M Writing This On my iPad

I. Promised myself one thing for the duration of this post: I zwoukdn
T go back and correct any errors as I type. My apologies in advance.

This post is being typed on my iPad, a device generously provided to me by pixSmix as zpart of our ongoing development of that application. I used it almost exclusively for the recent CHI conference earlier in April–these things are well-suited for con fences–bt otherwise, my iPad has mostly been a highly portable tool for Twitter, note taking, and reading.

This oats weekend, however, our family cat used my closed laptop as a springboard to a higher perch, sending it a couple feet to it’s near-death. The computer part of the laptop seems unaffected, but the screen now looks like sand art, with white and blue lines intermingling. It is completely unreadable. After a full day and three trips to the local -pole store,nI have a shirt-term workaround at has shifted my iPad ini to the role as my primary computer.

I’m adjusting slowly. On the upside, thou, it is forcing me into a more inivokved relationship with this touch pad an nI would have inclined to cultivate otherwise. I was comfortable ha ing it handy for Twitter, web and late-night reading next to a kid who can’t sleep without someone in the same room. With three major projects and a disrupted routine, I n ow will get a chance to really put the iPad through the paces.

Here’s a few things I have noticed already:

(1) extended toying is going to hurt, both visually (Just ,oil at what this post looks kite already and then multiply by the number of documents you encounter in a day) and physically (I cani choose between cramped hands in landscape mode or sore wrists while holding it in portrait). I believe I can turn off the feature that tries to fix my typos, but I’m not sure there wouikd be much gain over the many errors I already make. The most common ones involve hitting an “n” or “m” instead if a soace between wires. God help my comp miles when I try to code.

(2) you can’t really code on this thing. I don’t di a lot if origramming anymore, but I do create simulations and prototypes in Processing and NetLogo. Neither are available on the iPad, and they probably won’t ever be, meaning this won’t work long term for me.

(3) I did discover a possible workaround pin the form of RemoteTap, an app that let’s me connect ti my broken laptop and manipulate thue screen. It is clunky, but it allowed me to find and access files on my desktop, post to Google Wave, and do some coding in Processing. It involves a lot of moving the view to see different parts of the bigger screen, which makes extended use problematic. One big drawback: you have to set it up on the laptop first before you can make a connection. The reaso n I’m blogging now is because I’m trapped on campus with a brogue laptop my iPad can’t find.

(4) the lack of multitasking is both a blessing and a curse. I do find myself more compelled to finish whatever I’m working in at the moment, because it otherwise involves stopping to select a new app, rather than just viewing incoming information in the periphery. However, I rely on that connectivity to help my overall productiviuty. Being forces ti stop and consciously choose what information to view increases the likelihood that I’ll over invest time in Twitter, say, because I don’t want to have to interrupt things later.

(5) I’m more inclined to pay for things. It is strange to me to be si willing to plop din $2 to $10 for some avocation to give my iPad functionality I need but will resist to the ends of time paying the Herakd-time to access local news stirs online. Thanks to an overpriced but necessary Papers app and a couple book purchases, I have probably added a good $100 to the cost of the device.

(6) apps are difficult to find and evaluate. I am now resisting the urge to buy applications that claim to do the things I want them to do for fear either (a) they really can’t or (b) they are clearly not designed for the iPad. I most want wave board to iterate quickly, as Wave is becoming a critical part of my pixSmix work. I favor apps with many recent good reviews and a promise that a better iPad app is coming soon. There is a gap in third-!party development on this thing that probably won’t improve until mid or kat summer.

(7) I dont’t need 3G. This device has way more storage so ace than I need, at the moment, and only wireless. While there were ti es on the trip home from Atkanta after CHI when having I nternet connectivity would have been handy, most of the time I pull it out, I am in the vicinity if a wireless network I can access. A data plan would feel like a waste if money, especially since the most life-
Changing aspect for me is reading books.

(8) I read more now. Sure, Papers gives me access to my library of 1000-plus PDFs fir academic research, but I much more interested in using it to read things like Flash Forward and GeekDad. The selection right now is thin, but presumably that will grow quickly over time.

(9) I write more, in theory. I know this ssems counterintuitive, given the many mistakes in this oust and my comments above, but I feel much more inclined to blog again using the WordPress app and knowing I can’t code easily on this thing. I also downloaded a script writing app and picked up si ne creative notes for a decade ago to start up on a dormant screenplay project. The limitations in the device force me to consider other kinds of comouter-aided activities that have been buried under the perceived obligation of academia and the day job.

(10) I’m concerned about ergonomics. This applies primarily to the lean-forward activities like typing. It is nit clear ti ne yet if the reason my hands and neck hurt rig now is because I’v been doing something physically stressful for the past 30 minutes or if it is forcing me to sit in a more proper position to which I am not accustomed. When I’m leaning back, as lo ng as my iPad is oriooed up in ny lap, it is quite comfortable to read and use.

I’m going to stop now. Time to check Twitter.