From 610543d8c41eb6142eabb9473e36b803f7fba68f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Eli Uriegas Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2020 00:00:22 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add post about iPad Pro Signed-off-by: Eli Uriegas --- content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md | 75 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 75 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md diff --git a/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md b/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..58903f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ ++++ +title = "Using an iPad Pro as a development machine" +date = 2020-10-05T00:00:00-00:00 +draft = true +meta_img = "/images/image.jpg" +tags = ["productivity"] +description = "Moving my development workflow to my iPad Pro!" +hacker_news_id = "" ++++ + +I believe the 2020s will be a new era of personal computers where the line +between a device like the iPad Pro and the Macbook Pro will be blurred. That's +especially true for a developer like myself, who develops mostly on remote +instances where the client device doesn't really matter so much. This is the +reason I caved this year and bought an iPad Pro (2020 edition)! With this new +device came a different set of challenges, like which freaking app is the best +to use for terminal emulation, and is the magic keyboard case for the iPad +actually usable for a developer who mostly types on mechanical keyboards. So +without further ado, here is my current developer setup for my iPad Pro! + +# iPad Pro Specific Things + +## Which terminal emulator should I use? + +The current terminal emulator that I am using is called [Blink Shell](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blink-shell-mosh-ssh-client/id1156707581). +It costs about $20 but I have found it be easy to use as well as feature +rich, without getting too confusing. It also just looks great, +I don't know what the developers do to make the font rendering so smooth but +it looks amazing and even supports things like NerdTree fonts! Another plus +is that the developer of Blink Shell has also made a slew of color schemes +and fonts available on Github for anyone else to use / iterate upon, which +is always a plus. + +## How's the keyboard case for the iPad Pro? + +Coming from someone who is pretty picky about their keyboard situation, the +keyboard that comes with the iPad Pro is probably in the league of the 2019 +Macbook Pro magic keyboard. It feels satisfyingly clicky with enough action +in the keys to make you feel as though you've actually pushed a button. + +### But what about no ESC key >:( +The lack of an `ESC` key is probably the most disappointing thing about the +keyboard but it's still possible to function with my setup without a dedicated +`ESC` key. Blink shell does have a few options for mapping `CAPS-LOCK` to `ESC` +but I actually prefer the option where you map `CAPS-LOCK` to `CTRL` since it's +more ergonmic for the keybinds I use within `neovim`. + +For the `neovim`/`vim` users who are struggling on the iPad Pro magic keyboard, +just get used to typing `CTRL [`, which functions in pretty much the same way +as an `ESC` key. + +# But how do you do actual development? + +So calling the iPad Pro a development machine is actually a bit of a misnomer. +The iPad Pro is rather a thin client to an actual development machine, which +for now is a Fedora DigitalOcean droplet. SSH'ing to the machine is actually +very simple with Blink Shell, with the app having built in mechanisms for +creating SSH keys as well as having support for things like host aliases. + +Another useful feature of Blink Shell is its built in support for `mosh`, +which allows for persistent sessions, even if moving from one network to +another. They even built from `mosh` master since the latest release of +mosh doesn't include things like true color support. + +# Final thoughts + +The iPad Pro is a device that borders on a pure media consumption device +and a real workhorse. The form factor and keyboard allow it to be a real +replacement for personal development machines for software engineers who +are looking to do some dev work on the side. If you're looking for an extra +device to bring with you, that doesn't weigh as much as another MacBook Pro, +the iPad Pro definitely does the job and more. + +If you have any questions feel free to contact me on twitter, [@_seemethere](https://twitter.com/_seemethere) + From e8855e9c44be5a5adbff9463e31aa02244b69a85 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Eli Uriegas Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2020 02:56:32 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Add some images Signed-off-by: Eli Uriegas --- content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md | 13 +++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+) diff --git a/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md b/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md index 58903f7..170941f 100644 --- a/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md +++ b/content/blog/developing-with-ipad-pro.md @@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ to use for terminal emulation, and is the magic keyboard case for the iPad actually usable for a developer who mostly types on mechanical keyboards. So without further ado, here is my current developer setup for my iPad Pro! + +![iPad Pro](https://imgur.com/iBv5L1p) + + # iPad Pro Specific Things ## Which terminal emulator should I use? @@ -31,6 +35,10 @@ is that the developer of Blink Shell has also made a slew of color schemes and fonts available on Github for anyone else to use / iterate upon, which is always a plus. + +![Blink Shell](https://imgur.com/YcD5L6u) + + ## How's the keyboard case for the iPad Pro? Coming from someone who is pretty picky about their keyboard situation, the @@ -39,6 +47,11 @@ Macbook Pro magic keyboard. It feels satisfyingly clicky with enough action in the keys to make you feel as though you've actually pushed a button. ### But what about no ESC key >:( + + +![No ESC](https://imgur.com/QGxsb9l) + + The lack of an `ESC` key is probably the most disappointing thing about the keyboard but it's still possible to function with my setup without a dedicated `ESC` key. Blink shell does have a few options for mapping `CAPS-LOCK` to `ESC`