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Subject: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Wes
[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
Date Posted: 09:58:07 10/02/13 Wed

Another column lifted from the paper:
-------------------------------------

It’s been twenty-five years or so since I had my first real computer, and boy, the changes just keep on coming.

Of course, I write a lot and was doing it before that first computer -- and I’ve done a heck of a lot since. More than that, as I get older I find myself doing a lot of reading on computer screens, too. Don’t get me wrong -- I still like to sit down with a book in my hands and read the traditional way, but sometimes books are heavy and awkward to deal with. More and more, I do a lot of my dead-tree book reading while sitting at a table, just because it’s more convenient, but given a choice I prefer a computer screen, at least some of the time.

I’ve also reluctantly learned to like e-book readers. For a while I had a very small PDA, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, but only about a third as thick. I could shove it in my shirt pocket and read just about anywhere despite the really tiny screen. Unfortunately, the battery went bad, and they don’t make them any more, or else I would still be using it.

About five years ago, I bought a Sony e-book reader, which was actually pretty good for the time. It would read a lot of different files, and for a while I used it a lot. However, it got to the point where it had to be left on the charger for an hour for each hour I used it, and an hour was about the maximum life of a charge, so slowly I quit using it.

A year or so ago I had a special deal on a Kindle e-book reader, by Amazon, and figured it might be useful. While the Kindle had some features that are better than the Sony, I don’t like the hand ergonomics of it as well, and some of the things you have to do to organize things and set them up are not intuitive. Fortunately, they have a fairly well-written manual included on the device, so when I need to do something on it I can always look it up.

While the Kindle has a pretty good battery, it does not hold the charge well if not used -- and sometimes I go weeks without using it. It’s a worse pain in the neck in that I have to plug in a cord to my main computer to charge it, and the fitting on the end of the one cord I have doesn’t fit anything else. On top of that, unlike either the old PDA or the Sony, it can’t be read in the dark.

When I had to go to the hospital a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea I was going to be admitted and have to stay for four days, so I’d made no preparations. I had not used the Kindle for a while, so the battery was dead, so the first thing I had Amanda do was to charge it up and send it in. Fortunately, there were a couple books on the thing I wanted to read, and it kept me from going nuts. I mean, it was the Kindle, daytime TV or harassing the nurses, so thank goodness I had the Kindle. Daytime TV is no fun, after all!

The other thing I missed in the hospital was my computer. When I had my week-long hospital stay four years ago I had a laptop, and although cumbersome, it kept me going. But, I don’t have it any more --the screen went dead -- and it just didn’t seem worth the trouble of replacing it.

Now, it seems everyone else in the family has a tablet computer, and I’ve been the hold-out. It seems like the best answer to ergonomics, flexibility and usability. The heck of it is, which one to buy? I’m certainly the last one in the family to have any knowledge of the things, so I did what any sane person in my family would do -- I asked my son-in-law for a recommendation, and then ordered it.

So, we shall see what we shall see. I’m facing several more days in the hospital in a couple of weeks, and I’m not looking forward to it. Maybe the tablet will make it bearable.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:
[> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Boyd Percy
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 20:37:35 10/02/13 Wed

>Another column lifted from the paper:
>-------------------------------------
>
>It’s been twenty-five years or so since I had my first
>real computer, and boy, the changes just keep on
>coming.
>
>Of course, I write a lot and was doing it before that
>first computer -- and I’ve done a heck of a lot since.
>More than that, as I get older I find myself doing a
>lot of reading on computer screens, too. Don’t get me
>wrong -- I still like to sit down with a book in my
>hands and read the traditional way, but sometimes
>books are heavy and awkward to deal with. More and
>more, I do a lot of my dead-tree book reading while
>sitting at a table, just because it’s more convenient,
>but given a choice I prefer a computer screen, at
>least some of the time.
>
>I’ve also reluctantly learned to like e-book readers.
>For a while I had a very small PDA, about the size of
>a pack of cigarettes, but only about a third as thick.
>I could shove it in my shirt pocket and read just
>about anywhere despite the really tiny screen.
>Unfortunately, the battery went bad, and they don’t
>make them any more, or else I would still be using it.
>
>About five years ago, I bought a Sony e-book reader,
>which was actually pretty good for the time. It would
>read a lot of different files, and for a while I used
>it a lot. However, it got to the point where it had to
>be left on the charger for an hour for each hour I
>used it, and an hour was about the maximum life of a
>charge, so slowly I quit using it.
>
>A year or so ago I had a special deal on a Kindle
>e-book reader, by Amazon, and figured it might be
>useful. While the Kindle had some features that are
>better than the Sony, I don’t like the hand ergonomics
>of it as well, and some of the things you have to do
>to organize things and set them up are not intuitive.
>Fortunately, they have a fairly well-written manual
>included on the device, so when I need to do something
>on it I can always look it up.
>
>While the Kindle has a pretty good battery, it does
>not hold the charge well if not used -- and sometimes
>I go weeks without using it. It’s a worse pain in the
>neck in that I have to plug in a cord to my main
>computer to charge it, and the fitting on the end of
>the one cord I have doesn’t fit anything else. On top
>of that, unlike either the old PDA or the Sony, it
>can’t be read in the dark.
>
>When I had to go to the hospital a couple of weeks
>ago, I had no idea I was going to be admitted and have
>to stay for four days, so I’d made no preparations. I
>had not used the Kindle for a while, so the battery
>was dead, so the first thing I had Amanda do was to
>charge it up and send it in. Fortunately, there were a
>couple books on the thing I wanted to read, and it
>kept me from going nuts. I mean, it was the Kindle,
>daytime TV or harassing the nurses, so thank goodness
>I had the Kindle. Daytime TV is no fun, after all!
>
>The other thing I missed in the hospital was my
>computer. When I had my week-long hospital stay four
>years ago I had a laptop, and although cumbersome, it
>kept me going. But, I don’t have it any more --the
>screen went dead -- and it just didn’t seem worth the
>trouble of replacing it.
>
> Now, it seems everyone else in the family has a
>tablet computer, and I’ve been the hold-out. It seems
>like the best answer to ergonomics, flexibility and
>usability. The heck of it is, which one to buy? I’m
>certainly the last one in the family to have any
>knowledge of the things, so I did what any sane person
>in my family would do -- I asked my son-in-law for a
>recommendation, and then ordered it.
>
>So, we shall see what we shall see. I’m facing several
>more days in the hospital in a couple of weeks, and
>I’m not looking forward to it. Maybe the tablet will
>make it bearable.


Good luck with your new tablet, whichever brand you chose. Back in 2011, I decided to buy a second computer since our grandson had moved back to our town and I figured he might stay with us some of the time. My desktop is located in the bedroom he occupies when he is here. I chose a laptop though I was very tempted by an iPad. Since I am very clumsy, I figured it would be just my luck that I would drop the tablet and have to replace it. No regrets over the laptop.
[> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Gil
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 11:02:10 10/10/13 Thu

I have a Kindle White Paper. It is backlit and the charging cable can be plugged into the wall with an adapter. I also found that it uses the same charging plug as my AT&T Go Phone. I too, was reluctant to get a reader. But now that I have one it is attached to my hip.
[> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Wes
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 19:21:53 10/10/13 Thu

I wound up buying a seven-inch Asus, which is an Android knockoff. Speaking strictly to its capabilities as a reader, I already like it a lot better than my Kindle -- easier to read, and ergonomically a lot better. It will handle both mobis and epubs, which the Kindle won't do, and can do a lot of other stuff, more flexibly than the new Kindle.

Amazon currently has the Kindle HD on sale for $139. The Asus cost $151. Twelve bucks well spent!

However, for most things I use a computer for, the Asus won't be a replacement.

If you are just getting into one of these things, you'd better have a kid available to show you some of the ins and outs, which are not necessarily intuitive. Slick, perhaps, but not necessarily obvious.

-- Wes
[> [> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Leo Kerr
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 19:48:38 10/10/13 Thu


>If you are just getting into one of these things,
>you'd better have a kid available to show you some of
>the ins and outs, which are not necessarily intuitive.
>Slick, perhaps, but not necessarily obvious.
>
>-- Wes

Ain't that the truth. I've more-or-less messed around with the Nook-HD (quasi-tablet) and the Asus Transformer (don't ask what number.) I still have no idea how they work, apart from -- "badly" isn't quite right. I'm sure they're fine if you know what you're doing.

The scary thing is, my father just got the 2nd gen Nexus 7 (which I still think of as maybe Rutger Haur's younger brother, or maybe Sean Penn?) He keeps asking me questions about it; I'm clearly too old (40+) to be a computer geek any more..
[> [> [> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
Doug
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 21:40:46 10/16/13 Wed

>
I've got a Kindle -- mostly to support Wes -- don't
use it much to read since I prefer epubs for various reasons.

I have 2 tablets, a desktop and a laptop. The laptop is mostly for travelling with the camera for backing up my pentax digital (12 mb raw photos take a lot of space).

I have 2 Samsung Tablets for most of my other work - 1 7 inch to take with me and a 10 inch for around the house. I always have a book (tablet) with me and the 7 inch will fit in a pocket if I don't have my medical bag with me - I carry an epipen and other medical supplies with me due to allergies and a severe allergy to perfume.

I would not be without my 7 inch but the 10 inch does a lot of things more conveniently. I do like it when I'm travelling for work with a blue tooth keyboard that mates with the 7 inch -- makes the 7 inch convenient for taking notes. I don't think I would want to give a 10 inch to some one who had trouble holding a book -- they are heavy. BTW - I got the 7 inch first and the 10 inch later. I still prefer the 7 inch for most things.

The marketing guys at work are making good use of Ipads for taking handwritten notes and transferring them to their desktops. I have Played around with handwriting on the android but not to the same degree -- as an accountant I don't have the same use.

I have taken a raw book Wes has sent me and used a free tool on the Android to read the book with out any conversion. I have also used another tool to convert the same book to a rough epub - not one I would want to use for publishing but definitely a readable one. I can see as the operating system evolves, and it is evolving quickly, that the tablet might be able to replace most of the functions of the laptop but I don't think I will ever be doing any heavy duty spreadsheet work on one.

I did buy a "bookstore" locked tablet and returned it -- their resticted view of the world - not allowing you to use competing book readers, restricting the apps you could use etc did not allow me to do what I need to be able to do to support Wes -- I needed to run as many book apps as possible. And this is just my view of their products - they are probably just fine for most people.

Doug
[> Subject: Re: Keeping up with the family


Author:
RustyKen
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 21:27:31 10/17/13 Thu

Well I opted for an iPad several years ago and am quite pleased with it. I also have an iPhone5 as well as a laptop and desktop.

From my perspective each works well for some things but lack something when used beyond their primary purpose. I read books on iPad all the time. I have read then on the iPhone but it certainly tires the eyes. The iPad is my primary device when attending meetings unless I am presenting then I use a laptop. The iPhone works for a quick glance at email, but long responses need a bigger device. iPad works well for checking email, internet browsing and of course reading. Laptops are interchange able with desktops unless you need a lot of screen space. Multiple monitors are great when working with big or multiple documents.

So that is what works for me. And it has taken me a while to work it out. BTW I had the iPhone before the iPad.

Cheers, RustyKen

>Another column lifted from the paper:
>-------------------------------------
>
>It’s been twenty-five years or so since I had my first
>real computer, and boy, the changes just keep on
>coming.
>
>Of course, I write a lot and was doing it before that
>first computer -- and I’ve done a heck of a lot since.
>More than that, as I get older I find myself doing a
>lot of reading on computer screens, too. Don’t get me
>wrong -- I still like to sit down with a book in my
>hands and read the traditional way, but sometimes
>books are heavy and awkward to deal with. More and
>more, I do a lot of my dead-tree book reading while
>sitting at a table, just because it’s more convenient,
>but given a choice I prefer a computer screen, at
>least some of the time.
>
>I’ve also reluctantly learned to like e-book readers.
>For a while I had a very small PDA, about the size of
>a pack of cigarettes, but only about a third as thick.
>I could shove it in my shirt pocket and read just
>about anywhere despite the really tiny screen.
>Unfortunately, the battery went bad, and they don’t
>make them any more, or else I would still be using it.
>
>About five years ago, I bought a Sony e-book reader,
>which was actually pretty good for the time. It would
>read a lot of different files, and for a while I used
>it a lot. However, it got to the point where it had to
>be left on the charger for an hour for each hour I
>used it, and an hour was about the maximum life of a
>charge, so slowly I quit using it.
>
>A year or so ago I had a special deal on a Kindle
>e-book reader, by Amazon, and figured it might be
>useful. While the Kindle had some features that are
>better than the Sony, I don’t like the hand ergonomics
>of it as well, and some of the things you have to do
>to organize things and set them up are not intuitive.
>Fortunately, they have a fairly well-written manual
>included on the device, so when I need to do something
>on it I can always look it up.
>
>While the Kindle has a pretty good battery, it does
>not hold the charge well if not used -- and sometimes
>I go weeks without using it. It’s a worse pain in the
>neck in that I have to plug in a cord to my main
>computer to charge it, and the fitting on the end of
>the one cord I have doesn’t fit anything else. On top
>of that, unlike either the old PDA or the Sony, it
>can’t be read in the dark.
>
>When I had to go to the hospital a couple of weeks
>ago, I had no idea I was going to be admitted and have
>to stay for four days, so I’d made no preparations. I
>had not used the Kindle for a while, so the battery
>was dead, so the first thing I had Amanda do was to
>charge it up and send it in. Fortunately, there were a
>couple books on the thing I wanted to read, and it
>kept me from going nuts. I mean, it was the Kindle,
>daytime TV or harassing the nurses, so thank goodness
>I had the Kindle. Daytime TV is no fun, after all!
>
>The other thing I missed in the hospital was my
>computer. When I had my week-long hospital stay four
>years ago I had a laptop, and although cumbersome, it
>kept me going. But, I don’t have it any more --the
>screen went dead -- and it just didn’t seem worth the
>trouble of replacing it.
>
> Now, it seems everyone else in the family has a
>tablet computer, and I’ve been the hold-out. It seems
>like the best answer to ergonomics, flexibility and
>usability. The heck of it is, which one to buy? I’m
>certainly the last one in the family to have any
>knowledge of the things, so I did what any sane person
>in my family would do -- I asked my son-in-law for a
>recommendation, and then ordered it.
>
>So, we shall see what we shall see. I’m facing several
>more days in the hospital in a couple of weeks, and
>I’m not looking forward to it. Maybe the tablet will
>make it bearable.


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