“As previously noted, I’m very close to being able to go with the iPad as my main computing device. Yes, as someone who writes quite a bit (both email and posts like this one), I prefer a physical keyboard — but I found one for the iPad that I quite love: the Logitech variety,” MG Siegler writes for ParisLemon. “So there must be something else holding me back.”
“One thing is specialized VPN access to certain things I need for work. But I suspect that sooner rather than later, that will be resolved,” Siegler writes. “So what else holds me back? Well, habit.”
“While the physical keyboard aspect gets most of the attention2, I actually believe the tendencies many of us have formed using PCs these past 20 to 30 years are just as important when considering what is holding us back from entering the tablet-only world,” Siegler writes. “The first step in breaking these habits is acknowledging them. Hence, this post. The second is correcting them. Hence, this post (posted from my iPad).”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: You have to force yourself to break old habits. They won’t break themselves.
Posted via iPad Air.
Xcode for iPad
Well THAT blew the argument out of the water, good and proper! Thank you.
I have work to do, which includes some UNIXy stuff and lots of applications running at the same time. I must be the master of POWER on my computer! Thank’s not the concept of the iPad and iPod Touch. They have their own thought realm and lesser power niche. I enjoy having both. 😀
This question is a joke right?
iOS 7 is a pathetic POShit… attaching files to apps is a stupid idea and will never work… and then cripple the OS so you can only transfer one file at time between limited apps.
WHAT A JOKE!
hahahaha! So you put on a new mask JUST to reply to one of my posts with iOS 7 hate? That’s really odd.
Anyway, iOS was clearly cut down from full OS X to fulfill a new vision for portable devices. I’ve stayed out of the iOS 7 Warz because I know Apple’s still working on it and it’s not perfect. But I still use it and find its fine, with some nice perk improvements over version 6. It’s great for mobile moments! But my work is mainly done on Macs. I’m not really the target audience.
iOS 7 is a train wreck.
Agreed!
iOS 8 will be better. Those of us who grumble must suffer until then.
It’s apparent that, in the aggregate, Apple customers have stayed the course since the release of the disconcerting iOS 7, not deserting the platform in droves despite the anecdotal claims of anti-evangelists.
The company’s imminent quarterly report is certain to affirm this.
You and I, for example, still use our iPhones despite certain annoyances, hoping and expecting that our muttered oaths of frustration (yours robustly declared, mine demurely subvocal) will join a chorus of user discontent, jarring Apple leadership out of their wealth-induced complacency.
… as a “teleprompter” this weekend. Couldn’t sync my script to it. OK. Couldn’t use a thumb-drive, of course, so I spent a couple hours typing it in, and saving it, before I went to bed. The next morning, there it was. And it wouldn’t open!
The icon was there.
The network was there. (if that mattered)
It. Would. Not. Open!
So I brought this MacBook Pro instead. Screw iOS7, the iPad did the job two years in a row – PRE iOS7.
Careful what you say about old habits MDN, quite a lot of Nuns would be unhappy to hear you say that, what with the credit crunch still current, you cannot expect Nuns to keep buying new habits, can you? 🙂
What you saying, they have a habit of a lifetime? Must smell awful.
People that require a truck, well, they require a truck. 😛
Most trucks on the road have no load that a car could take for about 99% of their working lives.
… it is fairly obvious you meant that most PICKUP trucks on the road carry nothing that a typical sedan could not carry as well. And more stylishly. And where-ever that load is intended to go.
My current car is a Mazda3 hatchback. It offered the good milage and handling I wanted, more importantly it offered the ability to carry a larger load than nearly any sedan that gets good milage and handles well. And I needed that for the past two years. Not so much any more, But, once a month for the past two years, we stuffed it to its gills! What I’m saying, is “sometimes you need more room”. Your “99%” may be off, though, how about 99.99% – the rest of the time it’s “guys pretending they work for a living”. 😉
Rent a truck for those few times?
Hmmm, not sure Xcode would fix my problem.
I use an Apple keyboard to type on an iPad, but it really needs a mouse. I DO NOT LIKE having to poke at the screen to move the curser to a new spot to delete or add text.
Make the iPad work like a laptop screen and we are good to go. Sure, somethings work with finger on screen. And some do not.
Nuff said.
Xcode requires a lot of disk space and compile times would be a lot longer than on a Mac so it would chew through the battery in very little time.
I think MDN’s Take can often be non-committal, or interpreted both ways.
That way they can’t be accused of a point of view; they could just say they were talking about the other point of view.
One thing and one thing only. The ability to edit PDFs and attach multiple PDFs in an email on the iPad. An iOS version of Preview is seriously needed!!
Sing it brother!
PDF PenPro for iPad. Next …..
Or PDF Splicer
Preview for iOS – Yes! Yes! Yes!
The current state of affairs sucks. You can create PDF’s on your Mac using Preview and save them in iCloud, but you can’t view them in iOS without sharing them to yourself via e-mail or iMessage. What a kludge!
It’s a major oversight and a major inconvenience…
We need either an iOS version of Preview, or a way for iBooks to access Preview’s iCloud storage partition.
Apple product people – are you listening?
I think for many people mobile devices already have, but not as a “replacement” of full size computer, just the “most used” computer. People now turn to their laptops and desktops only as specifically needed, but not as their first choice.
My case is different. I don’t own an iPad. I do have a MacBook Pro and an iMac. Some people need only a car. I need trucks.
Do you have an iPhone?
Price. Even iPad minis here are more expensive than iPad Airs in the US.
Your location?
Let’s say ‘nearly Europe’.
Really want to commit to a modern fruity tablet, but only viable options are android shit-tier trashtabs and Microsoft’s tablaptops, both even more ludicrously overpriced.
Does Iceland have a Apple Store?
That makes no sense at ALL!
You complain about PRICE.
You say Android is more expensive.
Yet Android is the only viable option?
Huh???
My friends in UK say the same. What they forget is that the prices in UK stores include TAX while prices in US stores do NOT. When you work out the tax from your country the price is the same (same….ish)
I looked at both Germany and Sweden (assuming you are from one of these countries)….and the price is about the same.
iOS 7
I could not agree more that an iOS version of Preview is a key missing product. I do, however, use my iPad Air about 85% of the time and my 2011 MacBook Pro remains as my “truck” for heavy writing and video editing. Without the iPad, I would have upgraded to a rMBP by now. So, in one sense, my iPad has “replaced” or perhaps displaced a new machine.
Printing. There’s still a need in many instances to print and copy documents and iOS has horrible support for printing.
Do I hear a ‘Hallelujah!’?
Supports my HP printer without any set up at all wirelessly still something I can’t achieve with either of my iMacs.
My iPad mini supports a Epson printer through AirPrint as well a Brothers laser printer plugged into my AirPort Extreme through a Brothers app.
more desktop flexibility, screen size and some apps (filemaker) need to allow creation.
1) I was originally going to respond using my iPad but the realized it is much easier for me to type of Apple’s full sized keyboard than typing a response on the iPad.
2) My preference is for a much larger screen (for older eyes).
3) Hard drive capacity. (I wish folks would learn the difference between capacity and size. Hard drives are NOT getting bigger. If they were, then the drives wouldn’t fit into the standard enclosures.) The ability to store documents where I want is paramount. iCloud doesn’t work for me because truthfully I just don’t trust the NSA. Fine for iTunes though.
4) With my Mac Mini, I am NEVER concerned about battery life.
5) Better hardware performance with the current generation of desktop than with the current generation of iPad.
6) Ability to rip CD’s into Apple Lossless or any other format I choose.
7) I just like trucks.
For me, the iPad is a wonderful data consumption device. I love its portability and intimacy compared to a laptop and would NOT trade it for any other device. My iPad gets plenty of use – more so than my desktop. However, my preference for data creation is on a desktop. To paraphrase Ellen Feiss (the version which never aired), “Yeah I really love my ‘Mac Mini'”.
Hi Tim, I enjoyed your succinct and coherent post. I think the rumored “iPad Pro” would solve a lot of those issues.
1&2: Could be addressed by the bigger screen and Apple-made (or not) detachable keyboard/cursor.
3: Larger size would provide ample room for hard drive space, at cheaper price than you would get with a MBA. I’d bet Apple is planning their own version of Dropbox, which will be non hierarchical and save to the cloud by default (although likely with an option to store locally only).
4: iPad battery life is great already, and may even improve because..
5: Apples A series chips keep getting more capable while using less power due to Apple’s ability to customize hardware to work with software.
6: I don’t think this is a problem for 99.999999% of people out there, and can be solved by putting a thunderbolt cable on their external optical drive.
7: Change is good 🙂
I’d be curious if you have any thoughts about this, would these things solve your issues?
” Change is good :-)” Except when it results in events that make situations worse rather than better, which in the overall scheme of things is about 50% of the time. Just the nature of the world.
This is the best discussion of this subject I have seen. Too many times, a thread on this subject becomes dominated by iTunes kiddies who know nothing about computing and think that the entire world revolves around entertainment consumption. They have absolutely zero comprehension of how the content they consume is created: “Like, uh…man..it comes out of the cloud, that thingy out of the sky…..man…???? “
Hello PatchyThePirate,
First of all, sorry for not responding sooner. Busy weekend.
Thank you for your response and thoughts. My comments were based upon the existing technology (products which Apple has actually shipped) but you are correct in pointing out near future tech / trends may address some of my issues with using an iPad as my primary computing device.
Specifically, yes a detachable, portable keyboard would address the issue with typing on a screen – which is fine for most uses for the iPad. Typing an essay for me would require a physical keyboard. (Apple made the right decision of not including a physical keyboard on both the iPad and iPhone.) I know there are plenty to choose from now. I particularly like Logitech’s wireless, solar keyboards which are designed to go with a Mac / iPad.
Regarding screen size, Apple naturally could not and should not make a screen too big for the iPad. The screen size that I am using at home is 24 inches. Again, I have older eyes and like the larger size. For me, a 13 or even 15 inch iPad would not be the same.
If Apple had a decent amount of storage in the iPad for creating and storing documents, then the iPad would be more practical.
Regarding batteries, I’ll just say it. I am anal. This drives my wife crazy but I hate recharging any battery if it has more than 5% battery life. More than once when we are ready to go out shopping or somewhere ( and I should have a phone in case of an emergency) my iPhone is at home charging because I didn’t charge it prior to the weekend. I KNOW battery technology has gotten better and the storage “memory” is no longer an issue as it once was. As MDN stated, this is a change I just need to learn to make.
Item 5 – completely agree with you.
Item 6 – if the iPad allowed for connecting an external drive and ripping CD’s then I am fine with that approach. In fact, my 2011 Mac Mini Server Edition does not include a built in DVD drive. I use an external USB 2 Apple SuperDrive.
As you have gotten me thinking about near future technology, having a more capable iPad coupled with a docking station – as we see with notebooks today – might be the solution which would allow me to use the iPad as my primary data creation device.
Thank you again for your remarks as they have gotten me to think a little more “outside of the box” to the near future. I’ve enjoyed our discussion. Cheers!
Two 24″ screens and 3D design software.
For my Dylan web site I cut and paste about 20-30 URLs and headlines every day into HTML, and I haven’t been able to create a smooth workflow for this in iOS.
What’s holding me back? When the internet stops looking at the iPad as a “mobile device” and starts treating it like a true computer. To many times, for my liking, I’m redirected to having to perform a certain task via a “traditional” computer and not your mobile device. There may be work arounds but the average person just wants it to work.
Because I like to have notes open next to something I’m working on for reference, to have multiple tabs open in safari whilst viewing rss feeds next to them, to be chatting in one window, whilst reading something in another, to be doing multiple things at once. I love my iPhone, and if I’m away from my Mac it’s massively useful and all I really need. I have an iPad 1 and to be honest won’t be upgrading any time soon as it’s essentially a glorified video screen and remote control for my tv the majority of the time. I love it, but an iPhone and Mac are better for me.
Both my iPad air and iPad mini are great devices. But when it comes to real work (not just whining, complaining and then writing about it, like most journalist do), I need some more power based on OSX. I don’t like the idea to completely mix up a real Mac with an iPad. Two different devices, two different purposes, even some tasks like email and others can be done on both of them.
Easy transfer of files, should mount like a USB thumb drive on a pc. Should be setup like OS X Home Directory with folders for content, Music, Video, etc. Easily drag and drop files on a PC to it and it show on the iPad. Current iOS sucks in this respect, especially for students working on both a computer and iPad!
Can I vote more than once on this one, or is that 10 stars?
I simply want to have one place where all of MY files are, be able to double-tap on them and have that open whatever program is supposed to deal with them, work on them, save them back to the same place they came from, pull out the memory stick (did I mention they were on MY memory stick?), and give them to someone that can’t afford an iPad — like an Android sufferer. No third-party network required, no NSA snooping — unless they really are interested in cooking recipes — simple. So…a Finder (that looks like both internal and external places to store files) and memory stick support through something like the camera connection kit USB adapter (which was supported on the iPad1). It would even be fine if the “sandbox” I got to keep files in on the iPad was called My Documents as long as I could arrange stuff how I want.
“Easy transfer of files, should mount like a USB thumb drive on a pc.”
http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/
Removable storage. workable file system. Am I missing something I don’t understand how anybody could have an iPad and eventually not need a stand-alone computer to dump everything off to. And don’t tell me to use the cloud. I can fill an iPads storage with just one weekends worth of photography. My God what would it take to add an SD card reader. That worked for all files. Seriously what does a person do with their content if the iPad is their only computer once they Mac’s out their storage.
We don’t own any. We have four iPhones, three MacBooks of various model, and a 27″ iMac for a family of four. We haven’t seen a need for an iPad at all.
That’s because you don’t own one.
Buy or borrow one for a month and you will see their purpose.
I have all three and love my iPad, but after a month you will see what their limitations are. That doesn’t diminish my liking for it.
This discussion thread covers it nicely.
We have 2 iPhones, an iPod touch, an iPad, a MacBook Air and a 27″ iMac. At home the 27″ wins hands down. Too bad it will never be portable.
Being able to create content (i.e., books) for the iBookstore on an iPad. Hell, being able to create, compile, and submit apps to the AppStore on an iPad. And being able to have a home “cloud” server I control and administer that my iPads can sync with so I’m not relying on another company to back up my files.
To me:
– Programming Environment
– Compiler
– File System access
– Able to run my own apps without passing Apple’s filter
– ROOT access
– Shell access
– UNIX tools
That’s for me, who is a developer. But I’m one of the cases where the PC is the “truck”. No way around it.
About “old habits”, I can tell anyone thinks sticking with a physical keyboard is just an “old habit”, that they don’t build software. You don’t understand the nightmare it is to code with Apple’s (or any’s ) soft keyboard. Hey, you don’t understand how hard it is to do it with a keyboard layout OTHER than English!
On the other hand, for the email/web/chat/media/Word/Excel user, I don’t see why an iPad couldn’t replace the PC.
I am slowly making the transition to an iPad from a MacBook Pro. I am not converting stuff to the iPad, but instead starting new items (movies, presentations, documents) on the iPad. The lack of a physical keyboard, while at the being was an issue, I have found it to be a non-factor.
I am sure there are things that I will find easier to do on the MacBook Pro, and will continue to do them. It is no different than when I went from an iMac to the MacBook. I hardly ever use the iMac anymore.
It is a transition process and if people would view it that way instead of a total replacement…life would be easier on them.
I “like” my iPad, but I “need” my Mac.
…for all of the above and about 10,000 more reasons.
Well you can’t do design on it as yet but if I ignore that and consider general home computing tasks it’s mostly there but there are a fair few small but problematic issues that either are not possible or are less easy or flexible by nature.
Things like screen capture vital to me,, saving things as files on occasion, copying some images into iPhoto (though you can in Evernote) drag and drop between two open app windows, the PDF limitations, refinement to working with text especially copy and paste where it is often impossible to select the required ares, better or more flexible folder structure. Only a few are serious but I do still find myself preferring the Mac for its flexibility. IPad wins for convenience however.
The ability to read/play CDs and DVDs (physical media). We can argue the merits of downloads for new purchases but some of us have spent a lifetime collecting music in the form of CDs. CDs (and DVDs) can be converted to digital files but not on an iPad.
The fact that all new Macs require an add-on device for reading CDs/DVDs makes this one of their few weaknesses too.
3 of my companies main programs are written in java
They are not going to rewrite them due to the cost
I agree with this. Java, whether people like it or not, is a big part of the computer world. I develop a lot in Java. When you have a piece of software with over 500,000 lines of code on it, it’s not as simple to just say “Hey, let’s port it!”
I agree then Java plugin is a mess and a big hole. On the other side, the Java language and the server side JVM has been great to me.
But Java on iOS devices would be a dream come true for many of us developers.
As a family we use iMac’s and iPads.
The laptop sits in-between and since my 12″ Macbook pro finally died I have managed without it.
If Apple bring out a 12.1″ iPad it will be interesting to see how they implement it. My guess is they will go for a new twist on the ‘docking station’ idea – which Apple have never really done before, and really push the base stations in the education market place. Principally because when you are typing on a real keyboard you are usually at a desk in you work/school/home and elsewhere you can use the portable iPad and the touchscreen keyboard. yes, there are travelling workers that need laptops – but I bet they are the 20% not the 80%,