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wizard69 said:

seanismorris said:

Where the larger iPads can do work, the mini is truly an expensive toy...

Not really.    I’m seriously thinking about getting one for my truck.  It would be a better GPS solution than a tiny iPhone but not so big that it would be in the way like the larger iPads.  I need to put more thought into this but the iPad Min just might be the ideal travel tablet.  

I have had the same idea. In my experience not necessarily worth it, unless you want to have 2 apps open at once like maps and music. Primary issue is having another device to take everywhere.  Don’t want to leave it in the car due to concerns about theft.  I’m happy with my iPhone XS Max for in car use.  

Note that if you want to use the mini as a GPS you need to get the cellular version, as the wi-fi only version does not have a GPS chip.  The wi-fi only version of the mini can approximate your location by scanning local wifi networks, but this is not adequate for active use while driving.

I own the 3rd generation iPad Pro 12.9 and the new iPad mini 5 and also the iPhone XS Max.  Having all 3 is the only “no-compromise” iOS choice for me.

Hardly a toy - the new mini 5 which I recently bought, it is the ultimate consumption device.  Unlike all the larger iPads, the mini is just the right size for holding.  For the same reason practically all e-readers are similar in size to an iPad mini and not larger.  When I am at home, the mini is my primary go-to device.

With Apple pencil support, and a folding keyboard, it is by far the most capable productivity solution that fits into a coat pocket or purse.  For most productivity tasks my iPhone XS Max, even with the same folding keyboard and a decent stylus, is a PITA.  The iPhone XS Max is great for a camera and some basics tasks, but it’s far behind the iPad mini 5 in terms of both a decent consumption and productivity device. Just today using my iPad mini and Apple pencil on the go, I received a document that I marked up with my Apple pencil, and then sent back.  Not as ideal as doing it on the 12.9 iPad Pro, but still a near hassle free experience.  Apple pencil support on the iPad mini is a productivity game changer.

For getting real work done - I tend to do that in coffee shops, I bring along my 12.9 iPad Prom with Apple Pencil V2, and an Apple magic Keyboard.  Even the 11 inch iPad Pro doesn’t come close for productivity.  It’s still too small.  I have used the 9.7, and 10.5 sizes for years, and the 11 inch iPad Pro is not large enough it make a difference.  The experience doing work on anyone these iPads always felt constrained.

The 12.9 iPad is for me the ONLY iPad that makes for a truly effective productivity device.  Large enough for practical split screen, triple columns in the mail app, and extra on screen tools that just don’t fit on an iPad 11.  The latest 12.9 inch iPad Pro is also almost exactly the size of an 8.5x11 inch letter size paper, and very similar to European A4 paper sizes.  Working on documents with a smaller iPad is always a compromise because they cant match “real life” size like the 12.9 iPad can.

Even the larger iPad is not ridiculous to use as a handheld device - something I would not say about the first 2 generations with their large bezels. For Apple News and magazines, pages can be “real-life” size, no need to zoom in on parts of a page.

My MacBook Pro and my iMac at home get very little use.  To me they both feel like outdated computing forms.  There are a very small subset of tasks they can do which they iPads can’t.  Still I rarely use my Macs at all.  They are a much greater pain to maintain to - with needless complexity.  Even with Apple’s help I have yet to get my SSD on the iMac to correctly report free space.  Every since copying over a large folder from iCloud, it has been messed up.  None of the typical solutions have worked. I’m probably going to have to wipe the iMac and restore it.

There is no one size fits all device - not for all people - not even for an individual.

If I had to pick just one iPad - it would be the 2018 12.9 inch pro, but having the new mini 5 allows me to grab the best device for the task,

I likely own more personal Apple products than 99% of AI readers***.  That doesn’t keep me from being objective.  Your last condescending line about how CBC apparently can’t be relied on for complete reporting, is ironic at best.

Even given your above reply that you have had Apple staff tell you alternative recovery options is suspect, especially after your above comment regarding the CBC. It’s a little late to say “oh yeah, thanks for pointing that out”.  You accuse CBC of incomplete reporting yet you fail to address this obvious issue in your article until a reader points it out?  A little convenient I think, and coming after the article seems suspect without being able to prove it.

In the article you also gloss over and dismiss Apple apparently deleting references in its forums to alternative recovery options.You make some weak excuse of legal quagmires of referencing 3rd parties, and then you completely castrate your own argument by trumpeting how it is absurd for someone to confuse Apple users in Apple forums with Apple employees. This in addition to claiming in your comment reply above that you have been told by Apple staff in service situations that there are other options.

Your fail to take Apple to task for deleting this information with the weakest non-sene I have ever read... “well this is Apple’s house, so well we can’t say anything about that”.... seriously.... ? Isn’t that the whole point of the article?

Do you actually believe your article is objective and balanced?

It’s definitely not IMO helping dispel the Apple people as sheep stereotype.

***my personal current Apple products include an iPhone Xs Max, Apple Watch series 4, iPad Mini 5, 3rd gen 12.9 iPad Pro, Apple pencil 1 and 2, multiple Apple TV HD and 4K, MacBook Pro, iMac, and more.......  that doesn’t the numerous additional Apple products that I have purchased for other members of my household or other mostly retired Apple products I still own and have not sold.....

I have owned every generation of iPad since the very first model.  I have owned most generations of the iPhone since the iPhone 4.  The iPad was always my preferred device to use because of its larger screen.

My iPhone X changed that to a large degree. I still used my iPads most of the time though. The iPhone X display, despite its beautiful OLED, was still too small for regular use.

Then I got the iPhone Xs Max.  Finally a big enough display, to put other factors into significant consideration. Quality Vs quantity. For the first time since I started using iOS devices, my iPhone has replaced my iPad as my most preferred, and most used device.

Used to be I would always bring my iPad to the coffee shop.  Now I frequently leave it at home. Together with a foldable keyboard, the Xs Max in my pocket often says “see ya later” to my iPad Pro as I head out the door.

The 2018 iPad Pros, while dressed up quite nicely, remain second rate LCD cousins to the drop dead gorgeous OLED iPhone XS Max.

AppleZulu said:

Here's a question. For those who own networked light bulbs, how do you get everyone in the household to not flip associated light switches off, rendering the whole point of networked bulbs useless? I have a couple of lamps plugged into networked plug-in adapters, and even those required a stiff learning curve to prevent the lamps themselves from getting switched off. Replacing hard-wired wall switches that control hard-wired light fixtures seems to me to have been the only way to prevent regular disabling of networked lighting.

Here's the scenario: the techie member of the household gets everything set up to have networked light bulbs timed to go on and off, plus the ability to switch them on and off remotely so that a simulated at-home appearance is ready to go before the two-week family vacation. After the plane lands at a destination a thousand miles away, the techie spouse learns that the non-techie spouse went through the house right before they left to check the stove and all the locks and faucets and switch off all the lights, just to be sure everything was squared away for the trip. You know this has happened out there somewhere, more than once.

I did a little more searching on the web, and have found what seems to be the perfect solution.  It looks to prevent accidental use of the switch, while also allowing deliberate use.  By default a small tool is needed to activate the switch. Optionally the access hole can be made just large enough for deliberate finger tip access.  It screws on with the switch mount screws, so can be used on any custom combination of "multi-gang" switch box arrangements.

http://switchshield.com/?page_id=40