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iPad The Future of the iPad Does Not Include A Traditional Filesystem

rui no onna said:
In fairness, two Kindle Paperwhites is still cheaper than one iPad mini. :p

Kindle kinda sucks for organization so when Amazon released the higher PPI model, I got one for dedicated fanfic use (USB sideload only, not connected to Amazon account) and kept the old one for Kindle-purchased ebooks.
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I'm finding the overall discussion on workflow and laptop/tablet/desktop interesting--I really wish that a tablet-only workflow could work for me beyond email, web, and reading. Generally, I find the 9.7 screen too small to really prefer watching movies on this, and browsing the web does feel cramped on this screen. Books are good on the 9.7, portrait does feel like a trade paperback size page.

But for work, I use several Adobe applications such as Photoshop and In Design, occasional Illustrator, and lots of multiple documents concurrently in Excel, Word, Pages, Acrobat Pro. Sometimes all of these processes are ongoing at the same time.

When I travel, or I'm out of the office and want to access my desktop files, I do use Parallels and it works surprisingly well, though I do regularly encounter crashes. I'm still not satisfied enough with the access or performance to leave my MacBook Pro Retina 15 at home when traveling. Sometimes my computer at home will go to sleep and will not wake for Parallels access.

On a side note:
Where do I find high-quality fan fic? I've never tried, but it sounds like there might be some good reading! Sorry to get off track in this thread, but would you be so kind as to make some recommendations?

Thanks to all for a great discussion
 
Traverse said:
I mean, I guess this really isn't on topic, but I think this is key. I get somewhat tired of these "iPad vs Traditional computer" debates. An iPad is just a different form of computer that is different than what many people are used to. At their heart, iPads can do 80% of what a computer can do, but it may no do it as well.

I can manage 1000s of photos from an iPad, I don't want to. I could write my thesis on my iPad, but I don't want to. I could browse Twitter on my Mac, but i don't want to. It all depends. When i worked on my thesis (or other research projects) I have several browser windows open with several tabs, 6+ PDFs, EndNote, Word, etc. I **could** do this on an iPad, but it would be tedious, and take twice as long.

iPads are focused computers. Work on one task (or split across two) and jump between apps. That can be highly efficient, but sometimes it can't. If you want to spread your work out and reference 3-5 things at once, you're out of luck.

I use the iPad when it's the best suited device. Drawing? iPad. Annotating PDFs? iPad. Taking notes in class? iPad. Research papers? Mac. Managing 400 GB of data? Mac. These debates are pointless. An iPad isn't the be all end all device for everything and a traditional computer isn't the most effective or intuitive way to do everything. Ideally, you could have an iPad device when out, plug into a smart keyboard for work on the go, and when you get home dock to multiple monitors and a keyboard as iOS transforms into OS X and continue your work from there.

------------------

Back on topic. The iPad really needs some type of management software to stop the constant data duplication across app silos. I thought iCloud Drive was going to do that, but I was wrong. I don't hate iOS' way of handing things complete. Need a Word document? Open Word and browse dropbox from Word. Work on a Procreate sketch? Open Procreate (not the Finder to find the file.)

It's just Apple struggling between app-centered or file-centered. App centered is simpler and more intuitive to most users, but results in a lot of data isolation. Apple needs to implement some form of back-end data management so that apps are accessing a shared repository of data - even if the user can't directly interact with it like the Finder. As for a file system in general, I still want on for certain things. I keep my LR library organized in folders, my documents are organized in folders, etc.

I'm okay with Procreate files in Procreate, or Photos in Photos. But for my classes, I don't want my PDFs in PDF Expert, my PPs in Power Point, my Word documents in Word, etc. I want them all within one folder titled "Advanced Corporate Taxation" or something like that.

It depends on context and I wish Apple gave us more control over that. Sorry this reply is so long.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said, except for being tired of the 'debate' re iPad vs traditional computer. You are correct in that an iPad is a computer--just a simplified and in many ways limited computer.

The reason that I'm not tired of these debates is that I like hearing how others approach dealing with the iPad for more complex workflows, even if the solutions are not what I would find satisfactory. I also hope that key points from such debates do filter back to Apple corporate via whatever back channels they have for monitoring user friendliness and happiness with iOS (not in real time or specifically from this forum, but in general from what advanced users are concerned with).

As many have mentioned, we have seen iOS system capabilities improvements we thought would not happen. So, I do have hope that this touch-based OS will become more capable for more complex workflows in the future. And hopefully, the near future.
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Night Spring said:
http://archiveofourown.org

I usually sort by the number of kudos and comments to find the best stories.
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Thank you!
 
FriendlyMackle said:
On a side note:
Where do I find high-quality fan fic? I've never tried, but it sounds like there might be some good reading! Sorry to get off track in this thread, but would you be so kind as to make some recommendations?

Thanks to all for a great discussion
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I haven't read Fanfic in years (with the exception of Ready Player One) - surprised to see https://www.fanfiction.net is still around.

You can also get a lot (fortunately or unfortunately) from The Nook and Kindle stores.
 
The iPad has been dying for over two years precisely because of the well-put arguments that oldmacs has put forth on this thread.

I have been using an iPad since Day-1 in 2010. I love it, but my love is tempered with dismay at how it has stagnated since Steve Jobs's death. It really needs a proper file management system. Tagging might work, but is currently half-hearted and not consistently applied by Apple. iCloud Drive is a sorry mess. I want to be able to quick look documents like I can on my Mac. Not possible on the iPad or iPhone. I want to be able to duplicate my folder system on my Mac. Sort of possible in Documents, but not in iCloud Drive, because moving files is hampered. I want to be able to assign default applications for all types of files. Not possible in iOS. It's no wonder that iPad sales are down and Mac revenue has once again overtaken iPad revenue.

The iPad is needlessly handicapped by Apple. I love it for what it is, but it could be so much more. It's such a shame that Apple have chosen to abandon it.
 
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Benjamin Frost said:
The iPad has been dying for over two years precisely because of the well-put arguments that oldmacs has put forth on this thread...
...It's such a shame that Apple have chosen to abandon it.
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In Q2 2016, AAPL sold:
iPad: 10.25 million units
Mac: 4.03 million units

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/appl...h-macs-sold-revenue-results-earnings-3581769/

Now what was it you were saying about the iPad "dying"? If the iPad is 'dying', but still outselling Macs by 2.5:1, then what is the Mac/OSX? A rotten bloated corpse?
 
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M. Gustave said:
In Q2 2016, AAPL sold:
iPad: 10.25 million units
Mac: 4.03 million units

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/appl...h-macs-sold-revenue-results-earnings-3581769/

Now what was it you were saying about the iPad "dying"? If the iPad is 'dying', but still outselling Macs by 2.5:1, then what is the Mac/OSX? A rotten bloated corpse?
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Agreed. In terms of sales and how healthy the ecosystem is, I'd say the iPad is alive and well.

Sure, growth maybe be slowing but that's because

1. the iPad is fairly well saturated for a tablet and,
2. iPad sales cadence is more like a PC/laptop than a phone. Two year-old iPad are still perfectly functional.
 
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Benjamin Frost said:
The iPad has been dying for over two years precisely because of the well-put arguments that oldmacs has put forth on this thread.

I have been using an iPad since Day-1 in 2010. I love it, but my love is tempered with dismay at how it has stagnated since Steve Jobs's death. It really needs a proper file management system. Tagging might work, but is currently half-hearted and not consistently applied by Apple. iCloud Drive is a sorry mess. I want to be able to quick look documents like I can on my Mac. Not possible on the iPad or iPhone. I want to be able to duplicate my folder system on my Mac. Sort of possible in Documents, but not in iCloud Drive, because moving files is hampered. I want to be able to assign default applications for all types of files. Not possible in iOS. It's no wonder that iPad sales are down and Mac revenue has once again overtaken iPad revenue.

The iPad is needlessly handicapped by Apple. I love it for what it is, but it could be so much more. It's such a shame that Apple have chosen to abandon it.
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Ugh. You have a document-centric workflow - the iPad is not now, nor will it ever be, document centric. iOS is task-centric. You have a task that you want to do and open the corresponding app to do it. You don't start by clicking on a file.

I've been giving this some thought. Obviously neither "side" is going to convince the other their workflow is better than the other - the arguments have been presented and I haven't seen anyone change their viewpoint.

So, let's think about how we can design a system that works for both groups. When they designed OS X, Greg Joswiak said "If you go looking for UNIX and you can't find it, we failed. If you don't go looking for UNIX and you find it, we failed."

What we need to think about is a design for a system where a user can manage their files to their heart's desire, OR not have to even know there IS a file system in the first place - completely invisible to the user. This has to extend from everything - at the OS level all the way to app development. An application needs to be able to both browse for a file AND just show docs associated with the application without getting into folders upon folders upon folders.

Just to get some of the juices flowing - I think meta-tagging would be a big part - possibly even "project workspaces". What if you could tag (or have the system tag for you) multiple documents/document types (2016 Q4 Proposal). When you do a slide over, the default shows only apps that have documents with a tag that you're working on. If you press and hold PowerPoint, associated files slide out, then you can quickly open that file in the application.
 
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Savor said:
iPads are cheaper to buy than Macs and tablets have a shorter upgrade window.
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Sure, some of them are, but the picture's more complex than that.

The top-end iPad Pro model costs more than a MBA, Mac mini and the entry-level 4K iMac - at least in Australia. If you opt for the accessories and LTE, you're spending more than the price of 2.8Ghz 4k iMac.

That's quite the investment, certainly not something I'd shell out for every year or two.

As for the upgrade window, I'd say that largely depends on the individual. My wife went from the iPad to the iPad Air 2. That's, what 3.5 years? My kids are still using that iPad 2. I get by on an iPad mini 2. An individual's anecdote? Sure, but I doubt I'm unique.

Regardless of what the detractors think, Apple has positioned and marketed the iPad as a replacement to a traditional computer and they've given it a price-point - and dare I say the power and functionality - to match.

For a great many people, the iPad is happily serving as their primary/main/only computer device. It represents a shift from the traditional and lots of people don't like it. I didn't at first, but then I woke up one day and realised that I've reached the point in my life where I've stopped caring about file systems, command lines, bash and just want to get on with the stuff that's really important to me. If that means changing from the desktop metaphor to apps and tasks then that's fine by me.
 
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Savor said:
iPads are cheaper to buy than Macs and tablets have a shorter upgrade window.
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Irrelevant. If people are motivated every few years to drop $500 to $1100 on a new iPad, which according to you accounts for these sales numbers, then please explain how that fact leads to the conclusion that the iPad is 'dying'. Seems quite healthy to me.

And every article I've read about declining growth of iPad sales, has noted that one reason is how long people hold on to them. So you're not even right about that 'upgrade window'.

Anecdotally, my in-laws are still loving and using their 2012 iPad 3, and I'm still using my trusty 2013 iPad Air.
 
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