A tablet can replace a computer

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chaz
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A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

Proof that a tablet can replace a computer:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/makeuseof- ... roductive/
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The Wizard
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by The Wizard »

A tablet IS a computer, along with my smartphone, my (dying) laptop, and my desktop PC...
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KyleAAA
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by KyleAAA »

He cheated by using a bluetooth keyboard. Basically, it's a two-piece laptop at this point, not a tablet. The only difference is that the keyboard isn't attached to the screen so it's even MORE of a pain to lug around than a traditional laptop. Unimpressed.
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Toons
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Toons »

Now all I want for Christmas is Quicken for Android :happy
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The Wizard
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by The Wizard »

I like my Asus Transformer Infinity, usable with or without its attachable keyboard...
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chaz
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

My iPad with retina display and the kindle app is perfect for reading. It is also very good for internet surfing and email.
Chaz | | “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen | | http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Browser
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Browser »

I would think Bogleheads would be interested in financial and accounting apps, things like Quicken, and spreadsheets. This guy is a "soft" user, no quantitative apps that I can see. It ain't a computer.
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chaz
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

Browser wrote:I would think Bogleheads would be interested in financial and accounting apps, things like Quicken, and spreadsheets. This guy is a "soft" user, no quantitative apps that I can see. It ain't a computer.
I have the Vanguard app and the Chase bank app. I don't need Quicken or spreadsheets. Yahoo finance and Bogleheads.org are all I need in this area.
Chaz | | “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen | | http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
sscritic
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by sscritic »

Browser wrote:I would think Bogleheads would be interested in financial and accounting apps, things like Quicken, and spreadsheets. This guy is a "soft" user, no quantitative apps that I can see. It ain't a computer.
He got quickoffice pro
with Quickoffice® Pro for Android, now you can enjoy true office mobility. Create, edit, access, and share your Microsoft® Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
It now hangs out in the cloud, as I understand it, but Excel is still Excel.
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matjen
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by matjen »

Microsoft Surface is the answer for those who really need the Office Suite PLUS it works as a phone if your company uses Microsoft's Lync technology for voice. The RT version of the Surface is like a traditional tablet with Office built in EXCEPT Outlook/mail is weak. If you wait for the Pro version it will really be like a full blown PC. This is both good and bad. The good is that it will run all of the Microsoft/PC applications. The bad is that it will be pricey and the battery life will likely only be a 5 hours or less. People get used to their 9 hour tablet battery life.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Browser »

I'll have to research QuickOffice. I'm also waiting for the Microsoft Surface tablet to come out that will be able to run Win 8 as I understand it. Not that I really want to move from Win 7 to Win 8, but I might consider it if it will let me do everything I do now on my laptop on a tablet with a keyboard.
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crowd79
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by crowd79 »

My Dell PC is 7 years old and probably ready to crap out at any point. I've got an Apple iPad though, which takes some "stress" off of my dinosaur computer and can probably serve as a temporary bridge between my current and future soon-to-be PC.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

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chaz
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

Confused wrote:Laughable.

As soon as a tablet allows me to multi-task using dual 20-inch monitors, using Firefox to mine data into both Excel and Access, while running SQL queries via C# in Visual Studio and watching a movie on 5.1 surround sound and also allows me to play a myriad of first-person shooters and RPGs with friends/family over the Steam interface and chatting in-game through a wireless headset, then a tablet can replace my computer.
You are Confused. Clearly a tablet can't do everything yet.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by epilnk »

A tablet IS a computer. It isn't ideal in every situation, but neither is a dual monitor desktop. If you prefer a single device the tablet may still be too limited, but at this point its probably fine for many light users.

I can't imagine ever giving up my laptop, my preferred computer format. But I keep my iPad mini in my purse. A small purse. I've gotten used to typing on the small screen and am now nearly as fast as on a real keyboard. iCloud syncs effortlessly among my devices. So I can pull out my computer whenever I want. I'm typing on it right now, at the hospital clinic waiting for my son's treatment to finish. When (if) I get tired of screwing around on the Internet I'll probably go back to reading PDFs, ordering Christmas gifts, or typing up some notes. There's not much on my to do list I can't accomplish with this.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by sscritic »

Confused wrote:Laughable.

As soon as a tablet allows me to multi-task using dual 20-inch monitors, using Firefox to mine data into both Excel and Access, while running SQL queries via C# in Visual Studio and watching a movie on 5.1 surround sound and also allows me to play a myriad of first-person shooters and RPGs with friends/family over the Steam interface and chatting in-game through a wireless headset, then a tablet can replace my computer.
You are right. A tablet can't heat a 2000 sq ft house the way your computer can. Your electric bill might be high, but your heating bill is low.
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Epsilon Delta
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Epsilon Delta »

Confused wrote:Laughable.

As soon as a tablet allows me to multi-task using dual 20-inch monitors, using Firefox to mine data into both Excel and Access, while running SQL queries via C# in Visual Studio and watching a movie on 5.1 surround sound and also allows me to play a myriad of first-person shooters and RPGs with friends/family over the Steam interface and chatting in-game through a wireless headset, then a tablet can replace my computer.
Why do you use multiple monitors to multi-task? I've always used alt-tab (or ctrl-alt-arrow) to move the tasks under my eyes.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by interplanetjanet »

Epsilon Delta wrote:Why do you use multiple monitors to multi-task? I've always used alt-tab (or ctrl-alt-arrow) to move the tasks under my eyes.
Screen real estate is very useful if you have a lot going on at once, and don't want to keep having to flip back to see if something has finished or reached a certain stage (peripheral vision is good enough). It can also be useful if you have, for instance, a window or several windows up with documentation on a procedure, and other windows where you are actually doing work. Glancing back and forth is generally less destructive to workflow than flipping things back and forth. I've made use of virtual desktops for a long time and while they're very useful, they don't hold a candle to actual additional screen space.

I do find laptops very useful, but their ergonomics are frequently problematic. Having experienced wrist tendon issues in the past makes me put a lot more thought into how I use my hands when entering data.
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Post by Curlyq »

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sscritic
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by sscritic »

Curlyq wrote:I'm keeping an eye on the Samsung Galaxy Note
I am keeping my eye on that package under my daughter's Christmas tree.

P.S. My four year old granddaughter told me a secret: her mommy is getting an iPad mini for Christmas. She has told everyone the secret except her mommy, who she told that she wasn't getting an iPad mini for Christmas. How's that for keeping a secret.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by protagonist »

The new Windows 8 convertibles are supposed to be everything in one package....computer, tablet....can run apps or any Windows programs....can be used with or without keyboard. How well they handle all these tasks, I don't know. Check them out.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Gargamel »

matjen wrote:Microsoft Surface is the answer for those who really need the Office Suite PLUS it works as a phone if your company uses Microsoft's Lync technology for voice. The RT version of the Surface is like a traditional tablet with Office built in EXCEPT Outlook/mail is weak. If you wait for the Pro version it will really be like a full blown PC. This is both good and bad. The good is that it will run all of the Microsoft/PC applications. The bad is that it will be pricey and the battery life will likely only be a 5 hours or less. People get used to their 9 hour tablet battery life.
+1. I use an iPad, a Xoom (Android) and several laptops and can't wait for the Windows 8 Pro version of Microsoft Surface to move to just one device. I'd like to simplfy my digital world similar to my investments...however this consolidation comes with a price (short battery life and higher cost) as #matjen mentioned. More on Surface can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/ ... -me-choose
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by pennstater2005 »

I hope a tablet can replace my cellphone and I can hold it up to my ear and talk on it. And I'm talking about the big, full size tablets. People would say, that guy is awesome.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by KarlJ »

The lack of easy multitasking capability on a tablet is a primary reason I would not want to have to rely solely on this device, as is the lack of ability to use the full versions of Quicken and Adobe applications like Photoshop.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Browser »

KarlJ wrote:The lack of easy multitasking capability on a tablet is a primary reason I would not want to have to rely solely on this device, as is the lack of ability to use the full versions of Quicken and Adobe applications like Photoshop.
I agree. I don't think the Quicken app on tablet is anything like the Quicken software program. In my case, I still use the legacy MS Money program on the laptop and don't want to give it up. I'm also sure about being able to migrate my Excel needs to a tablet app. I have a couple of programmed Excel applications that I regularly use and as far as I know they would require the full Excel program to run. Anyone who wants to keep doing some of the stuff they are now doing on their "real" computer is going to have to do a lot of homeword to determine if they can continue doing this on a tablet and I really doubt it. Now maybe, the new Surface with Win8 Pro will handle that but I'm pretty sure that nothing out there now will. So, these things only qualify as a toy that might let me browse the net, do email, read an ebook, and show my photos but that's about it as far as I can see. I can also do all that with my laptop now, as well as the other stuff too.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Toons »

Browser wrote:
KarlJ wrote:The lack of easy multitasking capability on a tablet is a primary reason I would not want to have to rely solely on this device, as is the lack of ability to use the full versions of Quicken and Adobe applications like Photoshop.
I agree. I don't think the Quicken app on tablet is anything like the Quicken software program. In my case, I still use the legacy MS Money program on the laptop and don't want to give it up. I'm also sure about being able to migrate my Excel needs to a tablet app. I have a couple of programmed Excel applications that I regularly use and as far as I know they would require the full Excel program to run. Anyone who wants to keep doing some of the stuff they are now doing on their "real" computer is going to have to do a lot of homeword to determine if they can continue doing this on a tablet and I really doubt it. Now maybe, the new Surface with Win8 Pro will handle that but I'm pretty sure that nothing out there now will. So, these things only qualify as a toy that might let me browse the net, do email, read an ebook, and show my photos but that's about it as far as I can see. I can also do all that with my laptop now, as well as the other stuff too.
Quicken App syncs with your data in the cloud ,you need to purchase Quicken 2013 to have access to this option

FAQs in link below :happy

http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/ ... 84754.html
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by pochax »

i tried the tablet+keyboard experiment and it just doesn't quite replace a laptop for me. then i got the new samsung chromebook https://play.google.com/store/devices/d ... msung_wifi and i think i found a winner and an inexpensive one at that ($249 if u can locate one right now - seems sold out almost everywhere).
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by campy2010 »

I am so confused as to why the media thinks people need to be convinced that a tablet can replace a PC. Sure, it can for some people, but obviously it is not a fully-functional computer or even that great ergonomically to use for long periods of time for the rest of us. But, I just don't understand the point of the argument, it isn't like we are only allowed to buy one PC. Most people will have multiple PCs and use whichever tool is best for the job. Stop trying to convince me that I only need a tablet because you're wasting your breath. The topic is just silly.

As for me, laptop + monitor + docking station is absolutely essential. You will have to strip the full version of Microsoft Excel from my cold, dead hands. A tablet would be nice but is not essential.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Ryan_in_Chi »

Tablets are great for content consumption, but poor are efficient content creation.

Tablets are great for playing games and surfing the web. I enjoy mine for surfing in bed before sleep. But that is not the type of WORK I do. A tablet fails at this miserably for the type of WORK I do. Efficiency is a big deal to me. How can a tablet with one finger input be faster / better than a full keyboard and mouse. I'm getting tired of everyone (my boss included) thinking that iPads can replace all of my computers.

The hype around tablets is quickly turning into one of my pet peeves.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

Chaz | | “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen | | http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by protagonist »

[quote="campy2010"] Stop trying to convince me that I only need a tablet because you're wasting your breath. The topic is just silly.

Agreed. But that may change now with Windows 8 and the proliferation of convertible devices which run anything you can run on Windows in tablet or laptop mode. Only time will tell if they fit the bill since they are quite new, but if not, I would expect that some future incarnation (Windows 9?) will.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by The Wizard »

Ryan_in_Chi wrote:Tablets are great for content consumption, but poor are efficient content creation.

Tablets are great for playing games and surfing the web. I enjoy mine for surfing in bed before sleep. But that is not the type of WORK I do. A tablet fails at this miserably for the type of WORK I do. Efficiency is a big deal to me. How can a tablet with one finger input be faster / better than a full keyboard and mouse. I'm getting tired of everyone (my boss included) thinking that iPads can replace all of my computers.

The hype around tablets is quickly turning into one of my pet peeves.
My tablet has USB and HDMI output.
I can add keyboards and mice to it, and a 42" display.
What else do you need?
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Sunny Sarkar »

About a month ago I realized that I had enough DIY computer parts lying around my office that, if I just bought a couple more, I could put together a low cost desktop for my 9 y.o. daughter. I bought a shiny red computer case to match her age, and together we embarked on a weekend project to build a new computer for her. About half way into the project, she suddenly paused and said: "but Daddy, I don't need a computer. I already have my andriod (tablet)". At the end of a brief conversation, I challenged her to think about one thing that she does at school or at home on a PC/laptop that she couldn't do on her andriod - and she thought about it and came up with nothing. That was the day I placed the personal computers as we know it on the endangered species watch.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by wander »

For some people, a tablet can definitely replace a computer. For working people, It's difficult because many applications are not generic and require to be installed in Windows or Linux ...
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by ThatGuy »

Sunny Sarkar wrote: At the end of a brief conversation, I challenged her to think about one thing that she does at school or at home on a PC/laptop that she couldn't do on her andriod - and she thought about it and came up with nothing.
I find this hard to believe. How about writing a report? What, she's going to finger tap the entire thing on the screen keyboard? As KyleAAA pointed out above, adding a keyboard makes the tablet just a larger, more expensive, even slower netbook.

How about drawing with any kind of accuracy? Can tablets print yet? I know it's all the rage to insist that the PC is dead, but tablets have a loooooong way to go for the creation of stuff. The user input method just plain sucks at this point.The accuracy of thoses touchscreens is so poor that you need significant space around each distinct icon so the device can even attempt to figure out what you really meant.

Just wait until that 9 year old has to start using Excel for math class. Or worse, gets a 'Learning to Program' class.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Orion »

If you use your computer like a tablet, then a table can replace it. I've often thought that it was funny that we got computers in most homes, but then they mostly got used as replacements for magazines, newspapers, TVs, and phones. For simpler uses, simpler machines may be as good or better. I like the form factor of tables for casual browsing, but even there I often find annoying limitations in their web browsers. But newer browsers and other apps will probably come along to fix those. The first computer I ran a web browser on in 1993 had 16MB of RAM so I'm pretty sure they will eventually see full-featured web browsers on iPads etc.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by chaz »

Orion wrote:If you use your computer like a tablet, then a table can replace it. I've often thought that it was funny that we got computers in most homes, but then they mostly got used as replacements for magazines, newspapers, TVs, and phones. For simpler uses, simpler machines may be as good or better. I like the form factor of tables for casual browsing, but even there I often find annoying limitations in their web browsers. But newer browsers and other apps will probably come along to fix those. The first computer I ran a web browser on in 1993 had 16MB of RAM so I'm pretty sure they will eventually see full-featured web browsers on iPads etc.
Is safari on an iPad full-featured?
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by roymeo »

Confused wrote:Laughable.

As soon as a tablet allows me to multi-task using dual 20-inch monitors, using Firefox to mine data into both Excel and Access, while running SQL queries via C# in Visual Studio and watching a movie on 5.1 surround sound and also allows me to play a myriad of first-person shooters and RPGs with friends/family over the Steam interface and chatting in-game through a wireless headset, then a tablet can replace my computer.
Check out the high-end Win8 Intel (not ARM) tablets. Heck, even the Samsung Slate 7 running Win7 we purchased for Win8 development in April had a better processor in it than most the Macbooks in the office.
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Orion
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Orion »

chaz wrote:Is safari on an iPad full-featured?
I'm not a Safari expert but from memory, Safari on the iPad is (or was last time I looked) missing flash, the ability to chose fonts and sizes, doesn't save pages for off-line reading - which is a shame because this would make for a great in-flight browser. There were some other things as well. After not being able to figure out a few things after playing with an iPad or reading the manual, I googled around and kept running people asking similar questions and being told nope/not yet. Though there were some 3rd party apps to fix some of the issues and kludges were said to not always work for others. I also remember finding the settings page and being surprised at just how few settings there were.

Still, I don't think it's awful or anything. There is a very high likelihood of me getting one in the near future for "recliner browsing".
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by mike143 »

Orion wrote:
chaz wrote:Is safari on an iPad full-featured?
I'm not a Safari expert but from memory, Safari on the iPad is (or was last time I looked) missing flash,
Apple is more of a take it or leave it company. For those that are not tech savvy this is fine. Flash is on its way out due to HTML5 but its not dead yet. I would rather visit the websites the way I am use to on a "computer" and not have limitations. I just procured a Nexus 7 and with Firefox BETA I can use flash enabled websites. This is the reason I enjoy the more open Android OS. Apple wishes to pound you into submission and most people are ok with this. Nothing against Apple, I feel Microsoft is doing the same thing with Windows 8/Server 2012.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by gd »

iPads make great internet/computer appliances for my elderly father and technophobe spouse. With an add-on keypad, they'd be done. If Apple could match Google Voice, maybe not even that (Google Voice is to Apple Dictation/Siri what Google Maps is to Apple Maps, by the way. Try it.) An appliance is something you buy, take out of the box, and use as is. Maybe you read the instructions, maybe you don't. If you want it to do something else, you live with it or buy another model. Home entertainment equipment, televisions, microwaves, clock/radios, printers, refrigerators, stoves, automobiles, lawnmowers, Apple devices. I commend Steve Jobs for being the first to hit the sweet spot of technology and infrastructure to make the computer appliance the average person needed about 15 years ago. In 5-10 years, PC-style computers will return to the domain of hobbyists where they were 20 years ago.

For me, not so much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to type some receipts into Quicken 2004 and run my python programs to convert/plot my downloaded csv beehive temperature data.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by ohiost90 »

Sam I Am wrote: If I can't recover my PC, I'll have to re-burn all my music to another player on another platform. The music files are about 25GB, not a small amount.

Sam I Am
You may not have to do that. If the HD isn't bricked, you can simply take the HD out of the that computer and either install into a new computer or use an external HD enclosure.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by protagonist »

I-pads make great serving trays, for bringing your coffee to your desk while you are working on your computer.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by abuss368 »

I think it comes down to what the end users needs are. Presently it is a little difficult to totally replace a computer or laptop.
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Mel Lindauer »

The Wizard wrote:
Ryan_in_Chi wrote:Tablets are great for content consumption, but poor are efficient content creation.

Tablets are great for playing games and surfing the web. I enjoy mine for surfing in bed before sleep. But that is not the type of WORK I do. A tablet fails at this miserably for the type of WORK I do. Efficiency is a big deal to me. How can a tablet with one finger input be faster / better than a full keyboard and mouse. I'm getting tired of everyone (my boss included) thinking that iPads can replace all of my computers.

The hype around tablets is quickly turning into one of my pet peeves.
My tablet has USB and HDMI output.
I can add keyboards and mice to it, and a 42" display.
What else do you need?
Bluetooth keyboards work just fine with most tablets when you need a real keyboard for heavier work. I've got one BT kb that works with both my iPad and Android tablets.
Best Regards - Mel | | Semper Fi
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Orion
Posts: 525
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:52 pm

Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by Orion »

mike143 wrote:I just procured a Nexus 7 and with Firefox BETA I can use flash enabled websites. This is the reason I enjoy the more open Android OS.
I played with several Android tablets today. The Asus TF700T is pretty nice, with a display almost as good as the iPad. It also fixed many of my ipad/safari annoyances: I could easily save web pages for off-line viewing and set a minimum font size in the browser (Chrome I think). However, it came with some annoyances of it's own - like actually getting that minimum font size slider to move was troublesome. It sometimes interpreted my gestures as things other than moving the slider. Even selecting a link in a google search was kind of hit or miss. A friend of mine with an Android phone has those issues plus more. Recently we were driving and using its GPS and it alerted us that the battery was critically low. So he turned it off. 30 seconds later it turned itself back on to tell us the battery was critically low. repeat.... repeat.... All this was going on while it was plugged into his car and allegedly charging.

I'm tempted though...
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roymeo
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Re: A tablet can replace a computer

Post by roymeo »

Some older Android devices do turn themselves on when plugged in, I haven't seen any of the newer ones do that.

You can definitely be pulling more power than is coming in when doing GPS+CellData to pull down map info....in that case I'd def make sure the screen brightness is NOT set to automatic (which burns power to detect the ambient lighting conditions) and turned down (to decrease battery use). The display at 50% can still be over 1/2 the power draw on devices.

Besides screen brightness itself: "white pixels are really expensive". (Not literally just white, but the further from black, the more expensive.) We ran some battery drain tests with different devices and screen types (LCD, LED) and found more drain on an all-white, blank HTML page doing nothing than playing back a 720p YouTube video with Flash in the browser (randomly selected video such as "Where the Hell is Matt?", no specific intent to choose something mostly dark). IIRC For just a white-vs-black blank HTML page the battery drain was worse on LED (~60% more drain) than LCD (which uses a backlight for all pixels so it 'shouldn't make any difference' but still saw a ~30% increase in battery use).

I use a dark 'theme' for my phone UI and any frequently used App UI's where I have a choice, and keep my bg image very dark.

Bogleheads should know that white pixels are like high-cost actively managed mutual funds with a high turnover rate and heavy load. Or just "white pixels are expensive".

roymeo
The sewer system is a form of welfare state. | -- "Libra", Don DeLillo
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