Adventures In iPadding

Closest I'll get to the beach this week...

I recently replaced my home computer with an iPad. I can assure you that I’m as shocked about it as you are. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a home laptop, and was severely skeptical about this idea when I first started playing with it a couple of months ago.

What could have possessed me with such a lunatic notion?

This all started when I recognized two facts:

1. The screen on my home machine (a MacBook Pro 13) was slightly icky. There’s a fairly well documented issue with the anti-reflective coating on them, but it didn’t actually affect me until after the warranty period expired. Beyond that, as I mentioned, it’s only slightly icky. The machine is completely usable, and in most cases I don’t notice anything about the screen at all. However, every now and then when I’m watching a YouTube video or sitting at just the right angle with a light behind me, I’d see little splotches of imperfection in the upper left corner or lower right of the display.
2. The things for which I actually used my home computer could all (theoretically) be done on an iPad. I’ve mentioned YouTube already, and there’s an app for that. Social media? Apps for those too. Internet browsing? Yup, apps exist. Writing and note taking? Again, apps. In fact, Scrivener (my go-to writing software) has a very well put together mobile app.

Even so, I was hesitant. It’s not like I needed a new home machine. I’ve already admitted that the current MBP13 was fine-ish — certainly fully functional. More machine than I needed, actually, as I’d moved to doing personal project programming on my work* machine.

Work* machine: a new machine for which the company paid half and I paid half but I actually own. That deal actually worked out really well for me.

Then, two other things happened.

1. I watched PubDraw and subsequently decided to pick up drawing as a new hobby. The intent was to draw on paper (and still is, to a large degree). But... if I had an iPad, I could draw using the Apple Pencil and stuff! It was an option, at least, that wasn’t surfaced in any meaningful way on my home computer.
2. Gabriel’s computer went kaput. Not just a little kaput, either. The SSD can’t be mounted, which most likely means that either there’s a legitimate hard drive failure or a motherboard issue. Either one is going to be pretty pricey to fix, and Gabriel uses his computer quite a bit for school stuff. Having to wait for a repair wouldn’t be the end of the world, but having a replacement computer ready to go would be better, if possible.

The decision was made: I would get an iPad.

So what’s it like?

I wound up getting an iPad Pro 11 with 256GB of storage and WiFi only. When I got it, it was priced at just over $900. I also got the Apple Pencil, but I did NOT get the default iPad keyboard. For one thing, it’s expensive (almost $200). For another, it wasn’t available when I placed my order. Instead, I got an IVSO keyboard, which has been really good so far. It’s backlit (although that drains its battery pretty quickly), and the keyboard itself has well-made keys that provide satisfying but not overly annoying clicks. It has a place to store the pencil and allows for recharging it without having to take the case off. And it provides a little protection as a folio, although I wouldn’t suggest throwing it on the ground to test the durability.

The Goods

Apps for everything!

As previously mentioned, there’s an app for everything I’ve wanted and needed to do. I’m most pleasantly surprised by the Microsoft Office apps. Outlook wasn’t a big surprise, as I’ve used it on my iPhone for several years now. Excel, on the other hand, is just fantastic. It works exactly as you expect it to. Word is also pretty good, although not perfect.

Good experience doing my normal things

In the first week of hard usage, I put the iPad through the paces as well as I could. The biggest test for me was Transformers Night, where I participate in a tabletop role-playing game set in the Transformers universe (from the old cartoon show, not the recent crap). The main apps I use are Evernote, Excel, and Chrome. All of that worked really well, although the Evernote app, just like most iOS apps, takes some getting used to. 

I also used Scrivener pretty extensively in preparation for our D&D game (yes, I’m involved in more than one tabletop role-playing game. You want in on this action?). The app itself is full featured and fantastic, although I missed the ability to get between two docs in different parts of the tree with a single click.

Drawing!

I’ve already mentioned this a little, but drawing on the iPad is actually quite a lot of fun. Adobe has a free version of their Illustrator app (called Adobe Draw) that provides more than I can use right now. And before you ask: yes, I’m still terrible at it. That’s ok though. I’ll improve with research and practice.

The Apple Pencil is pretty fun as well. It works exactly as advertised, pairing seamlessly, responding to double-tapping, etc. The only critique I have of it is that it loses its charge pretty quickly. Luckily, it regains it even more quickly, so it hasn’t been an issue thus far.

Games

There are at least two games that I love that aren’t really playable on the iPhone but are nearly divine on the iPad: Terraria and Final Fantasy VII. Both are complete time-sinks and totally worth it. There are also a collection of OTHER games that I used to play on my old iPad that I’d forgotten about. Dang it, now I need to find more time for games...

Miscellany

Watching videos on the iPad is good in and of itself, but I was surprised at how often Tanya and I watch clips from Stephen Colbert or Seth Meyers in bed. Doing so on this as opposed to the iPhone is very satisfying, despite the higher required dexterity. Depending on usage, I only charge the iPad once or twice a week, which is a marked difference from the computer (which I left plugged in almost all the time for some reason).

The Bads

Accessing files on cloud storage

By default, the iPad doesn’t allow you to easily access any cloud storage device except iCloud. This is unfortunate, since most of our shared files are either on a Google drive or Dropbox. Installing both of those apps helps, but still doesn’t make it easy to maintain files stored in those media. Some apps are better than others with integration, which is a life-saver. Scrivener, for example, has a Dropbox-backed location built into the app.

I understand why Apple made this decision, but it’s pretty frustrating nonetheless.

Fonts and printing

You can’t just download and install fonts from the Internet on the iPad. This was a surprise to me, the fact that there’s no default (or at least, accessible) font manager. I found a free app that seems to do the job, but it’s not very straightforward. Even after downloading and installing the font, not every app (I’m looking at you, Google Docs) will let you access them.

Printing is also slightly challenging. The convention on the iPad takes some getting used to. You have to “share” whatever it is you want to print, and then navigate the Sharing dialog until you get to the printer selection. The good news is that lots of printers support AirPrint (including ours), so the main challenge really is finding the printer selection. And, as with so many things on iPad, how you get to that area is completely up to the app.

Copy/Paste

Most apps don’t support the notion of “Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V” for copying and pasting, which is taking quite a bit of getting used to. Some apps (I’m looking at you, Microsoft Office) have special icons for copying/pasting, which is something you have to be aware of. Most of the time, using the screen’s touch-centric copy/paste features works, but becoming adept at it will continue to be challenging for me, I suspect.

App Store

Let’s face it — the App Store is simply not as nice as being able to install something from a website or from the command line. And there are quite a few things that work perfectly well in the browser on a computer that don’t work very well in the browser on the iPad (I’m looking at you, Blogger). A lot of these things have iOS apps, but they also tend to cost money. Again, annoying, as my general rule has been: if you can’t get it for free on iOS, it might not be worth getting. And yes, I know this is a ridiculous rule, and I don't even follow it, but for some reason still find myself hesitating to shell out $0.99 for an app that I will use daily for the rest of my life... I'm weird.

Verdict

Despite the Bads list above, as of this writing, I have to rate my experience with the iPad quite highly. I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything irreplaceable during the switchover. Gabriel inherited a machine that will hopefully last him a while and that he’ll leverage more heavily than I was. I spent a fair chunk of money, but not as much as I would have for an equivalent MacBook Air. I'm genuinely enjoying messing around on the iPad, and am very glad I got it!

Your Random May Vary: Addendum

My coworker and good friend Tim has provided a bunch of good information in response to my last post. I'm posting it here (mostly) unedited, because it sheds light on the underlying principles.

"sir, you have posted something false to the internet and it is my duty to berate you for it!

combining multiple random numbers is not the same thing as choosing a random number between bigger values.

it flys in the face of one of the most beautiful underlying principles of statistics (possibly the only beautiful thing about statistics):

If you add together many random numbers, you get a NORMAL DISTRIBUTION!
Isn't that interesting... I wonder why the normal distribution pops up so often? Oh that's right because this sort of thing happens all the time. Think about it for a bit; if you flip a coin 6 times, what is the probability of getting all heads? Is it the same as rolling a 6? Nope... you have a might higher probability of getting 3 heads than getting 6 heads. You might not notice it much for six goes, but if you flip a coint 18 times, you are very unlikely to get 18 in a row. It's because the distribution of outcomes is very different, not because one is more or less random than the other.

d&d is built on this principle; creating pseudo normalized random distributions by combining dice rolls.

If you want a better explination of this (and the 3 principles of statistics) I highly recommend reading the short chapter on statistic from "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses" -- Jesse Schell. You can get it from the local library for free and the chapter is really concise and illuminating. The whole book is excellent actually."

Many thanks to Tim for the info!

Book Review: "The Heart of What Was Lost" by Tad Williams

It's been more than twenty years since I've been to Osten Ard, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel stepping back into the world that turned fantasy literature on its head for me. Up until that point, contemporary fantasy for me flowed from the wellsprings of people with names like Weis and Hickman, Feist, and Brooks. Then Tad Williams shoved me straight through a darkened doorway into a world that was darker, more menacing, grittier.

I discovered that I loved it. It resonated with a part of me that I didn't pay much attention to at that point -- the truly human part of me. It was the part of me that realized that things aren't as nice and neat and crisply defined as would make the world an easy and understandable place to be. And for that reason, it felt more real to me than most other fantasy worlds in which I'd immersed myself.

Given all of that, I was slightly trepidatious about re-entering that world. Would I still feel the same? Would it bind me the way it had all those years ago?

Yes. Oh yes. A hundred times yes!

"The Heart of What Was Lost" is a short novel that serves as an epilogue to "To Green Angel Tower" and a prologue(?) to Tad Williams' series (in progress) "The Last King of Osten Ard." It tells the story of the disorganized retreat of the Norn to their northern stronghold and their pursuit by Rimmersmen forces under the command of Duke Isgrimnur. The Duke is accompanied by a Sithi, as enigmatic as ever, and in his ranks are two soldiers from the south that didn't expect to be there at all.

We're treated to three main viewpoints: Duke Isgrimnur, Porto (one of the southern soldiers), and Viyeki, a Norn Builder (similar to a civil engineer). I found the Norn viewpoint particularly compelling, as I was originally drawn to the enigmatic nature of the Sithi, and we are reminded about how closely related the Sithi and Norn really are via his story.

The book is remarkably thoughtful and considerate of the reader as well. I've always loved when an author has the ability to make art from both the story and wordsmithing. Tad Williams consistently does this, making it a pleasure to actually read the sentences as well as follow the story. Secondly, he knows that it's been a long time since many readers have read "Of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn," so he's includes a short essay labeld "An Explanation" in the appendices and points the reader to it in the author's notes at the beginning of the book. The essay serves to warm you up and reintroduce you to some of the events and concepts from Osten Ard. I found this to be well crafted and immensely helpful.

Finally, I said it was short. I meant it. And yes, I'm as surprised as you are about that. The whole thing, including appendices is 210 pages. This is the shortest Tad Williams book I've read, by far. To be fair, I'm just getting into the Bobby Dollar books, but even those are 400 pagers in paperback. This book was just the right size for the start of the year.

Thank you, Tad, for letting us back into this world. I'm looking forward to at least one more long adventure there!

Book review: "Mistborn" (original trilogy) by Brandon Sanderson

This is actually a general review of the entire Mistborn original trilogy, as I've read them over the past several months with the boys and on my own.  We started reading them together in the car via Audible, but Garrett couldn't wait for Gabriel and I and finished listening to the entire series on his own before we'd even finished the first book as a group.  Eventually, Gabriel said he was going to pause listening to them, leaving me to finish them on my own.

I also have the paperback collection, shown here.  I finished the series by both reading and listening to them on Audible.

This review contains minor spoilers at the very least.  Read on at your own peril!

Encapsulate the plot of this book in one sentence.

A group of thieves plot to overthrow the rule of an immortal emperor/god, deal with the repercussions of all actions to that end, and discover the full history, responsibilities, and sources of the mystical powers that both hold the world together and rip it asunder.

When and where did you get this book?

I originally got the first Mistborn book in November, 2014.  I subsequently bought the paperback trilogy set from Barnes and Noble in the summer of 2015.

What year or edition?

First editions, from audible.com and in paperback.

Did you finish it?

Yes, although it took me longer than expected... :-)

What's your verdict?

Fantastic series all around.  Brandon Sanderson is a really interesting world builder, and his magic systems are really well thought ought.  His characters are relatable, and this series features a really strong female lead.

The paperback versions have held up well under normal usage, although the paper and cover are a bit thin.  Considering the books are ~700 pages each, it doesn't seem like there's a lot that can be done about that.

The Audible series is narrated by Michael Kramer, who has become one of my favorite readers.  He found unique voices for the characters, and there are lots of them.  The only knock on him was that his voice for Elend (one of the main male characters) seemed to change between books 2 and 3.  There's quite a bit of character development between those two books, so it's certainly possible.  However, reading the words on the pages, I didn't make that change in my head.

Overall, both content and performance, 4.5 out of 5 stars!

What surprises did it hold, if any?

Without giving too much away, the first book had a really interesting and somewhat unexpected plot twist near the end.  That kind of thing continues to happen throughout the series, although never as dramatically as in the first book.

The other surprise has to do with the magic system.  You figure everything out about the races, the settings, etc, but a surprise about the magic system is revealed near the end of book 3 and is never resolved.  Apparently, Brandon Sanderson decided to play that one REALLY close to the vest... ;-)

Which scenes will stay with you?

There are lots of pretty memorable scenes.  The first time we see a mistwraith, the first ball, seeing the Lord Ruler (book 1), the assault on Cett and the attack on Luthadel (book 2), the rush to the end (book 3).  Describing these in any more detail would give more away than I want to.

Which characters will stay with you?

Vin, Vin, Vin, and Vin.  She's astounding.  Powerful, tough, vulnerable, delicate, complex, blunt -- like I said earlier, a fantastic lead.

Elend and Sazed to lesser extents, and Kelsier (of course).  Spook and Breeze as well.  And I suspect I'll think of TenSoon every time I see a big black wolf-ish canine for the near future at least.

What genre would you say it is?

Fantasy all the way.

Have you read anything else by this author?

Yes!  The first two of The Stormlight Archive and The Rithmatist. I've also got Elantris and Warbreaker on the shelf.  (and maybe Steelheart?  I'll have to check...)

Is it available today?

Yes, and you should go get it and read it, especially if you like fantasy.