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F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 03:24 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a “computer” handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the “file” system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can’t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a “real”
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It’s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in “the
cloud” has little appeal for me.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn’t working for me. Too much
“touchy, feely touchscreening” for my taste and patience.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn’t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I’m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

After careful consideration, I put the iPad up for sale on an affinity
discussion board for a reasonable price and it was “gone” the same day.

So, now, I’m moving back to a “regular” laptop computer. One with a file
system I can use and a pointing device that works the way I want it to work.

I’ll have to find myself a Luddite tee-shirt. :)

iBoaterer[_3_] June 27th 13 03:51 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.


It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.


Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.


Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 04:01 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.


It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.


Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.


Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.



F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 04:27 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 11:16 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:24:35 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a “computer” handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the “file” system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can’t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a “real”
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It’s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in “the
cloud” has little appeal for me.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn’t working for me. Too much
“touchy, feely touchscreening” for my taste and patience.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn’t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I’m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

After careful consideration, I put the iPad up for sale on an affinity
discussion board for a reasonable price and it was “gone” the same day.

So, now, I’m moving back to a “regular” laptop computer. One with a file
system I can use and a pointing device that works the way I want it to work.

I’ll have to find myself a Luddite tee-shirt. :)


That is why they still make PCs for business people. Tablets and
phones are made for people who don't really want to know they have a
computer.

The Samsung Note 2 phone does have a good sunlight screen. We use my
wife's for the weather radar on the boat. (NBC-2.com)
It really works well with pan and zoom so you can look at your exact
spot or zoom out to see the whole state.

It is a big phone almost a small tablet but a good platform for
someone who works on their feet. This has a stylus in it and when you
pull it out, the phone switches automatically to a note screen where
you can write a short note, draw a picture or whatever. That can be
stored or sent to just about anything that can handle that type of
image. ("texting", bluetooth transfer or over the internet) That is
handy when you are moving around doing lots of different things all
day.


I can see how that would be great for someone in businesses where short
notes rule the day. Unfortunately, I don't get to write short notes for
$$$. :(


iBoaterer[_3_] June 27th 13 06:54 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.


It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.


Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.


Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.


I can go two ways with the keyboard, either a dock, where when you press
it into the holder it actually uses the port, OR Bluetooth. And I can
use a Bluetooth mouse as well, but it just doesn't operate like a
windows computer, and that is a negative for me. But, as a device I love
it, I use it for all of my appointment calender stuff, address and phone
book, etc.

F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 07:14 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 1:54 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.

It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.

Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.


I can go two ways with the keyboard, either a dock, where when you press
it into the holder it actually uses the port, OR Bluetooth. And I can
use a Bluetooth mouse as well, but it just doesn't operate like a
windows computer, and that is a negative for me. But, as a device I love
it, I use it for all of my appointment calender stuff, address and phone
book, etc.


Yeah, I've used the iPad I had with a bluetooth keyboard. There wasn't a
capability I knew of to plug a keyboard directly into a device port. But
I had no problems with the bluetooth keyboards I used.

There was a "jailbreak" program that allowed very limited use of a mouse
on an iPad, but not enough use to interest me. I'm not familiar with
what might be possible on an Android device with a mouse.

In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

Eisboch[_8_] June 27th 13 07:47 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.



F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 08:02 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 2:47 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it occasionally
for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds of things
including some video conferencing application that allows her to see and
talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing Scrabble with about
5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I have
at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great learning
tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally got the
iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into my PC to
transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to upgrade to
iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in the iPad that
was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked. The iPad no
longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as it had
previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music file I
wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software.
It used to be Windows that had that reputation.



Apple does update its mainline OS every year or so, but not frequent
enough to be annoying, and usually the upgrades are minor and incremental.

The IO used on the phones and iPads seems to get a major update about
every eight months. The updates can be installed easily.

John H[_2_] June 27th 13 08:49 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:47:38 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
om...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

JustWaitAFrekinMinute June 27th 13 09:12 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:47:38 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....

F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 09:19 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 4:12 PM, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:
On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:47:38 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into
putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....



It's sort of hard for something to be more versatile for the dollar than
iTunes, which Apple gives away at no cost.

Perhaps you are comparing your MP3 player to an Apple hardware device,
such as an iPhone or iPad. In that case, you'd be wrong.



Hank©[_3_] June 27th 13 09:34 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/2013 10:24 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a “computer” handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the “file” system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can’t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a “real”
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It’s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in “the
cloud” has little appeal for me.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn’t working for me. Too much
“touchy, feely touchscreening” for my taste and patience.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn’t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I’m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

After careful consideration, I put the iPad up for sale on an affinity
discussion board for a reasonable price and it was “gone” the same day.

So, now, I’m moving back to a “regular” laptop computer. One with a file
system I can use and a pointing device that works the way I want it to
work.

I’ll have to find myself a Luddite tee-shirt. :)


Trust me. You won't need the tee shirt to be recognized.

iBoaterer[_3_] June 27th 13 09:37 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 1:54 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.

It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.

Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.


I can go two ways with the keyboard, either a dock, where when you press
it into the holder it actually uses the port, OR Bluetooth. And I can
use a Bluetooth mouse as well, but it just doesn't operate like a
windows computer, and that is a negative for me. But, as a device I love
it, I use it for all of my appointment calender stuff, address and phone
book, etc.


Yeah, I've used the iPad I had with a bluetooth keyboard. There wasn't a
capability I knew of to plug a keyboard directly into a device port. But
I had no problems with the bluetooth keyboards I used.

There was a "jailbreak" program that allowed very limited use of a mouse
on an iPad, but not enough use to interest me. I'm not familiar with
what might be possible on an Android device with a mouse.

In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.


Yes, I agree. My android worked well as a GPS too!

iBoaterer[_3_] June 27th 13 09:38 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:47:38 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


Your MP3 player is more versatile than a computer HOW?

F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 09:40 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 4:38 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:47:38 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it
occasionally for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds
of things including some video conferencing application that allows
her to see and talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing
Scrabble with about 5 people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to
put backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I
have at the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great
learning tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally
got the iPad and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into
my PC to transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to
upgrade to iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in
the iPad that was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked.
The iPad no longer appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as
it had previously. Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music
file I wanted to transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed
anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could
see the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to
do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still
said to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left
column on the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a
little arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various
media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the
iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their
software. It used to be Windows that had that reputation.

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


Your MP3 player is more versatile than a computer HOW?



He can figure out how to play music on the MP3 player. The computer is
much more complex.


F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 09:44 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 4:37 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 1:54 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.

It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.

Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!



Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.

I can go two ways with the keyboard, either a dock, where when you press
it into the holder it actually uses the port, OR Bluetooth. And I can
use a Bluetooth mouse as well, but it just doesn't operate like a
windows computer, and that is a negative for me. But, as a device I love
it, I use it for all of my appointment calender stuff, address and phone
book, etc.


Yeah, I've used the iPad I had with a bluetooth keyboard. There wasn't a
capability I knew of to plug a keyboard directly into a device port. But
I had no problems with the bluetooth keyboards I used.

There was a "jailbreak" program that allowed very limited use of a mouse
on an iPad, but not enough use to interest me. I'm not familiar with
what might be possible on an Android device with a mouse.

In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.


Yes, I agree. My android worked well as a GPS too!



The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.

Eisboch[_8_] June 27th 13 10:10 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/27/13 2:47 PM, Eisboch wrote:


I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software.
It used to be Windows that had that reputation.



Apple does update its mainline OS every year or so, but not frequent
enough to be annoying, and usually the upgrades are minor and
incremental.

The IO used on the phones and iPads seems to get a major update about
every eight months. The updates can be installed easily.

------------------------------------------

I guess I am referring more to iTunes. It seems to be either
updating or trying to get me to buy something constantly.



Eisboch[_8_] June 27th 13 10:13 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ...



The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop
computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.

-----------------------------------------

What kind of storage capacity do they offer? I think getting away
from spinning hard drives is a great idea.


F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 10:22 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 5:10 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/27/13 2:47 PM, Eisboch wrote:


I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software.
It used to be Windows that had that reputation.



Apple does update its mainline OS every year or so, but not frequent
enough to be annoying, and usually the upgrades are minor and incremental.

The IO used on the phones and iPads seems to get a major update about
every eight months. The updates can be installed easily.

------------------------------------------

I guess I am referring more to iTunes. It seems to be either updating
or trying to get me to buy something constantly.



Indeed, iTunes does get updated more often. Apple uses the program for
many purposes, including managing the music on various devices, selling
music and videos, selling software, as the front end for software buying
for its phones and tablets and increasingly as the way to distribute
software for its desktop and laptop machines. Everytime there is a new
or updated function, the suite gets an update.

F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 10:25 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 5:13 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ...



The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.

-----------------------------------------

What kind of storage capacity do they offer? I think getting away from
spinning hard drives is a great idea.



The current laptops now offer storage SSDs from 128 GBs to 768 GBs, and
you get get hybrid drives on the desktops that combine spinning drives
and SSDs.

Eisboch[_8_] June 27th 13 11:02 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/27/13 5:13 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
...



The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning
drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop
computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et
cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.

-----------------------------------------

What kind of storage capacity do they offer? I think getting away
from
spinning hard drives is a great idea.



The current laptops now offer storage SSDs from 128 GBs to 768 GBs,
and
you get get hybrid drives on the desktops that combine spinning drives
and SSDs.

---------------------------------------

Wow. That's more than enough for me. I don't permanently store a
lot of stuff on my computer hard drives. I have a couple of external
drives that I use to store stuff I want to keep but only hook them up
and run them when I need them.

I just checked this computer that I've had for about 3 years. Hard
drive capacity is 450Gb of which 362Gb are free. I'll never come
close to filling it up.



F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 11:35 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 6:22 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:19:54 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


Perhaps you are comparing your MP3 player to an Apple hardware device,
such as an iPhone or iPad. In that case, you'd be wrong.


I assume he is comparing it to an I-pod, that is appropriate.
The I tunes software is free but the songs are not.



I have an iPod. I can play music and videos on it. It has 55 GBs of
content on it, and probably less than 100 tunes are tunes I bought and
paid for via iTunes. The rest are CDs I own I uploaded to iTunes and
MP3s from various sources, mostly free or near free. I manage it all
easily via iTunes.

Eisboch[_8_] June 27th 13 11:36 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 


wrote in message ...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:12:01 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute
wrote:

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:


iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me
into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


It certainly is and Amazon is a lot easier to get music from than
I-tunes. It is a one click thing.

Of course using UseNet is even easier and a whole lot cheaper ;-)

-----------------------------------------------------

What I do is a little different than just getting published music.
There are tons of guitar instructional videos including full backing
tracks (minus the melody) on YouTube. I do a search for a song I'd
like to have and then record the audio from it using a simple but very
good program called "Audacity".
Audacity is a audio recording and editing program similar to Pro Tools
except it's much simpler to use.

Once I've recorded it, cleaned it up a bit (and even change the key
it's in if I want) I export it as a mp3. From there I can transfer
it to my music library on the iPad. The iPad (being so portable) is
great to play the backing track from with it's audio output connected
to a Fishman SoloAmp PA.
Works great and keeps me off the streets.



F.O.A.D. June 27th 13 11:41 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 6:36 PM, Eisboch wrote:


wrote in message ...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:12:01 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute
wrote:

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:


iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into
putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


It certainly is and Amazon is a lot easier to get music from than
I-tunes. It is a one click thing.

Of course using UseNet is even easier and a whole lot cheaper ;-)

-----------------------------------------------------

What I do is a little different than just getting published music. There
are tons of guitar instructional videos including full backing tracks
(minus the melody) on YouTube. I do a search for a song I'd like to
have and then record the audio from it using a simple but very good
program called "Audacity".
Audacity is a audio recording and editing program similar to Pro Tools
except it's much simpler to use.

Once I've recorded it, cleaned it up a bit (and even change the key it's
in if I want) I export it as a mp3. From there I can transfer it to
my music library on the iPad. The iPad (being so portable) is great to
play the backing track from with it's audio output connected to a
Fishman SoloAmp PA.
Works great and keeps me off the streets.



I don't go through any of that trouble, but there's certainly no problem
importing tunes via iTunes or other software onto an Apple device that
plays music.

Hank©[_3_] June 27th 13 11:41 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/2013 6:25 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:44:45 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.


My grand daughter's 2009 Disney laptop has an SSD drive but when I
bought the one for the younger grand daughter I got a real machine
with a hard drive.

You can get replacement SSDs but they ain't cheap.

A 1 terabit external drive cost me $100.

Hank©[_3_] June 27th 13 11:47 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/2013 6:41 PM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 6/27/13 6:36 PM, Eisboch wrote:


wrote in message ...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:12:01 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute
wrote:

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:


iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into
putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


It certainly is and Amazon is a lot easier to get music from than
I-tunes. It is a one click thing.

Of course using UseNet is even easier and a whole lot cheaper ;-)

-----------------------------------------------------

What I do is a little different than just getting published music. There
are tons of guitar instructional videos including full backing tracks
(minus the melody) on YouTube. I do a search for a song I'd like to
have and then record the audio from it using a simple but very good
program called "Audacity".
Audacity is a audio recording and editing program similar to Pro Tools
except it's much simpler to use.

Once I've recorded it, cleaned it up a bit (and even change the key it's
in if I want) I export it as a mp3. From there I can transfer it to
my music library on the iPad. The iPad (being so portable) is great to
play the backing track from with it's audio output connected to a
Fishman SoloAmp PA.
Works great and keeps me off the streets.



I don't go through any of that trouble, but there's certainly no problem
importing tunes via iTunes or other software onto an Apple device that
plays music.


You two are on completely different wavelengths. You don't have an
inkling of what he's talking about.

F.O.A.D. June 28th 13 12:29 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 6:25 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:44:45 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.


My grand daughter's 2009 Disney laptop has an SSD drive but when I
bought the one for the younger grand daughter I got a real machine
with a hard drive.

You can get replacement SSDs but they ain't cheap.


They will be. Rotating disk hard drives are the dinosaurs now for
consumer and small business use and probably will disappear in a handful
of years, except for the replacement market.



BAR[_2_] June 28th 13 01:08 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article , says...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:44:45 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.


My grand daughter's 2009 Disney laptop has an SSD drive but when I
bought the one for the younger grand daughter I got a real machine
with a hard drive.

You can get replacement SSDs but they ain't cheap.


My company loves SSD!

John H[_2_] June 28th 13 01:16 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:09:42 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:12:01 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute
wrote:

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:


iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....


It certainly is and Amazon is a lot easier to get music from than
I-tunes. It is a one click thing.

Of course using UseNet is even easier and a whole lot cheaper ;-)


For shame, for shame. Surely you don't partake in newsgroups such as this:

Newsgroups: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.bluegrass


John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

John H[_2_] June 28th 13 01:17 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:47:12 -0400, Hank© wrote:

On 6/27/2013 6:41 PM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 6/27/13 6:36 PM, Eisboch wrote:


wrote in message ...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:12:01 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute
wrote:

On 6/27/2013 3:49 PM, John H wrote:

iTunes is the biggest PITA ever developed. I let my wife talk me into
putting it on my machine. Wish
I'd never done it.

John (Gun Nut) H.


My simple MP3 player is much more versatile for the dollar....

It certainly is and Amazon is a lot easier to get music from than
I-tunes. It is a one click thing.

Of course using UseNet is even easier and a whole lot cheaper ;-)

-----------------------------------------------------

What I do is a little different than just getting published music. There
are tons of guitar instructional videos including full backing tracks
(minus the melody) on YouTube. I do a search for a song I'd like to
have and then record the audio from it using a simple but very good
program called "Audacity".
Audacity is a audio recording and editing program similar to Pro Tools
except it's much simpler to use.

Once I've recorded it, cleaned it up a bit (and even change the key it's
in if I want) I export it as a mp3. From there I can transfer it to
my music library on the iPad. The iPad (being so portable) is great to
play the backing track from with it's audio output connected to a
Fishman SoloAmp PA.
Works great and keeps me off the streets.



I don't go through any of that trouble, but there's certainly no problem
importing tunes via iTunes or other software onto an Apple device that
plays music.


You two are on completely different wavelengths. You don't have an
inkling of what he's talking about.


Hush. Don't tell him.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

Califbill June 28th 13 01:21 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
"Eisboch" wrote:
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it occasionally
for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds of things
including some video conferencing application that allows her to see and
talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing Scrabble with about 5
people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to put
backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I have at
the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great learning
tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally got the iPad
and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into my PC to
transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to upgrade to
iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in the iPad that
was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked. The iPad no longer
appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as it had previously.
Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music file I wanted to
transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could see
the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still said
to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left column on
the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a little
arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software. It
used to be Windows that had that reputation.


I have mixed emotions about the Ipad. Very handy for email when traveling,
and nice as a book reader. Takes good pictures. When we were in Africa my
Hero camera would not charge, so used the Ipad for video and some stills.
Bitch is getting the pictures off. You have to email or use "The Cloud".
Should be able to drag them to an external USB disk or a powered USB port
with an SD Card. Also the fact you can only print to an AirPrint printer
is sucky. HP has a print app, but only if you use the app to open a web
page. Not a text do document file.

F.O.A.D. June 28th 13 01:29 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 8:21 PM, Califbill wrote:
"Eisboch" wrote:
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message m...


In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.

---------------------------------------

I've had an iPad for a couple of years but never got around to even
learning how or even what to use it for other than using it occasionally
for Pandora. Mrs.E. uses hers constantly for all kinds of things
including some video conferencing application that allows her to see and
talk to the grandkids in South Carolina and playing Scrabble with about 5
people at the same time.

I finally decided to see how I might be able to use it and decided to put
backing tracks of music on it, plug it into a Fishman SoloAmp I have at
the house and play along with the songs on a guitar. Great learning
tool. I had some music files on it from when I originally got the iPad
and it worked great. All was fine until I plugged it into my PC to
transfer some new songs. iTunes opened, but said I had to upgrade to
iTunes 11. Ok. I did. It also upgraded the software in the iPad that
was connected to the PC. After that, nothing worked. The iPad no longer
appeared as a "device" in the PC file structure as it had previously.
Before the upgrade I would simply drag the music file I wanted to
transfer to the iPad listed device.

I must have spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened. Tried
uninstalling iTunes and re-installing. Still no iPad device listed anymore.
Gave up.

The next day I tried again. iTunes would open on the PC and I could see
the files I wanted to transfer, but there was no apparent way to do it.
I googled up iTunes help and followed the instructions. They still said
to simply drag the file to the iPad device listed in the left column on
the PC, but there was no longer a iPad device listed.

I finally figured it out by accident. Beside the music file was a little
arrow that looked just like the "Play" icon found on various media players.
Clicked on it and a window opened with a bunch of options one of which
was "send to". Clicked on it and one of the destinations was to the iPad.
That worked, but it bugged me as to why no mention of this was in the
current instructions. So, I went back to read them again, thinking I
must have missed it. I didn't. They aren't there.

I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software. It
used to be Windows that had that reputation.


I have mixed emotions about the Ipad. Very handy for email when traveling,
and nice as a book reader. Takes good pictures. When we were in Africa my
Hero camera would not charge, so used the Ipad for video and some stills.
Bitch is getting the pictures off. You have to email or use "The Cloud".
Should be able to drag them to an external USB disk or a powered USB port
with an SD Card. Also the fact you can only print to an AirPrint printer
is sucky. HP has a print app, but only if you use the app to open a web
page. Not a text do document file.



The iPad will send photos to any number of places aside from email and
if you sync it with iTunes, directly to your computer.

Eisboch[_8_] June 28th 13 01:43 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 


"Califbill" wrote in message
...


I have mixed emotions about the Ipad. Very handy for email when
traveling,
and nice as a book reader. Takes good pictures. When we were in
Africa my
Hero camera would not charge, so used the Ipad for video and some
stills.
Bitch is getting the pictures off. You have to email or use "The
Cloud".
Should be able to drag them to an external USB disk or a powered USB
port
with an SD Card. Also the fact you can only print to an AirPrint
printer
is sucky. HP has a print app, but only if you use the app to open a
web
page. Not a text do document file.

-------------------------------------

Surprised you are satisfied with the pictures the iPad takes. Mine
suck. I think it's an iPad2 or maybe a 3. Can't remember.
My Droid cell phone takes much better pictures. But I rarely carry or
use that either. I think I stopped evolving in the instant
communications world.
I like my laptops. I can turn them on and turn them off at will,
nobody can call me when I want peace and quiet and I don't live in a
world of some goofy tone or noise going off every 5 minutes with an
incoming text or email. My wife has become an iPhone addict though.
Stupid thing is constantly beeping, chirping or making some weird
sound and her nose is constantly to the screen, communicating with
someone. The other day it fell into our pool and I thought, "At
last !!! Relief !!! The damn thing is dead !!!" No such luck.
She put it in the sun for about 15 minutes and it works fine. Damn.

I am going to design some kind of holder for it that attaches to her
sun glasses. It will hold it about six inches from her nose. Maybe
that will get a point across.


F.O.A.D. June 28th 13 02:50 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 8:59 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:35:26 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/27/13 6:22 PM,
wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:19:54 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


Perhaps you are comparing your MP3 player to an Apple hardware device,
such as an iPhone or iPad. In that case, you'd be wrong.


I assume he is comparing it to an I-pod, that is appropriate.
The I tunes software is free but the songs are not.



I have an iPod. I can play music and videos on it. It has 55 GBs of
content on it, and probably less than 100 tunes are tunes I bought and
paid for via iTunes. The rest are CDs I own I uploaded to iTunes and
MP3s from various sources, mostly free or near free. I manage it all
easily via iTunes.


Why should you need to upload a CD to I tunes just to get it back on
your I pod?
I have several ripper programs that will convert a CD directly to MP3.
It sounds like a cheap way for Apple to get music they can sell.


I don't have to do that. I can use third party software to do that. But
I manage my music through iTunes and the music I lift off my CDs goes to
my server, not to Apple.

F.O.A.D. June 28th 13 02:52 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 9:25 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 19:21:11 -0500, Califbill
wrote:



I have mixed emotions about the Ipad. Very handy for email when traveling,
and nice as a book reader. Takes good pictures. When we were in Africa my
Hero camera would not charge, so used the Ipad for video and some stills.
Bitch is getting the pictures off. You have to email or use "The Cloud".
Should be able to drag them to an external USB disk or a powered USB port
with an SD Card. Also the fact you can only print to an AirPrint printer
is sucky. HP has a print app, but only if you use the app to open a web
page. Not a text do document file.


My wife has an ap on her Galaxy Note that lets her print directly to
any network printer you can see on WiFi. (our house printer and that
big honker they have in her office)


I have a similar app on my iPhone.

F.O.A.D. June 28th 13 10:59 AM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/27/13 11:07 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:50:24 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/27/13 8:59 PM,
wrote:


Why should you need to upload a CD to I tunes just to get it back on
your I pod?
I have several ripper programs that will convert a CD directly to MP3.
It sounds like a cheap way for Apple to get music they can sell.


I don't have to do that. I can use third party software to do that. But
I manage my music through iTunes and the music I lift off my CDs goes to
my server, not to Apple.


What kind of "managing" do you have to do. I have subsets of mine
scattered across a dozen platforms but it is all backed up on my
mirrored set, a laptop and again on a working drive.
The laptop is just my traveling machine but I keep all of the master
drives synced via my network with File Synchronizer, a fairly simple
but useful program. The last time I looked I had about 5,000 song cuts
and another 1500 comedy cuts. It is about 33 gig.
Some is very obscure stuff like Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday with
comedy including some early Lenny Bruce, the old Shelley Berman and
Bob Newhart albums. I have the original First Family album too.
Have you heard the Stan Freberg "United States" album? That is comedy
that still holds up 50 years later


My wife's music, my music, our music, different collections, different
versions, some on portable devices, all on the server. iTunes makes it
easy for me.

BAR[_2_] June 28th 13 12:50 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article , says...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 19:21:11 -0500, Califbill
wrote:



I have mixed emotions about the Ipad. Very handy for email when traveling,
and nice as a book reader. Takes good pictures. When we were in Africa my
Hero camera would not charge, so used the Ipad for video and some stills.
Bitch is getting the pictures off. You have to email or use "The Cloud".
Should be able to drag them to an external USB disk or a powered USB port
with an SD Card. Also the fact you can only print to an AirPrint printer
is sucky. HP has a print app, but only if you use the app to open a web
page. Not a text do document file.


My wife has an ap on her Galaxy Note that lets her print directly to
any network printer you can see on WiFi. (our house printer and that
big honker they have in her office)


iOS devices will let you print to an Apple printer, if you have an Apple printer.

Apple wants you to use their Cloud and charge you a monthly fee to keep your data alive.

Hank©[_3_] June 28th 13 01:29 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
On 6/28/2013 5:59 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 6/27/13 11:07 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:50:24 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/27/13 8:59 PM,
wrote:


Why should you need to upload a CD to I tunes just to get it back on
your I pod?
I have several ripper programs that will convert a CD directly to MP3.
It sounds like a cheap way for Apple to get music they can sell.


I don't have to do that. I can use third party software to do that. But
I manage my music through iTunes and the music I lift off my CDs goes to
my server, not to Apple.


What kind of "managing" do you have to do. I have subsets of mine
scattered across a dozen platforms but it is all backed up on my
mirrored set, a laptop and again on a working drive.
The laptop is just my traveling machine but I keep all of the master
drives synced via my network with File Synchronizer, a fairly simple
but useful program. The last time I looked I had about 5,000 song cuts
and another 1500 comedy cuts. It is about 33 gig.
Some is very obscure stuff like Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday with
comedy including some early Lenny Bruce, the old Shelley Berman and
Bob Newhart albums. I have the original First Family album too.
Have you heard the Stan Freberg "United States" album? That is comedy
that still holds up 50 years later


My wife's music, my music, our music, different collections, different
versions, some on portable devices, all on the server. iTunes makes it
easy for me.


Thank god for $$$$Itunes$$$$ eh?

iBoaterer[_3_] June 28th 13 03:56 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/27/13 2:47 PM, Eisboch wrote:


I've heard complaints from others that Apple is getting to be a pain
in
the ass with all the regular updates and upgrades of their software.
It used to be Windows that had that reputation.



Apple does update its mainline OS every year or so, but not frequent
enough to be annoying, and usually the upgrades are minor and
incremental.

The IO used on the phones and iPads seems to get a major update about
every eight months. The updates can be installed easily.

------------------------------------------

I guess I am referring more to iTunes. It seems to be either
updating or trying to get me to buy something constantly.


I hate iTunes. So much so, that I steer clear of iAnything.

iBoaterer[_3_] June 28th 13 03:57 PM

Gadget Disappointment
 
In article ,
says...

"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ...



The new laptop has all solid state storage, an SSD. No spinning drive.
That'll be something new for me in an actual laptop or desktop
computer
but of course precisely what is in a smart phone and most tablets.

Supposedly faster than a hard drive, easier on the battery, et cetera.
But not upgradeable, the way a hard drive is.

-----------------------------------------

What kind of storage capacity do they offer? I think getting away
from spinning hard drives is a great idea.


Absolutely, especially in a portable device like a laptop.


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