iPad not a content creation tool? Pshaw!!

[psonice]

Theres a saying I mention fairly often and its "A poor artist blames his tools".

Actually, I think that saying has some weight when it comes to the ipad. The tools are definitely a 'problem' for creation I reckon, but it's a problem that can be overcome (pages, garage band and others are leading the way here).

The thing is, traditional content creation tools are all built around the PC. Keyboard + mouse for fast accurate input, reliant on a file system to share files between projects, powerful CPU and lots of memory etc. For tools like this, the ipad absolutely sucks, no argument. A touch screen doesn't cut it, and it's terribly underpowered.

What you need is basically totally new tools, designed for the ipad rather than copied from the desktop. They have to be built around the touch + motion interface, and the power that's available. Once you do that, it can easily rival a desktop for content creation, because it's so much more free and creative without the keyboard + mouse between you and the screen.

Apps have to be designed to use the hardware well too. E.g. for video editing - you don't need a big powerful CPU. There's a video encoder built in, so encoding a HD video is extremely fast and basically "free" because it doesn't use the CPU. Effects are more difficult, because the CPU is slow, but the GPU can do image processing many times faster than the CPU can. Use the GPU, and you can do effects that rival desktop software for speed! (I'm working on just that now, and honestly, it's amazing just how much you can do - I'm layering 10 effects over HD video with no slowdown at times!)

 

[spiderman0616]

Just because you can create cute things like a little song or a slideshow with music doesn't make the iPad a true creation tool. Moreover, it doesnt make me a hater that I disagree with you. How the hell can I be a hater when I use my iPad daily for hours? The OP sounds arrogant is definitely generalizing many people just because he found a few cool things he can do with his iPad.

I'm an engineering student and a tech reviewer on YouTube. As far as school goes, the iPad is nearly worthless for note taking. My classes are all math, physics, and chemistry based and there's simply no way to replicate 90% of what I see in class efficiently on my iPad. Don't even get me into graphs. I can make much more detailed notes on paper in less time than I can on the iPad. For anyone looking to do SERIOUS professional grade video editing, the iPad won't cut it either. It's not powerful enough to edit lengthy 1080p videos, not to mention it doesn't accept a majority of file types out there and you need to buy a separate camera kit to import videos. The iOS version of iMovie is a novelty right now. It's good for people who want to throw something cute together, but for the serious editors it's not good enough.

Let's just all throw away our laptops and computers, we don't need them anymore with the iPad!

How do you know the quality of what I created? I don't remember posting the files here or giving out links. I also don't remember saying that I was a serious editor. I said that for the way I personally use a computer, the iPad is doing the job just fine. My family members, knowing that I'm the nerd that I am, often ask me to put together videos, slide shows, etc. for family events. Usually I do this in Windows Movie Maker, which is more robust than iMovie for iPad, but is also way more complicated than my video editing abilities. I am not very artistic when it comes to that kind of stuff. Most of the time all I need is slides plus music, and I would venture to say that unless you do that kind of thing for a living, or even semi professionally, you don't need anything but an iPad.

As for GarageBand, this is an opposite situation than iMovie for me, because I have a degree in music and DO have the creativity to handle more robust software. But despite its limitations (the main one being that it only supports 4/4 time), it is still a terrific creation tool. I don't play guitar, but I know how to put chord progressions or riffs together because I know music. GarageBand is a terrific CREATION tool for laying down an idea or creating an accompaniment to something else you're doing. And the built in mic is surprisingly good at picking up vocals, which shocked the hell out of me.

I'm not saying there is no need for computers anymore. I need one for work. I need one at home. It's still very hard to distribute or share any of the content I'm creating without burning to a disc or converting it to some other format. I also still need my computer as a media server for our home and to create and store backups of all my important media files.

What I am saying is that people are hanging on to full blown PCs for dear life because A) it's a change of paradigm that they're not willing to go with and B) for some of us (I'm work in the IT profession as well, guys) in the future it could end up meaning some changes to our professional lives in various ways. What you are overlooking is that while engineers, professional editors, etc. still need a full blown powerhouse PC to get things done, those types of users do NOT represent the vast majority.

Apple is in tune with this, and that is why the iPad is selling like hotcakes. Where they've impressed me is that they've made me interested in devices like the iPad when I'm actually more of a PC power user. I have a quad core Windows 7 machine at home that I built myself and designed for gaming and to handle more labor intensive software that I use. I have an extremely powerful computer at work that even dwarfs the one I have at home. But when all is said and done, I now prefer using my iPad to either of these two machines and have since sold my underpowered and inefficient 17" laptop.

To each his/her own, but I was just telling MY story, not telling you how you should live your life.

 

[psonice]

For anyone looking to do SERIOUS professional grade video editing, the iPad won't cut it either. It's not powerful enough to edit lengthy 1080p videos, not to mention it doesn't accept a majority of file types out there and you need to buy a separate camera kit to import videos. The iOS version of iMovie is a novelty right now. It's good for people who want to throw something cute together, but for the serious editors it's not good enough.

I agree with a lot of what you said there, but I believe the ipad2 IS powerful enough to edit 1080 videos. And I say that as somebody writing video processing software for the ipad right now (although not a video editor). I can't see why you can't edit 1080 on it, applying effects, and writing out h264. I can't see why you can't do that at 30fps either. It's just a case of the software not being available yet.

For the rest of what you said, yes, there's plenty of things that are difficult to do. Mostly it's just a lack of suitable apps though. E.g. for your physics classes, you need the keyboard for taking notes, plus you need a way to quickly enter all those maths symbols that are missing from the keyboard, and maybe a way to quickly sketch drawings. There's nothing there that's impossible for the ipad to do, it just lacks the software. If typing is too slow, you can connect a bluetooth keyboard, and if sketching with a finger isn't good enough you can get a stylus.

It can do all these things, it's just that the market is so young that most of the software is yet to be written. Plus, the ipad1 genuinely is too slow to do a lot of things well.

 

[jsh1120]

Imagine an alternate universe in which we had all been using iPads as computing devices and along comes the sort of personal computers, Windows, Macs, or Linux, that we all know so well. The reaction would undoubtedly be that a whole new world of "content creation" had been opened for almost all of us.

Multiple windows, true multitasking, far more capable word processing and number crunching applications would suddenly be available. Polished publishable documents could be created from scratch. Graphic designers and musicians would be amazed at the added functionality they could tap. Corporations and government could safely distribute PC's to workers without worrying about security of those devices.

Rather than threads like this, we'd all be reading about whether it was worth even trying to use our iPads for the multitude of tasks that our new PC's now make so simple to accomplish. Sure, some folks would claim they don't need those fancy new capabilities. Some would say they hate being tied to their desks or would object to lugging around laptops that weigh (horrors) four or five pounds. Some would even complain that they prefer to scribble on their screens rather than learn to type.

Still, for many of us the new world of true "Personal Computers" would rapidly make iPads as obsolete as the first Macintosh and Windows PC's made the Apple II and the first generation DOS PC's and TRS80's.

In short, claims that iPad's are adequate for the scope of "content creation" that most of us take for granted are either silly or highly selective in their focus. iPads are wonderful adjuncts to more powerful computers and for many whose "content creation" requirements are either highly specialized or minimal, they can even replace today's PC's. But iPad's benefit from their novelty while PC's capabilities are taken for granted. If the order of introduction were reversed the world would look very different.

 

[palpatine]

Jesus Christ, ok we get it. You've got mammoth gorilla juicehead arms and gigantic sausage fingers. It's amazing you can hold a spoon or use an iPhone with those monsters!

Have you ever thought of searching YouTube for these kinds of basic keyboard shortcuts and tricks? Surely a video would be infinitely more helpful and instrumental in showing you how to navigate the screen using only keyboard commands, etc, rather than asking random people on the Internet to describe how to do it for you. If not that, then how 'bout googling "iPad keyboard shortcuts" ? And if all else fails, just get a MBA and call it a day.

thank you for the advice.

Yes. Since you're using a bluetooth keyboard, play around with the arrow keys along with the ctrl and shift keys. You'll find that you can navigate a doc and highlight specific text pretty quickly and easily. Much quicker in many instances than moving your hand from mouse to keyboard to mouse to keyboard in order to highlight text, make edits, etc.

thanks. this does help a bit. i have something to write for this saturday, so i will give it a try. perhaps a combination of keyboard shortcuts and different software will work better for me this time around.

CMD – c (Copy selected text)
CMD – x (Cut selected text)
CMD – v (Paste)
CMD – z (Undo)
CMD – shift – z (Redo)
CMD – Up Arrow (Jump to top of document)
CMD – Down Arrow (Jump to bottom of document)
CMD – Left Arrow (Jump to beginning of line)
CMD – Right Arrow (Jump to end of line)
CMD – Delete (Delete everything on the current line to the left of the cursor)
Option – Delete (Delete the word to the left of the cursor, and its preceding space)
F1 (Dim Screen)
F2 (Brighten Screen)
F7 (Back one song)
F8 (Play/Pause Music)
F9 (Skip one song ahead)
F10 (Mute)
F11 (Volume Down)
F12 (Volume Up)
Eject key (Show/hide on-screen keyboard)

 

[Arcadia310]

Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that NO computerized device (laptop, PDA, tablet, etc.) is as effective at the task of in-class note-taking as handwriting your notes in a ruled notebook?

Read this article about the reality of in-class laptop use, and tell me if a lot of it doesn't sound familiar to you:



Emphasis mine. But even more importantly



Do yourself a favor: Don't get so caught up in the technology that you lose sight of the goal (ie. actually learning and understanding what goes on in class.) Computers (laptops and iPads included) have a tremendous role to play in education. But for any professional - but especially an engineer - make sure you pick the right tool for the job.

Beyond a day or two of trial when the iPad 2 FIRST came out, I dont use it in class AT ALL. How are you going to assume that I'm forcing myself to use it and I have somehow lost "sight of the goal"?

I agree with a lot of what you said there, but I believe the ipad2 IS powerful enough to edit 1080 videos. And I say that as somebody writing video processing software for the ipad right now (although not a video editor). I can't see why you can't edit 1080 on it, applying effects, and writing out h264. I can't see why you can't do that at 30fps either. It's just a case of the software not being available yet

It probably is, but I can only imagine how slow the iPad 2 would be when exporting a 10 minute 1080p clip with a ton of edits and transitions. It takes about 30 minutes on my Mac and it kicks the fans into full gear.

 

[spiderman0616]

Imagine an alternate universe in which we had all been using iPads as computing devices and along comes the sort of personal computers, Windows, Macs, or Linux, that we all know so well. The reaction would undoubtedly be that a whole new world of "content creation" had been opened for almost all of us.

Multiple windows, true multitasking, far more capable word processing and number crunching applications would suddenly be available. Polished publishable documents could be created from scratch. Graphic designers and musicians would be amazed at the added functionality they could tap. Corporations and government could safely distribute PC's to workers without worrying about security of those devices.

Rather than threads like this, we'd all be reading about whether it was worth even trying to use our iPads for the multitude of tasks that our new PC's now make so simple to accomplish. Sure, some folks would claim they don't need those fancy new capabilities. Some would say they hate being tied to their desks or would object to lugging around laptops that weigh (horrors) four or five pounds. Some would even complain that they prefer to scribble on their screens rather than learn to type.

Still, for many of us the new world of true "Personal Computers" would rapidly make iPads as obsolete as the first Macintosh and Windows PC's made the Apple II and the first generation DOS PC's and TRS80's.

In short, claims that iPad's are adequate for the scope of "content creation" that most of us take for granted are either silly or highly selective in their focus. iPads are wonderful adjuncts to more powerful computers and for many whose "content creation" requirements are either highly specialized or minimal, they can even replace today's PC's. But iPad's benefit from their novelty while PC's capabilities are taken for granted. If the order of introduction were reversed the world would look very different.

Lugging a 4 or 5 pound laptop in an over the shoulder bag just through the airport will kill your shoulder. I never minded working on my laptop at home, but I hated transporting it anywhere. It was just another bag, another 4 or 5 pounds, another big bulky thing to deal with. It sucked for opening up on the train or in an airplane seat, and I was NOT going to buy an underpowered netbook to alleviate that situation. I did love setting up camp at the kitchen table with my laptop because I could work, read, etc. with my family instead of being down in the dungeon at my big computer.

I'm a very mobile person. I spend a lot of time on the train, and when I get home, I have two kids running around the house keeping me moving at all times. I also have a wife that I happen to like hanging around from time to time. So the iPad allows me to put down my ideas, work on projects, or just "consume media" wherever I want, whenever I want, whether it's at home, on the train, or flying. If my main tower at home blew up, I would still have to replace it, because I still need it. I could not survive on my iPad alone. But it IS a creation tool and for the way I use a laptop, it is a terrific laptop replacement.

 

[psonice]

It probably is, but I can only imagine how slow the iPad 2 would be when exporting a 10 minute 1080p clip with a ton of edits and transitions. It takes about 30 minutes on my Mac and it kicks the fans into full gear.

Probably faster than your desktop Actually, it'd depend heavily on what you were doing. Some things would be out of reach (anything that absolutely needs tons of memory for a start). Transitions might be slow. Other things would be extremely fast (in my own app, I'm I'm processing 720p, and it'll save out to disk at a steady 25fps (i.e. a 10 minute video takes 10 minutes to write). Adding more effects doesn't slow it down (it's still 25fps with everything enabled), because that's the way it's designed. With the new features in iOS 5, 1080 might be possible at the same speed (looks promising, but I need to try it out - the documentation isn't too detailed).

You need to understand the difference between mac + ipad hardware + software to get why it can be so much faster I think. Typical video render on a mac would be:

1. CPU decodes video file
2. CPU processes video (GPU might help with some parts)
3. CPU encodes video

You need a LOT of CPU power for that, that's why it's slow. The GPU might help, but the developers don't know if you're using a low-end computer a few years old or the latest high-end workstation, and video drivers vary hugely (and have plenty of bugs) so the CPU is the safe option.

On the ipad, it's more like this:

1. Dedicated video decoder reads file
2. GPU does most of the rendering (we just have 1 GPU to work with, so we know *exactly* what is available, unlike on the desktop)
3. Dedicated video encoder writes file

It's all dedicated hardware. The CPU is doing nothing but managing the interface and copying images to the GPU and back.

 

[Arcadia310]

Probably faster than your desktop Actually, it'd depend heavily on what you were doing. Some things would be out of reach (anything that absolutely needs tons of memory for a start). Transitions might be slow. Other things would be extremely fast (in my own app, I'm I'm processing 720p, and it'll save out to disk at a steady 25fps (i.e. a 10 minute video takes 10 minutes to write). Adding more effects doesn't slow it down (it's still 25fps with everything enabled), because that's the way it's designed. With the new features in iOS 5, 1080 might be possible at the same speed (looks promising, but I need to try it out - the documentation isn't too detailed).

You need to understand the difference between mac + ipad hardware + software to get why it can be so much faster I think. Typical video render on a mac would be:

1. CPU decodes video file
2. CPU processes video (GPU might help with some parts)
3. CPU encodes video

You need a LOT of CPU power for that, that's why it's slow. The GPU might help, but the developers don't know if you're using a low-end computer a few years old or the latest high-end workstation, and video drivers vary hugely (and have plenty of bugs) so the CPU is the safe option.

On the ipad, it's more like this:

1. Dedicated video decoder reads file
2. GPU does most of the rendering (we just have 1 GPU to work with, so we know *exactly* what is available, unlike on the desktop)
3. Dedicated video encoder writes file

It's all dedicated hardware. The CPU is doing nothing but managing the interface and copying images to the GPU and back.

So you're telling me that my iPad 2 would beat out my Mac when exporting an identical 1080p video clip? I'm not talking about FPS.

 

[Carouser]

Hey is this a thread where we look at what a laptop/desktop does which an iPad doesn't and then evaluate the iPad as though it should be a laptop? Awesome.

As long as there is a meaningful distinction between a laptop/desktop and an iPad, there will always be situations where a laptop/desktop is a better tool than an iPad (and vice-versa). The only question is how common those situations will be in the future.

Once you make an iPad able to do everything a laptop/desktop can (keyboard input, identical OS, etc.) this doesn't mean that the tablet has caught up with a laptop as it was intended to, it just means you've made another laptop.

Shorter version: the 'iPad isn't good for content creation' is a silly conceit.

 

[Donka]

Content creation is possible - it is just to what level you need to take it.
I shot a wedding for a friend a few weeks back and I decided to try out my iPad with the Camera Connection Kit for an experiment. After the wedding, I imported all the RAW files from my Nikon dSLR to the iPad so I could do a quick review of the images and delete any non starters. I then had a first draft of usable images before I even got home. I used an app called Filterstorm to try out some quick edits such as crops, Black & White conversions etc. on candidate shots.
Now when I got home I imported all the RAW files to my laptop and batch converted them to a smaller JPG file with a 'Sample' watermark so they were not printed in error from the lower res JPGs so I could put these all on a Disc for the couple to review and feedback their favourite images.
The thing is, had I used Filterstorm Pro which allows batch processing, I could have selected all the images and set them to batch export on the iPad to a smaller JPG file and applied the watermark on the way home in the car so by the time I got home I already had the preview shots prepared. All I would had to have done is copy them to my laptop and burn to disc. This is only one step of the process but a real time saver when I wasn't near my home equipment. Could I do my whole workflow on the iPad? Most likely, yes although probably not to the standard I would like. Would I choose to do my whole workflow on the iPad? No, it would be easier and a lot quicker on my laptop but as above illustrates, some parts of the process would actually work very well on the iPad and in this case even same me time and effort.

 

[psonice]

So you're telling me that my iPad 2 would beat out my Mac when exporting an identical 1080p video clip? I'm not talking about FPS.

I'm saying it certainly could do, depending on the software and what you're doing with it. It's like games, an underpowered console can often outperform a much more powerful PC, because the developers can take full advantage of the hardware available. A good ipad app is built to fully utilise the hardware, and you'd be surprised at how much it can handle. And FPS is how you measure speed for these things - higher FPS means the video renders faster.

But, as I said, it's not going to do memory intensive stuff, because it only has 512mb. Some effects won't run on the GPU, and the CPU won't come close to a desktop. Transitions might be slow, because there's only one video decoder and you're trying to load 2 videos. So in many cases, it's obviously going to be far slower. In some cases though, yes, it could be much faster than your desktop.

 

[Arcadia310]

I'm saying it certainly could do, depending on the software and what you're doing with it. It's like games, an underpowered console can often outperform a much more powerful PC, because the developers can take full advantage of the hardware available. A good ipad app is built to fully utilise the hardware, and you'd be surprised at how much it can handle. And FPS is how you measure speed for these things - higher FPS means the video renders faster.

But, as I said, it's not going to do memory intensive stuff, because it only has 512mb. Some effects won't run on the GPU, and the CPU won't come close to a desktop. Transitions might be slow, because there's only one video decoder and you're trying to load 2 videos. So in many cases, it's obviously going to be far slower. In some cases though, yes, it could be much faster than your desktop.

I haven't seen any game in the past 5 years that performed better on consoles than the PC counter part. Furthermore, I seriously doubt I could export the same 1080p 10 minute long video on my Mac and iPad simultaneously and have the iPad come anywhere close to the Mac in terms of the overall time. The newer versions of FCP X and iMovie make more use of the RAM and multi-core processors in Macs. Again, these programs were designed especially for Macs and make full use of the hardware, not just a tiny fraction of it. My videos are typically over 1GB in size and easily kick the fans on in my i7 iMac. The same process would literally melt the iPad as it would use nearly 100% of the processing power for over 40 minutes.

 

[foiden]

Agreed. But then again, those are big computing tasks, something I'd never expect the iPad to do.

Just that most of us use the big computing tasks as a small fraction of our overall computer use. For consumption, certain light gaming, "good start" projects for various kinds of fine arts, light business use, it really is the most convenient device to use it on. Barely has to be plugged in. Can carry it everywhere. And has battery life that totally has us using the device different from other portable solutions because we no longer have to worry about the battery half the time. It's enough to be basically an all day thing without constantly trying to manually keep it shut it down to preserve precious battery.

Garageband is great stuff, and I'm the kind of person who easily will max out hardware in any Logic or Protools setup. (and am salivating at the prospect that cheap Higher capacity SSD drives will take a nose dive in prices over the next couple of years or so) That's the kind of person I am. I arrange full orchestra stuff and high-load electronics. But I still am impressed with iPad Garageband. It's quality software in which I can effectively put down some pretty intricate details of music while out in the middle of the boonies, lounging in a wild-life preserve or a vacation home. And if I want to produce it super high quality, I'll export it into software with which I can quickly build upon it.

 

[darngooddesign]

Wow you guys are getting defensive for no reason. If people can create content on it, its a content creation device. End of story.

I didn't say it can create ALL content, thats just silly. Nothing in this world can. It can create a lot of good content however whether it be media based such as video, music, digital art, or it can be written creations. I wrote a 50 page essay on mine when my laptop broke.

I was responding the "A poor artist blames his tools" assertion that if you can't create your content its your fault. I think you are getting defensive. All I did was argue that your dismissal that its the artist's fault was simple because it makes no differentiation between which kind of content can be created on the iPad.

Sorry in advance for using your post for this, it happened to be the one that illustrated the point most clearly.

A lot of the criticism I see aimed at the iPad regarding content creation is based around individuals not being able to use it for their specific purposes. Take the section in bold above as a great example. "The iPad is nearly worthless for note taking". Uh, no, sorry that's not accurate. It's worthless in THIS use case as you need the ability to sketch and graph quickly and accurately. For someone in a different discipline where note taking is just text though it can be a fantastic solution, especially when using something like soundnote to record the lecture and link the audio to your notes.

And that, right there, is the problem: people taking their own examples and assuming they apply across the board. The OP actually got this mostly right with the "at least in the way I use a computer" qualifier. The iPad (and tablets in general) are like every other form factor out there, for some people it'll be the best thing since sliced bread and let them create content in far more efficient / creative ways than ever before. For others, utterly useless. That's nothing new, heck you can apply exactly the same arguments to 11 inch ultraportable laptops versus 17 inch desktop replacements. Right tool for the right job and all that jazz...

His post is not useable for your argument because he specifically said for note taking in school. It would seem that you are taking a specific usage case and trying to apply that lesson to the larger picture, which is what you were arguing against.

 

[TheWheelMan]

Just because you can create cute things like a little song or a slideshow with music doesn't make the iPad a true creation tool. Moreover, it doesnt make me a hater that I disagree with you. How the hell can I be a hater when I use my iPad daily for hours? The OP sounds arrogant is definitely generalizing many people just because he found a few cool things he can do with his iPad...

You offhandedly dismiss and trivialize someone's creations as being "a cute little song or slideshow with music" and call the OP a hater? Try using a mirror first, dude. You can use a pencil and sheet of paper to create beautiful content. Just because it's not the same as painting with oils on a canvas doesn't make them any less capable in their own right.

You can't compare an iPad to a full-blown computer, but that makes the iPad no less capable in its own right.

 

[jsh1120]

Lugging a 4 or 5 pound laptop in an over the shoulder bag just through the airport will kill your shoulder. I never minded working on my laptop at home, but I hated transporting it anywhere. It was just another bag, another 4 or 5 pounds, another big bulky thing to deal with. It sucked for opening up on the train or in an airplane seat, and I was NOT going to buy an underpowered netbook to alleviate that situation. I did love setting up camp at the kitchen table with my laptop because I could work, read, etc. with my family instead of being down in the dungeon at my big computer.

I'm a very mobile person. I spend a lot of time on the train, and when I get home, I have two kids running around the house keeping me moving at all times. I also have a wife that I happen to like hanging around from time to time. So the iPad allows me to put down my ideas, work on projects, or just "consume media" wherever I want, whenever I want, whether it's at home, on the train, or flying. If my main tower at home blew up, I would still have to replace it, because I still need it. I could not survive on my iPad alone. But it IS a creation tool and for the way I use a laptop, it is a terrific laptop replacement.

All true of me, as well, though I have only one kid and she keeps me moving more than I can easily cope with.

On the other hand, if you think a 4-5 lb laptop is a pain to transport, I can't imagine what you would have thought about my first portable PC, a 20 lb Kaypro that was "portable" only because it had a handle. And I agree that my 15" laptop is a almost impossible to use on a plane, especially when I'm crammed into a middle seat in coach.

My iPad has completely replaced my 11" HP netbook for those duties because it's more portable even with a separate bluetooth keyboard. But I have to say that while the HP Netbook is no powerhouse (2gig of memory; 160 gig HD), it's not at all "underpowered" compared to the iPad. It handles Microsoft Office programs and files flawlessly. Though the screen is small it still enables me to use multiple windows and handle multiple tasks simultaneously and the screen is larger than the iPad. The browser selection and capabilities are significantly better than what the iPad offers. And all of this came at a price several hundred dollars less than my iPad.

My point is that while I'm enjoying my iPad immensely, if I make a list of features comparing it to a less expensive 11" laptop, it's not necessarily the clear winner. It's newer, shinier, and more fun. And I can draw on the screen. But could I do more "content creation" (less enjoyably and frankly less expensively) with a "real" computer? Yeah, I'm afraid I could.

 

[spiderman0616]

All true of me, as well, though I have only one kid and she keeps me moving more than I can easily cope with.

On the other hand, if you think a 4-5 lb laptop is a pain to transport, I can't imagine what you would have thought about my first portable PC, a 20 lb Kaypro that was "portable" only because it had a handle. And I agree that my 15" laptop is a almost impossible to use on a plane, especially when I'm crammed into a middle seat in coach.

My iPad has completely replaced my 11" HP netbook for those duties because it's more portable even with a separate bluetooth keyboard. But I have to say that while the HP Netbook is no powerhouse (2gig of memory; 160 gig HD), it's not at all "underpowered" compared to the iPad. It handles Microsoft Office programs and files flawlessly. Though the screen is small it still enables me to use multiple windows and handle multiple tasks simultaneously and the screen is larger than the iPad. The browser selection and capabilities are significantly better than what the iPad offers. And all of this came at a price several hundred dollars less than my iPad.

My point is that while I'm enjoying my iPad immensely, if I make a list of features comparing it to a less expensive 11" laptop, it's not necessarily the clear winner. It's newer, shinier, and more fun. And I can draw on the screen. But could I do more "content creation" (less enjoyably and frankly less expensively) with a "real" computer? Yeah, I'm afraid I could.

I don't like using a laptop/netbook as an e-reader. I know some people don't like reading on the iPad, but I happen to love it. I used to try reading on the Kindle app on my laptop, and I just gave up. It sucked. Reading is a huge reason I opted for the iPad, but I wanted something a lot more functional than a dedicated e-reader. Also, I am really starting to love the iOS ecosystem and a netbook is not going to have that.

But I guess my point was that for the content creation, for the things I usually do on a laptop, the iPad does the same things. There is a notation program called Sibelius that I use to do side jobs for people, and that does not run on iPad, but the rumor is that they're working on it. Once they come out with that, most of my reasons for needing a computer will be gone other than burning discs and running backups to my external HD.

There are many like me who are not professional video editors and just need a slide show with music or a couple of home movies prettied up a little bit. And there are even more people who ASK people like me to do this stuff for them because they think I am the expert. (I'm far from it.) I don't do professional wedding videos or anything like that, so why would I need anything more? I put in my music, put in my pictures, hit save, and I'm done. Instant slide show. Yes, I could do that on my computer, but my iPad is already right there ready to go, and if I want to make changes, I can do it during my commute.

Yes, maybe I paid more for the iPad than I would have for a netbook because of the form factor and the touch screen. (and the Apple tax that's always built in) But when a product comes along that fits my lifestyle so perfectly like this one does, I have to have it.

 

[MattSepeta]

Who cares?

An iPad can function fine as a "content-creator" for most people, but for some people it simply will not do.

Instance: My girlfriend recently broke her 2006 macbook by dropping it on it's edge and damaging the screen. We were discussing whether she should get an iPad or a new MB. I kept telling her "I am not as happy as I wish I was with my iPad, I wish I could do X and Y and Z."

Then she says "Why the hell would I want to do X, Y or Z?!?!"

Then I said "Good point, an iPad will do you fine!"

 

[psonice]

I haven't seen any game in the past 5 years that performed better on consoles than the PC counter part. Furthermore, I seriously doubt I could export the same 1080p 10 minute long video on my Mac and iPad simultaneously and have the iPad come anywhere close to the Mac in terms of the overall time. The newer versions of FCP X and iMovie make more use of the RAM and multi-core processors in Macs. Again, these programs were designed especially for Macs and make full use of the hardware, not just a tiny fraction of it. My videos are typically over 1GB in size and easily kick the fans on in my i7 iMac. The same process would literally melt the iPad as it would use nearly 100% of the processing power for over 40 minutes.

Take any PC of equivalent CPU + GPU power to an xbox360 or PS3 (which would be a computer built a year or so before the consoles). Compare the games you can run on it to what you can run on the consoles. You'll find the consoles punch WAY above their weight, mainly because it's a fixed platform and developers can seriously push them in ways that they can't on the desktop. You have to take a much later/more powerful PC to match it, this is what I mean. You'll see the same happen with the iDevices as development gets more serious.

I think you'll be amazed at just what these things can do as time goes on. Right now, my ipad is processing 720p video. It's doing exposure adjustment, applying a (fake, for video) HDR effect, showing a single colour (the rest is masked to black and white), some noise removal to clean the picture up, a posterise effect, white balance adjustment, and come contrast + brightness. It's not breaking a sweat - steady 25fps (so a 10 minute video would render in 10 minutes), and it's not getting warm. It's only using 17MB of memory too. Your i7 might handle that, but it'd get hot doing it

I'm not saying the ipad can replace a workstation with FCP, of course it can't and won't (at least for many years), but it's very much capable of serious video work.

 

[spiderman0616]

I couldn't resist reviving this post one more time.

The big event was Saturday--the 80th birthday party took place mostly outside, but people were going to the living room in groups of 9 or 10 and watching the slideshow that I created in iMovie for iPad. It was 167 slides, 4 songs, about 14 minutes long total. It got rave reviews. I even got some tears from some viewers. My wife's aunt who does graphic design asked me what software I used to do this. (I was hoping SOMEBODY would ask.) When I told her I did the whole thing on my iPad, she was shocked.

I'm not tooting my own horn here. I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I just know how to throw a bunch of slides into the project and then add music to it. My point is, I didn't just create a slideshow on my iPad, I created a GOOD slideshow on my iPad with minimal effort and it was a big hit with the 60 or so people who watched it.

 

[urkel]

The big event was Saturday--the 80th birthday party took place mostly outside, but people were going to the living room in groups of 9 or 10 and watching the slideshow that I created in iMovie for iPad. It was 167 slides, 4 songs, about 14 minutes long total. It got rave reviews. I even got some tears from some viewers. My wife's aunt who does graphic design asked me what software I used to do this. (I was hoping SOMEBODY would ask.) When I told her I did the whole thing on my iPad, she was shocked. .

I'm not trying to argue, but if you take photos from a separate camera and music from a prerecorded artist synced from a computer then are you actually "Creating Content" or are you merely "Editing".

I believe you are creating content, but I can also see how some define that to simply be compiling data from outside sources so the argument that the iPad is lacking in creating content On it's own still is debatable which is why the tone of this thread is a little annoying. People are doing cool stuff that satisfies THEIR expectations so why waste time trying to disprove the VALID opinions of those who feel the iPads potential in content creation is limited to the current software and hardware? They aren't being negative or "haters", they just have different expectations than you.

 

[spiderman0616]

I'm not trying to argue, but if you take photos from a separate camera and music from a prerecorded artist synced from a computer then are you actually "Creating Content" or are you merely "Editing".

I believe you are creating content, but I can also see how some define that to simply be compiling data from outside sources so the argument that the iPad is lacking in creating content On it's own still is debatable which is why the tone of this thread is a little annoying. People are doing cool stuff that satisfies THEIR expectations so why waste time trying to disprove the VALID opinions of those who feel the iPads potential in content creation is limited to the current software and hardware? They aren't being negative or "haters", they just have different expectations than you.

The only limitation the iPad gave me was that the pictures dated all the way back to the 50s and were not in a digital format. This required a scanner. Burning the presentation to DVD was a concession I had to make due to limitations I had in that household. Soon I am going to buy a mirroring cable and eliminate that need as well. If I had one on Saturday, I would have been able to edit a problem on the fly that I noticed during the first playthrough and subsequent playthroughs could have run error free. (I noticed a slide had shown up twice and it would have been nice to edit it out between showings.)

I'm sorry that this is taking on what you refer to as an annoying tone. What was annoying to me was that the content I was creating was being judged as a cute little slideshow or GarageBand track without me posting files or links of what I actually created. And if you're implying that since all I did was gather files from other sources and compile them into one thing, then almost nothing we do on any device should be considered content creation. BTW, I did not sync any music from another computer. I took it right off my iPad. And I got the pictures from a Dropbox file. No connection to the computer needed until I had to burn the DVD.

I found it amazing that I impressed a 20+ year veteran of the graphic arts industry by telling her that the whole thing was done on an iPad. Could I have made it fancier in MovieMaker? Yes. Could I have made it fancier in iMovie for Mac? Yes. Did I need to? Absolutely not. It went over very well on its own merit.

 

[thesiren]

is it worth pointing out that the audience was a bunch of 80 year old family members and not unbiased, objective professionals?
I mean come on. They're family. Families love this type of stuff (scrapbooks, homemade movies, kid's art drawings, etc) because they're IN them. Nobody has anything bad to say about something theyre starring in

And not to be a total ageist here, but your wife's aunt? Really? That's who was blown away? How old is this woman? 50? 60?
Graphic design progresses and advances with newer, better, technologies and techniques every year. I'm sure anything you make on an iPad would blow away a 60 year old graphic designer who's been designing since the 80’s.

 

[Digidesign]

I think the thread starter created this thread as a way to validate himself. Subsequent followups just show him patting himself on the back for how he uses the iPad and disagreeing with anyone that tries to point out that content creation has a very different meaning in the professional world.

But, no need to bust his bubble. He's thrilled about his slideshow so just let him bask in the hollow glow of Internet approval seeking.