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I have an Asus U305 - a great ultrabook with good ram and nice screen. A mom would love it.

It works great for me. 2 possible issues - 1) the delete key is next to the on/off power switch (which is where del usually is) - so causes some mistakes and 2) there is no vga out only mini HDMI which requires a dongle for hotel ppt.

First thank you for all the replies. Appreciate the first hand knowledge. She liked the appearance of the Asus UX305. After looking at the linked Yoga 3 Pro i think this is the one. The tablet feature will come in handy and backlit keyboard is a plus. Only thing that worries me is the hinge. I know those can be hit or miss in terms of longevity but it looks like some serious engineer went into the Lenovo. I'll update once the laptop hybrid comes in. How is the bloatware on Lenovos?

Wouldn't hurt to blow the OEM install of Windows away, and do a fresh install just to be safe. I'm sure you've heard of the recent shenanigans involving Lenovo, and now Dell.

GeForce6200 wrote:

First thank you for all the replies. Appreciate the first hand knowledge. She liked the appearance of the Asus UX305. After looking at the linked Yoga 3 Pro i think this is the one. The tablet feature will come in handy and backlit keyboard is a plus. Only thing that worries me is the hinge. I know those can be hit or miss in terms of longevity but it looks like some serious engineer went into the Lenovo. I'll update once the laptop hybrid comes in. How is the bloatware on Lenovos?

Congrats! I think your mom will love it.

The hinge is seriously overengineered and one of the best features of the Y3P (and the K900). I haven't heard any problems with its longevity (and trust me, lenovo users love to complain).

The bloatware is not egregious. A trial for McAffee (which I uninstalled), some lenovo-made apps (most of which I have uninstalled, except for Lenovo Settings, which is used to access some of the lower level settings, like lowering the maximum battery charge level to increase the life of the cells). My big complaint right now is that some Windows 10 update broke compatibility for lenovo's Battery Gauge taskbar program, which I found very useful. Hopefully, they'll fix it soon.

As for security issues, Lenovo has not had Superfish or the UEFI reinstaller for a while now. Nor did my Y3P come with Lenovo Solution Center (which was recently highlighted as a security risk).

just brew it! wrote:

2. To simulate a right-click when using the Mac keyboard and trackpad, you need to hold Right Alt while simultaneously clicking the trackpad. This seems to have been designed for lefties; it's rather awkward if you're right-handed.

You can set right-click as a two fingered tap (no click required). This works for both the right and left-handed

Physical clicks are no longer required with the touchpad. You can easily have 20+ tap/gestures setup including one for the Host key command.

just brew it! wrote:

3. Lack of Insert/Delete/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys. Yes, I know you can simulate these with various combinations of modifier/arrow keys.

You can transition this functionality to the touchpad.

GeForce6200 wrote:

After looking at the linked Yoga 3 Pro i think this is the one.

The Yoga 3 Pro ships with a 512GB SSD. That is awesome!

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

3. Lack of Insert/Delete/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys. Yes, I know you can simulate these with various combinations of modifier/arrow keys.

You can transition this functionality to the touchpad.

If I was going to switch to using the MacBook exclusively, this might be acceptable. But I'm only using it because it's the standard company issue computing device at work; I still have a non-Apple PC and non-Apple laptops for personal use. I really shouldn't need to learn multiple ways of doing things just because Apple has decided that certain keys (or a right mouse button) are "unnecessary".

End User wrote:

GeForce6200 wrote:

After looking at the linked Yoga 3 Pro i think this is the one.

The Yoga 3 Pro ships with a 512GB SSD. That is awesome!

Also, it's user-replaceable!

Uses a M.2 formfactor with SATA interface (no NVMe, sadly). Accessible by taking off the back cover.

just brew it! wrote:

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

3. Lack of Insert/Delete/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys. Yes, I know you can simulate these with various combinations of modifier/arrow keys.

You can transition this functionality to the touchpad.

If I was going to switch to using the MacBook exclusively, this might be acceptable. But I'm only using it because it's the standard company issue computing device at work; I still have a non-Apple PC and non-Apple laptops for personal use. I really shouldn't need to learn multiple ways of doing things just because Apple has decided that certain keys (or a right mouse button) are "unnecessary".

There may come a day when you employer gives you an iPad Pro instead of a MacBook Pro. What are you going to do then? You may scoff at that but I've been using iPads to manage servers for a couple of years now. No right mouse buttons in sight.

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

just brew it! wrote:

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

Geordi did it.

just brew it! wrote:

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

All you need is an app that lets you get the job done. I've found mine:

Whenever I try to use my iPad for much of anything, I find myself wanting a bigger screen, and hating the ergonomics. Same thing goes for the Surface tablets. No thanks, I'd rather carry my phone and 14" laptop.

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

If I was going to switch to using the MacBook exclusively, this might be acceptable. But I'm only using it because it's the standard company issue computing device at work; I still have a non-Apple PC and non-Apple laptops for personal use. I really shouldn't need to learn multiple ways of doing things just because Apple has decided that certain keys (or a right mouse button) are "unnecessary".

There may come a day when you employer gives you an iPad Pro instead of a MacBook Pro. What are you going to do then? You may scoff at that but I've been using iPads to manage servers for a couple of years now. No right mouse buttons in sight.

This seems like a big, elegant solution looking for a non-existent problem. I've got those keys on my zbook (albeit not in a traditional grouping, Thinkpad T*20 and earlier style), and they have yet to kill me or anything. Plenty of space for them on most machines as well.

Funny thing about this - my boss likes using iPads to manage servers. And she's the only one in the entire department - the rest of us prefer using laptops/desktops for this stuff. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. RDC via an iPad always felt a bit clunky to me anyways. You may as well tell me to buy a Prius when I need to haul crap. Yes, a Prius is a good car for what it is, but it's no substitute for a truck, and it's far worse at actually getting *that* particular job done. Not gonna happen.

I never found right-clicking on a Mac trackpad to be a big deal though. Hit it with 2 fingers by default, or enable clicking via the corner. I'm personally happier with my discrete mouse buttons, but I use 2-finger right-click tap as well.

localhostrulez wrote:

Whenever I try to use my iPad for much of anything, I find myself wanting a bigger screen, and hating the ergonomics. Same thing goes for the Surface tablets. No thanks, I'd rather carry my phone and 14" laptop.

I have a split personality when it comes to mobile computing. At work I requested a 15" MacBook Pro which I view as a desktop replacement that I can carry to the server room. The MBP is primarily used on a desk/table/kitchen bar at work or desk at home.

My personal mobile setup is a 12" MacBook and an 12.9" iPad Pro. Combine weight is 3.7 lbs vs 4.5 of the MBP. Both the iPad Pro and the MacBook can be recharged by the same 26800mAh Anker USB battery. The MacBook can use the iPad Pro as an external 2732x2048 display.

GeForce6200 wrote:

First thank you for all the replies. Appreciate the first hand knowledge. She liked the appearance of the Asus UX305. After looking at the linked Yoga 3 Pro i think this is the one.

PS To the OP.

Make sure your mom knows that the Y3P will not charge off a regular USB charger or portable USB battery bank.

While it charges off a USB-like connection, the male and female charging connectors for the yoga series laptops actually has an extra set of 20V rails that the laptop charges off. So be sure to let your mom know before she wastes money on an external battery that doesn't work.

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

All you need is an app that lets you get the job done.

Other than special situations where maximum mobility is the overriding concern, I really do not see the point of using an app on a tablet to perform a task that is better suited to a device with a keyboard. The fact that something is possible doesn't automatically mean it is a good idea.

just brew it! wrote:

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

All you need is an app that lets you get the job done.

Other than special situations where maximum mobility is the overriding concern, I really do not see the point of using an app on a tablet to perform a task that is better suited to a device with a keyboard. The fact that something is possible doesn't automatically mean it is a good idea.

Wait, how'd we end up simultaneously having almost exactly the same discussion on two threads? viewtopic.php?f=13&t=116838

End User: Your use case makes sense for what you're doing, IMO. Although, iPads... eh, I have a love/hate relationship with them. At summer work (a high school district), the big bosses decided to deploy iPads everywhere - we all see it as being suckered in by the marketing, and using the wrong tool for the application. They're painful to manage, teachers don't know how to use them productively, students think they're equally dumb, etc. No one really asked for it there.

On the other hand, my mom loves her iPad for checking email when she doesn't want to boot up her laptop, showing grandma news articles, carrying on trips when she wants something bigger than her iPhone but doesn't want to carry her laptop, it's much more fool-proof than a laptop, etc. That's exactly what iPads are built for, and it shows. When she needs to write reports for work, she uses the laptop. My use case is a lot more intensive than that, and I like a bigger screen, so it doesn't work. I end up carrying my laptop around campus for one reason or another all the time, and I'll use my laptop/desktop over the iPad when I have a chance for the screen size/ergonomics (or my phone, since it fits in my hand and I always have it). As a result, my iPad sits around, unused for the most part. Although there's nothing better than an iPad when you have to walk around a campus, go in and out of classrooms, and inventory stuff (very basic spreadsheets)/take pictures/etc.

just brew it! wrote:

End User wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

The day I am forced to develop code using a tablet as my primary input device will be the day I leave the industry.

All you need is an app that lets you get the job done.

Other than special situations where maximum mobility is the overriding concern, I really do not see the point of using an app on a tablet to perform a task that is better suited to a device with a keyboard.

That is why my tablet has a keyboard.

just brew it! wrote:

The fact that something is possible doesn't automatically mean it is a good idea.

The fact that something is possible doesn't automatically mean it is a bad idea. Either way I must make an attempt to find out for myself.

localhostrulez wrote:

Wait, how'd we end up simultaneously having almost exactly the same discussion on two threads? viewtopic.php?f=13&t=116838

Recent posts are blurring into one.

localhostrulez wrote:

End User: Your use case makes sense for what you're doing, IMO. Although, iPads... eh, I have a love/hate relationship with them. At summer work (a high school district), the big bosses decided to deploy iPads everywhere - we all see it as being suckered in by the marketing, and using the wrong tool for the application. They're painful to manage, teachers don't know how to use them productively, students think they're equally dumb, etc. No one really asked for it there.

The red flag I see from what you wrote is that the teachers did not know how to use the iPads in the manner in which they were intended. That points to a fundamental failure on behalf of those who planned the project.

localhostrulez wrote:

I end up carrying my laptop around campus for one reason or another all the time, and I'll use my laptop/desktop over the iPad when I have a chance for the screen size/ergonomics (or my phone, since it fits in my hand and I always have it). As a result, my iPad sits around, unused for the most part. Although there's nothing better than an iPad when you have to walk around a campus, go in and out of classrooms, and inventory stuff (very basic spreadsheets)/take pictures/etc.

Keep in mind I am referring to an iPad Pro. My use of a computing device changes with the size/config of the device I am using.

End User wrote:

localhostrulez wrote:

End User: Your use case makes sense for what you're doing, IMO. Although, iPads... eh, I have a love/hate relationship with them. At summer work (a high school district), the big bosses decided to deploy iPads everywhere - we all see it as being suckered in by the marketing, and using the wrong tool for the application. They're painful to manage, teachers don't know how to use them productively, students think they're equally dumb, etc. No one really asked for it there.

The red flag I see from what you wrote is that the teachers did not know how to use the iPads in the manner in which they were intended. That points to a fundamental failure on behalf of those who planned the project.

Seems likely that there wasn't any intent involved here. Sounds more like the district bought a bunch of "gee whiz" tech because someone convinced them it was cool, before they had even figured out what they were going to use it for. IOW, it became a solution in search of a problem.

Update. Got the Lenovo Yoga 3 pro last month. I used it for about a week setting it up and making sure it would be the right choice. so far it has been a solid tablet/laptop hybrid. Specs are Intel 5Y71, dual core with HT, 512GB SSD and 8GB of ram. While I am not the biggest fan of Windows 10 it has held up fine, nothing odd or crashes at all. Bloatware was minimal. It's quite a compact device but does not feel cheap at all. One thing I did not know before hand was there is a fan. It appears to use small ventilation in the watch like hinge for the screen with one side intake and one side exhaust. Noise is minimal though and most tasks the fan is either off or inaudible. The device auto switches to tablet mode when flipping the screen. It is somewhat weird feeling to me having keys on the back and a device that is much larger than any of the tablets I've used in the past. Not the most comfortable IMO but I understand the device limitations. Let me know if anyone would like a benchmark ran and thank you everyone that helped.