Only use a computer for email, internet, basic computing. Is the ipad a better option than a macbook?

cwigingtonjr wrote:

So I need a computer that is fast, faster the better. However I only use it for email, internet, social media.

Why does it need to be "fast, faster the better" if all you are doing is "email, internet, social media.".

None of these require anything related to computer speed (or really even internet speed).

@Chris CA well they kind of do I have a very old cheap computer which cost me like £300 4 years ago and it takes like 5 minutes to turn on and like 20seconds per web page

on the other hand I have my macbook air which turns on in under 10 seconds and takes another 1 or 2 to open safari so i saved over 5 minutes and 8 seconds there 🙂

and i only do emails and things also

I personally would never go without a real computer. I occasionally use photoshop, like the ability to backup on a cd/dvd or portable harddrive without jumping through a ton of hoops (these t hings are all practically if not totally impossible to do on an iPad), and like the ability to print easily (I'm not a fan of 'buy an expensive printer just to print from the iPad)

for you? maybe it'll work. I'm old fashioned, I like backing stuff up on my own and not depending on a third party service. I'm not a fan of 'the cloud' and perfer to keep my data nice and safe on a portable harddrive where I know exactly where it is and who has access to it. Others feel differently.

I will commit the sacrilege of suggesting that, if you want a light duty comptuer, there are plenty of PC based netbooks out there for less than $500 that could serve your needs. Might be too small for you though. I do agree that the 800x600 screen on my netbook does take some getting used to. but then I think about only carrying around 3 pounds of computer and I deal 🙂

If you want to go with your iPad as your main computing device, I'd look into a keyboard. I have smaller hands and the onscreen keyboard bugs me. And it's not as much the size as it is the lack of punctuarion, handy numbers, etc. I use a Zagg Folio, which is keyboard and case in one and makes my iPad like a mini laptop. There are others out there so it's a person to person thing, but might be something to look into.