Jordan Aubry Robison's Blog, page 4

iOS Needs a Desktop Quality Web Browser

One of the main features holding iOS back is the web browsers.

All of them. 

iOS’s default web browser is Safari. And because it is built to be baked in with the operating system, it still stands as the best web browser for iOS users.

There are other options, of course, which I have mentioned in a previous blog post. However, what iOS needs are a full Desktop level browser.

iOS tried to fix website loading mobile versions of their website by adding an option to “request a desktop” version of a website. However, still, with iOS restrictions on the web browsers, the full experience is still lacking.

When last year, I tried to make an iPad Pro as my primary computing device, I often ran into problems when using Safari or any of the available third-party web browsers.

The features are limited. The experience feels confined. As if when using the web browsers one is then forced to experience a limited form of the internet.

Apple, of course, seems to believe apps are the future of the internet. Instead of allowing more features on their web browsers they instead try to push people to use their apps and third-party apps. Still, these apps are themselves focused on mobile. Meaning they are designed to be light and work on limited screen space. They are not desktop-level apps like Apple’s own Final Cut Pro, or Adobe’s full Photoshop or even its Illustrator.

Ideally, to help Apple win this argument where iOS is its future, it has to come to terms with two things:

The web browsers.
Allowing their apps to be able to be as feature heavy as a desktop version of the same app.

Even Apple’s desktop version of Safari allows one to add Extensions. Chrome is probably the best version of this. However, even Chrome OS, where the operating system is built around a web browser, is confined.

Recently they added options to download Android apps to Chrome OS. Again, Android apps main focus is mobile. And what is often concluded by many reviewers, is the fact that trying to use a mobile app on a full desktop machine is awkward and unnecessarily frustrating.

Steps Toward Improvement

The first step to helping bridge the gap between iOS and MacOS would be building a Safari that is just a powerful as the MacOS Safari. This would be the first step needed to allow users an experience where one feels fewer restrictions. The next step would then be to allow Google to develop a full desktop version of Chrome for iOS—specifically focused for their iPad as a desktop version for an iPhone is not necessary.

The third and final step would be for Apple to open up the iOS app development API, allowing developers more flexibility with features for their apps. Perhaps Apple is already stepping toward this with their new policy, where development for MacOS apps and iOS apps, will soon be done through one single API.

Apple builds amazing hardware. And no one else right now manufactures mobile chips as fast and as optimized as Apple. One of my many frustrations with Apple was there apparent lack of apps utilizing these so-called desktop-level features. Even the games are still restricted by Apple, in my humble opinion. But one day we will hopefully be able to load apps as powerful as Call of Duty, Skyrim, or even a full version of Grand Theft Auto V. Of course, we would probably need a lot more storage in order to store these massive games.

“What’s a Computer?”

Perhaps the most frustrating ad from Apple recently was the “What’s a computer?” series. It does not show an Apple as innovating. It shows an arrogant and stubborn company unwilling to see past their own nose. One who is not willing to admit they are not innovating like they once were. If Apple can achieve what I have already mentioned, then they might be ready to air an ad where the question of “What’s a computer?” is representative of their innovation.

Instead, they seem ready to praise themselves and unable or unwilling to inspire. Much like the late great Steve Jobs would have probably preferred.

When Apple is ready to take these steps, then they will perhaps be able to begin to argue their iOS powered-iPad is just as good as any desktop computer.

On Writing My First Novel (5 Years Later)

Five years have now passed since self-publishing my first novel, Living on Empty. (Also available at Apple iBooks and Barnes & Noble).  It is a strange feeling. A somewhat abstract feeling was knowing I wrote an entire full-length novel five years ago.  A year’s long journey that came to an end with a finished product composed of around seventy thousand plus words tied together loosely like pieces of grape from a vine. A rough narrative designed to illustrate a young man’s voice frustrated with the burden of living a life unknown. A life where finding the answers is located in the empty.

It all kind of happened because I was broke and bored.

I wrote the story because I needed to tell this story. It came to me in dreams and would not leave my conscious or subconscious. I could not let it slip through my fingers. I wrote the story because I wanted to purge myself of some of the feelings I was having frustrations and hopes and dreams. I tried to purge myself of some of the experiences. And at the same time use all of them to inspire me to write a piece of fiction. I wrote.

Life is Normal

I work a regular job and live a somewhat healthy and uneventful life right at the time of this writing. Other than finding true love, (which is perhaps my greatest adventure, and something I hope I will never lose). Nothing else extraordinary. I am just another anonymous person riding the train next to you. Reading from his Kindle or listening to music via his headphones. Another person whom you might cut off in traffic. Another person, passing you on the street. Or sitting at a trendy restaurant with his wife. Or buying a cup of coffee at my nearby Starbucks. The only difference is I wrote a book. And no one can take that from me. No one.

Emilio was sitting at a small table in The Fish Bowl’s balcony. The table was between the sunshine and the shade. As the earth rotated the shade decreased and the sunshine increased. The chilly winds swept through the piercing sunshine. This is Ohio, after all. He puffed away his Cuban cigar. He ran numbers from several stacks of receipts with his calculator and made notes in a large registry notebook. Also on the table were two cell phones, an old pager, a cordless phone, a bottle of aspirin and a half-used container of hand sanitizer. He wore a marble gray cardigan framed with a big shawl collar. Underneath he wore a well-pressed white dress shirt, with the first two top buttons left unbuttoned. A pair of white slacks, also neatly ironed. On his sockless feet he had on a pair of polished loafers. He fanned himself a few times with his fedora. And then wiped some of his sweat off of his face with a cloth made of one hundred percent genuine silk.

No one else typed the words I typed in the way I typed them. No one else wanted to tell the story I wrote, in the form I wrote it. No one else sat at the computer for hours and hours and more hours. Hours focused on a single task. No other job could or would occupy my time. Sometimes the music was the only sound I could tolerate other than silence. Silence sometimes was my invisible barrier between the world and my imagination.

The Soundtrack of Writing

When writing, I sometimes listened to music. Or went to coffee shops, writing some of my books anonymously among strangers. Sometimes, the silence was my best friend. I would get into such a focused frenzy marathon of tapping letters to form words on the computer screen.  I would then forget to choose that perfect song to help inspire me when writing. Instead, silence proved to be as just as good a companion as classical music, or a favorite film score, or a song with a catchy melody.

Smoke rose from my father’s 1978 Pontiac red-metallic Firebird. I tried to start the car. I turned the key and pumped the gas several times. It wheezed an old decaying coffin-like cough. Clouds of dark black smoke puffed out the exhaust pipe. The sound made me cringe. I thought about recoiling into a fetal position while wishing for renewal. My chest tightened. My eyes watered. But I could not be reborn.

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Living on Empty also available at Apple iBooks and Barnes Noble.

Living on Empty was my first complete story. I had written a few shorts stories before, but nothing entirely fleshed out like this book. An imperfect idea of a young man’s view of what appeared to be the dying American Dream during the 2007 Great Recession.  An attempt to write a novel for my so-called millennial generation.  To write about the struggle we were all going through in our twenties during this time in recent history.  The group for which I was addressing were people born in the early eighties. And not so much those who are now being described as millennial in pop culture as of 2018. We were the inbetweeners: In-between Generation-X and the Millennial punks who know of no world before the availability of smartphones and social media.

I took one last look at what was left of my dad’s car. The orange flames reflected off my movie star aviators. My boots clicked on the asphalt as I took one choreographed step after another. Heel, toe. Heel, toe. I stopped and did a quick Elvis Presley gyration with my hips while spinning my arms around an air guitar. I then pulled out a comb and brushed back my greasy hair. I curled my lip. Uh-huh. Nothing but a hound dog. Uh-huh. Heartbreak Hotel. Thank you! Thank you very much. Jimmy Rodriguez has left the building, ladies, and gentlemen…

Curse of the Perfectionist

And yet the last part of my novel. I have come to hate the last part of my book. Maybe one day I’ll re-write it and re-publish my book as Living on Empty: Revised Second Edition. Why not? The non-fiction writers do it all the time. Why the fuck can’t I?

Since completing the novel, going through some re-writes, re-publishing, and grammatical editorial reviews which I paid for, I still find the words exactly as I wanted them to be, so many years later (except for the last part of the novel). The only thing I struggle with is the ending I wrote. A conclusion which I now feel did not accomplish what I intended it to do. At least now I don’t think it did. Alas, such is the burden of creating something new: learning to let it go and be its own thing.

Writing after the Novel

As the years passed, I tried so many times to repeat this feat. To write something else. But it has turned out harder to write the second novel than the first I still find myself reading blogs about story structure, writing productivity, and writing tasks to help one become a better and more productive writer.

The slow walk toward becoming a full-time writer is slow. Indeed. More time-consuming than it should be. Ta-Nehisi Coates once said (and I am paraphrasing) “if someone hasn’t written consistently in their life by the time they’re thirty-five, then the probably won’t become a writer.”

I have so many reasons to argue why I haven’t written anything substantial:

My father needed my help for a brief while …
I was depressed …
Getting myself back in shape …
I met this girl, and we fell in love …
and then we fell out of love and broke each other’s heart …
then we fell back in love and got married …
and then I decided I wanted a new job and changed careers …
the new job was where I wanted to go, but I was so overwhelmed and intimidated and let my anxiety overtake me for a while—convinced I would fail …
but soon, I would find a place in this new job (though I still struggle with my on-going social anxiety) …
being too tired to write in the morning …
No time to write when I am at work (apparently) …
being too tired to write when I get home …
deciding to spend the weekend getting all my chores done primero …
cooking some fantastic meals instead of writing …
letting my ego tell me I am no good. I am a hack. All my ideas suck.

etc., etc.,

Save for the last one, which is my ongoing inner demon; there is no excuse. There is no reason among those which I have just listed as to why I should not have found time to write. Write an hour a day would have sufficed.

After writing a book, I learned better about the process. The act of writing is perhaps the most natural part. Re-writing, proofreading, receiving criticism, and feedback, and re-writing again and again …(did I mention there is a lot of re-writing and proofreading?) all take longer than the actual writing process. So, getting past just the writing part is probably the laziest excuse of all writing. But here I am,  looking at five years of excuse after excuse for not writing. Five years of not committing enough to see the shit through. Of all the things I listed none of them should have been a reason to prevent me from writing. In fact, maybe some of these things should’ve inspired me.

But I wrote a novel!

I ran outside the house into the rain. Jasmine stood on the porch looking out into the rainy night. She wore a black tank top underneath a dark blue jean jacket. She had on dark blue jeans with a pattern embroidered in the color of tan on the butt pockets. On her head she wore a large gray fedora looking hat. She had it tilted to the side almost covering one of her eyes. She was already a little drenched from the rain. Some of the mascara around her eyes was running. With the porch light her dark skin glistened in the rainy night and her teeth shown pure white when she smiled.

A lot happened in the time between when I finished the novel to now. But in all that time I could’ve have been writing another book. And another. And maybe another.

More stories are swimming in imperfect circles in my head. Several of which I have been daydreaming about while on the train to and from work. Or when in a meeting knowing full-well I should be paying attention when instead all I can think of is the story I want to tell. All this time was daydreaming and not enough time writing.

Not to say I didn’t even attempt to write during these five years. There are probably maybe thousands and thousands of words written on rough ideas. Unfinished stories. Unfinished thoughts. Unfinished yet more complete than before writing a novel. Before writing my book most of my views were mere paragraphs. Or summaries. Now I write until the steam runs out. Going back at it again is still tough. Still rough. Taking a lot of strength, focus, and determination.

If I were to be really petty, I would mention that no fame nor fortune came my way. No newspapers interviews. No rave-reviews. No best-selling list. But to ponder on those things cheapens the experience of writing. Cheapens the accomplishment. And that is why they are petty and not significant.

The Next Five Years

In the next five years, I hope to have completed at least one more novel. And if I can find a way to motivate myself—the number of books I write in the next five years will hopefully switch from singular to plural. I would prefer writing to be my primary form of income in an ideal world.

The plan is to write more often between each waking moment I can get. To ignore the tiredness or the laziness and force me not to lose sight. To not forget purpose. To not give up. I want to live an breath the written word. I want to bathe in metaphors and descriptive scenery.  I want to get drunk on plot and character motivation.

Write like a mother fucker.

Living on Empty.  Also available at Apple iBooks and Barnes  Noble.

Watching ‘Marty’ (1955) for the First Time with my Wife

It was a Thursday evening, and we couldn’t think of what to watch. Being people typical of our circumstance, we had every intention of better spending our time, and not wasting it like so many of us do day in and day out.  Scrolling through Filmstruck.com via my Apple TV, I suddenly found myself wanting to watch *Marty*: the classic 1955 film about a lonely guy trying to find love in New York City.

Less than a week ago, on a whim I signed-up a trial subscription to Filmstruck.com An app which markets itself as the perfect streaming app for film buffs, or Film snobs, to give a more accurate term.  If you’re not entirely immersed into the world of film and foreign films, then you’re just not trying to indulge in the world of cinema.  Or that is how some would like most to think. But no one is ever happy and film snobs, especially, are the hardest to please.

There was a time in my twenties where I was a huge film snob. When Netflix.com was less a place for streaming and more a place for renting DVDs, I filled my queue with every critically claimed film I could fit in there.  Spending many a lonely night watching masterpiece after masterpiece. Thinking I was somehow making myself a better person by watching these kinds of films. Truthfully, I had very few people with whom to discuss these films. And somewhere intimidated by my film choice. Thereby isolating me even more. Eventually, I gave up trying to watch “only the best”movies. 

There are still a certain number of films I will not watch. That fucking movie about trolls with that overplayed Justin Timberlake song about sunshine in his pocket. Nope. Just … no!

My wife reluctantly agreed to watch it. I didn’t know what to expect. But I have read so much about it. It was a sleeper hit when it came out. The actor, who plays Marty, (), won an Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of a lovable lonely guy who, according to the film, was not attractive in the most shallow sense of the word attractiveness. Before Marty, Ernest was a character actor who played mostly tough guys, or bad guys. Others might know him as the asshole ‘Fatso’ in *From here to Eternity*.

Probably by 1955 standards this was a charming film. But by modern 2018 standards there exist parts that would be considered disturbing by today’s audience. I didn’t notice this so much when I would watch old films in my twenties. Or when I would watch movies on TMC in the 1990’s.  But I can’t not notice them now.

In the very beginning of the film, Marty is working behind the counter as a butcher, his current profession, in a butcher shop. One of the customers asks why he isn’t married yet at the age of thirty-four. And tells him he should feel ashamed for not already being married. ‘Jesus!’ my wife yelled, somewhat disgusted. Yeah, this would end up being one of the last things Marty would yell at his best friend by the end of the film. Nothing learned I guess.

Anyone who is ugly is a dog in 1955, according to this movie. What the film offers up as ugly was also troubling. It kind of reminded me of Love Actually where Natalie (), who the Prime Minister of Great Britain (Hugh Grant), has a little crush on, is referred to as a little chubby by other characters throughout the film. Even when I watched it the first time when the movie came out I disagreed with that conclusion. Martine, the actress is anything but chubby, thank you very much.

I would argue the same thing for Clara (), she’s described as a dog, or ugly. Sorry but to all the shallow people in this world of fiction, but these people are not ugly. I guess for the sake of drama, there needs to be something to overcome. But alas, the message is lost on me.

If you go to the IMDb listing for Marty, the description for the film reads:

> “A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who has given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.”

The fuck? Marty is thirty-four. How is that middle-age? Updated your shit, IMDb.

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The only other somewhat disturbing part of the film happened near the end of Marty’s date with Clara. Clara is the girl he never thought he would meet. She’s just like him. They have a lot in common. It keeps getting later and later, but neither of them wants it to end. Especially, Marty. Clara, by 1955’s standards knows she needs to get home. That it isn’t right for a single lady to stay out so late with a man. But every time Marty asks her to stay a little later, or go someplace else with him, she agrees.

They end up at his house. This is where Marty finally loses his self-control and forces himself on Clara. Clara is not ready of course. And Marty gets angry at her. He gets mad at himself. Here Marty concludes he fucked up. He misinterpreted their evening. And decides the best thing is to just take her home. But then, Clara confronts him and tells him that she does like him, but she’s shy and wasn’t ready and didn’t know how to react.

Regardless of the happy ending, Marty trying to force himself on Clara—even if they are just kisses—immediately turned on my warning sign. I don’t want to dismiss the entire film because of this moment. But I also don’t want to recognize it for what it now means. And how much has changed … if little by little.

I did enjoy this film. Regardless of its shortcomings. There is no reason entirely dismiss a movie because it some of the topics and things discussed seem a bit dated. I think anyone who likes a good movie, who loves watching old movies, or likes a good story, should give Marty a try. I’m glad I can finally say I watched it.

What’s next to watch?

The End of the iPad Chronicles

I had intended to write a year’s worth of articles about my experience using the iPad Pro full-time as my main computing device. Granted, my current job, which is in web development, requires that I use a laptop and has issued me one accordingly. Not to say I didn’t give it the old college try.

But alas, I am here to write that more than a month ago I gave up the dream of using the iPad as my main computer. As much as I wanted to make it happen it was just not meant to be. The dream of being as productive as Federico Viticci would not replicate itself with me. Nor was my patience.

When you try to use something not necessarily designed for your needs, you immediately recognize those things which make it nearly impossible to use. I had no idea until  I began using the iPad Pro as my main device how much I relied on a desktop browser or a mouse. Using the touchscreen as the only way to interact with a device turned out to be not ideal for me.  Reaching up and swiping and smudging on the iPad Pro’s large screen took longer than keyboard shortcuts or clicking around with a mouse. Maybe I’m getting old school like this now? But I just don’t find the touchscreen (when it’s the only available way to interact with an OS) as a productive option for user experience.

I tried the Dolphin browser, which promised to have more desktop features. But was still handicapped by what Apple allows other iOS apps to do. The same problem with iCab.  [More details my reviews of browsers for the iPad can be found here.]

Don’t get me wrong! It was fun trying something different. To explore what I could do and what I couldn’t do with the iPad Pro. Or what workarounds I could try out. I do love experimenting. Maybe that is why I do a lot of QAing and testing for a living, right now?

But honestly, iOS is still not ready for prime time. It is a great operating system with a lot of promise of one day perhaps becoming a desktop level system. But I feel like it is still light years away.  Apple has laid the foundation, but very few, if any developers are biting. There are maybe a handful of apps that are somewhat desktop level. But the majority focus on mobile first.  Granted, Apple probably already knows this. That is why they are trying to make it so developing an app for iOS will one day be done in the same fashion as developing software for the Mac. So that everything would be seamless and easily respond to a desktop or mobile environment.

I think that’s neat!

After calling defeat I resolved to sell my iPad Pro rather than continue with my frustration. With the money I  was able to get back from selling my iPad, I now plan to put it toward getting a new MacBook, hopefully sometime this year.

I used to have a MacBook Pro a few years ago.  But when Apple released the 12” MacBook I leaped at the chance to give it a try. And guess what? What did I end up missing? The ability to play games like Sim City and Civilization. So, after a few years of experimenting with more mobile friendly-devices, I have resolved to admit that what I really need … what I really want is a powerful MacBook Pro.  I don’t need the most powerful MacBook Pro, but for my needs I I need one that can at least handle Sim City and/or Civilization.

I have played around with the idea of switching to Windows by buying their Surfaceb  Book 2. But through my research, most of my preferred apps are, for the time being, exclusively on MacOS. And if they’re on MacOS, they’re more likely to have an iOS version available. So, that also makes me still locked in with an iPhone.

I’m trapped in Apple’s ecosystem, for better or for worse. But do I really want to leave? Or am I just continuously curious about trying something different? Unfortunately, my pocketbook and my wife are not amused by this expensive habit of mine. Getting a new MacBook Pro will probably be the last big electronic purchase I will make in a long time.

I look forward to seeing what Apple develops in the future for iOS and the iPad Pro. But for now, I will remain rooting for them from the sidelines.

The iPad Chronicles: Remote Accessing the Desktop

Though a number of us are willing to experiment with having the iPad as their primary computer, we are still living in a world, where one needs access to a desktop environment. Be it their work computer or access to apps not yet available to the iPad.

Taking a look at the options … there are not that many. And none of them provides an absolute elegant solution. Elegant where the change from iOS to desktop is seamless and beautiful. Nothing yet exists in the software world that achieves such ambition.

I have yet to try these ALL of these options. As much as I want to install some of the programs to allow remote access to my work desktop computer, I don’t really have the authority to do so. Having said that, the majority of this blog will be theoretical.

I have spent a few nights browsing through Google’s rabbit hole trying to find a best solution. There is no best option, but there are a few options.

Screens VNC

This is recommended by a lot of people. I honestly haven’t tried it yet. The main reason I have tried it yet? No mouse support. They do provide a nifty workaround. Where one can use their iPhone as a trackpad. Seems nifty, but I don’t think I want to worry about draining my iPhone’s battery to just use it as a trackpad when remoting into a desktop environment.

Screens VNC is recommended by Macstadium. A company which hosts Mac Mini’s and Mac Pros for those people who find this option as a solution to their workflow. The cost to use Macstadium’s service adds up. And for what they are charging for Mac Mini access, machines that Apples hasn’t even updated in four years, seems silly. One seems better served setting up a NAS in their home and using an app to access. But I know a number still seem to find Macstadium’s services useful. Either for a development environment or as a server hosting environment.

In order for Screen VNC to work you must enable “Screen Sharing” on your MacBook’s share setting from the Settings Menu. Otherwise you are SOL.

JumpDesktop

I did end up downloading Jump Desktop and try it out. Jump Desktop does allow a person to connect a mouse to the linked desktop via the iPad. Though, at the time of this writing, there are currently only two options available.

Citrix X1 Mouse
Swiftpoint GT Mouse

Since it didn’t cost to much ($60), I went ahead and purchased the Citrix Mouse1. The Swiftpoint GT Mouse was too expensive for my taste ($120), and had a strange design. I’m sure all the research concluded this design would prove useful for a number of people. But I prefer the classic mouse shape, which is way I went with Citrix.

When you get the Citrix mouse it feels like any average Logitech mouse one would find in abundance at their local Best Buy. It requires only one battery. Turn it on and connect it to your iPad’s Bluetooth first. Then just open your Jump Desktop app and remote in to your computer. You don’t have to do anything else. Jump Desktop some how automatically recognizes the Citrix mouse and connects.

Within seconds I was using the mouse like a normally would with a Desktop machine, but connected to my MacBook. Oh joy! I did have to tweak the sensitivity a bit. It was too sensitive for my taste at its default setting. But I’m already in love with this little guy!

There were no issues or pauses with the connect. Everything works smoothly. The only problem I encountered was finding the right resolution for the desktop screen from a 16:10 ratio to a 4:3 ratio. I settled on 1600 x 1200. But since that is not one of MacBook’s default resolutions I also had to download software that would allow me to use unique resolutions. I ended up using SwitchRes X. It proved to give me what I needed to help the MacBook match the ratio needed for an iPad.

Alas, the MacBook screen still looks fuzzy. As if peaking through a window with small amounts of condensation to see your MacBook. This is the rub. You have an iPad, which probably has the most beautiful screen on a tablet in 2017, but when trying to view the world of Desktop, you are forced to leave in reduced clarity.

The Others

I have tried the others. Microsoft offers its own Remote Desktop app. But I don’t currently have access to a Windows machine at the time of this writing. I have read up on it and it does have its fans. Windows would probably be easy to use on the iPad because it is now built to allow touchscreen gestures by default.

There is also TeamViewer. But TeamViewer is more for temporary access. It’s more designed for someone who is trying to fix someone else’s computer remotely. There is also Logmein, of which I’m not a fan.

I had a job once that had us use LogMeIn to remote into our Windows 7 desktop machines. I would remote in through my MacBook whenever I worked from home. Needless to say the connection was always poor, the resolution and clarity was undesirable.

Remoting

One day we might not need to remote into our work computers and using an iPad will be as powerful and useful as using a MacBook. But due to iOS’s design that may never come into fruition. I have been using the iPad Pro 12.9 since July 2017. As soon as I set it up I installed iOS 11 Beta. Granted there were a number of bugs initially, as there are on any Beta, but with each updated the bugs decreased. Now more apps are starting to update themselves to adopt the iOS 11 features.

Still that is much yet to be done with iOS to allow more advanced users to consider this as their main machine. If one were to perfect the remote app, to make it seamless and figure out a way so that the screen is crisp and clear, then maybe we might have something worth talking about.

Here is a great article on using the Citrix Mouse: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2016/11/06/1930

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The iPad Pro Chronicles: Web Browsers

Probably the biggest thing holding the iPad back honestly not its limitation on multitasking or access to the backend of the OS. Nay, I say. It is the browsers. Alternatively, the limitation of access to the backend.

File Management

As Federico Viticci of Macstories and some others have mentioned there are some tweaks and hacks to get file management to work. In my very humble opinion, anyone who is not interested in discovering these tweaks and hacks is the same kind of person who would not mess around with a Linux OS, hack their Windows computers to overclock their CPU’s, or use Mac’s terminal to conduct web development on the high end.

Browsers

There are many browser options available in the world of iOS. Granted, not as many available as there are for desktop. However, they are still somewhat limited. They are also limited because Apple designed it that way.

It would be one thing to blame everything on lack of developers interest in creating a desktop class browser. The fault is really in Apple’s court. Apple has limited developers’ access to its WebKit engine on iOS. Apple has limited functionality. Giving their browser, Safari, the upper leg, in all aspects, and in some respect, why wouldn’t they. And yet Apple still fails to create an impressive version of the desktop version of the Safari browser.

Safari – Forever Mobile

The Safari browser for the iPad is essentially the same browser as the Safari browser for the iPhone. The Safari browser is coded separately from the iPhone version. But it still uses a mobile engine that tells websites to default to the mobile version of their website.

Perhaps Apple is not changing a thing because it is expecting that eventually, all sites will update to be responsive? And this is most definitely the current trend. All browsers being built today are designed to have responsive elements 1. Or perhaps Apple believes that the best way to access the web is via a mobile app?

The problem with this is that for the sake of the iPad Pro, almost no developer is yet pushing out a desktop class app. All are built to be mobile friendly first. And thus most apps feel limiting on a full-size screen.

Another tick is the Safari’s “desktop website request” feature. This sometimes doesn’t always work. And when it does it never remembers the setting. Say for example I am browsing the website reddit. On the iPad Pro, I would much rather prefer to open Reddit’s desktop version of their website versus their mobile version. When I open a separate link in another tab Safari opens it, by default, Safari opens it in mobile again. I am not sure why Apple has decided to let this happen? They have every opportunity to prove to the world what a fantastic browser Safari could be on iOS. Especially if they want to make an argument for the iPad to be your central computer. They do nothing.

Other Browsers

I have already tried some browsers during my thus far limited time with the 2017 12.9” iPad Pro. Here I write my limited experience

Dolphin

Dolphin looks beautiful. Dolphin has a dark mode among other themes. Dolphin can sync with other Dolphin browsers. And Dolphin even has a desktop version. It even has a built in Ad blocker.

However, Dolphin’s real claim to fame is a feature it calls “gestures.” Which allows you to draw a letter to indicate a command. For example, if you draw an “N” with your finger, it will open a new tab. However, you have to teach Dolphin all the gestures. It does not remember anything by default. It cannot recognize a gesture until you tell Dolphin, in its settings, what a gesture means after you draw it. Rather tedious.

And that is about it. There is nothing remarkable about Dolphin other than the fact it has Ad Block built in, it has a drawing gesture feature, and the ability to add themes. That is it.

Chrome

Chrome for iOS only claim to fame is that it syncs with your Google account. Which is important if you are a heavy Google user. And if you are a heavy Google user then most likely, you use the desktop of Chrome a lot. However, unlike Safari or Dolphin, Chrome has no way to block ads. Thus you are stuck loading websites with no protection from their adware.

I have noticed through my limited testing; Chrome sometimes does a better job loading pages than Safari. And it does an excellent job of remembering your tabs and whether you want that website in that tab to be in Desktop or Mobile. However, just like Safari, once you open another tab of the same website, it defaults to mobile. Sad!

iCab

iCab has so much potential but falls short by iOS limitations. There are a plethora of features and settings that would make anyone, who has the time to waste a weekend, many choices. It even has a feature where it tricks websites into thinking iCab is a desktop Chrome, or a desktop Firefox, etc. However, here is where there are still problems.

Even though Apple’s iPads are defined as Retina, with multiple pixels giving a quality where the naked eye cannot see any pixelation—the truth is you see a screen that is double-pixelated at a lower resolution. If the iPad were to show the max pixelation of an iPad screen, things would be so small you might need a magnifying glass to be able to see things.

In the Mac, you can download third-party apps that allow you to change the resolution of Mac’s screen to a variety of resolutions. You cannot do that yet on the iPad.

Also, in a desktop browser, you can increase and decrease the size of a browser window. In every web browser in iOS, you can pinch to zoom, but you cannot pinch to shrink. It usually stops at the iPad’s default resolution.

Having said that, when viewing a web page in iCab, even though I am finally getting a full desktop version, I also see the website in a low-resolution mode. Oh, the drinking I will do tonight.

Puffin

Puffin’s claim to fame is that you can view Flash via its web browser. It essentially runs flash items from a remote server because you cannot run flash natively in any way on iOS due to its security restrictions. The workaround does work in theory. When I first started using the browser, I tested some flash heavy websites to see how they ran. And for about two to three weeks there were no issues. Lately, though, I have seen many runtime errors, slow connection because the Puffin Flash server must be overly congested, or something.

What at first seemed like a nifty alternative to run desktop heavy websites has not proven to be another hack limited by what iOS only allows.

Browsers vs. Apps

Apple’s argument, since iOS became its primary focus, is that apps are better than websites. Apps have their advantage. However, we are still living in a world where most apps concentrate on producing something for the handheld rather than a full-sized desktop screen. Perhaps that is what Apple is trying to encourage with the iPad Pro models. The first 12.9 iPad Pro was to introduce this idea to the world. They tried giving the 9.7 a pro version but must’ve realized at some point the screen was still not ideal for a push to pro feeling. Maybe they think the 10-inch pro model will address that?

The second step was iOS 11. An actual software push toward a desktop model with a touchscreen and apps being the focus. However, until more developers get on board to build a desktop version of their apps, those who are trying their best to live in a world of an iPad as their main computer, will continue to feel somewhat restrained.

Let’s see how this next year unfolds. Maybe everyone just needs more time?

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The iPad Chronicles: Betas

The iPad is a force.

The hardware is powerful and ready to compete. And the operating system in its current Beta setting is willing to help Apple’s year’s long argument: the iPad can be your only personal computer …

… if you’re not a web or app developer, video editor, photo editor, graphic artist, statistician who needs a powerful computer that can run powerful stats software, like desktop browsers that allow one to use plugins and add-ons, etc., etc., etc.

But there is so much more … so much left to be developed.

I bought the 12.9-inch pad because I decided if I wanted to be able to experience multiple apps on the same screen, I would need the screen space to help make it easier for me to view them. The 10.5-inch screen iPad is compelling. But when using multiple apps, each app is on this screen size defaults to the phone version instead of the iPad. I feel like the 10.5 iPad Pro would be a great accessory to a laptop. But if you are like myself and are trying to go fully absorbed in the iOS world, then the 10.5-inch iPad just won’t cut it.

However … yes .. However, some apps are not yet optimized for the 12.9 screen. Worse yet, these iPad apps, even those that are optimized for the full screen still don’t treat the iPad as an iPad Pro. So few apps have yet to utilize the potential of an iPad Pro. And very few have yet been updated to use the all the new possibilities now available in iOS 11 beta.

Well, that is what you get when you go Beta

When you take on the role of an early adopter, you also take the risk that everything will not be ready. You allow yourself to be the guinea pig. It kind of sucks. But I was fully aware what I was getting myself into when I finally took the plunge. I kept telling myself to wait.

Just wait …

… Just wait until iOS 11 is no longer in Beta. Just wait until more apps have been updated to optimize the new hardware and iOS 11. But as soon as my 2015 12” MacBook’s screen begans to flicker (yes I tried resetting the nvram, and I did a number of other things to try to troubleshoot) [^1]. I found was suddenly convincing myself that I would be better off getting the new iPad Pro NOW rather than upgrading to a 2017 MacBook Pro.

And honestly, I’m still not impressed with the new MacBook Pros. I have a feeling 2018 will be the year Apple will upgrade the MacBook Pro’s battery’s to be tethered like the 12” MacBook. The year Intel finally gets their shit together and makes chips worth upgrading to or the year Apple finally says, “Introducing the new MacBook Pro, now using an ARM chip. Check out that battery life …”

Nothing is Polished

Nothing is polished in Betas. But let’s be honest, in Apple’s history of OS releases, neither will be iOS 11 1.0. More often than not, the iOS OS is not polished until version 2.5 or version 3.0. And sometimes that is not until four months into the lifespan fo the OS. iOS 11 is slated to be released in October. So, that means not until around January or February will iOS be polished a mostly debugged. Sigh.

Stop Complaining

Complaining is my favorite thing to do after I get home from work. For almost nine hours a day, I can’t complain. I have to stay focused and try to find solutions to any problem thrown my way. Also I have to tell myself to not freak out. Over and over again.

But when I get home and sit behind my writing machine — my personal consumption machine — my drawing whatchamacallit — I get to complain ladies and gents. I probably shouldn’t. It’s not very stoic. But it’s good to vent from time to time. It can be cathartic.

Betas is as Betas Does

So far the only glaring issue I’ve ran into using the iPad Pro is not being able to use a fully flesh-out web browser. I find it somewhat confusing that Apple has not given the iPad’s version of the Safari browser the same power and function as their desktop version of Safari. But I am goin to focus a whole blog on that on a later date.

The iPad Pro has so much unlocked potential. Maybe in another year will more developers begin to update their apps to have pro versions? Or maybe some of them are doing just that and have yet to release them?

Regardless, the 2017 iPad Pro has a beautiful screen. My eyes have yet to feel the strain I usually get when staring at a MacBook or my work’s desktop monitor.

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.

[^1]: Incidentally. I did end up fixing my 2015 12-inch MacBook. I had to reset the entire machine like brand new. After going through all those loopholes just to fix the screen. And mind you, had I took it into the Apple store, the cost to repair it would have been almost as much as the cost to buy a new laptop. Anyway, I am going to give my MacBook to a family member who needs a new laptop and can’t afford one right now.

To Not Dunkirk

Or how I saw only half of a movie during a typical Saturday cinema escapade.

Yesterday my wife and I made an attempt to see ’s new supposed masterpiece, Dunkirk. We were both mildly excited while not one hundred percent sure what the film would be about. We knew the film was a World War II film. We knew it was about the British. We knew it involved some kind of rescue. But I’m not as familiar as I probably should of the tale of Dunkirk. Which is saying something about my attention span.

I studied History in college. I took a few World War II classes. But, Dunkirk? … Dunkirk? .. doesn’t ring a bell.

I have the kind of personality where I tend to research everything. So, I did my research on the film. I avoided reading film reviews, other than the headlines. It was hard to miss the critics’ positive analysis. I even discovered, according to my research, 70% of the movie was filmed in the IMAX format. I, therefore, convinced myself and my wife that the only way to see this film as Christopher Nolan would have preferred is in an IMAX theatre. In IMAX seats. At IMAX prices.

The last two times I went to see an IMAX were unlucky affairs.

Never Go Full IMAX

 

When Interstellar was out, I went to the Air & Space museum’s IMAX theatre with a friend and a friend of a friend. This IMAX theatre has open seats. But we were able to get seats before the film sold out. The seats we ended up sitting were in the very front row. I saw every crevasse of ’s face. Every flared nose hair. It was more intimate than what I would ever have wanted. I and my sore neck were just not ready for that kind fo commitment with Mr. “Alright! Alright!”

The second time, my wife and I tried to see another film, which name escapes me at the moment. And I’m not going to try to remember it. But by the time we arrived the show was sold out.

Dunkirk in IMAX

This time I was ready. I preordered our tickets. The IMAX theatre we went to had assigned seating. So I was able to ensure we had goods seats regardless when we arrived. The theatre in question was an AMC theatre in Alexandria, VA.

This being a Saturday, and it being the only thing we were going to do today, we decided to make a date out of it. We parked our car in the parking garage and arrived almost two hours before the film started. We grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant and then made our way over with thirty minutes to spare.

Now every movie theatre I have attended in the past (at least in the last ten years) has made it a practice to start previews at the time when the film is often advertised to start. An 8:00 film would show ten minutes worth of previews and advertisement before starting the film around ten after eight. We, believing this was also standard at AMC, were not too concerned when we got in line for popcorn and coke, twenty minutes before the show started.

This line, a very organized line with rope and poles, took twenty minutes to get through. The staff behind the concession stand seemed way too relaxed to be serving anxious theatre goers like myself. I wanted to pull them each aside and yell at them to show a little more respect to this paying patron. As we move through the line at the speed of molasses, I grew more and more concerned.

“This will not do,” I told myself. I started pulling my phone every time a minute passed us by. Every fleeting second when instead of hearing “Next” I instead saw the sands of time mock me with every change it had.

My wife, feeling somewhat frustrated with my annoyance with the speed of the line, suggested I go take my seat. She would get the popcorn and soda. I, however, refused to leave her side. I am after all a man of who stands by his woman … as long as she says it’s okay.

By the time we made it through the line and purchased our popcorn and soda it was the exact minute, the film was supposed to start. In my head, I was like, “Well, we just made it.” But as we walked in the theatre, instead of walking in the middle of previews already playing, the film was already playing. And by my estimate it had been going for a good solid fifteen minutes.

Dumbfounded I took my seat. My wife ate her popcorn and shrugged.

Not on my watch!

It appeared we were in the middle of a battle scene. Fighter planes were flying. I didn’t know what to do? I am not the kind of person who sits through a movie that has already started. I don’t even like missing the previews. I am a bit of a traditionalist. I have to see from the beginning to end. And a Christopher Nolan demands one see it from the beginning to end. This isn’t a Keven Hart comedy. Or a romantic comedy where one can kind of figure out where they are. This is mother fucking Christopher Nolan.

I walked out to file my complaint with management. To the credit of management, they responded quickly. But as I wait for the manager to confirm when the film started versus the advertised start time, the time had already passed. I realized they weren’t going to restart the movie on my behalf. If anything, they would give me a refund. But my wife told me I needed to get back in the theatre and just deal with it. She argued we could complain afterward.

This is how much I love my wife. I went back to the theatre and sat through the rest of the film. But I just could not enjoy it. I was fucking lost. I felt the whole experience was ruined. By the time the film ended, I was not a happy camper.

We marched to the Guest Services station and filed an official complaint. Another couple, who had experienced the same folly as us, confirmed the error. As a result, they refunded our tickets and offered our two free tickets to use at a future time. I felt that was more than fair.

It is a good film. But I’m not going to say definitively as such until I had another chance to see the movie again. From beginning to end.

And so, in closing, these are my first world problems.

The iPad Chronicles: Part 1

This is the beginning of a series of related articles where I document my journey making the 2017 iPad Pro 12.9 in model as my main computer. This is no doubt, inspired by the Macstories article written by Federico Viticci.

Part One: Inception

I am writing this article on my new iPad Pro 2017 with the maximum amount of storage (512 GB). The total price of this purchase, including the Apple Smart Keyboard, cost more than a cheap Windows laptop. It’s almost the same price as Apple’s base MacBook model. Why didn’t I just get instead of this … thing?

Well for one, I have been living with a MacBook, of the twelve-inch variety, for the better of two years. Granted, the 2017 version of the MacBook is much more powerful and capable, and more storage options, than what was available in 2015. But sometimes I do enjoy torturing myself.

Reading the Reviews

After the new iPad Pro was officially released, I read and watch every review I could. I learned something during my research. A lot of the reviews were redundant. They focused on the same specs, they mentioned the benchmarks which showed the new iPad Pros were indeed capable of desktop performance, but none of them went in-depth. No one took the time to write a genuinely thorough piece on the iPad. The only ones doing that were Federico Viticci on MacStories.net and amateur reviewers on Reddit and online forums. Sad!

But Viticci usually waits a year to write his opus reviews. And of course, why not? They are probably the most detailed reviews available on the internet. And he waits until he has tried everything and exhausted every possibility before writing about it.

My Approach

What I shall do here is write as I experiment. I know I am not the only one doing this. But at least I can share my journey on the internet. And maybe you won’t make the same mistake I make. And maybe one of you can give me advise when I run into a roadblock.

About Me

A am a writer. Though it has been a long time since I’ve written anything of significance. Several years ago I self-published a novel. My first attempt into the world of writing. Though I haven’t written anything substantial in a very long time, I have recently found the motivation to pick myself back up again. To plow through that nasty voice in my head that says, “It’s too hard!” Or “You’re not a writer” or, “Real writers write every day.” Well, I would love to write every day (and maybe one day I will), but writing is a personal journey. Just like life we each have unique steps to take that are especially us. This is me. This is you.

Let’s take a crack at the iPad Pro journey together.

The iPad Chronicles [Introduction]

This is the beginning of a series of related articles where I document my journey making the 2017 iPad Pro 12.9 in model as my main computer. This is no doubt, inspired by the Macstories article written by Federico Viticci.

Part One: Introduction

Ever since reading about Apple’s 2017 WWDC and watching the highlight videos, for the first time in my life, I started thinking about transitioning my computer workflow from a MacBook to an iPad. The opportunity to try to experiment seemed silly to me until I saw what Apple was planning for the upgrade to their iPhone and iPad operating system: iOS 11.

The ability to add multitasking to the iPad via a touch-focused interface sparked my curiosity. I am somewhat of a tech-junkie. I enjoy trying out new technology for the sake of experimentation. I will admit experimenting can sometimes hinder me from getting stuff done. And sometimes I’ll waste an entire weekend trying to learn how to use some new productivity tool. Copy over all of my notes to a new note-taking platform, etc.

This leaves me with an abundant amount of useless knowledge that only comes handy on those rare occasions when someone needs help with something. Then I have to make sure I steer that fine line between teaching and over-explanation. Do you get me? I know you do.

My current job situation has provided me with a MacBook Pro. Not the latest and greatest model, but I MacBook Pro, nonetheless. I was planning to upgrade from my MacBook 2015 12 inch to one of the 2017 MacBook Pro models. But since my work has aloud me to use one of their MacBooks during my employment, and since the MacBook I currently own has already been prepared to be given to a family member of mine (My father told me a few weeks ago he needed a new laptop, so this seem like the best solution.), I decided I needed something I could use but truly personal: an iPad Pro.

MacBooks have long been considered Apple’s first attempt at creating a story for consumers. A personal account and personal identification with a laptop. Granted, it has blown-up into a status symbol in some circles. And I can’t count how many times I’ve seen only MacBooks at Starbucks. But I digress.

Apple has long argued that iOS is the full expression of the future of personal computing and personalization with an electronic device. What, in this day in age, is more personal than a smart phone? Perhaps a tablet?

There are some limitations still present with iOS. Even with the additions coming in iOS 11 this fall, it is still not capable of multi-tasking. And the browsers available to iPad are all mobile focused. Which can reduce the web opportunities one would have available to them in a complete iOS environment.

These challenges, along with the opportunity to experiment, are what I will try to address from this day forward. I will document my trials and tribulations with the iPad Pro in these: iPad Chronicles.