Who owns a tablet/netbook? Is it better than a laptop? Who runsAndroid OS?

[RayLopez99]

I'm interested in comparing a tablet with docking station and solid
state HDD, say arounnd 50 GB with say 1 GB memory (or maybe 2 GB),
running Android OS to a $500 laptop of the same price running a
traditional mechanical HDD, Windows 7, and say a Core 2 duo or i3
Intel chip with 2 GB or more RAM.

Which is better?

My thoughts:

I did like the lightweight feel of the Asus I saw--it was very sweet,
and the 7 or 9" screen was not too small.

I don't think the 50 GB SS HDD it came with was big enough. On my
$500 laptop with a 500 GB HD I have about 90 GB of data and apps on
it, and I hardly have everything, far less than my desktop.

I notice the uP was by I think it was NVidia --!!! --not Intel--I was
surprised. Not enough horsepower?

You cannot do Serious Work on the tablet--that is, work done under
Microsoft Office. But I did notice some open source word processing
programs and if you take the tablet on the road, you can I guess
export what you write to RTF or some such format then import into Word
when back at the office.

Viruses: who makes an anti-virus for Android OS? Without Googling it
I'm sure you can find some, but I don't know how robust it would be.
Windows has a much more mature 'ecosystem' of programs and
programmers.

All in all, I was impressed by the light weight of the tablet but feel
it might be too much of a lightweight in performance.

RL

 

[John Doe]

But of course, Ray, it depends on what you need and what you can
handle. Go with the largest size computer that you can comfortably
and safely carry.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Avid Fan]

I'm interested in comparing a tablet with docking station and solid
state HDD, say arounnd 50 GB with say 1 GB memory (or maybe 2 GB),
running Android OS to a $500 laptop of the same price running a
traditional mechanical HDD, Windows 7, and say a Core 2 duo or i3
Intel chip with 2 GB or more RAM.

Which is better?

My thoughts:

I did like the lightweight feel of the Asus I saw--it was very sweet,
and the 7 or 9" screen was not too small.

I don't think the 50 GB SS HDD it came with was big enough. On my
$500 laptop with a 500 GB HD I have about 90 GB of data and apps on
it, and I hardly have everything, far less than my desktop.

I notice the uP was by I think it was NVidia --!!! --not Intel--I was
surprised. Not enough horsepower?

You cannot do Serious Work on the tablet--that is, work done under
Microsoft Office. But I did notice some open source word processing
programs and if you take the tablet on the road, you can I guess
export what you write to RTF or some such format then import into Word
when back at the office.

Why not just use a netbook with Open/Libre office. Learn to touch type.
It takes two weeks to learn an is a skill for life.
My Aspire one Netbook $360 with the Intel Atom 1 processor 1G of ram
160G hdd running Mint 9 Isadora, runs faster than my Windows crippled
work computer

You cannot properly touch type on a tablet because they have no guide
keys. Look at your real keyboard. On the F and the J keys are raised
nodes so that you can reposition your fingers without looking, You can't
do that on a tablet.

Viruses: who makes an anti-virus for Android OS? Without Googling it
I'm sure you can find some, but I don't know how robust it would be.
Windows has a much more mature 'ecosystem' of programs and
programmers.

Android has a Linux base so is pretty resistant to Malware (As is
Apple). A Trojan app is always a possibility as it is with Linux or Mac.

All in all, I was impressed by the light weight of the tablet but feel
it might be too much of a lightweight in performance.

RL

I think tablets are (in general some exceptions) for people too stupid
or lazy to open their laptops,.

 

[William Poaster]

Avid Fan wrote, in reply to RayLopez99 :


The trouble with laptops is the "pointer". I've never liked any of
them. Yeah, I know tht some people have become master of "the stick"
or whatever...

Anyways, the touch-screen technology goes some ways to resolve that
problem. I think a laptop with a real keyboard, and also a modern
touch-screen-optimized OS, might be best, for me.

The Dopez99 troll x-posting his drivel yet again.

<comp.os.linux.advocacy snipped>

 

[Paul]

I'm interested in comparing a tablet with docking station and solid
state HDD, say arounnd 50 GB with say 1 GB memory (or maybe 2 GB),
running Android OS to a $500 laptop of the same price running a
traditional mechanical HDD, Windows 7, and say a Core 2 duo or i3
Intel chip with 2 GB or more RAM.

Which is better?

As long as the processor on the laptop, is more powerful than the one
in a tablet or netbook, this is no contest. You need a decent processor,
as no matter what the situation, software gets bloated, and more power
means more practicality.

To give an example, I was using my "desktop publishing machine" yesterday.
It has licensed software installed, software which cannot be moved to new
hardware. The processor runs at 1.2GHz or so. I needed to do some web
browsing to pick up example photos of products to buy, and put them in
a document. You talk about slow... I could go out in the kitchen and
make a snack, and come back and the web page would be just about finished.

I don't ever want to be in that situation again, so some gutless tablet
or netbook is not in my future.

In addition to selecting the laptop, my other suggestion is not to be
a "bottom feeder" about it. For example, don't buy a laptop with a
single core processor. My lower limit would be a processor with dual
core as a minimum. And on Intel or AMD, about 2GHz is a reasonable
minimum, to not have regrets later. When compared to a Pentium 4, that
clock speed is equivalent to P4 at 3GHz.

Paul

 

[Avid Fan]

The trouble with laptops is the "pointer". I've never liked any of
them. Yeah, I know tht some people have become master of "the stick"
or whatever...

Even the external mouse /trackball? I have not found it a problem but
imagine how boring the world would be if everybody was the same.

Touch screen on a laptop is available but pricey. You sound like an
exception.

Anyways, the touch-screen technology goes some ways to resolve that
problem. I think a laptop with a real keyboard, and also a modern
touch-screen-optimized OS, might be best, for me.

Yes but pricey.

 

[JeffM]

Android has a Linux base so is pretty resistant to Malware
(As is Apple).

....and pretty much any OS/filesystem combination
which uses strong permissions.

A Trojan app is always a possibility as it is with Linux or Mac.

I have not yet seen a technical solution to "social engineering".
Best advice:
1) Only use vendors with an established record.
(34 failures out of 261,000 apps seems pretty good to me;
removal of rogue apps within minutes also bodes well.)
2) Wait one day before purchasing (see "minutes", above).

A recent column by Jack Wallen:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/smartphones/android-smartphone-security-primer/3379

Some choice bits:

:When people tell me that they’re concerned
:about the security of Android smartphones,
:I have to wonder how secure they were on their previous device.

:avoid anti-virus, since you’ll be a smart Android user
:and won’t install any and every application you see.
....which is obviously why it is the only ecosystem
to get drive-by infections.

....and which is why Windoze developers
still build apps that require root access.

The good stuff in Windoze was copied from *n?x.
You can easily spot the stuff that M$ "innovated"
(to get around paying royalties); those are the parts that suck.

 

[Homer]

Verily I say unto thee that Raytard Dopez spake thusly:

I'm interested in

Piss off Dopez. You couldn't even figure out how to download Ubuntu, so
how the **** do you propose to "compare laptops"? Go play with some
crayons, that's more your level.

 

[Pennywise]

I'm interested in comparing a tablet with docking station and solid
state HDD, say arounnd 50 GB with say 1 GB memory (or maybe 2 GB),
running Android OS to a $500 laptop of the same price running a
traditional mechanical HDD, Windows 7, and say a Core 2 duo or i3
Intel chip with 2 GB or more RAM.

Which is better?

Your a week late.

HP quit the computer busniess.
Last weekend the HP tablets dropped to $100 Canadian, with all the other
stores having a price matching system it was a feast - it didn't matter if you
needed one or not.

http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/0...Prices?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=twitter

Posted in the rare event there's any left, check Best Buy.

The link where the sale started is a 404 now.
http://www.futureshop.ca/Errors/404.aspx?path=7b26c0ea80f25deed055f1bfc50d3d88en99

 

[Michael Black]

Your a week late.

HP quit the computer busniess.
Last weekend the HP tablets dropped to $100 Canadian, with all the other
stores having a price matching system it was a feast - it didn't matter if you
needed one or not.

And they sold out almost immediately. They weren't available online at
12:45 Saturday (ie 45 minutes into the new day), it wasn't clear if they'd
sold out or were just not available online. The next morning, people were
unable to find them.

Of course, there were also a lot of classified ads later in the day where
people were so generously offering them, at a premium (sometimes a
horrible premium), matched with others placing ads hoping to find one
cheap.

Michael

 

[Pennywise]

And they sold out almost immediately. They weren't available online at
12:45 Saturday (ie 45 minutes into the new day), it wasn't clear if they'd
sold out or were just not available online.

At first they were available online at the now 404 link
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/id/10173116.aspx?skuid=10173116

The link went from being available online, to you needed to go to a store to
purchase one or four, the stores all being in Canada.

Satruday night 5:00p.m. PST was the last I looked at the link and it still
indicated they were available in store. Whether or not they were is another
matter.

 

[Pennywise]

And they sold out almost immediately. They weren't available online at
12:45 Saturday (ie 45 minutes into the new day), it wasn't clear if they'd
sold out or were just not available online.

At first they were available online at the now 404 link
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/id/10173116.aspx?skuid=10173116

The link went from being available online, to you needed to go to a store to
purchase one or four, the stores all being in Canada.

Saturday night 5:00p.m. PST was the last I looked at the link and it still
indicated they were available in store. Whether or not they were is another
matter.

 

[William Poaster]

Verily I say unto thee that Raytard Dopez spake thusly:

Piss off Dopez. You couldn't even figure out how to download Ubuntu, so
how the **** do you propose to "compare laptops"? Go play with some
crayons, that's more your level.

+1