| Joined: | Thu Apr 19th, 2012 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 4424 |
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Regarding Syncing I am speaking Apple only I have no experience of PC's in that sense. I can see the scope for PC synching would be very limited.I can see in your situation where you are regularly moving between 2 locations and wanting to continue working on something, how it could be useful.
As for the immediacy and convenience, I find it invaluable, constantly moving between two locations and regularly travelling to other random locations with or without a mobile internet connection, I can pick up exactly where I was no matter which computer I am using, EVEN if it's off line. (Provided it had the opportunity to sync before it went off line of course.)
To me this had been the missing piece of the jigsaw of computing. My first impression of the cloud was dismissive, I saw no need to have identical bookmarks on all my devices, nor any other enforced synchronisation.
It doesn't work like that. With bookmarks it has forced me to organise them better so they work as well on my laptop 13" screen as on my 24" home screen. But for documents you can choose if you want to make them available to the other devices via iCloud or not. Some I share, some I don't, easy.
The data exists on the client computer or iDevice it was created on, in the iCloud, if that option was chosen when the document was first saved and it exists on any other computer or iDevice which is signed into that account.
I am finding working with broadly one set of data across several computers and locations is a dream.
Personally I have all my planning, appointments, to-do lists and day to day stuff exclusively on the ipad ...which either sits (like an old fashioned diary/notepad) on my desk, on the armchair or travels with me. I have no need to access my office computers from any other location as all my immediate reference items are with me. I cant work with Quark, Indesign or want to use Photoshop on an ipad. In fact I regard these ipad limitations, to be a blessing .... not being a a slave to work when away from the desk.
Recent completed work (awaiting client approval) and my portfolio are in my Dropbox so they can be accessed if required. (eg. to make reference to some work or show a client something on screen)
I have as yet never had such an urgent need to change artwork while sat in the supermarket carpark or down the beach. Work and other computing tasks can wait till I get home....in just the same way phonecalls used to have to wait before the advent of mobiles. Nothing really spoils...except in life threatening circumstances.
Dont get me wrong, they, and mobile computing are a huge benefit to many people and critical in some situations. I just think for many, there's a bit of the emperor's clothes about this supposed need to be 'in contact' with the mothership all the time.
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Eric