I just used my iPad to control my MacBook Pro. I watched a video on YouTube, did some image manipulation with Lightroom and edited an essay in Microsoft Word, all without touching my laptop.
Sounds like something you’d expect with a screen sharing app, but Quadro makes it even simpler with a new iOS app that will let you connect to and control your Mac or PC with a grid of commands that look like something out of Star Trek.
Check out the video below to see how it works.
https://youtu.be/rjj7h36a_Gg
The whole idea here is to streamline your workflow, so Quadro’s developers have taken time to create a framework for controlling your computer with various commands, groups of tasks, and a swipe-able keyboard that lets you pretty much replace the keyboard and mouse on your Mac.
When you install it on your iPad and a little server app on your Mac, Quadro takes a look at the apps you have and installs various pre-set grids that have commonly used commands and shortcuts for those apps. Think New Tab, New Window, Bookmarks, and Next tab for Chrome, or Buddy Pictures and Next/Previous conversations in Messages.
The connection goes both ways, too — when you launch an app on your Mac that has a corresponding grid command center in Quadro, the iOS app will open that group of commands automatically.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
If you purchase a premium account ($20 per year or $50 forever), you can customize everything in Quadro, too, adding new commands, chaining tasks together, and rearranging and recoloring all the little buttons in the interface.
Trying Quadro out is free, so you lose nothing with a quick download from the App Store. If you’ve ever wanted to play Star Trek: The Next Generation with a control center on your PADD, here’s your chance.
Rob LeFebvre is an Anchorage, Alaska-based writer and editor who has contributed to various tech, gaming and iOS sites, including 148Apps, Creative Screenwriting, Shelf-Awareness, VentureBeat, and Paste Magazine. Feel free to find Rob on Twitter @roblef, and send him a cookie once in a while; he’ll really appreciate it.
8 responses to “Turn your iPad into a control center for your Mac with Quadro”
I am a bit sceptic, because if this is anything like the universal remote control applications (Gear4 Unityremote, Logitech Harmony Link, etc): they sound better than in the reality. The actual old *physical* remote controllers are always “on” and ready to use – not the ios devices, the applications aren’t that speedy to use, connection/response speed issues, etc..
Sounds interesting. Still, Im quite used to keyboard shortcuts, so I have to wait some video reviews to make the final conclusion..
The old version (Actions) worked wonderfully. It was a great app. However with the steep pricing and “monthly billing” is where I think this app went nowhere and probably the company will die in a couple years. It’s hard to justify why I have to pay a cycle-billing for a remote control.
I got like 6 months free or something for being a beta tester or something (cannot even remember now!!) but I haven’t even used that and most likely won’t ever.
A shame.
RIP.
YEAH.. Same here: I can’t find any good reasons for monthly fee..
I get the overall feeling, but I don’t understand why it makes sense to pay 5$ a month to jot down some tasks or notes, but doesn’t in this case.
The necessity of getting to a monthly fee is not something done “just cause”, or because it does makes sense on a specific feature. Since the launch of Actions, which had “politically correct pricing”, we’ve never able to create revenue. (although having 500k users!)
Now we have a staggering roadmap of features ahead, and I’m sorry we have to ask money for this, but we do. ;)
Moreover, there is something about Quadro you might missing here: it’s not a “remote”, it’s a new kind of “input peripheral” (so more of a controller) that helps you manage your workflow for productivity. It’s able to save real time and stress, and we think this something worth paying the very low price of a coffee each month (20$/y), if you put things into perspective.
I agree on the general superiority of physical tools in regard of digital ones, but they lack adaptability. I love to press a button, but when coming to manage the navigation and action upon the complete computing experience
Regarding shortcuts I get what you mean, I’m a keyboard shortcuts ninja myself, but:
– it’s not for everyone (90% of users don’t know cmd/ctrl+F for Find)
– it’s an unexpectedly heavy cognitive load, and we could do better without
Habit is a strong force and the first enemy of Quadro, but the feedbacks of our day-to-day users give us complete trust over its future.
It looks too much like Windows!
Thanks for your comment David, I get what you mean. Unfortunately the subdivision of a rectangular display is better done with rectangular tiles than circles, triangles, hexagons, etc… And a big tile is better to locate and touch than a small icon (iOs style).
I suppose you can say Quadro looks like Windows as iOs looks like Android. :)
We could have designed something less efficient for the sake of originality, but we are believers of the “form follows function” motto. However, I’m sure that after trying it you will notice the differences.
Thanks for your kind words Timothy, if you need any clarification or have requests or feedback just shout out! ;)