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All iPads The iPad challenge! [CHALLENGE OVER]

TechGod

TechGod

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Hi guys, I have an iPad 2 with 7.1 and will be trying to use the iPad as my main computer for one week.

I have all the apps I may need so wish me luck I guess lol.
 
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Of course I'll only be changing the title. Creating a new thread for a new day would be stupid. So far so good, my accounting assignment which compromised of creating a budget for a family was successfully completed with pages and printed with AirPrint, my speed with the iPad keyboard is fast and the autocorrect is so far wonderful, while I far prefer my MacBook Pro's desktops feature ,4 finger swiping between apps will have to do for now, as expected the music app is perfectly fine running in the background while researching in safari.

I don't live in the US so if you see me change the tittle that will be because it will be day two for me and so on.

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bpbatch said:
Best of luck! I for one will look back daily at what you have learned. I am on my second month of using my iPad exclusively and have only returned to my MacBook to do the following–

(1) Convert my DVD library, and
(2) Back up all of my files on my 2TB hard drives to the cloud.

Well, I also had to go to iTunes once to find out why they rejected an App Store payment, but that was (hopefully) a one-time occurrence.

Maybe you can post what you do, what your daily experiences have been on our desktop Mac, how you overcame those obstacles (if you will) on the iPad, and what you find you simply cannot do without the help of your fan-cooling device.
Click to expand...

I will certainly do that however I'm very busy with homework and assignments. I'm nearing University level and my workload from school has increased considerably.
 
My experiences with this challenge would probably far better with an iPad Air. I don't have that option though, using Pages and Drive app and it will sync with my MacBook fine so that's cool I guess.
 
Not looking good. I enjoy my laptop far more and missing it quite a bit. I may give up by the end of day two.
 
TechGod said:
Not looking good. I enjoy my laptop far more and missing it quite a bit. I may give up by the end of day two.
Click to expand...

I'm not surprised. All the talk about iPads or any tablet being someone's only computer are just that....talk! It's just not going to happen unless ones usage is extremely basic and simple. I'm a online poker player so that right there forces me to hit the laptop. So does some games I play.

It's just not feasible for like 90% or more of the users out there. Enjoy the tablet for what it is. I sure do. But, I am not mistaking my tablet for a true computer. Nope.
 
This thread just reminded me: I do have computers.
They rarely ever get touched.
The iPad accomplishes 99% of everything we need in our house.
 
TechGod said:
Not looking good. I enjoy my laptop far more and missing it quite a bit. I may give up by the end of day two.
Click to expand...

Good luck. I don't recommend forcing it, though. Many things can be done but the severe limitations make it a lot of extra work, and more time consuming.

It might be helpful to post the kinds of things you are doing, both successfully and not so much.
 
Altis said:
Good luck. I don't recommend forcing it, though. Many things can be done but the severe limitations make it a lot of extra work, and more time consuming.

It might be helpful to post the kinds of things you are doing, both successfully and not so much.
Click to expand...
Photo editing- Aperture wins.
Pages-about the same since the keyboard is surprisingly good on the iPad.
Safari- lack of RAM kills it.
Chrome - Apple restricts Nitro engine to any 3rd party browser so out of the question.
Gmail a ppt beautiful and functional for me.
PDF Support- good reader app
Music has to sync with iTunes.
Screen sizes too small and the deal breaker.
 
I'm surprised about the Pages comment. The iPad on screen keyboard is good, but without tactile feedback, it's pretty annoying to type. Especially when you want to multitask, like talk to someone or look at someone while you are jotting down your thoughts.

I suppose the Pages app is just really good. I've never used it, so I'm not familiar with it. It seems quite minimalist, yet functional.

Have you tried iPad's Spotify app for music. It's functionally the same as the Mac one and you get whatever music you want. The only down side is some commercials, but they have to make money some how...
 
yinz said:
I'm surprised about the Pages comment. The iPad on screen keyboard is good, but without tactile feedback, it's pretty annoying to type. Especially when you want to multitask, like talk to someone or look at someone while you are jotting down your thoughts.

I suppose the Pages app is just really good. I've never used it, so I'm not familiar with it. It seems quite minimalist, yet functional.

Have you tried iPad's Spotify app for music. It's functionally the same as the Mac one and you get whatever music you want. The only down side is some commercials, but they have to make money some how...
Click to expand...

To be honest I just download from you tube converter or iTunes, pages app. You would be (pleasantly) surprised. It's
an excellent app and an intuitive interface.

The keyboard is something I'm starting to not like, I don't hate it but I prefer the MacBooks.

The biggest problem I am having is the screen size. It is just say too small to be used as a main computer plus I can't download from Safari unless its a PDF or word or image file which is annoying, also missing a USB slot to quickly move projects between my school computer and iPad so resorting to Google Drive which I'm liking because I can access every project I have as long as I have internet plus the Wolfram Alpha app is just pure useful.


I will return to my laptop by the end of the week though for that amazing keyboard and having desktops feature which made my workflow easier to manage on top of that the much bigger screen on my laptop seals the deal.


So far conclusion for this challenge, doable but not desirable.
 
Robster3 said:
That's funny😛

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Can you do a tax invoice in Word for me then email it off, then print it, save it as a tax Invoice too.

thanks
Click to expand...
Wut? Word isn't available for iPad besides I myself am critising the lack of functionality on an iPad if you think I think the iPad is amazing at productivity.
 
TechGod said:
Photo editing- Aperture wins.
Pages-about the same since the keyboard is surprisingly good on the iPad.
Safari- lack of RAM kills it.
Chrome - Apple restricts Nitro engine to any 3rd party browser so out of the question.
Gmail a ppt beautiful and functional for me.
PDF Support- good reader app
Music has to sync with iTunes.
Screen sizes too small and the deal breaker.
Click to expand...

It's not the lack of ram that kills Safari, it's the way it tries to preserve memory. Try Atomic Browser and open eight tabs. No refreshing.

I also made a $30 stand for my iPad (It was a scrap block wood I used. I can't believe companies try to sell a scrap block of wood with one or two cuts in it for $30 plus.) and a full sized wireless keyboard. (MS keyboard, $12, on clearance at Office Depot). Works great, but I still have an iMac and a company issued Win7Pro laptop.
 
TechGod said:
Wut? Word isn't available for iPad besides I myself am critising the lack of functionality on an iPad if you think I think the iPad is amazing at productivity.
Click to expand...

I was joking🙂 ipad is never going to replace a macbook for me anyway, although my parents in their late 60's got a iPad mini and don't use their pc anymore. It does everything they need.
 
TechGod said:
plus I can't download from Safari unless its a PDF or word or image file which is annoying
Click to expand...

I can download most any file types from Safari on my iPad. I think the key is to have an app like GoodReader or FileBrowser that handles any file type. Only thing is, there is no download progress indicator, and I'm afraid if I switch out of Safari or even switch to another tab, it'll interrupt the download. So I just stare at the page and hold my breath, lol. But I've managed to download quite a few files this way, including exe, zip, and dmg files.

Of course, you can also download files to your iPad by using GoodReader. That's a better method for larger files.

I don't often use the iPad to do serious work, mainly because the screen is too small, and positioning the cursor to select and edit text is a pain. But if I absolutely had to, I'm pretty sure I could do 99% of all my computer tasks on an iPad. For some of those tasks, I might need to purchase an app. But I think a lot of people who say iPad can't be used for serious work is thinking of what you can do with just the default apps. They don't realize that there are lots of apps out there that vastly expand the functionality of iPad.
 
Night Spring said:
I can download most any file types from Safari on my iPad. I think the key is to have an app like GoodReader or FileBrowser that handles any file type. Only thing is, there is no download progress indicator, and I'm afraid if I switch out of Safari or even switch to another tab, it'll interrupt the download. So I just stare at the page and hold my breath, lol. But I've managed to download quite a few files this way, including exe, zip, and dmg files.

Of course, you can also download files to your iPad by using GoodReader. That's a better method for larger files.

I don't often use the iPad to do serious work, mainly because the screen is too small, and positioning the cursor to select and edit text is a pain. But if I absolutely had to, I'm pretty sure I could do 99% of all my computer tasks on an iPad. For some of those tasks, I might need to purchase an app. But I think a lot of people who say iPad can't be used for serious work is thinking of what you can do with just the default apps. They don't realize that there are lots of apps out there that vastly expand the functionality of iPad.
Click to expand...
I use good reader. But I also need to run the program's I download and only my laptop can do that😛
 
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