5 ms·

Sent From My iPad

32 points by zachwill 14y ago

mparlane 14y ago
Here was me thinking the title implied the article was going to be about the dangers of leaking information such as the device used to post on a certain network. The other day I got twitter spam directed to my account that was designed to be run on android but not display anything on a pc :(
mikeash 14y ago
It's funny, stories like this actually give me the impression that the iPad is not yet ready to take over general-purpose computing tasks like this. Because, if it were, then why bother writing about it? You'd just switch devices and go about your life. It's kind of like the idea that any danger you see on the news must be rare, because otherwise it wouldn't be newsworthy.
- racbart 14y ago
  The iPad is already more than ready for general-purpose computing, which is leisure web browsing, purchasing stuff online, writing a blog or using social media. The kind of stuff my mom does or my friends from outside IT industry do using their computers. This post was about iPad being (almost) ready to be the primary computer in some professional tasks and this is worth noticing and mentioning.
  - huggyface 14y ago
    This post was about iPad being (almost) ready to be the primary computer in some professional tasks Writing, which is in many ways the lowest common denominator of all computing devices.
    - jcoder 14y ago
      Only for those of us who still primarily use a CLI. Clicking (tapping) has been the lowest common denominator for a few decades now.
    - mikeash 14y ago
      Now that you mention it, the idea of a computing device being ready for casual use by those one might affectionately term "lusers" but not for heavy-duty professional use by computer people is so backwards it makes my head spin. Things sure have changed.
- Scene_Cast2 14y ago
  I'll agree with you here. It's news that it's working for the author, but that style certainly won't "work" for many others. I consider myself in the "others" category, since I need my keyboard and platform-specific tools.
- jsz0 14y ago
  then why bother writing about it? I think these stories are coming from people who had a perception using the iPad this way was impossible (for their needs) until they actually try it out. Then it's sort of a revelation and they want to share it with the world.
  - bookwormAT 14y ago
    No my friend: This article was written by M.G. Siegler. He accepted that the iPad was the future the moment Steve Jobs told him so.
- Zak 14y ago
  if it were, then why bother writing about it? Most likely because MG Siegler is a professional tech writer. If he makes a significant change in how he uses tech, or what tech he uses, it would be surprising for him not to write about it. I have to say though, I'm a bit skeptical of the tablet revolution. I think the main driving force right now is the fact that a great many people dislike their PCs for reasons having little to do with the form factor.
  - dktbs 14y ago
    I agree. I think that the appstorification of computing is driven by the idea that the internet (and software from it) is dangerous, and that the app store (iOS,Android,etc.) is safe. Its like most of the adult world just got their first game boy, and they are all starting to figure out that some of the games are total shit.
- ctdonath 14y ago
  Wrong angle. Stories like this, and comments like yours, are because those insisting "it's not ready" are stunned when they find it is - and has been. I've been using this iPad 1 for everything (save heavy duty coding) since minutes after it came out. I just switched devices and went about my life. Nice to see people figure it out ... if years late. Wish others would realize its not novel just because it shows up on the news. (It could be a good coding platform too if Apple allowed compilers on iOS.)
  - mparlane 14y ago
    Slow compilers(*)
  - barbs 14y ago
    > I've been using this iPad 1 for everything (save heavy duty coding) since minutes after it came out. I just switched devices and went about my life. Nice to see people figure it out ... if years late. Bloody hipster. :P
- Nicole060 14y ago
  I own an iPad and I don't really consider it as a desktop computer replacement. I can't program on it. I can't do serious photo editing on it. It's just a consumption device. I like it but those stories about iPad being general purpose computers are seriously getting on my nerve, because as someone who uses one everyday, it's still far from being anything like it, and I seriously hate Apple restrictions and consider moving to an android tablet, I saw the community there even made an IDE that can make true Android apps in Java, from within Android. If the future of computing is about being dictated on what I can and cannot do on a device I bought by Apple, I'd rather not see that future. I regret having bought an iPad instead of waiting for something like the Nexus 7. I'm actually going to buy the Nexus once Google decides to sell it in my country but it means I've wasted money on my iPad.
  - ricardobeat 14y ago
    There are a dozen code editors, and a few pretty decent photo editors too. It's as much of a "consumption device" as you want it to be. The iPad is a general computing device, it just has a friendly interface that most people can understand. Is an automatic car 'limited' because you can't change gears manually? Also, jailbreak. You can use shell all the time if you want to.
    - Nicole060 14y ago
      "There are a dozen code editors" You can't be serious. You can't import or export code. I don't even consider that fit for a toy because even toys are better when you can share them. " and a few pretty decent photo editors too" The way the iPad works compared to android makes it a huge PITA. If you use itunes to import photos from your computers they're going to get resized, and for some reason, you can't delete imported photos on your ipad unless you delete them from your computer and sync with itunes. How about that, for a closed device ? You can't delete content on the tablet unless you do a sync on your computer ? Complete madness. "The iPad is a general computing device, it just has a friendly interface that most people can understand. Is an automatic car 'limited' because you can't change gears manually?" Yes. If we race the same car, you with automatic and I with manual gears, I'm going to beat you. For that matter you must be an American, because here in Europe most of the cars sold aren't automatic. No one here believes that getting an automatic car is an upgrade. And having a friendly interface is no excuse for restricting what I can do with the device, Android proved you can do both : give a friendly interface and still be friendly toward those who want to do more than browse the web. Android has the potential to replace computers, with time. The iPad is a shitty walled garden where you can't even erase a photo you transferred from your computer. I regret having bought this device. But since Apple products tend to keep their value well on the aftermarket because of all the fanboys, selling the iPad 2 will actually bring me enough money to buy a Nexus 7 without having to spend a single cent more. I pity the poor sod who's going to buy that crap, though. I own three Apple products and I am sick with their antics. No more.
mrwilliamchang 14y ago
This experiment is something I've been curious about for awhile. Tablets are so much easier and cheaper than traditional PC's that is hard to imagine normal consumers buying PC's in the future. However normal consumers still need to type. The obvious answer is buying a keyboard for your tablet, but this has not caught on. Maybe Siegler is the start of a trend?
magoon 14y ago
I can SSH from my iPad. I can remote in. I have a bluetooth keyboard. I love the Verizon 3G. I have taken it on trips solo. The 11" MBA, on the other hand, is available with 8GB RAM and a high-speed SSD that basically destroys the performance of most laptops with spindle hard-drives. Ever since I got the 11" MBA, I have not once reached for my iPad. I even toss the MBA into my go bag and tether to my iPhone for light work on-the-go.
pooriaazimi 14y ago
I too was skeptical about iPad and its usefulness for me (for the first 6 or 7 months after I bought an iPad 2), but right now I do "absolutely" everything I do (except writing code, which admittedly is a big part of my daily life, but not as big as I initially thought) on my iPad. "Everything" includes all email, web browsing (and reading online tutorials and articles), listening to audiobooks (to be honest I do it more on my iPhone than iPad), managing tasks (OmniFocus is just fantastic), reading books that I would've never read on my MacBook (books like 'JavaScript: The Good Parts', 'Git Pro', 'Head-First C', 'Node: Up and Running' and many chapters of other books). How do I know that I wouldn't have read these books if it wasn't for the iPad? Because I wanted to read all of these books (or similar books) for the past several years but never got to do so because reading PDFs on a computer is really boring. I was content with blog articles and online tutorials and thought books were something of the past; but I was really wrong. The quality of these books are stunning and I've learned so much that my only regret is why I didn't use my iPad more in the first 5 months (it used to sit on my desk all day long). Last year I would've recommended the iPad to novice, incompetent PC users. Now, I recommend iPad to everyone. Well, maybe except those who can't live without having direct access to the machine's gut. But even those people can "jailbreak" (or get an Android tablet) and live a happy life.
mirsadm 14y ago
I've got the complete opposite experience. I use it so rarely that keeping it charged has become a hassle. Why? Simply because I work from home and my laptop is right there. It does everything quicker and better the iPad does (for me at least). I've only found it useful when travelling for entertainment, light web browsing etc. Basically a toy.
darkstalker 14y ago
I'm an Android user and bought an iPad some days ago. Overall it feels pretty weird and unintuitive from my point of view. First thing I tried was uploading some images on it, but can't upload files via USB storage, have to use iTunes for that. I'm a linux user, so had to install windows on VirtualBox and then forward the USB por to virtualized iTunes. After doing that I realize that can't just place files on the filesystem, files are bound to a particular application, so I have to upload the images to an image viewer, and that program "owns" the files. Also apps seem to be isolated from each other, when on Android they often communicate via "intents". Then I went to the App Store to get some apps to get started, and it asked me to create an Apple Id, I entered the info, then it asked me for credit card number.. I just wanted to get some free apps and skip the credit card part, but it didn't let me continue without it. So cancelled the Apple Id creation, went googling, and after a few tries managed to create the Apple Id account without registering a credit card (you need to download a free app). Seems that it's persuading you to enter a credit card, since the "none" payment option wasn't visible by default. After browsing the store for a while, most of the apps are paid and it's pretty hard to get free apps. You can't really get any decent app without paying, on Android 90% of the apps you'll use everyday are free. So, overall it feels limited, there is no contact with the underlying filesystem or OS, most apps have very poor or zero configuration, and trivial tasks (like uploading files from your PC) require extra cumbersome steps. Seems to be designed as a device for consuming, a toy, not something you're gonna work with. My desktop computer is far superior than an iPad.
- jsz0 14y ago
  If you use Dropbox you can have it just automatically transfer your photos or iPhoto/PhotoStream. From there it's in your camera roll which any application can access.
  - celerity 14y ago
    God help you if you want to use it in two different applications. Plus, "you can use a third-party service" is not exactly an elegant solution.
- mannkind 14y ago
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
ansible 14y ago
The keyboard is a crutch? I strongly disagree. When there is another input method that allows me to rapidly and precisely enter text, then, at that point the keyboard will be a crutch for us old fogies. I haven't seen anything short of a direct neural interface that can replace a keyboard in the near future. I've tried some of the alternatives, but I didn't see myself becoming fast and accurate enough for them not to be annoying.
- dkrich 14y ago
  Agreed. There just isn't a more effective tool for communicating instructions to a computer than a keyboard, and I don't think it's really close. To say that the keyboard is "a crutch to the past" is in my view no different than saying that spoken words or written language are a crutch to the past. Just because something has worked well for a long time doesn't mean that it necessarily is due for a change. Sometimes just working well is far more valuable than perceived convenience or migrating to new technologies. To me the only real pain point for using a keyboard is added bulk, but that in and of itself is not a huge deal. In fact when I am traveling and have to use my laptop, I miss having my iMac keyboard with a number pad and additional inputs that don't have to be combined into single keys with multiple functions. There's a reason nobody codes on their phones or tablets- there's no effective way to communicate with it at high speeds.
  - whatusername 14y ago
    Really? I'd love to see you edit a photo using just a keyboard. A Physical keyboard is incredibly limited because it allows us to communicate one of two things to the computer. We can communicate a single character. (ie - a fraction of a word which is a fraction of an idea). Or we can communicate a single pre-defined intent (ie - a function key or shortcut). The way we communicate intents (CTRL-C, ESC, CTRL-ALT-DEL, F5) changes with the application but the Hardware itself doesn't). This is very limiting.
    - goostavos 14y ago
      >I'd love to see you edit a photo using just a keyboard. Heh, I'd like to see you edit without one. Any editor worth his salt will have mapped his shortcuts to sit under his keyboard hand. How is moving a finger 1/4 of an inch in any direction to call entirely new windows/tool/pulgins/etc limiting? What do you suggest as a betting input device? >The way we communicate intents (CTRL-C, ESC, CTRL-ALT-DEL, F5) changes with the application but the Hardware itself doesn't). This is very limiting. Could you expand on this? I don't quite get the point your trying to make.
ixobelle 14y ago
wow. amazing post.
goronbjorn 14y ago
I'm dreaming of the day when a programmer writes this article.
- stackingcode 14y ago
  One did. http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...
celerity 14y ago
How does clumsily being able to replicate a very basic task that laptops have been doing for many years extremely well for $100 imply that tablets are going to kill computers? This might well be the case (I hope so!), but being able to attach a keyboard is not the indicator of change this guy wants it to be.
Brajeshwar 14y ago
One of the first things I do on my mobile devices is to change that "Sent from my iThing" to my own simple signature.
orangethirty 14y ago
Send me an email and see where I send emails from. :) Hint: not an iPad.
honestcoyote 14y ago
I don't know why these articles, aimed at a relatively technical audience, usually concentrate on the iPad as a desktop replacement when they should be talking about Android. Android allows you direct access to the filesystem, documents aren't locked to open in only one app, has processes to allow apps to interoperate, offers shells and compilers which allows coding in multiple languages, allows sideloading of applications, has mouse/touchpad support, monitor output (on tablets with hdmi out), and is generally not locked down to any noticeable degree. I could almost use my Asus Transformer, with the keyboard dock, as a laptop replacement. If it would only offer window tiling so more than one app would show up at once, and if it had a more robust image editor, then I could probably make the switch full time. The 12 hour battery life would be a nice plus.
- Mythbusters 14y ago
  Or better still on Windows Rt with proven Os backing it, Windows should be a much interesting alternative on a tablet being used as a productive device.
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    Windows 8 is not a proven OS. Windows 8 RT probably shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as the word "proven".
Mythbusters 14y ago
and this is why the Surface device sounds so exciting. iPad hasn't been exploited as a productivity device yet. With Microsoft's stronghold on productivity market, this should be interesting.
drivebyacct2 14y ago
Am I the only one insane that continues to read these "I only use an iPad" and just roll their eyes? Even on an Android tablet I would be extremely upset without a keyboard and my suite of applications. I can't even possibly begin to imagine how painful it would be on an iPad. The article from the developer who uses Linode isn't even a good comparison point. As in, the iPad is effectively nothing more than a thin client. A $35 raspberry Pi and a freebie monitor off of Craigslist can do all of that. Most of the articles can be summarized as: most of the time, tablets are fine for people consuming content. Wifi, Cellular data make access to the cloud trivial. I'm sure if I were writing for my blog named "massivegreatness" then I would be perfectly happy with my Android phone and a keyboard. The notion that keyboards are going away is more of the delusion I expect from MG. Furthermore, who cares if he wrote this on his iPad? I could write this on my phone without a keyboard, or I could write this on my 11" MBA, or I could write this on an iPad with a keyboard. (Hint, the MBA is more powerful, and as compact as an iPad+KB.)
- ricardobeat 14y ago
  bla bla bla content consumption This is just parroting. The author specifically says he uses a Macbook at home, and the iPad is now his choice for travel, not his only computer. A raspberry pi is nowhere near the computing/graphics power, portability, battery life (haha) of an iPad. It doesn't even have a case for christ's sake, what a stupid comparison. Yeah, lugging around a bare motherboard attached to a monitor is just the same. How's this for a "consumption only device"? http://madewithpaper.fiftythree.com/ http://madewithpaper.fiftythree.com/
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    "For christ's sake, what a stupid" reply. You mixed and matched what you wanted to make me look silly. Despite being disingenuous, you missed the entire point of my post. edit: I just can't get over the tone of your post, especially given that despite my implication of productiveness and keyboard, you gave an example that explicitly and obviously only requires a stylus.
    - 14y ago
fukutis 14y ago
I personally found that MBA 13" is so much better than my iPad 3, not much difference in weight either.

32 points by zachwill 14y ago

Here was me thinking the title implied the article was going to be about the dangers of leaking information such as the device used to post on a certain network. The other day I got twitter spam directed to my account that was designed to be run on android but not display anything on a pc :(

mikeash 14y ago

It's funny, stories like this actually give me the impression that the iPad is not yet ready to take over general-purpose computing tasks like this. Because, if it were, then why bother writing about it? You'd just switch devices and go about your life. It's kind of like the idea that any danger you see on the news must be rare, because otherwise it wouldn't be newsworthy.

racbart 14y ago
The iPad is already more than ready for general-purpose computing, which is leisure web browsing, purchasing stuff online, writing a blog or using social media. The kind of stuff my mom does or my friends from outside IT industry do using their computers. This post was about iPad being (almost) ready to be the primary computer in some professional tasks and this is worth noticing and mentioning.
- huggyface 14y ago
  This post was about iPad being (almost) ready to be the primary computer in some professional tasks Writing, which is in many ways the lowest common denominator of all computing devices.
  - jcoder 14y ago
    Only for those of us who still primarily use a CLI. Clicking (tapping) has been the lowest common denominator for a few decades now.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    Now that you mention it, the idea of a computing device being ready for casual use by those one might affectionately term "lusers" but not for heavy-duty professional use by computer people is so backwards it makes my head spin. Things sure have changed.
Scene_Cast2 14y ago
I'll agree with you here. It's news that it's working for the author, but that style certainly won't "work" for many others. I consider myself in the "others" category, since I need my keyboard and platform-specific tools.
jsz0 14y ago
then why bother writing about it? I think these stories are coming from people who had a perception using the iPad this way was impossible (for their needs) until they actually try it out. Then it's sort of a revelation and they want to share it with the world.
- bookwormAT 14y ago
  No my friend: This article was written by M.G. Siegler. He accepted that the iPad was the future the moment Steve Jobs told him so.
Zak 14y ago
if it were, then why bother writing about it? Most likely because MG Siegler is a professional tech writer. If he makes a significant change in how he uses tech, or what tech he uses, it would be surprising for him not to write about it. I have to say though, I'm a bit skeptical of the tablet revolution. I think the main driving force right now is the fact that a great many people dislike their PCs for reasons having little to do with the form factor.
- dktbs 14y ago
  I agree. I think that the appstorification of computing is driven by the idea that the internet (and software from it) is dangerous, and that the app store (iOS,Android,etc.) is safe. Its like most of the adult world just got their first game boy, and they are all starting to figure out that some of the games are total shit.
ctdonath 14y ago
Wrong angle. Stories like this, and comments like yours, are because those insisting "it's not ready" are stunned when they find it is - and has been. I've been using this iPad 1 for everything (save heavy duty coding) since minutes after it came out. I just switched devices and went about my life. Nice to see people figure it out ... if years late. Wish others would realize its not novel just because it shows up on the news. (It could be a good coding platform too if Apple allowed compilers on iOS.)
- mparlane 14y ago
  Slow compilers(*)
- barbs 14y ago
  > I've been using this iPad 1 for everything (save heavy duty coding) since minutes after it came out. I just switched devices and went about my life. Nice to see people figure it out ... if years late. Bloody hipster. :P
Nicole060 14y ago
I own an iPad and I don't really consider it as a desktop computer replacement. I can't program on it. I can't do serious photo editing on it. It's just a consumption device. I like it but those stories about iPad being general purpose computers are seriously getting on my nerve, because as someone who uses one everyday, it's still far from being anything like it, and I seriously hate Apple restrictions and consider moving to an android tablet, I saw the community there even made an IDE that can make true Android apps in Java, from within Android. If the future of computing is about being dictated on what I can and cannot do on a device I bought by Apple, I'd rather not see that future. I regret having bought an iPad instead of waiting for something like the Nexus 7. I'm actually going to buy the Nexus once Google decides to sell it in my country but it means I've wasted money on my iPad.
- ricardobeat 14y ago
  There are a dozen code editors, and a few pretty decent photo editors too. It's as much of a "consumption device" as you want it to be. The iPad is a general computing device, it just has a friendly interface that most people can understand. Is an automatic car 'limited' because you can't change gears manually? Also, jailbreak. You can use shell all the time if you want to.
  - Nicole060 14y ago
    "There are a dozen code editors" You can't be serious. You can't import or export code. I don't even consider that fit for a toy because even toys are better when you can share them. " and a few pretty decent photo editors too" The way the iPad works compared to android makes it a huge PITA. If you use itunes to import photos from your computers they're going to get resized, and for some reason, you can't delete imported photos on your ipad unless you delete them from your computer and sync with itunes. How about that, for a closed device ? You can't delete content on the tablet unless you do a sync on your computer ? Complete madness. "The iPad is a general computing device, it just has a friendly interface that most people can understand. Is an automatic car 'limited' because you can't change gears manually?" Yes. If we race the same car, you with automatic and I with manual gears, I'm going to beat you. For that matter you must be an American, because here in Europe most of the cars sold aren't automatic. No one here believes that getting an automatic car is an upgrade. And having a friendly interface is no excuse for restricting what I can do with the device, Android proved you can do both : give a friendly interface and still be friendly toward those who want to do more than browse the web. Android has the potential to replace computers, with time. The iPad is a shitty walled garden where you can't even erase a photo you transferred from your computer. I regret having bought this device. But since Apple products tend to keep their value well on the aftermarket because of all the fanboys, selling the iPad 2 will actually bring me enough money to buy a Nexus 7 without having to spend a single cent more. I pity the poor sod who's going to buy that crap, though. I own three Apple products and I am sick with their antics. No more.

mrwilliamchang 14y ago

This experiment is something I've been curious about for awhile. Tablets are so much easier and cheaper than traditional PC's that is hard to imagine normal consumers buying PC's in the future. However normal consumers still need to type. The obvious answer is buying a keyboard for your tablet, but this has not caught on. Maybe Siegler is the start of a trend?

magoon 14y ago

I can SSH from my iPad. I can remote in. I have a bluetooth keyboard. I love the Verizon 3G. I have taken it on trips solo. The 11" MBA, on the other hand, is available with 8GB RAM and a high-speed SSD that basically destroys the performance of most laptops with spindle hard-drives. Ever since I got the 11" MBA, I have not once reached for my iPad. I even toss the MBA into my go bag and tether to my iPhone for light work on-the-go.

pooriaazimi 14y ago

I too was skeptical about iPad and its usefulness for me (for the first 6 or 7 months after I bought an iPad 2), but right now I do "absolutely" everything I do (except writing code, which admittedly is a big part of my daily life, but not as big as I initially thought) on my iPad. "Everything" includes all email, web browsing (and reading online tutorials and articles), listening to audiobooks (to be honest I do it more on my iPhone than iPad), managing tasks (OmniFocus is just fantastic), reading books that I would've never read on my MacBook (books like 'JavaScript: The Good Parts', 'Git Pro', 'Head-First C', 'Node: Up and Running' and many chapters of other books). How do I know that I wouldn't have read these books if it wasn't for the iPad? Because I wanted to read all of these books (or similar books) for the past several years but never got to do so because reading PDFs on a computer is really boring. I was content with blog articles and online tutorials and thought books were something of the past; but I was really wrong. The quality of these books are stunning and I've learned so much that my only regret is why I didn't use my iPad more in the first 5 months (it used to sit on my desk all day long). Last year I would've recommended the iPad to novice, incompetent PC users. Now, I recommend iPad to everyone. Well, maybe except those who can't live without having direct access to the machine's gut. But even those people can "jailbreak" (or get an Android tablet) and live a happy life.

mirsadm 14y ago

I've got the complete opposite experience. I use it so rarely that keeping it charged has become a hassle. Why? Simply because I work from home and my laptop is right there. It does everything quicker and better the iPad does (for me at least). I've only found it useful when travelling for entertainment, light web browsing etc. Basically a toy.

darkstalker 14y ago

I'm an Android user and bought an iPad some days ago. Overall it feels pretty weird and unintuitive from my point of view. First thing I tried was uploading some images on it, but can't upload files via USB storage, have to use iTunes for that. I'm a linux user, so had to install windows on VirtualBox and then forward the USB por to virtualized iTunes. After doing that I realize that can't just place files on the filesystem, files are bound to a particular application, so I have to upload the images to an image viewer, and that program "owns" the files. Also apps seem to be isolated from each other, when on Android they often communicate via "intents". Then I went to the App Store to get some apps to get started, and it asked me to create an Apple Id, I entered the info, then it asked me for credit card number.. I just wanted to get some free apps and skip the credit card part, but it didn't let me continue without it. So cancelled the Apple Id creation, went googling, and after a few tries managed to create the Apple Id account without registering a credit card (you need to download a free app). Seems that it's persuading you to enter a credit card, since the "none" payment option wasn't visible by default. After browsing the store for a while, most of the apps are paid and it's pretty hard to get free apps. You can't really get any decent app without paying, on Android 90% of the apps you'll use everyday are free. So, overall it feels limited, there is no contact with the underlying filesystem or OS, most apps have very poor or zero configuration, and trivial tasks (like uploading files from your PC) require extra cumbersome steps. Seems to be designed as a device for consuming, a toy, not something you're gonna work with. My desktop computer is far superior than an iPad.

jsz0 14y ago
If you use Dropbox you can have it just automatically transfer your photos or iPhoto/PhotoStream. From there it's in your camera roll which any application can access.
- celerity 14y ago
  God help you if you want to use it in two different applications. Plus, "you can use a third-party service" is not exactly an elegant solution.
mannkind 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

ansible 14y ago

The keyboard is a crutch? I strongly disagree. When there is another input method that allows me to rapidly and precisely enter text, then, at that point the keyboard will be a crutch for us old fogies. I haven't seen anything short of a direct neural interface that can replace a keyboard in the near future. I've tried some of the alternatives, but I didn't see myself becoming fast and accurate enough for them not to be annoying.

dkrich 14y ago
Agreed. There just isn't a more effective tool for communicating instructions to a computer than a keyboard, and I don't think it's really close. To say that the keyboard is "a crutch to the past" is in my view no different than saying that spoken words or written language are a crutch to the past. Just because something has worked well for a long time doesn't mean that it necessarily is due for a change. Sometimes just working well is far more valuable than perceived convenience or migrating to new technologies. To me the only real pain point for using a keyboard is added bulk, but that in and of itself is not a huge deal. In fact when I am traveling and have to use my laptop, I miss having my iMac keyboard with a number pad and additional inputs that don't have to be combined into single keys with multiple functions. There's a reason nobody codes on their phones or tablets- there's no effective way to communicate with it at high speeds.
- whatusername 14y ago
  Really? I'd love to see you edit a photo using just a keyboard. A Physical keyboard is incredibly limited because it allows us to communicate one of two things to the computer. We can communicate a single character. (ie - a fraction of a word which is a fraction of an idea). Or we can communicate a single pre-defined intent (ie - a function key or shortcut). The way we communicate intents (CTRL-C, ESC, CTRL-ALT-DEL, F5) changes with the application but the Hardware itself doesn't). This is very limiting.
  - goostavos 14y ago
    >I'd love to see you edit a photo using just a keyboard. Heh, I'd like to see you edit without one. Any editor worth his salt will have mapped his shortcuts to sit under his keyboard hand. How is moving a finger 1/4 of an inch in any direction to call entirely new windows/tool/pulgins/etc limiting? What do you suggest as a betting input device? >The way we communicate intents (CTRL-C, ESC, CTRL-ALT-DEL, F5) changes with the application but the Hardware itself doesn't). This is very limiting. Could you expand on this? I don't quite get the point your trying to make.

ixobelle 14y ago

wow. amazing post.

goronbjorn 14y ago

I'm dreaming of the day when a programmer writes this article.

stackingcode 14y ago
One did. http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...

celerity 14y ago

How does clumsily being able to replicate a very basic task that laptops have been doing for many years extremely well for $100 imply that tablets are going to kill computers? This might well be the case (I hope so!), but being able to attach a keyboard is not the indicator of change this guy wants it to be.

Brajeshwar 14y ago

One of the first things I do on my mobile devices is to change that "Sent from my iThing" to my own simple signature.

orangethirty 14y ago

Send me an email and see where I send emails from. :) Hint: not an iPad.

honestcoyote 14y ago

I don't know why these articles, aimed at a relatively technical audience, usually concentrate on the iPad as a desktop replacement when they should be talking about Android. Android allows you direct access to the filesystem, documents aren't locked to open in only one app, has processes to allow apps to interoperate, offers shells and compilers which allows coding in multiple languages, allows sideloading of applications, has mouse/touchpad support, monitor output (on tablets with hdmi out), and is generally not locked down to any noticeable degree. I could almost use my Asus Transformer, with the keyboard dock, as a laptop replacement. If it would only offer window tiling so more than one app would show up at once, and if it had a more robust image editor, then I could probably make the switch full time. The 12 hour battery life would be a nice plus.

Mythbusters 14y ago
Or better still on Windows Rt with proven Os backing it, Windows should be a much interesting alternative on a tablet being used as a productive device.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  Windows 8 is not a proven OS. Windows 8 RT probably shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as the word "proven".

Mythbusters 14y ago

and this is why the Surface device sounds so exciting. iPad hasn't been exploited as a productivity device yet. With Microsoft's stronghold on productivity market, this should be interesting.

drivebyacct2 14y ago

Am I the only one insane that continues to read these "I only use an iPad" and just roll their eyes? Even on an Android tablet I would be extremely upset without a keyboard and my suite of applications. I can't even possibly begin to imagine how painful it would be on an iPad. The article from the developer who uses Linode isn't even a good comparison point. As in, the iPad is effectively nothing more than a thin client. A $35 raspberry Pi and a freebie monitor off of Craigslist can do all of that. Most of the articles can be summarized as: most of the time, tablets are fine for people consuming content. Wifi, Cellular data make access to the cloud trivial. I'm sure if I were writing for my blog named "massivegreatness" then I would be perfectly happy with my Android phone and a keyboard. The notion that keyboards are going away is more of the delusion I expect from MG. Furthermore, who cares if he wrote this on his iPad? I could write this on my phone without a keyboard, or I could write this on my 11" MBA, or I could write this on an iPad with a keyboard. (Hint, the MBA is more powerful, and as compact as an iPad+KB.)

ricardobeat 14y ago
bla bla bla content consumption This is just parroting. The author specifically says he uses a Macbook at home, and the iPad is now his choice for travel, not his only computer. A raspberry pi is nowhere near the computing/graphics power, portability, battery life (haha) of an iPad. It doesn't even have a case for christ's sake, what a stupid comparison. Yeah, lugging around a bare motherboard attached to a monitor is just the same. How's this for a "consumption only device"? http://madewithpaper.fiftythree.com/ http://madewithpaper.fiftythree.com/
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  "For christ's sake, what a stupid" reply. You mixed and matched what you wanted to make me look silly. Despite being disingenuous, you missed the entire point of my post. edit: I just can't get over the tone of your post, especially given that despite my implication of productiveness and keyboard, you gave an example that explicitly and obviously only requires a stylus.
  - 14y ago

fukutis 14y ago

I personally found that MBA 13" is so much better than my iPad 3, not much difference in weight either.