#TechTalk: iPad Pro & Logi Keyboard

Geri Krotow tells The Pink Heart Society about the one piece of tech that she just cannot live without... her iPad Pro and Logi Keyboard.

My favorite tech platform at the moment is hands-down my iPad Pro, with keyboard/cover attachment. I also have Bluetooth keyboards I can use but the dependability of the Logi keyboard (no batteries required!), and portability make it my absolute fave.

I am a traveling writer—I travel from my office to the living room to the patio to the kitchen each day, most days. And I adore being able to go write in a coffee shop.

Let me back up a bit. I learned to type in the last gasp of mechanical typewriters, during a hot summer school session in Western New York. So when I first typed on an electric typewriter, it was so. much. easier. And then the advent of computers and ergonomic keyboards—heaven.

When I discovered I was a writer, no kidding, I invested in my first MacBook, back in the previous century. Then I discovered AlphaSmarts, and killed (worked on several books) two of them.

Back to a laptop, then another MacBookPro, and the holy grail of all desk computers (to me)—the iMac.

But I travel to many, many reader and writer events. And laptops, no matter how lightweight, are cumbersome to me.

In walks the iPad Pro. I can compose as I prefer, on Scrivener. I can compile and then work on Word, which I have to pay a monthly subscription for. It’s worth it. I have the power of my iMac (though not the ergonomic support, granted) in a piece of tech that literally fits in most bags, whether fancy designer or canvas tote. It’s easy to stash away under a car seat, too, so less conspicuous to any would-be thieves. I invested in the extra data line, so that I don’t have to rely on wifi for backup. Because, back-up is key, right? When I think of all the manuscripts I emailed to myself, back before Dropbox, the Cloud, OneDrive…

I understand that not everyone enjoys Apple products as I obviously do. My first computer in the US Navy was an Apple, shoved into a far corner of an operations center as we continued to use monstrous computers that were direct descendants of Eniac (look it up if you’ve never read the history of the first computers, or, if you’re interested). And while I’ve had to use Windows based technology for a good portion of my life, I’m so very grateful that this writing gig stuck and I can be a complete bohemian (cough) writer with my Apple equipment.

And there’s the cost—Mac almost always is a larger layout of hard-earned writing income. I know. I get it. But I also know that I rarely have the technology problems that my Windows friends have. Of course Apple products can crash, go belly up, give you the awful screen of death. And I’m not here to argue Windows v Mac (although I’ve made my opinion clear). Use what works for you. And maybe a tablet, be it Windows or an Apple IPadPro, may help you unlock your writing vagabond.

Geri's latest release, Secret Agent Under Fire, is out now. For more information about her and her writing check out her website, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.