Grappling with iPads
May. 25th, 2014 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blatherskiteDuring our Sicily vacation, chronicled in earlier installments in this blog, I decided to try managing my writing and e-mail using only my iPad and (given that I hate typing on an onscreen keyboard) Apple's Bluetooth portable keyboard. Though I succeeded in objective terms (i.e., I managed to post semi-regular blog entries and backup my photos using an Apple dongle that let me read the camera's memory card), I'd have to say the exercise was a failure in subjective terms.
The biggest problem was the software which, to be blunt, is still mostly crap. It's poorly debugged, the interface is inscrutable (Jon Ives has much to answer for), and writing is desperately handicapped by the emphasis on touchscreen/gesture-based computing rather than paying attention to what real writers need to do. I need to sit down and rigorously re-evaluate this situation so I can make that verdict more objective (i.e., supported by specific details), particularly now that Google has made its writing software usable offline, but having tried half a dozen programs, my verdict is not favorable: the word processing software currently available for iPad is at best, a pale shadow of what's available for desktops and laptops. Apple's Pages is tolerable, and has a few nice features, but still isn't up to professional standards.
The lack of a credible alternative to MS Word is particularly problematic. Although you can now buy Word (and the rest of Office) for iPad, it's basically a crippled file reader application with nearly no revision features unless you also buy an Office Online subscription and use the software while you have full Web access. Since I often don't have Wi-Fi access when I want to write (e.g., on a 12-hour plane trip), that makes the software essentially useless to me. One has to assume that the people who design such software don't actually use it when they travel. Or maybe they do, and they're just masochists. Or maybe they think they're better than Adobe, which recently got a great lesson in humility when their Creative Cloud software ecosystem disappeared for a couple days. I can't wait to see the class action lawsuit that will emerge from that fiasco.
Another big problem is the lack of a systemwide file system. I understand why Apple chose to sandbox everything on the iPad -- security is important. But for experienced computer users, this approach is like placing sandbags on one's hands and trying to type. It can be done, but it's cumbersome beyond belief. I fantasize that some future version of the iPad will abandon iOS and run OS X instead. (Despite being an Apple fanboy, I have to say that Apple has a great deal it could learn from Microsoft -- something I never thought I'd say. Microsoft is actually producing better software than Apple these days, and despite early-release problems with their Surface tablet/computer, the Surface blows away the iPad in terms of practicality.) That would eliminate the need for clumsy workarounds such as using Dropbox to synch files between my computer and the iPad. Don't even get me started on iCloud.
The result of this experience is that I'm seriously considering buying a MacBook Air when it's time to replace my current computer later this year. Given the weight and bulk of having to carry an external keyboard (or keyboard case) for the iPad, the additional weight of a comparable laptop-based system (about 1 pound) is trivial. The superior keyboard integration and vastly superior software make this a no-brainer for someone who wants to write and edit while they travel.
The biggest problem was the software which, to be blunt, is still mostly crap. It's poorly debugged, the interface is inscrutable (Jon Ives has much to answer for), and writing is desperately handicapped by the emphasis on touchscreen/gesture-based computing rather than paying attention to what real writers need to do. I need to sit down and rigorously re-evaluate this situation so I can make that verdict more objective (i.e., supported by specific details), particularly now that Google has made its writing software usable offline, but having tried half a dozen programs, my verdict is not favorable: the word processing software currently available for iPad is at best, a pale shadow of what's available for desktops and laptops. Apple's Pages is tolerable, and has a few nice features, but still isn't up to professional standards.
The lack of a credible alternative to MS Word is particularly problematic. Although you can now buy Word (and the rest of Office) for iPad, it's basically a crippled file reader application with nearly no revision features unless you also buy an Office Online subscription and use the software while you have full Web access. Since I often don't have Wi-Fi access when I want to write (e.g., on a 12-hour plane trip), that makes the software essentially useless to me. One has to assume that the people who design such software don't actually use it when they travel. Or maybe they do, and they're just masochists. Or maybe they think they're better than Adobe, which recently got a great lesson in humility when their Creative Cloud software ecosystem disappeared for a couple days. I can't wait to see the class action lawsuit that will emerge from that fiasco.
Another big problem is the lack of a systemwide file system. I understand why Apple chose to sandbox everything on the iPad -- security is important. But for experienced computer users, this approach is like placing sandbags on one's hands and trying to type. It can be done, but it's cumbersome beyond belief. I fantasize that some future version of the iPad will abandon iOS and run OS X instead. (Despite being an Apple fanboy, I have to say that Apple has a great deal it could learn from Microsoft -- something I never thought I'd say. Microsoft is actually producing better software than Apple these days, and despite early-release problems with their Surface tablet/computer, the Surface blows away the iPad in terms of practicality.) That would eliminate the need for clumsy workarounds such as using Dropbox to synch files between my computer and the iPad. Don't even get me started on iCloud.
The result of this experience is that I'm seriously considering buying a MacBook Air when it's time to replace my current computer later this year. Given the weight and bulk of having to carry an external keyboard (or keyboard case) for the iPad, the additional weight of a comparable laptop-based system (about 1 pound) is trivial. The superior keyboard integration and vastly superior software make this a no-brainer for someone who wants to write and edit while they travel.