I've been able to accomplish the "meander around, finding cool new places to work" thing pretty well with an 11" MB Air (and optional tethered iPhone).
It doesn't have the ridiculous battery life of an iPad, but other than that it essentially gives you the same portability without feeling like you're constraining yourself to a subpar development environment (I've tried doing serious web dev on an iPad, but the lack of a web inspector and the ability to remap caps lock as control are both dealbreakers for me).
Seconded. 11" MB Air feels just as portable as my iPad. That said, the author seems to be getting positive effects from using exclusively remote tools...
Like you, I see draw backs. I don't want to use vim as my primary editor, and I hate that I can't have tabs loading in the background in the web browser, or can't be on Skype while doing something else...
When you can get an 11" MB AIR for $1000, using an iPad in this way feels "forced". I like his thoughts on Win 8 Surface tablet, though: side-by-side apps, better integrated keyboard, likely better multitasking (or at least a simpler way of switching between apps....
This is essentially what I'm doing these days. I wrote quite a lot of my upcoming CoffeeScript book (and its example applications) this way in Istanbul. Spending the morning in one waterpipe cafe, then afternoon in another.
Battery life was the main hindrance, as I would always need to find a place with a convenient power socket at least for the other half of the day. If somebody made an MBA-like, Linux-capable machine with a full-day battery, I'd buy it no matter the cost.
My friend Matthias (wiemann.name) does that with his MB Air and he's totally happy with it. If you need web inspector, an iPad really isn't an option. I'd still recommend trying out a remote server, it's fun.
I use an iPad in the same way, after switching from an MBA. the big advantages of the iPad are inbuilt 3G (I get 5gb/month for peanuts on a special offer from a couple of years ago), battery life (I never got more than 3 hours from the MBA), I move more (lean over to do some browsing and shift my position or walk around). And most importantly I am far less likely to switch to HN or some other distraction.
The big disadvantage is the lack of a web inspector, but I'm mainly working on back-end stuff at the moment.
I ended up getting a Chromebook a few weeks ago as a cheap machine to hack and do interviews while my MBA was in for repairs. For not being much higher on the food chain than a thin client, it's pretty much perfect. Chrome's identical to Win/Mac/Linux Chrome (inspector and all); SSH works fine, "search" key (fka capslock) can even be remapped to ctrl.
I work everywhere with my MacBook Air 13" (from the bus, on benches in parks and malls, in my inlaws-to-be's living room, at restaurants), and with a 3G aircard, it's great.
Though I did the same with my iPad 1, and it was mostly great too, depending on what I needed to do.
Agreed. It seems like you'd also want the ability to occasionally hook up to a bigger monitor. Do you find the 11" screen bothers you at all, or have you gotten used to it?
I don't get it either. A modern laptop is just as portable and far, far more capable. Actually after getting a nexus 7 recently I have no interest in a bigger tablet.
This is an impossible setup for a front end dev. As you mentioned Mobile Safari is junk. To add to that, its debug tools are laughable. Don't even think about cross browser testing unless you have additional remote systems + VNC.
I tried an iPad + keyboard + remote vim a while back and found it slowed me down significantly. Having to take my hands off the keyboard and swipe or use the button slows my flow. Writing code and want to look something up? Swiping to Safari is much slower than Cmd+tab to a real browser.
The original article inspired me to get a retina ipad and wireless keyboard with hopes of connecting to my home server and developing with issh/tmux/vim/chrome and working anywhere from my tethered 4g phone. It was an immediate disappointment: issh is extremely unreliable, has awkward rendering glitches and a UI that can't be configured to actually fullscreen. Oh and it times out after a short while, especially if you've switched to some other app. iOS can't remap caps lock to control either, which would have otherwise made it usable for me. I didn't waste any more time attempting to fix these issues; the only way I see this working perfectly is if I had actual linux running on the ipad.
About the Surface. I've been doing some Windows 8 HTML5/JS SDK development for the past few months using a Vaio All-in-One with a touchscreen and the responsiveness and feel of HTML5 is on par with the C#/Xaml environment. Using the apps, you absolutely can not tell which SDK is being used.
Of course this is on a fast x86 chip. No one has been able to get a comparable experience on a table or phone yet. I'm slightly worried that things won't be as crisp or as nice on the Surface ARM (and other ARM tablets). If it is it's not just a step up from Mobile Safari, Chrome for Android, and Firefox for Android, but a major step forward.
First of all, thanks for writing about your experiences! This was an inspiration for me when attempting to do something similar on a Transformer Prime. Unfortunately the Asus keyboard wasn't good enough, and that fell into misuse.
However, this has prompted me to re-evaluate what I need on my work computer. Essentially, there are only three things I actually run: vim, Vagrant and a browser.
This means that when the lease period on my current Air ends in February I will have a lot of freedom to choose my next "workstation". Theoretically it could be any small-and-light laptop, or maybe even something like iPad or Surface. Though even with the little requirements I have, I'm not so keen to go Windows...
Oh, and an actual question: I do quite a lot of front-end development (see for instance http://createjs.org/ ). One thing that mobile browsers lack is access to proper inspectors and JavaScript consoles. Any ideas on that?
While I am on board with the Linode, I can't imagine coding on something that small. As it is, I have vim on 1920x1080 and a full tmux on the other screen. How did you get used to seeing so much less code at one time?
I throw it all in a rucksack. The keyboard + iPad are lighter than any laptop I've seen that I'd like to use, but it's purely a matter of taste.
Having a keyboard that's not joined to the screen has been convenient a number of times though - I can hang the iPad in a bush and rest the keyboard on my knees, for example.
maybe i'm really missing the point, but once you attach a keyboard to an ipad you've are bound to have a sub-par user experience.
in terms of portability, i see no difference between ipad + kb and a macbook air. heck, i see very little difference between ipad + kb and ipad + macbook air, which is what i carry around. ipad for reading, macbook air for coding and writing.
iOS does not seem like an environment designed for people who spend most of their time writing and typing or otherwise creating. rather, it is an environment optimized for what most people do with their computers most of the time: consume information. that doesn't mean you can't create on the ipad. OSX, on the other hand, is such an environment. there is no reason to pick either or, you can have both at relatively low cost.
This isn't an article about iPad or about tablets. It's an article about working in the cloud.
Considering all of the comments here, is there a service where you can use a browser that's hosted in the cloud, but have its UI appear in a client over something like VNC?
Great article! I have an iPad 2 and a Macbook air 11''. I've tried using the iPad for development (I do web development, both front end and backend) and really couldn't use it. I do have an external keyboard but I believe it's just an interface issue. I find that I'm very used to the touchpad/keyboard combo and that speeds me up a whole lot. Requiring to reach for the iPad to swipe something is a MASSIVE annoyance. Plus, the fact that you can't Alt+Tab between applications (WTH is THAT all about ?!)
As far as weight is concerned the Macbook air is an absolutely WONDERFUL device. Coming in at 2.2lbs it's almost the same weight as my iPad+keyboard. Plus, the fact that it's a shell design (case closes and protects the screen+keyboard) works way better for me than an iPad could (though arguably one could get a similar 'protector' for the iPad).
Oh and the kicker ? I'm currently traveling fulltime with my girlfriend (have been doing so for a year now..) and between us, we carry an iPad2+keyboard and Macbook air combo. We do all sorts of things including photo editing, video editing, web development (for me..) on this combination.
But using the iPad for any useful work ? Nuh-uh!
Given our situation, it's also difficult to get good WiFi connectivity most of the time and the macbook air's wifi hardware is better than the iPad's by far. (in terms of wireless reception quality). There've been plenty of times that I pick up the WiFi signal on the Air and then share it over bluetooth for the iPad. More info on our gear is here: http://bkpk.me/about-a-z/
The author must be very tolerant or otherwise accustomed to lag. He says "no noticeable lag" but is 3G even that good on paper? Wavering pings of 100-1000ms are pretty normal on 3G in my experience, so given a round trip, if the difference is an optimistic 200ms that's should be pretty noticeable when typing, tailing logs or jumping around vim on a remote system versus doing it locally.
I'm sure you can build confidence and get used to pulling off a string of moves with no immediate visual feedback, but it sounds like something you'd have to get used to tolerating, rather than not notice?
Yeah, that has to be horrible. I remember working remotely from Thailand, and had around 150ms to a linode in Japan, and it was infuriating. Even worse when trying to access services at home, with latency around 300ms. With latency over 30ms you start to notice it. There are good tools out there, though. Mosh is one of them.
The problem with replacing the iPad with a MacBook Air 11" is that there are way way more distractions on the MacBook. Maybe this also works so well for the author because the iPad is very limited. He basically degraded his super-multi-functional laptop to a simpler device that just does email/web/ssh very well. Maybe that is part of the reason why it works so well for him.
I still have the first ipad generation and I can't see a damn thing outside. Do you have a screen protector or something special? Is it fixed in the second ipad generation?
Also, what kind of programming do you do? I often hack in plain console.. but more often than not, I need a browser with the inspector/console open and lots of documentation tabs.. How do you make it work for these cases?
fascinating stuff, makes me long for a good IDE on iPad that doesn't feel like a "toy", that can handle Objective-C for example. In an ideal world, Apple would be working on "iCode" as we speak... ;)
Yeah, I love Vim as an IDE, but there are a features I'd want to import from other IDEs if I had a magic VimScript wand...
Edit: correction - I love Vim as an editor with incredibly powerful macro and scripting capabilities. That makes up for a lot of otherwise missing IDE features, but it could be so much better.
Working with limitations is what yields creativity. But unlike the limitations of computing's yesteryear, the limitations of the iPad seem artificial. OSX is built from BSD UNIX, and iOS is built from OSX. Why should it be so limited? Where is the "iPad Pro"? The uncrippled version with USB and SD card slots.
Have you tried just using VNC to access your macbook? This would turn the ipad into a windows, linux, and mac osx device, plus no monthly cost. Also, Android tablets could do the same thing. If safari won't cut it, try chrome. It seems a bit odd none of this was mentioned/tried. Also, look at the magnetic logitech ipad keyboard.
I've been wanting to try this for a while, the one thing holding me back is frontend work, day to day I do a mixture of frontend and backend development and I'm concerned that Mobile Safari/ Chrome might not cut it. Has anyone had any experience with this?
Mobile Safari is a bit of a pain for frontend developement. There's the javascript-based FireBug but it's a far cry from the real thing or the Chrome developer tools.
Of course, you don't need to do it all day every day - you can use your laptop for frontend work and an iPad for backend development in the park on nice days.
I'll be curious to see how he finds the surface keyboard. I'm dubious of the one that doesn't have physical keys on it. I find it really hard to type effectively without that physical feedback.
Great to read the year-after follow up, by the way. Really well done.
Me too, and if the surface is the same size as an iPad then the keyboard is not going to be fullsize. If I add the wireless Apple keyboard ontop of the iPad about 2 keys sticks out over the edge if I line it up on the other end.
[+] [-] lazerwalker|13 years ago|reply
It doesn't have the ridiculous battery life of an iPad, but other than that it essentially gives you the same portability without feeling like you're constraining yourself to a subpar development environment (I've tried doing serious web dev on an iPad, but the lack of a web inspector and the ability to remap caps lock as control are both dealbreakers for me).
[+] [-] peteretep|13 years ago|reply
Like you, I see draw backs. I don't want to use vim as my primary editor, and I hate that I can't have tabs loading in the background in the web browser, or can't be on Skype while doing something else...
[+] [-] taude|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bergie|13 years ago|reply
Battery life was the main hindrance, as I would always need to find a place with a convenient power socket at least for the other half of the day. If somebody made an MBA-like, Linux-capable machine with a full-day battery, I'd buy it no matter the cost.
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rahoulb|13 years ago|reply
The big disadvantage is the lack of a web inspector, but I'm mainly working on back-end stuff at the moment.
[+] [-] MatthewPhillips|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] devgutt|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ConstantineXVI|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] maguay|13 years ago|reply
Though I did the same with my iPad 1, and it was mostly great too, depending on what I needed to do.
[+] [-] Aykroyd|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cageface|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] navs|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] driverdan|13 years ago|reply
I tried an iPad + keyboard + remote vim a while back and found it slowed me down significantly. Having to take my hands off the keyboard and swipe or use the button slows my flow. Writing code and want to look something up? Swiping to Safari is much slower than Cmd+tab to a real browser.
[+] [-] s00pcan|13 years ago|reply
http://s00pcan.com/photos/ipad1.jpg http://s00pcan.com/photos/ipad2.jpg
[+] [-] MatthewPhillips|13 years ago|reply
Of course this is on a fast x86 chip. No one has been able to get a comparable experience on a table or phone yet. I'm slightly worried that things won't be as crisp or as nice on the Surface ARM (and other ARM tablets). If it is it's not just a step up from Mobile Safari, Chrome for Android, and Firefox for Android, but a major step forward.
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bergie|13 years ago|reply
However, this has prompted me to re-evaluate what I need on my work computer. Essentially, there are only three things I actually run: vim, Vagrant and a browser.
This means that when the lease period on my current Air ends in February I will have a lot of freedom to choose my next "workstation". Theoretically it could be any small-and-light laptop, or maybe even something like iPad or Surface. Though even with the little requirements I have, I'm not so keen to go Windows...
Oh, and an actual question: I do quite a lot of front-end development (see for instance http://createjs.org/ ). One thing that mobile browsers lack is access to proper inspectors and JavaScript consoles. Any ideas on that?
[+] [-] ebiester|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shimon_e|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] polshaw|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] EvilLook|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jawr|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
Having a keyboard that's not joined to the screen has been convenient a number of times though - I can hang the iPad in a bush and rest the keyboard on my knees, for example.
[+] [-] bluthru|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rguzman|13 years ago|reply
in terms of portability, i see no difference between ipad + kb and a macbook air. heck, i see very little difference between ipad + kb and ipad + macbook air, which is what i carry around. ipad for reading, macbook air for coding and writing.
iOS does not seem like an environment designed for people who spend most of their time writing and typing or otherwise creating. rather, it is an environment optimized for what most people do with their computers most of the time: consume information. that doesn't mean you can't create on the ipad. OSX, on the other hand, is such an environment. there is no reason to pick either or, you can have both at relatively low cost.
[+] [-] stcredzero|13 years ago|reply
Considering all of the comments here, is there a service where you can use a browser that's hosted in the cloud, but have its UI appear in a client over something like VNC?
[+] [-] gizzlon|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bergie|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ashray|13 years ago|reply
As far as weight is concerned the Macbook air is an absolutely WONDERFUL device. Coming in at 2.2lbs it's almost the same weight as my iPad+keyboard. Plus, the fact that it's a shell design (case closes and protects the screen+keyboard) works way better for me than an iPad could (though arguably one could get a similar 'protector' for the iPad).
Oh and the kicker ? I'm currently traveling fulltime with my girlfriend (have been doing so for a year now..) and between us, we carry an iPad2+keyboard and Macbook air combo. We do all sorts of things including photo editing, video editing, web development (for me..) on this combination.
But using the iPad for any useful work ? Nuh-uh!
Given our situation, it's also difficult to get good WiFi connectivity most of the time and the macbook air's wifi hardware is better than the iPad's by far. (in terms of wireless reception quality). There've been plenty of times that I pick up the WiFi signal on the Air and then share it over bluetooth for the iPad. More info on our gear is here: http://bkpk.me/about-a-z/
[+] [-] petercooper|13 years ago|reply
I'm sure you can build confidence and get used to pulling off a string of moves with no immediate visual feedback, but it sounds like something you'd have to get used to tolerating, rather than not notice?
[+] [-] vegardx|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] st3fan|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] d0m|13 years ago|reply
Also, what kind of programming do you do? I often hack in plain console.. but more often than not, I need a browser with the inspector/console open and lots of documentation tabs.. How do you make it work for these cases?
Thanks!
[+] [-] epaga|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
Edit: correction - I love Vim as an editor with incredibly powerful macro and scripting capabilities. That makes up for a lot of otherwise missing IDE features, but it could be so much better.
[+] [-] M4v3R|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dorkrawk|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] udpheaders|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] farinasa|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] talkingquickly|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moconnor|13 years ago|reply
Of course, you don't need to do it all day every day - you can use your laptop for frontend work and an iPad for backend development in the park on nice days.
[+] [-] Aykroyd|13 years ago|reply
Great to read the year-after follow up, by the way. Really well done.
[+] [-] adsr|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] kayoone|13 years ago|reply
But i might use something like that for everything that isnt coding, i still love my 11" MBA for that though.
[+] [-] dfrey|13 years ago|reply