iOS

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Part of me is tempted to try a keyboard case like this one, and part of me thinks I have enough useless things. There’s at least two variants by various mostly generic vendors, Procase just happens to be one of the cheaper offerings with USB-C charging support.

My experience with keyboards and tablets have been a touch spotty, given my taste in device size versus my requirements for a keyboard. The smallest that I find really useful for a keyboard are models like Logitech’s K380, and their old K810. Which is about as full size a keyboard as you can get while ditching the keys that don’t really matter, and settling for laptop style arrow keys.

Device wise, I’ve usually favored smaller. One of my most heavily used tablets was the Galaxy Note 8.0, but it was useless with a keyboard case. An external keyboard like the K810 works beautifully, but a 16:10 tablet just yields a useless keyboard if you make it fit a case. An 8″ wide case means the keyboard will be so ridiculously cramped that you’re better off using the touch screen keyboard^.

The only good thing about 10″ widescreen tablets were their screen size overlapped with the smallest you could squish a laptop keyboard down and expect it to be worth typing on. The 9.7″ standard tablets I’ve had push that down a peg, but aren’t useless. Using the keyboard case that Zagg made for the Tab S2, I found it a bit too cramped to really want to use seriously, but at least it was large enough to be useful rather than counter productive.

When I look at the size difference between my K810 and my 11″ iPad Pro, I contemplate where this winds up. I’ve usually found 12″/4:3 laptops a rather a touch cramped.

One of the differences, I think is also the OS. In Android, using Gboard I generally could write a couple dozen paragraphs on my Tab S2 and Tab S3 without caring about the touch screen; throw in glide/swype typing using an S-Pen and I was damned efficient. Rather using keyboards with Android was more important for tasks like bash and vim sessions over SSH.

On the other hand, the way iOS works for editing text using Apple’s keyboard: I’m inclined to think that text editing on an iPad was more of a scream at the top of your lungs and beat people with a stick kind of necessary for iOS 12; in iOS 13, it’s not as bad but due to the buggy’ass nature of Apple’s on screen keyboard, I would still say use a keyboard. It’s like the most important iPad accessory, where as for an Android device, I would say a real (i.e. Wacom based) stylus is the most important accessory.

So I find myself wondering if it’ll actually be worth it. The lossage to keyboard space is worrisome but it’s much closer to normal than other tablets I’ve owned, and if I had gone with the 12.9″ behmeth, I wouldn’t even be contemplating the question since its so huge ^_^. But in my head, I figure if all else fails, I could velcro a real keyboard to the thing, and if I really wanted to get jiggy I could put my dock and hard drive on the back in a similar fashion.

In any event: the case would be getting removed and attached fairly often. The little magnetic case I use with my Pro, mostly serves for times when I want a stand to go and when I want a little more protection at work. At home, my device pretty much runs naked unless I’m using the case for a stand at my desk, and I prefer my devices naked.

^ To be fair, I also feel the same way about sliders. My HTC Doubleshot’s keyboard didn’t make up for the dinky 3.7″ screen, and I was better off with the Galaxy SIII’s 4.8″ screen in every single sense of typing shit.

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Adobe deals with ‘painful’ early reviews of Photoshop for iPad

If I was Adobe: the thing I would fear most is the top competition on iPad OS becoming a threat on Mac over the next ten to twenty years. Much as if I were them, my biggest worry would be Adobe making rapid headway on iPadOS over the next two to five years.

Right now: Adobe is still in a fairly powerful position. Or as I like to think of it: the subscription reflects their needs of doing business, and the feelings of a clawed demon hand gripping your balls, reflects users’ dependence upon Adobe’s products. Despite much grumbling about Creative Cloud, everyone is still either looking for a non-paid option, or using Photoshop and friends in their workflows. Much as before.

But nothing ever lasts forever, and maintaining dominance isn’t always assured. Today is not tomorrow, nor is it yesterday.

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https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1480613325

While I’m not particularly fond of Photoshop, and there are people who aren’t entirely happy with its first showing on iPad, but I like the concept.

For Adobe: they can either take the path of being a leader as iPadOS grows or be left behind as others grow with the platform. So it’s good sense for them to maximize what Photoshop can do on the platform. I’m also pretty sure their are crazy people at Adobe who would like a more desktop grade Photoshop on their iPad: just as some of their customers do.

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iOS 10 How-To: Print to PDF from anywhere in iOS using 3D Touch

One of the things that I miss about Android is the ease of printing. Android’s PDF oriented printing and ease of integration m meant that it was pretty trivial to get a save as PDF out of anything that can print, as well as send it to pretty much anything via standard protocols by picking an item from the system UI. Most times I print I either want a PDF or I want to use the office printer. Mostly though, I want a PDF.

In the case of iOS, well my iPad offers the option to print shit more often than my Android’s did. Which is nice in its own way. But to print to PDF: you have the usual case of swipe friend in elvish rather than just picking a damned list item. Likewise, the printing system as a whole sucks the further you go from having an Apple AirPrint capable printer instead of a really old net printer. Needless to say where I typically need to print, isn’t an office that replaces printers very often.

Which makes me wonder, just how many times have I had to help someone get the a younger version of Windows to actually print to the old printers at work…yeah, sometimes you’re better off with CUPS for that.

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iPadOS Challenge – Ditching the Laptop for a Week

The issues of file system and persistence from about 15 minutes onwards, are the two I notice most frequently, being a tablet whore from imported from another platform.

How Brad describes the gap between a folder and the photos app as a file system, is a real systemic problem to the operating system. Because traditionally, iPhone doesn’t have a file system for people to go mucking with. And while that’s usually a good thing in my opinion, there are just times when having the whole files thing at your fingertips is productive. Considering that iPadOS 13 is the first time Apple shipped a real file manager, and the Files app actually shipped two years ago, I have some forgiveness for that one. Because let’s be honest, the platform has spent most of its life without any real file system.

The way I look at this is pretty simple. Open app → go browse file crap, isn’t how I want to use my machines. But being able to stuff a file in a folder with special meaning to apps, is a handy thing.

The issue of persistence is a simple reality. iOS, and Android prioritize what you’re doing, and have a history of, by modern standards, very memory constrained environments. One of the things I liked about Android Jelly Bean and the rise of 2 GB of memory was how rare things would get reaped. In Android land, it’s kinda disappeared as an issue as devices begin to have comical levels of memory for a mobile. iOS also works pretty well but occasionally blurps. I mostly see grumbly things in the sense like Evernote → switch app, lock screen, whatever, and then → Evernote again, often my position is reaped. I might be in a previously snapshotted note or I might have to wait for the note to refresh, and have to go reset my cursor position. That gets old, when you’ve got like ten screenfuls of text in a journal entry. To keep your current task fast, you’ve got to reap your previous tasks in some form.

Difference is if you workhorse your desktop: you will grind it to a halt. That’s why our machines now have oodles and oodles of memory, and slow spinning platters are going the way of to floppy diskette. ‘Cuz speed and good over cost. If you’ve ever experienced what true virtual memory trashing is like then you’ll never want to trade a blazing fast system for crap again. Compared to what an iPad offers, you can do a hell of a lot of shit before a modern desktop will have comparable pressure.

For reference, my desktop has three times the memory of iPad Pro, and my laptop has four times the memory installed. My iPad has two to four times as much memory as most iPad models, depending on whether you’re looking at what’s currently supported or production history.

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Shortcuts Corner: Creating Multiple Reminders in a Row, Playing Audio on HomePod, and Reading Tech News

Interesting and tempting.

For the most I have been very happy with the Reminders app in iPadOS and the ability to set reminders via Siri. In fact given the rolly scrolly date and time selection controls in the app makes using Siri a better way to configure a reminder like x day of the week / y time of day. Because while the UI in Reminders is neat, it doesn’t lend itself to speed.

Likewise, I’ve kinda wanted a way to issue several reminders in the task→when kind of format. Because doing it from Siri is a pretty smooth affair.

But to be fair, I’m just happy its been less buggy, broken, and frustrating then using Google’s app to speak reminders to my phone, and previous tablets. I’m sure that given enough time: Apple will piss me off as well but today is not that reminder😜.

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Playing through République episode two, I find the ending a touch amusing as a sell.

During the end roll of the credits, we hear The Overseer crafting a cock and bull version of a political murder, covering it up as a simple heart attack. One that could have been prevented if their over the top surveillance infrastructure, and ever watching big brother had been able to see the VIP collapse, his death could have been prevented. This is even more an amusing sell for his surveillance state, given that you can find an intel item along the way that shows The Overseer gifting the victim with one of his camera equipped owl statues.

Another nice tidbit is sparing The Librarian the irony of burning Fahrenheit 451, as they can simply censor it to greater effect on student’s e-readers and rely on the lack of cross checking the physical book. That’s an especially dangerous concept that fits both narratives IMHO.

Actually, I kinda hope someone makes a good book that utilizes that concept.

In related tidbits, whenever I get around to episode three: I might just breakout my USB-C hub, and connect my iPad to my monitor and Xbox controller. So far both times I’ve sat down to play République, I’ve basically put my iPad in a stand on my desk and fingered my way through the game. Wait, that didn’t come out right 🤣.

Future research may also include some iOS games worth trying with a controller. But +/- that Apple Arcade is kinda an interesting idea, I don’t really expect games on iPad to suck any less than Android tablets, since often the same crappy games are on both platforms. With really great ones like République being a rarer find, IMHO.

Working Copy makes my heart throbb

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Working Copy is one freaking impressive feat of work.

One of my early bits of research into apps to solve less popular problems, was searching the app store for a Git client. Because I’m really more of a git and vim kind of guy than a cloud thing and browser based word processor kind of guy. On my old Tab S3 and on my Chromebook, it was easy enough to combine a git client and an editor to manage some repos, even keep a backup of some software projects for reference. Priorities being as they are, I started with iVim because muscle memory and most likely to freak out the fruity operating system. Combined with Pretext it gives me an editor I’m very familiar with, and a simple editor that matches what I’d want out of something neither vi nor emacs like.
After reading around Mac Stories, I decided to finally give Working Copy a whurl. I’m impressed, and I’m happy. Hell, judging by its user guide I could probably manage a nice local edit + git → remote build life cycle if I really wanted to.
For the most part, the software I use tends to be cross platform. E.g. developed on Linux, also available on Windows, cie; Android and iOS. And mostly the apps I use that are on both, are mostly the same on both. Except for the habit of iOS apps to use a scrunched landscape in portrait rather than going to a full screen view. Which is fine by me ‘cuz I’m a lazy git and have more than a few platforms to deal with.
Working Copy manages to be pretty native and runs with it all the way. You wanna know what my definition of professional grade, well made software for doing real shit would look like on an iPad? Well pal, Working Copy is now that definition, and what a damned stunning example it is!!!
Even more so, it appears to be feature complete enough that I don’t have to worry much. You see, I’m weird. I tend to like doing my work from the git command line client, and if I’m going to suffer a GUI then it’ll probably be git gui + gitk. And if Working Copy can’t do what I need to do, odds are I’d be running command line git regardless of the operating system, and probably quite out of my routine.
Something that makes me kind of happy about how native it is, is the file sync.
The way {App}/Documents is exported into the On My iPad provider as {App} is pretty nice. But doesn’t seem like the iOS Files stuff really has a concept of Unix style hidden files, so getting to .vim is a bit of a pickle.
Thus, I had Working Copy’s sync feature use On My iPad/iVim/vimfiles. Which for iVim, maps to ~/vimfiles. A quick :e ~/.vimrc and it only took a moment to get my stuff in order.
" For iVim on iOS.
" Working copy can sync my terryp/vim to ~/ or a subdir but not ~/.vim because iOS file goodies don't like dot files
" So let's use terryp/vim -> ~/vimfiles ala wintel.

set runtimepath+=~/vimfiles/
set runtimepath+=~/vimfiles/after
source ~/vimfiles/vimrc

Since Working Copy is trivially able to handle the submodules in my repo, which anger some GUI clients I’ve tried on PC and Android, all my stuff pretty much just works. Because my .vim/bundle gets synced to vimfiles/bundle like the rest of my stuff.

When someone makes an application as good as Working Copy,  we should all applaud. I know that I’m sure freaking happy! It takes a lot of work to make an application that great, and all to often when you find an application to scratch such a less popular itch, it can be hard to find a really great solution. Working Copy is one of those rare, great solutions.

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Mac Stories -Beyond the Tablet: Seven Years of iPad as My Main Computer

Seven years after I started (slowly) replacing my MacBook Air with an iPad, my life is different, but one principle still holds true: I never want to find myself forced to work on a computer that’s only effective at home, that can’t be held in my hands, or that can’t be customized for different setups. For this reason, the iPad Pro is the best computer for the kind of lifestyle I want.

While my tablet life style hasn’t been due to health problems and having started in Android land, hasn’t been so focused on dealing with an operating system limiting my abilities, I really agree with the above excerpt. Particularly the part I have added emphasis to.
Working from Android, I’ve had pretty complete file management since the beginning. As much as I prefer apps and their own data, such as Evernote and Play Music over wrangling files around like the stone ages, it’s nice having comprehensive control. I hope that apps on iOS will become more attuned to the file system, because files are kinda nice for sharing some forms of data between applications. As opposed to cases like my experience setting up a custom alarm tone or wallpapers. Being a fuck ton versions late to the party, I got to miss the lack of a file system part and have arrived for the apps still aren’t used to their being a file system part.
Another perk of coming late to the party, is while I experienced Android’s growing pains for multi tasking, I don’t really have to re-experiences them with iOS. Samsung did the whole split screen a lot of freaking years ago, well before Google mucked with it.
Having only scratched the surface on the shortcuts stuff, I have to admit that it’s a large part of what makes Siri interesting, aside from being less of a pain in my Fi phone then Google’s voice shit. I’ll probably be referencing this article later when I screw with shortcuts more.
Accessories are another thing I find attractive about iPads. Android was pretty quick to bring support for things like keyboards, mice, hard drives, monitors, controllers, etc. Aside from Google Play Services combined with Ethernet breaking push notifications for eons, it’s been a pleasent experience using external devices with Android.
What hasn’t been fun is anything form fitting. Aside from largely generic cases adapted to fit specific models, the options have sucked. Turning an iPad into a clamshell ala EeePad Transformer TF101, has been a thing for years on iPad. Some accessories are easier purchased than made at home, if available to begin with. Not to mention how badly Android needs more than a hardware Specific  S-Pen for those of us who demand a real stylus.
Sometime I also need to play with the external monitor truck noted in the end; really I like the concept, and it basically reflects the fact that I’d like better external monitor support without having to run regular PC shit.