!The Results are In-Conclusion! 1 Month iPad Only Experiment with New M4 iPad Pro

[jacobio]

@RunningBoris

Out of all the people on this forum, we have 2 or 3 people who use an iPad as their main device. People who go all in with as an iPad as their main device seems to be very rare from what I see online and in person. It’s all anecdotal of course

This seems like a pretty anecdotal assertion. To add another counter—but also anecdotal—assertion, I travel a lot for work and I see numerous people using iPads in airport lounges and on airplanes doing seemingly non-entertainment type tasks. I think the iPad excels at being a fantastic travel companion with or without a Mac.

[jacobio]

@Synchronicity

I doubt one in 10,000 Mac users knows that macOS supports a collection of emacs keybindings.

Count me as one in those 10,000. I use the emacs key bindings every stinkin’ day on my iPad (and my Mac).

[iPersuade]

what about the vim bindings, especially now that the Magic Keyboard as an ESC key?

[F.Jones]

My M1 iPad Pro did the exact same but when it died — no trade in, no nothing.
I got a base M2 iPad Pro but in hindsight I wish I had waited awhile (I was in the Apple Store hoping to get the M1 iPad fixed) to think through my needs first.

[neilgordon]

I could never anticipate an iPad replacing any of my Macs. The main use of my 13-inch M4 is as a photograph portfolio (I am a professional photographer) and the screen justifies the investment. I would love it to be more useful for email and other tasks but there are 2 huge restricting factors - No Text expander, and no decent Files/Finder system.

Can anyone suggest a way of using TE including fill-ins, and images (logos, etc)?

[F.Jones]

@Bmosbacker

My biggest challenge at the moment is I cannot figure out how to get my ScanSnap to communicate with my iPad. It scans via WiFi to my Mac but I haven’t figured out how to do it on the iPad. It is possible because there are support articles about it. I just haven’t figured it out yet.

I have an ix1600 andI put the software on my iPhone. Then, I set up the Scansnap for scanning to the cloud (which in my case it sends it to dropbox). Works fine. No need to even put any app on the iPad.

[Bmosbacker]

But if it works on the phone, it will work on the iPad. I can’t get the scanner to connect wirelessly to the iPad. I think it concerns the Wi-Fi access points in our offices. We have high levels of security set up in the system; I think that’s causing problems. I’ve reached out to the IT department. I expect they’ll be able to get me up and running shortly. I need to give those guys a raise!

[leperry]

Nevermind. I caved and returned my smart folio for a Magic Keyboard. The new design is great, and I think the 11-inch is the perfect size for me.

[Bmosbacker]

Thanks for sharing this, that is a good video. There is one correction regarding Grammarly. Initally I ran into the same problem mentioned in the video. However, if one leaves the Grammarly keyboard active, it works seemlessly on the iPad. There is no need to remove the iPad from the keyboard unless and until one needs to use the default keyboard. I typically don’t need it unless I want to dictate. That said, I hope the bug gets squashed soon.

[nationalinterest]

@jacobio

Count me as one in those 10,000.

Count me as one of the 9999. I’ve used MacOS for years and never knew…

[Synchronicity]

AFAIK vim bindings only work in vim and in apps like Obsidian and VS Code that have an option to use them. The emacs bindings work in any Mac, iPhone, or iPad app that accepts text input, as long as you’re using a hardware keyboard.

[pantulis]

As a matter of fact, Emacs gymnastics after so many Linux years left such a powerful muscle memory that CTRL-A and CTRL-E are still my go-to keybindings to move to the beginning and end of a line.

[iPersuade]

I figured. I’d love it if it were systemwide. But, it is available in Xcode, which is pretty cool.

[Bmosbacker]

@pantulis

Emacs

Why does “ Emacs” sound like something that should be on the farm or the zoo?

[oldblueday]

I’m a VIM user and hate it. I still have no idea why I chose that over emacs.

[cornchip]

Boy, we’re just stacking holy wars on holy wars in this thread!

[brookter]

Me too.

I also use Ctl-d/h (forward/backward delete), Ctl-n/p (down/up line), Ctl-f/b (forward/backward character) and Ctl-alt-f/b (forward/backward word) most of the time: they’re so much more convenient than having to stretch for the arrow keys once you’re used to them.

I do like vim bindings, but the Emacs keys are more widely available, so I stick with them. It makes using Windows a real pain though because you’re stuck with its 1980s retro-keyboard handling.

[Bmosbacker]

So glad I could be so helpful to the forum.

[Synchronicity]

@oldblueday

I’m a VIM user and hate it.

I’m very curious why you don’t like it. Most experienced vim users seem to love it, often to the point of what to outsiders seems like obsession.

[neilgordon]

My biggest issue with using the iPad is the lack of Text Expander. I have hundreds of snippets from simple typing short cuts to fill ins, date stamps, and more involved. without these dealing with email, keeping notes, or any typing is painful compared to using a Mac.
Any help/advice woukd be appreciated