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Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

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Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How well will that work with the modern web and modern web browsers?

Great! On paper it could handle Apache and NGINX like a charm, your modern web browsers would have no trouble accessing it.

What does that have to do with running a modern web browser on a device with 256MB RAM and a single core 500Mhz processor?

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#462
post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm somewhat convinced that Apple wants to remove the notion of a Unix filesystem (there are files and directories of files/directories and they have owners/permissions/etc) from their users' understanding of how to use a computer. Both out of ideological purity ("what is a computer?") and so that their users can't use a different device that has an entirely different mental model for interaction. I already see this…

The Plan9 discussion from a few days ago shows that quite a few people here don't know what a file actually is either.

I mean a file is fundamentally an abstraction, but it's a useful one. What that abstraction means is a bit obscure under the microscope but at a high level the understanding of directories and regular files is pretty straightforward (it's streams, sockets, links, and all the other stuff that pretends to be a file in unixes that presents the problem).

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#463
post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pixel, for example, already has a secure yet user-unlockable bootloader. So do modern x86_64 PC's. Statements like these, claiming that only apple can properly secure a device (and hence that users deserve to be locked out), simply show astounding ignorance.

The M-series Macs also have similarly open, but secure bootloaders.

Sure, but they were designed with that in mind, and have presence and authentication requirements, that, as I understand, are not retro-fittable to older devices.

My claim isn’t “it’s impossible to implement a secure bootloader that also has escape hatches”. I’m saying it’s borderline impossible to do that retroactively for a fleet of obsolete devices, in a way that doesn’t compromise security of those.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#464

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

You don't have to sit there and wait! You can go grab a coffee or have a smoke!

Or buy another one so you can work on one and wait for the other. Or you could spend that time shopping for an even better device, even maybe from another manufacturer.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#466
> But if you need to run Xcode, VSCode, WebStorm, or Intellij than as far as I can tell the iPad is a no go.

Umm wouldn't it have been better to research this before spending the money?

By the description a macbook air would have done the job and for cheaper.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#467
post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Broadly agree, but: > This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actually physical keys are good for long typing" iPad and a keyboard case, to "oh actually a cursor would be useful to do real work" to full blown iPad + trackpad case awkward laptop form factor. I don't find it surprising; the windows tablets before the iPad suffered from so much software presuming there w…

I think Apple might still be gearing towards adding macOS in the iPad only because the macOS interface has been adding padding, in almost all recent releases, while screens have remained the same size. I don't see any other reason for added padding around controls apart from a touch screen future.

Designers changing stuff to have something to do?

The system preferences redesign is the first thing that has bugged me (I moved to Mac around 2019). There was no need at all and because they use Catalyst, the icons, and the text are tiny.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#468

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

I will say however that a plain iPad connected to a macbook in side car mode (second display) makes for a great portable dual screen work setup

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great! On paper it could handle Apache and NGINX like a charm, your modern web browsers would have no trouble accessing it.

What does that have to do with running a modern web browser on a device with 256MB RAM and a single core 500Mhz processor?

Nothing. Linux isn't a web browser.

It will still work just fine with your modern web browsers though, as a server.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2. God help you if the insertion point is just a character or two away from where you need it: you either have to do the long-press on the keyboard, then carefully drag to correct it, or tap somewhere else completely and then tap where you want it. I don't know if anyone remembers but back in 2012ish there was a jailbreak tweak in Cydia that allowed you to move the cursor by swiping on your keyboard. It was really…

> I wish apple let you switch between "swipe to type" and "swipe to move cursor". Unsure if you know: you can press and hold the space bar to enable text navigation by swiping.

I’m not the person you replied to, but this is the feature I was describing above when I said long press on the keyboard. I was borking my memory: it used to be a deep press (when that was a thing) anywhere on the keyboard.

Now, as you say, it’sa long press on the space bar. The problem with that solution is that it’s incredibly slow (perceptually).

This is a large part of why I say no one at apple is working day to day on an iPad. If someone there were forced to, this would be fixed. — or declared to be impossible to fix, I suppose.

From about 2015 to 2021 I was waiting to be able to only take my iPad with me on trips. That was never pleasant, not really possible.

Now I have an M1 MacBook Air, and my iPad is the device collecting dust at home.

(edit to change "boring" to "borking" -- yes, I typed this on iOS, let's not even discuss autocorrect...)

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