I remember bashing out papers on my iPod Touch while I rode the bus to school, then emailing them to my student address and printing them out in the library. For a master procrastinator, it felt like the future.

I remember doing similar on a Palm TX (with @dmitrygr's patched Graffiti 1.999) and some version of Documents to Go. That was a painful experience in hindsight!

Exactly why I don't have an iPad. I would like one, but iOS isn't a serious operating system.

Instead of a Macbook with touch, I want an iPad with MacOS, for the situation where I want to watch movies on the go, but also get serious work done every once in a while.

Aren't the new NeoBooks exactly that? A tablet with MacOS (and a keyboard)?

No touch or tablet mode unfortunately, otherwise it would be pretty perfect as an educational device.

The one use case I have for an iPad is the pencil for screen sharing / white boarding on zoom, although my chicken scratch writing may not come across well. I don't think it would work for me on a laptop screen either, I need it sitting flat to draw diagrams or overlays.

It doesn't seem the iPad fault this time. On a normal iPad a tap on a ppt file will open PowerPoint, and that's it.

Getting a keyboard and touchpad case setup totally changed my view on them for productivity. As a primary driver I'd still opt for a laptop but they work great when traveling.

The price and weight of an iPad with all the accessories is approaching a laptop anyway, while still remaining an inferior alternative. And there’s no guarantee you won’t have to replace a keyboard case after you upgrade an iPad due to intentional physical incompatibility between the models

On the flip side, if you bring your own keyboard instead of using a laptop keyboard, it makes sense to get a tablet.

But all tablets I have tested cannot function as a real computer, so I am out here traveling everywhere with two keyboards...

Does not track, isn’t true. Click a file in Files or an attachment in email and the relevant app opens. No complication.

The example in this story is to do with other cruft that schools have installed.

Downvoters: welcome. What's upsetting you about what I wrote? I need to know so I can tell the correct lie for you in the future. Do you just instinctively downvote stories that suggest iPads can be used for "real" work? Do you know, cos your mate down the pub told you, that iPads don't just open files directly but need a masonic hand-shake? Was I too terse in my reply? Honestly, give me some feedback here.