E-mail as a Killer App for Vision Pro?

I am only being partially facetious here. What I am getting ready to write about is the everyday research anyone in an office would do.*

Yesterday, I needed to compose one of those long, tedious emails (dreaded by reader and writer alike) that brought someone up to speed on the last six months of a project's activity. It was a trying experience that required searching through sent messages for what was said and archived messages to confirm dates and actions taken so that a timeline could be set down.

It was a process that, quite frankly, grew more annoying and irritating as it went on. This wasn't due to the task, which I could rationally see was needed and justifiable. It was the emotional response to the mental back and forth from one archived message to another archived message (saved in different folders) to trace multiple strands so I could paint a picture of events for someone was not a part of so that they could make a decision.

This morning, as I was reading and writing about other things, one way that irritation could be mitigated occurred to me: Having some of the reference material in a different and accessible space.

To be clear, I am not talking about a multi-window arrangement on a single monitor. I was using multiple windows at various times in the drafting process. I also had more than one screen in front of me. Specifically, I had an iPad Pro in front of me to search through email and access a web portal to the third-party platform that houses the project. The drafting of the message I needed to compose was being composed with an Apple Pencil on this iPad Mini. (Before anyone new to this blog comments, I prefer to compose with the Pencil when I can because of a different kind of efficiency.)

What would have made the process easier was not the ability to open more windows on the screens I had but the ability to open prior messages in different spaces that I could arbitrarily re-arrange depending on the thread of activity I was following rather than trying to remember which tab or instance of a particular browser held the information I needed.

Having that kind of a multiple monitor set up with VESA mounts would likely be more expensive than a tricked out Vision Pro. It would also be overkill most of the time.

I've come to the conclusion that I've been thinking of the Vision Pro wrong in this regard. I think it won’t be the "killer app" that makes or breaks the device — at least not in terms of computer applications. It will be how one can apply the device to a process (e.g., project management, research projects) like the one I was engaging in that will matter.

And here is where Apple's choice to focus on AR rather than VR will prove superior to prior headsets capable of this kind of spatial computing. A user will be able to interact with physical objects (e.g., a notepad, a book, an experimental apparatus) and not be constrained by a virtual world.

I suspect this may be another instance of Apple having listened past what users say they want and creatively address the core idea. It might have been easier to develop a for a solution rather than engineering an explicitly described technical feature but it wouldn't address that deeper need.

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* In case any of you are wondering, that kind of activity is why your schoolteachers and university professors made you write those research papers.

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Some Pointless Speculation

Apple Pencil 3 and Apple Pencil USB-C will be used with — and have been, in part, designed for — the Vision Pro.

Hear me out.

This may be an occupationally-focused thing (I’m an English Professor.), but it is easy to get used to writing on a whiteboard (or, for those old enough to remember, blackboard) at the front of the room. It is also easy to collaborate in spaces with whiteboards (or whatever term they use for the frosted glass you find in conference spaces.

Apple features video conferencing in their promotional advertisements.

Apple has an amazing app for this in Freeform, which is on the far left of the center row in the Vision Pro Home Screen images released by Apple.

Apple has a robust conversion tool for handwriting to typing in Scribble — which presents a possible solution for those concerned with how to get text into a document with the Vision Pro using something other than an awkward floating virtual keyboard. Although I will note in passing that it appears the Vision Pro is detecting surfaces. I wonder if the keyboard can flatten out on a tabletop in the way the Photos adjusts to the ceiling (Seen at about 2:15 of “A Guided Tour Apple Vision Pro”), which makes me wonder if we won’t see virtual input surfaces for a Pencil or Virtual Keyboard that snaps to a surface to aid users who want or need that.

If so, get ready for the using Windows with Apple Vision Pro jokes as people rely on glass surfaces with their Pencils.

This is, of course, wild speculation. But we have seen artists create in 3-D with other products, as Google did with Tilt Brush. I can’t imagine that Apple will not have that kind of capability available for Developers — whether it is a next generation version of Procreate or one of the 3D modeling apps.

I’d love to know if users’ Apple Pencils show up when they are linking a Magic Keyboard or Track Pad during their setup — or if a quick tap to the side makes it appear.

A Meta-Meta Analysis of the Vision Pro Analysis

I have been watching a number of tech and near-tech commentators struggling with how to react to Apple's release of the Vision Pro. People who were initially enthralled are now wondering about the less than trivial cost of the device while others, who had not given it a second thought until now, are looking at it and recognizing ways that it might work for them in tones that are far from FOMO. (This reaction is a good example of the kind of thing I am talking about.)

I think that the primary reason for the unusually unstable nature of these reactions this cycle is Monre than understandable. These creators, commentators, and journalists are in an unenviable position. Their job is to provide viewers, readers, and listeners with the information they need to understand what the Vision Pro really is and if it is worth paying attention to.

And they can't.

This isn't a failing on their part. The usual product release playbook doesn't apply here due to the nature of the product. The usual release event for a new piece of tech involves showing the audience (in the hall and via a video feed) the way a new product looks and how it works. Yes, the devices are blown up on the screen but what you see there approximates what you will see when the device is in front of you.

But that won't work with the Vision Pro. The look of the device — the easiest thing to show — is the least interesting part of the story. The flattened depictions of what a user sees while using a Vision Pro may give you an idea of what to expect but, based on first hand accounts, doesn’t  capture the experience of the 3D and wrap around images.

As a result, a standard keynote presentation won't work. Neither, I suspect, would the normal kind of review because of the challenge inherent in getting the experience across. It’s going to require the kind of creative leap Serenity Caldwell took in her animated review of the 2018 iPad.* Just don’t ask me what that kind of leap loos like.

But whatever form those leaps take, they require more time than anyone has really had.

This may explain why Apple almost feels like it is bypassing the tech media and is attempting to reach consumers directly — providing an unmediated trial for those who can get to an Apple Store. It’s not because they want to sidestep the tech pundits. It's because that the Vision Pro will need to be experienced more than prior products.

* I suspect — but have no way of knowing — that she was involved in Apple's "A Guided Tour of the Vision Pro” but have nothing beyond a sense that her iPad review was cut from the same cloth as this walkthrough.

Why the Academy Needs to Think About AR/VR Right Now

The other day, I got to see Dali Alive 360 at the Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg, FL. The time in the small dome came after our time in the museum but before the virtual Salvador Dali took a selfie with us on our way out (The Dali Museum is very clearly thinking about the future -- as can be seen in its Dreams of Dali offering )

I mention this timeline mostly because I am still trying to decide if the historical structure it provided to the art would be best placed before or after visiting the art Dali created. Before provides context but after permits more space for a viewer's own interpretation to blossom before facing the tyranny of the perceived "right" answer.

I very much enjoyed Grande Experience’s interpretations of Dali's work and how they presented it. My child (a budding artist) felt inspired by the visit and was excited when she left the presentation. My wife was of two minds as she left the exhibit, unsure how to feel about motion having been added to some of Dali's static images.*

Even while I experienced it, craning my neck to try to take it all in, I could see its potential for something like the forthcoming Vision Pro and the immersive experiences it could offer for learning. Days later,I'm still trying to work out what new medium it is bringing into being — what artistic and pedagogical language it will speak in.

Whatever its native tongue might be, I can sense the academy is not ready for it.

The last thing any of the academics reading this want to hear at this point in the semester (whatever point in the semester it happens to be when this reaches them) is that there is another technological innovation that they should be thinking about — in this case Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). This is especially true given that they are likely still trying to wrap your head around Large Language Models like ChatGPT — which, as they may or may not know, is being baked into Microsoft's and Google's office suites.

That, I can hear them say, is enough to be getting on with right now, given the "other duties as assigned" that they are perpetually being asked to take on by administrators, politicians, and pundits.

But now is precisely the time to be thinking about it because the harbingers of its arrival are here.

Tech pundits are currently talking about the frustrating, deal breaking limitations inherent in the Occulus headset and unreleased Vision Pro (which, simultaneously, is being predicted to fail while Apple sells every one they can make). They are being slightly more charitable towards devices like the technologically less ambitious but more financially accessible XReal Air glasses.

That these headsets are being actively considered and discussed does not make them the equivalent of the first iPhone. These devices are the equivalent of the old late ‘80s-era bag phones — devices that, when adjusted for inflation, come in at close to the price point of the Apple Vision Pro.

Here's why that comparison matters.

There is roughly twenty years between the bag phone and the iPhone.

Moore's Law, which has begun to come under pressure, says that the number of transistors in a chip will double every two years. If instead of focusing on the number of transistors we focus on the development period of the device to approximate the amount of time necessary to bring a mass market edition of something like the Vision Pro, that means we have a decade before these will be as ubiquitous in our classrooms as cell phones are now.

Ten years translates into two generations of students (Freshmen to Senior year on the four to six year plan) to determine how we, as faculty staff, and administrators, should use these tools and how we should prepare students for a world where AR and VR are a part of their daily lives.  How should all of us use these tools and how should we live a life where different kinds of realities and experiences will begin to blur into one another.

Two academic generations is frighteningly close to the time it takes to research, develop, propose, approve, and launch, and begin to assess the effectiveness of a radically new program.

The questions associated with these virtual spaces will require consideration — the kind of consideration that may require institutions to shore up and rebuild philosophy programs. Who owns the space inhabited by a virtual overlay? When Pokémon Go was getting the world walking while everyone tried to catch them all, some initial commercialization began. What happens when it's your home or university? Will this virtual dimension be the "property" of the landowner or will there be a digital land rush for the equivalent of AR/VR mineral rights?

What will it mean to have a virtual experience? Will it be yours? How much of the concert goer's experience will be real (or more than real) when they are "riding" on a drone above the stage and hearing the direct (and carefully managed) output from the sound boards rather than the speakers? Will they be able to say they have had a shared experience with those who were physically there?

There have been arguments about mediated experiences at the appearance of every new technology dating back to Plato's Cave. But without those old philosophical frameworks, we will have difficulty understanding our (and our societies') responses to these new levels of reality.

The biggest reason we should begin to think about this now is all around us. Consider the way we in the academy are collectively flailing about to adjust to the new normal of Large Language Models, machine learning, and AI. That did not come out of thin air. Every one of our cell phones had been offering predictive text for some time. It became a mad libs game on social media (“Complete the following using the left word suggested by your phone!”). All the signs were there but we did not begin to engage them on a large enough scale to be ready to adjust when ChatGPT 3.0 was released.

We should think through AR/VR while there is still time to think instead of react once that horse has left the barn.

As a first step, we need to think and engage and start to explicitly teach our students about these things and the impact they will have on their lives. From there, we can start to build new frameworks for navigating the Brave New World that is coming into being all around us rather than responding after it has finished slouching into Bethlehem to be born.

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* Dali's work, as it hangs on the wall, is static. And yet, he wanted to incorporate motion and always embraced new things. And, of course, he — like the artists and interpreters of Grande Experiences — incorporated works of prior artists into his own work to express or do something new.

Holiday Tech Support

PSA: This reminder is as much for me as it is for you. Indeed, it might even be more for me than it is for you.

For some of you reading this, this morning's post may function as a good reminder for the balancing act you will be engaging in this holiday season as you put on your tech-support-for-the-family hat. We shouldn't be trying to replicate our setup. We should be focused on improving their set up that speaks to their idiosyncrasies.

For example, a few years ago, I helped my in-laws walk through what they wanted when replacing their old iMac.

They didn't need an iMac. They do nothing that requires the computing power or OS-level capabilities it offers. They could have easily gotten by with an iPad Air and a cable that plugged it into an external monitor and repurposing their old keyboard and track pad.

But that wasn't what was wanted or have been comfortable with. They were happier with the comfortable familiarity of a traditional computer set up.

I remember explaining the benefits of the iPad Air and/or Pro to them and, when they chose the iMac, gritting my teeth at their unwillingness to accept my genius, and helping them with their order.

In hindsight, I was thinking of how I would use their setup (Okay, and a little about how I would provide tech support for it.) rather than how they would use it. And that was the wrong approach to take.

I was right only in the technical sense. What I was offering wasn't right for them.

I am exaggerating a little here to make the point (an important acknowledgement in case my mother-in-law reads this). Nevertheless, the point remains and it is something I am more conscious of as I catch up on the in person tech support for my side of the family: My "job" is to help them find ways to make technology serve them better — not to try and replicate my workflows and use cases like some kind of tech support delivered virus.

No matter how much of a genius approach that virus might take.

Good luck with your family tech support, dear reader, and Happy Holidays.

An Unreproducible Advantage Hated by the Trolls

One of the cornerstones of science is that the result of any experiment must be reproducible. If it isn't, the test or experiment is considered invalid — an idiosyncratic result rather than an example of the rule.

It is equally true that many of us aren't concerned if our responses don't fall into this reproducible category. We want things that are tailored to us and our idiosyncrasies rather than a statistical average that has been determined to be the rule.

In brief, scientific and statistical validity doesn't make us happy — no matter how useful or necessary it is. Our experiences do.

I was thinking of this the other day as I listened to the subscribers portion of an episode of App Stories+, in which Federico Viticci discussed his own personal preference for iPads Pro larger screen sizes even when there are ways to provide external screens.

Unlike some of the internet trolls who can't pass up a post about an iPad Mini without telling the poster that they are wrong to like the device, Viticci focused on what he liked and why — what made the larger screened iPad Pro the device that was best for him.

I had already been thinking about writing this post when I listened to that episode of App Stories+ and was continuing to mull over it a day or two later as I read the trolls' critiques of people's preferences for the Mini on Threads.

After listening and reading, I wanted to do a little more than just return to the theme of how much I like the iPad Mini’s form factor. Somehow, I wanted to make this post as much about you, gentle reader, as it is about me.

Because YMMV based on your preferences, needs, and pleasures, the device that you want to use will be the best-choice-for-you and not be the "best" choice.

Over the course of this experiment, I have come to the surprising but, in hindsight, obvious conclusion that the iPad Mini is the best-choice-for-me* and the more technologically impressive eleven inch iPad Pro, which is the "best" choice for me, is not.

There is a lot to like about the iPad Pro and there are still times I will reach for it instead of the Mini (FaceTime calls to my family leap to mind — although the AppleTV's ability to make FaceTime calls may change that). But the slower pace of handwriting on the Mini brings me a greater sense of contentment with my work than typing does.

* As I've written before, my ability to work on and with the iPad Mini and Apple Pencil is due to my work being primarily text based rather than image or video based.

A Pleasant Surprise

A preemptive disclaimer: No one sent me any of the products mentioned below for review and the links are not affiliate links.

When I listed the peripherals I am using during my iPad Mini experiment, I mentioned I might try the PenTips PenMat magnetic screen protector. A few weeks ago, when I was feeling the urge to spend some money on myself, I went to the above link and placed an order.

There were some things that only surprised me a little. Foremost among these was how easy it was to attach, remove, and re-attach the PenMat to the screen. Despite some concerns about alignment based on something I read or saw, the magnets make the process of aligning the cutout for the camera simple enough. And the two mystery cut outs along one edge make it easier to catch the edge of the magnet and remove it from the screen and serve to warn you if you have the PerMat upside down.

What surprised me a lot was how much the writing process was improved by the PenMat’s textured surface. I expected there to be a difference, of course, but now I better understand all of the YouTubers who assure their viewers that they would be using a Paperlike screen whether they sponsored their channel or not.

I have never tried a Paperlike screen so I can't say how much their microtexture impacts the appearance and feel of the screen. If it’s close to the PenMat, the PenMat has a distinct advantage in being removable. The matte finish effect produced is not something I would always want. When writing (as I am now), it doesn't make a significant difference. When looking at videos, photos, and when playing games, returning to the crystal clear display is preferable.

While I have had the PenMat long enough to know I will keep using it, I am interested in seeing when I keep it on and when I remove it. The texture is noticeable when swiping on the screen. While I would not call it unpleasant, the bare screen is a preferable experience.

There are two other things I would note in passing. First is that I have experienced no appreciable wear on my Apple Pencil's nib — and I am still using the slightly softer PenTips 2+. 

Second, you should give some thought as to where you will store your PenMat when it isn't in use. I have the plastic bag/sleeve that the PenMat came in tucked into the old Twelve South BookBook case I mentioned before. (Their current range includes iPad Mini-sized cases and cases designed to accommodate devices in a Magic Keyboard.). It is a bit of a struggle to slide the PenMat back into the bag, which makes me think I should attach something to the bag to make that easier or cut down a folder to replace it.

Nevertheless, if you were on the fence about getting a textured screen protector like the PenMat, I’d recommend doing so.

A Great Device for Content Consumption But Not Where I Get My Work Done

Perception, as the old marketing phrase goes, is reality.

In that phrase, Lee Atwater was trying to capture one of the inherent issues that one must deal with when dealing with humans: our fickle, changeable way of seeing things based as much on our biases as something extrinsically, verifiably real.

Take, for example, the title of this post. If you watch and read enough reviews of the iPad Mini 6, you are sure to encounter it. And for good and justifiable reasons — not least of which is the fact that it is a marvelous content consumption device. Most reviewers are wedded to their laptops for a variety of professional reasons and the sudden appearance of an iPad Mini is not going to easily fit into their workflow. They can recognize that there are professions where it might be a godsend (e.g., aviation, medicine, students) but those are not part of their world — a world they need to experience to craft a review that will be useful to their readers and viewers.

Their world is ingesting "content" — reading and watching videos. Those activities are the primary lens through which they view an iPad Mini and consider its utility.

Why bring this up?

The other day, I realized my iPad Pro had become a great content consumption device, rather than a productivity machine, as a result of this experiment.

It had nothing to do with the capabilities or tech specs of either device and everything to do with how I was using them. Through this experiment, my Mini had become the place where I was doing "real" work and engaged in "productivity." My iPad Pro had become the screens I was using for watching YouTube videos (about the iPad Mini mostly) at the end of a long day.

As with a number of things about this experiment, I'm not sure what to do with this revelation yet — at least not in practical terms. But I do know it will help me better understand the reviews I am consuming as well as my own needs and biases.

Cognitive Dissonance and the iPad Mini 7’s Timeline

I am having some difficulty reconciling three of the latest bits of news/rumors about next year's iPad Mini 7

Recent rumors have pointed to the iPad Mini 7 coming out in the second half of calendar year 2024. Those reporting this timeline have also started putting the A16 chip in this revision. Finally, there are the reports that next year's versions of iOS and iPadOS will be major updates.

These three pieces of information have set up a certain cognitive dissonance, as the rumors do not feel like they play well together.

First, why release a device that is often associated with university students after they would have planned or purchased (or have purchased for them) their new year's devices in the late spring/early summer rather than in the fall?

This question is doubly applicable for the education-bulk-purchase focused iPad.

It feels like an odd timeframe for such release. It feels even stranger if the chips being used in the iPad and the iPad Mini are of an older generation than the M-series and the 3 nanometer process chips going into the rest of the iPad line.

Second, Apple has a history of tying major software advances to their hardware development. Pundits and users alike are routinely surprised that the latest software developments can be run on older than anticipated hardware.

There are two obvious ways to dispel this cognitive dissonance. The first would be for Apple to release the Mini earlier than the rumors indicate. This would permit students to order and buy before the start of the fall semester and not feel like the chips were old, relative to what we are expecting to see in the iPads Pro and Air that are rumored to be released in the spring.

But that solution does not solve for my (self-imposed) criterion that the new hardware be ready to leverage whatever is coming in iOS and iPadOS.

There is another explanation, of course — one that may be more wish fulfillment on my part than reality.

But hear me out.

If the reason for the delayed timeline is to put a three nanometer chip (e.g.. the A17) into the Mini and an MI into the iPad, the entire line may be capable of running Stage Manager, unifying the multitasking approach across all of its iPad and Mac platforms in advance of the Vision Pro’s arrival.

It would also explain why the release is later. Given the stories about how low the yield rate is for the nanometer chips is, the longer timeline for the is iPad Mini makes more sense, as it gives Apple and TMC more time to produce the chips they need for iPhones and the Vision Pro.

There are other explanations that would make sense, including explanations that I have not imagined. Apple may want to clear stock (chips or devices) or better recoup development costs — both of which could be cleared with more time, for example.

I suspect there are better ways to do that. I also suspect I may be trying to wish something into existence rather than be entirely dispassionate about my theories.

But it still feels like there are some surprises in store for the next iterations of the iPad and iPad Mini.

Why Haven’t I Stopped Carrying My iPad Pro?

The question isn't a rhetorical one. I am really trying to figure this out.

As I have written in my earlier posts, the iPad Mini has been serving me exceptionally well. I have been able to successfully transition most of what I do to this device seamlessly. The issues with the screen in my classroom turned out to be a glitch. When I get to the office, I can plug in a mouse, connect to a keyboard, and use a monitor for work tasks that demand more screen real estate.

And as I said in a prior post, I am enjoying Scribble, which parses my printing and cursive well enough that I suspect the occasional misinterpretation is no more frequent than the typos that creep in when I am using a keyboard.

So why am I carrying my iPad Pro with me as if it were the technological equivalent of carrying an umbrella to insure that it won’t rain?

The longer this experiment continues, the more I suspect it is a strange kind of iPad Pro FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

I have used the 11-inch iPad Pro for many years and, as is the case of many users like me, have come to appreciate its design and its power and the quality of the Magic Keyboard. But the more I think about it, the more I begin to accept that the design and power are there for other users. Even with the games I play, by and large, I am more likely to be pushing battery capacity than processing capacity.

So beyond adding an insufficient amount of extra weight to make any real difference when closing my exercise rings, why do I still carry it?

As I have said elsewhere, making the switch from the Pro to the Mini comfortably would require getting some additional peripherals (And who doesn't like looking into accessories?).

But that doesn't ring true as the real reason.

That's why I keep coming back to the FOMO.

It interests me.

It interests me because I suspect that the FOMO isn't being driven by Apple. I would love to lay the blame on Apple or reviewers making the devices too irresistible. But while there is a kernel of truth there, the truth lies in the context rather than the cause.

A side effect of watching YouTubers and listening to podcasters whose opinions you have come to respect is that their concerns become a lens through which you view the devices they discuss — whether they are formally reviewing them or discussing their capabilities in passing. As a result, part of my opinions of these devices are driven by how well they perform tasks that are mission critical for videographers but not the kind of thing I am likely to do.

But (and here's the FOMO) they are things I might want to do someday. (After all, how can I claim to be a power user if I'm not using all the tools and apps that they are?) What if, for example, my minor forrays into podcasting morphed into an internationally acclaimed YouTube channel?

As if that kind of thing happened overnight and as if I didn't work at a university with a Communications program that would immediately adopt the theoretical internationally acclaimed YouTuber....

These aspirational feelings aren't entirely absurd. I don't use many Shortcuts and the ones I do use are very simple. But the handful I do use were inspired by listening to Frederico Viticci’s adventures with them.

Ultimately, the FOMO is, at its heart, absurd. It is as absurd as the knowledge that I will be packing the iPad Pro into my bag tomorrow.

But it will still be in my bag and the FOMO will keep it there for a little while longer.

Experimenting with the Usual Input Devices

I am writing this from my office. From a certain point of view, what I am doing is much more normal and familiar. My iPad Mini, via a Satechi hub, is plugged into a monitor via HDMI and receiving pass through power via USB-C. A corded Logitech mouse I found in my desk drawer is plugged into the USB-C port. An older Apple Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad is connected by Bluetooth.

Other than the main computing device being an iPad Mini, it is a very standard setup.

But the setup feels strange to me. It’s true that some of these differences are to be expected but there is something more.

It feels more different than it should.

The strangeness of the keyboard is to be expected. For years now, I have used the Magic Keyboard case for the iPad Pro, which has the keys spaced closer together. With this desktop-focused keyboard, with its standard key spacing, I am making a lot of typos. In time, the typos would go away as I got used to the spacing. But, truth be told, I think that I would be more inclined to finding a more compact keyboard if I were to keep this setup than adjusting to the standard keyboard layout.

The mouse is frustrating, which is also to be expected. I am not used to having an input device that does not respond to gestures and the scroll wheel, which seemed so fantastic when I first used one — is now an irritation. Don’t misunderstand me: There is nothing bad about this mouse. But it does feel like it is a little tired and/or is not entirely happy with the high gloss surface.

What I did not expect to hit me so forcefully is how this arrangement changes the way I am interacting with the device. As I have conducted this experiment, I have become keenly aware that the way I relate to the device and the work I am doing on it changes based on whether I am holding the Apple Pencil and writing on the screen resting on the table or desk in front of me or whether I looking up at a monitor and typing on a keyboard.

Working with the Pencil is not as fast — even with the typos. There is, unquestionably, a decrease in “efficiency” when I use the Pencil.

But working with the keyboard makes me feel more like I am working as part of a machine rather than being someone using a device to accomplish something.

More like I am a cog than a contributor.

It isn’t what I am working on that matters. I have experimented with both creative work (and quasi-work like this post) during lunch and with writing work emails with the Pencil. It is how I am being asked/required to do the work based on the needs of the device that matters.

There are absolutely conveniences with the screen connection. I don’t want it to go away. Webinars, for example, are much easier when they are on the larger screen. But the longer this experiment runs, the more aware I am growing of how the inputs I am using change the way I am responding to the work I do.

But I am less and less happy with the keyboard. But I am not sure if it is a function of the experiment or a desire to change the way I work.

I am not sure what to do with that yet. But I am aware that the change to how I interact with the devices I use may have a greater impact on my relationship to my work than the software I am required to use.

Apple's Scary Fast Event and the iPad Mini

No, I am not hallucinating like some overly exuberant large language model. I know that 30 October 2023 was all about the M3 chip and the new Macs with some bonus attention to the iPhone 15 Pro, which was used to film the event. (An impressive one more thing-esque flex at the end.)

The iPad line wasn't mentioned or shown in the product shots — product shots that made room for the iPhone and Apple TV. While I did not do a frame by frame study, I'm pretty sure the Mini (and the rest of the iPad line) wasn't even seen.

So why bring this up?

A number of commentators have focused on Apple’s messaging associated with the M3 chips, which focused on users who still are using intel-based Macs and/or MI Macs — a much more reasonable group to try to get to upgrade than the M2 Mac owners who have bought in the last year.

The part of the messaging I want to focus on is where Apple talked about the kind of pros Apple expects to invest in machines using the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max — including not only the jobs (researchers v. programmers v. Video editors) but the kinds of software packages.

These guidelines may help those who wonder where they best fit in the M3 line up. Doubtless, this will help individuals and companies who want the best bang for their buck without defaulting to buying the most expensive machine they can.

Where this connects to my experiment with the iPad Mini begins is my absence from the list of target users for these computers. Neither Apple nor I think I need one of these machines.

That is not only good to know, it is potentially liberating.

There is a certain amount of professional pride (or ego) and desire for geek street cred that drives people like me to want to be associated with the pro computers. To begin, I am a full professor. I am in the top tier of 'pro’ in my profession — even thought most Professors of English are not pushing a Mac’s computing power.

And the kind of professional pride is not what Apple is trying to signal with the marketing title ‘Pro’. That title is a legacy of a time when all power users could and would gravitate to the same machine(s).

If I (and others) don't tie myself to the device with Pro in the title, that frees me up to consider devices like the iPad Mini. Considering the iPad Mini is making me rethink the implications of my input device(s).

It can let us all (Dare I say?) think different about our devices and how to make them better suit our needs rather than aligning with some predetermined paradigm that aligns best with what is easiest for a marketing department to package.

Incidentally, I hope you are going to be good enough to forget that I said all this if Apple releases a Mini Pro (one that permits Stage Manager’s dual screen set up).

I hope Apple continues this trend with its other devices. I would be very interested to hear the extended list of job classes that correspond with the devices they sell. There is bound to be overlap, of course. The iPad Air and the MacBook Air leap to mind here. I suspect their user profiles would primarily differ only in whether the user could better leverage iPadOS or MacOS.

Users will know if they need to take a step up to the "next level” of the benchmarked tiers of the chips and devices — whether it is due to a real need or a pride-based desire for the more expensive machine. But giving them these guidelines is a great step on Apple's part.

The iPad Mini Experiments: Early Limitations

Before I begin to start talking about the limitations I have experienced, let me say that this experiment has been going well. The shift from primarily using the Apple Pencil rather than a keyboard was a surprisingly low hurdle to clear — one that relied more on buying in to overcoming issues. There have been some tradeoffs with this shift but it has not been difficult.

That said, I have been doing an unusual amount of this experiment while on the road (I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden for the annual conference of the International Yeats Society.). It is absolutely true that this environment where the Mini shines. Any device that is easy to use on an economy class tray table is going to seem extra brilliant.

Now that I am back in the classroom and my office, however, some anticipated limitations are coming back to the fore. Most have an obvious work around or adjustment. And any time your tech changes — either because of hardware or software upgrades or new requirements — there will be these kinds of adjustments. The only reason it is worth mentioning is how little adjustment there has been.

The Limitations

Scribble is not universally simple. Pages (as is the case with many other productivity/office suite applications) can be used with the Apple Pencil but it is really set up for a keyboard. Although I have noticed that it gets easier in Pages the more I use Scribble, so it may be that there is a comfort/learning curve for Pages that does not exist with Notes. Notes is the better hand writing experience. It is a trivial shift to make — start using Notes or copy/paste your text from one to the other. It does highlight a surprising absence: you cannot share a Note file to Pages via the share sheet.

It also highlights another feature that would help those who have embraced Scribble: The ability to lock your input to the Pencil rather than an onscreen or mechanical keyboard.

You still need a mouse or trackpad on call. This is less a failing of the Mini and due more to the disinterest of (or failures by) software developers. Whoever is responsible, however, is less important than the need. While in the office, I have used an old Logitech USB-A wired mouse plugged in to a Satechi Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro hub. it works fine but would be an early upgrade if I stuck with a Mini.

I miss Stage Manager. The biggest reason I night not be able to has to do with external monitor support. The monitor at my desk connects nicely enough -- even if I miss the expanded functionality that Stage Manager brings.

The big problem is the monitor at the front of the room when I teach. When I plug in the iPad Pro, it works well. The Mini often produces a black screen.

Because the middle of class is not when one should be troubleshooting, I have not been able to determine if it is a refresh rate issue or just a glitch in the system so I may yet find a work around. Nevertheless, the fact that the iPad Pro works without a glitch and the Mini doesn’t is worth noting.

A Different Kind of Kit

For the record, There is nothing in this post that is is sponsored. I don't say this because I am holier-than-thou. I say it because you should know and because no one has ever offered. (I get it. Tech-forward , middle-aged Yeats scholar is not a highly sought after demographic.) I am, however, including some links here, in case any of these are of interest.

From Apple

My iPad Mini 6 is the 256 gig, WiFi+cellular version in Starlight (The color was selected based on availability.) At the time of purchase, I did not have a hotspot on my cellular plan. If I had, the WiFi version likely would have been enough — although the versatility of having the cellular modem is not without its charms.

I have the Apple Pencil 2 and a Smart Folio case in black. And I have a pair of pre-usb-c AirPods Pro.

And, of course, I have the needed and "just in case" cables, power bricks, and dongles that I have been collecting over the years.

Non-Apple Add-Ons

PenTips 2+ (https://pen.tips/collections/pentips-2)

I have tried a few versions of PenTips offerings. I prefer these over some of their other offerings because the extra drag of the softer tip helps me control the en Apple Pencil a little better and it reduces the tapping sound that comes with the standard, better wearing tip from Apple. That small feeling of increased control is really important now that the Pencil is my primary input device.

I am still thinking about PenTips’ magnetic pen mat. I don't feel like I would like a screen protector most of the time but I can see the advantage in having something that will reduce screen glare in certain environments. And because it is magnetic rather than attaching like Paperlike, I would not have to worry about the commitment to a screen protector I don’t think I would want.  (https://pen.tips/products/penmat?variant=43000769577207)

Twelve South's old iPad Mini BookBook case in Black

I wish I could provide a link to this for you. I picked mine up for the first version of the iPad mini. The 6th gen version does not fit in the old internal flap that held the Mini. But I don't need it to. Instead, I am using it as a carrying case, much like their BookBook Cover for their iPads.

Is it necessary? No. But it provides a little extra protection (Good news for when I toss it in my bag.) and a touch of style. And because it beefs up the size to that of a small book, the case also makes carrying the iPad Mini a little easier.

Thus far, I have resisted getting a portable and/or foldable keyboard. Part of the point of this experiment is to embrace Scribble. Getting a keyboard, therefore, defeats the purpose. If this experiment is wildly successful, however, I may look into one. On MacStories’ Discord, I heard promising things about some of LogiTech’s offerings. That said, a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad at home and work might be all I really need.

Alt hough that vision of the future would require a second monitor at home.

Right now, I a traveling (I was attending an academic conference in Stockholm.) and I only once felt the real need for a different input device ( I was using the web version of DocuSign.) — although editing a Pages document came very close to making it twice. Because I have not found myself writing very long documents, it hasn't felt critical.

I can see how I would need a keyboard if and when I find myself using a productivity suite like Pages-Numbers-Keynote or Word-Excel-PowerPoint. As I spend less time taking notes in panels and more time at my office desk, that need may become more acute.

A New Experiment: The iPad Mini

I had imagined writing this post while on a plane when I first conceived of the experiment. Writing it on a tray table while heading to another continent would have been appropriate, given the size constraints of that space. And it would have offered an air of romance and glamor (so long as you didn’t think too much about the absence of glamor in economy) to boot.

The only reason I'm not is that I have found myself beginning the experiment a good three days sooner than I had expected.

It's probably for the best that I have. Despite this blog's title, it's been a while since my iPad usage truly felt experimental. For several years, almost all of my computing has been done on iPads and it is all but frictionless. The platform is sufficiently mature that no one would be surprised at what I can and will do on a daily basis. And when surprises have occurred, it has been cases of people not knowing there was a good app for that rather than surprise at the iPad’s capabilities.

But there still remains room for experimentation.

It will surprise almost no one that this focus of my experiment is the iPad Mini.

What challenges and benefits will I encounter in using the Mini instead of my iPad Pro?

I want to stress my turn of phrase here. What challenges and benefits. Too often, we try to ask if one device can replace or absorb the role of the other. “Can an iPad replace a laptop?” is the most obvious example of this kind of framework.

The real question is what limitations are you willing to accept so you can take advantage of desired benefits.

And my answer is, and has been since the arrival of the original iPad, that it depends on what you are doing and what set of tradeoffs you are willing to make. I could almost immediately say yes, based on my work’s demands (No special Windows-based programs limited me often enough for it to matter.) and my preference for the form factor.

There were trade offs, of course. Printing was a problem back then but I was willing to email files to my Mac laptop or work desktop to enjoy the device I preferred.

I can already predict some of the challenges with this experiment. I am already encountering some benefits.

What I will not be doing is leaving my iPad Pro at home during this experiment. It is too early in this process and I still have work to do. Some of that work, I may discover, requires going back to the iPad Pro and its Magic Keyboard.

I suspect there will be an entire post on this, but the word keyboard is the biggest conceptual change I will face. This experiment involves me using the Apple Pencil and Scribble as my primary form of textual input.

Spoiler Alert (although this observation is hardly new): Using a stylus and using a keyboard are two different kinds of writing — as a number of studies on retention and student note taking has indicated. The former privileges time to think while the latter privileges speed of input.

So for the next week at least, I plan to use my 6th generation iPad Mini as my daily driver. I’ve already sketched out some posts after a few days of this and suspect there will be more, for those who wish to follow along. I am planning (No promises.) to post a rundown of my 30,000 foot response to the experiment.

I am genuinely curious as to the longer term implications of this in my own work — just as I am curious as to figuring out why I feel the need/desire to conduct this experiment.

Confused by the Confusion (or, What iPad Should I Buy?)

With the release of the newest version of the Apple Pencil, I have begun to see a number of pundits and journalists talk about how confusing the iPad line has become. It is tempting to respond to this with a condescending claim about their own condescension towards "average" consumers — even if it would be wrong to do so.

Those poor, benighted non-techies really can't handle anything beyond the good/better/best progression ninety percent of the time so Apple needs to get rid of those extra models in the lineup, they might say.

Well, I might respond with equal condescension, you just don't get the iPad because your frame of reference is bound to the fourfold division of the Mac promulgated by Steve Jobs when he returned from NEXT, with desktop/ laptop on one axis and consumer/pro on the other — a model that doesn't fit the iPad. (Even though the model kind of does fit...)

Other than providing the smug satisfaction that comes along with any good strawman logical fallacy, this does no one any good. The pundits and reviewers claiming confusion and citing the clarity that adding a larger iPad Air would bring are expressing a real problem that they face every time a friend or family member asks what device they should buy.

It's one thing to offer the wrong advice to a reader or viewer you will never meet. It's another to get to hear the griping every holiday dinner and suffer through the implication that you are bad at your job.

It is equally true that the new Apple Pencil appears to be hinting that there is some kind of change coming. Whether it is a hardware redesign (Does USB-C signal a move away from magnetic charging to make space for a repositioned FaceTime camera?) or a shift in design philosophy (We need a good/better/best progression for the Apple Pencil.) remains to be seen.

That said, the decision tree as to which iPad to buy is simple.

1. Is price the most important thing for you? If yes, get the basic iPad. If not, go to question two.

2. Are you a videographer or professional (or similarly serious) photographer? If yes, get the Pro. If not, go to question 3.

3. Are you looking for maximum portability? Get the Mini.

4. If not, get the Air.

Yes, at each of these steps, there are other questions but those answers come easily. How much memory should I get? How much are you using? What about the screen size? Those who need a big screen or just love the Mini know who they are already.

Those are questions that can be walked through simply enough and most consumers can figure those out.

That said, I want to go back to that two-by-two grid for a second, because it is hiding in the iPad lineup. If you look at those four questions, and don't get distracted by form factor, you can set up the grid -- based on most likely place of use -- with laptop replacement/desktop replacement on one axis and consumer/ professional on the other. The consumer laptop is the Mini. The consumer desktop is the Air ( living in its Magic Keyboard case). The pro laptop is the 11 inch Pro and its desktop counterpart is the 12.9 inch.

The more peripherals you add (e.g., keyboards, track pads, and external monitors), the clearer the alignment becomes.

If Apple were to add a larger iPad Air to the lineup, the grid gets simpler and the Mini becomes more of a specialty item, much as the base iPad is targeted at the education market. Like the Pro, you will know if you need it — either because it speaks to you or because you want a un companion for your Mac.

I am not going to argue iPads and Macs have become interchangeable. They aren't and each comes with strengths and limitations. What I will argue is that there is more consistency and less confusion than may meet the eye for the average consumer than we techies might initially think.

My Own Need for a Come to Jesus Moment

I am still watching an absurd number of iPad Mini videos on YouTube. I am not sure if this is being driven by some of the exciting new features in iPad OS 17 or a weird tablet-focused mid-life crisis where I am wanting to go back to a smaller bag with fewer things in it.

Like many mid-life crisis-esque things, this drive is has a kernel of truth that is layered with a thick coating of fantasy. In this particular case, the truth of the matter is I don't need to be ultra-portable and/or ready to jump on a plane to zip off to some exotic location and give an emergency lecture on the use of A Vision in W.B. Yeats' poetry as if I were some kind of scholarly minute man. I will, for the foreseeable future, be a father and university professor. What trips I take will be planned far in advance. On most days, my mobility requirements will involve walking from my office to a classroom.

The iPad Pro I put in my bag every morning is currently the better device for the classroom. In between Stage Manager and the Magic Keyboard, it provides capabilities and creature comforts that make it a better choice for classroom and office use. (An iPad Air would likely serve me just as well, in that regard.)

But I am, once again, find myself in Notes using the Apple Pencil to write this.

Realistically, I know I am in too many remote meetings to give up on the two device lifestyle — even if I am increasingly hoping/wishing an A17 iPad Mini will be capable of Stage Manager — especially after several benchmark tests have shown the A17 to be comparable to the M1.

And yes, I know the RAM configuration will matter.

But a boy can dream.

While watching these videos, however, I have increasingly had to acknowledge that there is another kernel of truth I need to confront. Either my use case has been shifting or I need an intervention about my relationship with the word "Pro", as it relates to Apple's iPad lineup.

I am primarily a writer and a reader. Yes, more of the writing I do involves emails than it does more creative work. But what I don't do as often is scroll through large spreadsheets like I did while I was a full time administrator. (I'm not convinced I should have been doing that as often as I did anyway.) Some of the problems could have been addressed by deleting or hiding columns with unnecessary data and risking my columns not aligning with other users' spreadsheets.

I still think that moving to an iPad Mini 100% of the time is something that would take a lot of adjustment. I would need to rethink my keyboard and pointing device and if they would fit in my favorite bag from yesteryear. I would need to look at whether I need to get a monitor for home as well as work.

In short, I would need to rethink my relationship to computing. Of course, all of us in the Western world probably need to rethink that, given the way the rest of the world has learned to use their phones. Given the difficulty inherent in that kind of self-reflection, the good news is that I have time to do so.

Nevertheless, it is something I need (and, given the number of these videos I have been watching, I suspect I may want) to do.

Managing Stages with Apple

Apple takes a much longer view with its hardware and software than most people realize. Developers are annually reminded of this at Apple's Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) when they are gently prodded to update their apps to use newer APIs -- sometimes years in advance of the hardware changes the APIs are designed to support..

This long term approach exists in tension with Apple's secretive approach to its future releases. As a result, so much of the innovative work being done only becomes clear in hindsight.

Take, for example, CarPlay. The new dashboard display that came with iOS13 was a fresh, new look—something more useful than the grid of apps. And having a map and some tappable controls available was a nice, creature comfort advance.

After the release of widgets in iOS and iPadOS the following year, however, the design of CarPlay began to look like a precursor of things to come. Now that widgets have became increasingly interactive, it is now obvious that Apple had been playing with the concept of a simplified, tappable interface for iPhones and iPads prior to its open deployment for users.

It's anyone's guess if this was always Apple's plan or if, one day, a clever engineer looked up, turned to their colleagues, and said, "You know, we could do this on a phone, too!”

I was considering this as I listened to the tvOS review on App Stories this morning — especially the parts about where Apple could go with its iOS equivalent of the Mac Mini.

Let me add to the wish list for such a device.

There is an underused USB part on the back of every AppleTV. Those USB ports are obvious places to connect a media server or a backup drive. That puts us one app away from an iOS-based Time Machine app.

As my old Mac Mini limps toward retirement, I would like to have a new method of backing up our family photos.in an ideal world, I would prefer an ids-based solution. A more advanced Apple TV is an obvious solution — especially for a growing customer base that is less interested in maintaining a macOS infrastructure alongside their iOS/iPadOS infrastructure.

In saying this, I recognize this may sound like a concern from a different era. But there is something about your child's baby pictures that makes you want to take the belt and suspenders approach to backing up your data.

At the Risk of (Briefly) Stating the Obvious

For those of you carrying an M-series iPad or Mac into the classroom and plugging into a projector, turn on Stage Manager. You will be able to keep your screen private (letting you access things that might violate FERPA or do searches on the web that make you hesitate).

While you are setting up Stage Manager, schedule a Focus Mode to turn on for class. This prevents all sorts of badly timed messages from accidentally disrupting class.

Not that I have ever done something like that to my wife.

These two small settings changes let your devices improve the quality of your life in the classroom.

Advice Instead of Just Complaining

Thus far in this blog's reboot, I have spent a good bit of time asserting that faculty need to change, adapt, and grow. But I have provided few examples and less advice on how we might do that.

In this post, I'd like to provide a place to start.

I'm an English Professor so my practical advice begins there. (Here?)

For many years, I have asked students to submit papers that required research. I spent time expansion how, where, and why to conduct that research.

With the arrival of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, I have begun to recognize I forgot to tell students something important about their research.

Here is what I am now telling them:

Whatever research they do, I can replicate. If I wanted to learn about their topics, I could go to the library and read the articles they have found. I can easily access what other scholars or journalists, or other experts have already said.

What I cannot do is find what they think about the topic.

That is what they bring to their assignments that ChatGPT never can.

And that is what I value most.

The rules of grammar and the skill of writing still matter, of course, but in an age when machines learn and compose, they need to be reminded of the central value of their voice and viewpoint -- even if they are imperfectly, partially formed.

But research should be there to support their thoughts — not replace them.

And my job is to help them better learn to express their own thoughts — not merely parrot the thoughts of others.

The challenge for all of us is that we cannot always be interested and sometimes we have to be more prescriptive so that students learn the skills they need to express themselves.. We get tired and overwhelmed. We can’t be there 100% of the time and we are often asked to care for more students than we should by administrators whose job it is to focus on the numbers.

But our students have to learn that we try.