raymac46 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 It's not as if it's the first time I had to learn a new way of interacting with a computer. I mean, I started with punch cards and mainframes. However my first experiences with a Nexus 7 tablet have convinced me that using it is certainly not the same as a conventional WIMP desktop or notebook. It is a new paradigm to be learned whether you are 4 or 64. There are without doubt some positives. The Nexus 7 seems to be just the right size for reading books or watching YouTube. It's light and has a beautiful display that's backlit so you can read in a dim location no problem. Very comfortable to hold and the battery life is excellent. The sound quality is very good for such a tiny computer. The speed seems snappy enough and the touchscreen works well. That's the good news. The bad news is that in many ways a tablet seems to be a nice trip back to 2003 as far as using a computer goes. The speed of the processor (even a quad core), the RAM and the storage capacity date from that era. Using the Internet harkens back to the time when you needed a separate program for WWW, email, FTP, Gopher...That's all converged in the browser on a conventional PC but on a tablet you have dozens of little apps to do even the simplest thing. Right now I need two apps to read my books - maybe because I haven't figured out how to do everything with the Kobo app yet. The tablet's Chrome browser itself is nowhere near as powerful as a full sized x86 browser. Useful extensions like Roboform password manager and Adblock Plus end up as separate apps and in the case of Adblock Plus the app sets up a proxy server and screws up access to certain sites. Other sites show up in a mobile form that is clunky. Yahoo Canada is unreadable. And I can't tell you how much I loath touchscreen computing. The tiny text is hard to read on the browser so I'm constantly zooming and scrolling with my fat stubby fingers. Trying to cut and paste text is an exercise in Googling and frustration. And then there's the virtual keyboard. Even with the admirable SwiftKey 3 app it is slow, inaccurate and maddening. I can't even type in a passsword correctly it seems. I honestly don't see how something like this could ever replace a mouse and keyboard for precise, accurate and fast data input or content creation. The other thing I haven't figured out yet is whether you can conveniently use the tablet offline. That's important if I take a cruise vacation where Internet access is expensive and you want to write your emails offline, then connect and send them - much as you did back in 1998. Always on Internet access is fine at the Holiday Inn where you get online for free. But not at sea, thank you. Right now I still can see me packing a netbook for a sea voyage. It's been fun playing around with a tablet - but I have a hard time taking them seriously as the future of the Internet. Have I embraced the New Paradigm - well sorta. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 You hit the nail on the head. A tablet will never be a true desktop replacement. They are not designed to be that way. I have an app for browsing this forum on my iphone, but I do not ever post with it. I normally will mentally bookrmark somethig and type a reply here. Tablets, as I see them, are an extension of computers. They are good for consuming- reading, watching, etc., but not good for general purpose productivity or content creation. I still love my iPad and iPhone. They connect me in a way never before possible. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 It's not as if it's the first time I had to learn a new way of interacting with a computer. I mean, I started with punch cards and mainframes. However my first experiences with a Nexus 7 tablet have convinced me that using it is certainly not the same as a conventional WIMP desktop or notebook. It is a new paradigm to be learned whether you are 4 or 64. ... I have a desktop, a 17" laptop, a 15" laptop, a 10" Netbook, a 10" tablet and a 7" tablet. There is no way I expect one of my tablets to replace my desktop, with its two 40" screens. Nor would expect to take that desktop to the doctors office with me. IOW, I have several devices and each one has its purpose. IMO, anyone who thinks tablets are going to replace PCs, has another think coming! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 2 40" screens? Yikes! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The bad news is that in many ways a tablet seems to be a nice trip back to 2003 as far as using a computer goes. The speed of the processor (even a quad core), the RAM and the storage capacity date from that era. I have no problem with the speed and agility of the Nexus 7. Of course, I use a different launcher than the default one but I had no problem at all with the default launcher. Your Nexus 7 should be silky smooth with no lag so I would suggest trying out one of the other launchers. Try installing Apex or Holo HD launchers. Using the Internet harkens back to the time when you needed a separate program for WWW, email, FTP, Gopher...That's all converged in the browser on a conventional PC but on a tablet you have dozens of little apps to do even the simplest thing. Well browser extensions on chrome install as separate apps but these are very tiny so I do not see an issue with it. You could install Firefox and use many of the mobile extensions they offer: https://addons.mozil.../en-US/android/ Right now I need two apps to read my books - maybe because I haven't figured out how to do everything with the Kobo app yet. Try ezPDF or MoonReader. Also, check out this link: http://www.squidoo.c...roid-ebook-apps The tablet's Chrome browser itself is nowhere near as powerful as a full sized x86 browser. Useful extensions like Roboform password manager and Adblock Plus end up as separate apps and in the case of Adblock Plus the app sets up a proxy server and screws up access to certain sites. As far as adblock, I am not really for sure as I use Adree, which blocks all ads in apps and on chrome. Other sites show up in a mobile form that is clunky. Yahoo Canada is unreadable.And I can't tell you how much I loath touchscreen computing. The tiny text is hard to read on the browser so I'm constantly zooming and scrolling with my fat stubby fingers. Trying to cut and paste text is an exercise in Googling and frustration. And then there's the virtual keyboard. Even with the admirable SwiftKey 3 app it is slow, inaccurate and maddening. I can't even type in a passsword correctly it seems. I honestly don't see how something like this could ever replace a mouse and keyboard for precise, accurate and fast data input or content creation. You can set the minimum font size by Going to Settings/Display/Font Size. To enable the desktop view of a website, simply open up chrome, click on the 3 dots on the right side of the address bar and select "Request Desktop Site". Also, you can change the default text size of websites by opening up Settings in Chrome, select Accessibility and choose Text Scaling size. Swiftkey is really horrid and I would advise against using it. There are many of swipe type keyboards but if you have the latest update on your N7, the default keyboard now has swipe and works very well. The other thing I haven't figured out yet is whether you can conveniently use the tablet offline. That's important if I take a cruise vacation where Internet access is expensive and you want to write your emails offline, then connect and send them - much as you did back in 1998. Tablets are mainly made for online activity but you can run pretty much every app offline anyway icluding email, maps, ect. These will help you with a lot of your issues: http://www.aivanet.c...nexus-7-tablet/ http://www.knowyourc...and_tricks.html http://www.tested.co...nexus-7-tweaks/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I have a desktop, a 17" laptop, a 15" laptop, a 10" Netbook, a 10" tablet and a 7" tablet. There is no way I expect one of my tablets to replace my desktop, with its two 40" screens. Nor would expect to take that desktop to the doctors office with me. IOW, I have several devices and each one has its purpose. IMO, anyone who thinks tablets are going to replace PCs, has another think coming! 2 40" screens? Yikes! Adam Lewmur just reads lots of articles. hmm, that may have been too subtle. anyway, no offense Lewmur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks Josh for all the suggestions. I'll keep experimenting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 They are different tools. iPad is also not the same as a full Mac, but it serves a great service; as does any Android tablet. I still think it's annoying that extensions like AdBlock Plus, Noscript are just not available for tablets out of the box without having to root and load another ROM. And although I can go to the settings to clear cache and history by going to the settings for iPhone, that is just for Safari and not other programs and the device itself. But I wouldn't trade the good things of the iPhone, or if I had one; an iPad or iPad mini or an Android tablet of 7" or 10". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Lewmur just reads lots of articles. hmm, that may have been too subtle. anyway, no offense Lewmur. I'm not in the least loath to admit one doesn't need 40" screens just to "read lots of articles". Even though I do. But particularly at this time of year, I can't play golf all the time. So at 74yrs old, I do spend an inordinate amount of time with my "devices". :clap: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm not in the least loath to admit one doesn't need 40" screens just to "read lots of articles". Even though I do. But particularly at this time of year, I can't play golf all the time. So at 74yrs old, I do spend an inordinate amount of time with my "devices". :clap: Very nice, I did not realize you were 74 years young As you probably already know, I understand the need for tons of desktop space You should post a screenshot of your huge setup on the Screenshot thread for us to drool over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I hear ya about touchscreens. I hate sending text messages and often send one or two word replies when I receive one. Still, my Galaxy S2 is a decent phone and camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I hear ya about touchscreens. I hate sending text messages and often send one or two word replies when I receive one. Still, my Galaxy S2 is a decent phone and camera. Really? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I hear ya about touchscreens. I hate sending text messages and often send one or two word replies when I receive one. Still, my Galaxy S2 is a decent phone and camera. Text messages are easy on the larger swipe keyboard on my 10" HP TP. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I hear ya about touchscreens. I hate sending text messages and often send one or two word replies when I receive one. Still, my Galaxy S2 is a decent phone and camera. I really like texting, it's quickly becoming my prefered method of long distance communicating. I hear from some friends and family daily with texts. We skype once in awhile but texting is so much easier for a quick question or just for my kids to let me know they are home safe. I have a desktop, a 17" laptop, a 15" laptop, a 10" Netbook, a 10" tablet and a 7" tablet. There is no way I expect one of my tablets to replace my desktop, with its two 40" screens. Nor would expect to take that desktop to the doctors office with me. IOW, I have several devices and each one has its purpose. IMO, anyone who thinks tablets are going to replace PCs, has another think coming! Two 40 inch screens eh? I'd be happy with even one of those. I don't even really believe a laptop replaces a desktop, they get hot too fast and the keyboards are so much smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 2... 40"... screens! o, my goodness! one must sit on the couch with the screens screwed to the wall... I wish I could hang them from the wall. But the apt complex where I live won't let me. I had a cancer operation a couple of years ago that took out the top part of my stomach and the last couple of inches of my esophagus so the valve stopping acid from backing up is missing. As a result, I can't sleep lying down. So I spend my nights as well as my days in a recliner. But at least I have the recliner pretty well surrounded by computer screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Just need to have close friends or family members that have no time for calls (literally due to where they work) and you will get used to it come hook or by crook LOL! I have several like that. Their lives are so busy and their work so frantic, that they really have no time or are not allowed to talk on their phones at work, but they can text LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Very nice, I did not realize you were 74 years young As you probably already know, I understand the need for tons of desktop space You should post a screenshot of your huge setup on the Screenshot thread for us to drool over. Can't fit the whole thing in a screenshot but I took this picture. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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