The Desert Computer Tutor

Tag: Android vs Apple tablets

  • Microsoft And Apple Finally Playing Together Nice? Not!

    I always love hearing from my clients and friends when they have an idea or a question.  It keeps me up to speed with your needs and concerns and provides me with the opportunity help others as well.  I enjoy doing the research and making the mistakes, so you don’t have to.

    Recently I received this email,

    office 365You should check out this offer of free software from Microsoft and Apple.  It really works, though it is available from the “Cloud” and is likely a bit slow.  I have their version for PC’s on my computer, and I pay $99.00 per year to use it!  This version, being free, and downloadable from the Apple App Store, looks worth a shot!

     

    I was aware of this new service and have been meaning to try it.  This week I finally had the opportunity.  I was very disappointed.

    I’m helping a client format his auto biography for self publishing on CreateSpace.com. He wrote it entirely on his iPad! (No, he didn’t write it using the touch screen keyboard.  LOL  He has a wireless keyboard for it.)
    At first I thought we could collaborate on the document using the new iPages for iCloud service but it was sorely lacking in editing tools. (It’s in Beta, or test version.)

    pages on cloudEver the “Queen of the Work-around”, I copied and pasted the doc into my Microsoft Word app.  Next, I signed up for the free month trial of Office 365 online so we could collaborate on the cloud.

    MS-Office-for-iPad

     

    Then, I  directed my client to download the free Microsoft Office app for iPad. Alas, it only gave him the ability to read the doc!

    Microsoft, doesn’t say a word about that in the promotional information online! You have to subscribe to Office 365 and pay a monthly fee in order to have editing capabilities.

    computer-frustration-815492-m
    My client could have signed up for the free month trial but you know what it’s like to set up a new account with password and credit card info, and you have to put it on your calendar to cancel the service in 30 days before you get billed on auto-pay.  I wasn’t going to suggest that he go through all that for one project.  So much for “the boys” collaborating on the cloud!  We are back to emailing attachments.

    It’s a challenge to keep up with all the changes but somebody has to do it. I enjoy doing it and always appreciate your help. Hopefully, sharing my experiences in the field will spare you from wasted time, money and frustration.

    victory-1095383-mKeep those questions and ideas coming. Remember to consult with me about what you want to accomplish before deciding on what to buy (apps as well as gadgets).

    Let me give you an orientation on how to use your new products and services so you can get your work done quickly, easily and efficiently.

    Whom do you know that could use my help?  I promise to take good care of them.  Call me today!

  • Listen Up Sports Fans… There’s An App for That!

    RememberThis week a client asked me if he could watch college football on his new tablet.  Yes!  “There’s an app for that.”  Actually there are a lot of apps available.  There are many free and paid options to watch football, soccer, basketball, tennis and other favorite sports.

    You can download an app through “the company store”. (Google Play for Android devices and The App Store for Apple devices.)

    Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Two good apps for streaming live sports are offered by television stations.

    WatchESPN (ESPN Inc) offers live streaming of events from the ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU networks. You can enjoy access to events from the NBA, MBL, U.S. Open, The Masters, college football and basketball, Grand Slam Tennis and Euro 2012 Soccer — as well as original ESPN programming like SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption and SportsNation. WatchESPN is user-friendly, making it easy to search for your favorite teams, leagues and shows.

    To access WatchESPN’s live stream, you’ll need a cable subscription through a participating cable provider (e.g., AT&T U-verse, Cox, Time Warner Cable or Verizon). The app will prompt you to enter your TV provider, TV subscription user ID and password.

    CBS Sports (CBS Interactive, Inc.) features a live stream of video of top sports, including NCAA and SEC football games. Scores of games that cannot be streamed live are updated very quickly. CBS Sports also offers on-demand access to game highlights, analysis and original programming, as well as a live Twitter feed of commentary from players, writers, analysts and bloggers.  The CBS Sports mobile app features extensive college football coverage including live streaming of some games on Saturday.

    Note:  You may need to download and install Adobe Flash Player, the leading video and animation player. Downloading Adobe Flash Player is free, quick and easy.

    NBA League Pass Mobile allows you to follow the league through live NBA game viewing in addition to on-demand game replays and league highlights. The league Pass costs $16.99 per season and is available through the NBA Game Time mobile app.

    MLB.tv offers the At Bat 13 subscription service, which features home and away broadcasts, HD quality video, full game archives and in-game highlights and stats. A season pass is $19.99 and premium subscribers have access to live video feeds.

    In addition to apps, you can find websites that can connect you to an online broadcast of the sporting event you want to watch.  Just do a search in your web browser.  You may want to check out Ustream, FirstRow Sports and Stream2Watch.

      

    Note:  Streaming sports live does limit the life of your battery because it requires you to use your data connection plus the audio and video components of your device’s hardware.  To prolong the life of your battery, try dimming the screen and turning off any unnecessary features (e.g., Bluetooth). Make sure to have a power adapter on hand to juice up your battery when the need arises.

    If you, or someone you know, needs to learn more about how to search for good apps, or websites, I’d love to help. Call me today!

    Share your favorite apps and websites for sports in the “Comments” below.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Can’t Type? Try Dragon Naturally Speaking

    Can’t Type?   There is a great solution.

     Dragon Naturally Speaking

    Dragon

    Dragon is similar to the speech recognition apps on smart phones like Siri and Google Voice, but you can train Dragon to recognize your voice and your speech patterns so it gets more and more accurate.  It will even scan the emails in your “Sent” folder to learn your speech patterns. You have to be a little patient in the beginning to correct its mistakes, because that’s how it learns to become more accurate but it’s easy to do.

    I have helped several clients with Dragon and I’m currently working with a man who had a stroke several years ago and is using Dragon to write his emails.  I also connected his computer to his big screen TV so he can see the typing better.  He’s really enjoying it and that has inspired me to consider using myself.  I often feel like my hands can’t keep up with my brain.  My typing is fast but makes so many mistakes, especially when I’m journaling or writing Techie Tips.

    I used it years ago when I was in Real Estate and it worked in all my apps:  email correspondence in Outlook, web searches, composing documents in Word, and making notes in my contact manager.  The newer version of Dragon is even more accurate and easier to train than before and it’s not very expensive.

    Dragon Dictate
    You can get the app for your tablet or smartphone too.
    iTunes                     Google Play Store

    And you can use your smart phone as the microphone for your computer.

     iTunes                      Google Pla

    If you, or someone you know, would like to learn how to use Dragon Naturally Speaking, please let me know. 

    This is a great way to “make peace with the ups and downs of computer technology.”

  • Do You Need A Tablet?

    Image

    There are so many people using tablets now that it’s hard to believe that it’s only been four years since the first iPad came on the scene.  Some analysts think tablets will outsell laptops soon.  So the question is, do you want one and if so, do you want an Apple or an Android model?

    Having just done considerable research before purchasing my new laptop, I have reached a few conclusions.

    Tablets are good for consuming information on the go.  The screens are bigger than smart phones and they have more processing power and storage capacity than smart phones.  (My iPhone ran out of storage space the minute I synced my iTunes music library and I had to delete a bunch of files.)   My Android phone runs a little slow at times.  I think it’s straining under the load of all those apps multi-tasking.  The teeny tiny keyboards on both products drive me nuts and neither Siri nor Google voice seem to understand me.

    Tablets offer a more portable and comfortable way to check email, view web pages, watch movies, listen to music, play games or view maps and reports for work.  However, if you spend a considerable amount of time creating information, like blogging, writing reports and longer emails, you won’t be happy with a touch screen keyboard.  Of course you can add keyboards to tablets, but that increases the weight and makes it into a mini laptop which sort of defeats the purpose, if you ask me.  I find the small screens restrictive and I had a hard time getting used to the small the keyboard on my Asus tablet.

    Therefore, I use my smart phone for navigation, and to check emails, texts and voice mails to see who needs immediate attention.  I leave everything I can, until I get back to my laptop with it’s nice crunchy full-size keyboard and 15 inch screen.

    So, consider what you are going to want to do with a tablet.  You probably don’t need one.

    However, you may want one.  If you decide to jump in, you will have to choose a camp…LOL…Apple, Android, or Microsoft.  I won’t go into the myriad of choices here…there are so many and they change all the time.  Suffice it to say, that if you use a Mac computer, your life will be simpler if you get an iPad; and if you use a PC, you will be happier with an Android or Microsoft product.  Some people like the simple look of the apple product and find them very easy to learn and it is possible to sync iPads (and iPhones) with PCs.  I do it with clients all the time.   But just be aware that “the boys” are very competitive and don’t like to play together nicely, so you may need my help.

    I’m always happy to do pre-purchase consultations and/or shopping trips.  It makes me so happy to be able to save clients tons of money by preventing them from buying expensive gadgets and bells and whistles that they don’t need.

    I’m always grateful for the opportunity to see you and help in any way I can.

    If you have found this information helpful, please feel free to forward this to others.  Your referrals are the heart of my business and I really appreciate you.

    In Joy,
    Mardi

    “Restoring peace and joy to the world through computer and gadget education.”