Live data from Hacker News

Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

technicallychallenged.substack.com

161–170 of 533 posts

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Linux DEs would work better on touch devices if we could install them in the first place... Right now you either have niche near-obsolete devices which are unlocked, mainstream locked devices or mainstream unlocked but technically messy. So why and how to improve something you can't install?

> So why and how to improve something you can't install? They can install it on any x86 laptop and yet it runs worse than windows a lot of times Sure, drivers play a part, but user-level software is also an issue

> They can install it on any x86 laptop and yet it runs worse than windows a lot of times

Spoken like someone who hasn't been near a Linux desktop/laptop for more than a decade.

This is flat out false. FFS even gaming has massively advanced to the point where most games just work out of the box with Proton (some even run better than on Windows, like Elden Ring). What issues are there with user-level software outside of certain vendors not porting their software, for which usually there's a FOSS/cross-platform alternative which is usually good enough (of course it can't cover every scenario, but nobody is saying it should).

Some drivers are still shit, but funnily the last one I had issues with is a MediaTek WiFi/BT chip, which also has a shitty driver on Windows..

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#162

I think I have the first or second gen ipad. For some years now the OS and apps are frozen in time. I have basically some old games and the old safari browser. The old safari is slow and, can you believe it, HN does not fully function! Now, we all know the hardware is premium and this device would probably run linux very smoothly and the touch interface would be a dream. But we can only dream right? WTF? Apple won’t…

The amount of misconceptions about Apple in this post is staggering. It shows you know nothing about the company and how it operates. Yet, like chatGPT, you wrote it in a convincing enough way, so here you are with a post full of wrong inferences and segues at the top of a comment section. Disheartening.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#163
post #128

I think I have the first or second gen ipad. For some years now the OS and apps are frozen in time. I have basically some old games and the old safari browser. The old safari is slow and, can you believe it, HN does not fully function! Now, we all know the hardware is premium and this device would probably run linux very smoothly and the touch interface would be a dream. But we can only dream right? WTF? Apple won’t…

>linux very smoothly and the touch interface would be a dream linux distros have not yet managed to get proper interface for mouse+keyboard. Linux desktop is still a shitshow. They can't even provide an experience as good as what windows was doing back in the XP era. Even if Apple allowed alternative OS, I doubt linus would be good on it.

Not only is it pretty good with enormous amounts of flexibility in terms of looks, keyboard combinations, etc. but it's actually better than macOS which is so lauded for it's UX. For one, you can have a different scroll direction between mouse and touchpad; and for two, you can do custom keyboard shortcuts without installing a third party keylogger.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Linux DEs would work better on touch devices if we could install them in the first place... Right now you either have niche near-obsolete devices which are unlocked, mainstream locked devices or mainstream unlocked but technically messy. So why and how to improve something you can't install?

> So why and how to improve something you can't install? They can install it on any x86 laptop and yet it runs worse than windows a lot of times Sure, drivers play a part, but user-level software is also an issue

Mainstream distros are absolutely fine on desktop, especially compared to Windows which has been declining a lot since Windows 7 due to Microsoft pushing hard for extra monetization.

I'm using PopOS and it's as good as it gets. I have a few minor I18n complaints because I'm picky on that but Windows is much worse in this area.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ah yes, the e-waste conundrum when you run an OS that is completely user hostile

A first-gen iPad is 13 years old. How many tablets running a 'user-friendly' OS from 13 years ago do you still think are actually out there, being used? The only old tablets I see are running iOS/iPad OS. Probably because they're built on solid metal and glass skeletons. While I agree things could be better, Apple also does a commendable job of providing updates and support for devices much longer and much more consi…

>A first-gen iPad is 13 years old. How many tablets running a 'user-friendly' OS from 13 years ago do you still think are actually out there, being used?

How many first gen iPads do you think are still being used. Those were slow as a sloth from their first year and quickly stopped getting support from Appel. Most users gave up on them and upgraded. So yeah, they're also e-waste.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#166

I’ve owned ipads for a long time and their productivity benefits compared to my Mac and iphone has never improved over the years. This year I’m selling my last ipad and won’t buy again until Apple throws a “real” OS at the thing. one of the worst things about ios is that files get copied for each app. Say I download a PDF in the Documents app and want to annotate it. As soon as I open it with NoteX, a copy of the PDF…

God I hope your wish never comes true.

I don't understand why a device can't just be for consumption of media. Why is everyone trying to force this to become a computer with an annoyingly complicated navigation UX and the rest of the ceaveats when using a complete OS.

If I ever have to worry about CPU usage or driver issues on my iPad I will be the one leaving. I bought an iPad NOT to work on it. It is my vacation device so work can never call me and ask me to do something quickly

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, just get any laptop really. There's nothing special about a Mac unless you need to do native development for Apple devices, and I'd suggest a Mac Mini for that.

I haven’t used a Linux laptop in a while. Is there any that’s competitive to MBP M2 in terms of processing power and battery life? I’ve been working on an MBP M1 for ~1 years now and I’ve yet to hear the fan working or feel the heat (to be fair, it’s a work laptop and most development happens in the cloud). If only for this reason I find it hard to buy anything other than MBPs for work, unfortunately.

Nothing compares for battery life except really slow ARM laptops like Samsung makes.

But if 10 hours is enough I think ASUS Zenbooks and the ProArt line are pretty good Linux machines. They have faster GPUs and betters screens (OLED) too.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacBookPros have been pretty much for the past decade+ the undisputed leader of rugged hardware design. Nobody else to my knowledge sells machined unibody laptops at a competitive price point. (Only half jokingly posting this hoping somebody can't help to attempt to prove me wrong)

Machined unibody laptops aren't rugged hardware. They look nice, and are reasonably robust to minor wear and tear, but they definitely aren't "rugged". Put enough force info the body to bend it, and it's never the same again. A machined unibody like a MacBook offers no damping or shock protection to the boards inside. Real ruggedized laptops, e.g. those sold by Panasonic or Dell, look very different. It's like the gl…

You’re right in that they are not ruggedized. But for “normal” laptop use, it works very well and looks good too. However, if I were to do a geological survey or something like that, I might not use MacBook.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#169
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So why and how to improve something you can't install? They can install it on any x86 laptop and yet it runs worse than windows a lot of times Sure, drivers play a part, but user-level software is also an issue

> They can install it on any x86 laptop and yet it runs worse than windows a lot of times Spoken like someone who hasn't been near a Linux desktop/laptop for more than a decade. This is flat out false. FFS even gaming has massively advanced to the point where most games just work out of the box with Proton (some even run better than on Windows, like Elden Ring). What issues are there with user-level software outside…

Funnily enough none of this is really news to me (and no it hasn't been more than a decade)

But I always went back to XFCE or Gnome2 because the slowness was palpable (Unity was a very bad OotB experience).

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#170

I’ve owned ipads for a long time and their productivity benefits compared to my Mac and iphone has never improved over the years. This year I’m selling my last ipad and won’t buy again until Apple throws a “real” OS at the thing. one of the worst things about ios is that files get copied for each app. Say I download a PDF in the Documents app and want to annotate it. As soon as I open it with NoteX, a copy of the PDF…

God I hope your wish never comes true. I don't understand why a device can't just be for consumption of media. Why is everyone trying to force this to become a computer with an annoyingly complicated navigation UX and the rest of the ceaveats when using a complete OS. If I ever have to worry about CPU usage or driver issues on my iPad I will be the one leaving. I bought an iPad NOT to work on it. It is my vacation de…

I owned a Surface Go for two days before getting an iPad Mini.

What made me return it was the file save dialog. I bought a device to read and doodle on, two things I used to do on paper. I browse through my sketches by turning pages, and finish the activity by closing the (note)book. Procreate and Google Play Books work similarly.

After a whole day of installing updates and removing bloatware, the Surface wanted me to name and organise my drawings on a filesystem before I could do something else.

My goal was to draw and read, not to use a computer. The Surface wanted me to think about files and updates and the device’s state. My iPad Mini is a book with benefits, paper with tricks.

Post reply on HN