Using a Tablet As Your Primary Computer 627
harrymcc writes "Three months ago, I started using an iPad 2 (with a Zagg keyboard) as my primary computing device--the one I blog on, write articles for TIME magazine on, and use to prepare photos and other illustrations that go with my writing. I now use it about 80 percent of the time; my trusty MacBook Air has become a secondary machine."
Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Funny)
Congratulations.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Informative)
Conglomeration.
FTFY.
Since no one else reads the article, I'll have to explain: it has many incorrect/missing words. It's as if it was written on a phone keyboard, with word completion, or something. "unless I have specific reason to think I’ll never a full-blown computer" "most iPads cost only a few dollars" "Or at least I was at firs–at this point"
It sounds like what the author appreciates is decent battery life and an efficient small-screen-friendly window manager.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Insightful)
Conglomeration.
FTFY.
Since no one else reads the article, I'll have to explain: it has many incorrect/missing words. It's as if it was written on a phone keyboard, with word completion, or something. "unless I have specific reason to think I’ll never a full-blown computer" "most iPads cost only a few dollars" "Or at least I was at firs–at this point"
It sounds like what the author appreciates is decent battery life and an efficient small-screen-friendly window manager.
It really was kind of surprising for an author who claims to be writing for Time magazine.
!surprising (Score:3, Funny)
Why do you find that surprising?
Re:!surprising (Score:5, Funny)
Because Time magazine's target audience has a sub-90 IQ.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:4, Informative)
It really was kind of surprising for an author who claims to be writing for Time magazine.
Nope. Just an example of why writers need good editors (no, not the Slashdot kind...)
I've been using the Asus Transformer as my primary content generation tool for some time now. Of course the Asus has the benefit of a decent built-in keyboard, HDMI port, as well as full size USB ports (for mouse and external hard drive), but there's no reason you wouldn't be almost as productive with an iPad.
I still have a full desktop running Debian as my home machine, but I've often found it just more convenient to hook the Transformer up to mouse, hdd and screen to finish whatever I've been working on. I'll be making sure my next printer is Android compatible, then that desktop might get a bit rusty...
Re: (Score:3)
"Content generation"? Is that what they're calling it now?
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:4, Informative)
I think "content generation" is a phrase used in a more all-encompassing manner, including writing, music, image manipulation, filmmaking, etc.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
"Content generation" is a term used by people to whom the actual content of the content is secondary and is simply a commodity to be "monetized".
Good grief! (Score:3)
They've monetized the eschaton!
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Funny)
"Howard, will you please come out of the bathroom? You've been in there almost an hour!"
"I can't, Mom, I'm generating content!"
Re: (Score:3)
Actually, the keyboard isn't built in. It's $150 extra.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Informative)
Since no one else reads the article, I'll have to explain: it has many incorrect/missing words. It's as if it was written on a phone keyboard, with word completion, or something.
You could also mention that he uses it in a docking thing with a keyboard so he's using it more like a laptop than a tablet.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:4, Insightful)
Only if he carries the dock around. Otherwise, we could make the argument that a laptop is really more like a desktop just because somebody hooks up a monitor etc to it.
Re: (Score:3)
It really was kind of surprising for an author who claims to be writing for Time magazine.
What part of this in any way "kind of surprising"?
The large number of spelling and grammar mistakes in TFA which xaxa pointed out.
Re:Not surprising (Score:5, Informative)
None of the errors pointed out by xaxa actually exist. You got trolled.
They did when I posted, they have been corrected.
The author has posted in the comments [technologizer.com] admitting this.
Thanks for assuming I'm trolling, but I have better things to do with my time.
Re:Not surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think anyone is pushing the idea that tablets can fulfill every need of every computer user. I'm not sure what you are responding to.
Re:Not surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think anyone is pushing the idea that tablets can fulfill every need of every computer user. I'm not sure what you are responding to.
You're exactly right, no one is pushing that idea. However, the fact that this is posted on Slashdot (where a disproportionate number of users are software developers, engineers, and other professions that require high powered computing) kinda implies that some of us can replace our desktops with a tablet. We know we can't and never will (unless the conditions laid out by the GP are satisfied), so this is just another one of those articles that are completely irrelevant to this demographic. What's next, links to Cosmopolitan articles?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Lumpy's e-penis is bigger than harrymc's e-penis.
Photoshop guys get like that after a while.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Is there someone somewhere claiming a mere tablet can do all those things you need?
Ooo! Car analogy time! I need to haul wood and bricks to the build site with my giant, dual rear axle pickup truck. Call me when the Smart Car can haul a ton of bricks and has a winch.
Re:Not surprising (Score:4, Interesting)
s/hardcore gaming/gaming/
It's not a matter of cpu, it's a matter of input devices, i cannot play stuff with a tablet that could be done with a 166mhz mac, simply because i need a keyboard and a mouse or even a wheel more responsive than the accelerometers.
So, the label hardcore is not proper IMHO, as it implies super cards and rigs, while in reality one might simply want to fire up a pc for an old assault cube.
Re: (Score:3)
Of course only programmers do something useful. First, they spend two hours writing bugs, then they spend three hours fixing the bugs, for a total of five hours of productivity. In between they have lunch.
I read the article... (Score:5, Informative)
Other than that, he states "This hasn’t been one of those experiments-for-the-sake-of-experimentation in which someone temporarily forsakes a PC for another device in order to write about the experience". Of course not. He had to justify his purchase (to himself, I suppose). Why else would he devote a blog post to "Hey look! I can write and take pictures with an iPad!"
He could just as easily written about blogging/taking pictures and emailing them to himself on a phone - because he bought an external keyboard.
Re:I read the article... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is someone that doesn't program, doesn't write long docs, is used to surfing a lot, and probably just does blog updates. A tablet is perfect.
Others with differing job needs would toss that tablet like a TV from a balcony. Except for a few rare ones, tablets can't hold much data, don't have a variety of ports, must download everything (and no DVDs, etc), and most importantly: you can't do a user-changes-battery. Yes, there are exceptions.
They have tiny screens, and by the time you add an external keyboard, it's back to the size of a netbook. As media consumption devices, they're spectacular. They're less expensive than a Macbook Air, but so is a Porsche 914.
Re:I read the article... (Score:5, Interesting)
This is someone that doesn't program, doesn't write long docs...
I'd suggest that a significant number of real jobs don't require programming or the write-up of long documents. iPads are being used in hospitals and the airline industry. I could imagine a situation where hotel cleaning staff could be managed via tablets which would allow their location and cleaning times to be tracked, as well as their availability for an emergency clean-up. Or as a checklist to be used in an auto shop. Or any place where large amounts of inventory need to be managed?
Don't get me wrong: I like my laptop. But I do code and I do write long documents on a regular basis. But there are a LOT of people out there who could use a tablet device or tablet+keyboard at a much lower cost and get their jobs done just fine.
After the KB his main point was (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the master point he made was that it's actually the OS he likes. Or rather the lack of an OS to deal with. No real responsibilities to manage. Just a pure application interface. He also liked the long battery life.
Re: (Score:3)
It's pretty clear he didn't get anywhere productive until he bought the ZaggFolio keyboard/case.
Keyboards are pretty central to what writers do.
Why else would he devote a blog post to "Hey look! I can write and take pictures with an iPad!"
Because people with blogs like to write blog posts about stuff. A rational person would need no more justification than that.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't think he needs to justify anything to anybody. My iPad 2 hasn't even paid the power that it has consumed since I've had it, let alone itself. I bought it because I have a thing for capacitive multitouch touchscreens, especially if they have a GPS too, and once the iPad 3 is out, this one will be sold at half the price, which is what I do to all my previous-generation Apple hardware as there's always someone around willing t buy my stuff when I upgrade. I have an iPhone 4S as well, but the iPad is
Re: (Score:3)
That, or he actually likes using his iPad for work, and decided to provide a counter-example to all the nerds who keep crying that iPads are only for consumption.
Maybe, but I doubt it. This isn't the first blog to show how an iPad can be used for creation purposes, while ironically turning it into a netbook by using an external keyboard.
Nerds crying that iPads are only for consumption are doing so precisely because of blogs like the author's proving that you need a keyboard to make an iPad useful to do any sort of content creation.
I have yet to see any blog or article claiming the iPad is fabulous at content creation without a keyboard.
Re:Let me be the first to say (Score:5, Funny)
"unless I have specific reason to think I’ll never a full-blown computer"
Oh no, you don't think he accidentally a whole iPad do you?
Re: (Score:3)
You didn't read the comments [technologizer.com], which would have been the obvious and polite thing to do before accusing me of trolling. *shrug*
...Good for you? (Score:5, Informative)
I'm sorry, this isn't a story. This is a blog entry, and a short one at that.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Funny)
This is a blog entry, and a short one at that.
Obviously typing blog posts on an iPad doesn't work as well as the submitter wants to make himself believe.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Interesting)
This is a blog entry, and a short one at that.
Obviously typing blog posts on an iPad doesn't work as well as the submitter wants to make himself believe.
Maybe he should stick to Twitter?
Seriously, I won an iPad over a year ago. The iPad sits on the nightstand by my bed - 95% of the time, I reach under the bed to retrieve my 13" laptop to do anything, including watching streaming media. The (8 and 10 year old) kids prefer the iPad to an eee Netbook, but only because it's swipey swipey fun to use and seems to be better at grabbing marginal WiFi connections than the Netbook is. I think if the kids had to choose between having a Netbook of their own, or 50/50 sharing the (twice as expensive) iPad, they'd probably go for having their own Netbook. Especially when they want to access Flash enabled websites.
Re: (Score:3)
I think if the kids had to choose between having a Netbook of their own, or 50/50 sharing the (twice as expensive) iPad, they'd probably go for having their own Netbook
So you're saying that if kids have to decide between sharing something, and having their own of something, they'll choose to have their own? Wow, what a breakthrough in the world of parenting.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:4, Insightful)
He's the 99% I guess.
I'm an amateur photographer. I upgraded from a Core 2 Duo laptop which was working GREAT (and I still use) to a Core i5... gasp! DESKTOP! Because I like having a 27" monitor and I use the 8GB of RAM and all 4 cores of my CPU to process photos. And of course, USB ports and SD card readers are nice too.
So, thanks for your suggestions iPad fanboys. I'll stick with my desktop machine for the next few years.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't think iPads and the like are supposed to replace desktops. But they might replace laptops for some use cases. I have to admit, I pretty much just use my big grunty desktop (serious work, gaming) or my iPad (quick web browsing, email, watching Youtube etc.) now. The laptop is gathering dust. I used to take it when I went on trips but now I just throw the iPad in instead - it's lighter and has better battery life, and it does all I need it to when travelling (basically email, Skype, web) and a few things the laptop doesn't (GPS + maps).
Having said that I would never use a tablet as my PRIMARY machine (the premise of this thread). Nor would most Slashdotters. A proper PC will always have its place for coding, gaming and heavy duty processing of media (video, audio and photos - as you will no doubt agree). But for the average Joe who just uses their computer to check a few websites and send an email or two, a tablet fits their needs nicely.
Re: (Score:3)
I am beginning to find it hard to justify having a desktop at all. Right now I have a mid-2011 iMac for desktop which I am considering selling and replacing with a Thunderbolt Display at home, using a Macbook Pro as a transportable home computer (with the Thunderbolt Display serving as its dock), and the iPad as a netbook, because most of the use that I have for a laptop these days is to access remote servers, browse the web, and read E-mail, all things that can be done perfectly well using an iPad with a
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Funny)
You clearly haven't read the article. The authory states his iPad2 has a neat photo editor. It can resize your pictures and even make them black & white. What else would somebody ever want to do with photographs?
Clearly the iPad2 can replace your hugely overspecced computer. It may be a bit more expensive than your computer, but you can use it everywhere (provided no sunlight is reflecting in the glossy screen).
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Funny)
There's no way to tell sarcasm and apple fanboyism apart.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:4, Informative)
I don't know any photographers with only one camera, or only one lens. Why would one computing device be enough?
A desktop PC with a large screen is great for photoshopping. But it's no use at all when you're out and about doing the photography itself.
Here's the ways another photographer uses an iPad in his workflow.
http://terrywhite.com/techblog/archives/7606 [terrywhite.com]
Re: (Score:3)
He's the 99% I guess.
I'm an amateur photographer. I upgraded from a Core 2 Duo laptop which was working GREAT (and I still use) to a Core i5... gasp! DESKTOP! Because I like having a 27" monitor and I use the 8GB of RAM and all 4 cores of my CPU to process photos. And of course, USB ports and SD card readers are nice too.
So, thanks for your suggestions iPad fanboys. I'll stick with my desktop machine for the next few years.
Sorry to break this to you, but he's the 1%. :)
I still have a desktop for gaming. The receptionists and bookkeepers get desktops because they are cheaper and in the case of accounting, does not permit them to easily take data out of the building like a laptop does. The CAD/GIS team use high end desktops because you simply cant get good graphics performance out of laptop, especially onto 2 x 30" monitors, even with SSD's (the old GIS desktops used 10K RPM Raptors). Developers constantly complain their lap
Re: (Score:3)
For photo editing, a laptop is fine.
I would love to see more laptops with IPS displays though. It might be possible as we've lately got relatively affordable tablets and desktop displays utilizing them too.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Interesting)
"Most laptops these days have an SD card reader built in anyway."
You mean a Low speed garbage SD card reader.
Photographers need a high speed SDHC reader. The external one I have reads a 32gig SDHC in less than 2 minutes. The reader in my alienware will take nearly 20 minutes to read it.
Re: (Score:3)
No, they use it for portfolios to show clients.
an ipad to dump photos to is a pain in the ass. No thanks. I'd rather use my image tank to copy the cards while I continue shooting, and then hook up firewire to see them later in the hotel room at decent speed.
the only photographers I know that use an ipad in the way you speak is the amateurs that are playing around. I dont have time to wait a week for the ipad to copy all the photos off of a 32 gig card. And bog whoop it holds 2 cards. I fill a 500gig
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:...Good for you? (Score:4, Funny)
As demand for PCs dies down (Score:2)
Meanwhile some of us have real work to do which we need our PC's for.
But as tablets become able to do "real work", fewer people will demand PCs. Some previous articles posted to Slashdot predict the "death of the PC", and pretty much only people who make apps for a living will have PCs. Where's the economy of scale in a PC industry dedicated to supporting only tablet app developers?
Re: (Score:3)
Why? Given a laptop that can do what you want and a tablet, why do you assume that people would always pick the tablet?
First, because they find the tablet operating system easier to learn and easier to keep free of fake antivirus and rootkits than Windows. People have already switched from PC gaming to console gaming for exactly this reason. Second, because laptops can't "do what [some people] want" because the author of a tablet application has the privilege not to make a Windows version. This has already happened with my bank: Chase's check deposit application is available only for iOS through the App Store or for Android
Re: (Score:3)
Asimov's Profession
Science fiction author.
fewer people will demand PCs.
Is there a full software development environment that is iOS- or Android-based?
The argument that every maker of a cryptographically locked down computing platform has used is that few people even need "a full software development environment". Professional software developers are among those who demand PCs, but far fewer people are professional software developers compared to users of computing devices in general. Thus "fewer people", not "no people".
Re: (Score:3)
And how do tables *become* better? Is there a full software development environment that is iOS- or Android-based?
Development is the number one exclusion when it comes to tasks which can be done on tablets. But development is a small niche. There can certainly be a world with a fraction of the numbers of PCs in it, even if not a single developer ever gives up their PC.
Re: (Score:3)
Pretty much this.
If you're a web developer, like me (or any kind of developer for that matter), you kinda need to be able to do things that just aren't feasible on a tablet.
Like run a test server, install and test on multiple browsers, run virtual machines to test on other OSes (like the mobile OSes for example. God bless Androidx86) and, you know, running at more than 1024x768 isn't such a bad thing either.
You know, all the little things we take for granted on a desktop disappears when you use a tablet.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
costs on the order of a thousand dollars
throws away 30 years of office app development
can't play a dvd
can't store more than a couple dozen gigs
doesn't allow installation of different OSs
runs anemic, "power-friendly" processors
can't multitask well
all of the above
Re:...Good for you? (Score:4, Insightful)
> costs on the order of a thousand dollars
Weasel words. Base model iPad 2 is $499.
> throws away 30 years of office app development
Don't care. Don't use Office or any competitor. Do not need it, do not want it.
> can't play a dvd
Don't need it to. My iPad has 32gig of storage on it. Right now I have seasons 3 and 4 of the Venture Brothers on there, as well as a few movies for my kids. If that's not enough I can stream stuff from my media server, or from Netflix.
DVDs are a dead storage medium.
> can't store more than a couple dozen gigs
So what? It's not a file server. It's a tablet. It has more than enough storage to do the job. And as mentioned before, streaming options are also available.
> doesn't allow installation of different OSs
So what? What if you don't care about installing different OSes?
> runs anemic, "power-friendly" processors
Powerful enough to run Lego Harry Potter, watch a movie, or anything else I want to do with it. What are you prevented from doing?
> can't multitask well
Same question: what are you prevented from doing? It polls for new emails in the background, if I get an IM I'm notified, etc., etc. What's your bitch?
Re: (Score:2)
This is a blog entry, and a short one at that.
With 2217 words? Ok for me ...
Re: (Score:3)
If this startles you, I understand
I nearly fell out of my chair.
Re:...Good for you? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's also a misleading summary. The guy isn't truly using a tablet as his primary computer, because the first thing he does is get a Bluetooth keyboard. What he likes is super-long battery life, built-in mobile broadband, and a clean user interface. Everything tablet-specific -- the touchscreen, the apps, the screen size -- he describes as worse than a laptop.
Have done the same as a developer, sort of (Score:4, Interesting)
My primary mobile development machine is now my iPad2. Using svn hooks and an apple bluetooth keyboard I've managed to quite effectively work remotely.
SSH is required from time to time, but frankly it's quite seldom once I got all the svn hooks set up correctly
Re:Have done the same as a developer, sort of (Score:4, Informative)
I use the SVN client built into iOS and iSSH for my SSH sessions. Works great for me.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
I missed the tablet craze when I was working out of coffee shops. Most of my time was spent in a text editor or in MATLAB.
There were certainly days where I would have killed for more battery life, but I'm skeptical that I could have worked out a workflow when I was doing MATLAB work. If I weren't fighting with 100 other people for the same WiFi signal, I could have remoted in to a real machine - but that was not always possible even from a reasonable laptop.
But for the projects I was doing where it was just
Re: (Score:2)
Benefits of working on something better than a tablet:
To name a few from the top of my head. I can't imagine doing all of my daily work on a tiny tablet.
But then again, if it's good enough for Picard [photobucket.com], it is probably good enough for me.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Now, can someone explain to me how it is even possible to use an iPad as a developer, except to test software on it? I thought you were forbidden from having any tools that translate software...
Re:Have done the same as a developer, sort of (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Have done the same as a developer, sort of (Score:4, Interesting)
I this not what the buzzword pushers have wanted to sell ever since they started talking about "the cloud"?
Hell, the big boys never wanted people to leave the mainframe world. We just found ourselves in a world where lugging the storage media, and later the whole computer, around was more effective then trying to dial in to work. Now that connectivity have caught up with that, the trends are reversing. Much to the chagrin of the nerds that enjoy "modable" computers.
Re:Have done the same as a developer, sort of (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
That's what I don't get either. I understand a desktop isn't mobile and a smartphone is too small, so there's room for something in the middle which is the best of both worlds. But why on earth would you choose a tablet over a notebook?
To me, a notebook seems just as portable as a tablet, with the added benefit of a more powerful system.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What is the benefit of using something "more powerful" than a console for development? I've yet to meet a graphical IDE that actually works better than vim
Stop this. Forever. If you need to design GUIs in your software development, a console only approach is undoubtedly inferior. Not using an unquestionably inferior development environment would be a benefit. There are loads of other examples. For some development, absolutely, a console meets the needs perfectly. But different requirements often require different solutions. If you don't know that as a developer, I do not want to use your software.
Re: (Score:3)
IDE does not equal interface design software. In some cases they are combined in one bundle, in some they aren't.
I have no use for IDEs, I do have use for interface design software.
But keep digging, you'll see light eventually.
Re: (Score:2)
Is there no terminal and SSH client for the iPad2? That would be a pretty basic omission.
(That's the first thing I installed on my Android phone. Very occasionally I used a Java SSH client on my old non-smart phone.)
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry I was unclear, SSH on the ipad is required from time to time. There are many SSH clients available for the ipad, but few good ones
Re: (Score:2)
You shouldn't be running any of that stuff on your development box, that's what development and staging servers are for.
Clearly there is someone here that doesn't do real development... but it isn't me
Re: (Score:3)
I'm halfway convinced you are engaging in some kind of elaborate troll or performance art. You are the one who is attaching automated testing (and tagging based on the results) to a revision control system; I am not. I have professionally developed software in a (useful) business setting, and I have managed a ten-person software development group. I saw the increase in code quality -- and more predictable release schedules -- when I migrated that group from Subversion to Git+Gerrit (which imposes mandato
Re: (Score:2)
A mix of php/js and C, front end vs. backend.
Make no mistake I have to be connected to commit, all compilation and testing is done on the server as a pre-commit hook.
Basically just before svn accepts the commit as an actual revision it does a compile. Successful compiles are tagged as good revisions and unsuccessful ones are tagged are tagged as "bad" revisions. Good ones get auto-deployed to the dev server, bad ones don't. Reports get emailed to the commiter.
Does it work on a bus? (Score:2)
all compilation and testing is done on the server as a pre-commit hook.
So how do you get development work done while away from a Wi-Fi signal? That's precisely why I carry a netbook: so that I can get development work done while commuting on a bus.
I just saved $2,410 (Score:5, Interesting)
iPad: $500. iPad keyboard: $50. Cellular data connection at $60 per month for 36 months: $2,160.
I just saved over $2,400 by switching to a netbook.
Re: (Score:3)
Actually the data plans for the ipad are cheaper (here) than the equivalent netbook plans. I like that you're somehow getting free internet on the netbook though, that's cool.
You're also getting reduced screen space on the netbook, a smaller less useful keyboard, etc. etc.
Not in App Store? Let them eat VNC (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't understand the comparison - how is a cellular data connection any more essential to the ipad than the netbook?
A netbook lets me run any application I want while offline, regardless of whether or not the manufacturer of the netbook has approved the application. In order to run any application that Apple has not approved on an iPad, I would need to run the application on a remote server and then install SSH or VNC to use it.
Re: (Score:3)
It's like people have forgotten history...
If they didn't, as a rule, then Santayana's famous quote would have been fatuous rather than philosophical...
Fine then (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
A tablet IS a PC - it just has a different pointing device, and is optimized for battery life rather than raw power. Actually, I can't even say that because netbooks make the same tradeoff, but include a different pointing device and attached keyboard.
Re:Fine then (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact that you have to Jailbreak and land on the wrong side of an EULA proves that it isn't.
Expensive and limited netbook (Score:5, Insightful)
So it's like an expensive netbook, but you can only run programs approved by Apple?
What's the point?
Re:Expensive and limited netbook (Score:5, Interesting)
Eh, I was the same way. I shook my head and thought it was silly... that I'd rather get a cheap 12" or 14" laptop.
Then one day, on a lark, I got some cash and was in the Apple store. I'd been using an iPad at work a lot and figured "what the heck, why not."
It's nice... not "laptop" nice but it's good. I just use it when chilling on the couch or away from my desk. No hinge/parts means it can take more of a beating. I can do my quick browsing/emailing/etc on a larger screen than my mobile phone (less strain on the eyes). Really, for the most part it's just small stuff like that.
Biggest advantage is the battery lasts for flippin' ever. This was a life saver when I was without power for a week due to the recent snow storm. Charge it at work, download some shows, and I can watch TV all evening and only lose like 10%-15% battery life. It's also nice on trips, less of a hassle to take one out and start reading / watching / playing something in the confined seats of a plain/train/etc.
It's nice for some things but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. If you want a tablet, the Nook and such are probably easier to swallow with their cheaper price.
Re: (Score:3)
obviously (Score:4, Funny)
Now for something completely different... (Score:5, Interesting)
I've tried pretty much the same thing [stream0.org] using an Asus Transformer TF101. It has been less than a success.
Basically the tablet is great for email, which fortunately I write a lot of, but rubbish for office productivity. Word processing, spreadsheets and presentations are all difficult to create and edit with the installed Polaris Office. The original article above mentions Hootsuite. I use Hootsuite for managing my social networks. On an Android tablet, the experience is less than stellar. The Hootsuite app is clearly built for a mobile phone. In a web browser though, Hootsuite is brilliant. Sadly, web browsers on an Android tablet are largely crap at dealing with Javascript. And I've tried pretty much all of them. I need at least 4 (standard Google Android browser, Opera, Dolphin HD and Firefox Beta) to ensure that I will be able to load and interact with all websites I come across. Google Docs also fails in a web browser, and the app is once again mobile phone focussed.
The battery life of the Transformer is brilliant, especially with the dockable keyboard, which makes writing anything of length bearable.
A while ago I installed Ubuntu 11.10 [stream0.org] as a dual boot operating system. I now use this OS much, much more on the Transformer. It's not perfect and a few things don't work, such as the mini-HDMI out, but when it comes to browsing and office productivity, I find this much more useful.
Mixed message (Score:2)
He makes good points about battery life and built in AT&T connectivity but then come these questionable statements ...
Then ...
Her's not using a tablet. (Score:5, Insightful)
When youd add a physical keyboard to it, it's just not a tablet any more, functionally. It's either a two-piece notepad, or if the keyboard is attached, even with just a cover, it's a notepad period.
The form factor changes. I expect tablets to be just one piece. A salient feature of a tablet is the LACK of a keyboard.
But if he was saying that adapting his tablet for everyday uses onle required adding a keyboard, well, doh. This is news for nerds? Not for a few years.
By TFA measure, my X41t is a tablet. Oh, sure, it needs a stylus and comes with a keyboard, and most of the logic is in the 'keyboard part', but it's touch sensitive (just the touch of the stylus, I know), has an onscreen keyboard etc. and folds over so it's just screen. and the stylus.
In today's world, it isn't what most people think they mean by 'tablet'. Adding a keyboard muddies this even more.
I've seen this discussion before (Score:5, Insightful)
And it wasn't pretty [arstechnica.com] Somebody points out that a tablet can only be a good primary computer if one's primary work is non-computer intensive, like an editor with a light workload; use-iPad-for-everything people get defensive about the technical rigor of their work, and computational significance of their needs; comments section gets shut down due to hurt feelings.
Re:I've seen this discussion before (Score:5, Insightful)
I have an iPad with a Zagg keyboard (Score:5, Informative)
Just some background, I am an Oracle DBA who is oncall every second week. I used to carry around my laptop, power cable and iphone while I was on call. I managed to get my hands on an iPad and used it for light reading, email, etc. I tried to use it while on call but it was too painful. SSH on the thing is nice if your in a bind, but you don't want to be using it for an extended period of time. Just think about trying to use vi, yikes.
Anyways, I picked up a Zaggmate keyboard for it. I now carry it primarily while I am on call, much easier to tote around than my 17" laptop. Has a better battery life and 3g built in. I don't have to worry about draining my phone at the same time as my laptop.
However, if I am traveling I take both the laptop and ipad. While the ipad is good for short periods of work, it is still painful for long periods. And its also not suited for alot of tasks, which you don't realize until you actually try to do them.
So I would agree to a point that 80% of work can be done on an iPad but its that other 20% that kills you. I could also walk to work but that would take an extra 2 hours each way than using my car.
The macbook air is light, small, easy to carry around. I am not sure why you would use an iPad over it. I've heard quite a few people say the opposite as the guy in the article. Once they bought air's they barely used their ipads. Once you factor in the cost of the keyboard, ipad, your almost at an air anyways.
Stack overflow... (Score:3)
A man writing a blog writes a blog entry about how he writes his blog and gets his blog entry posted on other blogs.
Is this the publishing equivalent of the CDO?
iDevice walled garden = no creativity (Score:5, Interesting)
My 13 year old daughter got an iDevice for her birthday (an iPod Touch -- seems like an iPhone without the sim card to me).
She's had a great time buying idiotic wallpaper "apps" (branded / licensed from her favorite TV shows), and silly games like Angry Birds, etc.
Also getting Email and wasting time on facebook (and of course buying a playing music).
This prompted the Dad speech: "when I was your age, we had C-64's. They plugged into the TV and you could write your OWN games".
Her eyes lit up. "I want to do that" she said. ... she had a couple of amusing ideas for angry birds knock offs.
Of course, starting from 0 might take a while to get there.
It started me thinking. The C-64 could suck you into programming real easy. Because with a few one liners you could change the screen color, make some noises, etc etc. It peeled back the curtain a little, and let you see how the thing you just bought worked, and how you could make it do neat things, and it didn't take a lot of effort to get there.
How in the hell could I even start my daughter down this path today?
I guess we'd have to download the Apple developer tools, XCode, get some sort of iDevice development license, and ... damn I don't know I guess some sort of iPhone simulator or something to run on the computer to act like it was an actual iDevice (since there's no way in hell you're getting your code onto one outside of the app store).
If she managed to entertain some enthusiasm through that ridiculous process, then her eyes would glass over as I began to explain how compiling works, header files, etc, etc, etc.
The greatest thing about computers is that they are creativity machines. You can use them to make just about anything. But these iDevice walled gardens are bullshit mini-televisions or game consoles. You can't DO anything other than consume, or produce approved content: pictures, emails, blog posts, maybe audio.
I'm disappointed by that. They could be so much more, for a new generation.
Re:iDevice walled garden = no creativity (Score:4, Informative)
Download Corona SDK. She can use the trial version to create iOS apps in just a few lines of code, and only needs to pay the $199 Corona fee and $99 Apple iOS Developer Program fee if she wishes to publish her iOS apps to Apple's App Store.
WebApps (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
And I guess programmers are Gods gift to the world?
Do you have a kitchen? You can cook dinner there? I bet it does not even have close to what a professional chef uses, so your kitchen SUCKS!