I moved away from Mac and MacOS ....

… only to embrace iPad and iOS.




Over the last couple of years I noticed a change in my digital lifestyle. Less creation of content, more consumption of content, and a lot of review/annotate documents.
Secondly, I have always questioned why I need to maintain a folder structure myself and not let the applications take care of it all. Why would I use a browser when there is an application that does the same thing, only better. I always wanted a computing device that did the work for me, not me doing the work for the computer.
Lastly, I needed of a personal challenge/project.


So out with the trusted and much loved MBAir and in with the iPad Pro 12,9.
I got myself a 2 TB iCloud dataplan and started organising photo’s, video’s, documents, music, books etc…. then moved it all into “ the cloud “.
I took a long and hard look at 1Password and compared the functionality with iCloud Keychain.
I had lived for years without Java and Flash and got rid of MS Office some time ago as well, so no worries in that area either.


One question that kept popping up was backups.
I want to be sure that I still have my data when iCloud is not available. The probability is low, but the impact would be high for me. The challenge here were the many documents that I need for my job.
I learned that on my MBAir there is a folder called ~/library/Mobile Documents
and that contains a copy of all the files you store in the iCloud drive. This folder is by default included in the Time Machine backups and it syncs with all my other iOS devices nicely.
Having that folder is good news and bad news. I now have a backup mechanism, but I still need my MBAir.


So over the last 6 weeks I have been on the iPad only and the learning curve for iOS on the iPad was not too bad. I am still learning ( I don’t read manuals, I just push buttons until it works ) but I am totally convinced that iPad Pro/ iOS combination is the way to go for me.
Every Sunday, I fire up my MBAir and leave it untouched for 2 hours, just to ensure that Time Machine can do what it needs to do.


Since I will still need a Mac and MacOS to do the backups of iCloud drive, my next project now is to integrate my wife’s iMac and my MBAir into a single computing environment for the house.
That is going to take some thinking as we each have photo’s / music / video’s and what have you.
But I am sure that project will be fun as well.


Cheers … McBie

Hi McBie

Very interesting and thought provoking post. Thank you for that.

I now have a backup mechanism, but I still need my MBAir.

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This is a key point, of course. Your MBA has become a very expensive BU plan, if you genuinely don't otherwise use it at all. It begs the question - if you had no MBA, no Mac/macOS, could you safely rely on your iPad Pro and iCloud?

Others will chime in with their thoughts and ideas, so I'll not hog the thread.

Ian

Ian,
it is indeed an expensive backup solution, altough it required no investment.
I considered backing up iCloud drive onto " another Cloud " but that would not ease my mind. That is also why I want to integratie ( reconfigure ) my wife's iMac, so we end up with 1 single Mac computer instead of 2.

Cheers ... McBie

I have the 15" rMBP. I also have a mini-iPad and have had a full size iPad, although not the iPad Pro. My challenge is that I am a touch typist (I do use all 10 fingers!) and the flat on-screen keyboard is pretty much unusable for me. And if I had to carry the iPad Pro and an external keyboard as well, I don't think the overall package would be as useful to me as the MBP. But I do understand McBie's approach of not thinking (worrying) about WHERE stuff is stored. I have adopted the discipline of not worrying about where on the MBP the various applications store my files. I have taken the precaution of cutting off the iCloud duplication. I don't think Apple's implementation is really ready for prime time yet. I prefer to have my files with me, not dependent on having a broad, reliable internet connection. I travel, and where I've been the connectivity is spotty at best. I can do work on the MBP and sync up to the cloud when I do have a good connection.

But it is horses for courses, and that's my course!

I'm also a touch typist (although not as fast as I once was) and find the on screen keyboard awkward to use. One reason I purchased the Apple Smart Keyboard for my 10.5" iPad Pro. However, as handy as that is, it does not compare to using a normal keyboard. I am impressed with the perfomance of the iPad Pro; it's fast and the screen is very visible even for my Sr. eyes.

Whe I got my iPad Pro, in April 2016, I got the Logitech Create Keyboard case for it. I recently tried the Apple Smart Keyboard, but was not satisfied with it, so I returned it. I liked the Logitech model better. I like the feel of the Logitech keyboard keys.

I weighed buying the Logitech since it also had backlighted keys. However, I read several reviews that were not favorable, one in Macworld magazine. I don't always agree with reviews and like to test things myself but at the time I could not get a Logitech Create Keyboard Case for the 10.5" iPad Pro and went with the Apple model. I'm pleased with it but it does not compare to a normal keyboard as I stated above.

I also purchased a clear back cover from Amazon that is compatible with the Apple Smart Keyboard Case but not the Logitech model. The cover was only $9.95.

Several years ago I wrote a piece for ATPM suggesting that there was a need for a "digital filling station". In essence one could purchase an iPad/iPod to play back digital content without the need for a computer. Apple started moving in that direction when they made it possible to download content directly to the device without having a computer.

I haven't used any of them yet but there are some storage devices that connect to the lightning port and provide additional storage. Since IOS 11 is going to have a user-accessible file system of sorts it seems like it will be a small jump to giving the iPad a means of backing up cloud based documents to one of those storage devices.

I haven't used any of them yet but there are some storage devices that connect to the lightning port and provide additional storage. Since IOS 11 is going to have a user-accessible file system of sorts it seems like it will be a small jump to giving the iPad a means of backing up cloud based documents to one of those storage devices.

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I agree. One of the reasons I purchased the 10.5" iPad Pro was to use it in lieu of a portable computer. With iOS 11 shortly to be released (Sept - Oct) that will enhance the use of iOS devices that can handle most apps. The only app I'm a bit disappointed in is MS Office. It seems one has to purchase a subscription to Office 365 in order to edit Office documents on tablets that are 10" or more in size. However, I found a free iOS app called "Polaris Office" that can edit Office documents and can access "OneDrive". I haven't given it a complete test yet but so far it looks good.

I've been testing the IOS 11 beta but haven't had a chance to put the features through it paces as I'd hoped to. IN some ways I have done the opposite of McBie. I'm using the iPad less than I did at one point due to some signal issues at work. My current gizmo only has 16 GB of storage (cut corners at the wrong time).

Charlie, if you get tired of that Pro. I could probably be persuaded to give it a good home.

The keyboard "issue" is indeed somewhat of a hurdle to overcome, especially because some apps present the Virtual keyboard in a slightly different way. I use the iPad mostly on my lap and if you position it correctly , typing is ok with 10 fingers.
When it comes to backing up documents in iCloud drive, I hope Apple comes up with a service level agreement ensuring your Cloud based content will be recoverable by Apple. ( most likely at a cost �� )

Cheers ... McBie

I've tried using my iPad Pro on my lap but it's just too unstable even with the Smart Keyboard attached. I have a large wood executive desk that I use in my home office which allows for my 27" iMac and various other accessories and now the iPad Pro.

As for Apple ever coming up with a service level agreement about recovering iCloud content, don't hold your breath.