7 ms·

Even outside of education, I don't think the iPad is useful for anything other than consumption. I've seen some creative types using drawing applications on it

• digi_owl 10y ago
  Well they can replace clipboards. Samsung seems to market their rugged 8" Android model towards logistics and factory floor management. And in recent years I have noticed a large number of ruggedized Windows devices aiming towards much the same market.
  • Ar-Curunir 10y ago
    The iPad is decidedly not rugged...
    • digi_owl 10y ago
      And thus there is a thriving market in third party cases...
• ryanmarsh 10y ago
  I seriously tried to make an iPad Pro (9.7") work for writing my book (ETA sometime before I die). All the tools I need are there. I fly a lot so the form factor is perfect. I just couldn't stomach the keyboard.
  • macspoofing 10y ago
    I tried to make the iPad my primary 'travel' device. My problem was the lack of multi-tasking (I was surprised how often I reference the web, or a document when writing an email) and no mouse support. I get that that the iPad is a "Post-PC device", but if you're using a keyboard (by the way, keyboard shortcuts on iPad were terrible) anyway, the mouse is actually a really good, productive peripheral - but Apple ideology doesn't believe in using mice with tablets.
    • ghaff 10y ago
      Yeah I've tried to make do with just a tablet when traveling but just can't make it work. Even with a keyboard it's just too clumsy to select things, move the cursor around, etc. And, as you say, multi-tasking. So I almost always travel with a laptop-like thing (whether a Mac or a Chromebook) and a tablet-like thing (whether an iPad or a Kindle). Frankly, devices are small and light enough today that there just isn't a huge win to paring down to one device that doesn't do some tasks well.
    • josteink 10y ago
      > if you're using a keyboard (by the way, keyboard shortcuts on iPad were terrible) anyway, the mouse is actually a really good, productive peripheral - but Apple ideology doesn't believe in using mice with tablets. I'm not going to try to make a argument for Android tablets in general (on my third, not buying a fourth), but they actually support all this. Run up a chroot with Debian and X11 and you can even have yourself a semi-normal Linux desktop inside your Android. With a mouse and keyboard. It's not great, but when cornered I've actually managed to pull through on a device like this.
      • voltagex_ 10y ago
        I have an irrational hatred of chroots on Android, mainly because it's made Googling for info on running mainline Linux on these devices impossible. At the point you're using X11 on Android, wouldn't you be better off with a Chromebook? I'm also interested in Samsung's DeX. We're well past the point where I should be able to carry one device in my pocket and dock into extra peripherals as needed. Sidenote: of course we couldn't have a standard for dockable devices. So we've got Microsoft's Continuum, Samsung's DeX and whatever MaruOS is doing these days.
      • saghm 10y ago
        > I'm not going to try to make a argument for Android tablets in general (on my third, not buying a fourth), but they actually support all this. > Run up a chroot with Debian and X11 and you can even have yourself a semi-normal Linux desktop inside your Android. With a mouse and keyboard. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge a Linux fan, but calling this "supported" seems like a stretch. Maybe better phrasing would be "this is possible on an Android tablet".
• agumonkey 10y ago
  music too maybe ? physical input of symbols can be done, but I like clicky keys.
• ams6110 10y ago
  My kids school district got iPads for all the students. Then they selected a math textbook that didn't work on the iPad. I'm pretty convinced that the motivations for providing iPads or laptops for each student are almost entirely political and not educational.
  • xiaoma 10y ago
    How would any book "not work on the iPad"? It seems like whatever math is taught in the book can be done on the iPad (either writing out the problems in a drawing app or using a special purpose one). Was it some kind of ebook? Is that what you mean?
    • ams6110 10y ago
      Correct. It was an online textbook and it didn't work in Safari.
      • xiaoma 10y ago
        Yikes.
      • ArtDev 10y ago
        I despise Safari. If they just used Chromium, instead waiting years to merge in the improvements, my job would be so much less frustrating. I have OSX in a VM just for Safari issues.
  • yardie 10y ago
    Our child has one website that uses flash. I've removed flash from all our other computers except the one computer locked down to use just that. How a school, and vendor, get away with requiring flash in 2017 is beyond frustrating.
    • bleachedsleet 10y ago
      School's online systems tend to be woefully behind the times. Usually online portals and e-textbooks are little more than patronizing nods to the students that have come to accept tech in their lives as a necessity rather than any meaningful attempt at bettering education.
• sotojuan 10y ago
  Agreed. I use my girlfriend's iPad for watching stuff in bed/couch. It is way comfier than a laptop, but I can't really use it for writing anything longer than a Google search.
  • hrktb 10y ago
    To explain why I am so uncomfortable with "I can't use it for more than X" anecdotes: My grandma couldn't do more than automatically playing DVD on her windows desktop. My wife can't do more than opening and closing the door on any random semi-truck. I can't do more than make horrible sounds on a violin. All of these are only half of the story, and the receiver of the message is supposed to guess the other half perhaps ? But of course, which is the other half ? Is there a point to be made about any of these or is it just a random observation ? Basically it brings more questions that it answers.
    • Kluny 10y ago
      I don't think this comment deserves downvotes.
• plg 10y ago
  I tried iPad Pro 12.9" for a primary portable device ... but like many others it was just too clumsy (software was clumsy) for getting stuff done, in particular if one is also dealing with a desktop or laptop with a shared file system.
• cgriswald 10y ago
  I really want to disagree with you, but I can't. I primarily use my iPad Pro for note-taking for school, and for carrying around all my textbooks electronically. It's really great for these applications. Outside of school, I've done a little bit of artwork on it, and it's nice. But that's about it. My daughter draws prolifically, has a Surface and, after trying my iPad for awhile, decided she didn't want me to buy her one of her own. For myself, the most useful device I can imagine is the MacBook Pro that, by the way, you can remove the screen and draw on it. But I don't want iOS and a cobbled on Bluetooth keyboard. And I'm not holding my breath.
• Roboprog 10y ago
  My iPad mini is a great little synthesizer. That's not a very big market, though. For about $400 (total - iPad + Casio, some wires and software), you can use one to build a portable rig that actually sounds decent (if only I knew how to play better...). Use a "camera kit" (USB hub) to run MIDI in through USB, and an aux cable to run the sound back through something like a Casio keyboard (disabling the Casio's internal noise maker). Start up one of the inexpensive but pretty good synth programs on the iPad and go to it. (A cheap Casio lacks controller knobs, but you can use the tablet touch screen for expression) Audio latency on Android is generally too sluggish. Have not tried ChromeOS, but I expect it's similar. Plus, the guys that make the synth programs expect to get paid $5, $10 or $20 (depending), so I don't see this stuff moving over to one of Google's environments, where everybody expects vendors to provide free apps.
  • Roboprog 10y ago
    Substitute "USB class compliant MIDI keyboard with Aux in" for "Casio", which I said way too many times :-) The trick is to get/make a patch that makes no sound (e.g. - sample of silence) to abuse the keyboard's "play along with MP3 player" feature. The built-in speakers on these type of $100 to $200 battery operated keyboards aren't very loud, but they work for practice or sidewalk playing.
• derefr 10y ago
  They're pretty good for carrying around a bunch of custom "controller" interfaces (in the sense of a MIDI "controller") without needing to pack around hundreds of pounds of hardware covered in knobs and keys. DJs like them. Also see Bret Victor's talk (https://vimeo.com/64895205 https://vimeo.com/64895205) where he does digital puppetry using two tablets: one using direct motion input, the other with a knobs-and-sliders UI for a set of behavior controls.
• mathperson 10y ago
  I like it for reading scientific papers and textbooks in PDF form
• a2tech 10y ago
  i dunno..I thought the same until I watched my wife use the iPad Pro. I thought it was a toy (its just not for me) but I was downright shocked when she just walked into a meeting with her Pro and..for the lack of a better term owned it. She brought up her Pro on the big screen and just made it all work. Its not my world, but watching her work it made me realize how little I understand how the world actually uses a product. She makes that thing sing. If I bumped into her in a meeting I'd immediately defer. Its crazy how much work she got with that Pro+Pencil and a display.
  • GuiA 10y ago
    Could you go into more details as to what apps she uses on it, and what kind of work she does? What do you mean by "she made it all work"? (very curious about this)
• simonh 10y ago
  I think it depends on the person and the requirements. I've written tens of thousands of words on an iPad, used it to do programming exercises for job interviews using Pythonista as well as prototyping bits of work projects and hobby programming, created character sheets for a homegrown tabletop RPG, filled out PDF forms, my kids draw and paint on their minis as well as write fan fiction in Wattpad. There certainly are limitations due to the form factor and Apple's lockdown of the platform. Pythonista and other dev environments would be a lot more useful with less strict code sharing options. Still, you can do a lot with these things. Maybe it's because I don't own a laptop, carry the iPad frequently and use it on my daily commute.
  • richev 10y ago
    ...using the on-screen keyboard, or a physical one?
• jaegerpicker 10y ago
  You're wrong about it not being useful for other than consumption. I have a 12.9 inch Pro and a good bluetooth keyboard. I can mostly replace my mac book pro as a server side dev. I have great ssh clients, Coda is a very good editor, a good git client, all the communication tools I need, etc... Mostly it's just making small changes to your workflow to fit the new environment. Lot's of artists and musicians also create on iPads, so it may not be useful to you but others find it useful. I agree it's not likely to replace laptops in the next couple of years for everyone but plenty of people make it work now.