The very connectivity offered by the contemporary tablet is blurring the world between apps that can run independently on a device, and those that rely on the umbilical link to the web
number crunching ability – which would have been seen as extraordinary on a desktop computer just a few years ago. The expectation of performance from an app is similarly high. The very connectivity offered by the contemporary tablet is blurring the world between apps that can run independently on a device, and those that rely on the umbilical link to the web-based servers that provide a conduit to the massive computer power and data storage in the myriad machines serving the ‘cloud’. The difference may not be obvious to the
urban user, continuously connected to the web through wi-fi or phone services – but on leaving the metropolis (or entering the basement plantroom), the link is severed and the formerly lightening-fast, critical web-powered app becomes as useful as a battery-less toy early on Christmas morning. Then there are the online apps that
live totally in the cloud, such as the increasingly sophisticated Google Apps and Microsoft Web Apps, which need a live web connection to be useable.
Apps with attitude! And so, with the excitement of unpacking the iPad/Android tablet but a distant memory and the designer packaging consigned to the recycling bin, it is now time to seek out whether there is real justifi cation for the seasonal splurge on the new technology and explore whether the mobile apps can maintain that seasonal sparkle. As with any other business activity, the
LEFT and CENTRE: Danfoss fi tters app i0522-43 Condair GS Gas-Fired AW_CIBSE Magazine 190x66 11/07/2012 12:42 Page 1 TED app
world of building services engineering is dominated by text-based documents, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as the more discipline-specifi c calculations and drawings. There are, clearly, very capable and sophisticated apps that provide fl agship offi ce software for the iPad, such as the iWork suite (£42). However, the day-to- day reality is that most of the engineering business world revolves around documents created in Microsoft Offi ce. The iWork suite will open and save compatible fi les, but there are a number of packages, both for Android and the iPad, that provide excellent and direct-fi le compatibility and are far cheaper. For example, the Quickoffi ce Pro HD (Android/iPad £7.48/£6.99) can be used to create, edit and comment on documents, presentations and spreadsheets, and includes fl exible fi le transfer methods, particularly important for the iPad with its lack of a USB port for sharing fi les. The Android version includes PDF marking up – especially useful when commenting on draft documents or sharing comments among a team on drawings and project fi les. For the iPad, such PDF annotation requires an app such as the incredibly sophisticated GoodReader.
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26
CIBSE Journal January 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
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