{"id":36026,"date":"2022-05-31T15:17:50","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T19:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=36026"},"modified":"2022-06-02T15:09:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T19:09:47","slug":"rediscovering-the-mac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/31\/rediscovering-the-mac\/","title":{"rendered":"Rediscovering the Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federico Viticci<\/a> (tweet<\/a>):<\/p>\n

As much as I love the iPad, at some point I have to face its current reality: if Apple thinks iPadOS isn’t a good fit for the kind of functionalities people like me need, that’s fine, but perhaps it’s time to try something else. If my requirements are no longer aligned with Apple’s priorities for iPadOS, I can switch to a different computer. That’s why I believe 2022 – and the upcoming WWDC – will be a make-or-break year for iPad software<\/a>. And I don’t think I’m the only iPad user who has felt this way<\/a>.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

For the past six months, I’ve been using my MacBook Pro instead of the iPad Pro to get my work done on a daily basis.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

Now, it’s not like all these things are possible on macOS because of ports (except for, you know, the multiple monitors thing): it’s just that they’re more user-friendly and well, nicer<\/em> than trying to do the same on iPad. The computer doesn’t punish you for trying to do computer-y things.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

Then there’s the keyboard. It’s a real keyboard: the layout and size is perfect for my hands, the keys feel great, and I love the black area around the keys; it’s a very tasteful look. More importantly, however, this keyboard has an extra row of function keys, whose absence I’ve long considered the single most limitating aspect of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The single most important quality of macOS I’ve rediscovered over the past few months is the freedom to use my computer however I want. With the MacBook Pro, the App Store does not dictate the kind of software I can run on my machine; I am free to create my own experience – and tweak it over time – by installing apps and system modifications that go beyond putting apps on my Home Screen.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

There are several Mac-only features in Shortcuts, but the multitude of ways to run shortcuts in the background on macOS is the one that truly sets it apart.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Matthew Cassinelli<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Things like running multiple shortcuts at once using keyboard shortcuts, setting up all my shortcuts on the Stream Deck, and the kind of power user apps available on the Mac are pushing the Shortcuts ecosystem much further in just one year than iPad saw in multiple years of development — beyond everything else Federico lists[…]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n