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iPad 2 vs. PC
- Thread starter ffrcoupe
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Once again, I have to disagree. I use the multitasking aspect on a regular basis. Different apps use the functionality differently. Some simply suspend, others will continue to do work of one sort or another in the background.
Just before I started typing this response, I switched to the YouTube app and started it downloading a video. Now, when I switch over to it, I see that it is about a third downloaded. I stayed on it just long enough for the screen to update (it starts by showing essentially a screen cap from when I switched away from it), then came back to Safari. In another minute I'll switch back again.
In the mean time, another example, I use GoodReader on a regular basis to download files from the net. I launch GR, enter the URL or browse to the file that I want to download, click and it starts downloading. Next I hit my home button to get out of GR and go and do other things. GR happily continues to download in the background.
Yet another example, most audio apps (except ones where the developer hasn't gotten around to updating it to take advantage of multitasking) will continue to play in the background while you are in a different app doing something else.
So, when you think about multitasking, what do you think of? Most apps will simply suspend because they don't have anything to do when not interacting with the user. Apps like YouTube and GR do have things they can do while the user is elsewhere, so they do...to some extent, anyway.
I just switched back to the YouTube app, and it was still at about a third done. I stared at it a while and it never budged. This is an issue I have with YouTube, and I've seen it on a regular basis (and YouTube isn't the only streaming video source that does this, either). It seems that it won't continue to load a video until you get to a certain point in the video. Of course, if your connection is slow (or YouTube is being slow - which it is most of the time in my experience), then you really want it to download the entire thing before you try to watch it, but it just won't do that.
Anyway, there is multitasking in iOS. It's not exactly the same as the way that multitasking functions on a PC, but that doesn't mean that it's not multitasking. In iOS, the system handles the multitasking and memory management. When memory starts getting too full, the system sends a quit command to the app that is farthest down the stack. This reduces memory use and allows the user to continue to work freely without needing to worry about directly controlling memory management. Of course, one of the downsides of this is that there may be a possibility that the app farthest down the stack was actually doing something in the background and the quit command will interrupt it, though I'm finding myself hard pressed to imagine what that would be. Even when I'm downloading a 150MB file in GR, it only takes a few minutes, and I'd have to be jumping in and out of a lot of different apps to force the system to run out of memory to such a degree that GR would be pushed all the way to the bottom of the stack and then sent a quit instruction.
I'm not sure why Meanee is so down on iOS, but every one of his posts have had negative spins and essentially wrong information in them. So, take what he says with a grain of salt (as you should take what anyone around here says with a grain of salt, including me). Follow up on what you learn here with your own research.
That's because it wasn't multitasking. What you believed was work in the background was simply the completion of the buffer that had filled when you left the YouTube application. When the buffer was empty, the downloading (or more precisely the notification of the extent of the download) ceased.
In fact, iOS is capable of multitasking in the true sense of the term. However, Apple intentionally limits the applications allowed to multitask. (You mentioned music streaming in the background as one example.) There are a number of reasons for Apple's actions. The most important is that enabling comprehensive multitasking could potentially place a load on the limited processing power of the iPad that would lead to lags and unpredictable delays depending on the number of applications competing for cpu cycles.
The Android OS does enable true multitasking. And Android fans are quick to note that iOS does not. Each approach has benefits and costs. In the case of Android, simultaneous execution of a virtually unlimited set of processes is allowed. This approach enables, for example, a much more powerful and wider set of widgets than iOS. The cost of that approach, however, is that it depends upon a more powerful processor and more ram to perform predictably. Apple, on the other hand, believes (with some justification) that users care more about predictable performance, even if it's not quite as fast, above all else. The iPad delivers that consistency at the expense of more comprehensive multitasking.
P.S. In Android (and Windows and Lion as well) the user doesn't have to manage memory. It's done quite efficiently by the OS. It's just that without sufficient processing power the most efficient OS cannot prevent occasional lags and performance problems.
So it does do multitasking
Some people have to hate.
Edit: So, given the scenario I have given above, my friend could listen to music, have e-mail open in the backround, and send IM's all at the same time?
Just as long as you don't tax the system and memory too much then multitasking works OK.
I would think that since the majority of the apps she would be using were written by Apple, they prolly play nice together.
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I would say that for most part, your friend should be able to carry out those aforementioned tasks smoothly enough on the ipad, but there may be times where he might miss the ability to do multiple tasks side-by-side. He will have to see how much of a hindrance that will prove for him, though one thing's for sure, the ipad's a lot sexier than his laptop in this aspect. 
Opinions are like ******s. Everyone has them, they all stink. But I do believe my posts contain correct information. Reason I am so negative on iOS is because after initial wow factor, I became disenchanted with it. The sheer inflexibility, limitations are starting to get to me.
I would say that for most part, your friend should be able to carry out those aforementioned tasks smoothly enough on the ipad, but there may be times where he might miss the ability to do multiple tasks side-by-side. He will have to see how much of a hindrance that will prove for him, though one thing's for sure, the ipad's a lot sexier than his laptop in this aspect.
He is a she and her brain doesn't multitask well.
I have a friend, really I do, and I'm trying to convince her to buy an iPad 2 to replace her Sony laptop. She mainly does e-mail, FB, surf the web, IM's, watch videos, listen to music, etc. She does not really do much business stuff (spreadsheets, accounting, etc.) nor does she do any networking stuff.
She said she would consider getting an iPad if it does everything her laptop will do. I think given her uses, she would love an iPad and it will be much easier for her to do the things she wants to do with it.
Are there any drawbacks to having an iPad vs. a PC given her typical uses? The only snag that I can think of is that an iPad does not do flash. (Or does it?) What happens when you try to load a flash web page on an iPad? I'm not trying to stir the pot, I truly don't know. I do not own an iOS device yet.
I think the things that she would gain using an iPad would heavily outweigh any disadvantages.
Comments, advice, opinions?
TIA.
I do not think an iPad 2 would suit her needs, because an iPad 2 certainly cannot do what a PC can, and I assume that she plans to do some REAL multi-tasking.. I'd actually recommend going for the Blackberry Playbook instead, It has flash support, true multitasking, download manager, support for popular formats such as 3gp, 3gp2, m4a, m4v, mov, mp4, mpeg-4, avi, asf, wmv, wma, mp3, arc, f4v, & wav...
It is the only tablet that provides PC like experience.. She also has the option to turn off Flash if she wants to.. There are temporary drawbacks such as no native mail or calendar clients.. but those will be available when OS 2.0 is released for the playbook
iPad is a great device, but It doesn't provide PC like experience, even with third party apps the Flash performance is horrendous, I say that having owned an iPad myself.. And of course no native download manager.. If she plans on ever downloading something while playing a game/app for example the download will stop.. This is something the Playbook doesn't suffer from as all applications can run at the same time without them pausing..
Just my thoughts..
Since I retired my 'computer needs' probably aren't much different than your friends. But you need to realize an iPad is NOT a replacement for a PC.
1). She probably won't have enough storage. Even with iCloud there is no replacement for storage. ICloud at most 1000 photos and then only for 30 days. If she has a camera she still needs a place to back them up. Nor does iCloud backup all documents.
2). Regardless of what people tell you there will be times she needs to use a pc for browsing. And I'm not talking about flash. I have run into some sites that require IE. For one the site for my retirement benefits.
There are more issues I promise shewill run into. I would definitely not recommend trying to use an iPad to be a full replacement for a pc. It will probably do 99% of what she does but that 1% can be very important. If she keeps her laptop and relegates it to a server type use them I would say yes. But she needs to keep it.
1). She probably won't have enough storage. Even with iCloud there is no replacement for storage. ICloud at most 1000 photos and then only for 30 days. If she has a camera she still needs a place to back them up. Nor does iCloud backup all documents.
2). Regardless of what people tell you there will be times she needs to use a pc for browsing. And I'm not talking about flash. I have run into some sites that require IE. For one the site for my retirement benefits.
There are more issues I promise shewill run into. I would definitely not recommend trying to use an iPad to be a full replacement for a pc. It will probably do 99% of what she does but that 1% can be very important. If she keeps her laptop and relegates it to a server type use them I would say yes. But she needs to keep it.
you really need to do more reading and research to understand how multi-tasking works in iOS because your statement is incorrect.
i think it's rather irresponsible and a bit appalling that you're trying to push your friend into buying something which might not be the best fit for her needs when you're not even knowledgeable enough to understand what the pros and cons are with the ipad or other tablets.
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It's the 99% of the time that I'm thinking about.
I know some ppl here have given you static, but I think it's very nice of you to help your friend. My only advice would be to go to an apple store and play with one first and get help from someone who actually cares about the customer. I love my iPad, but I have friends that got bored with theirs after a week. I would, like others have said, keep the laptop if I were your friend. Everyone told me I didn't have any use for an iPad because I have a Mac and an iPhone. However, they all have their uses. Thanks for helping your friend and good luck!
Last thing you want to do is to go to Apple Store to talk to people. Apple is a business, and their salespeople will assure that it's magical enough to get your money. The mentioned friend is not the customer, so Apple employees will want to make him/her a customer by selling a product that, in the end, may not be the best fit for him/her.
But, go there, simply browse around. Have your friend play with iPad as long as he/she wants to. Then you can try out MacBook Air. Maybe that will be a better fit. Or on other side of things, there is a wave of PC based ultra portable notebooks coming out, so they may fit the bill.
Either way, IMO, ipad complements PC, but does not, and will not (in near future) replace it.
Sounds like an iPad would be a great fit for what she wants to do, although I agree with earlier posts that it would be nice to keep the old laptop around in case she needs it. Not to mention she'd probably want some sort of computer to be able to sync with it. The iPad probably won't replace the PC, but she'll probably spend 95% of her time using the iPad and be very happy with it.
I can't agree with the multitasking complaints, I do plenty of multitasking all the time and it has never felt like anything but "real" multitasking. As long as the experience is transparent to the user I don't see what it matters what's going on under the hood, whether the app continues running or suspends.
If she's close to an apple store, going there and trying one firsthand will give her a good idea of whether it will do what she needs.
I assume when she watches movies she does it in a theatre or on a TV. For watching movies on the go, you're not going to get a much better experience from a laptop either, and if you really want to you can get a cable to hook up the iPad to a TV (I do that all the time, including netflix streaming).
I can't agree with the multitasking complaints, I do plenty of multitasking all the time and it has never felt like anything but "real" multitasking. As long as the experience is transparent to the user I don't see what it matters what's going on under the hood, whether the app continues running or suspends.
If she's close to an apple store, going there and trying one firsthand will give her a good idea of whether it will do what she needs.
I assume when she watches movies she does it in a theatre or on a TV. For watching movies on the go, you're not going to get a much better experience from a laptop either, and if you really want to you can get a cable to hook up the iPad to a TV (I do that all the time, including netflix streaming).
The problem with this term is that the meaning of "human" multitasking and computer "multitasking" are quite different. (And unfortunately, Apple has intentionally confused the matter further by talking about "multitasking done right.")
The term multitasking applied to data processing means that two or more processes can run "simultaneously" by dividing processor (cpu) time into tiny time slices. So small that it appears to the user that the processes are both running at all times. Human "multitasking" is support for a user to move back and forth between different tasks as he/she wishes and not have to start over when they switch.
Technically, of course, the concepts are the same. But a human being doesn't move back and forth between tasks multiple times in a fraction of a second. Thus, there is no illusion of simultaneous processing.
When people think about "multitasking," they often mean what you cite in your comment above. But true "multitasking" in a data processing sense means that you could devote your attention to one task while the computer continues to process another task. And this feature is severely limited on the iPad (e.g. listening to music while browsing.)
What tasks is the iPad not doing in the background that you need?
Your example of listening to music while browsing has worked just fine for me, what's supposedly so limited about it? Seems like playing music while doing other tasks is an example that multitasking does work on the iPad.
It actually does not. There are few exceptions (API based, I believe) of what can be used while "minimized". For example, iOS will have a handful of APIs saying what functions are available. Music playback (with all connected APIs, such as storage access, etc), may be available. Background downloading of YouTube videos is not. Allowing timer-based Push notifications is allowed, while background page loading is not.
On slow WiFi, this can be a problem. I want to browse a site while RSS is refreshing. It cannot be done. Same thing in loading one page while reading another. Or trying to load up Youtube video while doing something else.
iOS does have multitasking. Do not get me wrong. But it seems that Apple controls what background app can do and cannot. And I believe it's perfectly fine for a tablet. Sometimes I wish for more, but I understand that it's a tablet. It will never run 3 virtualized machines, load up and keep few dozen pages in memory, while I am writing invoices in QuickBooks, like my home PC does.
Again, this multitasking may be fine for a vast majority. I am not going to sing praises to it, but it kind of works for me as well.
I've got a similar question
How is the web-browing experience on the iPad 2? I've noticed there are keyboards for the iPad 2, but what about a mouse? I'm imagining the iPad 2 in a stand with a keyboard and mouse, just like a normal computer. Just like the person the original poster spoke of, my wife surfs, does FB, IM and email.
The reason I'm even thinking of this is the iPad 2 is cheaper than a Macbook Pro or Air, and it has a GPS and connection to the web when on a trip while such features added onto a laptop would make the machine even more expensive.
How is the web-browing experience on the iPad 2? I've noticed there are keyboards for the iPad 2, but what about a mouse? I'm imagining the iPad 2 in a stand with a keyboard and mouse, just like a normal computer. Just like the person the original poster spoke of, my wife surfs, does FB, IM and email.
The reason I'm even thinking of this is the iPad 2 is cheaper than a Macbook Pro or Air, and it has a GPS and connection to the web when on a trip while such features added onto a laptop would make the machine even more expensive.