Discussion on:

Bye bye MacBook, hello iPad: Why I'm taking the tablet

Except I've replaced my Windows notebook with a Windows 8 Slate so in a way, I'm kind of cheating in that I still carry around a full pc with me minus the weight

Not trying to sound too snide (OK, to be honest I am being a little bit snide) but it's been fun watching people come around to a better understanding to how powerful a TOOL the iPad (and other tables) can be in the workplace. I was a very early user of the iPad (as in from day #1) and from the very beginning it seems perfectly clear to me how much of a game changer the iPad was going to be. I have to admit I take great joy in remembering how much crap I took as a "fanboi" from the iHaters for taking the position that the iPad was going to change everything, and now watching so many of them eat crow (my favorite dig was that I must wear Apple pajamas??? lol). It was actually because of the iPad that I first came to TechRepublic. I was looking for insight on tips, trick, etc. from the tech-types here and boy was I surprised to see how limited the imagination was for so many, and how venomous their attitude was toward the iPad. Now, you've got to have blinders on, with a sack over your head, and have your head stuck in the sand to still think the iPad is "just a toy" and "has no place in business". There, I've said it??? (I told you so) and I feel better!

When I got my first generation iPad the use of my laptop immediately decreased. From email (for work) and browsing the web (often for research at work), to using apps that made it possible to leave the laptop closed more than not, the iPad was a powerful substitute for my laptop right away. Obviously, the iPad doesn't completely replace a full blown computer, but it sure can do the same job for many tasks. And, with every new version that is released and with more and more great apps, it gets a little more capable all the time.

As a part-time photographer I still need my laptop, so the iPad hasn't replaced my laptop (and won't for a long time) because I need the power and input capabilities of a traditional "computer". At the same time, it has certainly taken on tasks that I used to have to use my laptop for, and it does those tasks much easier, and more elegantly (like showing photos to clients, making presentations, etc.). And, the iPad has taken on new tasks that I couldn't do or couldn't easily do with my laptop, such as google earth while in the field, using an app to see which way the sun/moon would rise and fall in relation to a give location, taking sample photos and being able to email them on the fly, and so on.

From the beginning my position for tech-types has been "put your thinking cap on" and think of how the iPad can be used in the workplace and benefit from adapting it early, and look like a hero. Or better yet, write some useful apps and benefit all the way to the bank.

"More and more great apps" is the quote that says it all. If you think this is a "game changer" I'm boggled. Using apps to get work done is like drinking a bath tub through a straw. Then you explain why: you're a photographer. Can someone who actually uses computers for a living tell me what's so great about the iPad?

Try reading the article. Better yet, try looking at history--say, about 30 years ago. Many, many people said that desktop computers would be a fad and you'd never see one outside of the work environmnet. Now you see them in roughly 2/3rds of American homes and over 1.3 billion in use world wide. The modern tablet, for all it's supposed limitations, does far, far more than those first desktop computers.

App is an abbreviation for the word Application, which is what every .exe has been for those last 30 years. However, the difference is that these apps are designed specifically for the new form factor and lack all the bloat and fluff that has caused the size of applications to balloon. If you were to strip all the old, legacy code for the existing apps and effectively re-write them for a modern machine, you'd find that they'd be anywhere from half to 1/3rd the size they are now--that includes Microsoft's own apps like Office and Adobe's Photoshop. You look at what's available for tablets and they're a fraction of the size with pretty much the same power as Office and Photoshop originally had 25-30 years ago. What we've seen however, is lazy developers that simply comment out old code and add new whenever they make a change for upgrading. That and that alone is the reason why most applications today take up gigabytes of space when they could easily get by on 1/10th as much. The best code is clean code and tablet software is proving it.

anil_g
"Using apps to get work done is like drinking a bath tub through a straw." - Well, I'm not sure what you're trying to say (other than you seem to like drinking bathtub water), but I would assume you are saying that using apps is limiting and implying that the iPad can't be a game changer because of it's limitations. To that I say BS. (Note: the original phasing referring back to the post two levels above stating "Now, you've got to have blinders on, with a sack over your head, and have your head stuck in the sand to still think the iPad is 'just a toy' and 'has no place in business'" was removed by poster as to not be perceived as a personal attack) People wouldn't be using the iPad at work in the huge numbers that they are if they were limiting. The company I work for has rolled out iPads to all salesmen and all location managers across the company (300+ location = thousands of employees w/iPads). Not only do our employees use the iPad for work using standard apps (Keynote, Pages, etc) but we have developed a custom app (yes, you can do that without going through the Apple app store). By using an app of our own deign, our employees can show customers items in our inventory and their availability, write quotes, make reservations and execute rental contracts, document jobsite and equipment conditions (including photographs), etc. So the whole idea that the iPad has no place in business, and that one can't be productive with an iPad is already proven to be just wrong. And while I'll give you that not every business has done what ours has, the fact is it can (and is) being done by some. Mostly, the problem for many companies is an unimaginative and/or incapable and/or underfunded IT staff that isn't capable or can't figure out how to make the iPad a part of the workflow for the workforce for whom they are supposed to support. Even without using customized apps, there are lots of folks out there who are already finding ways to make themselves more productive with the iPad (and other tablets).

Back to the bathtub thing. If you want to equate the iPad to bathing (strange comparison, but whatever floats your boat) the iPad isn't comparable to drinking the bath water, but more like the invention of the shower (a game changer). Although you can get clean using both, the process is different and generally quicker by using a shower. No, you won't be as comfy as you might be in your bubble bath, not to mention that playing with your rubber ducky just isn't the same, but you'll get the job done in a shower just the same, only differently. (Such a strange comparison, but whatever)

"Then you explain why: you're a photographer. Can someone who actually uses computers for a living tell me what's so great about the iPad?" - So photographers don't use computers for a living. Interesting. I guess you've never heard of PhotoShop, layout design, printing, etc.. I'm pretty sure anyone who knows anything about what a photographer does in this age of digital photography knows that your position here is either wrong, or just an attempt to discredit someone who's opinion you do not agree with (don't address the point, just attempt to make the person irrelevant). Besides, I said I'm a "part-time photographer", and above I spoke to how we are using iPads at my job (that I make my living at). Or, were you trying to say that only tech-types use computers to make a live, the rest are just stupid users?

Maybe, if you'd stop drinking dirty bathwater your attitude would be so stinky.

To that I say BS, and you must be one of those folks with their head buried in the sand.

The sentence should have ended at "BS".

To disagree with another is acceptable. To use it as justification for personal attack is not.

I removed the phrasing that has been labeled as offensive and replaced it with "(Note: the original phasing referring back to the post two levels above stating "Now, you've got to have blinders on, with a sack over your head, and have your head stuck in the sand to still think the iPad is 'just a toy' and 'has no place in business.'" was removed by poster as to not be perceived as a personal attack)".

With all of the "the iPad doesn't work for business" comments you have made (just within this threat), the only thing you have a response for in all that I wrote was to "moderate" my comments? Nothing on the fact that I spoke a lot to how the iPad is currently being used in my company's business. In fact, I gave real life examples of how it IS being used, and yet no acknowledgment (or more likely rebuttal)?

Interesting. Not surprising, but interesting.

In the words of the great Cindy Lauper "I see your true color's shining through."

I've seen it used in business, and used effectively. I state that I can't use it in my work.

The iPad doesn't have the interface capabilities I need at work, and, to the best of my knowledge, can only obtain them if I build a kluge that starts with the camera adapter cable and includes an external usb hub, at least one hard drive, and a windows virtual machine.

But there's still a big section about bath water and rubby duckies. Perhaps we should start our own thread. I was only mentioning baths but it seems you would like to talk about showers and rubby duckies too? Please enlighten me how that is on topic or do start another thread with your exciting new topic.

..in the several paragraphs that I wrote the thing you chose to respond to here was the few lines where I was poking fun at your reference to drinking a bathtub, and then talk about being off topic? Yep, I'm the one having a hard time staying on topic.

Stick to the facts, bart. Who's stinky here? The only content you have against me seems to be sarcastic remarks about bath water. Have you got a point to make? Better make it.

I never said iPad wasn't productive, but I did say it's not a game changer the way the hysteria tells it, and I did say it won't replace the laptop like the article title says.

Only last night I was typing in a URL to Safari and I needed to INSERT A CHARACTER earlier in the URL. No, not possible. You have to RETYPE THE WHOLE THING.

Again, I started typing some content and my mind recalled a comment in this thread from someone (was it you) who claimed they typed on the touch screen as fast as they type on a keyboard. I shake my head to think about their typing speed.

These are the productivity inhibitors I'm talking about that I think there is sufficient technology available to workaround within the form factor of an iPad but vendors are not deploying them.

Sure you can type some few words on the road and make a sales presso. I never said otherwise.

Can you get off the personal comments (you have the attitude) and try to address the facts? You must be really upset, are you? What about? Someone rock your boat?

..a predisposition to dismiss a new technology such as the ipad, obviously without ever actually using it (or getting to know what you are doing if you really do have one). Obviously I say because you don't seem to know what you are talking about. For example, if you had you would know that you DO NOT have to backspace to correct a mis-type in a URL in Safari (in your example above) because all you actually have to do is touch and hover (hold your finger down) in the general area of the text that you would like to fix and a magnifying "bubble" pops up so you can fine-tune your placement, then you release and fix the error. From there you simply tap at the end of the URL string and continue.

Another example of claiming limitations that do not exist that I recall seeing (yours?) is that you can't easily select text to cut/copy and paste. Again, WRONG! Just double tap the word at the beginning or end of the text you want to cut/copy, hold your finger down on the second tap and then drag to the end of your selection. When you release it gives the option to Copy, Cut, etc.

To answer your question if it was me who said something about typing fast.. no, I was not the one that has said anything here about typing fast. Having cleared that up, I will say that I type ALMOST as fast on the iPad as I do on a regular keyboard (@45 WPM) due to the "phone like" autocorrect system. Because the iPad does a pretty decent job at fixing mis-tyed word (not always, but pretty good) I generally type pretty quickly and the autocorrect fixes most error. Also, by NOT taking the time to stop every time it doesn't get it right and continuing on I finish what I'm typing quickly. Then it's just a matter of double-tap selecting the errors and fixing them (which is fast as opposed to your misunderstanding of the technology). Also, by double spacing after a sentence ends the iPad automatically places a period at the end of the sentence and capitalizes the next word, so again one little enhancement that speeds up the process a little to counter the little bit of slowing down due to the touch interface. Again, you'd be less limited if you de-limited you knowledge and got to know what you are doing, before throwing stones at the technology.

Maybe if less time was spent trying to prove how limiting the iPad is, one might consider lifting one's own limitations by having an open mind. Never know what might come of it.

Oh great, Bart, so you've FINALLY started discussing the TOPIC. Welcome back. Thanks for your instructions, they are informative.

I tried everything to get a cursor into the URL, I have seen the magnifying "bubble" before without knowing what it was for, but I didn't pop up at any time when I was trying everything to edit the URL. Perhaps I'll be more succesful now that I know specifically what I'm supposed to be doing.

I have done some copy and paste before but the touchscreen doesn't seem to respond reliably and accurately enough all the time. Sometimes I get copy and paste pops up when I don't want it, and sometimes I can't get it to work when I do want it. As I've said, I'm interested in getting a stylus. Perhaps iPad should have a way of docking / clipping a stylus on.

I think the same judgement prevails over this sort of functionality as over your typing comments. Ok, so you CAN do it, if you try and fiddle enough, but the speed and accuracy is not really there. Like I said, I love the iPad but it won't replace my laptop yet. I'm happy to carry a keyboard around with it so that I can get the flexibility of with keyboard / without keyboard modes, but I've yet to clearly see any argument from anyone that the iPad will replace their laptop.

"so you CAN do it, if you try and fiddle enough".. People everywhere are using the iPad in many was to be more productive a work, and you still do not accept that it's more productive and less limiting that you though (even after being shown that you don't know what you are doing with something as simple as select, cut and paste). I think it's more like you can't use it quickly, but it doesn't mean vast numbers of people aren't already using it in the workplace and allowing them to leave their laptops closed, if not unused.

"but I've yet to clearly see any argument from anyone that the iPad will replace their laptop" - How about this article about an ESPN reporter? Real world enough?
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/25/how-an-ipad-speeds-reporting-from-nascars-pit-row/

The I pad nor any tablet I have used has enough computing power to Handel large excel spreadsheets or any large documents. It is a fine tool for watching TV or surfing the web but real work will still need a pc or Mac.

You're arguing for yesterday's technology to dominate what tomorrow's technology can offer.
Few people require as much computing muscle as I do. I tweak images in Photoshop all day long. The more power the better. When I purchased an iPad a year and a half ago, I never thought for a second that it would, or could compete with my desktop. I used your same argument and knew it would be impossible.

But guess what? When I'm not at the office, the iPad is producing about 80% of my images now. No, they're not the same extreme resolution as what the desktop can handle, but I have developed work-arounds and other tricks. And because of the far-superior touch interface combined with a retina display, I am achieving far better results than what I did with the desktop. True, every now and then a compromise will have to be made but I also realize with the rapid improvements happening with tablet technology, tomorrow's tablet will easily be the platform of choice for many, many computing needs.

So please, don't try to return us to the stone ages. Let's move on.

How exactly did you get a Retina Display on the previous model iPad? After all you did say you bought the iPad 18 months ago.

They only became available with the new model and not the old model which was superseded.

Col

As for your argument itself, it really depends on the use for which you put a tablet to as to whether it's sufficient for the task. As an all-out accounting machine, maybe, maybe not. On the other hand, for photographers, writers and many, many other people the tablet can be the perfect intermediate device that takes up less space (say, at sales meetings) while offering all the 'power' necessary. Even if you do end up needing to carry a bluetooth keyboard, there are times (like at that sales meeting) where it's more convenient to have the keyboard disconnected from the display so you can type without obstructing your clients' view of what you're working with. Simply put, there's a convenience factor that no laptop, not even a convertible-style tablet, can offer. And you just might be surprised at how effective Numbers can be as a spreadsheet app.

Yeah, I get that, it's like a portable presentation. You've got your images prepared on the iPad and you can even log in to a web app and show them how it works. Great. Then go back to the office and do some work on a computer, instead of a phone.

Maybe some of the Android tablets can do more? Can you connect a keyboard and mouse? That's the minimum starting point where a tablet is going to START to become useful.

Perhaps a keyboard would be slightly useful, but heaven forbid adding a mouse. That seems like such a major leap backwards! I'm using a mouse right now because my desktop doesn't have touchscreen, but I in no way consider the mouse to be anywhere near a good touchscreen as far as a useful interface is concerned. A mouse was great when first introduced, but that's because of the restrictions on technology at the time, not because it's the ideal solution.

Are you kidding? If it had a mouse I might be able to edit my text.

Clearly, a touchscreen on the go is great. I love using gestures to turn pages and change apps. You can't use a touchscreen to move a cursor around and copy paste. Oh yeah, sure, you CAN do SOME of that. Takes ages and you wish you'd just retyped the whole thing in the first place.

To throw away the Macbook you need to have a mouse.

Mouse not needed. Period. With modern capacitive touch screens on a hand-held device, simply put, touch where you want to click. That's all there is to it.

That's not what I find. My finger is too fat and the touch screen not 100% reliable and consistent. I end up wrestling with the thing for minutes. Someone somewhere mentioned "Capacative pointing device". I'm thinking that may bring a significant improvement to the performance and speed of operation, as a real keyboard clearly does when typing.

"Can you connect a keyboard and mouse?"
Some Android models come with a keyboard as a convertible product. The iPad originally (and still) had a keyboard dock that let you use them as a single unit on any flat surface. Both have the capability to use a Bluetooth keyboard and both have the capability to use a capacitive stylus as a mouse. But if you feel that those items are absolutely necessary for productivity? Sorry, for many kinds of productivity you would be correct but writers, artists, photographers and yes, even the enterprise have all realized that a tablet can be extremely productive as a supplemental device to the desktop computer. I'll grant that it isn't a standalone machine for most users, but as this author says now and many others have stated for over two years, it effectively eliminates the need for a laptop computer for mobility use when you also have a desktop. In the case of using a laptop as your desktop, the tablet eliminates the need to unplug it and carry it and all those attached devices when traveling.

It really depends on the absolute need of the user, not some arbitrary software or hardware level. If you have a desktop computer, you no longer have that absolute need to have a laptop for mobility, which in itself is too limiting because you have to set that down on something simply to use it where a tablet never needs to leave your hands in use.

Was this article written, editted and published entirely using tablets, or was a device with a traditional mouse and keyboard used at any point during the writing, copy editting and online publication?

He spoke about his own usage, not that of his company, et al.

Shhh! Don't talk about the reality. Supress this comment! Off topic! Off topic! Censure this, we might have to address the truth.

seriously, you know what? ditch the tower, make your 'laptop' your 'desk-top' and then rock on with the ipad (1, 2 or new?, as it were) imho ;^)

Catch up. No-one has a "tower" these days. We're all working from our laptops, and I'd be delighted if my company paid for an iPad, but it's not going to make them a return on investment.

Size. Laptops simply don't have the screen size to meet everyone's needs. I know if I'm playing a game I don't want to squint at the chat box in the corner or try to figure out if I'm hitting one icon or another; there are times when one or more 20" or larger screens are simply easier to see.

Also, for some a 'tower' is simply more efficient because they can then effect their own repairs or upgrade economically by adding RAM, drives, even upgrading motherboards and processors. In other words, a lot of people, a fairly large percentage in fact, use desktop primarily and until the tablet came out, used a laptop simply for mobile purposes--rather, portable purposes. For those who use laptops as their portability solution, the tablet is proving an effective replacement.

Good comment, good comment, vulpine. Let's actually start to TALK about the subject instead of having a hissy fit!

YES, I ALSO find the screen TOO SMALL. I'd LOVE an A5 iPad. Anyone else got a REAL opinion on that?

How about real EDITING? Anyone else want to EDIT TEXT on their iPad? How else, other than a KEYBOARD and MOUSE would you do that?

What about FILE MANIPULATION? Anyone else have some REAL EXPERIENCE with Android devices and prepared to express a balanced objective assesment of the comparative benefits without going blue in the face?

I've seen a keyboard that is projected onto a flat surface by the device and shadows from the fingers activate the keys. Anyone seen that? Is it real or sci-fi? Has anyone tried to work it? Can you type fast on it?

Is there anyone out there who wants to TALK abou this?

I am typing this on my Android pad...Transformer TF101 with the keyboard dock. Can it replace my laptop? Not yet. But that gap in usability is slowly falling away. Most of the issues are surrounded in incompatibility with existing systems and the slow pace of technological adoption.
For instance, I went online to fill out the fafsa for the '12-'13 academic year. The government website told me I had an incompatible browser, but told me opera mini was an acceptable browser. So I installed the opera mini browser on my tablet, and tried again. Once more I was told that my browser was incompatible. Even though I was using a browser that was listed as "compatible" it was still not allowed to access the site.
My school's website is optimized using Microsoft products, and sometimes even Macs have trouble with it. My Transformer can access the sight, but if a teacher leaves an assignment on there, I cannot download it because of a conflict in how popup windows are implemented in the system they use [I access it on the library computer, save it to my box.net account, and access it that way].
For office work, writing papers, and doing basic spreadsheets, I use Polaris offfice. It came with the tablet, and there are no conflicts in formatting between it and Office. It is 100% compatible [as far as I can tell].
For minor photo editing, I spent $9.99 for Photoshop Touch from Adobe. It has masking, brushes, layers...it's sort of like Photoshop Express with a layout just for tablets.
I only have 16gb internal storage, but my tablet has a microSD card slot, and my keyboard dock has 2 usb ports, a full size sd card slot, and a built in battery to extend the battery life. It can do 85% of what my laptop does, and when the compatibility issues are addressed, it will be able to do everything my laptop does.
I hope this helps a little.

Thanks for a totally constructive reply, rwmanley64. I'm still in the dark as to the real differences in interface paradigm between Android and iPad. I guess I should just go to a shop and try one.

I'm still also not really seeing how the same speed of use that I can get with a hard mouse / keyboard can possibly be approached on an iPad.

At the end of the day I think I've got too many unusual specific tasks that are simply not supported, so I find it hard to be motivated to try.

You speak of "screen too small" yet so many Android fans insist 7" is better than 10".
You speak of text editing but insist that a mouse is needed, when that's really the least necessary tool in the box.
File manipulation? Why? They move automatically with certain cloud services.
Virtual 'laser' keyboard? Worse even that the too-sensitive capacitive keyboard on the device itself--Not even counting that now you have to have even more flat space to set it down and use it...and angle it just right to get the image on the surface...and hope it's not too light to see that virtual keyboard...

Ummm.... Do you even know what you're talking about?

Vulpine it seems hardly worth replying. You're so negative that a real conversation with productive exchange is just too far away. I've got to make 5 sequential posts in every sub-thread to you enduring unjustified personal comments just to work you around to actually HEARING what I'm saying so that I can get some information out of you. It's harder to work with you than with an iPad.

My negativity is towards attempting to push the technology backwards instead of forwards. Nearly every argument saying tablets are worthless are based on technologies that are going obsolete fast. Yes, keyboards are still necessary for many tasks, especially if you are heavy into data entry or accounting, but touch is rapidly replacing the mouse as the pointer system of choice simply because it is faster, more accurate and more intuitive. You don't have to waste time trying to find your pointer when it's the tip of your finger (or a stylus).

Yes, I do agree that the laptop serves a purpose, especially in enterprise-level tasks and IT consulting; but nowhere else is it really all that necessary as a mobility device compared to the tablet which is simpler, more convenient and more usable when you simply cannot set it down somewhere. No rule is an absolute rule; there are exceptions that are based on the circumstances at the time. Rules are intended more to be guides, then absolute canon.

If you take all the input methods not intended for text input...
1) mouse
2) trackpad
3) wacom tablet (which is a pen, but separated from the screen's surface)
4) finger control
5) all the many other methods which are out there but receive little usage

Compare them to a true touchscreen (either capacitive or resistive) and in all honesty, the touchscreen naturally wins, hands-down. The touchscreen must win because it is based on our natural usage of our hands and fingers. All of the other input methods are designed and engineered as a means of having our body communicate with the computer. Yes, the touchscreen is also an engineered interface but it removes the 'middle man' from the interaction between body and machine. It goes directly to the heart of the matter.

* The touch UI will not completely replace the existing input methods you describe, and the tablet will not completely replace the laptop.
* The tablet may be enough for the majority of mobile users.
* The touch interface may suffice for the majority of tablet users.

The choice of computing device and interface should be left to the individual user. Some users who only need a tablet with touch, may choose a laptop with trackpoint or mouse. That's still their choice! It's not up to anybody else to tell them otherwise.

The problem crops up when some people say that these newer technologies are worthless and will never replace existing ones. This totally ignores history where repeatedly there were those who scoffed at the train, the airplane, computers themselves and even later the desktop computer.

No, I've never said that the tablet will totally replace a conventional computer; I've only pointed out that that with certain exceptions, a tablet can replace a laptop for the majority of users--totally disregarding the brand name of given tablet.

I have also clearly stated in a number of blog commentaries across the tech magazine spectrum that a tablet is, at least for now, a supplemental device to a computer used as a desktop. I do believe in the long run that touchscreen PCs will eventually replace desktop machines as we currently know them, but that doesn't mean that a keyboard will disappear any time soon--at least not until speech-to-text and handwriting recognition become more accurate and reliable.

I've never said the tablet was useless, but that I simply don't see a need for me to have one.

We've been talking past each other, a common problem with this kind of forum. If we had been having this discussion face-to-face, I don't think it would have been nearly as much of an issue.

I'm too used to the zealots who insist that anything Apple does is wrong and by extension anything Apple 'creates' (i.e. tablets, etc) is a failure.
Jobs touted the iPad originally as a netbook killer which it certainly became. The tablet, at least for now, positions itself between desktop computing (which includes notebooks) and smartphones; right where Steve wanted it.

I've been using one, then decide to develop some s/w for its security! Fantastic, we installed them in a medical analysis lab (no details supplied, you can guess ...). A kn??bd in such an env. is a real germ receptacle, a projected kbd on a marble surface is cleaned in 1/10 of a second. The distributor thereafer disappeared (Korea, the Aussies however patented it many years ago). Can try to get more info, otherwise I start manufacturing one of my own (Arduino based?).
Bye.
Alan

... won't you have the same issues as you do with touch keyboards on current tablets? The biggest advantage in the medical field is obviously the projected keyboard is the I/O for a desktop-grade machine rather than a tablet and you're certainly right about the cleaning/disinfecting aspect, but accuracy can suffer if the user is a trained touch typist and is used to the haptic feedback of the touch surface itself, meaning at least some tactile sense that you've actually triggered the keys. Capacitive touch or projected touch would sense every finger as a touch when the hands are positioned on the home row. How, then, would the device know which touch was intended as the typed character?

but plenty of us still have towers, both personally and professionally, and don't want or need portability and continuous connectivity.