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Post by Holy Schist on May 14, 2012 9:50:54 GMT -5
I wouldn't exactly call the iPad cheap compared to a basic laptop. We buy them for less than basic business class laptops. Cases and skins to make them rugged don't exceed $100 opposed to the $3000+ rugged laptop we buy. Apps for office files and remote access are $7 - $20. They don't work for everything but they sure work well for some things. Haven't yet bought "new" iPads but bought the 2s that are $400 now. $550 - $700 put a bunch of them in the hands of professionals who use them for training, shop floor, data entry, communications, retail, sales and logistics tools. Less than $700 to do what used to cost $1100 - $4000. Add reliability, durability, battery life. Sure they're toys for many but also darn good tools too. The iPad pushes against or tops the biggest selling personal computer and more Android tablets are sold than many realize.
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Post by thedude on May 14, 2012 9:55:30 GMT -5
The Kindle is much cheaper than an iPad, but it's also less powerful. That might actually make it a better device for textbooks, so that it is used as a "book" and not for much else. It seems that giving kids iPads for school, there would be a lot of use during school on the web, facebook, etc. Additionally, whatever educational apps and tools that are available don't necessarily need to be used on a portable device, meaning they can use those applications at home on a computer if necessary. Finally, since the cost is cheaper, replacing them every few years wouldn't be such a financial burden. All that being said, I think our local high school issued iPads to all their students this year (or last). I don't know anyone with high school-aged kids, so I don't have any feedback.
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Post by thedude on May 14, 2012 9:58:48 GMT -5
Sure they're toys for many but also darn good tools too. The iPad pushes against or tops the biggest selling personal computer and more Android tablets are sold than many realize. I agree. I've seen some people who use them for work, and it's a no brainer for them.
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Post by Rhapsody on May 14, 2012 10:00:11 GMT -5
You can pretty easily turn off the internet on an iPad, or put mobile internet filtering on them to limit how they're used away from adult supervision..... Some schools have broadcast their internet access signals outside of the building so that students without access at home can access the internet from the school's parking lot. (One school provides access in their sports bleachers.) I don't know if the same is true of a Kindle. Could be....
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Post by lindaw on Jun 1, 2012 21:50:51 GMT -5
I use my iPad in board meetings with a portable keyboard to take notes. Right now, I'm using it to watch Storm Chasers :-)
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Post by donalgdon on Jun 1, 2012 21:55:32 GMT -5
I use my iPad in board meetings with a portable keyboard to take notes. Right now, I'm using it to watch Storm Chasers :-) So you admit that you pretty much have to transform it INTO a laptop to use it for anything of value!
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Post by sordello on Jun 1, 2012 23:47:43 GMT -5
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Post by Holy Schist on Jun 2, 2012 7:17:53 GMT -5
I use my iPad in board meetings with a portable keyboard to take notes. Right now, I'm using it to watch Storm Chasers :-) So you admit that you pretty much have to transform it INTO a laptop to use it for anything of value! You don't have to have a separate keyboard to use a tablet reasonably well and you can do that for a lot less than this MacBook Air I'm typing on. Without special keyboard, earlier in the week I did some server admin while waiting for one of my son getting a hair cut. Useful to me and Sordello could buy the same or maybe get by with free version of one of those useful tools. www.wyse.com/products/software/mobility/PocketCloudI'm on call this weekend, have a volunteer event too. The tablet is perfect for that - remote access and screen sharing tools if needed, my Wall St. Journal, New York Times and maybe finish the Doc Watson biography I've read on and off for months. My iPad battery life still beats my MacBook Air which beats my other laptop. Most people don't do that much with their technology. Tablets are a cheap and reliable way to address that. They're not as new as people think and sales keep growing so it looks like the marketplace answers any questions. Delivery drivers, hospitals and plant floors have been using them for years. Not sexy but I'm ordering these for a food manufacturing plant. Connects to servers in the main office, web, Excel in hand saves labor over a clip board, solid state and not prone to dirt problems we have with computers and even ruggedized laptops. I predict Windows 8 will up their popularity. www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-st/pd
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Post by donalgdon on Jun 2, 2012 18:17:37 GMT -5
I just installed the Release Preview of Windows 8 last night on my Dell Vostro 131.
All I can say is that I'm not impressed. The driver support is certainly not ready yet, and the UI is TERRIBLE. The simple features, like shut down and restart, for instance, are too deeply hidden. The less flashy, more spartan UI in the desktop is nice, but the tiles are awful... really terrible. I restored my backup 24 hours later. Unless something amazing happens, I'm never "upgrading" to it... and I doubt that I'm alone, from what I can see on most tech forums I frequent. I can see some good things if one is using a tablet, but I'm not seeing how anyone can use it on a non-touch screen device. It's just so counter-intuitive.
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Post by sordello on Jun 2, 2012 19:01:33 GMT -5
That Dell Latitude looks impressive - finally, Windows on a tablet! Maybe in 2 or 3 years...
... I've been watching more movies lately, and ones my wife isn't interested in at the moment, so I usually go off somewhere and watch them on my laptop - sometimes actually taking notes too! (I miss the iPad and the times when I could go to bed and watch movies and listen to music in the middle of the night.) That Bauhn will let me do that again.
I actually use my slow typing to an advantage, so I am not motivated to speed up. When I do my writing, I actually do a "second draft" of each sentence while I type it, so the slowness of my typing lets me rethink each word. Single finger typing on a tablet is not a detriment to me - a boon actually! No. I took some good notes in the middle of the night on my old iPad, so I envision doing it again on a Bauhn.
The flash and the boot are real selling points. If I ever get new hardware here, PC or laptop, it will be with flash memory. I am still amazed, and it's 2012 now - how long have PC's been around? - and you still need a minute or two to boot up. Ridiculous. When I pick up a phone, I can start dialing in one second; when I power up my computer, I go to the kitchen and make a coffee. I don't know why Microsoft doesn't provide a hard-wired RAM/OS option? Most of us don't make an OS choice every time we boot up; we chose our OS when we buy the PC and we're done. Why can't the OS be hard-wired on the permanent RAM and be "in boot" 24/7? The traffic from the OS/RAM will be one way only so no virus infections. If a virus hits, it will be in the temp RAM, so a quick reboot wipes it. Minor upgrades? Forget it. Wait until a major upgrade and buy a new chip, or new PC, or just forego it. Your choice.
Time for Microsoft to emerge from the dark ages.
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Post by donalgdon on Jun 2, 2012 19:07:56 GMT -5
That's why SSDs are so popular now. I am spoiled by them. I got a 160GB Intel G2 which makes my laptop cold boot in just around 20 seconds. Smaller capacity, but I'd gladly give up space for speed.
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Post by sordello on Jun 2, 2012 19:54:03 GMT -5
That's why SSDs are so popular now. I am spoiled by them. I got a 160GB Intel G2 which makes my laptop cold boot in just around 20 seconds. Smaller capacity, but I'd gladly give up space for speed. SSDs certainly are the way. Pretty expensive still. I may hang on to my old equipment a while longer and wait for SSDs to be old technology. Maybe the Bauhn will be my interim device. As well, I'm slowly converting all my DVDs to computer .mp4 files. I don't want to have to buy any more mechanical DVD players. They just break down, and mp4 files are easily portable. I also get to strip the annoying ads and, ironically, those anti-pirating warnings that actually make people WANT to get pirated movies!! ... And I get to watch the movies on a tablet. Too easy. DVDs - the 8-track tapes of the 21st century!
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Post by Holy Schist on Jun 3, 2012 12:24:37 GMT -5
That Dell Latitude looks impressive - finally, Windows on a tablet! Maybe in 2 or 3 years... ... I've been watching more movies lately, and ones my wife isn't interested in at the moment, so I usually go off somewhere and watch them on my laptop - sometimes actually taking notes too! (I miss the iPad and the times when I could go to bed and watch movies and listen to music in the middle of the night.) That Bauhn will let me do that again. I actually use my slow typing to an advantage, so I am not motivated to speed up. When I do my writing, I actually do a "second draft" of each sentence while I type it, so the slowness of my typing lets me rethink each word. Single finger typing on a tablet is not a detriment to me - a boon actually! No. I took some good notes in the middle of the night on my old iPad, so I envision doing it again on a Bauhn. The flash and the boot are real selling points. If I ever get new hardware here, PC or laptop, it will be with flash memory. I am still amazed, and it's 2012 now - how long have PC's been around? - and you still need a minute or two to boot up. Ridiculous. When I pick up a phone, I can start dialing in one second; when I power up my computer, I go to the kitchen and make a coffee. I don't know why Microsoft doesn't provide a hard-wired RAM/OS option? Most of us don't make an OS choice every time we boot up; we chose our OS when we buy the PC and we're done. Why can't the OS be hard-wired on the permanent RAM and be "in boot" 24/7? The traffic from the OS/RAM will be one way only so no virus infections. If a virus hits, it will be in the temp RAM, so a quick reboot wipes it. Minor upgrades? Forget it. Wait until a major upgrade and buy a new chip, or new PC, or just forego it. Your choice. Time for Microsoft to emerge from the dark ages. Microsoft is far beyond the dark ages but can't emerge as you probably think because of the legacy applications. Their approach offered for free is pretty good. Too many still need client side computing so we're in a time of transition. Some minor current tasks at hand are with things that still need a serial port and old school hardware interrupts. Much of my yesterday was wasted babysitting and spanking a Server 2003 instance actually 9 years old and still running because that business still needs parts of an application from the 1980s. Others get their presentations for cloud-based solutions they don't do the job or take longer to lift off than an old school under the roof application. That sort of stuff is not present for a mobile or most Mac users. To your other point Microsoft has long had embedded Windows. You probably don't realize that every time you're standing at the more popular cash registers in the world. That cash register at least needs an old school (port, memory space) to a receipt/coupon printer and PIN pad and probably needs the same for the scanner or scale/scanner. In the meanwhile I see Planet Money now has a mobile app! Now the audio. collateral material and other content without a conventional computer.
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Post by donalgdon on Jun 3, 2012 12:40:38 GMT -5
I don't understand how free Linux distros can have better driver support than a paid OS.
By now, we ought to be be able to install Windows 8 and just go.
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Post by sordello on Jun 3, 2012 18:58:49 GMT -5
That Dell Latitude looks impressive - finally, Windows on a tablet! Maybe in 2 or 3 years... ... I've been watching more movies lately, and ones my wife isn't interested in at the moment, so I usually go off somewhere and watch them on my laptop - sometimes actually taking notes too! (I miss the iPad and the times when I could go to bed and watch movies and listen to music in the middle of the night.) That Bauhn will let me do that again. I actually use my slow typing to an advantage, so I am not motivated to speed up. When I do my writing, I actually do a "second draft" of each sentence while I type it, so the slowness of my typing lets me rethink each word. Single finger typing on a tablet is not a detriment to me - a boon actually! No. I took some good notes in the middle of the night on my old iPad, so I envision doing it again on a Bauhn. The flash and the boot are real selling points. If I ever get new hardware here, PC or laptop, it will be with flash memory. I am still amazed, and it's 2012 now - how long have PC's been around? - and you still need a minute or two to boot up. Ridiculous. When I pick up a phone, I can start dialing in one second; when I power up my computer, I go to the kitchen and make a coffee. I don't know why Microsoft doesn't provide a hard-wired RAM/OS option? Most of us don't make an OS choice every time we boot up; we chose our OS when we buy the PC and we're done. Why can't the OS be hard-wired on the permanent RAM and be "in boot" 24/7? The traffic from the OS/RAM will be one way only so no virus infections. If a virus hits, it will be in the temp RAM, so a quick reboot wipes it. Minor upgrades? Forget it. Wait until a major upgrade and buy a new chip, or new PC, or just forego it. Your choice. Time for Microsoft to emerge from the dark ages. Microsoft is far beyond the dark ages but can't emerge as you probably think because of the legacy applications. Their approach offered for free is pretty good. Too many still need client side computing so we're in a time of transition. Some minor current tasks at hand are with things that still need a serial port and old school hardware interrupts. Much of my yesterday was wasted babysitting and spanking a Server 2003 instance actually 9 years old and still running because that business still needs parts of an application from the 1980s. Others get their presentations for cloud-based solutions they don't do the job or take longer to lift off than an old school under the roof application. That sort of stuff is not present for a mobile or most Mac users. To your other point Microsoft has long had embedded Windows. You probably don't realize that every time you're standing at the more popular cash registers in the world. That cash register at least needs an old school (port, memory space) to a receipt/coupon printer and PIN pad and probably needs the same for the scanner or scale/scanner. In the meanwhile I see Planet Money now has a mobile app! Now the audio. collateral material and other content without a conventional computer. I wonder to what extent "legacy" is holding MS back, and in the meantime driving up costs for everyone else as MS resources have to be spent tweaking legacy. In my book, companies who opted for multimillion $$ in IT budgets but have not allowed for upgrade costs - and are still working with 2003 technology - have made a major budget error. Speaks to poor management. MS should cater to a fixed time legacy - 5 years maybe? If companies don't upgrade, they're on their own. I believe the Linux/Ubuntu community are like that: they tell you straight up front what versions of their OS will be serviced and which editions fall into oblivion. Up front and open. You can budget around their timeframes. If a company can't budget these costs, they need to rethink the cost/benefit of computerization. I get charity groups here in my small town asking me what accounting software to buy. I ask them how many transactions they do in a year. If I get a number under 1000 I say to them, "you don't need accounting software." Some of them say, "but our auditor says he uses "XYZ" and he says it might be easier for us if we had software?" To which I just say, "well tell your auditor to buy you a complimentary copy and contract him to buy you the annual upgrades too." The government agency I used to work for wasted immense amounts of money on IT - yes, wasted: the return for the massive down times, staff training, re-training and then re-training to fix the erroneous first training, the external audit reports citing major lapses and errors due to the systems, the mass amount of money erroneously sent to the government due to a system error... the return was just not there.
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