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jswinden · 04-09-2017, 01:25 PM

With the older, non-pro, iPads the screen was a touchscreen but not very accurate or precise, nor was there any stylus that worked that well due to the screen not being designed for such precision. A mouse would have possibly given more precise control on the older iPads for such things as artwork or image editing. Plus many people were used to using a mouse since popular computers had been using them from the mid-1980s onward. I personally never found a trackpad I liked though, as mice work so much better for me. However, with the iPad Pro models we now have much more precision via the Apple Pencil, so the use of a mouse seems to be no longer a necessary feature, at least for me. I rarely use a keyboard with my iPads/iPhone. They are not laptop replacements in my case. But it is totally correct that developers need to better support keyboards for those who use them. And Apple needs to create a software touchscreen keyboard that is much more user friendly, especially on the iPhone. It is totally ridiculous how long it takes to type in a password or url. Having to pop back and forth between letter screen and number screen, or even worse fish through several layers of special character screens, is such a waste of time and extremely frustrating. Apple needs to start focusing more on function and less on form. I want a tool that works, that lets me do what I need/want to accomplish. I could care less what that tool looks like as long as it functions superbly.

As far as the Surface Pros, they are basically just laptops with a touchscreen and a cheap keyboard. Those things won't even sit well in your lap due to the way they were designed. I bought a Yoga 2 11 a while back thinking it would be a great laptop. It is built like a traditional laptop with non-removable keyboard, but the keyboard can be folded up behind the screen to make the Yoga 2 11 more like a laptop. It runs Win 10 now. I thought with the touchscreen it would make a nice little device. But Windows is still crap and I found that I rarely used the touchscreen. To me a laptop is a laptop, a tablet is a tablet, and no fanciful combination of the two seems to be a "one size fits all" solution. My iPads will never replace my MacBook Pro nor vice versa. I use the iPads for different tasks and in different ways than I do the MacBook Pro or desktop dual Mac/Windows computer I have, and vice versa. I really don't even care for a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen either as I would likely not use it much. What I would like though is total integration between my iPad Pro and my MacBook Pro so I could use them together like a graphics pad attached to a computer. For my use, that would make much more sense than any single device to replace all other devices. I have a toolbox full of tools. I also have a Leatherman tool and a Swiss Army knife. Neither of the latter two will ever cause me to throw away my toolbox though. The tools in my toolbox will get the jobs done right. The Leatherman tool and a Swiss Army knife are only for use when I don't have my toolbox nearby.

04-09-2017, 01:25 PM	#14
jswinden Nameless Being	With the older, non-pro, iPads the screen was a touchscreen but not very accurate or precise, nor was there any stylus that worked that well due to the screen not being designed for such precision. A mouse would have possibly given more precise control on the older iPads for such things as artwork or image editing. Plus many people were used to using a mouse since popular computers had been using them from the mid-1980s onward. I personally never found a trackpad I liked though, as mice work so much better for me. However, with the iPad Pro models we now have much more precision via the Apple Pencil, so the use of a mouse seems to be no longer a necessary feature, at least for me. I rarely use a keyboard with my iPads/iPhone. They are not laptop replacements in my case. But it is totally correct that developers need to better support keyboards for those who use them. And Apple needs to create a software touchscreen keyboard that is much more user friendly, especially on the iPhone. It is totally ridiculous how long it takes to type in a password or url. Having to pop back and forth between letter screen and number screen, or even worse fish through several layers of special character screens, is such a waste of time and extremely frustrating. Apple needs to start focusing more on function and less on form. I want a tool that works, that lets me do what I need/want to accomplish. I could care less what that tool looks like as long as it functions superbly. As far as the Surface Pros, they are basically just laptops with a touchscreen and a cheap keyboard. Those things won't even sit well in your lap due to the way they were designed. I bought a Yoga 2 11 a while back thinking it would be a great laptop. It is built like a traditional laptop with non-removable keyboard, but the keyboard can be folded up behind the screen to make the Yoga 2 11 more like a laptop. It runs Win 10 now. I thought with the touchscreen it would make a nice little device. But Windows is still crap and I found that I rarely used the touchscreen. To me a laptop is a laptop, a tablet is a tablet, and no fanciful combination of the two seems to be a "one size fits all" solution. My iPads will never replace my MacBook Pro nor vice versa. I use the iPads for different tasks and in different ways than I do the MacBook Pro or desktop dual Mac/Windows computer I have, and vice versa. I really don't even care for a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen either as I would likely not use it much. What I would like though is total integration between my iPad Pro and my MacBook Pro so I could use them together like a graphics pad attached to a computer. For my use, that would make much more sense than any single device to replace all other devices. I have a toolbox full of tools. I also have a Leatherman tool and a Swiss Army knife. Neither of the latter two will ever cause me to throw away my toolbox though. The tools in my toolbox will get the jobs done right. The Leatherman tool and a Swiss Army knife are only for use when I don't have my toolbox nearby.