Asking for some advice

[Julia]

Many thanks to you all for the help. Really appreciate your explanations.
I have a good computer tech who can set up whatever is required. I'm much too ignorant to do it myself.

 

[Muschu]

Many thanks to you all for the help. Really appreciate your explanations.
I have a good computer tech who can set up whatever is required. I'm much too ignorant to do it myself.

Maybe you could have asked him/her first Julia.

I only know of iPads... Using it now in lounge room and linked to home network.

I am an iPad fan. Use it when travelling for emails, Internet, banking (on secured networks), trading, phoning (Skype), photos, videoing, playing Scrabble or similar. Pretty much everything and I am absolutely no expert.

At home I use it similarly, and anywhere in the house. It does not accommodate Word although I gather there are similar programs. If I want a "Word" document I put it into the body of an email, send it to myself, and then (on my PC) copy and paste it into Word.

This is my approach as a "senior" person and I am sure there are better ways. But the above works for me.

For my needs I have found my iPad (3G version) cheap. Love the versality. The "Apps" are also great...Thousands of games and educational "finds" for fun or for specific purposes such as for stimulation for our 3yo autistic grandson.

Listening to radio? Yep..did this via iPad last evening.

Haven't had time to read back through this thread and may be repeating or contradicting other advice.

Anyway this is my experience.

Have a punt and see what happens....

 

[Some Dude]

At home I use it similarly, and anywhere in the house. It does not accommodate Word although I gather there are similar programs. If I want a "Word" document I put it into the body of an email, send it to myself, and then (on my PC) copy and paste it into Word.

Microsoft have released Office for the iPad but it is not yet available in Australia. I use Apple's Pages but only as a mechanism for capturing my thoughts at the time and then transferring that information (via email, evernote, whatever) to my PC to format in MS Word. Evernote also works well as a "scratch pad" for typing and was my first big "oh I get it now" app regarding the iPad.

For my needs I have found my iPad (3G version) cheap. Love the versality. The "Apps" are also great...Thousands of games and educational "finds" for fun or for specific purposes such as for stimulation for our 3yo autistic grandson.

Absolutely, I can't recommend enough to people in these types of situations the value of the iPad. My son has some issues which have been almost completely mitigated by moving him away from paper based learning materials to more interactive visual platforms like the iPad or his computer.

 

[Julia]

Maybe you could have asked him/her first Julia.

Ah, but I have absolute faith in the wide experience and honest opinions of the ASF membership.
Asking someone who stands to make money out of setting something up for you can lead to less than impartial opinions.
(When I did run it by him this afternoon, voila, he just happens to have such a device he wishes to sell!)

Also one person will have one favourite and I know him well enough to know he thinks any option other than his first preference is not worth having.
So my request on here was not being either lazy or thoughtless, Rick, just canvassing a range of views which I'm grateful to have received.

 

[medicowallet]

Well it depends.

(and new versions of both of these will be out in the next month or 5)

I would go a Google Nexus 7.
Cheaper, does what you want, plays flash, easy to get files onto and off.

but

ipad mini comes close
Easier for technophobes BUT iTunes is a PITA - getting files on and off is crap, and apps are generally more expensive. Expensive, no flash, technologically inferior (not that it really matters)

but

I would go whichever os your smartphone has (if you have one) to share apps.

but

if you want smaller a note 8 is an option.

I think I have just confused myself.... time to go do some googling on my surface pro.

MW

 

[Muschu]

Will be interested to learn what you decide upon Julia. You are certainly thorough.

 

[Some Dude]

I think I have just confused myself.... time to go do some googling on my surface pro.

I have been pondering the Surface Pro for a while now. I avoided the RT as I wanted a device that I could load desktop applications on, and the Surface provide one important feature that Apple should get over i.e. a mouse. It's great being able to use my iPad to login to computers remotely but not being able to use a mouse is limiting.

How would you rate the Surface Pro?

 

[pixel]

Ah, but I have absolute faith in the wide experience and honest opinions of the ASF membership.
Asking someone who stands to make money out of setting something up for you can lead to less than impartial opinions.
(When I did run it by him this afternoon, voila, he just happens to have such a device he wishes to sell!)

Also one person will have one favourite and I know him well enough to know he thinks any option other than his first preference is not worth having.
So my request on here was not being either lazy or thoughtless, Rick, just canvassing a range of views which I'm grateful to have received.

Well, Julia, if you need someone's help, don't begrudge them some reward.
But then again, if you can find a cheaper gadget that suits you better, go for it.
In any case, you'd need a wifi modem. If that's the one he offered you and was willing to install it, $100 should do the trick.
Only IMHO, of course.

 

[Julia]

Will be interested to learn what you decide upon Julia. You are certainly thorough.

Am I? I'm considering buying an item in a field about which I'm absolutely ignorant. Presently just have desktop PC. Mobile phone is never used, just kept for emergency situations. It's so old it doesn't even take photos.
Amongst the first responses to my question I learn something I'd probably not have thought about, ie battery life which is obviously really relevant.
My experience of many sales people is that they are interested in selling you whatever gives them the best commission and they can't be bothered actually listening to my explanation of what I want to use it for.

So imo to rock into one of these tech gadget stores with all the oh so cool language that I don't understand would just be silly. Now at least I know some necessary questions to ask.

Depending solely on one 'expert' is, in my experience, not necessarily smart. In this instance a link he has sent is for a model with a battery life of only two hours. Had I not sought help on ASF I might well have thought that was standard.

Well, Julia, if you need someone's help, don't begrudge them some reward.

????
He is an IT professional who charges by the minute, pixel. The charges are fine with me: he's running a business and I'm happy to pay, but the notion that I'm failing to 'reward' some benevolent individual donating his services is entirely misplaced.

In any case, you'd need a wifi modem.

Yep, I now get that bit. I didn't even know that until someone here told me.

If that's the one he offered you and was willing to install it, $100 should do the trick.

Goodness, I must express myself really poorly. He hasn't offered any modem, in fact suggested I run this by Westnet who might provide one free/discounted. What he wants to sell is apparently a device that he describes as combination laptop/tablet. Not what I want.

If I'm being unreasonable in seeking advice about a field in which I lack understanding, then I'm pretty sure people will just tell me to get lost.
I'm immensely grateful to so many people on this forum who have the generosity of spirit to help when they can. Don't think I've ever asked about anything and not received some worthwhile help.
eg I have a good heating for the pool essentially because of detailed advice given about heat pump capacity and limitations from Smurf which allowed me to filter the truth from the fiction of what the sales person was telling me.

 

[Muschu]

Will be interested to learn what you decide upon Julia. You are certainly thorough.

Julia: This was intended as a compliment.

 

[medicowallet]

How would you rate the Surface Pro?

I see it more as a desktop/laptop replacement.

I have a NAS so file storage of family photos, and movies is on that though.

So I think it is excellent, but expensive, but not so if you are replacing a desktop/laptop with it.

MW