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I don't think trackpad support adds much value to the "serious" use cases of the iPad. If my work gets complex enough to require a trackpad, I get on my Mac. Th

I don't think trackpad support adds much value to the "serious" use cases of the iPad. If my work gets complex enough to require a trackpad, I get on my Mac. The trackpad looks more like a band-aid solution for those who are insistent on using the iPad as a serious computer (even though it's not), because nothing so-far-invented beats the traditional keyboard-mouse-window paradigm for productivity. The only "serious" use cases for the iPad, which are actually better on iPad than on Mac are: - Document review and annotation with tools like LiquidText or PDF Expert - Sketching and drawing with apps like Paper - Data collection and demonstration in the field (showing other people stuff, and asking them to enter info) Anything else you "could" technically do on an iPad is just a dumbed-down version of what we already do better on a Mac. Lots of pretty marketing and very little productivity - I feel bad for the generation of college kids raised on this pretty piece of glass while being deprived of the experience of "real" computing.

jungturk 7y ago
What is it about the Mac that makes these doings more efficient? Is that just a certain comfort about being able to more closely approach the OS abstractions like file and command?
- djbeadle 7y ago
  I can only speak for myself, I bought an 11" iPad Pro to have something much lighter and portable than my laptop that I could carry everywhere, write long form text on, and edit photos. Importing and editing a single photo is easy, but if I want to work on a whole batch it becomes a pain trying to manage many files using file system. So far the best solution I've found is to pay for Adobe cloud storage, import my photos to the Lightroom app (thus not polluting my camera roll) and let Adobe sync everything to my desktop where the photos eventually live on an external hard drive. Side note: Despite this the actual act of manipulating photos on the iPad are fantastic. I love being able to shoot an event and then start editing a couple photos for promotional purposes right then and there. Overall I love my big expensive tablet. If other people have developed iPad / iOS photography workflows I'd love to hear them!
  - jungturk 7y ago
    That makes sense. Managing batches doesn't seem like it would be terribly ergonomic with something like iOS.
jws 7y ago
Speaking to the 13" iPad w/keyboard combo, a MacBook Pro 15", and desktop multi monitor Macs which I use for working… The desktops are the thing for writing code. This goes for iOS apps, Mac apps, or Posix type server systems. It could be done on smaller screens, but I like leaving the test system on its own screen and keeping log viewing windows visible to notice changes. Communicating with people and extensive researching are almost exclusive on the iPad with keyboard. It's great for focused tasks and I can plop it down wherever I feel like being. The MacBook mostly stays in my "had to go out of town" bag. It might go unused for months at a time, but when I'm away from the desktops and need do something code oriented it is invaluable. The versatility is an asset, (currently I've given the room with my home office desktop over to a family member sheltering with us, but a couple displays, a keyboard, a magic pad, and some odd cables and boom, another desktop on demand). The thing I most dislike about working on the iPad is merrily keyboarding away and using the arrows to scroll, and then I need to poke something on the screen. I wouldn't call it "gorilla arm", but maybe "rhesus arm". My nicely supported arm has to rise and make a fairly accurate hit on the screen without any support, or add the extra step to make contact for accurate motion if it is more than a single touch. Definitely a modern third world problem, but turning touch and drags into simple thumb operations will be nice.

jungturk 7y ago

What is it about the Mac that makes these doings more efficient? Is that just a certain comfort about being able to more closely approach the OS abstractions like file and command?

djbeadle 7y ago
I can only speak for myself, I bought an 11" iPad Pro to have something much lighter and portable than my laptop that I could carry everywhere, write long form text on, and edit photos. Importing and editing a single photo is easy, but if I want to work on a whole batch it becomes a pain trying to manage many files using file system. So far the best solution I've found is to pay for Adobe cloud storage, import my photos to the Lightroom app (thus not polluting my camera roll) and let Adobe sync everything to my desktop where the photos eventually live on an external hard drive. Side note: Despite this the actual act of manipulating photos on the iPad are fantastic. I love being able to shoot an event and then start editing a couple photos for promotional purposes right then and there. Overall I love my big expensive tablet. If other people have developed iPad / iOS photography workflows I'd love to hear them!
- jungturk 7y ago
  That makes sense. Managing batches doesn't seem like it would be terribly ergonomic with something like iOS.

jws 7y ago

Speaking to the 13" iPad w/keyboard combo, a MacBook Pro 15", and desktop multi monitor Macs which I use for working… The desktops are the thing for writing code. This goes for iOS apps, Mac apps, or Posix type server systems. It could be done on smaller screens, but I like leaving the test system on its own screen and keeping log viewing windows visible to notice changes. Communicating with people and extensive researching are almost exclusive on the iPad with keyboard. It's great for focused tasks and I can plop it down wherever I feel like being. The MacBook mostly stays in my "had to go out of town" bag. It might go unused for months at a time, but when I'm away from the desktops and need do something code oriented it is invaluable. The versatility is an asset, (currently I've given the room with my home office desktop over to a family member sheltering with us, but a couple displays, a keyboard, a magic pad, and some odd cables and boom, another desktop on demand). The thing I most dislike about working on the iPad is merrily keyboarding away and using the arrows to scroll, and then I need to poke something on the screen. I wouldn't call it "gorilla arm", but maybe "rhesus arm". My nicely supported arm has to rise and make a fairly accurate hit on the screen without any support, or add the extra step to make contact for accurate motion if it is more than a single touch. Definitely a modern third world problem, but turning touch and drags into simple thumb operations will be nice.