Well, my trip is coming to an end along with the week without a computer. With that though, I feel like I’ve gained a lot by this experience. I learned just how much could be done with limited resources, as well as the benifits of a device like the iPad2/iPhone4 over a whole, quite large, computer(a Mac Pro).
First, I’d like to tell you all what exactly I was using on the trip, as far as technology goes. I was only using an iPhone4, iPad2, and a Apple Wireless Keyboard. I didn’t even have 3G networking on my iPhone4 since, I was in the middle of no where. However I did have slow WiFi in the house. In most cases, the following picture is how I typed this whole blog entry. I even did a little of it on my iPhone4, with the keyboard synced to it as well.
One of the first things I noticed with not having a computer, was how much more free time I had. I was sort of baffled at what to do with it all. I had to step away from what I would normally do, and try new things. One simple example would be how I never go for walks where I live, but on this trip, I walked so much with my girlfriend. Having all this free time gave me more ways to talk to my family, and to think. I’ve been lacking time to just think and ponder on things, which I love to do, but been too busy for. Although I won’t be able to have this same amount of free time when I get back to my computer, I plan on giving myself a little more free time to just think.
I was super surprised at how much the iPhone4/iPad2 combo brought to the table though. I loved the mobility of it all. I could easily snap a wonderfully detailed picture with my iPhone4 on walks, edit it, crop it, tweet it, etc. all from my phone. I could even bring my writing environment anywhere, whether something hits me quickly and I jot it down on my iPhone , or if I just take the iPad and keyboard outside with me and start writing. The iPad was also incredibly useful for when we needed directions, or look up reviews on a place to eat. The iOS device set even provided us all with a lot of fun entertainment with games and such. It seemed whatever I needed to do, one of my devices did perfectly well. I can really see how many people would need nothing besides an iPad as their computer.
I also fell in love with the easier focus the iOS devices gave me. I always have one application open at a time, and thus only have one thing on my mind at a time. That simple fact really stood out to me, and helped me a lot. It made it so easy to focus, and concentrate on only the task at hand. When I use computers, I typically am doing more then one thing at once because it’s so easy to multitask. In some cases that’s obviously good, but I noticed I was able to finish things faster and more productively one at a time through the iOS devices. I’m definitely going to use what I’ve learned here, and apply it in the future with how I handle work on my computer.
Another part that I noticed with the “single application open at a time” feature of the iOS devices, was how I didn’t get sucked into the social media stream as easily. I have a habit of while working on my computer, being sucked into all the information Twitter, FaceBook, and the other major social networks give me. It’s almost too much at times, and really slows me down. I am really going to work on ways I can achieve a less addictive social media environment on my computer. (Maybe using apps like Wren App?) Possibly even taking it further and limiting the amount of things I can do on the computer at once.
So to sum it all up, I didn’t actually miss my computer except for one thing. That would be the huge amount of stuff I can do on it, whether it be hardcore gaming, programming/work, etc. Also one of the biggest things I missed from my computer, was how easy it was to resize images. I couldn’t find an app, or any other way to resize images on iOS devices. Maybe I just missed it somehow though. However I’ve also learned a lot from my experience of only using a iPhone4/iPad2 for a week. I’m going to implement many of the things I learned through out this, in my daily life. As in, trying to focus on only one thing at a time.
Also a quick note of an idea I had:
Computers in general are starting to seem more of “power user” devices. So many people could go by with only and iPad. It’s sort of scary. haha
Also a quick note of the apps I used on my iPad2 to write this, and will most likely use to write every other blogs on this site. Stratus App for uploading images and sharing them between devices if the need arises. Elements App for all the writing and markdown stuff. That’s it! Thanks for reading. :)
