Product Review

by Dennis Green

Apple iPad & Apple “Pages” App

Well, the iPad arrived just in time, as I was going into hemodialysis. Getting through those three hour sessions was so much easier with the new device on my lap. Synced to my iMac and iPhone, the iPad holds 222 music videos, seven books, a movie, e-Mail, Safari (web search), and 37 apps. So when I tire of watching videos, I can read one of the books, check the mail, go online, or go onto an app like Google Earth.

Now, although the peritoneal catheter is working, it has to “rest and heal” for two weeks before I can go off hemo and rely solely on peri. But that’s okay, because now I know there’s hope, and the effects of peri have lasted long enough for me to remember what that me is like, what it feels like to be myself, and that isn’t going to go away again.

The mind is a fascinating thing, and when I look back at some of my posts during the past month, written when I thought I was doomed to hemo, I can see the regression and how my usual feisty spirit was torn away. I was still in the ICU when the peri failed the first time around, and the last time I was doing that method was several years ago, so I had no memory of how well it works when it works. Thank God!

Such desperation, of course, makes the newfound success all the sweeter. I feel sorry for all those poor semi-comatose souls warehoused 9-15 hours a week at the hemo clinic.

Back to the iPad. What makes it so easy and natural to use is the fact that I’ve been using an iPhone for the past two years, which also features the touch screen. With the iPad, there is no separate keyboard or mouse, just the big touch screen, which is so sensitive it takes some getting used to. And the advantages of a touch screen are most apparent with the new “Pages” word processing software, an app custom-designed for the iPad and available from the Apple App Store for only $9.95.

In Pages, all the commands are available by touch — from formatting tools to sharing the finished manuscript via email, print or online. Touch a word and you can make it boldface or italic. Double tap and you can move a phrase or paragraph. I’m still adjusting to the touch screen, but enjoy the freedom it gives the user from mouse and keyboard.

To date, I’m using the keyboard in a way that is different from my usual touch typing. I tend to touch the iPad keys with a two-handed “hunt & peck” system. While the keys make a realistic clicking sound, and vibration, I prefer using my two index fingers to peck out the words, especially with the iPad propped on my lap at an angle. And I’ve gotten so fast and facile with this method, that it’s almost as effective as my long time touch typing qwerty-uiop method.

After using Microsoft Word for some 25 years, getting used to Apple Pages will take some doing. And it won’t mean abandoning Word, anymore than using the iPad means I will abandon this machine, this desktop iMac. More likely, my little G-4 MacBook 12-inch laptop will lie fallow. So I’ll become ambidextrous!

The oddest thing so far is the fact that the iPad saves text in Pages automatically, and I’m so used to having to press “Command-S” and hear that chime sound that this feature will also take some getting used to. So Zowie Baby am I looking forward to all these new experiences! Rock on!

©2010 Dennis Green