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iPad The Future of the iPad Does Not Include A Traditional Filesystem
- Thread starter jeremiah256
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Not having a filesystem has been my biggest hindrances in switching completely from my laptop to iPad only. Others have already said it, but having different copies of a document in several sandboxed apps is a terrible idea that takes up too much space and complicates workflows on a device that is supposed to be simple. They need to allow EACH app to edit directly from iCloud, dropbox, webdav (some workplaces have their own cloud service) or whatever. Let the user decide how they want to use their device.
I think one of the things that always comes to mind when I compare myself to the usual user is that I tend to use more power functions when available. I can sort of keep my files in order on my multiple x86 counterparts but I always spend more time on stupid organization tasks that I constantly think that simplification and letting the machine deal with organization is the best practice. The human mind is normally a jumble or at least mine is. I have so many files I have lost in nested folders/directories that it's really painful to try and sort through all of the mess on my x86 computers. Realistically what we need is at least a local copy on the machine so if we don't have an Internet connection, we can still access our files but those need to be synced up to Cloud server(s) when we do have a connection and then get propagated down to other devices so we can just pick up where we left off without missing a beat. Mix that ability in with versioning, automated backup, smarter automated tagging, and customized views of queries, and I think we could probably do better than a standard file system. The current technology is kind of a quarter-baked version of that which is why a lot of users want a file system to make up for the shortfall. I still have to use x86 machines for work for now but if there is a standard system for organization that doesn't require a file system, I would definitely be up for that.
You hit on a great item. Unfortunately, the majority of folks half organize or less. For someone like myself, the organization is planned going in with room to adjust. Multiple projects + other work + personal business + personal stuff requires it else I would spend too much time and resources better used elsewhere.
iOS has some great offerings. Lack of a flexible, usable, interactive, cross app file sharing / filesystem is a significant weakness. For me.
It's limiting to a lot of us, above average power users, but we are in the minority.
Please forget Phil Schiller's snark and forget Apple naming these devices 'Pro'. Apple is not filling underground caves with gold by relying on businesses or even power users buying iOS devices. Their customer is Mr. and Ms. regular. And the regular consumer is unorganized and has their crap everywhere. They've got files saved on CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, external hard drives, and, god help some of us, Imation disks. Yes, it would be nice for us power users to have more capability on iOS and I hope with the pressure FaceBook, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are applying with regard to bots and scripts, we get it. But traditional file systems are not what Jane Doe wants to deal with when all she wants to do is locate a file from three years ago.
De-emphasizing local/traditional file storage and pushing consumers to the cloud means the average Joe or Jane Doe does not have to care where something is stored or even what device they are using. They want the file now and Apple's strategy of cloud storage fulfills this requirement, while also providing security on devices that, going forward, are going to be under attack, at least politically, from all sides.
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I get all that and will add that steering people towards cloud storage gets them recurring revenue forever as people store more and more in the cloud. I could live without knowing where things were stored if I could have single copies of my files and choose what to open files with without playing games or using third party programs or workarounds. It's not a polished experience at all.
I agree. In my own use case I still need a traditional computer. But, I see the train coming (http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-intel-jobs-20160419-story.html) with regard to an industry push to the cloud. iOS has to improve for those who need/want more capabilities, and I have high hopes of iOS 10 closing some of the gaps you and others have mentioned.
I need a computer as well. Until I can use XCode, the full version of Photoshop, and full versions of a DAW like Final Cut Pro, the iPad will be a secondary device.
I'm guessing he/she means their mum had some issues with it. To be fair so did my dad and I've helped, and still am, people who get confuzzled with iOS and the "Apple Way" to begin with.
Nothing like a bit of forum mystique, let's start the guessing, it'll be like a game of cluedo.
I'm guessing mum in the kitchen with an iPad Mini
Nothing like a bit of forum mystique, let's start the guessing, it'll be like a game of cluedo.
I'm guessing mum in the kitchen with an iPad Mini
One year when I was studying at a university near my mom, I decided to save rent by staying with her. I shipped a desktop PC to her place (this was when laptops were still HUGE, expensive and not so powerful). When I unpacked it, the case had got dented in. I opened up the case and had my mom help me beat out the dent. The electronics inside were undamaged, and the computer worked just fine once we put it back together. Ever since then, my mom is pretty unfazed no matter what her computers and gadgets do. I do have to talk her through some stuff from time to time, but she's quite a logical person, and she's able to follow instructions, so we usually manage to work things out, eventually.
You're lucky, I have a hell of a time with my dad and his computer. Apparently there exists some sort of invisible computer gremlins that fiddle with and break his computer during the night when he's nowhere near it. Bloody things.
My mum, no chance, not even a little glimmer of hope she'd ever use a computer. You might as well just drop it in front of her and say, doormat.
Doorstop! Hey, maybe that's what that poster's mom did -- used an iPad to prop open a window or something.
Doorstop! Hey, maybe that's what that poster's mom did -- used an iPad to prop open a window or something.
How very fancy, must be loaded to use iPads so frivolously
I was visiting my granddaughter last night when I asked if I could borrow a newspaper.
"This is the 21st century," she said. We don't waste money on newspapers. Here, use my iPad."
I can tell you this. That fly never knew what hit him.
Why is my granddaughter mad at me?
"This is the 21st century," she said. We don't waste money on newspapers. Here, use my iPad."
I can tell you this. That fly never knew what hit him.
Why is my granddaughter mad at me?
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.
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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.
Good Lord Man/Woman! We're not animals! That's why we have fly swatters and flamethrowers (for the spiders)!
The reason there's still debate is because people apply their own use-cases to a wider audience. They may say they accept different people have different needs, but they still speak in absolutes.
YOU might not want to manage huge photo collections on your iPad, but I do. For everything you hate to do on the iPad, odds are there's someone who likes it.
Debate comes when people talk in absolutes. "iPad can never replace a laptop!" Yes, it can, for some people. "iPad can do 80% of what a computer can do!" Not for everybody - percentages will vary by person.
I love the app-centric current approach, but I agree with the duplicate files behind the scenes. I don't want to handle my files, I want the OS to do that.
I do kind of like the "Project" idea though. Not files or a Finder type approach, but meta tagging and contextual approach to file organization - create a project file that includes references to data that opens in other apps. That might be neat!
Speaking of people liking things others hate
--I love managing my files. And I hate the app-centric approach. I have tons of files that range over many different subjects. I'm constantly creating and collecting more files every day. I have a good file system so it only takes me a couple seconds to file them away, and I always know exactly where to find them later, no matter how long it's been.The reason I hate the app centric approach is because to me apps are nothing. They are a means to an end, temporary tools that come and go. But my files are everything and they stay. This is kind of out there, but I'd actually love for apps to be completely invisible, working in the background of the OS, with tools popping up as I need them to work on my files (at least apps that make/edit files). But that's for another day. It irritates me that in iOS, files live with each app. I've had instances where I didn't know where my file was exactly because I have different apps that use the same file types. So I had to go to each app and search. That never happens for me in OS X because of Finder. It only makes sense to me to group my files together by subject, not by app or file type (because similar to what I was saying, file types can change so they mean nothing in the end). Like you were saying, tagging could work to keep project files connected. But how would you see all the tagged project files in one place? I think it would look a lot like Finder (unless you were talking about something different). I think tags and folders are the same here in that there would still need to be organization on the user's part. But I acknowledge not everyone wants to do what I do. First, not everyone has a lot of files to manage, and second, not everyone wants to manage them. But for me I don't see any way around it. I don't see how iOS can organize my files more efficiently and sensically (is that a word?) than I can, because so far, it hasn't.
End of long spiel.