PC to iPad: A Year in Review

Published January 13, 2022

In December of 2020, I purchased an iPad Air 4.

The ride wasn’t bumpy due to a flaw in the iPad. The ride was bumpy because my Windows brain was having a difficult time in the Apple world. However, I was determined to make the switch, and I believe I finally have. It’s been a while since I’ve turned my PC on.

Windows Software to iOS App Challenges

Unfortunately and understandably, my Windows software programs could not work on my new iPad. As a result, I had to find a host of new programs in order to fully utilize the tablet. Fortunately, I was still able to use Google Docs and Sheets. Here are some of the obstacles I encountered on my PC to Apple journey:

• One foot in both worlds: I slowed my transition down by going back to the PC when things got tough. With the remote desktop app, I had access to the PC from my iPad. I soon realized having a foot in both worlds was slowing down my total transition, so I had to plant both feet in one world…the iPad world.


• Journaling: One of the greatest software obstacles I had was figuring out how to continue my journal. My 20 plus years of journal entries were written in Adobe FrameMaker. FrameMaker is not compatible with iPad so I had to come up with an alternative.My alternative program is Day One.

The more I use Day One, the more I like it. I actually like it better than FrameMaker. It’s got great features such as synchronizing on all of my devices, dictating journal entries, plus the ability to email or text journal entries to name a few. And, if I was so inclined, I could have my journal printed into a book, but I’m not so inclined. Plus my journal is well over 2,000 pages. What a snoozer.


• Image Editing: I’m still working through this one. On the PC I used Paint Shop Pro (an old version), but on the iPad, I find I’m using several apps (Image Resize, iMovie and a couple of others) to accomplish what one used to handle on the PC. I believe much of the multi-app usage has to do with my lack of knowledge/experience with some of the apps, but that will change over time.


• Videos:  Something else I got into since purchasing the iPad is creating videos. I didn’t do much of that on the PC. My newfound interest also makes me realize I under-purchased when I bought my iPad Air. I should have gotten a device with more hard drive space. Videos take up a lot of space.


• Video Files:That brings me to yet another issue I’ve undergone on the iPad Air, corrupt video files. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what was going on. Once I did, I thought I had solved the problem. Apparently, I didn’t, so I came up with a workaround instead.

Writing and Dictation:

In general, I use my iPad (as I did with my PC) for writing, dication, research, and blogging. As such, the dictation/writing transition was pretty easy. Instead of NaturallySpeaking, I found a new dictation app. And since I use Google Docs, and it’s compatible with pc and iPad, it was a piece of cake. Blogging, however, was and still is a bit of a challenge. WordPress (the blogging platform) is a real annoyance on the iPad. Blogging with it is doable, but annoying.

Fortunately, I’m in the process of converting this blog to a static website. Once complete, I won’t have to worry about WordPress anymore.

More Apple Stuff

Since using the iPad, I’ve become more entrenched in the Apple ecosystem by using ApplePay. I find it to be a convenient payment option. Aside from the daily cashback feature on purchased items, I like the ability to easily change the credit card number whenever I need to.

I used the feature after completing a sale with an individual that caused my spidey senses to tingle.

Summing Things Up

Am I happy about buying the iPad Air? Yes, I’m happy that I bought it, but if I knew a little more, I would have bought a different device. I would have gone directly for the iPad Pro. The cost differential isn’t that large, especially if I purchased a refurbished Pro. Let’s face it, for what I need it for, a refurb would have been just fine. Also, I would have ordered something with a lot more space. 64 GB is just not enough for my usage.

The bottom line is, with the iPad, I’m exploring more technology that piques my interests. As a result, I seem to be journeying deeply down several rabbit hole paths (and enjoying each and every one of them). I didn’t have this seemingly unquenchable thirst to explore tech when I was using the PC. I guess the iPad’s portability has a lot to do with it.

And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I beg to differ!

Last Modified: 3 September 2023