So, I am currently in a Grad Program to get my teaching license and it is all online. I realized that Blackboard - the web software schools use to manage online classes - is not optimized for Safari only after the assignment was past due. It was running into errors that I did not even realize. My Grad School and the District that I work in both have this Frankenhybrid system of Google on top of Microsoft and as much as I hate to say it, the iPad without real Chrome is frustrating to use. Financially I haven’t been able to get a new Mac but for Christmas this year I’ve asked for Apple Cards to get one.
So either (A) Apple has to unleash Safari to make it worth web developers time or they (B) need to let real chrome on the iPad before anyone can consider it a “real” computer.
Edit: Before anyone else comments. I will concede that my annoyance might just be more me than iPad. I’ve been running myself ragged lately and the fact I didnt catch the technical issue was a much bigger deal to my tired mind than the initial posts suggest. My apologies if this comes off bad.
Yah, I agree with you. Plenty of folks will cite the fact that it’s actually kind of bad programming since Safari supports web standards and that means sites that don’t work on iPad are written poorly.
But the fact of the matter is, that’s the way the world is right now. And no amount of wishing or not using sites that don’t work in Safari will change this. I completely agree the iPad needs to allow other web rendering engines for browsers. 99% of the time I’ll still use Safari because I trust it for privacy and battery efficiency. But that 1% of the time where a critical website doesn’t work is really frustrating on iPad.
@MurphysLaw, I am one of those folks that thinks Apple supports web standards and that Google does not. Because Google doesn’t have a strong enough hardware platform to support its own operating system the way Microsoft and Apple can, it tries to remake the web in its own image. Google would like the web to be its operating system and I, for one, will not support or cave to that effort.
Oh I am incredibly Anti-Google, I only use Google services because I have too for work. But those are the services larger world uses. It’s the same kind networking effect that social media has.
The downside is that, you (and others) are in some cases the outliers. Which of course is not saying that outliers are wrong, just that such cases can cause lots of agony for the masses who want to defy the standards.
On the other side of this (as an instructor) … Your example indicates why the implicit base instructions for on line course management systems are … test well enough before any deadlines. In this vein, I would be curious for example whether your institution does not already have a disclaimer posted somewhere about the potential dangers of using macOS (let alone iPadOS) with Blackboard.
Or (C) you need to purchase a Chromebook (for less than an iPad). Or said differently … In asking as you have that Apple disavow standards for your one-off case where you did not inform yourself in advance as expected, you are likely being the outlier.
And I used Windows PCs and Microsoft services at work because I had to. But I spent my own money and time on Apple gear.
Apple has created the most successful tablet platform in the world. It succeeded because it was well done and better than what others offered. Google could write a native app to run on the iPad if it wanted to. Instead it throws its weight around with its web “apps.”
If @MurphysLaw could better meet his class requirements with a Chromebook, likely for less money, I wish he would do so and not tell Apple what it should do so that he can cope with Google’s practices.
Alas you are probably right. I’m more venting my own frustrations at myself for not catching the issues. MacOS is less of an issue with so much being web based because I have access to “real” Chrome.
The iPad is a great tool. Sparky is right it works really really well as an iPad. This term with an iPad as a real computer is an interim until I get the funds saved. The issue was was that the other class worked fine so I didnt realize it was a problem.
And I do have a Chromebook provided by my district that is really, really bad.
So, you have been spoiled by Apple’s hardware performance?
You know, in college, we didn’t have iPads or Chromebooks or the Internet. I used big fat text books that had an incredibly long “loading time.” At least they did for me.
That might be a cookie-blocking issue. If it is, disabling Prevent Cross-Site Tracking in Settings > Safari > Privacy might help. The other thing to potentially try is disabling iCloud Private Relay if you have it enabled.
We also use Blackboard, and it’s really buggy with Safari. I see students regularly unable to submit to Turnitin due to them trying to use Safari, it just gets stuck in an infinite loop and doesn’t submit. When I tell them to use Chrome, it always works right away. The screens also don’t refresh the same in Safari and you have to manually close parts of the page that close automatically in Chrome.
I agree, I will never try and use an iPad as a MacBook replacement. I cannot book a train (that site also goes into a infinite loop), or use the website for my medical provider as it gets stuck logging in, or use Google and Microsoft online documents (they work but often result in bugs) and even at my work I cannot share to the screens in meeting rooms without using a Chromium browser.
