The iPad is not enough

A couple of weeks ago I sold my much loved MacBook Air to my partner for their university studies. Before replacing it I wanted to try using the iPad as my only personal computer.

What this meant was I would try to use just the iPad for things I normally do across a combination of devices (iPad, MacBook, iMac). 

The short story is I found that while just using the iPad is possible, it’s quite limited in places and right now and its not an option to replace my Mac.

Too many devices.

I wrote a while back about owning 4 devices, this is a trend which I have seen growing larger. People seem to own more devices these days, specifically I see many people in my social circle having both laptops and tablets.

With the MacBook moving on to a new home I took the opportunity to reduce the number of devices. The iPad seemed the Device to consolidate with, it has most of the tools I need and it was my most up to date device.

With this in mind, the MacBook went on its way. 

75% of the feature list.

The iPad allows me to do most of what I need to do. It has great tools for writing, reading and working on my website. It is possible to do the vast majority of the things I need to do on the iPad. If I was (for some reason) restricted to a single device it would be a very hard choice between the iPad or a MacBook. In reality I don’t have to make that decision and have kept with ‘both’.

You see, while the iPad does 75% of what I need to do it only really works well for activities which are very focused. Right now, writing this little article it’s pretty good, I’m sat on the sofa tapping away in byword. I am focused on this one activity and nothing else is going on.

Competitive focus.

That’s the real crux of the matter for me, once other things start going on and I need to multitask the iPad becomes quite frustrating. For example, I normally have MSN open in the background on my laptop, I can leave both the chat windows and my writing on the screen and seamlessly switch between the activities. On the iPad this is not possible, I need to swap my whole computing focus between the two competing apps. Switching from byword to MSN when a notification comes through is quite slow, staring at the IM window for 3-5 seconds before the message appears is quite frustrating it breaks my flow.  

I can certainly see the argument for focused appliance computing where the one thing you have now is the only thing in focus. I can see this working great for some (my parents for sure) but for my normal method of working its not a very productive workflow.

The reality for me is that sitting with only IM open is not how I use my time, switching between apps at speed is not fast enough and this leads to frustration.

Many devices is fine. I suppose.

I don’t like the idea of owning (and looking after!) so many devices. The sale of the MacBook Air was not expected. However after trying the iPad out as my personal computer I have resigned myself to needing something more traditional. I have replaced my older air with a newer model but I do feel somewhat frustrated for what could have been.

I suppose the real limitation right now is in software more than hardware, I could get a case for the iPad which copies the laptop form factor. This would resolve some of the physical discomfort of using the iPad for long periods. However this would not solve the lack of a smooth workflow.  While switching between apps on the iPad is fast, it’s not fast enough. Perhaps in future updates true multitasking will enable the sort of responsiveness I am accustomed too. 

As much as I like Apple, the limitations are imposed due to the software. Other companies such as Microsoft have taken a different approach. While much of their bluster has serious problems, the idea of using an OS with proper multitasking is appealing.

The future.

I am excited about what future options may be out there. Whether the future comes from Apple or Microsoft I’m not sure, but it does feel like where we are now is not the destination. 

Perhaps in a few years time I will be looking again at the technology landscape and will then be able to go to a single device.

Published: 23 June 2012 | Categories: , Apple Permalink

My favourite Mac Apps.

The high quality of apps avaliable for the Mac is one of the reasons why i enjoy using the platform. Here is a quick round up of some of my favourites.

Reeder

Reeder is an RSS feed reader for iOS and Mac. Its very simple, subtle and a pleasure to use. Reeder pays attention to the small details while providing a consistant experience across my iPad, Phone and Macs. I can sit at pretty much any device i own and open reader picking up exactly where i left off.

Byword

Byword is a super minimal iOS and Mac word processor with markdown support. Much like reeder it has a simple interface which keeps distraction to a complete minimum. Apart from editing text in its simple UI it also support markdown making exporting that text and formatting into HTML etc super easy and fast.

Task Paper.

Taskpaper has been on every mac i have ever owned. It provides a simple but document structure which can be used for purposes such as note taking and making lists.

The UI focuses on making things easy to understand, completed items are crossed out with a click but still visible for future reference. Finally, by using normal txt files and nothing fancy file can be used anywhere and on pretty much any platform.

Characteristics of a great app.

These three apps are where i spend a massive amount of my day. They have a few things in common:

• Simple well executed UI. – these apps do one thing well, they are focused. Their power comes in combining many little tools not by imposing one workflow.
• Cross Platform – These apps work (and sync) between all the devices i have.
• Great performance and consistency. – these apps perform well across all platforms and provide a consistent UX.

These three application enable me to do my work and interact with the outside world.

What are you favourite applications and why? Are they any you could not live without or do you just do everything in a browser window?

Published: 17 June 2012 | Categories: Mac , Reviews Permalink

Goodbye Macbook, Hello iPad.

I have written about the MacBook Air a number of times in the last 18 months. I first tried an Air in December 2010, but ended up returning it due to performance anxiety. I felt it was two expensive for its ‘limited’ specs.

However, due to increasing demands it became apparent i needed something for studying so i purchased an Air for uni. It also gave me digital separation between work and home.

Yesterday i sold my MacBook Air to my partner so he could use it for studying. I’m sad to see it ‘go’ but its not going far and it’s for a good cause.

Instead of going out and replacing it with a shiny new MacBook Air i decided to have a little experiment. Is it possible for me to live without a laptop? Can the iPad meet my personal computing needs.

I should note, i will still have access to an iMac at home. I share one with my partner, it acts as a media server and my freelance workstation. However, i don’t use it for personal stuff (writing, browsing etc).

What kept me.

You could ask what has stopped me from doing this in the past? Well a few things. As i wrote recently i found a few activities on iPad frustrating or just impossible.

I found instant messages slow and clunky. This is still the case but its getting better as time goes by. Using IM+ i can get the job done but its hardly the best experience possible. I hope to experiment with apps a bit here and to find a better solution.

Some activites seemed impossible. For example managing my finances with “Xero“http://xero.com. It requires me to download a bank statement from my bank and then upload it to Xero. Without a file system i thought this was not possible.

It turns out a third party iPad browser called iCadMobile does the job perfectly. So that problem is solved. Another blocker bits the dust.

Cloud.

I must admit, after 2 years i still hate the term Cloud however service like dropbox are very useful. I am using Dropbox to simulate a basic file system. It provides a place for my documents to live and it syncs between my phone and the iMac.

Where Next.

Its very much early days, rather shamefully i have actually already failed a little. I forgot to bring my keyboard home with me from work this evening so i have instead written this post on another machine. I suppose changing habits will take time, i am excited, and a little nervous, to see where this experiment leads.

Have you swapped out your laptop for an iPad? Do you have any software tips. Feel free to ping me via twitter, i would love to know your thoughts.

Published: 15 June 2012 | Categories: Opinion , Apple Permalink