System Administration
Last time I researched this topic i was already pretty satisfied with the result but this time a couple of new apps stood out to me:
Termius
Termius is essentially a modern terminal emulator with all the nice modern features such as:
- Multiple Tabs
- Built in SFTP Client
- Saving Credentials
- Key Management
- Known Host Management
Tailscale
I have recently revisited Tailscale after exploring other VPN solutions such as self hosted IPSec and OpenVPN systems and i must say that its simplicity and battery efficiency on your client devices is refreshing. If you want to learn more about tailscale you can read my artical here .
Textastic
Textastic is a simple but full featured text editor with built in file browsing that gets the job done. Combine it with a Git client such as working copy and you have a powerful duo.
Remote Desktop
This is one area that I am still rather disappointed in IPadOS but this is morely a disappointment with the remote desktop app’s. In my opinion If you offer a remote desktop app on the IPad you should have proper mouse support where if you have a trackpad or mouse connected to your IPad it will just use the remote devices mouse instead of the IPad ”mouse”. The only app that i have seen implement this Microsofts RDP Client.
File Management
Last time I attempted to use my IPad as my as key part of my daily workflow the Files app fell flat on my face for a few key reasons:
No persistent SMB Connections
This has since been resolved although I have noticed that you occasionally need to remove and re-add the connection when connecting to the share via a VPN connection but I suspect that has more of a limitation with IPadOS rather then a Files app issue
File Transfer Progress Bar
This has been added and it works well enough to get the job done
Note Taking
For me there are two main apps that cover 90% of usecases
Onenote
Onenote is an oldie but a goodie for me I have been using it to keep notes since I was in High School. Onenote is Idea when you need to mix hand written and typed notes as well as File attachments and links to the internet.
Good Notes 5
A new app that I am just starting to explore, it appears to be great for strictly handwritten notes and marking up PDFs and Presentations.
IPadOS Specific Improvements
Desktop Webpages
This is a feature of IPadOS that I honestly forgot about until i was rewatching a video going over the original features of when IPad’s transitioned to IPadOS, I suspect this is mainly because it just makes sense why have a webpage optimized for a far smaller screen load by default. Its thanks to this feature that I am able to write this entire post on my IPad with my Magic Keybaord
Picture in Picture Video Playback
This is a feature I love on my Laptop and it is just as amazing on the IPad, although it would be nice if Youtube would make up there mind if they are going to natively support it in there app instead of this add it as an experimental feature for Youtube Red and then decided to remove it, at least it supported in Chrome.
Hotspot Auto-Connect
I have touched on this before but the ability for an IPad to automatically connect to a IPhone’s hotspot without even needing to enable it is amazing
Conclusion
While it wont be replacing my laptop anytime soon. It does now fill the gab were I want a single device that I can grab to work in the living room or at the airport while killing time before my flight