Ipad Mini

[Al Patterson]

Fred, Godfrey...thanks. So far nothing that I cannot do on my desktop has been show to be a strong point for a tablet (or a laptop).

Perhaps, Fred is right. I am just not in the market group that is the target of vaunted Apple. Or anyone else.

If I were on the move all the time, it may have some small advantage but that is a moot point. My son's family has three iPads....that I know of, including two for the granddaughters aged 4 and 7. I have no idea why.

As I look at the tablets, I see nothing yet that works for me. But, then, how many people are there that cannot leave the house to work😕? My old Dell computer will need replacing as it is working at the ragged edge, barely able to handle what I need everyday. Doesn't look like there is a cheap alternative in Apple products at this point.

I like the ability to move around with a laptop or tablet a plus. Sure, for heavy lifting and serious work, I will use the desktop. For browsing and other consumption, the smaller devices work quite well. And for the record, the laptop was purchased for my consulting gigs, and the NOOK Color was acquired using Amex award points, so it had a marginal cost of zero.

 

[Al Patterson]

fair enough. Forgot the elderly when making the statement. Actually the only time IPAD is useful is for old people, and I don't mean that as an offense , becase my grandfather uses an ipad too.

Some people think ipads are great for toddlers and little kids , I find that extremly wrong though.

Just today I was in a coffee shop that was running their POS system on an iPad, and the owner is under 30, and told me it was cheaper than the standard PC based POS solutions he considered prior to installing the iPad version.

Second edit. I forgot to mention that some airlines are replacing paper flight manuals in the cockpit with manuals on the iPad. Maybe that will cause all the planes to crash? Not!

 

[Al Patterson]

I will say the iPad POS system I saw today was pretty cool. People are doing real work with the iPad, and more will follow. You can get terminal emulators for all kinds or "real" computers on iPad. So, you could cold load or IPL your mainframe from a cabana at the beach in your swimsuit and flip flops if your company would go for it...

 

[Doug]

I ordered an iPad Mini, for delivery some time (short I hope) after 2 Nov. Mine will be the least expensive configuration, with no cellular connection, and 16Gb of storage. If I had an iPhone I probably would not have gone for the Mini, but I expect the iPad will be better suited to reading, looking at maps, researching nearby attractions while traveling, etc. From a WiFi hotspot of course.

I got an email from Apple on Friday advertising the new iPad Mini, and maybe there were subliminal messages or something because by late that night I was hitting the "check out" button at the online Apple Store.

Looking forward to meeting Siri...

Edit: While browsing the AT&T Store last month it was interesting to see all salespeople were using their iPads to show customers different plan options etc...

 

[dave lackey]

Personally, I think the iPad mini makes a lot of sense. A great marketing move. I, too, like the Nook/Kindle- size devices.

Since I am immobile except for the occasional trips required for my documentary work, I don't need a mobile device but something small with twice the capability of my current desktop computer at an iPad 4 price would be perfect. A keyboard and a huge monitor connection are desirable.

Entertainment is of zero use for me.

Email on-the-go and online business while out of town is of very limited utility for me but would be nice a couple of times a year.

Small size for occasional portability, great performance, the ability to use the software I am used to (meaning PC, not Apple), and readability (meaning real photoshop and LR) are the hot buttons for me on my next computer purchase. I gave up on laptops years ago.

Perhaps there is nothing on the market yet that satisfies these requirements. 😕

 

[Godfrey]

Personally, I think the iPad mini makes a lot of sense. A great marketing move. I, too, like the Nook/Kindle- size devices.

Since I am immobile except for the occasional trips required for my documentary work, I don't need a mobile device but something small with twice the capability of my current desktop computer at an iPad 4 price would be perfect. A keyboard and a huge monitor connection are desirable.

Entertainment is of zero use for me.

Email on-the-go and online business while out of town is of very limited utility for me but would be nice a couple of times a year.

Small size for occasional portability, great performance, the ability to use the software I am used to (meaning PC, not Apple), and readability (meaning real photoshop and LR) are the hot buttons for me on my next computer purchase. I gave up on laptops years ago.

Perhaps there is nothing on the market yet that satisfies these requirements. 😕

I am confused by your requirements, but i think i see you saying you dont want a laptop and a tablet seems out of the question, yet you want occasional portability ...? I don't get it.

If you want a tiny, high powered desktop system, check out the Apple Mac mini for a desktop system. You can also install and have it boot up as a native Windows system. Under a thousand dollars with an i7 quad core, 8 G ram, 1T drive; use your existing display, USB keyboard and mouse.

 

[splitimageview]

Yes. Or even as low as $600. There are ways to get them without paying shipping or sales tax, too, so $600 is $600. 🙂

 

[Godfrey]

...
Edit: While browsing the AT&T Store last month it was interesting to see all salespeople were using their iPads to show customers different plan options etc...

You bring to mind the last visit by AT&T: I was having trouble with dropouts using my AT&T provided aDSL service. The service person arrived, hooked up to my lines with an HP test apparatus. Then he whipped out an iPad ... This hooked up to the HP instrument with Bluetooth and analyzed the data it was collecting while simultaneously connecting up to the AT&T servers via cellular and collating the diagnostic data from the local switch my line connects to a couple of mles away.

That, integrated with my account diagnostic information, and my trouble reports over the past year, produced a set of graphics that led him to suspect the trouble was not in the internal wiring from access panel to my condo but in the external wiring from switch to condo. He set up a signal generator (another little HP device with Bluetooth) and went to the building access panel next.

From there he was able to control and test the internal wiring and vet that the internal wiring was not at fault. Connecting then back to the switch and running real time diagnostics using the HP device and the switch diagnostics remotely led to the faulty connection in the panel, which he corrected right then. Another end to end test followed, problem solved, and he input his service report and my billing (no cost since the issue was in their equipment and outside my condo).

All told, this complex effort took ten or fifteen minutes. I asked how he liked the iPad and said the new setup with it was a big improvement on trying to do this work with the older laptop system as he could do it all hand held, no need to find a place to put the computer down or juggle it on his knee, and the iPad ran the whole day withou needing to be recharged. It also provided his task communication back to the office, and navigation with maps from one job to the next.

But yeah, iPads are just toys to play games and watch videos with ... ];-)

... This message written on my iPad 2...

 

[dave lackey]

I am confused by your requirements, but i think i see you saying you dont want a laptop and a tablet seems out of the question, yet you want occasional portability ...? I don't get it.

If you want a tiny, high powered desktop system, check out the Apple Mac mini for a desktop system. You can also install and have it boot up as a native Windows system. Under a thousand dollars with an i7 quad core, 8 G ram, 1T drive; use your existing display, USB keyboard and mouse.

Sorry...I don't mean to be confusing. I am not a computer guy. I have always just used them as a CAD designer from day one, and, of course, in my photography and documentary work. Although unemployed, I still do a lot of personal business online.

I am PC based. Will the Mac mini work with LR? Photogshop CS2?

IIRC, all of my software would have to be repurchased for a MAC system. With all of our medical bills, that is financially impossible if I were to change from a PC.

These days, I am a 24/7 caregiver, we are home most of the time and I have no need for an everyday mobile device, let alone time or inclination for entertainment. However, this year we were able to spend time as guests with our family out-of-state and needed a portable device for online business for an extended stay. We did without.

My Dell is now 10 years old and has never had a problem. The Samsung 2232BW monitor is dying at 3 years old. It certainly appears that my computer system will be dead soon....I need a lot of RAM and huge storage but PC based because I can't afford all new software. What to do?

Maybe I am missing something. I don't think there is a "portable" device out there except a laptop that is capable of my requirments and yet it may be the only answer if the price is not too high.

I hope maybe the Microsoft Surface or another device may offer some of what I need in the future.

 

[splitimageview]

I’d recommend a Mini for your desktop, and an iPad. There will be lots of perfect used iPad 2 and 3 on the market soon, for reasonable prices. But I’d definitely go for the latest version of the Mac Mini, even the cheapest model is a powerhouse. You can run Windows on the Mac Mini. And this opens up the Mac world to you. Lightroom and CS2 have Mac versions of course, but you could just run Boot Camp (or Parallels or VM Ware) and use your existing PC software.

 

[dave lackey]

I’d recommend a Mini for your desktop, and an iPad. There will be lots of perfect used iPad 2 and 3 on the market soon, for reasonable prices. But I’d definitely go for the latest version of the Mac Mini, even the cheapest model is a powerhouse. You can run Windows on the Mac Mini. And this opens up the Mac world to you. Lightroom and CS2 have Mac versions of course, but you could just run Boot Camp (or Parallels or VM Ware) and use your existing PC software.

Hmmm... this is new information to me. Sounds like it may be a solution albeit a bit complicated to think through initially.

We have an apple store within 15 minutes of home so I could check it out easily enough. What seems to be the cheapest place to buy a mini?:angel:

 

[splitimageview]

They are all the same price, so it comes down to saving money on shipping and sales tax.

MacMall — free ship, no sales tax.

 

[Godfrey]

I am PC based. Will the Mac mini work with LR? Photogshop CS2?

IIRC, all of my software would have to be repurchased for a MAC system. With all of our medical bills, that is financially impossible if I were to change from a PC.

Yes to the question, and also as I wrote before you can install Windows on the Mac mini and use all your existing software.

...However, this year we were able to spend time as guests with our family out-of-state and needed a portable device for online business for an extended stay. We did without.

You could do that with any modern laptop in lieu of the old desktop (any of them are easily ten times as powerful as any ten yer old system!), either Apple or other, running a compatible version of Windows. Honestly, my "desktop" system for some years now has been an Apple laptop connected to a large desktop display to provide just that: my desktop needs with the occasional need for portability.

No tablet available now or in the near future will do what you are asking, particularly the point of running your existing software to save money. However, an Apple MacBook Air 11" laptop will run rings around your 10 years old system, work fine as a desktop system as described above, and cost between $750 and $1100 refurbished from Apple with full warranty. It's barely larger or heavier than an iPad 2 to carry, too.

 

[splitimageview]

They are all the same price, so it comes down to saving money on shipping and sales tax.

MacMall — free ship, no sales tax.

If you buy from them on ebay you’ll also collect 2% in ebay bucks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390487953853

 

[dave lackey]

Thanks guys! I love RFF...so much info from so many good folks.:angel:

Now, to sit down and think about a configuration that will work for my home office and occasional roadtrip needs. Maybe a Mac mini and an iPad mini will work. Spec'ing those will be a chore and hit or miss for me.

But first to find someone who can fix my flickering/dying Samsung 2232BW monitor.....😱

Then, what to sell to pay for this.

 

[splitimageview]

Luckily LCD monitors are super cheap now. 🙂

 

[Al Patterson]

Hmmm... this is new information to me. Sounds like it may be a solution albeit a bit complicated to think through initially.

We have an apple store within 15 minutes of home so I could check it out easily enough. What seems to be the cheapest place to buy a mini?:angel:

Dave, the best computer store is Frye's, and Atlanta has two of them. It would me about 2 hours to get to one as they are on the north side of the 285 loop...

I'm sure your travel time would be more reasonable.

Tiger Direct hasa showroom a bit farther out off of 85.

 

[dave lackey]

Dave, the best computer store is Frye's, and Atlanta has two of them. It would me about 2hours to get to one, but they are on the north side of the 285 loop...

Hey, thanks, Al! You are about 45 minutes from me and I look forward to buying you a cup of coffee soon if you have time.

I am wading into all of this as we post... looks like a workable situation but a trip to Frye's would be invaluable.

 

[Doug]

Dave, it may be worth observing here that the MacOS and the iOS are two completely different operating systems. Any software expected to run on an iPhone or iPad has to be built from the start to run on iOS. There is no iOS version of LR, yet.

It seems that pad computers in general have been primarily "consuming" devices, not "producing" ones, but there is some exchange of data, growing dedicated business use such as POS and industrial use like Godfrey mentioned. And I think there may be growing use for creating data as well as using it...

This seems to be where Microsoft is going with Windows 8 and the new Surface tablets. At this point for the iPad there is no Photoshop or MS Office suite, though Apple offers their iWork group of word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation apps.

Choosing an iPad with the smallest storage, I don't expect I will use my iPad for processing or storing digital photos in the field, as it seem ill-suited to me. I do this on a laptop though. OTOH, I see a nice potential for carrying a selected portfolio of finished digital pics on the iPad.

 

[Godfrey]

Doug, there are both Photoshop and MS Office compatible products available now on iPad. Lots of creation and authoring work going on..

Here's a sketch of "Horace the Magical Little Polar Bear" for a little book I'm working on, done in "Paper" by 53 on the iPad 2:

Additional storage space on the iPad runs $100 per added 16G or $200 per added 48G, it makes little sense to me not to get at least 32G. Mine is 64G, of which I normally use about 40% .. That leaves 32g free space to use for up to 1600 new JPEG+raw exposures if I'm traveling with the M9. That certainly useful enough for me... 🙂

The iPad's RAM constraints make it a less capable device for raw image processing, but there's a very good raw converter called PhotoRAW available for the odd moment when it's needed. While there's no LR on the iPad, there is PhotoSmith, which allows you to do review and IPTC annotation on the road and transfers directly into LR when you're back at your desk. (I believe there's a similar companion app for Aperture, and of course iPhoto is available on iOS now and transfers into iPhoto or Aperture on OS X directly.)

But the bottom line is that if you buy a non-expandable machine with a limited amount of storage, the likelihood is that you will run into the limitations of its storage sooner rather than later, and get less use out of it because of that. I've been amazed at how many things I do now with the iPad simply because I can and it's convenient to, and most of that is because I bought it with the full complement of capacity it could be had with from the start.