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Jacoblee23

macrumors 65816
Nov 10, 2011
1,474
717
As a Mac user interested in getting a windows device I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger. I lose everything that makes my Macs so great. iMessage, text messaging, etc etc. ugh.
 

bopajuice

Suspended
Mar 22, 2016
1,571
4,348
Dark side of the moon
I think “real computer” is just shorthand for a certain idea of basic UI paradigms that we are used to. More open computing system. Multiple resizable windows, a file system with complete control, the ability to download apps outside of an ecosystem, the ability to interface better with accessories. Pro level applications.

What we have with iPad is something different. It’s mostly casual. By far. These just aren’t devices people use for serious programming or video editing or other specialized works for obvious reasons. It’s just a casual device that has some cool uses that CAN be translated to professional work, but it’s definitely more difficult. You CAN edit word documents on it, but people that do it for a living on a large scale definitely won’t. You CAN edit video on it, but if you do it for a living your needs will definitely require more.

The problem with iPad is it’s got tons of processing power but we don’t see pro level apps on it we see Luma fusion, but not final cut or adobe or Sony Vegas. And even if we did, are we gonna edit on small screens the whole time? Why can’t I connect it to a large 27inch monitor, put it with a keyboard and have something akin to a mouse? The interfacing experience for pro level work doesn’t translate well if it’s purely touchscreen. So it’ll always be small time “editing my weekend at Disney world” videos on iPad unless you change the way you can use it. The touchscreen ONLY interface holds it back.

But anyway I’m just ranting. I’ve been watching this “is ipad a real computer” for almost a decade while using an iPad as my main computer and these conversations always go around in circles. It’s always.

“iPad isn’t a real computer for X reasons”

Then people chime in “but I use it for some of my own X reasons”

Ok then. So it’s good for some and not for others. That’s how it’ll always be. Personally? I think the very fact we argue over these differences mean the tablet form factor won’t last forever. We will transcend ANY form factor and have a “computing everywhere” approach. There will be a way to compute through augmented reality. Through windows (literal windows) through VR. Through table surfaces. 20 years from now we will look at tablets and laptops and wonder how we ever used computers that were fixed in a certain form factor

DEX is a great example of what you desribe.
 

Jacoblee23

macrumors 65816
Nov 10, 2011
1,474
717
Well, I finally decided to give the go a shot. I picked up a 8gb/128 today with the keyboard cover. I am not sure what all the complaining about the processor is all about so far. It is pretty darn snappy. If I do take it back it will be due to the keyboard feeling cramped when I type, but maybe that is something that I will get use to and make fewer mistakes. The keyboard itself is a dream to type on. Other than that, I am pretty in love with this machine. Still a mac fan overall though.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,398
5,257
I've been quite happy with Firefox for several years now... they made big speed improvements earlier this year too. You might want to check it out.

I recently checked it out and it's still horrendous for use on a touch screen, just abysmal. I like Firefox, I used it for years and years and honestly think it's much nicer than Chrome. But for touch screen use it really sucks. Chrome is just a little better, but still pretty crappy. I've been so incredibly spoiled by how great the Edge browser is on touchscreens I could never go back to any other browser.
 
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LeeW

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2017
4,223
9,180
Over here
I had a surface pro forced on me last year, base model. Highly recommend if you were thinking about getting one to buy a $150 windows tablet instead, you will get more mileage for the same performance.

Honestly if the cost of a MBP makes you feel bad just get a surface pro it will cure your Apple woes.

It was only good for media consumption and even then it was borderline. I mean for the price of a high end windows laptop it was just not worth it.

The thing I liked most was the keyboard it was really good, just attached to the wrong device.
 

convergent

macrumors 68040
May 6, 2008
3,034
3,082
I recently checked it out and it's still horrendous for use on a touch screen, just abysmal. I like Firefox, I used it for years and years and honestly think it's much nicer than Chrome. But for touch screen use it really sucks. Chrome is just a little better, but still pretty crappy. I've been so incredibly spoiled by how great the Edge browser is on touchscreens I could never go back to any other browser.

I usually use Edge when I'm keyboardless... but for me Firefox is the daily driver. It works fine on my Note 8 also.
 
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spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,398
5,257
I usually use Edge when I'm keyboardless... but for me Firefox is the daily driver. It works fine on my Note 8 also.

Yeah I prefer Chrome or Firefox in some cases where Edge doesn't work or isn't optimal, or doesn't have a particular addon. But I can't stand not having them synced as I add, delete and change bookmarks so often, and also have things like passwords and form information synced. But how nice would it be to have Chrome/Firefox actually be viable on a tablet? I know Firefox was working on a Metro browser back in the Win8.1 days, but they axed it and never came back to it. I can't imagine it would really be that hard for them to fix the issues with how slow and stuttery the pinch to zoom and scrolling are and add some gesture functionality, and maybe make some of the UI elements more touch friendly. For all the changes Edge has to make it touch friendly, it's still an excellent keyboard/mouse browser with no compromises.

Don't get me started on Chrome. I don't know why they make horrible UI decisions, like the complete lack of an easily accessible bookmarks section.

edit: Sure it works well on your N8, their mobile browser is good, but this isn't an option on windows.
 
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SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,426
4,632
Land of Smiles
Which version of the GO did you get? I haven't found any Windows apps that work less than optimal on my Go.

8GB/128GB Platinum KB

Just tried Kindle under Bluestacks dual page on my SB2 :)

2018-08-22.png
 
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SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,426
4,632
Land of Smiles
How has bluestacks advanced? I remember using it a couple of years ago on a SP3 and it was pretty crappy, just extremely slow and buggy. Have they improved it since then? Definitely had high hopes for this and would be very excited if it runs well.

I don't have any reference point to judge it with unfortunatly

It's a bit of a dog to load and I would assume it will completely consume the GO but I only have a few apps I need to run and more specifically one is a TV/Film streaming service so it's not like I would be jumping in and out and doing other things

I doubt you could leave it sitting in the background on the GO but otherwise the ability to cover some little gaps with a few android apps has an appeal

I was surprised the interface allowed trackpad or touch for somethings and accessing the playstore was easy. I can only assume it's main focus and advertising etc is game orientated it can't be that clunky but no doubt will have its oddities :D

I only tried kindle as someone was complaining about the MS app, bluestacks seems over kill to use the kindle app but if it's doable I suppose its a good thing but I assume will consume battery rapidly

The settings allowed you to specify memory, cores and screen res so maybe you can scale it back a bit and it will eat 2GB of SSD
 
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spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,398
5,257
I don't have any reference point to judge it with unfortunatly

It's a bit of a dog to load and I would assume it will completely consume the GO but I only have a few apps I need to run and more specifically one is a TV/Film streaming service so it's not like I would be jumping in and out and doing other things

I doubt you could leave it sitting in the background on the GO but otherwise the ability to cover some little gaps with a few android apps has an appeal

I was surprised the interface allowed trackpad or touch for somethings and accessing the playstore was easy. I can only assume it's main focus and advertising etc is game orientated it can't be that clunky but no doubt will have its oddities :D

I only tried kindle as someone was complaining about the MS app, bluestacks seems over kill to use the kindle app but if it's doable I suppose its a good thing but I assume will consume battery rapidly

The settings allowed you to specify memory, cores and screen res so maybe you can scale it back a bit and it will eat 2GB of SSD

Cool, I think I will give it a try again, it's always neat to experiment with and I don't have any Android devices at the moment. For Kindle, the PC desktop app is very decent, I use it all the time. It's not perfect, but it works well for a non UWP app. Kindle stopped updating their store app unfortunately, but they still update the desktop app. I don't know that I'd go to all the trouble and overhead of bluestacks just for kindle when the desktop app works well.
 
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SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,426
4,632
Land of Smiles
Cool, I think I will give it a try again, it's always neat to experiment with and I don't have any Android devices at the moment. For Kindle, the PC desktop app is very decent, I use it all the time. It's not perfect, but it works well for a non UWP app. Kindle stopped updating their store app unfortunately, but they still update the desktop app. I don't know that I'd go to all the trouble and overhead of bluestacks just for kindle when the desktop app works well.
It's just another string to the bow (GO) :)
 
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spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,398
5,257
Couldn't resist the Walmart sale and picked up an ipad mini 4. I thought VERY long and hard about the Go, and while it is a nice little machine, I just could not get past that huge achilles heel of crappy battery life. I still wouldn't mind having one to play around with, maybe when they are selling nice and cheap 2nd hand.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,495
11,155
Should've waited longer for it to become dirt cheap since iPad Mini line is rumored to be discontinued but no surprise that phablets are killing them. I've got an iPad Mini 2 here that collects dust since it's a limited toy even for media consumption and Safari doesn't render a lot sites correctly. Everything comes with a trade off, longer battery but limited toy or shorter battery life being able to run professional software.
 

SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,426
4,632
Land of Smiles
Couldn't resist the Walmart sale and picked up an ipad mini 4. I thought VERY long and hard about the Go, and while it is a nice little machine, I just could not get past that huge achilles heel of crappy battery life. I still wouldn't mind having one to play around with, maybe when they are selling nice and cheap 2nd hand.
I am sad for your loss :) I had such high hopes for you :D

Still waiting for my GO to be delivered :mad:
 

Michael Goff

Suspended
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,421
I’m thinking of eventually buying a big battery that the Go can hook into. Anyone know of a good one?
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,398
5,257
I’m thinking of eventually buying a big battery that the Go can hook into. Anyone know of a good one?

I think Anker had a nice usb-c power bank, got pretty good reviews although I can't recall the model. I'm really surprised that MS discontinued the battery/cover for the Pro, it would have been a good addition to the Go.
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I am sad for your loss :) I had such high hopes for you :D

Still waiting for my GO to be delivered :mad:

Yeah, I really thought I would prefer windows, putting aside the battery issue for a second. But on a small device it is nice to be free of windows. No more waiting 30 seconds for it to start up from hibernation, or having it suck up 1/2 of the battery while in my bag because sleep mode sucks in windows for power. I can definitely put up with that nonsense on the pro because it's a larger device and that's how I use it, but not on a smaller one. I already went that route with a MiPad2 which is currently being used for lullabies/white noise to put my baby to sleep.
 
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SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,426
4,632
Land of Smiles
Yeah, I really thought I would prefer windows, putting aside the battery issue for a second. But on a small device it is nice to be free of windows. No more waiting 30 seconds for it to start up from hibernation, or having it suck up 1/2 of the battery while in my bag because sleep mode sucks in windows for power. I can definitely put up with that nonsense on the pro because it's a larger device and that's how I use it, but not on a smaller one. I already went that route with a MiPad2 which is currently being used for lullabies/white noise to put my baby to sleep.

Well I will let you know what your missing as I just got my GO :)
 
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