Topic: The Tablet Computing Thread

[Gnurglan]

My parents aged 66/67 have just bought an ipad. My dad has a slight idea about computers having used one in work and has a pc at home but other than using email once a week hes not really into and my mum think she can break the pc by moving the mouse. Inevitably because 20 years ago I worked in IT support job its fallen to me to teach them

I've set up itunes, apple accounts, email and set up wifi and linked the ipad to it but they've asked for more tips. I think they are under the impression there is just stuff to do but i've said you need an interest in something so get you started. I've tried iMessaging them a few photos of our baby and stuff to get them used to it and I'll download a few apps so they can get used to that side of things rather than using Safari all the time but any recommendations?

Thought of bbc sport and football related stuff for my dad, my mum i dont know shopping stuff maybe - any apps out there for beginners?

Anyone recommend a book - saw Ipad Seniors for Dummies but and Senior Ipad books but not sure how they will take that!

Wouldnt mind but they went out and bought a mini one on my sisters advice which isnt going to be great with their eyesight compared to standard or even pro version and it will never leave the house so its not for portability reason.

Cheers

Check out FilmOn Television. Multiple tv channels available. I think that's better than picking just BBC. Also, photos can be a good place to start. Things like editing pictures with PS Express, or using Over. Wordfeud can be another good beginning. An app that used to be a favorite of mine is City Quiz. Unfortunately, they never add any more cities. I know Angry Birds can get people of all ages hooked.

For books, there are multiple free ones. I think it's called the Gutenberg project and lots of classics are available for free.

[CraigDS]

Teach them how to use the app store, warn them about what you have to pay for and what is free, then set them free to mess about and find what they want.

Probably the easiest way to do it.

[capt k]

Wife bought me an Ipad Air for xmas,
One problem i cant seem to work out/understand.. i connect to my email account no problems and it shows me any NEW emails, but none of the existing ones. it shows all the folders in my outlook account, but no messages .. any ideas as to why?

Other question i have is, i got this mainly for reading plans on site rather than printing pages, i normally use Adobe reader on my PC, but whats the go to program on Ipad for pdf files?

[CraigDS]

Not sure about the email issue.

PDFs can be read through iBooks though.

[TepidT2O]

Wife bought me an Ipad Air for xmas,
One problem i cant seem to work out/understand.. i connect to my email account no problems and it shows me any NEW emails, but none of the existing ones. it shows all the folders in my outlook account, but no messages .. any ideas as to why?

Other question i have is, i got this mainly for reading plans on site rather than printing pages, i normally use Adobe reader on my PC, but whats the go to program on Ipad for pdf files?

It could just be taking some time to upload them...


However, try:  settings.. Mail, contacts, calendars...

Down near the bottom, it says 'sync'...

Try setting that to a different date....

It will get there soon hopefully!

PDFs can be read in loads of apps.  But iBooks stores them quite nicely on a bookshelf.  It's the only thing I use iBooks for..

[Zlen]

I'm going to start saving for iPad Pro and the pencil.
That thing looks nifty.

[capt k]

It could just be taking some time to upload them...


However, try:  settings.. Mail, contacts, calendars...

Down near the bottom, it says 'sync'...

Try setting that to a different date....

It will get there soon hopefully!

PDFs can be read in loads of apps.  But iBooks stores them quite nicely on a bookshelf.  It's the only thing I use iBooks for..

Cheers tepid, both suggestions solved my problems 

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

I'm going to start saving for iPad Pro and the pencil.
That thing looks nifty.

As opposed to a full blown Surface pro 3, with an i7 processor and wacom digitizer?

One is a full blown PC in a tablet form while the other runs a glorified mobile OS with limited functionality.  If i had around 1K spare cash lying around, I would immediately go for an SP3.

[Zlen]

I have a desktop machine and a Wacom tablet for serious work. I dont need or want a PC in a tablet form, nor do I really want a full Windows OS on a tablet. Apple's machine looks like a good sketchbook solution, able to do a lot without pretending to be able to do everything.

[plasterered]

It does support full he, but she's streaming sports (from mobdro). I did say if she manages to find hd streams then it should project them ok.

how does she rate mobdro in terms of what games are available and the quality ?

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

how does she rate mobdro in terms of what games are available and the quality ?

You get all the usual channels like Sky 1 to 5, BT sport 1 and 2, Setanta, Star, Sportsworld and countless others.   You can pretty much watch anything you want.

Quality varies depending on the stream.  But its definitely watchable on my 42 inch television. You do get a few HD streams as well.

All in all a great app for football fans. Lots of non football channels available too.

[plasterered]

You get all the usual channels like Sky 1 to 5, BT sport 1 and 2, Setanta, Star, Sportsworld and countless others.   You can pretty much watch anything you want.

Quality varies depending on the stream.  But its definitely watchable on my 42 inch television. You do get a few HD streams as well.

All in all a great app for football fans. Lots of non football channels available too.

So for watching on a tablet say its the way to go ?

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

So for watching on a tablet say its the way to go ?

Without a doubt.  Use it over wifi or LTE and you wont face any buffering/stuttering.  You will have access to almost all the major European leagues as well which is brilliant if you are a connoisseur of continental football.

Go for it.  You'll need to download the the APK file directly though, as its not available on the google play store (for obvious reasons),

[plasterered]

Without a doubt.  Use it over wifi or LTE and you wont face any buffering/stuttering.  You will have access to almost all the major European leagues as well which is brilliant if you are a connoisseur of continental football.

Go for it.  You'll need to download the the APK file directly though, as its not available on the google play store (for obvious reasons),

Yeah i knew it wasnt on play.
 Gonna chuck it on the tablet then ive decided.

[Joe_Singh]

Any recommendations for 10 inch screens? I've got a nexus 7 at the moment and know i'm thinking could do with a bigger screen.

I like the look of Sony's Z4 but appears to be rather pricey.

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

Any recommendations for 10 inch screens? I've got a nexus 7 at the moment and know i'm thinking could do with a bigger screen.

I like the look of Sony's Z4 but appears to be rather pricey.

Nexus 9 is available for cheap these days.  Slightly smaller at 9 inches though....

[Joe_Singh]

Nexus 9 is available for cheap these days.  Slightly smaller at 9 inches though....

Yeah I saw that in John Lewis yesterday and was quite impressed with it. I had written it off because of the 4:3 Screen but its not too bad.

Wondering if there will be a Nexus 10 this year.

[kopite77]

Yeah I saw that in John Lewis yesterday and was quite impressed with it. I had written it off because of the 4:3 Screen but its not too bad.

Wondering if there will be a Nexus 10 this year.

No, I think they are releasing the Nexus 8, so it's smaller again http://www.ibtimes.com/google-nexus-8-2015-tablet-visits-geekbench-ahead-nexus-5-2015-release-2066920.

[Groundskeeper Willie]

Without a doubt.  Use it over wifi or LTE and you wont face any buffering/stuttering.  You will have access to almost all the major European leagues as well which is brilliant if you are a connoisseur of continental football.

Go for it.  You'll need to download the the APK file directly though, as its not available on the google play store (for obvious reasons),

Is the free version enough or do you have to go full version?

Is there a good tablet out there in the Ł200 range? Going to use it for surfing and streaming sports (Kodi).

edit: Just seen this Nvidia Shield K1 thing. Available for under Ł200. Could that be something for me?

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

Is the free version enough or do you have to go full version?

Is there a good tablet out there in the Ł200 range? Going to use it for surfing and streaming sports (Kodi).

edit: Just seen this Nvidia Shield K1 thing. Available for under Ł200. Could that be something for me?

The paid version just removes the ads/banners, that is all. Content is pretty much the same as far as I know.

The Shield k1 is a great gaming and media consumption tablet.  It is well capable of meeting your streaming/kodi needs.

Also check out the Nexus 9...

[Groundskeeper Willie]

The paid version just removes the ads/banners, that is all. Content is pretty much the same as far as I know.

The Shield k1 is a great gaming and media consumption tablet.  It is well capable of meeting your streaming/kodi needs.

Also check out the Nexus 9...

Cheers mate, appreciate the response.

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

Cheers mate, appreciate the response.

If you are planning to hook up your tab to your  tv through an hdmi adapter,  do not consider the nexus 9. It doesnt have a mini hdmi port. The shield has it.

[Groundskeeper Willie]

If you are planning to hook up your tab to your  tv through an hdmi adapter,  do not consider the nexus 9. It doesnt have a mini hdmi port. The shield has it.

I think that might be a dealbreaker. I have a Slimport that I use with my phone, so it would be good to have that option aswell as Chromecast.

[Groundskeeper Willie]

If you are planning to hook up your tab to your  tv through an hdmi adapter,  do not consider the nexus 9. It doesnt have a mini hdmi port. The shield has it.

Would you advice me to get a Shield or one of these? http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-eeebook-x205ta with Windows 10 OS.

The review says it's pretty decent and I can get one for around 200 quid.

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

Would you advice me to get a Shield or one of these? http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-eeebook-x205ta with Windows 10 OS.

The review says it's pretty decent and I can get one for around 200 quid.

The Asus eeebook is a great deal for that price. But there are a couple of things to consider..  Firstly, WIndows 10 does not have a native app for Mobdro, so you will have to use their web based interface to watch stuff. Havent used the web version so I cannot tell you how good or bad it is. Its full windows so you have other advantages like access to thousands of legacy win 32 software.

Apart from that, you will do well with any of the two. My personal recommendation would still be the shield, considering the fact that it is pretty much designed to stream media and play games.  But the Asus is also a good choice and offers value for money.

[capt k]

Anyone know how to transfer photos from my PC{Win 7} to my ipad?
i can transfer FROM the ipad, no problems, but when i try n cut n paste to the Ipad, theres no "paste" option, tried installing Itunes,. but cant make head nor hair of it,.

Got to see a prospective employer on Friday and would like to transfer the photos of work i have done to  to the Ipad so i can show him

[WhoHe]

Could you not store them on say Dropbox (or any cloud based free offering) and access from both devices ?

[CraigDS]

Could you not store them on say Dropbox (or any cloud based free offering) and access from both devices ?

Yep that's a fairly easy way. Are ways of doing it via iCloud too.

[capt k]

I have Photobucket, i suppose i could do it via that, but it seems like an extremely long winded way of transferring file,s is there no other way?

[CraigDS]

I have Photobucket, i suppose i could do it via that, but it seems like an extremely long winded way of transferring file,s is there no other way?

Drop box isn't.

Simply move them to the dropbox folder on your PC, download the dropbox app for your iPad, then import them from there to your Photos on your iPad.

Other than using iTunes or iCloud that's probably the quickest way.

[capt k]

Drop box isn't.

Simply move them to the dropbox folder on your PC, download the dropbox app for your iPad, then import them from there to your Photos on your iPad.

Other than using iTunes or iCloud that's probably the quickest way.

Cheers Craig, ive uploaded them all to DB, instaled the app on the Ipad, but i cant for the life of me see how i "import them to photos, i can move them around dropbox,  but cant see a way to add them to the "photos" folder on the ipad.. any help would be appreciated as per

[CraigDS]

Cheers Craig, ive uploaded them all to DB, instaled the app on the Ipad, but i cant for the life of me see how i "import them to photos, i can move them around dropbox,  but cant see a way to add them to the "photos" folder on the ipad.. any help would be appreciated as per

I don't have Dropbox on my iPad but do on my iPhone, so hopefully it's fairly similar.

On there you can turn something on called Camera Upload, and that will automatically save the pics to Photos. Alternatively open the image, click the icon which looks like a box with an upwards pointing arrow and then click save image. You'll have to do that for each image but you can just swipe through them so not too bad.

["21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!]

The complexities of file management on IOS .  Copy and paste is not how apple wants you to do it.  Its not safe you see. 

On a serious note, isnt there an app that sort of allows you to copy files directly to a an ipad or iphone?

[Brian Blessed]

Depemding on size and number of pictures, you can always just email them to yourself and save the images from the email.

[Swissgaz]

Cheers Craig, ive uploaded them all to DB, instaled the app on the Ipad, but i cant for the life of me see how i "import them to photos, i can move them around dropbox,  but cant see a way to add them to the "photos" folder on the ipad.. any help would be appreciated as per

Select a photo, hit the share icon and then save. The photo will be added to photos.

[Oddball]

I have a tablet and got a Chromcast for Christmas. I havnt an ariel in my bedroom so wondered of there was an App for freeview tele I can use via the Chromecast?

[WhoHe]

I have a tablet and got a Chromcast for Christmas. I havnt an ariel in my bedroom so wondered of there was an App for freeview tele I can use via the Chromecast?

I have a TV guide app on my iPad that lists the schedules but also allows you to actually watch a selection of channels, works fine. Think it's simply called TV Guide might be a version for your tablet. Also Filmon app works exactly same way and both have (not all) freeview channels.

[oojason]

^^ tvcatchup.com is decent too - it has an-inbuilt 'Cast' option in it's window taskbar - no app required (though there is one for it for android and ios)

[Oddball]

I have a TV guide app on my iPad that lists the schedules but also allows you to actually watch a selection of channels, works fine. Think it's simply called TV Guide might be a version for your tablet. Also Filmon app works exactly same way and both have (not all) freeview channels.

^^ tvcatchup.com is decent too - it has an-inbuilt 'Cast' option in it's window taskbar - no app required (though there is one for it for android and ios)

Thanks chaps. It seems tvcatchup is now toview and I can't find a direct sender, though both options mentioned do have a WiFi sender that I'll try when I'm home tomorrow. Fingers crossed thanks.

EDIT Sorry Jason, just reread and you said tvcatchup wasn't an app. Went to it via the web and it looks like I need to try the same way as the app. Couldn't see a direct link, though maybe as its as I'm not at home and so its not reading the Chromecast? Thick as when it comes to tech.

[capt k]

Select a photo, hit the share icon and then save. The photo will be added to photos.

Cheers for the help, i havent yet done that, but  what i have done so far is via DB, "make available offline".
that almost fills the void, when i get a chance ill try your tip,but in the mean time , what i have done is a workaround