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I recently announced a new project by yours truly, called Switch to iPad. If you’ve been with me for some time, you know I’m an avid iPad user. It’s my favorite computing device, and I rely on it for great many things.
But not all of them, at least not yet.
(more…)I’m launching a newsletter early August. It’s called Switch to iPad, and it’s about, well:
Switch to iPad is a journey to going iPad only. That is to say, getting rid of all those pesky (I kid!) Macs and PCs, and relying on the magic piece of glass that is the iPad as my primary (big) computing device. Together we’ll figure out how to work from an iPad, try out all the gadgets that help us along the way, and find the best apps and methods for a better computing life.
Read more about it here, and sign up. There’ll be free letters, but there’s also a paid tier with the standard premium newsletter fare of $5/month or $50/year.
More on this soon. I’m excited!
Jean-Louis Gassée believes that the iPad turnaround, where the naysayers are predicting doom and gloom due to the huge dip in sales. This, after writing about the relaunched iPad product line, sans pro, in the Monday Note piece:
This leads us to an easy guess for future iPad Pros. We’re likely to see linear hardware and software improvements (keyboard, screen, stylus, more independent windows…), plus others we can’t think of immersed, as we often are, in derivative thought. All will make the Pros more pro: Powerful enough of take business away from the Mac (and Windows PCs). I like my MacBook, but can see an iPad Pro on my lap and desk in a not-too-distant future.
I believe this is possible, I know the vast majority of people would enjoy their computing tasks more if they used an iPad Pro instead, with the suitable accessories of course. However that’s a big step, and for some a change in mindset. It’s a tough battle to win.
I write columns for Di Digital, a Swedish business tech site, and whenever I mention a computing solution that’s far from the laptop, I get emails about “not being able to work without the Thinkpad nub” and the like. People, professionals especially, are creatures of habit.
That said, putting iPad Pros in the workflow of the younger generation, which are clearly the target of the new iPad Pro ads (one embedded below), might be the longterm route to success. Some industries you disrupt over night, others take more time. Professional computing work isn’t as easily defined as a smart mobile phone segment.
Oh, and before you click play, make sure you read the whole Jean-Louis Gassée piece and the tiny little note about perspectives at the end. The iPad is a big deal, the only reason Apple pundits and analysts are chirping about its doom is because of the declining sales. That’s only really a truly worrying factor if people never upgrades their iPads. Looking at my immediate surroundings, that’s something people are interested in doing.
https://youtu.be/Z-9tvx0aO1U
Jag letar efter olika arbetssätt för iOS-enheter (enbart, just nu), det vill säga iPad och iPhone främst. Det handlar om skrivande, och hur dessa enheter passar in i våra arbetsflöden. Vissa sparar ner anteckningar, medan andra skriver hela böcker på sina paddor.
Så, om du är en skrivande person – och då menar jag allt från bloggposter och artiklar, till facklitteratur och romaner – så kan du hjälpa mig. Hur jobbar du med din iPhone och/eller iPad? Berätta för @tdh på Twitter så blir jag glad!
It should come as no surprise that I enjoy Federico Viticci’s updates on his iPad usage. The latest one, being the first after the introduction of iPad Pro, is no exception. Here are so many things to quote from this beast, so I’ll just point you to it. Brew a cup, and settle in for an interesting read.
9to5mac doing what an Apple blog should, listing everything Apple released in 2015 year by year.
[…] 2015 has been one where Apple has truly released new products all across the year. So many, in fact, that it’s probably difficult to recall every single new hardware and software product without referencing the history books. Starting with the X released in X to the X released in X, we’ll take a retrospective look at everything new that came out of Apple this year and what to expect in 2016.
There’s no doubt it my mind that the iPad is enough for most people, and it has been for quite some time. Updates to iOS, especially the introduction of extensions in iOS 8, and the Split View/Side View updates in iOS 9, has made being productive with an iPad easier. That, and the apps, which are getting better and better all the time. With the iPad Pro, which I’m using to type this, eyes are once again on the iPad as a potential alternative for the traditional PCs, or at least as a laptop replacement. I’ve got a lot to say on the matter, but for now, I urge you to read Thaddeus Hunt’s three part blog post series on how he took an iPad Air 2 on the road, while still performing his duties as a freelance web designer: Part 1, part 2, and part 3.
Oh, and some shameless promotion while I’m at it. I’ll have some initial thoughts on the iPad Pro in the next issue of my newsletter, RE:THORD. It’ll be out soon, so if you’re not subscribing, now’s the time.
Steven Levy has a really interesting piece, albeit perhaps somewhat fluffy, on Apple’s new iMacs, as well as the accompanied new keyboard, mouse, and trackpad. It’s well worth a read, and there are a ton of things to quote if one was so inclined.
I’m picking this one, which is Levy’s take on Apple’s Phil Schiller’s view on how the company’s devices add up:
Schiller, in fact, has a grand philosophical theory of the Apple product line that puts all products on a continuum. Ideally, you should be using the smallest possible gadget to do as much as possible before going to the next largest gizmo in line.
Start at the Apple Watch to keep your phone at bay. Then, on your iPhone, you do all the things that makes sense. Too small? Go to the iPad (and soon the iPad Pro), then to the Macbook. Finally, wrap it up on a 27″ iMac, or possibly a Mac Pro, if Apple would be so kind to release a proper Thunderbolt display with retina screen.
Federico “the iPad is my primary computer” Viticci writes about iOS 9 and the multitasking iPad:
iOS 9 is going to be a watershed moment for iPad users. For many, the iPad is about to graduate from utility to computer. Apple is envisioning a future where users can do more with iPad apps without the inherent complexities of OS X – and they’re largely relying on developers to help build this future.
It’s a great read, mirroring my thoughts overall. I share Viticci’s concern regarding adoption, since proper multitasking (not to be confused with the slide over feature) is for iPad Air 2 and beyond only, but not for the same reasons, it would seem. To me, this is something a lot of developers will rush to add, because the slide over feature will be made anyway, and that, I suspect, is the roadblock. No, my concern is user adoption, since iPads tend to stay in use for a long time. I don’t think the iPad Air 2 and beyond features are compelling enough for most users to upgrade.
The iPad was announced five years (and a day) ago, and that obviously sparked a bunch of features. In no particular order, some stories:
Ben Brooks, while making a case for a bigger iPad:
If that last point doesn’t have you thinking I am crazy, this will: iOS has better apps. No, I am not about to espouse some “they are simpler” bullshit — they usually aren’t, they are just better designed.
I’d buy an iPad Pro, but unlike Ben, I think that 12″ is the biggest it could go without being cumbersome and loose the strengths an iPad holds over a Macbook Air today.
Apple has released iOS 8.1.3, and this should make everyone running low on storage happy:
Reduces the amount of storage required to perform a software update.
Grab the update by opening the Settings app, go to General, and then Software Update.
It’s important that your writing position is ergonomic, putting low stress on your body. Writers are well known for not paying enough attention to this, thus experiencing more pain than necessary. One of the complaints about tablet-centric setups is the angle downward, towards the screen, and how this is bad for you. This is all true, but it’s not a tablet-specific problem. In fact, just about every laptop has this problem.
Take the 11″ MacBook Air, as close to the perfect writing laptop you can get. It’s got a nice full-sized keyboard, a decent enough screen (although it doesn’t do it for me these days since it’s not retina – yet), and it’s very portable.
Then take the iPad Air 2 (or any full-sized iPad, the mini changes things a bit), a decent stand such as Twelve South’s Compass 2, and connect it to your bluetooth keyboard of choice. Let’s go with Apple’s wireless one since that’s almost identical with MacBook keyboards.
Vlad Savov, writing for The Verge, argues that the disappointing Nexus 9 and Microsoft making Office free for iOS has made the iPad an even better choice today than it was a few days ago. It’s both true and silly, if you ask me, but the piece makes a valid point. I especially enjoyed this paragraph:
The iPad still doesn’t have a clearly defined reason for its existence. Apple never bothered to give it one, focusing instead on the engineering and trusting that users will figure out ways to adapt it to their lives. As Apple design chief Jony Ive puts it, “I don’t have to change myself to fit the product; it fits me.” Time has proven this philosophy correct, as the iPad has risen above its physical limitations and secured itself a niche in hundreds of millions of homes.
Skriva är en tidning för dig som gillar att skriva. I det senaste numret, #6 2014, är temat dina karaktärers drivkraft och hur du håller dem intressanta hela vägen igenom. Förutom det handlar Skriva #6 2014 även om följande:
Vi bjuder också på stort tema kring autofiktion: Varför börjar så många författare hos sig själva? Hur gör man litteratur av sitt eget liv? Sören Bondeson, Morgan Larsson, Susanna Alakoski och Tomas Bannerhed delar med sig av sina erfarenheter.
Dessutom Håkan Nesser, Sigrid Combüchen, Daniel Sjölin, lite NaNoWriMo, tävlingar, prylar, seriemördare 2.0, debutanter, lektören läser, svar från Författarförbundets jurist. Och så berättar vi varför iPaden är den nya skrivmaskinen.
Den där sista grejen, varför iPaden är den nya skrivmaskinen, är undertecknad skyldig till. Köp Skriva #16 2014 i butik, eller varför inte teckna en prenumeration direkt, för läsning på papper eller padda.