Sorry, but this is a lazy and trite assertion. They are a extremely useful tools for visual designers and musicians for a start.
For musicians, I think it's a different story because the iPad usually augments an existing setup; it can be integrated with other devices to fill a specific need that can be solved by a touch interface into highly customized software. In this case, the iPad is actually allowing totally new interaction that wasn't possible before. This is much more useful than the visual designer's case, where previously established modes of interaction are simulated in an interface they weren't designed for.
I agree with your main point, and I have no doubt that as the medium continues to expand, the quality of the software and interaction will also grow.
Just curious, what visual design apps are you using / would you recommend?
[1]http://www.fiftythree.com/paper [2]http://mattgemmell.com/2012/05/02/ipad-productivity-apps/
YMMV. Other's have no such problems. Not to mention that it can also do wire-framing, it has tons of apps for professional photographers when combined with the camera connection kit (from going through your shoot to check for keepers and apply keywords, to tethered shooting), and when painting or sketching you can export your graphics work in PDF, PNG, layered Tiff and other formats to finish off on your Mac.
>For musicians, I think it's a different story because the iPad usually augments an existing setup
Same thing can be for visual designers/illustrators/information architects/writers etc whatever. Parent said it can be used for creation, not that you have to ONLY use that from zero to finished output.
I think you just reinforced the parent's point.
>I think you just reinforced the parent's point.
No, I just said that ONE of his points is YMMV-kind-of-correct. What I'm saying overall is that this doesn't make working with the iPad a "complete waste of time" --it just makes it complementary. Not to mention that people have created works entirely on the iPad too (like several "New Yorker" cover paintings).
I also address this in an other part of my response: "Parent said it can be used for creation, not that you have to ONLY use that from zero to finished output."
The best analogy I've heard is vehicles. Trucks for heavy duty hauling, cars for ease and efficiency. Because of their form factors and feature differences, the utility of each vehicle is unique from the other.
It's almost obvious, if you think about it. Simple, really.
Note: I don't own an ipad, i just lust after all the cool music apps. I wish people would get started creating equivalent apps for android tabs (though i understand there were historical issues with the audio API in android, which i believe were rectified as of ICS)
(More details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/dec/25/damon-albarn-fal...)
I believe the final mix was done elsewhere but it was largely written and performed on the iPad.
Musicians use the iPad in all kinds of different ways.
As a singer, you're creating music. But you're pulling information from the tablet - not creating content on it. This example actually supports the idea of tablets being optimized for consumption over creation. Content is going from the iPad to you, not vice-versa.
2009 called, they want their argument back. Lots and lots of people have created media (and even programs) on their iPads. From writers, to musicians, to programmers even (actually, just the other week, the first ever game created solely on the iPad was published to the App Store --it only needed external compilation and signature on XCode, all the actual coding and testing was done in the iPad).
>Don't try to use them in contexts where they work poorly
Really? Because for a "consumption device" I think my iPad is the best DAW controller available on the market for the money, to name just one use. It used to cost like $3000 for a comparable device just a few years ago.
And it's much more portable and distraction free to use with a bluetooth keyboard for writing than any laptop...
>nor fool yourself into thinking they can be "fixed".
Really? What exactly can't be fixed? We already have experiments with haptic feedback, and of course one can always use one with a wireless keyboard --you know, like the one Apple sells or the tens of keyboard+case combos.
Also, check out technologies like Blind Type (proximity to intended letter and word statistics based inference):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gDF4ocLhQM&feature=playe...!
Which was acquired by Google:
http://business2press.com/2010/10/01/google-blindtype-acquis...
Lots and lots of people have created programs in ed on a teletype. Something being possible doesn't equate to it being efficient.
> Really? What exactly can't be fixed?
Good, intuitive text editing with an on screen keyboard.
The difference is people have created content EFFICIENTLY on the iPad, including people that would not even know what button to press to start a PC so to speak.
>Good, intuitive text editing with an on screen keyboard.
"Good" is subjective. If we are talking "words per minute", something like BlindType (see my link above) shows that writing with an on screen keyboard can be improved in major ways.
Not to mention that nobody said you can only use the on screen keyboard.
If we talk efficiency, speed or ergonomics the ipad is a joke. Simple as that. And yes, if you want you can use a keyboard on the ipad, as if the workflow wasn't awkward enough, how well does ctrl+z work on the ipad?
BlindType is neat but compared to a real keyboard? BlindType, compared to a real keyboard, is just another text predicting tool that must compare everything to a glossary meaning that mixing languages is hard, writing words that isn't in the glossary is awkward (especially considering that you don't know what words are in the glossary to begin with). Yes, BlindType looks awesome, for a virtual keyboard.
"Reality distortion field"? Classy. Also a "fanboy", right?
Last time I checked, the iPad is touted by UI experts everywhere for it's ergonomics and efficient interface for tons of functions. It's so easy and ergonomic that even babies, non-tech-savvy elders and lizards (sic) can use it [google the last one].
It's true that its' touch screen is not the most efficient interface _for_writing_, but that is because writing is not its target use. Though, I don't know with what you compare with -- PC's with keyboard?
If so, it too can be paired with a wireless keyboard just as easily as any PC. Who said it should not? I don't use my PC mouse when I draw, I use a Wacom tablet. Similarly, I don't use the iPad's keyboard when I write lengthy texts, I pair it with a keyboard. In the future, as tablets get more powerful, we would pair it to other stuff too, from monitors to external controllers etc, just as we do with out PCs now. That doesn't mean my PC is not for creation --it just means I need an additional tool (in my case, my beloved Intuos 4) for my creations.
>And yes, if you want you can use a keyboard on the ipad, as if the workflow wasn't awkward enough, how well does ctrl+z work on the ipad?
Actually, several people prefer the "workflow" of the iPad better. YMMV. Less distractions, not worrying about your data, great battery life, plug in and write. Including several writers --as in professional writers-- are using it for their everyday work, from Shawn Blanc, to Harry McCraken, to random authors and journalists.
Yes.
To even bring up the baby and lizard argument is hilarious, it's like commenting on a baby learning to walk falling and say: Look! He/She just figured out how gravity works! The lizard probably appreciated the IPS panel and couldn't have been fooled by any other technology than the all mighty retina display, it's nothing but a marvel and the peak of the human civilization, each ipad are most likely followed by an angel that lifts it up so that it can be carried easily in your hand. In all honestly, and I can not stress this enough, that's how you sound.
You really don't need an ipad to get rid of distractions but for those that take that route I'd hope they would try to work on the problem and not the symptoms. No need to sacrifice their working environment.
I couldn't care less about how people use their ipads, there are probably someone writing essays on his/her phone too - is that proof that it works well? There have probably been more people drying/killing their dogs in an microwave than there are professional writers that do their majority of writing on an ipad. For those that enjoys working on the ipad and for those that really believe that it has been beneficial to their life that's great. But for those that doesn't confuse user-friendly with beginner-friendly might want to invest more than a few seconds in their working environment, sure there are advantages to a touch screen and sure there are disadvantages. You said it yourself, writing is not its target use - then don't try to adapt your writing so that it works on the ipad.
Yes, if all you want to do is stream characters from your conscious to a device then yes of course a keyboard works fine with the ipad. But if you want to do anything more than that (highlight a word perhaps?), I sincerely hope, that you would realize its limitations. And most physical keyboards for the ipad that focus on mobility are just pathetic, there's another invention that might be more handy - a laptop.
But then again, ergonomically, laptops are of course not the ideal writing machine either (can't believe I really feel the need to point that out).
What I was saying is that lots of iOS functions are so intuitive --more intuitive that in a PC-- that even toddlers can "get" them. It's not a unique insight I had, UI experts have praised the exact same interaction models, and some even gave the same examples. Mouse use has to be learned, touch interaction is a concept we are "wired" for.
That doesn't make touch interaction better for all kinds of complex workflows, but it does make it more obvious and intuitive. I you want to argue against that, well...
>and couldn't have been fooled by any other technology than the all mighty retina display, it's nothing but a marvel and the peak of the human civilization, each ipad are most likely followed by an angel that lifts it up so that it can be carried easily in your hand. In all honestly, and I can not stress this enough, that's how you sound.
I lost you there. Maybe you smoked something heavy before writing this part? (for medical purposes of course, I wouldn't suggest otherwise).
>You really don't need an ipad to get rid of distractions but for those that take that route I'd hope they would try to work on the problem and not the symptoms. No need to sacrifice their working environment.
Them clicking and being distracted is not the "problem" if that's what you imply. It's like blaming the victim. It's only natural in a environment with tons of options, distractions, alerts, etc, to get distracted. That they should change their character (or human nature) instead of the all-too-cluttered computing environment is absurd.
So, that's exactly what they did: they treated the problem (the presence of distractions) and not the symptom (their clicking on them every other minute). Thus, they started using a machine with less distractions. Hell, even on PCs distraction-free software is on the rise the last 2-3 years, as is GTD/stop-procrastinating apps (not to mention that 1/10's articles on HN is of the "how can I be less distracted/do more/avoid procrastination" etc variety.
>I couldn't care less about how people use their ipads, there are probably someone writing essays on his/her phone too - is that proof that it works well?
Given that they use a keyboard --so your stated reason against using an iPad for writing is obliterated--, I'd say, yeah, it's a proof that it works well. If you continue to rant against using an iPad for writing even WITH a keyboard, well, then maybe you are acting a bit irrationally?
>There have probably been more people drying/killing their dogs in an microwave than there are professional writers that do their majority of writing on an ipad.
I seriously doubt that.
I've read at least 6-7 accounts from prominent writers, and no accounts from people drying their dogs in a microwave (now, the latter is illegal, but people write about doing illegal things all the time. I would expect at least someone in 4chan to profess his killing dogs in microwave habbit).
>You said it yourself, writing is not its target use - then don't try to adapt your writing so that it works on the ipad.
>Yes, if all you want to do is stream characters from your conscious to a device then yes of course a keyboard works fine with the ipad. But if you want to do anything more than that (highlight a word perhaps?), I sincerely hope, that you would realize its limitations. And most physical keyboards for the ipad that focus on mobility are just pathetic, there's another invention that might be more handy - a laptop.*
"Most" leaves a few that are decent. I also fail to see how a laptop would be more suitable. Yes, it has a keyboard built-in, but it also has less battery life, higher price, more weight and more distractions/maintenance. If you value THOSE things, a laptop is a non starter. If you don't, by all means, get a laptop.
>But then again, ergonomically, laptops are of course not the ideal writing machine either (can't believe I really feel the need to point that out).
Really? I'd argue that 90% of professional writers use laptops just fine. Desktops are a dead category, laptops have been overselling desktop machines for several years now. I fail to see how "ergonomically" a laptop is not the "ideal writing machine" [citation needed]. Actually, you keep using this word, ergonomically. I don't think it means what you think it means.
Since the topic of discussion was how on screen keyboards compared to physical ones, I assumed we were talking about on screen keyboards.
Could you please cite some examples of textual content created efficiently on the ipad's on-screen keyboard by authors who can't start a personal computer?
I have read a few articles about people creating documents and programs on their iPads. The one thing they have in common is they use external keyboards. No one uses the on screen keyboard for that kind of work.
Yet it's worth pointing out that a plain old $10 keyboard beats the iPad on every one of those. And it's not even close.
Yet people insist on putting lipstick on this pig, trying to believe that text editing on a tablet doesn't suck. They're great media consumption devices. Don't try to use them in contexts where they work poorly, nor fool yourself into thinking they can be "fixed".