Note to self. Anchor tablet computer to something so I don't try to throw it out a window.
Playing with Household6's Motorola Xoom is pretty much a full-bore endorsement of never getting a tablet computer because trying to use it makes me want to kill people with my bare hands.
So what are the main issues? Besides touchscreens being annoying...
ReplyDeleteHH6 is getting it to be able to do work for graduate school without toting a full computer. I advised against getting a tablet and recommended getting a small laptop (11.6" screen) with a real keyboard. I fought (and lost) a discussion to get a Samsung B&W duplex laser printer (that was at the time $150, now down to $99), so I'm stuck with an HP B&W duplex printer that's slower, has fucked-up drivers, and cost about $300. I did not fight this time, it would not matter.
ReplyDeleteNo built-in applications to edit documents.
Maybe I'm Windows-bound, but when I want to kill applications, I want to kill them. I do not like Android Honeycomb...
Flash implementation is there but even with a NVidia Tegra dual-core processor, it is slow as ball sweat. My usual acid test on any Flash implementation to see if some of my old standby games (Sieger and Effing Hail lately) run on it. Both of them run slow as shit. I wouldn't have that problem on a 11.6" screen computer with an Intel Core i3...
I fucking loathed membrane keyboards when I was using an Atari 400 almost 30 years ago, and I fucking hate touchpad typing with about the same level of vitriol. There are a variety of reasons I don't have a smart phone and will get one only when I have no other recourse. I can T9 the few text messages I actually send well enough without a qwerty keyboard.
My other antipathy towards smart phones and pads comes from two other factors unrelated to user interface: batteries and durability. I won't have a heart attack if I roll over my pack of index cards. I also never have to get batteries for them.
I have yet to need a portable ball-and-chain that shows calendar and email and will fight any such devices as long as I can.
So...apart from my usual discontent, a tablet computer will make me want to kill people with my bare hands...