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what does ipad/ios need to make it a full computer replacement?
- Thread starter mrklaw
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Save from Word to iCloud Drive is Office 365 functionality, not available in the free version.
But a laptop e.g. MacBook/air/MacBook pro 13 inch are not full computers as only partially meet full requirements for many a professional (therefore are not a full computer replacement) It really does depend upon the individual needs. I do far more art work on an IPP than a laptop because it is a lot more accessible and easier to do than relying upon a mouse/trackpad or having to buy a Wacom. I also am able to do a lot more work on an IPP for process mapping. There are desktop class apps from Omni and Ulysses on an IPP to do lots of work. However, until Microsoft provide more functionality in Word I will still need to make use of a MacBook. If I was looking to be doing plenty of video/photo editing I would be looking at a MacBook Pro. I went to try a surface pro 4 today and found it awful in the time I tried it out. It is trying to be everything and failing. There unfortunately is not one device to meet all needs to a high standard. That's why you see many still using two devices which complement each other.
I guess what I'm saying is that in response to the title of the thread:
"what does iPad/iOs need to make it a full computer replacement"
It needs to have all the abilities of a full computer in order to replace a full computer.
The iPad Pro could potentially do this, but it needs the things I listed in order to replace my computer.
"what does iPad/iOs need to make it a full computer replacement"
It needs to have all the abilities of a full computer in order to replace a full computer.
The iPad Pro could potentially do this, but it needs the things I listed in order to replace my computer.
The requirements for a replacement will vary from individual to individual so maybe the better title is "what does iPad/iOs need to make it a full computer replacement for me".
I'm glad. iPP is perfect the way it is.
What you want is a terrible device in my opinion- http://www.modbook.com
And I am speaking "for me" each time I post anything, as we all do. Basically, because I need desktop apps, an iPad simply can't replace my computer.
The better title would be "When will Apple make a MacBook with a detachable keyboard?", and should be posted in the MacBook forum.
I think that many people would like an all in one portable Apple device that is a true computer replacement, not just me.
[doublepost=1454795361][/doublepost]What confuses me are those on this forum that say a touch interface on a device running OS-X would be a horrible disaster, but are fine with using remote control software on an iPad to control a Mac running OS-X. It's the same thing!
A trackpad/mouse. Even using a decent Excel on iPP the absence of a mouse makes it difficult to select cells, edit formulas... For me it shows the need of some tracking device to fully use an app.
Usb External drive support.
More native support for different video file types.
Finder application, which contains all my different files I have on the ipad, which allows me to view them all and decide which app to open them with based on the applications support of the file types.
Also allow me to organise my files in folders etc inside the finder app.
Better multitasking - the current method is awful when it comes to swipe left then scroll scroll scroll scroll then find your app. The icons look huge and it's just a pain in the ass scrolling through so many apps. Give me a search function, allow me to open multple instances of the same app at the same time.
Multple "desktop tops", allow me to stay different apps side by side and save the session for future use. As in I open up one session and word and excel are already pinned together and where I left them off.
Launch pad - allow me to unclutter my home pages and only have the apps I want on them, the rest being in a launch pad.
[doublepost=1454797031][/doublepost]The main problem though is developers and breaking that barrier of low budget application.
Games look crap With little story line because budgets are low because not a lot of people pay heaps for good applications.
If people paid decent money for single apps it would give bigger budgets for better innovation.
I'm sure the likes of Adobe could make a feature rich application near Photoshop quality. But it would cost a **** load to develop and I doubt a huge amount of avwrage people would pay 50-100 dollars for it.
More native support for different video file types.
Finder application, which contains all my different files I have on the ipad, which allows me to view them all and decide which app to open them with based on the applications support of the file types.
Also allow me to organise my files in folders etc inside the finder app.
Better multitasking - the current method is awful when it comes to swipe left then scroll scroll scroll scroll then find your app. The icons look huge and it's just a pain in the ass scrolling through so many apps. Give me a search function, allow me to open multple instances of the same app at the same time.
Multple "desktop tops", allow me to stay different apps side by side and save the session for future use. As in I open up one session and word and excel are already pinned together and where I left them off.
Launch pad - allow me to unclutter my home pages and only have the apps I want on them, the rest being in a launch pad.
[doublepost=1454797031][/doublepost]The main problem though is developers and breaking that barrier of low budget application.
Games look crap With little story line because budgets are low because not a lot of people pay heaps for good applications.
If people paid decent money for single apps it would give bigger budgets for better innovation.
I'm sure the likes of Adobe could make a feature rich application near Photoshop quality. But it would cost a **** load to develop and I doubt a huge amount of avwrage people would pay 50-100 dollars for it.
It def needs a OS update in order for it to be a computer replacement. Split scree and PIP were a start. I use those features all the time. Also for some people the storage spaces need to go up.
I probably use my air 2 more than anything because of the portability over my 13rMBP. I take it when me when I travel and use it in the house more than anything. Where I live at I only have access to satellite internet, so storage space is important. Movies, music, and files I download stay on my computer. When I bought the early 2015 mac I got the 500 GB hard drive for this reason and have a 2TB portable drive for backup and extra files if needed. I have like 50GB left on my mac for free space. The iPad could never hold what I needed it to. My pictures and movies I take are alone too much space for it to be able to hold.
Software is probably another big issue. I could replace my laptop completely if there were iOS version of lightroom, photoshop elements, ect., but there isn't really anything on the iPad that comes close. Also the iPad doesn't support large RAW file pictures if the resolution is too big; so thats another no go for me.
I do have a good balance between my macbook, iPad air2, and my iPhone, I am not sure I personally NEED to combine the the tablet and my macbook. I feel like they offer enough differences at the present time to keep things interesting.
I start graduate school in the summer so I am sure my macbook will see significant more use then.
I probably use my air 2 more than anything because of the portability over my 13rMBP. I take it when me when I travel and use it in the house more than anything. Where I live at I only have access to satellite internet, so storage space is important. Movies, music, and files I download stay on my computer. When I bought the early 2015 mac I got the 500 GB hard drive for this reason and have a 2TB portable drive for backup and extra files if needed. I have like 50GB left on my mac for free space. The iPad could never hold what I needed it to. My pictures and movies I take are alone too much space for it to be able to hold.
Software is probably another big issue. I could replace my laptop completely if there were iOS version of lightroom, photoshop elements, ect., but there isn't really anything on the iPad that comes close. Also the iPad doesn't support large RAW file pictures if the resolution is too big; so thats another no go for me.
I do have a good balance between my macbook, iPad air2, and my iPhone, I am not sure I personally NEED to combine the the tablet and my macbook. I feel like they offer enough differences at the present time to keep things interesting.
I start graduate school in the summer so I am sure my macbook will see significant more use then.
I would agree... it's not a laptop replacement FOR HIM. In fact, it's not for me either (I carry my iPP and rMBP with me every day). That doesn't mean it won't be a laptop replacement for others.
Why is it so hard for people to understand that there are more people in this world than JUST them? Literally billions of people with billions of different needs.
The iPP will be a laptop replacement for many people. It's a powerful piece of machinery that will only continue to get better as more apps come out.
But, if it had everything needed to be a real computer then it would just be a real computer. Right? As long as it's a tablet it wil always be a tablet. That's fine. It's the intended purpose of the device.
Ok, not sure what that has to do with the original point.
Try this - Turn on airplane mode, create a document in Pages, go to PDF Expert, open that document from the Pages folder - it's stored locally even if it's not synced back to the cloud yet.
Or try this - turn on airplane mode, create a document in Pages, use "Send To" to convert to Word format and save in an iCloud Drive folder, open that file in read-only mode from Word
I do agree that it would be nicer for iCloud Drive to auto-sync all file updates locally, so that if you update or add a document from another device it will auto-sync in the background. Last thing you want is to copy an important document to iCloud Drive from another computer, get on a plane an realize it hasn't synced yet to your iPad. I'm hoping we see something like that in iOS 10.
It's obviously not as feature rich as say the Finder or Windows Explorer but as far as I can tell, it is a file system, not sure what else it needs to qualify.
It's all a matter of perspective. After all, didn't the command-line users in the DOS era also raise a stink when the GUI was introduced?
I suspect the main reason why we are all proposing features that exist on a PC is because we were all raised and bred in a PC-computing environment. That is what we are accustomed to, and that is what we best work in.
And the thing is this - I feel that we represent the past, not the future, and what we are trying to do here is impress our possibly outmoded thinking of what the future of tablet computing ought to entail.
In short, you ask a group of veteran PC users what features they want to see in a post-PC device and are surprised when all the answers revolve around making the iPad more like a PC?
As such, I would argue that the problem is as much our inability to reimagine our workflow for a mobile-centric environment. I can imagine a child being raised on tablets as his primary mode of computing, and scoffing at the idea of a file manager or multiple overlapping windows because those seem so anathema to the vision of personal computing that he was raised on.
There are also many things which I am doing on a tablet that I find more cumbersome or inconvenient to do on a PC. When I create a post to my blog, I do so on either my iPhone or my iPad, with my Mac as a last resort.
I don't think I am being compromised or inconvenienced here. The future of the iPad is not to become another Mac. That much I am certain.
Sounds like a "computer" to me 
Simple Definition of computer
Popularity: Top 20% of words
Simple Definition of computer
Popularity: Top 20% of words
- : an electronic machine that can store and work with large amounts of information
Just install the Documents app on your iPad. Use that as your Finder/Windows Explorer. Store all your files locally within Documents, and then set it up so your folders sync to the cloud to whatever cloud service you prefer.
I agree that an app like Documents should come standard on the iPad, but since it's free I don't really care.
Thanks - I learned something from this as I viewed iCloud as solely an external storage system but now I have a better feel for what it does internally. I tried your examples and now see how it works and I'll readjust my workflow to take advantage of it.
It's already there for me and has been for awhile. I have been without a personal computer since November and do not miss it at all and I haven't yet ran into a situation where I would need one.
I would think for a majority of people that do not participate in this forum you would find that an iPad of any type, mini, Air or Pro is sufficient to replace a computer/laptop.
I would think for a majority of people that do not participate in this forum you would find that an iPad of any type, mini, Air or Pro is sufficient to replace a computer/laptop.
This. I'd love to know how many people use Surface pro without the keyboard or in portrait orientation. My guess is not many considering Microsoft never advertises it that way.
Yup, that was me. It amuses me how many people are now screaming and yelling they can't get proper work done without a mouse, when for years before GUI became mainstream, people got real work done only with a keyboard.
I think one reason I'm finding it easy to work on tablets is I never got into the habit of having too many windows open. Most of the time, I keep one window on the right half of the screen, and another on the left -- in other words, I was doing split screen before there was a word for it. And I like to work from the keyboard as much as possible, using mouse only when absolutely necessary.
So I lived through one computing paradigm shift, and lucky for me, this second paradigm shift is swinging things back to the way I prefer to work. But even if things were moving in a direction I didn't prefer, I've learned it's better to just roll with it, because it's going to change whether you want it or not, and you are just wasting energy if you sit and complain. Better to spend your energy instead on finding ways to adapt.
1st timer here.
This IPP has been in my hands for a week today, and I believe it can replace a laptop for 90% of computer users. I gave my wife, a Windows only user an iPad mini for Christmas last year (20`4) she does everything on it, even complex payroll. She loves it!
When I read many people's complaints, or wish list for filing systems and track pad, I keep thinking MacBook Air? Isn't that what you are asking for? It's my actual laptop. It's about the same size and weight, and does those jobs the IPP can't do, like run full blown Adobe applications.
I also use the cloud with all my devices, but I have a useful Seagate hard drive that is powered by it self and wifi that holds 2TB. That combined with my IPP is great for travel, large documents and more.
Oh, I've had an iPad since Launch day.
Great reading. Keep up the great work!
[doublepost=1454837597][/doublepost]
Yes. The pencil is perfect to replace a mouse and a trackpad. I know they are tough to find, but I've had it since day one. Wouldn't be without it
This IPP has been in my hands for a week today, and I believe it can replace a laptop for 90% of computer users. I gave my wife, a Windows only user an iPad mini for Christmas last year (20`4) she does everything on it, even complex payroll. She loves it!
When I read many people's complaints, or wish list for filing systems and track pad, I keep thinking MacBook Air? Isn't that what you are asking for? It's my actual laptop. It's about the same size and weight, and does those jobs the IPP can't do, like run full blown Adobe applications.
I also use the cloud with all my devices, but I have a useful Seagate hard drive that is powered by it self and wifi that holds 2TB. That combined with my IPP is great for travel, large documents and more.
Oh, I've had an iPad since Launch day.
Great reading. Keep up the great work!
[doublepost=1454837597][/doublepost]
Yes. The pencil is perfect to replace a mouse and a trackpad. I know they are tough to find, but I've had it since day one. Wouldn't be without it
The problem is that when I want to open a Word document using the 'Open in" command, the Documents app copies the file to the Word file space, so I end up having two versions of the same file stored in different places. A workaround for this problem is to open the file from Word, not from Documents.
And there are still lots of apps which always make duplicates, so the file management is still a big mess.
I like to think there are two questions. What would *I* need, and what would *most people* need?
If we stick to the *I* questions, you'll get lots of posts with people posting very specific individual apps that they have to use, which aren't available on iPad or don't offer enough functionality.
I wanted to keep it to *most people* because then we could maybe focus the discussion down a bit, and look at big returns for small changes.
I also think we need to consider what our definition of 'proper computer' is. Lots of people consider that to mean OSX or Windows, running big bloated apps. But surely ultimately, a computer is just something that day to day you can use to carry out all the tasks you need? No reason that can't be on a 'silly little tablet device with a toy OS'