Don’t need the 12.9” IPP but love it anyway

[Thomas Davie]

I’m on medical retirement early, so I don’t really need any computational devices any more; but once an addict, always an addict.

I do dialysis 4x a day at home and I just wanted a new toy because of feeling sorry for myself. It was Black Friday and the 9.7 “ 2018 iPads were on sale $200 off so I bought one and a pencil. It was an absolute blast using the pencil and I quickly bought several note taking and drawing programs.

So I started playing Civ 6 on my IPad while doing dialysis and thought ‘might as well get the iPad Pro and the new pencil. Yeah, it was just so I could play Civ 6 on a bigger screen; but then I discovered the qualitative difference of taking notes on a 12.9” screen as opposed to 9.7”. I’ve literally thrown out all my physical handwritten notes.

I’m finding Notability, GoodNotes 4, Noteshelf 2, ZoomNotes and PDF Expert useful. Everything gets saved/auto backed up to iCloud, OneDrive, Gdrive and Dropbox and can be accessed by everything else I own (opening PDF files on Xbox one for example).

Wish I would have had this capability when working (upon quitting work, I disposed of 20 years of handwritten lab notes - 2 entire filing cabinets worth).

Tom

 

[baypharm]

I feel both sadness and joy on your post. I sincerely hope you will be able to get off the machine and find a kidney sooner than later. Do you have any prospects? Perhaps I can be tested to see if we are a close enough match to avoid rejection. 4x a day for dialysis is horrible.

In my opinion the 12.9 ipad is ideal. I love mine in every way. Apple came through for sure.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I feel both sadness and joy on your post. I sincerely hope you will be able to get off the machine and find a kidney sooner than later. Do you have any prospects? Perhaps I can be tested to see if we are a close enough match to avoid rejection. 4x a day for dialysis is horrible.

In my opinion the 12.9 ipad is ideal. I love mine in every way. Apple came through for sure.

I don’t do hemodialysis, but something called peritoneal dialysis. As a former lab tech it was a no brainer. Have the skill to do it and because I can do it at home I avoid hospitals. It’s osmolytic fluid exchange and only takes 40 minutes and isn’t serious if I miss a treatment.

But like Burgess Meredith in Twilight Zone’s ‘All the time in the world’ I’m free to travel (just have to have supplies delivered to where I’m going) and can indulge in my passions (computers, history, politics, video games, technology).

Transplant - no, have watched too many horror movies I’m waiting for artificial kidnies, and it will happen.

But the iPad Pro. First time I picked it up and used it I just knew it was different. It handles Google Docs and MS Word better than my 2017 Dell Inspiron w/16 gb ram/ssd. I’ve got crappy handwriting and even managed to find an app which could get about 80% of my words OCR’d correctly. The amount of paper I use has already gone down dramatically. I used to receive documentation which I would print out, sign, scan and email. Now I just directly markup the pdf’s and emails I receive with the pencil and send them back.

And I can’t draw to save my life, but I’ve been having a blast with Procreate and Autosketch and a new printer. I draw maps and now I can do it electronically and print them out wirelessly. Life and technology are actually pretty good at the moment.

Tom

 

[MisterSavage]

It sounds like a great fit for you! Rewarding yourself is fun.

 

[baypharm]

Well good luck my friend whatever course you decide is best for you. Please don't discount a kidney transplant because of here say or horrors you may have witnessed. Most are done without rejection. That is why it is so important to locate a kidney that is as close a match for you as possible. Only a physician can determine if you are eligible and meet the criteria, of course. On a positive note, at least the type of dialysis you are on can be done anywhere. And you are fortunate that you have that ability. One thing I have learned from being in this field is that life is fragile and short in the scheme of things. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. I remember 20 years ago or so when I lost every member of my family within a three year period, all I could ask was why was I left behind? Now here I am still alive and still cherish each day I see the sun come up. And for me, my high is helping as many people as I can while I'm here.

Yes the 12.9" iPad Pro is a wonderful device - relaxing in many ways. I can't draw very well right now, but I keep trying and that is all that matters. I am glad I picked up one on launch. No regrets. I use it a little for business. I use mine everyday. I take it on flights all over the place and it's great for meetings when I can't be somewhere in person. I love the "feel" of it. It's thin, light, and easy to handle. And of course the pen is just icing on the cake. After using the pencil for a couple of months now, I am hooked all the way.

 

[gixxerfool]

You mentioned having an app that correctly read your handwriting, does it convert to text automatically?

 

[Thomas Davie]

You mentioned having an app that correctly read your handwriting, does it convert to text automatically?

There’s two handwriting/note taking apps I’ve found; Nebo (or MyScript Nebo) and Notes Plus. Nebo has a feature where you can auto OCR as you print onscreen and Notes Plus lets you OCR a whole document/notebook after you’ve created it. I’ve got really lousy handwriting and with auto magnifier (a function that allows you to write only on one area of the screen constantly but the text is added to the page normally - it makes your writing area BIG and improves your handwriting). I’m still getting used to it. My goal is to be able to OCR something I can just import into google docs.

If you don’t care about OCR then GoodNotes 4, Notability, ZoomNotes or Noteshelf 2 are all ~equivalent in capability.

Tom

 

[gixxerfool]

There’s two handwriting/note taking apps I’ve found; Nebo (or MyScript Nebo) and Notes Plus. Nebo has a feature where you can auto OCR as you print onscreen and Notes Plus lets you OCR a whole document/notebook after you’ve created it. I’ve got really lousy handwriting and with auto magnifier (a function that allows you to write only on one area of the screen constantly but the text is added to the page normally - it makes your writing area BIG and improves your handwriting). I’m still getting used to it. My goal is to be able to OCR something I can just import into google docs.

If you don’t care about OCR then GoodNotes 4, Notability, ZoomNotes or Noteshelf 2 are all ~equivalent in capability.

Tom

Thanks for the reply! I just bought my 2018 12.9” and love it for split screen note taking. Having an app open on one side and notes on the writing hand side is a great use of space.

 

[Thomas Davie]

This was OCR’d as I CAN WRITE FAIrly neatly using this program. That is about as neat as I can print

Tom

 

[Scarpad]

the larger screen just does about everything better, its better for watching tv shows and movies and youtube vids, its great for magazines and comics. Its great for games, i love just using clipboard and listening to music at the same time. Sure doable on the basic iPad but the screen is so great on the pro. Its the only iPad i will have for the next 3-5 years if it lasts so for me its worth it.

 

[eamonn345]

I’m on medical retirement early, so I don’t really need any computational devices any more; but once an addict, always an addict.

I do dialysis 4x a day at home and I just wanted a new toy because of feeling sorry for myself. It was Black Friday and the 9.7 “ 2018 iPads were on sale $200 off so I bought one and a pencil. It was an absolute blast using the pencil and I quickly bought several note taking and drawing programs.

So I started playing Civ 6 on my IPad while doing dialysis and thought ‘might as well get the iPad Pro and the new pencil. Yeah, it was just so I could play Civ 6 on a bigger screen; but then I discovered the qualitative difference of taking notes on a 12.9” screen as opposed to 9.7”. I’ve literally thrown out all my physical handwritten notes.

I’m finding Notability, GoodNotes 4, Noteshelf 2, ZoomNotes and PDF Expert useful. Everything gets saved/auto backed up to iCloud, OneDrive, Gdrive and Dropbox and can be accessed by everything else I own (opening PDF files on Xbox one for example).

Wish I would have had this capability when working (upon quitting work, I disposed of 20 years of handwritten lab notes - 2 entire filing cabinets worth).

Tom

Hope you get better soon

 

[1rottenapple]

This was OCR’d as I CAN WRITE FAIrly neatly using this program. That is about as neat as I can print

Tom

What’s OCR?
[doublepost=1546338547][/doublepost]Enjoy the pro my friend. That’s great you can still travel. I have an older extended relative that has to go to a dialysis center 3x a week. I can see his journey. He was struggling in the beginning dealing with this condition, but after 2-3 yrs he and his wife are in a better place of acceptance, routine, and dare I say thriving. Wonders of medical technology. He has a good positive view on life; he’s 76yrs or older actually.

I’m trying to find a good notes app. I still haven’t committed. I want something with password protection and iCloud syncing.

I mainly use the pen to journal, and hand write notes. The pen will also be used for reading pdf and marking. I also need a pdf app. Not sure where to start yet with which app to go with. I might just try it and get a refund if needed if I don’t like the app.

 

[Thomas Davie]

What’s OCR
I’m trying to find a good notes app. I still haven’t committed. I want something with password protection and iCloud syncing.

I mainly use the pen to journal, and hand write notes. The pen will also be used for reading pdf and marking. I also need a pdf app. Not sure where to start yet with which app to go with. I might just try it and get a refund if needed if I don’t like the app.

OCR = optical character recognition; meaning that the iPad can transcribe my handwritten notes into a directly editable form that is doc(X)? compatible. So my crappy handwriting becomes a nice office document.

For PDF work, I recommend PDF Expert. I can’t remember what I paid for it, but it has iCloud support as well as Dropbox, OneDrive and gdrive. PDF marking is really good; 4 different pens (each just a plain pen) with colour, size and opacity settings. Lotta export options, including password and the ability to send non editable pdf’s.

Tom

 

[kazmac]

@Thomas Davie may you find a donor soon. Glad you're enjoying your 12.9 iPad Pro.