Goodbye computer

Hell froze: I'm writing and editing on an iPad. No external keyboard, MS Word, backing up to the cloud. It's better than good. I can type without keys and delete a line with a finger swipe. Key sounds are on. Accuracy is close to that of a mechanical keyboard. Apple's iOS 12 has a personality but it's solid, like Mac OS 9. The available screen area in landscape mode is about the same as my old Macintosh Plus. And Word 365 for iOS is Word minus the crap – like getting back Word 5.1a. I might even start liking it. I write mostly in 1Writer but Apple's Pages on touch screen is a revelation: reliable, clicky-feeling, substantial. On a desktop the material design interface feels overly user-friendly but on the Picard-sized device – I bought the iPad 6, Wi-Fi, 128 gb – Pages rocks.

The experience is not unlike using a typewriter again. The format forces me to concentrate on the few lines that are on screen at any time. With only one app running there are no distractions. I do use the split screen feature with Notes. I back up and cut and paste from earlier drafts on iCloud and Dropbox. The workflow requires me to remember where I've put things but that's okay. (Digital work has taught me the habit of keeping fewer folders with more files in each.) I considered getting an external keypad but then the iPad would become a second laptop and I don't need a second laptop, I just need a digital notepad so I don't have to write text twice. There are no any social media apps on it and Facetime has never been enabled. All that's on my phone. My iPad's just for writing. Who woulda thunk? Goodbye computer.