Apple Vision Pro Demo Freedom

[Night Spring]

So the problem is, there are some skill sets you need to learn first to go off and explore. It’s a brand new paradigm. And the sales staff are trying to show as much as possible in a very very short time. Cut and paste takes time to train your eyes to not wander and your fingers to be precise, its not hard once you do, but you probably wont get it during a demo.

What if I tell them that cut and paste is the only thing I want to do, I don't need to see anything else?

 

[G5isAlive]

What if I tell them that cut and paste is the only thing I want to do, I don't need to see anything else?

Only one way to find out, but the poor person who has the job has been trained to do the demo one way. And who knows how many actual hours he has logged on the device? I have now lost count of how many hours I have logged, but it’s over 25 and I’m still learning. But most people coming to it wanting just one thing usually walk away disappointed. The AVP really is about the totality of the experience, the sum is greater than the parts. Not sure your use case that has you obsessed on cut and paste, but I’ve found that’s in ranking the experience from easiest to hardest for me, because of the precision involved, it’s computer is easiest, than iPad, than iPhone , then AVP. And a keyboard helps with APV.

 

[Night Spring]

Only one way to find out, but the poor person who has the job has been trained to do the demo one way. And who knows how many actual hours he has logged on the device? I have now lost count of how many hours I have logged, but it’s over 25 and I’m still learning. But most people coming to it wanting just one thing usually walk away disappointed. The AVP really is about the totality of the experience, the sum is greater than the parts. Not sure your use case that has you obsessed on cut and paste, but I’ve found that’s in ranking the experience from easiest to hardest for me, because of the precision involved, it’s computer is easiest, than iPad, than iPhone , then AVP. And a keyboard helps with APV.

I know I'll be terrorizing the poor person conducting the demo, but I've done that before -- I believe, when I'm the customer considering paying money, I have the right to know the information I need to make my purchasing decision.

And I guess I'm obsessing over cut and paste because I've come to realize that for me, that's the main thing I want to do with the VP. Open 2-3 documents at once, and copy and paste among them. Right now, that's the most frustrating thing I have with my iPad, that I can only see one document at once. Split screen on the iPad makes the document window too small. Even on the Mac, I often run out of space to place all the windows (I don't have space on my desk for a 2nd monitor), and as I've mentioned before, perhaps in other threads, I can't sit comfortably at a desk for long periods of time.

So the more I read about people's experiences with the VP, the more I'm becoming convinced that the wow aspect of the experience is less important than whether it can make my workflow easier. I don't need to try the 3D videos to know they're something special, reviews and accounts by VP users are enough to let me know they're great, and I don't need to do anything to enjoy them. Just put on a VP, sit back and enjoy.

But whether I can cut and paste in VP easily enough to improve my productivity over the iPad is something I can only find out by doing. Other people being able to do it doesn't necessarily mean *I* can do it. I might feel it's so hard, I'd rather stick with my iPad. Or I might find that even though it's more cumbersome than on an iPad, it's still doable enough that the overall process of copy and paste among documents goes smoother than on my iPad. Only I can know whether it works for me.

 

[G5isAlive]

I know I'll be terrorizing the poor person conducting the demo, but I've done that before -- I believe, when I'm the customer considering paying money, I have the right to know the information I need to make my purchasing decision.

And I guess I'm obsessing over cut and paste because I've come to realize that for me, that's the main thing I want to do with the VP. Open 2-3 documents at once, and copy and paste among them. Right now, that's the most frustrating thing I have with my iPad, that I can only see one document at once. Split screen on the iPad makes the document window too small. Even on the Mac, I often run out of space to place all the windows (I don't have space on my desk for a 2nd monitor), and as I've mentioned before, perhaps in other threads, I can't sit comfortably at a desk for long periods of time.

So the more I read about people's experiences with the VP, the more I'm becoming convinced that the wow aspect of the experience is less important than whether it can make my workflow easier. I don't need to try the 3D videos to know they're something special, reviews and accounts by VP users are enough to let me know they're great, and I don't need to do anything to enjoy them. Just put on a VP, sit back and enjoy.

But whether I can cut and paste in VP easily enough to improve my productivity over the iPad is something I can only find out by doing. Other people being able to do it doesn't necessarily mean *I* can do it. I might feel it's so hard, I'd rather stick with my iPad. Or I might find that even though it's more cumbersome than on an iPad, it's still doable enough that the overall process of copy and paste among documents goes smoother than on my iPad. Only I can know whether it works for me

Ah fair enough... I should be more pushy in stores lol.

And I didnt realize desks presented a problem for you, so now i get where you are coming from. I agree with you about the iPad and split screen. It’s not great for editing multiple windows. By the way, this really does work well with my MBA 15 M2… I have it in one window, with photoshop, and i am running safari natively on the AVP, as well as having photos in another window. So it is easy to run multiple windows using both your AVP and Mac.

But. What I do not know is what app you are planning to use to edit multiple docs. recall this is based on the iPad, so not all Apps allow you to open multiple windows at once and move from one to the other. Word does. But that will be specific.

and as for cutting and pasting text? It’s still like i said, for me, much easier on my Mac with a mouse, than the iPad, and AVP the less easy. It’s a matter of controlling that selection box. If you find that easy on an iPad, then maybe you will find it on the AVP. I just struggle with it Even on the iPad.

good luck!

 

[Ensyed]

I did one demo right after avp was released. Second time when I went to pick up the avp I insisted on doing things I was interested in. The sales person accommodated me. No issues.

I am enjoying my avp but will go back to try different light seals to see if it might improve the comfort factor.

 

[Night Spring]

What I do not know is what app you are planning to use to edit multiple docs. recall this is based on the iPad, so not all Apps allow you to open multiple windows at once and move from one to the other. Word does. But that will be specific.

and as for cutting and pasting text? It’s still like i said, for me, much easier on my Mac with a mouse, than the iPad, and AVP the less easy. It’s a matter of controlling that selection box. If you find that easy on an iPad, then maybe you will find it on the AVP. I just struggle with it Even on the iPad.

I mostly use Pages and Notes. Somebody already mentioned they're able to open multiple Pages documents. I also want to open multiple PDFs at once. If it is possible to open multiple epubs at once, I'd be in heaven, but I know that's very unlikely.

I find text selection on the iPad okay. Not the best experience, but better than juggling the iPad and a keyboard on my lap. Talking about iPad text selection, I've seen people saying if you pull a VP window close enough, you can interact with it by "touching" it. Could someone with a VP see if you can select text in a VP window by "touch"? Is that also possible in the Mac window? Thanks.

 

[roland.g]

I found my demo, and I'm assuming this is standard, to be quite woke. I'm not sure how many millions of colors the AVP 8k screens show, but their definitely was a predominant color and theme.

 

[Night Spring]

My Vision Pro Demo

I finally managed to go do a VP demo yesterday. It was an overall positive experience, despite the conclusion that as of now, the effort required for me to use the VP probably isn't worth it. I had fun interacting with the VP, even though it was difficult for me to control. Store staff was very accommodating, letting me take as much time as I needed, and leaving me alone to deal with the device at my own pace, only intervening when I asked for help.

-What I was hoping for from VP
Basically, what I want is a larger/multiple iPad. I currently use the larger size iPad Pro, and I often find myself wishing for a larger screen, and wishing I could see multiple apps full-size at once. The VP would let me have multiple floating iPads around me, and I'd be able to resize them as I want. This prospect was very enticing.

My main focus in going into this demo was to see if I could copy and paste among multiple apps, as that was the main advantage I conceptualized the VP might provide over the iPad. I explained this to the store person conducting the demo, and he was totally agreeable and accommodating about letting me do my own thing instead of following the demo script.

-My physical issues with VP
I have difficulty controlling my head movements. And my left and right eye sight is very different from each other. I was concerned this might lead to dizziness when wearing the VP, but that didn't happen, at least while I was sitting down during my demo.

What did turn out to be a problem is the eye tracking. My head moved too much for the system to calibrate the eye tracking. When I got the circle of dots, and tried to look and select them, it was very difficult to establish focus on each dot. I eventually managed to look and click on all dots, but then the system would say something like "calibration failed/incomplete."

Apple, to their credit, did provide alternate input methods. But by the time we concluded I needed to use an alternate method, I was getting tired, and so we only tried one alternate method, control with index finger. It just barely worked. Selecting was done with a dot that I moved with my index finger, but I wasn't exactly sure how to click. I *think* I made a tapping motion with my finger, but my memory is a bit hazy on this point.

Anyway, I accidentally opened a help window, which I grabbed and moved close enough to "touch," selected text by touch, copied, then managed to open Notes, and after a few tries, managed to paste the text. Yay!

Ideally, I would try the other input methods to see if any worked better for me. What I'd like is to be able to use the regular eye tracking method even if the calibration isn't quite perfect. The store person helping me did consult with another store person, but they didn't seem to know if there was a way to bypass the initial calibration.

In any case, the upshot is that unlike multitouch, which I can use with no adaptation needed, I would need a lot of adaptation and acclimation to use the VP.

Visually, I had no problems with the VP experience. I had my prescription glasses scanned, and they brought out the VP with lens inserts, and once I put on the VP and turned it on, the view looked exactly like it normally does when I have my glasses on. I didn't have any problems reading text in the eye calibration instructions or in the help window I ended up opening.

It's hard to tell from my limited demo experience whether I'll enjoy reading text on the VP over reading on the iPad. I didn't experience anything that would suggest that reading on the VP would be worse than on the iPad. Conceptually speaking, advantage of VP should be resizing and positioning windows where I want, and disadvantage could be fatigue from having the device on my face. But I was struggling too much with basic interface control to evaluate any such factors.

I'd need to buy a VP, bring it home, and spend considerable time with it to find out whether I can master the interface. And since there are a lot of first gen kinks that need to be worked out, both in hardware and software, many of which have been discussed in other threads in this forum, I'll wait out until at least the 2nd gen before investing that kind of time and effort.

I'm afraid my demo experience didn't give me much of a feel for whether the VP will succeed as a product. My challenges with the interface are so idiosyncratic, I don't have a feel for how an average user would feel about the VP. My theories about how the VP could be used to enhance productivity remain theories. I didn't see anything to change my basic view that VP and other similar headsets will remain niche unless they start being used for productivity tasks rather than mostly for entertainment. But then I didn't view any videos or photos with the VP. And I think gaming would be splendid in these headsets -- being transported immersively to another world is what gaming is all about. But I'm not spending thousands of dollars on a device that just played games / showed 3D videos. And so far, VR devices like Meta Quest have concentrated mainly on entertainment. Apple is the first major company I'm aware of that is emphasizing productivity uses for a computing headset. I'm looking forward to see how this product develops. But for now it'll be from the sidelines.

 

[G5isAlive]

My Vision Pro Demo

I finally managed to go do a VP demo yesterday. It was an overall positive experience, despite the conclusion that as of now, the effort required for me to use the VP probably isn't worth it. I had fun interacting with the VP, even though it was difficult for me to control. Store staff was very accommodating, letting me take as much time as I needed, and leaving me alone to deal with the device at my own pace, only intervening when I asked for help.

-What I was hoping for from VP
Basically, what I want is a larger/multiple iPad. I currently use the larger size iPad Pro, and I often find myself wishing for a larger screen, and wishing I could see multiple apps full-size at once. The VP would let me have multiple floating iPads around me, and I'd be able to resize them as I want. This prospect was very enticing.

My main focus in going into this demo was to see if I could copy and paste among multiple apps, as that was the main advantage I conceptualized the VP might provide over the iPad. I explained this to the store person conducting the demo, and he was totally agreeable and accommodating about letting me do my own thing instead of following the demo script.

-My physical issues with VP
I have difficulty controlling my head movements. And my left and right eye sight is very different from each other. I was concerned this might lead to dizziness when wearing the VP, but that didn't happen, at least while I was sitting down during my demo.

What did turn out to be a problem is the eye tracking. My head moved too much for the system to calibrate the eye tracking. When I got the circle of dots, and tried to look and select them, it was very difficult to establish focus on each dot. I eventually managed to look and click on all dots, but then the system would say something like "calibration failed/incomplete."

Apple, to their credit, did provide alternate input methods. But by the time we concluded I needed to use an alternate method, I was getting tired, and so we only tried one alternate method, control with index finger. It just barely worked. Selecting was done with a dot that I moved with my index finger, but I wasn't exactly sure how to click. I *think* I made a tapping motion with my finger, but my memory is a bit hazy on this point.

Anyway, I accidentally opened a help window, which I grabbed and moved close enough to "touch," selected text by touch, copied, then managed to open Notes, and after a few tries, managed to paste the text. Yay!

Ideally, I would try the other input methods to see if any worked better for me. What I'd like is to be able to use the regular eye tracking method even if the calibration isn't quite perfect. The store person helping me did consult with another store person, but they didn't seem to know if there was a way to bypass the initial calibration.

In any case, the upshot is that unlike multitouch, which I can use with no adaptation needed, I would need a lot of adaptation and acclimation to use the VP.

Visually, I had no problems with the VP experience. I had my prescription glasses scanned, and they brought out the VP with lens inserts, and once I put on the VP and turned it on, the view looked exactly like it normally does when I have my glasses on. I didn't have any problems reading text in the eye calibration instructions or in the help window I ended up opening.

It's hard to tell from my limited demo experience whether I'll enjoy reading text on the VP over reading on the iPad. I didn't experience anything that would suggest that reading on the VP would be worse than on the iPad. Conceptually speaking, advantage of VP should be resizing and positioning windows where I want, and disadvantage could be fatigue from having the device on my face. But I was struggling too much with basic interface control to evaluate any such factors.

I'd need to buy a VP, bring it home, and spend considerable time with it to find out whether I can master the interface. And since there are a lot of first gen kinks that need to be worked out, both in hardware and software, many of which have been discussed in other threads in this forum, I'll wait out until at least the 2nd gen before investing that kind of time and effort.

I'm afraid my demo experience didn't give me much of a feel for whether the VP will succeed as a product. My challenges with the interface are so idiosyncratic, I don't have a feel for how an average user would feel about the VP. My theories about how the VP could be used to enhance productivity remain theories. I didn't see anything to change my basic view that VP and other similar headsets will remain niche unless they start being used for productivity tasks rather than mostly for entertainment. But then I didn't view any videos or photos with the VP. And I think gaming would be splendid in these headsets -- being transported immersively to another world is what gaming is all about. But I'm not spending thousands of dollars on a device that just played games / showed 3D videos. And so far, VR devices like Meta Quest have concentrated mainly on entertainment. Apple is the first major company I'm aware of that is emphasizing productivity uses for a computing headset. I'm looking forward to see how this product develops. But for now it'll be from the sidelines.

Okay that's what I call a comprehensive report! Thank you. I think Apple has a bit of a chicken and egg problem with that eye tracking calibration. I had problems with it too at first, taking me several attempts to pass. But that was before I had trained over several days of usage my eyes to be a bit more disciplined in their focus and wandering. It really takes a deliberate focus and hold that many of us just don't do very often. or at least I don't. Typically in life if I want to touch something I glance at it to confirm it is there, and then reach for it with my hands while my eyes are already moving to the next thing. This does NOT work with the APV. Ironically, for kicks and grins I did a reset and recalibrated after a week of usage, and I had no problem with it. So yeah, it helps to train your eyes to calibrate, but you cant do that until you have gotten past the calibration. chicken and egg.

I haven't tried the accessibility features so I cant help you there. One thing that could help if you decide to try again, is if you pull windows close enough to you, you can actually just reach out with your hands to 'touch' them. The tradeoff of course is if you want multiple windows around you, you have to move your head a lot to see them all because they are close.

It is very much a gen 1 device, so if you can wait, that's smart. And btw, yours is the first post I have read where someone successfully got an Apple associate to drop the demo script and let you do your thing. Good to know if you just have the right logic and the right associate common sense wins out.

 

[Night Spring]

Okay that's what I call a comprehensive report!

I started out writing an even longer account, lol. Then I went back and tried to write an intro, and ended up rewriting the whole thing. This version is much more compressed!

Thank you. I think Apple has a bit of a chicken and egg problem with that eye tracking calibration. I had problems with it too at first, taking me several attempts to pass. But that was before I had trained over several days of usage my eyes to be a bit more disciplined in their focus and wandering. It really takes a deliberate focus and hold that many of us just don't do very often. or at least I don't. Typically in life if I want to touch something I glance at it to confirm it is there, and then reach for it with my hands while my eyes are already moving to the next thing. This does NOT work with the APV. Ironically, for kicks and grins I did a reset and recalibrated after a week of usage, and I had no problem with it. So yeah, it helps to train your eyes to calibrate, but you cant do that until you have gotten past the calibration. chicken and egg.

After my demo, I went and read through the online user guide, and found this:

Use a pointer to navigate your Apple Vision Pro

You can use your eyes, head, wrist, or finger as a pointer with Apple Vision Pro.

support.apple.com

I think what we ended up doing was using this pointer control with my finger. But I think I should have tried pointer control with eyes. If that works the way I think it should, it would show a pointer dot that displays where the system thinks you are looking at. It might be useful to people who say the focus is off, like people saying they are having trouble clicking web links.

I haven't tried the accessibility features so I cant help you there. One thing that could help if you decide to try again, is if you pull windows close enough to you, you can actually just reach out with your hands to 'touch' them.

I did try that during my demo. It was fun! I was surprised that the window shrunk as I pulled it closer, but on reflection, it makes sense for it to do that. But controlling something by "touch" when there's no physical object to actually touch is difficult -- it's something we have to learn to do.

It is very much a gen 1 device, so if you can wait, that's smart. And btw, yours is the first post I have read where someone successfully got an Apple associate to drop the demo script and let you do your thing. Good to know if you just have the right logic and the right associate common sense wins out.

I did see some other people say they managed to talk the associates into deviating from the demo script, or just overrode them to do their own things. Can't remember which threads, though.

When I wrote that account, I was still tired from the experience, but now that I've got my energy level back to normal, I'm feeling like trying again. I'm sure the next gen will clear up some of the major problems, like a better head strap, maybe a better way to attach the light shield so it doesn't come off so easily, etc. And adding pointers during the eye calibration would go a long way toward solving the chicken-and-egg problem!

What apps/activities are you doing with the VP? I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but different people's accounts are all jumbled together in my mind, I'm afraid. I know the nay-sayers have been annoying, I reported one of the worse ones, and I see they got suspended.

I do get where the nay-sayers are coming from, though. Immediately after my demo, I felt like, "Is all the effort I'll need to spend to master this interface worth it? Aren't the devices we have now enough?" But now I'm typing this post on my iPad, feeling my shoulders cramp from bending down to see/touch the iPad, and thinking with the VP, I could do this without hunching down.

So I hope VP succeeds and improves, and hope it comes down in price!

 

[G5isAlive]

But controlling something by "touch" when there's no physical object to actually touch is difficult -- it's something we have to learn to do.

actually I found this very easy to do, but mostly I use it in games with large control buttons lol. I just poke at the 'screen' and drag. I also use it in iPhoto to select and manipulate photos. Semi useful for web browsing.

I'm sure the next gen will clear up some of the major problems, like a better head strap, maybe a better way to attach the light shield so it doesn't come off so easily, etc

I am not sure about the head strap, like it or not, it's clear they put a LOT of thought into it with the material, the way you tighten it, attach it, etc. So to them they think this represents the best idea. But maybe.

The light shield is definitely by choice and I dont see that changing. It seems to be part of their design language these days. I am thinking the magnetic ear cuffs for the AirPod max, how their iPhone covers had magnetic covers. What the light shield points to is that even though for us consumers its not likely we will change it often, so why not bolt it down, for corporate and school accounts they will likely open up multi user like they have for the iPad. Multi user, you need to easily change the customizable components. So thats my prediction, no change there.

What apps/activities are you doing with the VP? I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but different people's accounts are all jumbled together in my mind, I'm afraid. I know the nay-sayers have been annoying

Most of the time I am in Safari or Mail or iPhotos or Discord (a chat program) or Civilization (game), or Files (for importing my Sony camera pics) and occasionally in MS Word. I have watched a couple of 3D movies but thats not why I bought it. Oh, and yes, one guilty pleasure that I know the nay sayers will give me flack over, but I like Voyager. It's a real time aviation App that has 3D models of any airport I have been too (wont say all in the world but who knows) and you can 'watch' from any angle you want planes landing and taking off from that airport. Real flights. click on the plane and you get the details. I fly a lot so it's fun to see whats coming and going. and it gives me a new appreciation for how busy some airports are. Its really the closest I have come to one of those future scenes in Star Wars where they are looking at a holographic map lol

ForeFlight - Voyager

ForeFlight Voyager for Apple Vision Pro is your first-class ticket to airport exploration in the era of spatial computing!

www.foreflight.com

"Is all the effort I'll need to spend to master this interface worth it? Aren't the devices we have now enough?" But now I'm typing this post on my iPad, feeling my shoulders cramp from bending down to see/touch the iPad, and thinking with the VP, I could do this without hunching down.

I cant speak for the accessibility interface, but I would say it only took me a couple of days of screwing around with the above mentioned apps to where now the interface doesnt require thought. And I was enjoying the learning process, doing things, ,learning things, so it just didnt feel like a hardship. Surprisingly or not, it's the MR site that gives me the most problems, with those like buttons. it keeps trying to copy them lol. but then I have a problem with them on my iPad too. a pain to get the right icon you want. not that I would ever use the thumbs down icon lol

but yes, to your point regarding hunching down, thats why I dont often use my iPad with its attachable key board. With the AVP I lean back on the couch and relax. in front of me is small foldable tv tray for my keyboard. its much more comfortable, no hunching, but I am a pretty good touch typist and dont have to look at the keyboard. YMMV.

but sure, the devices we have now ARE enough...mine is definitely a WANT not a need, but arguably so are my iPads. All I really need is my phone and laptop. Though there are some that will tell me I dont need those either lol.

but, I have earned the right to have a few things I want if the make my life more enjoyable. and the AVP does.

 

[Night Spring]

I am not sure about the head strap, like it or not, it's clear they put a LOT of thought into it with the material, the way you tighten it, attach it, etc. So to them they think this represents the best idea. But maybe.

I like the solo strap as far as that goes, and agree that they spent a lot of time designing that, and it shows. I just want another strap like that to go across the top of the head. Have you seen the threads/posts about people buying a second solo strap and hacking a connector to attach it across the top?

And you are probably right about the light shield connection, especially with regards to enterprise/school use.

The Flight Voyager app sounds like something I'd enjoy too. I'll be sure to check it out if I ever get a VP, thanks for telling me about it.

As for keyboard, I saw a YouTube video where a guy took the display off a MacBook and used that with a VP. Search for "headless Mac Vision Pro" and you'll probably find it. I don't want to take apart a MacBook, but I think there are keyboard/trackpad trays that hold them in that configuration. That might be good for me if I can control the VP pointer with a trackpad.

And you are right that none of this is anything we need, including even desktops and iPhones. When I was in high school, we wrote drafts of school papers by hand, and took turns typing the final drafts on the school typewriters. I got to college, wrote my first paper on the school mainframe, and I got done a lot faster than I did writing in hand and then typing it up. My parents bought me a word processor in my Junior year, which come to think of it, probably cost around what the VP costs now. Did it actually improve my school work? Hard to say. Did I get work done faster? Yes. Did I use the extra time meaningfully? Er, probably not!

All these devices, it's about making life more enjoyable. And you know, despite all the problems I had with controlling the VP, it was enjoyable. Apple got that part right.

 

[G5isAlive]

I like the solo strap as far as that goes, and agree that they spent a lot of time designing that, and it shows. I just want another strap like that to go across the top of the head. Have you seen the threads/posts about people buying a second solo strap and hacking a connector to attach it across the top?

I have seen that... and if it becomes a problem for me I might look further in to it. But apple is the company that held on to the idea that any more than one button on a mouse was too complicated and I sorta understand that logic. Right now it's easy to put on and off the solo band, adjusting two of them in tandem? not sure.

As for keyboard, I saw a YouTube video where a guy took the display off a MacBook and used that with a VP. Search for "headless Mac Vision Pro" and you'll probably find it. I don't want to take apart a MacBook, but I think there are keyboard/trackpad trays that hold them in that configuration. That might be good for me if I can control the VP pointer with a trackpad.

That was Luke, I saw the video (I do my research), but it seemed to me he couldn't connect until he logged in on his amputated macbkook, and without a screen, it might be easy to screw up the log in process. But otherwise I thought it was cool.

When I was in high school, we wrote drafts of school papers by hand, and took turns typing the final drafts on the school typewriters.

We had a typewriter at home that I was not allowed to use until I learned to touch type, which back in those days, wasn't a thing. So Freshman year in HS I gave up half my lunch period to go to typing class for those with aspirations of being an admin assistant. Wasn't all bad, I was the only guy in a class of 30 girls. I learned to type but my WPM was always low because I kept getting distracted. the girl next to me would always have her tongue slightly sticking out when she was concentrating.

I got to college, wrote my first paper on the school mainframe, and I got done a lot faster than I did writing in hand and then typing it up.

You must be young.. my college mainframe ran off cards and paper tapes. there was no word processing then.

The Mac 128k was my first computer with word processing, and that I wrote my PhD thesis on it when I wasn't playing airborne. Yes I have always been an early adopter.

And you know, despite all the problems I had with controlling the VP, it was enjoyable. Apple got that part right.

I do recommend you consider trying it again now that you know more what to expect. Frankly I would have hated to try to learn how in such a public setting. Too many distractions, too many concerns about what some would think.

 

[Night Spring]

I have seen that... and if it becomes a problem for me I might look further in to it. But apple is the company that held on to the idea that any more than one button on a mouse was too complicated and I sorta understand that logic. Right now it's easy to put on and off the solo band, adjusting two of them in tandem? not sure.

Separate dials for the back and top straps. Should be easier to adjust than the Velcro on the current dual band. And I don't think adding a top strap would make it that much more complicated to take on and off. Apple could make the top strap removable for those who don't need it, or provide a solo and dual band like they are doing now.

We had a typewriter at home that I was not allowed to use until I learned to touch type, which back in those days, wasn't a thing. So Freshman year in HS I gave up half my lunch period to go to typing class for those with aspirations of being an admin assistant. Wasn't all bad, I was the only guy in a class of 30 girls. I learned to type but my WPM was always low because I kept getting distracted. the girl next to me would always have her tongue slightly sticking out when she was concentrating.

I went to an all-girls school. Our teachers told us it was an advantage to not have the whole boy-girl who's dating who thing to distract us. I did go coed for college, but somehow managed to avoid the dating distraction, lol.

You must be young.. my college mainframe ran off cards and paper tapes. there was no word processing then.

The Mac 128k was my first computer with word processing, and that I wrote my PhD thesis on it when I wasn't playing airborne. Yes I have always been an early adopter.

I'm not that young, but must be younger than you if you used cards and paper tapes. My college dorm had a computer lab with some of the earliest Macs, but I don't know any student who personally owned one. I accessed the mainframe from terminals in the lab, which I believe had monochrome monitors.

I do recommend you consider trying it again now that you know more what to expect. Frankly I would have hated to try to learn how in such a public setting. Too many distractions, too many concerns about what some would think.

A lifetime of navigating the world with physical disabilities makes me pretty thick-skinned, I suppose. And it helped that the store associate I got was very cool about it. But yes, there are too many distractions in a store setting. Ideally I'd buy one and try it at home, but I'll wait until the VP is at a state where I know I can keep it if I like it. Right now it's too pricy, and all the first gen problems need to be ironed out.