal iOS (okay, iPadOS) device and this is how I feel about many of the UI features. Touching some side of the screen triggers this or that surprising feature and I'm struggling to undo what I did to get back to the business. Maybe what's needed is good old RTFM,…

> struggling to undo what I did to get back to the business

You'll love this one: to undo (don't think it works for everything, but it does for typing), shake your device rapidly from side to side.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#153

Post by eknkc » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:17 PM UTC

Jemm wrote: post #123

My main gripe is that Apple chose to very aggressively kill or sleep apps running in the background. I can understand this from a battery perspective but why not give us an option to let certain apps run in the background, especially when the iPad is plugged in to power. As an example, if I start a download in Safari, I can’t use a different app until Safari finishes the download. I could use split-screen but who wan…

I loved Android's notification model for these stuff. When I'm sharing a large video to WhatsApp on iOS, it shows a progress bar that needs to be on the screen.

Android just fires a progress bar notification that stays in the notification center. It is fantastic.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#154

Post by davedx » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:18 PM UTC

bronco21016 wrote: post #45

lowkeyokay wrote: post #11

>By 1994 almost all graphic designers and illustrators were using computers for work. The iPad is a great device but, it isn't essential to anything or anyone. If tomorrow there where no iPads anymore, we would all just get on with our lives.

If all of them disappeared into thin air one night then nearly the entire global aviation system would come to a screeching halt. It’s the device of choice among air carriers for navigation charts. Paper backup isn’t even carried anymore. We just carry extra iPads and batteries. I’m not sure any of the charting apps used by air carriers are even available on another OS at this point. I’ve never been aware of JeppFD P…

Also paramedics. Pretty sure the various militaries of the world use them extensively too.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#155

Post by pdimitar » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:19 PM UTC

As a programmer, I absolutely gave up on the multitasking on my iPad Pro. I don't use it in such a way and usually don't care. And the very few cases I wanted to use it like that I couldn't succeed in doing it even after my wife showed me 3 times (she uses her own iPad Pro in split screen very often and gotten used to the gestures; and even she makes mistakes occasionally).

Just an anecdote. I am a very technical user and I still got confused by the multitasking / slide-over thing. So I just ignore it.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#156

Post by JeremyNT » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:20 PM UTC

zozbot234 wrote: post #83

GordonS wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They even did this silly "corner thing" in the server edition, Windows Server 2012 - I remember the first time I RDP'd onto one, and had no clue how to open the start menu (the Windows key didn't work over RDP)! I had to google it, obviously whilst cursing profusely the whole time. Microsoft have a lot of UI/UX people - it boggles the mind that someone thought this was a good idea!

In Gnome-Shell, pointing to the top-left corner of the screen (labeled "Activities" on the system bar) will bring up their Windows-8-screen equivalent, and it's quite intuitive to use once you know the basics. It's slow as hell because Javascript, but other than that it works fine. And yes, you can tap or swipe from outside for pure touch access.

The key distinction there is that there is a visual element that does still respond to taps/clicks, which means that eventually you try to click on it, overshoot to the corner, and discover that you don't need to click at all.

Gnome shell does some of this stuff well, but try using it for real work on a tablet and you start needing those arbitrary gestures again. Need to invoke the on screen keyboard? View the app overview? You're going to be searching the web for those gestures, guaranteed.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#157

Post by oneeyedpigeon » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:20 PM UTC

ibn_khaldun wrote: post #146

The main gripe of this article seems to be focused on a single issue. But it is a valid point. But it is sort of strange to see this article boil down to the author's displeasure with just this one issue. To be honest I never was aware that you could only pull apps from your dock into split screen because I really only use those apps for that function. There is a comment buried toward the bottom that suggests a very…

I agree that the iPad doesn’t have to be revolutionary. I agree with the author that hardware-wise, it just about is, but software-wise it falls short.

The article may be mainly about one issue, but it's an important one. Apple has made a horrible mess of multitasking on the iPad, which not only causes frustration with that product, but also should make us wary about the future.

I personally never (literally never) want multi-windowing on my iPad: it's only an iPad-mini, so multi-windowing isn’t very practical anyway. All I need is a single toggle to turn it off, and any gripes essentially disappear. But I have to have it, even though I actively don’t want it. So I have to, periodically, work out how to exit multi-windowed mode, because it’s very easy to accidentally enter it. And exiting it is NOT easy - pretty sure one time I just gave up, put the iPad down, and did something else instead, I was that frustrated.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#158

Post by simonh » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:21 PM UTC

davedx wrote: post #19

The iPad could have been a new Dynabook. Alan Kay was actually fairly impressed with it when it came out. Unfortunately I agree with Gruber, it has really failed to live up to expectations. Missing a hardware keyboard is quite a big deal I think.

Oh grief no, an integrated hardware keyboard would kill everything that is great about the iPad. We have compact mobile devices with keyboards already, they're called laptops.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#159

Post by Brave-Steak » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:21 PM UTC

twsted wrote: post #8

I agree completely with Gruber's analysis: the multi-tasking, drag&drop, split-screen interface is very complex and confusing even for me, who have been using the iPad for ten years.

> the multi-tasking, drag&drop, split-screen interface is very complex and confusing even for me, who have been using the iPad for ten years.

I use my iPad Pro's multitasking stuff daily and it still confuses and infuriates me. Who came up with this stuff?

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#160

Post by Brave-Steak » Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:22 PM UTC

w-m wrote: post #27

> The iPad has been a spectacular success, and to tens of millions it is a beloved part of their daily lives, but it has, to date, fallen short of revolutionary. Why does everything have to be revolutionary? Pretty much everybody I know who has an iPad love using their device. It's a wonderful tool for media and web consumption, it just works for that use case very, very well. It can be used effortlessly, for multipl…

> Personally I just don't use split-screen apps on the iPad

I think that's the problem. As somebody who uses splitscreen all the time, it's utterly painful. It's a great feature, but whoever designed it from a usability-standpoint was, quite frankly, retarded. The problem is that it could be so much better, even revolutionary, but it stumbles on the implementation of features like this.