iPad Review from an iPhone Developer- it's a legal pad for computing. | Hacker News Reader

iPad Review from an iPhone Developer- it's a legal pad for computing.

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I concur with this review. The iPad has done something very important for me: separated casual computer use from work related computer use. I freelance develop from home, so I'm on my computer constantly, and more often than not when I intend to just casually browse on my laptop I will get sucked back into work.

Now that I have the iPad for casual browsing, there's no danger of me getting sucked into work and I can focus more on reading, consuming media, etc.

I can also use the iPad in positions and ways I couldn't use my laptop in, like lying down on my side, standing (I like to pace), and on top of that I don't need to have my legs out in front of me to use it comfortably. I also find I'm not craning my neck as much as I do when using the laptop - it's started to relieve a lot of the RSS problems I have developed from using the laptop away from my ergonomically correct desk/chair.

The iPad is definitely a luxury item, but for people who are on the internet a lot, it's a small price to pay for the convenience. I liken it to having a second television at home, perhaps for your basement. Yeah, you could get by with only having one in your living room, but sometimes it's nice to be able to watch TV/Movies in your basement too, even if the screen is smaller and the sound system isn't quite as nice.

I wish to Christ I could use it as a notepad. I'd give damned near anything for an iPad with a stylus and OneNote.

Motion, whatever happened to WriteTouch??

--Pecked out on my LE1600.

Wasn't much of a review. I Was expecting, by the title, a more technical point of view rather than "just think of it as a notepad".

The iPad is exactly what I expected, allowing me to work when I am not at my desk and greatly relieving my joint pain (which was a problem with my former netbook). Thanks, Steve. http://buzz.dennykmiu.com/ipad-it-is-all-about-pain

It won't be a legal pad until you can write on it, and the software is there to support that. http://www.sekouterry.com/blog/a-great-tablet-will-need-a-pe...

I wanted to think of it as a notepad. But I like drawing and scribbling ideas down on my notepad, not writing emails or playing games.

And? I sketch, scribble and jot notes on mine all day. I haven't even configured the Mail app. The icon's been banished to iPad-Siberia (the last page, next to YouTube; can't wait till I can roll them up into a stack labeled "Recycle Bin")

Granted my notes are typically more diagram-heavy and text-light, so having the few words and fragments tapped-out via the on-screen keyboard isn't a deal-killer. (I don't do long-form writing by hand, it's all typed and has been for years.)

Though I am still anxiously-awaiting an app that gives me a diagram/sketch-pad with place-able text-boxes, so I can have clear labels and in-context notes/annotation. Handwriting notes/labels on sketches is pretty inconvenient atm; having to zoom way in to write so the resulting text is legible but doesn't consume the image.

Which app(s) do you use for your notes? I've been looking at some of the productivity apps on the App Store trying to determine which one would be the best for what you describe (jotting down ideas, whether they're text or diagrams, hopefully in some form of a category hierarchy that I can reorganize at my whim). I bought a pogo sketch at the recommendation of allenp (thanks!) and I'm looking for a good app to pair it with.

I also picked up one of the mind mapping apps but that doesn't really fit the bill because I can't draw diagrams in it.

I have a home-grown web app I wrote for ideas from years back. It's not updated for html5/offline storage/caching, but I have an email-in loader: body and attachments are loaded as 'ideas' and the subject is parsed as a comma-delimited tag list.

So when I don't have a net connection to do direct entry I wind up using the plain notes app for text and just email things in.

For sketches and diagrams I've been using brushes mostly, though I'm trying out artstudio and it's pretty nice. (Ideas is nice, but no good for me, as it only exports in PDF)

At the moment, multiple apps and exporting is working for me; fits right into the old hacked-together custom workflow. I'd love a more appropriate and robust solution, I'm just enjoying such an improvement already that I decided to give the store a few months to mature before I start the app hunt.

As for the Sketch; I'm debating that one myself. How are you liking it? I wasn't sure what to make of the business-end of it from the pics (the drawing nub itself). Does it give the stylus more the mechanical feel of a pen or a brush?

The Sketch is nice with Sketchbook Pro but I've been a bit disappointed with it as far as writing text goes. The tip of it is roughly the same width as the body of the stylus and it's blunt so it's a bit hard to tell exactly where you're going to be touching the screen. You also have to apply more pressure to it for the screen to pick up the press but it's not much more than you'd expect. I'd love to see a new version with more of a pointed tip for finer control over it for writing, though.

Take that with a grain of salt though. I haven't done any kind of excessive testing with it for writing, just enough to see if I could get used to it if I found the right note-taking app. I think I could get used to it but I'd prefer the type I mentioned above.

To directly answer your question, I'd say it feels more like a brush than a pen.

You can get a capacitive pen that works for the iPad. I bought one and it's not too shabby, although there is the somewhat major drawback of not being able to rest your palm on the device while you draw/write. Works great if you wear a glove ala Michael Jackson, though!

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