[Air-L] ipad, laptop, desktop

Richard Forno rforno at infowarrior.org
Sun Jan 15 07:52:48 PST 2012


I've been a Mac person for almost 20 years and have iMacs at home and on campus, and an aging Macbook Pro that will likely be replaced w/a MBAir sometime this year.

I am considering an iPad 3 this year primarily as a "gadget" and my first e-reader that also lets me have value-add (particularly email) services if I want them .... but my intention is to explore it and how it might fit into my life and habits, not change myself to fit its features.

Like Charles, I am not enamoured with typing on glass,  both due to the size of my fingers and the fact that I enjoy the tactile response of each keypress -- many times I know instinctively I've made a typo by feel as opposed to seeing the letter appear.   It's also why I have a Blackberry for a "smart" mobile phone and not an iPhone/Android .... I like the keyboards and buttons, and fact that I can use it one-handed.  (It's got a touchscreen as well, but I never use it)   I've played with iPhones/Androids and just can't get into them or used to them.  Blergh.

IMHO tactile feel is the major shortcoming of tablet devices. This recent article from a journo at the Detroit Auto Show the other week pretty much explains how I feel about interface design and tactile response -- 

The Sad Death Of The Knob, Switch And Button
http://digg.com/newsbar/Technology/the_sad_death_of_the_knob_switch_and_button

... just some rambling thoughts while I sip my Sunday coffee.  (make that gulp....)

GO RAVENS!

-- rick


On Jan 14, 2012, at 23:17 PM, Charles Ess wrote:

> 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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---
Just because i'm near the punchbowl doesn't mean I'm also drinking from it.




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