How I Became More Productive by using only an iPad

I have a unique position at my company, I wear many hats, from a Security Advisor (CISO On Demand), Security Architect, Security Engineer, and a Security Operations Analyst. I like to call myself a jack of all trades security practitioner.

I’ve been doing this for the last couple of years, and found that the increase in responsibilities made me feel like I needed to be near my laptop more frequently. With customers spread all over the United States, I found myself waking early and going to bed late.

I wasn’t contracted to do this of course. I clearly had defined hours of service — but I also have a personal commitment to each of my customers and feel like I need to be available to them.

Some may call this a work/life balance issue. But I want to stress, I have a great family balance. I work from home and while I may be in front of a terminal more than the traditional 8–5, I can set my own convenient hours of operation, so that I can be available for the important things in life.

With the 2019 year approaching I found my health declining and wondered if I was simply spending too much time at work, with higher than usual levels of stress.

I decided to try something different. I wondered if I could actually be more productive by working a non-traditional schedule. Essentially, I can work from just about anywhere I have an internet connection.

With the uncertainty and rumors circulating about how Microsoft will handle Windows 10 (Pro/Enterprise/S) in 2020 and the rumors from Mac that they’ll be eventually transitioning the Macbook to an IOS style environment, I talked some of my team mates into joining me on a new adventure.

I decided to try giving up my Macbook Pro for an iPad Pro. One joined me while others decided to try Chromebooks. The first week of January I visited the Apple Store and purchased an 11 Inch iPad Pro with the official Apple keyboard and Pencil. I decided on the iPad because of the LTE Option, and my carrier had an excellent deal, unlimited data for $15/mo.

Total Cost: $1300.

I had done some initial research and knew I’d be purchasing some software along my journey.

Here’s the path I took:

Blink Shell (SSH/MOSH) — $20

Textastic (IDE/FTP) — $10

Working Copy (GIT Client) — $16

ICab (Browser with UserAgent Switcher and Developer Tools) — $2

Pythonista (Python IDE/Runtime) — $5

Charles Proxy — $9

Jump Desktop — $8

2TB iCloud Storage — $120 (for the year)

Digital Ocean Linux Droplet — $56 (for the year.)

I also purchased an USB-C to HDMI/USB/Headphone adapter from Satechi for $60.

Total investment: ~1550, or about half the price of a new Macbook Pro.

I’m now just over six months in and I’ve become accustomed to the lack of mouse.

With Jump Desktop I’ve been able to RDP into client environments (those that use RDGateway) and I’ve setup a light weight Windows 10 VM for specific circumstances where I’m unable to use the iPad.

MOSH has been a game changer for me. I’ve been a fan of Tmux and Screen for a long time, but MOSH takes this to the next level. Blink Shell is one of my most frequently used apps according to Screen Time. Its ability to emulate an escape key by pushing the backtick button (and keep backtick by pushing Opt+`) means I can use VI without changing any of my old habits.

As an CISO and Architect, I’ve been able to continue using the tools I have enjoyed for years, including the Microsoft and Apple office Suites.

I’ve used LucidChart for the last couple years and it is simply amazing on the iPad!

As an Engineer, I’ve enjoyed pushing and pulling my code with Working Copy and the integration with Textastic makes development in Go or Python second nature. Because the code is pulled locally to my iPad, I can actually code on the go without Internet access. This is important to me because I have decided to revive an old hobby of mine, off-roading/Jeeping.

As an Analyst using Splunk, Alienvault and the Elastic Stack — I’ve been really happy with the capabilities! There have been some quirks, but I’ve developed work arounds and made myself more efficient in the process.

Because I can work from anywhere I have LTE, I’m no longer tied to my desk. My family time has increased and so has my productivity in the office. I can take my dogs to the dog park and let them run while I’m working on a PowerPoint, I can work from the coffee shop without worrying about someone sniffing my traffic. I can even work while in the wilderness after a day of trail riding with my wife.

I’ve found the battery to be sufficient for my needs. I generally make it from the time I start till lunch without plugging in. Then I plugin while I step away to eat. By the time I return I have enough juice to make it the rest of the day and well into the evening for the nights that I decide to work while my wife watches TV.

For some of the quirks/work arounds:

The Productivity Suites don’t support Document Tracking — so it’s been a bit of a nightmare trying to do document reviews, additionally — editing charts in PowerPoint and Word are extremely difficult. I’ve found my light weight Windows VM’s are very helpful here. The full gesture controls in Jump Desktop are great, and I’m still not missing a mouse (Even though they have that as an option!)

Alienvault USM Anywhere Navigation does not work with the mobile browsers very well. I’ve got support tickets in for the fixes. However ICab Browser has an excellent feature, CMD+SHIFT+L will give all of the on page links, allowing me to navigate through a hidden menu.

Splunk Cloud and Core are perfect when disabling the advanced editor under user profiles. In Splunk Core environments I have SSH access and can modify dashboards through Textastic editor. This is actually my preferred way of editing them anyway, as it is more responsive. While I was on my Macbook I used Sublime instead of the Web Editor — so this is much less of an issue for me than some of my co-workers.

Meetings have been a bit of trial an error. I’ve tried Microsoft Teams, JoinMe and Webex. The ScreenCast solution means I can still display my screen, though putting keynote in presentation mode with anything besides Webex really lags. I’ve reverted to using the editor mode and just zooming the presentation to full screen. Google Meet just added support for screencast, so I’m anxious to try this next week.

I enjoy the distraction free workspaces. One or two apps max. Sometimes the team will setup Facetime calls, which allows me to leverage the “picture in picture” mode and essentially have three applications open.

I’m using a device designed for multi-media, therefore I’m able to watch movies and TV on the go, read books, and keep up with my favorite podcasts.

Handwritten notes are easy to take by folding over my keyboard and writing naturally with the pencil. Since the notes are stored in the Apple Notes app, I have them on my phone as well as my Macbook — should i ever want to go back.

I really love the Outlook app. Similar to Googles old “Inbox” app, I can swipe one way to archive, or the other way to schedule an email for later. This feature isn’t available for some of our co-workers who decided early on that I was crazy for trying to live a mobile device life.

I’m happy to say the majority of my health issues have gone away. I know that isn’t only because of the Ipad Pro, but it certainly has helped me become more active. I’ve also noticed a decrease in the early stages of arthritis pain — while I’m not particularly old, working for 20+ years on a keyboard has definitely given me some issues. Moving to a smaller keyboard and using the touch screen instead of mouse have helped tremendously.

I’m anxious for IOS 13, which is supposed to include a desktop class version of Safari and some better gestures/controls for multitasking. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. There is no buyers remorse whatsoever.

Carrying the Ipad has been perfect in my Jeep. The seat pockets are just deep enough to hide the device completely and provide some level of protection, without it getting lost. I found that it fits well in a one gallon ziplock bag for some extra dust and water protection when needed. The keyboard is really awesome, I found (quite by accident) that the keyboard is magnetic — and setting it down on the hood of the car provides a secure and usable desk from anywhere!

If you’re in the market for a new device, you may wish to consider a similar approach!

Nicholas