Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)

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Wuzznt Me

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<<<Wuzz

Did you beat your chest and give out a yell too? :lol:

Dang Cindy. I didn't know somebody had a camera out on the island.
 

3mg Meniere

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Yeah, like walking in these every day:
img-thing

This is exactly one of the shoes I wore in the '80s. :laugh:
Never worn them and never will. My ankles can't do it, and with a subtle but general neurological disorder, don't have the coordination for them. Once had a pair of sandals with a moderate heel, twisted my right ankle, and it has never been the same since.

Rained all morning, sunny now, with 79 deg and 72% humidity. Happy with AC. A swamp-box would be laughed at in such weather, Lizzie!

Writing a letter to a cousin. She wanted some genealogical information, so I put her into contact with my sister in Texas. I guess they had a good conversation on phone, since then, she has been writing letters. She has vision problems and tech problems, so I guess the old-fashioned way is best. :wub:
 

awsum140

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I guess I'm a PC guy in a tablet world. The Tab 4 came today and so far I think it's pretty crappy. "swipe to unlock" works once every 100 to 200 swipes. Gets a little boring after a while. Combine that with all the information they want, like Google accounts, locations services and on and on and I just don't feel comfortable with it at all. It has a seven inch screen and, frankly, that's just too small. Problem is bigger means heavier and shorter battery life. I think I'll be sending mine back and give up on tablets entirely. I hope Mrs Awsum likes hers.
 

Wuzznt Me

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I guess I'm a PC guy in a tablet world. The Tab 4 came today and so far I think it's pretty crappy. "swipe to unlock" works once every 100 to 200 swipes. Gets a little boring after a while. Combine that with all the information they want, like Google accounts, locations services and on and on and I just don't feel comfortable with it at all. It has a seven inch screen and, frankly, that's just too small. Problem is bigger means heavier and shorter battery life. I think I'll be sending mine back and give up on tablets entirely. I hope Mrs Awsum likes hers.
I like mine but there was a "learning curve". I got a gmail account because play store is where you get most of the apps. When they ask for a cc I click "skip for now" since I'm getting free apps anyway. I set mine so I could get them from Amazon as well. I've got Prime and can stream music and movies free. Most apps are free and some with an option to upgrade for a fee, but they work well enough without it for me. You can turn all the location services/gps off. They just want it for local advertising anyway. When DW and I were having to spend our days at the Dr. office mine was a blessing. Great for netflix, watching tv (through my internet/tv provider) and playing games. I downloaded Firefox for a browser instead of the one that came with it and bought a case with bluetooth kb/mouse off eBay. The kb is kind of a pain because the location of some punctuation is in a different place but it beats heck out of the touchscreen kb. Great cameras, back and front and I can swap with my cell phone through Bluetooth. The mouse alone would make your life a lot easier over the touchscreen. I did have the advantage of already being familiar with Android from having a smart phone. Wherever there's a phone signal I can use my phone as an internet hotspot for the tablet since I have a data packet. If you take one thing at a time I'm betting you'll enjoy it more eventually.
 

awsum140

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I had a tablet that died, battery/power problems.

When I powered the Tab 4 up and set it up I turned off location services. I already have a gmail/Google/Intrusive account from that first tablet. All I want it for is a couple of specific apps that are handy to be able to "carry" around without having a keyboard and large screen, and maybe a power cord if it'll take some time. I know all about the apps and the Google/Intrusive Playstore. If I want to watch a movie, I have a nice HD big screen TV for that with a real sound system. If I want to read a book, I'll buy the book as a bound, printed object. I have a nice, high res, digital camera so that isn't a whole lot of use to me either. I only own, and plan on holding out to the bitter end, a "dumb phone". It's a phone for phone calls and maybe, in an emergency, a quick text message so hot spots are nowhere in my future. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are not things I use at all, other than watching YouTube video on vaping gear every now and then.

The intrusiveness of Google, tracking locations, no matter what their stated purpose may be, just frosts my cookies, big time. It's bad enough to have the NSA and every other Government agency watching every little thing we do and telling us what we can and can't do, eat or drink (or vape). Google is just as bad and they seem to have a lock on Android apps which makes it worse yet.

To really aggravate me, there was no real manual included, just a "quick start" guide. In that guide Samsung says to go to their site and download the real manual, then that is hidden. The manual that defaults on the page is the "safety" manual telling you not to use it while driving. Big help and big whoop.

Like I said, I'm a PC guy in a finger marked screen world. I'm dreading Windows 10 coming out, especially after the fiasco of Windows 8.
 

cindycated

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I like mine but there was a "learning curve". I got a gmail account because play store is where you get most of the apps. When they ask for a cc I click "skip for now" since I'm getting free apps anyway. I set mine so I could get them from Amazon as well. I've got Prime and can stream music and movies free. Most apps are free and some with an option to upgrade for a fee, but they work well enough without it for me. You can turn all the location services/gps off. They just want it for local advertising anyway. When DW and I were having to spend our days at the Dr. office mine was a blessing. Great for netflix, watching tv (through my internet/tv provider) and playing games. I downloaded Firefox for a browser instead of the one that came with it and bought a case with bluetooth kb/mouse off eBay. The kb is kind of a pain because the location of some punctuation is in a different place but it beats heck out of the touchscreen kb. Great cameras, back and front and I can swap with my cell phone through Bluetooth. The mouse alone would make your life a lot easier over the touchscreen. I did have the advantage of already being familiar with Android from having a smart phone. Wherever there's a phone signal I can use my phone as an internet hotspot for the tablet since I have a data packet. If you take one thing at a time I'm betting you'll enjoy it more eventually.
Can you use an Android tablet just for the apps without a connection? Sis took back her OBD2 code reader and I was thinking of getting a cheapo tablet just for the apps (like Torque, and a bluetooth adapter for my car - I have a dumb phone, java only), then find free wifi somewhere to download/install the apps. If I buy a standalone OBD2 reader, that's all it can do, but if I buy a cheapo tablet, there are a bunch of other things I can do with it, just a matter of getting the apps needed. Would be nice.
 

celticluvr

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    Yeah you can use most of them without wifi internet but some games do want you to connect! boring!! I always use my moms wifi to get apps for my kindle fire and usually within 3ish months you have to renew the license (don't know about other android things) but if you can get around wifi pretty regularly you won't have that problem. :) PS all my apps are free ones! :p
     

    cindycated

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    I had a tablet that died, battery/power problems.

    When I powered the Tab 4 up and set it up I turned off location services. I already have a gmail/Google/Intrusive account from that first tablet. All I want it for is a couple of specific apps that are handy to be able to "carry" around without having a keyboard and large screen, and maybe a power cord if it'll take some time. I know all about the apps and the Google/Intrusive Playstore. If I want to watch a movie, I have a nice HD big screen TV for that with a real sound system. If I want to read a book, I'll buy the book as a bound, printed object. I have a nice, high res, digital camera so that isn't a whole lot of use to me either. I only own, and plan on holding out to the bitter end, a "dumb phone". It's a phone for phone calls and maybe, in an emergency, a quick text message so hot spots are nowhere in my future. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are not things I use at all, other than watching YouTube video on vaping gear every now and then.

    The intrusiveness of Google, tracking locations, no matter what their stated purpose may be, just frosts my cookies, big time. It's bad enough to have the NSA and every other Government agency watching every little thing we do and telling us what we can and can't do, eat or drink (or vape). Google is just as bad and they seem to have a lock on Android apps which makes it worse yet.

    To really aggravate me, there was no real manual included, just a "quick start" guide. In that guide Samsung says to go to their site and download the real manual, then that is hidden. The manual that defaults on the page is the "safety" manual telling you not to use it while driving. Big help and big whoop.

    Like I said, I'm a PC guy in a finger marked screen world. I'm dreading Windows 10 coming out, especially after the fiasco of Windows 8.
    I love my dumb phone. It has 3G, Opera Mini, bluetooth, wifi, GPS, a little bit of touch screen (not 100%, just some things), G-sensor, text as conversations (I text more than I talk on the phone), most of YouTube (not all of them are optimized to work without Flash), etc. Only thing it can't do that I want it to do is run Android/IOS apps, and internet surfing is limited as it can't do Flash (I can google stuff, but ECF is pretty much read only). Screen is tiny, so no streaming for me (except for YouTube tutorials when I get stuck on anything). I keep it because I can't afford smartphone plans. I get unlimited everything for $35, and I can tether my macbook to it in a pinch when I don't have regular internet access.

    Big screens, books and fancy cameras are nice, but nice to have options when you're on the go and need to travel light.
     
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    awsum140

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    moanin', Voltatics.

    A book is just as portable when I'm on the go, and not any heavier than a tablet. I can live without email and the internet if I'm traveling and don't travel much any more...been there and done way too much of that. I have revisited the Tab this morning and gotten it working reasonably. My original gmail account was "deactivated" so I had to create another one. I never used gmail for anything other than setting up the first tablet and it will be the same with this one. Why I would want to share my contact lists with Google beats the heck out of me.

    I do stick to free apps for the most part. Documents to Go being the exception. Since we use Office on all the PCs and laptops it is kind of a necessary expense, but not really very expensive. I do need to find a decent database for a few things though. As far as internet on a phone, who wants to try to read anything on a screen that small? My eyes have enough problems with a seven inch tablet screen even with high resolution. The problem with free apps is the frustratingly irritating pop-up commercials. I've already installed and uninstalled this morning solitaire as a result of that. I do turn off location services as soon as I am done with downloading apps, screw them!

    Mrs. Awsum was surprised and a half. I bought it, actually, for her birthday but that's a few months away. It was on sale so I bought early, then thought about it and realized there would be a problem if she didn't like it so she got an early present. We can use the 64Gb memory cards I bought for the original tablets we both had, so that's an advantage.
     

    SandySu

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    A computer without a word processor and keyboard is useless.

    Reminds me of the quote: "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." If you want to write extensively (as you and I do), a word processor is necessary, but many people don't write more than to text their friends. My daughter's smart phone has a keyboard on the screen that you can use to compose short messages by touching the screen on the specific letters. There goes the keyboard concept.
     

    Wuzznt Me

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    If I want to watch a movie, I have a nice HD big screen TV for that with a real sound system.

    I've got that too but they wouldn't let me bring it into the chemo room. :D I couldn't hear mine well enough for music so I bought Bluetooth speakers, which they wouldn't let me take in their either but they are nice out under the oaks while I'm bbqing. With the Kindle app I've got a whole library. Tablets aren't for everybody, like smart phones etc., but I really like the portability better than a laptop. Mine runs a lot faster than my laptop. I'm with you 100% on Google wanting to take control of your online life. If you don't watch what you're doing you're automatically set up for them to manage all your contacts, documents and personal info.

    Like I said, I'm a PC guy in a finger marked screen world. I'm dreading Windows 10 coming out, especially after the fiasco of Windows 8.
    They're working toward one os for both touch screen and kb, puters, tablets, phones and anything else new and shiny they come up with. So far failing miserably on the kb side. I've got a feeling Windows 10 is only going to be free for a year and then become a paid subscription. That way instead of selling it once they can stay in your pocket.

    Can you use an Android tablet just for the apps without a connection?
    Any app that doesn't require a connection. :D If I've got a phone signal I've got a connection so I don't know which ones do.
     

    Renolizzie

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    Good morning, Voltmaniacs.

    I love, love, love my tablet. It only works where there is WiFi as far as down loading or surfing the internet but I still love my tablet. I like checking my emails, looking at the ecig website, surfing the internet, shopping and such while hanging out on the couch or outside in my comfy chair.

    Lots of stuff works without WiFi once it is downloaded.

    I keep my notes on clothing sizes in there.

    I have a grocery shopping app so I never lose my grocery shopping list.

    Kindle has lots of free books and you can also spend $10 per month and get the Kindle Unlimited with lots more "free" books. I have real books I take camping.

    I have several games on the tablet and they were free. If you are stuck somewhere like the doctor's office, you can play games or read a book. It is very convenient.

    It fits into a purse nicely which a laptop certainly would not.

    I don't know how you would use it with your cell phone as the WiFi but I just use my cell phone if I am running around town for actual internet searches.
     

    Wuzznt Me

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    Through Bluetooth but it depends on if your tablet and cell are capable. I think my next toy is a mobile hotspot. It's a little device that you can buy data packets for and use it as wifi for any device wifi capable. Again, anywhere there is a cell signal. My main purpose would be camping or something similar, or if my isp goes down as it has a tendency to do at inopportune times.
     

    awsum140

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    The line "Windows 10 free for a year" actually means if you have WIn7 or Win 8 the upgrade will be a freebie for a year, after that you'll have to buy an upgrade. I was worried about Win 10 being a subscription, but from what I have seen and read, it will be just like every other iteration, pay once and use it until it's replaced.

    Based on previous Windows experiences, every other release is a good one with the ones in between being total duds. If that holds true, Win 10 should be a good system. Then again there's Murphy and Microsoft working together, LOL.

    I've gotten most of the apps I want installed on the tablet. To me, it's more of a tool than a "magic all-in-one" device. The screen just isn't big enough to display enough information at once at a reasonable font size for me to use it as a book or to watch movies. It may work out as a sort of portable radio, but that remains to be seen, I haven't tried that yet with the stations I want to listen to. One thing it does have that I like is a memo pad I can just write on, with a finger or stylus, rather than a touch keyboard. This one is way more touch sensitive than the original one I had and that makes it really easy to make typos.
     

    Wuzznt Me

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    The line "Windows 10 free for a year" actually means if you have WIn7 or Win 8 the upgrade will be a freebie for a year, after that you'll have to buy an upgrade. I was worried about Win 10 being a subscription, but from what I have seen and read, it will be just like every other iteration, pay once and use it until it's replaced.
    Hope you're right because I'm set up for it on my laptop at the end of July. If they pull a fast one I'll be going all android like a lot of other folks do now. By the end of next year no telling how many advances will be made. I'm hoping it will be a lot faster than Windows7.
     

    awsum140

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    I like Win 7, very stable and easily managed like XP was. I have a problem with an OS that has cutesy names like "cupcake" and "butterscotch" and is an "open source". Too many variants for my tastes even though they are all supposed to be compatible. Worst case, I'll stick with Win 7 until it's no longer supported. Then maybe IOS and get in bed with Apple, kicking and screaming the whole way.

    James Horner was killed in a plane crash. The theme from Star Trek among a whole, long, very impressive, list of other movies and TV shows. A shame.
     

    3mg Meniere

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    I love my dumb phone. It has 3G, Opera Mini, bluetooth, wifi, GPS, a little bit of touch screen (not 100%, just some things), G-sensor, text as conversations (I text more than I talk on the phone), most of YouTube (not all of them are optimized to work without Flash), etc.
    My phone is a real dumb-phone. I am happy with that and my low-end kindle when on-the go. The combination is very light.
     
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