[Air-L] ipad, laptop, desktop

Charles Ess charles.ess at gmail.com
Sat Jan 14 20:17:14 PST 2012


Well ... FWIW ...
After a year of trying, I've given up on using the iPad as a "serious"
computer - but my reasons are likely more idiosyncratic than not.  Can't get
used to a virtual keyboard - congrats to those who can!
Was intrigued by the Zagg keyboard, but for the first generation iPad, the
keys are too small and too closely spaced together for my somewhat largish
hands and touch-typing trained fingers.  But the OS and memory limitations
were the final straw - when I work, I often have scads of applications and
files open in ways that the iPad just can't do.
I can see using the iPad as a writing machine on a commute when you have
little else to have to access or deal with - but I commute on a bike most of
the time, so that's not a good idea for me ...
Still use the iPad as a reader - i.e., with Kindle, Nook, and other apps.
Great for that. 
Sorry you don't "do Mac" - my recently acquired MacBook Air has turned out
to be surprisingly satisfying.  Following the example of many wise
colleagues, I got it initially as a travel machine.  But contrary to my
initial expectations, it is has enough zip, memory capacity, and storage
capacity to serve as my main machine.  While not as compact as an iPad with
a keyboard - it's not much heavier, and is far more capacious, including a
full-sized keyboard.

Apple didn't pay me to say any of this.
Best,
Charles


On 1/14/12 7:15 PM, "Barry Wellman" <wellman at chass.utoronto.ca> wrote:

> Perhaps because I've been using one for 55 years, but I don't know why
> anyone would abandon a proper keyboard for a glass iKeyboard.
> Real keys seem more natural to me than glass keys or even handwriting (for
> churning out long prose.
> And using a clip-on keyboard with an iThing seems kludgy. Besides, the OS
> is awful, wonders of Siri besides.
> 
> So when I am not using my desktop (just bought a 27" screen for better
> editing), I am using a laptop (my old Lenovo Thinkpad X60) and eagerly
> awaiting the advent of proper ultrabooks this summer. (Don't do Mac;
> netbooks underpowered).
> 
> Just my .02. I ain't gonna argue with anybody, but curious to read others'
> thoughts on this list.
> 
> 
>   Barry Wellman
>   _______________________________________________________________________
> 
>    S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC               NetLab Director
>    Department of Sociology                  725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388
>    University of Toronto   Toronto Canada M5S 2J4   twitter:barrywellman
>    http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman             fax:+1-416-978-3963
>    Updating history:      http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
>   _______________________________________________________________________
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