The Desert Computer Tutor

Tag: tablets

  • Tablet VS Chromebook

    tablet and chromebook.jpeg

    I received this question recently and thought you might be interested too…

    Question:  Hi Mardi,  Thank you for always sending these healthy tips for the computer.  My question is what is the difference between a Tablet and a Chrome Book?

    Answer:  Tablets are lightweight so they are easy to carry around but they are mainly for “consuming” information.  Any amount of typing with touch screens can be very, very frustrating.  You can get keyboards for them and then they are more like small laptops, but the screens are very small for doing much in the way of work and you have to buy a fairly expensive model in order to get the processor speed of a laptop.

    A Chromebook is a laptop computer that does almost everything online so it doesn’t need a hard drive.  That makes it nice and lightweight like a tablet but it comes with a regular full size keyboard attached.  It’s better than a traditional laptop because it doesn’t need maintenance, backups or  antivirus programs.  It’s really trouble free. It’s also much less expensive than traditional laptops.  Good ones are less than $300.  The battery charge lasts a long time too, because it doesn’t have a hard drive with cooling fans.

    If you are going to do any amount of work, like spreadsheets, or documents or blogging, you will be happier with a Chromebook than a tablet because of the full size keyboard and larger screen.  You will need to learn how to use Google docs but it’s pretty easy, and they are free.  All your docs will back up to the cloud automatically.  The other Google apps for the Chromebook like the photos app, are great too.  You need a wifi connection for Chromebooks because they work off the internet, but you can download some things and work offline when necessary.

    If you only need a small lightweight device for travel to watch movies, youtube videos, check your email and calendar, a tablet will work, but, again, the screens are pretty small.  I think of a tablet as a larger version of a smartphone without the phone.  lol

    My clients who have switched to Chromebooks love them because they are so trouble free and easy to use.

    Let me know if you have any other questions or if you want me to help you buy one online. (I don’t recommend the HP Chromebook at Best Buy because mine stopped working on wifi after 18 mo.  My daughter’s HP Chromebook is still working fine, though and  been a couple of years.)  I have a Toshiba and I like the ACER that one of my students has.  Let me know what you decide to get.

    If you, or people you know, are considering a new computer or mobile device purchase, please contact me for a complimentary consultation which I’m happy to do.  Buying the right equipment is the key to making your techie Life simple, easy and fun.  Let’s schedule a time to discuss the best purchase for your needs and budget….

     

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  • Great Apps for Computers and

    Apps are not just for smartphones and tablets. Many apps are web based and accessed through your web browser. You don’t have to have a smart phone or tablet to use some of the most popular apps.

    However, when people buy smartphones or tablets, they often ask me what apps they should know about.  I’m always happy to make suggestions based on antheir lifestyle and interests.

    Since you may have received a gadget as a holiday gift, I thought it would be a good time to tell you about a few of my favorites apps and programs. You may already be using some of these but you may discover some new ones to try. Enjoy!

    Entertainment and Media:   

    NetflixNetflix let’s you watch an unlimited number movies and television shows online for only $8.95 mo. You can train it to make suggestions for you based on the movies you watch and how you rate them.  You can even set up separate profiles for individual family members!  And, there are no commercials!!!

    You can connect your gadget to your TV and watch movies on it too.

    chromeCast

     

    Chromecast from Google $35


    roku

    Roku Streaming Stick $50

     

    appleTvApple TV $99


    spotify

     

    Spotify let’s you listen to music for free.  It even has playlists by subject or genre. The variety is astounding and there are no commercials!!!

     

    YouTube

     

    YouTube is a must for doing research on any topic that can be best explained with a video.  Think recipes, repairing things, movie previews, songs, lyrics, instructional videos, and answers to absolutely any question under the sun.

    shazam

    Shazam listens to songs on the radio, TV or movies. It identifies the song title, shows you the performer, album, lyrics and links you to sites where you can purchase.

     

     

    Productivity:

    dropboxDropbox is a great app for cloud storage and sharing.  When you put files in there, you can access them from anygadget or computer.  I use the phone app to play audio files of lectures and seminars. It’s super easy to learn and you get 2GB of storage for free.  By referring your friends to Dropbox, you can earn up to 16GB of additional space.  Sign up here

     

    office 365

    One of the most popular productivity tools for home and business is Microsoft Office. Unfortunately, Office documents don’t always play nice with third-party apps. Now Microsoft has released the Microsoft Office Mobile app.   It lets you open, create and perform basic editing on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files no matter where you are.

     

    mintMint.com and its app  (Free, and available for Android and iOS) links to your all your bank accounts, credit card accounts and loans so you always know just how much money you have and how you are spending it. You can set up spending categories and create a budget for each category. I love it for keeping track of my income and expenses for paying my taxes.

     

    The weather channelThe Weather Channel app and weather.com show you the current temperature, the hourly forecast and the next 10 days of weather.  Also you get a customizable radar map, video clips, severe weather alerts and beach conditions. It’s better than your gadget’s built-in weather app.

     

     

    free wifi finder

    You don’t want to burn through your cellular data plan when you are out and about or on a trip, so you need to useWi-Fi whenever possible. You can find free Wi-Fi locations with the Free Wi-Fi Finder app.

     

    Dating:

    match

     

    Match.com app has earned the top spot in dating apps and is my favorite.

     

     

    pof-logo

     

    POF.com (Plenty of Fish) is very popular here in the desert and is free.

     

    google mapsNavigation:

    Google Maps is my favorite navigation app.  I especially appreciate that it invites you to submit corrections.  Youget an email thanking you for your help and then a follow up email when the corrections have been made.

    uberUber is an app-based transportation network that uses a smartphone application to receive ride requests, and then sends these trip requests to their drivers. Customers love using the app to request rides and to track their reserved vehicle’s location.  Uber’s drivers use their own cars and there is a variety of types of vehicles available, from Town Cars to SUVs and more.  One of my friends is a driver for Uber and just loves it.  It’s a win-win for everybody.

    Other Popular Apps

    Here are some other popular apps that I don’t find the time to use very often, but you might enjoy.

    Save Money  

    RetailmenotThe RetailMeNot app helps you find promo codes and coupons for more than 50,000 physical and online stores, including grocery stores. You can save and store coupons for later, and share the savings with your friends through social media.

     

     

    Photo EditingSnapseed-icon-medium

    Snapseed is the top app for photo-editing and VSCO Cam is gaining ground in popularity.

    Social and Sharing

    Pinterest

     

    Pinterest, WhatsApp and Snapchat are the top apps in messaging and texting.

     

    instagram

     

    Instagram and Facebook are considered the must-haves for social sharing. The Facebook app got me interestedin using Facebook more often because it is so easy to use.

    Sports

    watchESPN

     

    WatchESPN.com is the most popular app for sports fans.

     

     

     

    Fitness

    MyFitnessPal is the top fitness app.my fitness pal

     

     

     

     

    Do you have any favorite apps to share?

    There are thousands of apps and recommendations from friends is the best way to sort through the maze.  Do you have some favorite apps not mentioned here?  Post your comments below so everyone can benefit from your ideas.

  • Now Offering – Remote Tutoring!

    Now Offering – Remote Tutoring!

    join.meI’m now offering remote tutoring on your computer or tablet for $50 hr.  

    I had hoped to do smart phones and iPods too, but there isn’t an app for that yet.  For now, we can do your computers and tablets and there’s lots of fun things to learn on those.

    It’s really easy!  You go to join.me, enter my code and join me for our meeting on your device.  I will be able to use your curser and show you how to do things. Then you can take “the Presenter role” and show me.  I will watch and coach as needed.  I think you will really enjoy it.  Call for an appointment today and try it.

  • FYI for Current Users of Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod

    FYI:  For Current Owners of Apple Gadgets:

    Ipad And Iphone

    The iOS 8 update is available now for users of iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later, and iPod touch (fifth generation).

    You may have to delete some things in order to have enough memory to install the update.  It can take quite a bit of time to look at your apps’ usage and decide what to delete.  (Go to Settings > General > Usage)

    I had to dump 2 GB on my iPhone 4s.  I chose to keep my music for my workouts and dump a lot of photos. I also dumped a bunch of apps I wasn’t using very often.  I didn’t care about them anyway so it was a good incentive for me to do some clean up. I will run the update and report back in next week’s Techie Tip.

  • iPhone VS Android — “The Boys Slug It Out For Another Round”

    iPhone Vs Android
    “The Boys” Slug It Out For Another Round

    Apple and Google went for another round in the competition for market dominance this week as Apple launched it’s larger iPhone 6 models and its iOS 8 operating system for all its gadgets.

    iOS 8 has has some very cool new features and I noticed that many of them are features that Android phones have had for a long time.  (I have used both and currently use an iPhone.)  My son, Jason, who is convinced Android is far better than iPhone and hated to see me switch, sent me this hilarious joke about the news.

    Reaction to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been lukewarm. Many have accused Apple of playing catch up with rivals such as Samsung, rather than leading the way. An image titled 'Dear iPhone 6 users: Welcome to 2012' has gone viral, (pictured) which lists new Apple features that have existed on Android phones for years

    I asked Jason if he thought I should wait to install the update until the bugs are worked out and the app developers have more time to fix their apps to work with it, and he said,

    Jason Griswold's profile photo

    “Nah, that’s for normal people, we are in tech…we live to have our world turned upside down.”

    He’s so funny!  But it’s true.  I love the challenge, the adventure and being able to make your transitions easier by sharing my experience.

    Who do you know that…

    • Is trying to decide whether to buy an Android gadget or an Apple gadget
    • Needs help with updating to iOS 8
    • Wants a tutorial on the changes and new features or
    • Wants to learn more about their Android phone

    Please let me know so I can help them “make peace with the ups and downs of computer technology.” 

  • Do You Reboot?

    Do You Reboot?

    Network Neurons 1

    Your Techie Tip for this week is to turn your computer completely off at least once a week.  The reason this is important is that its memory gets too full and it’s likely to slow down or get confused.
    (Just like us!)

    During the shutdown process, it files everything away where it belongs and dumps extraneous stuff from the memory.  Kind of like we do when we get a good nights sleep.  Then, when it restarts (reboots), it checks all its systems, corrects any errors, and installs updates.  The installation of the updates is critically important because there are security fixes (patches) in them.

    Asleep 3Your computer is set to go to sleep after a certain period of non-use, and the screen may go dark, but that is not the same as shutting down.  So please choose one night a week to give your machine a complete break and an opportunity for a fresh start in the morning.

    This applies to your tablets, smartphones and other gadgets too.  

  • Back Up Your Smart Phone and Tablets

     

    Please Check This Now!

    Is your smart phone or tablet doing backups?
    Did you even know that it’s supposed to?
    Do you realize that if your phone or tablet breaks or is stolen, you might lose your photos, music, address book and notes?
    Apparently none of the people who sell phones are setting it up or explaining it to their customers because most of the phones I examine are not doing back ups.  This issue has come up so many times in the past two weeks that I decided I’d better give you a heads up.

    Please check your gadget’s settings and make sure backups are set up and operating. (It will show you the last date a backup occurred.)
    This is especially important if you are going to be traveling on vacation this month!

    com.alienmanfc6.wheresmyandroid_banner-450x220

     
    Also, it’s important for you to know that there are really neat apps that enable you to locate your gadget if it is lost or stolen.  They even enable you to delete your data and lock the gadget so it will be useless to a thief.  (Even if you don’t get it back, you will have the satisfaction of knowing the thief didn’t get your stuff and couldn’t use it.)

    If you have an iPhone or iPad you may have noticed the “Find My Phone” or “Find My iPad” icon and assumed that it would help you in an emergency. It won’t unless it is enabled in settings. I’m amazed how many iPhones and iPads I see that don’t have this feature activated!

    screen568x568

    A related issue that comes up frequently is people want to know if they can see their phone or tablet photos on their computers.  Yes you can!  It’s just a matter of getting things set up properly.

    I hope these Techie Tips will ensure that you are protected and enable you to take advantages of these neat things that technology can do for you.

    As always, if you, and your friends and relatives, need help with any of these things, just call me to set up an appointment.

    In Joy,

    Mardi Boettcher

    “Helping you make peace with the ups and downs of technology.”

  • Pre-purchase Consultation Questions

    One of my services is consulting with people to help them choose the best computer or gadget for their individual needs.  So much frustration can be avoided by buying the right product in the first place, and I have already test-driven quite a few of them in order to pave the way for others to have a more pleasant experience.  See my previous posts for the gruesome details.  LOL

    Here are the questions I use for my consultations.  Please forward this to your friends and relatives so they will have it when they are considering a computer or gadget purchase.   They will thank you for it.

    1. What is your budget?

    2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

    3. What screen resolution do you want?

    4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

    5. How much battery life do you need?

    6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)?

    7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, etc.)

    8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

    9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

    10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

    11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer, Blue Ray ROM/Writer, etc ?

    12. Please tell me about the brands that you prefer and the brands that you don’t like and explain the reasons.

    13. What country do you live in?

    14. Please tell me any additional information if needed.

    Additionally… you should consider available support options in your area. If you buy something abroad, will you be able to have it fixed near where you live? Does the warranty apply? How quickly do local accredited technicians fix laptops?

  • New Play Shops/Gadget Clinics Soon

    Last year’s Play Shops were very fun and people asked for more of them.  Please let me know the times, days and topics that appeal to you.  We can do almost any topic that is of interest to a group of 12 to 20 people.  I do home parties too!

    You can post your suggestions and comments here.

    Thanks!

    Mardi

  • My New Computer

    My old computer was running out of memory and my web browser was crashing.  I needed “bigger, faster, stronger” badly.  After much research on line and some field trips to Best Buy, I ordered a Dell Inspiron 15″ 7000 Series that was similar to my very, very old Inspiron 1500e.  It was a lot of power for the money ($649 on special) but it turned out to be too big and bulky.  Many companies are making the laptop screens wide for movies and adding number key pads to the keyboard, which I don’t need or want.  It was a little bit lighter than my old one, but it felt heavier because of the size.

    The tracking pad was very squirrely and frustrating too.  I have since learned that track pads have been re-designed to allow finger gestures like the motions one uses on touch screens.  So this is partly a Windows 8 issue.  Maybe one can get used to it, but I’ve observed that most of my clients use a mouse.  Now I understand why I have so much trouble with my clients laptop track pads!  So….I’m sending the Dell back…too big, too heavy, disappointing web browsing speed, and a miserable squirrely touch pad.

    A part of me wanted a Lenovo Yoga Pro 2.  It converts to a tablet, is small and lightweight, and has all the power (and price, $899 ) of a higher-end laptop.  It also can be put in stand mode or tent mode.  Here is a link if you want to see it.   http://vimeo.com/73485706    I wasn’t sure if I could live with a 13″ inch screen so I went to Best Buy to look at it again (third time’s a charm) and I decided to try it.  I think I can get used to the 13 inch screen…if not, I can get a 20 TV with DVD player for $189 or internet TV for $199 and use it as a monitor.

    The touch pad doesn’t have all the gesture features and feels more like my old computer’s but it’s a little sensitive and I keep making mistakes.  Apparently this is partly a function of applications not being re-designed properly for touch screen use.  That will be changing in the near future.  Thanks again Microsoft for rocking our world with Windows 8. I’m telling the “honest to gosh” truth when I tell frantic clients, “I’ve been there and I feel your pain.”  My life has been upside down this past week with all the research, set up, customizing, downloading, and getting used to all the changes.  Playing with new gadgets makes me a happy girl…except when I’m in a hurry and need to get some work done.

    So far, I like it…very fast, only 3 lbs., and small enough to fit in a large purse. I plan to take it everywhere, so you’ll be able to see it next time we get together.   “Stay tuned folks, we’ll have film at 11:00” LOL

    I”m praying for the patience and strength to get through the return process with Dell.  May it be better than the ordering process which was a freaking nightmare.  I do not recommend doing business with Dell.  Their call centers  have no integration of departments and apparently there are no customer files for reps to access.   I feel sorry for the customer service reps who try their best to please, but are handicapped by the primitive call center infrastructure.  Be kind, it’s not their fault and I’ll bet they take a lot of abuse from irate customers.  If you ever want a Dell computer, buy it from Best Buy in Palm Desert.  I always get great service there.

    Don’t assume that you have to spend this much money on a computer or tablet.  As I always say, it depends on what you plan to do with it.  I do a lot of research and web based work and need considerable power .  There are many less expensive gadgets available for the less intense user.  You might want to make an appointment with me for a consultation and/or field trip to Best Buy.  I can usually help people save a lot of money.

    If you still use Windows XP you will need to upgrade before May.  Microsoft will not be doing anymore updates after that and your computer will be a big security risk.  So start planning and budgeting for a new machine now.

    Your computing life will be much more enjoyable when you have up-to-date equipment that can handle the demands of modern applications.  So go for it.  You’re worth it!