Please wait...
No, I'm not a convert ... but I got a piece of fruit.
It appears to be a 4th generation iPad, stuck at OS level 10.3.3 because Apple isn't updating them anymore. We use iPads in the worship band at my church as remote controls for our monitor mixes, and the new sound board has an app that won't work with hardware this old. So we upgraded, I asked for one of the discards, and got one.
This isn't really for "I have an iPad now" ... but even I have to concede that Apple tablets are an all-around nicer experience than Android tablets.
I'm not much of a tablet guy at all though. I took it home so I can test their calendar and contacts apps with the updated calendar and contacts layers I'm building into Citadel. I haven't picked the thing up for any other reason.
It's a weird use case, one where older is actually better. Because if my software is compatible with the older ones, it's likely to be compatible with the newer ones. Can't say the same thing for the other way around.
Are they though? Really? It depends on your use case. I like emulation. ARM cores do that well. But not on an Apple - unless you jailbreak it - and that is a vector for HUGE attack on your world.
You know, because they're safer and more secure - as long as you stay inside the Apple kingdom. Step outside, and you're effed.
This isn't really for "I have an iPad now" ... but even I have to concede that Apple tablets are an all-around nicer experience than Android tablets.
Maybe. I haven't thought about it for long because I'm not really a tablet person. I'm just not a fan of the form factor. The ipad came home, I tried the calendar and address book apps against my DAV implementation, noted where I need to make some fixes, and it's been sitting in the drawer ever since. I liked my netbook, back when they made them, but those were all replaced by full-fat laptops with cramped keyboards and tiny screens and power-hungry Intel processors, not really the same thing.
Also I just don't care, I guess. Once I broke the doomscrolling habit I just don't have a need for something half way between a phone and a computer. If I want to engage with the online world I sit down at the computer. Everyone should break the doomscrolling habit. My wife flicks through instabooktok constantly. Sometimes she accidentally activates something with sound and that is when I instantly stop talking to her and walk out of the room. I refuse to share her attention with slop.
My condolences.
Plenty of unencumbered Android or Chromebook options out there. Or even Linux or fydeos..
No, I'm not a convert ... but I got a piece of fruit.
I do heavy Facebook, sometimes visit X, and spend some time here when I get bored of those two... and need a Windows PC for things like 3D printing and video and photo editing and other apps of that nature. So, I don't use the iPad for much - communicating with other people with Apple devices - I could do that on my MacBook too, though. But mostly I have the iPad because Apple insists on doing a lot of 2 factor things through another APPLE device - and although I've got a couple of Macs - they seem to want to send those notifications to the iPad. It is obviously how they lock people into their ecosystem.
Assuming you mean additive filament 3D printing, every tool of any value has a Linux version too.
And never forget, we also have wine.. for those outliers. ( at least many, sure its not perfect .. )
Fri Apr 10 2026 02:47:42 UTC from ParanoidDelusions3D printing
Plenty of unencumbered Android or Chromebook options out
there. Or even Linux or fydeos..
Right. But I didn't get it to "have a tablet" , I got it to test Apple's specific implementations of CardDAV and CalDAV with the new Citadel servers for those protocols.
I ran the tests, made a note of what worked and what needs to be adjusted, and it has sat in the drawer ever since.
Thankfully, i never fell for that as i saw it for what it was long before it became common. Could see this a mile away.
Tho, i do see general value in a tablet for some use cases, but since i don't go into an office anymore, its not often used in my case, mostly during doctor runs and stuff while siting in waiting rooms 'just in case'. Back in the old days id take it to watch movies or something during breaks/lunch/quiet time. Far easier than dealing with a laptop size, battery life, etc. Early on i used them to read books ( tho never fond of it, was better than carrying around paper ). But once e-ink was viable, that stopped. Oh, and normally id carry around a 9" ( or similar sized ) not the larger ones. "just enough"
They are also good if you road travel, larger ( but not too large ) screens for maps and such ( pre AI-phone days, now it just talks to you. but i still prefer a map so i can see where i'm going before i get there.. ). And good for car diagnostics, WiFi building scanning, etc. Good for family outings, if you want to bring pictures.
Sure, all edge cases for people like us, but still cases for use.
And ya, same sort of spousal issue here. however not once in a while, it was 24/7, at loud volume. However recently, her getting Bluetooth enabled hearing aids has pretty much stomped it. However, i do have to wave if i need to speak, so she turns off whatever garbage is on. ( and related, i don't see how anyone can watch those 10 second videos, all freaking day.. no wonder the attention span of average person is about the same as flea )
Of course my use for digital anything ( beyond music, separate mp3 player ) has been drastically reduced. Sort of surprised i'm here, to be honest.
Also I just don't care, I guess. Once I broke the doomscrolling habit I just don't have a need for something half way between a phone and a computer. If I want to engage with the online world I sit down at the computer. Everyone should break the doomscrolling habit. My wife flicks through instabooktok constantly. Sometimes she accidentally activates something with sound and that is when I instantly stop talking to her and walk out of the room. I refuse to share her attention with slop.
https://bambulab.com/en/download/studio
How come I can download a win executable, or a OS X .dmg, but I have to go to GitHub to grab the Linux version? I don't know... I just always feel like Linux versions are more "beta". They just don't get the same sort of love and attention - and there is an assumption that the people on Linux don't need the hand holding that Mac and Windows users need.
And... honestly - I don't... but I enjoy the convenience of having it be more polished. After I got relatively REALLY good at Linux again running Proxmox, Debian and Citadel - I really considers making a go of being a Linux primary user. I do very little outside of a web browser these days... But when I step back and look at it...
VR Sim Racing - right there - with Fanatec rig and Assetto Corsa and iRacing - That is going to keep me locked into a Windows ecosystem. And if I'm in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.
Also I just don't care, I guess. Once I broke the
doomscrolling habit I just don't have a need for something half
way between a phone and a computer. If I want to engage with
Consumer grade tablets are good for salesmen and for not much people else.
For salesmen it is quite nice a form factor because they can carry a cataloge with them and also interface with the parent company systems (say, to upload customer data or place orders via web app, while they are visiting customers in some remote location).
I got myself an old tablet years ago as a promotional gift. It was ok as the means to write articles and stories during bus trips, but not much else.
Personally id rather do that. I dont really trust binaries.
Wed Apr 15 2026 03:18:05 UTC from ParanoidDelusionshttps://bambulab.com/en/download/studio
How come I can download a win executable, or a OS X .dmg, but I have to go to GitHub to grab the Linux version? I don't know... I just always feel like Linux versions are more "beta". They just don't get the same sort of love and attention - and there is an assumption that the people on Linux don't need the hand holding that Mac and Windows users need.
And... honestly - I don't... but I enjoy the convenience of having it be more polished. After I got relatively REALLY good at Linux again running Proxmox, Debian and Citadel - I really considers making a go of being a Linux primary user. I do very little outside of a web browser these days... But when I step back and look at it...
VR Sim Racing - right there - with Fanatec rig and Assetto Corsa and iRacing - That is going to keep me locked into a Windows ecosystem. And if I'm in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.
How come I can download a win executable, or a OS X .dmg, but I
have to go to GitHub to grab the Linux version? I don't know...
Sounds like a developer who doesn't deserve you as a user.
AppImage exists. So do .deb and .rpm if they want to go the traditional route. Hell, even curl|bash is still completely legitimate. Sending you to GitHub is no better than sending you to PornHub. In fact, since GitHub is run by Microsoft it's probably worse and less secure.
My issue with appimage, ( well i have a couple ) is the bloat that comes with it. Reminds me of the old MacOS where each app folder had everything there.. no de-dup with shared libraries. Is also a bit more of a black box, which for us paranoids, are not thrilled with.
At least with 'real' installs you don't have that issue. Tho you can run into library hell i do agree.
And ya, 'storage is cheap'. Until all your apps take up gigs.. then it slowly eats away your storage.
Fri Apr 17 2026 22:32:12 UTC from IGnatius T FoobarHow come I can download a win executable, or a OS X .dmg, but I
have to go to GitHub to grab the Linux version? I don't know...
Sounds like a developer who doesn't deserve you as a user.
AppImage exists. So do .deb and .rpm if they want to go the traditional route. Hell, even curl|bash is still completely legitimate. Sending you to GitHub is no better than sending you to PornHub. In fact, since GitHub is run by Microsoft it's probably worse and less secure.
I understand, and I even agree with you. That's how it is now, though. You have to choose between complexity hell and big images. These days, most publishers are choosing big images. If you can get your program into the system repos, that's great, but it also means you have to get it into every major distribution's repo.
Nowadays a lot of language environments (Go, etc) just emit static linked binaries anyway.
I never check the source code line by line - I just compile it. Even if I did - I wouldn't know what I was looking for. I get it for some of you it is an added level of - assurance? But for most users - compiling the binary is just another ridiculous step in getting to the executable code that does what they want. I don't trust ANY of it. 150,000 lines of code - anything could be in there - I'd never find it.
Wed Apr 15 2026 15:16:20 UTC from Nurb432Personally id rather do that. I dont really trust binaries.
I rarely read it as well, but. with it out there in the open, the chances of something slipping past and no one noticing, is rare. And these days, for all their faults, places like GitHub do regular automated scans of code, the last i heard.
Sun Apr 26 2026 06:27:39 UTC from ParanoidDelusionsI never check the source code line by line - I just compile it. Even if I did - I wouldn't know what I was looking for. I get it for some of you it is an added level of - assurance? But for most users - compiling the binary is just another ridiculous step in getting to the executable code that does what they want. I don't trust ANY of it. 150,000 lines of code - anything could be in there - I'd never find it.
Wed Apr 15 2026 15:16:20 UTC from Nurb432Personally id rather do that. I dont really trust binaries.