Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Using a Tablet As a Sole Computing Device?
cashman73 writes "My mother's six year old desktop computer finally bit the dust due to an electrical surge. It's out-of-warranty, and not really worth fixing. Plus, I'm 2,500 miles and two time zones away, so I can't exactly troubleshoot things from here. I recently got a new tablet, and even 80% of the things I do are done easier with it. Plus, she really likes the size, convenience, portability, and the screen. Virtually everything she does is simple web browsing, email, light photo sharing but no heavy editing, and other simple tasks. We're thinking that using a tablet as her sole 'computer' might be the best solution here. What are other Slashdotter's experiences using tablets without a separate desktop computer?"
Buy her a Chromebook. You won't be sorry.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
It already sounds like you made your choice, so why are you posting a question that is trying to convince us to agree with you?
For the cheaper price and the desktop functionality, if all you need it for is web browsing and email, I'd go with a Chromebook. If you want to go 100% tablet, you are almost certainly going to have to buy a keyboard, so it would be very hard to get a decent combo for less than the $249 Samsung or the $199 Acer Chromebooks.
Older people have worse eyesight and often require the tactile feedback of a keyboard.
Get her two tablets, gift-wrapped.
First, present her with one of those small personal-sized chalkboard tablets 1st graders use (with a piece of chalk for a stylus). Demonstrate how to use it as a word-processor, reader, and calculator. This shouldn't cost you more than $10, assuming you don't get the "Monster Cable" brand piece of chalk.
Once the laughs are over, present her with a real tablet.
Post the video of her using the "old school" tablet to YouTube.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
...Can really strain the hands... and the neck. And the eyes.
In fact, tablet use in general goes against 30 odd years of human interface ergonomics. I wouldn't wish it upon myself for extended periods of time, let alone an elderly loved one.
Buy her a sensible chair, 24 inch monitor at the correct height and a correctly fitting keyboard and mouse in a neutrally lit space. I don't care what you connect to those peripherals.
My mom is the very definition of computer illiterate -- my sister and I have been trying to teach her to use a computer (first a PC, later a Mac) since the mid '90s, and she simply cannot grasp the basic concepts. She can sort of work a keyboard (it looks like a typewriter), but mice constantly thwart her. Add to that the fact that she has trouble discerning "windows" on a desktop as being discrete items, and you can see why we finally gave up trying to teach her once we had both gone away to college.
About a year ago I managed to acquire an unneeded iPad, and made the decision to gift it to my mother. For a woman who has literally never used a computer without assistance, never mind owned one, she took to it immediately. She's now able to browse the internet, send and receive emails, and even navigate the app store when she wants additional functionality. And after a full year, I haven't received a single "oh no, I think I broke it" call.
That being said, my mother is not your mother (AFAIK), so your mileage may vary. If you think her needs can be satisfied by an iPad (web browsing, shopping, email, media consumption, and no more than light content editing), I highly recommend it. There's just no beating its ease of use. An external bluetooth keyboard would be nice for longer writing sessions, however.
Warning: Contents May Be Flammable. Keep Out Of Reach Of Children.
We still print quite regularly. Things like e-vouchers and booking references. Sure there are ways around that, but a printed piece of paper can't crash on you or run out of battery.
yes, people have requirements that may not be the same as yours
Sure you can't do everything on a tablet, but does the person in question actually want to do anything that's not possible or practical on a tablet?
If not, then no reason to have anything other than a tablet.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Or serious processing.
But if the stuff you do at home consists of watching youtube or playing games - I couldn't for the life of me imagine an existance so boring - go for it!
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
The requirements were:Virtually everything she does is simple web browsing, email, light photo sharing but no heavy editing, and other simple tasks.
E-mails can be pretty long. Sometimes they include attachments.
Web browsing often means entering passwords and other intformation. And print receipts for filing.
And what when she wants to do her taxes? That's a simple task that is beyond most tablets.
By all means, get her a tablet - after you replace her PC.
I would be interested in firsthand feedback on how good the bluetooth keyboards are. I had a folding keyboard for my palm pilot 10 years ago, it was semi-ok, but not great. Personally I don't like the compromised layouts that come with mini-keyboards.
But you can't do everything on a tablet...
I'm not so sure. As a developer its simply not possible to do what I need to do with a tablet, but my wife recently purchased a Nexus 7 after doing most of her computing on a Nook for a couple of years. She has a tower pc but rarely uses it.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Those who recommend a Chromebook - they don't consider that there will be times when you have no internet connectivity.
You should read the reviews on Amazon where the Chromebook is the best selling computer. In short it does not require a permanent internet connection :).
I have a desktop, laptop, and iPad, and would consider myself a power user. In an effort to travel lighter I've tried taking the iPad only on some trips to see if it can fit the bill. The answer to me is a resounding maybe, and depends entirely on what you want to do.
Tablets are terrible content creation devices. Writing an e-mail, editing a picture, cutting a movie, or even filling in a web form to buy something are all much more difficult. The lack of a keyboard is a big part of it, and can be mitigated with a keyboard for the tablet, but that's not the whole story. The lack of screen space, and the touch interfaces also make things less efficient.
However, they are excellent content consumption devices. I prefer reading e-mail and browsing the web casually on my iPad. I grab it for simple apps like checking the weather, or my portfolio. On trips it offers a vastly better interface for things like Yelp or UrbanSpoon. For older relatives, things like PhotoStream can be huge if you have other family members with the small children willing to use it.
As a geek, if I'm going away for a day or two and just want to casually stay in touch it's a winner. Smaller, lighter, better battery life. However if I need to do any work, it's right out as an option, more of a nuisance than a help.
So at the end of the day, it really depends on what your mother does online. Does she just want to read some e-mail and get pictures of the grandkids? A tablet may be an excellent choice. Does she make her own electronic scrapbooks? A tablet would probably be a horrible choice.
E-mails can be pretty long. Sometimes they include attachments.
Web browsing often means entering passwords and other intformation. And print receipts for filing.
And what when she wants to do her taxes? That's a simple task that is beyond most tablets.
By all means, get her a tablet - after you replace her PC.
Nonsense.
With any random bluetooth keyboard even book length emails are not a problem.
Browsers remember passwords, enter it once, and done.
Printing receipts (or anything else) is simply NOT a problem. My tablet prints over wifi. Hell it will print from anywhere on the planet with an internet connection. Even cheap printers these days support CloudPrint.
Emails? Attachments? Seriously, you must be joking, either that or you've never actually used a tablet.
Taxes. No problem. Intuit/Turbo tax have BOTH web based tax programs and install-able APPS that will work just fine, or you could use H&R Block's apps for Android or ipad. Many seniors have their taxes done professionally anyway.
Obviously you've never used a modern tablet. so I respectfully suggest you weight in on the subject.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
I would bet that it's just a power supply that died. It's a great excuse to buy a new computer, but all in all, I'd give it a 90% chance it's the power supply that died.
Be seeing you...
The Asus Transformer line of tablets are great "mini-notebooks".
One of the big advantages is that you can buy the tablet, and if you don't need the keyboard, you don't pay for it. If you do, you can get the Asus dock version, or any bluetooth keyboard. With the dock, though, you get a full-size SD card slot and full-sized USB connectors, so you can easily move data (like photos mentioned in the summary) to/from other devices. The only real negative I have seen on the latest versions (which fix the poor GPS reception of earlier versions) is that they don't support 5GHz for 802.1n.
A while ago, I had bought an Acer W500 as I was developing a specialized touch screen type of app for Windows 7. That project kind of died, so I ended up with a useless piece of hardware for almost a year. After Windows 8 was released, I upgraded for $40 and put that on there.
Recently, my MBP and Acer netbook both died, leaving me with nothing but this W500. My first reaction was to whip out the CC and go to apple.com. However, I gave the W500 a chance. Here's what I found:
- It works quite well as a desktop. I plug in my USB kb/mouse and 24" 1080p monitor. The traditional Windows desktop is perfectly responsive
- As a Putty client, it's great. I can easily have 4 big terminals open on the 24", and a browser open on the tablet.
- Demanding desktop apps can run a bit slow (it's only an AMD C-50), but it depends on what you're doing.
- With only 32GB, it's pretty space limited. Fortunately, I have a 64GB SD card which mitigates it a bit. Also, I can plug in my external 500GB.
- I'm also able to plug in my printer, scanner, camera, and external DVD, and they work for the most part.
- As a tablet, it's OK. It's no iPad, but there's already been endless discussion on that.
Overall, it's actually impressed me in that there's no way I could do this efficiently with an iPad. I give it a B for desktop productivity, and a B- for tablet functions. For reference, I'd give an iPad an A+ for tablet functions, and an F for desktop productivity (not intended as a knock). My guess is that an Acer W700 (core i5) would be an A for desktop tasks (since it's way faster and more capacious) and a solid B for tablet (since it's faster and has higher resolution).
In short, at the risk of getting attacked as an MS shill, I'd actually recommend one of the newer hybrid tablet-top Windows 8 thingies if you're looking for a single device. If you can, I'd wait until after CES and the market to settle down a bit before buying anything.
Your mother doesn't need anything too complicated. I would suggest you go for at least a 6-core Core i7 3.5GHz Extreme CPU, overclocked dual GTU 690 512-bit HDCP-ready GPU, hi-fi 24-bit sound card with DTS, 32GB DDR3 RAM, 80plus 1500W modular power supply, 140mm copper quiet bearing CPU cooler, twin-turbine blue LED case fans, 500GB SATA III 120,000 IOPS SSD drive, 16x BDXL Blu-ray burner, dual 2560 x 1600 350 cd/m2 1000:1 30" display, USB macro-programmable gaming keyboard, Razer 17-button wireless mouse, and a classy mid-tower computer case. Don't forget COD Black Ops and Assassin's Creed to help her pass the time.
I don't think a simple tablet will do.
This. Forget unsupported weirdness of chromebook. You need Angry Birds!
Just moved my dad (72) from original 20" imac with some weird HDD issues to an Asus transformer with official keyboard. He uses the keyboard when doing email at the desk, otherwise browsing, reading, gaming are all touch.
We got his P&S camera to upload pics directly to the tablet. The only thing he can't do (so far) is print. He fires up the mac for that.
So far so good - 4 months no complaints.
You mean like copy and paste? Oh, I know it exists on tablets, but it's a chore. Hell, iPad users don't even know how to post links to Youtube videos unless it's to Facebook or Twitter via a 'share' icon. The ease of use of tablets is a myth. For even the simplest things: you need an app for that.
The on-screen keyboards are shit as well.
I can't believe the comments here.
First get her a computer with the same Operating System as she already has. The older generation doesn't like change for the sake of change--they only want change when it offers significant improvements.
Second she will want a full size keyboard and a decent sized screen. As you get older your fingers are less nimble and your eyesight gets worse.
So I am thinking something like a 15"-17", used business class laptop from eBay (a few years old).