Discussion: smartphone
in: PG; PG > 2012-12-01
Dec 1, 2012 9:40 PM
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if you don't like typing on an iPad, hard to imagine you would like typing on a smartphone any better. It does get better as you practice, but perhaps not a skill you desperately need to acquire.
Dec 1, 2012 9:47 PM
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walk:
Can be very trying but much better than a smartphone. Use landscape orientation for a larger keyboard, might help.
Dec 1, 2012 9:57 PM
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You can now buy iPad cases that have built in wireless keypads. I don't plan to get one.
Dec 1, 2012 10:34 PM
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One of the reasons I've purchased neither smartphone nor iPad. Anyone who can touch-type reasonably well is doomed to frustration by such "conveniences." I'd just as soon wait until I get back to my console computer with a full keypad (including the adding-machine keypad on the right) to post messages and answer emails.
Dec 2, 2012 10:43 AM
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Yeah, cell modem is probably the most convenient. Or you get the best of both worlds by getting a smartphone and using it as a portable wifi router. Great fun while stuck in an airport with expensive wifi, as has happened to me several times...
On the subject of smartphones, I find typing short things on an iPhone to be easier/faster than on an iPad - thumbs can be very fast with such short distances between the letters. Typing on an iPad is awkwardly between the convenience of thumbs and the familiarity of a real keyboard.
On the subject of smartphones, I find typing short things on an iPhone to be easier/faster than on an iPad - thumbs can be very fast with such short distances between the letters. Typing on an iPad is awkwardly between the convenience of thumbs and the familiarity of a real keyboard.
Dec 2, 2012 9:33 PM
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I really like the swype typing on Android phones. I now find using Rob's iPhone a pain in the butt. Now if they would just let me delete useless apps and free up some space on my internal phone memory, I would recommend my phone.
Dec 3, 2012 12:29 AM
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its true, she is helpful. i spend a lot of time talking to my iPhone for texting. most of the time the translation is correct and i don't have to type at all!
Dec 3, 2012 11:47 AM
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I would use Siri more if she sounded like Sean Connery. I'm not sure what voice Peter would prefer, but probably not Sean Connery.
Dec 3, 2012 1:35 PM
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PG:
Part of the problem is trying to match me and my particular tech abilities and inabilities with what the gadget is. And so it might be useful to elaborate on said abilities and inabilities.
Case example from last night (and early this morning) --
Got to Litchfield about 11:30 pm, took care of a couple things with the staff and then noticed the WiFi wasn't working.
At this point Kenny or Biggins or Cristina would have it back up running in no more than a couple of minutes. But me....
It's actually been incredibly reliable, two years and not a single problem, cable service from Cablevision, cable modem from Scientific Atlanta, router from NetGear. But now it wasn't working.
So I turned the router off, and then back on.
And then I unplugged the cable modem, and unplugged the router, and checked all the connections to be sure they were tight, and then plugged in the cable modem and waited until it was fully lit up, and then plugged in the router and waited until it settled down.
And then did all that again just in case it might work the second time. So far still nothing, of course. And the laptop is searching for a network and finding nothing.
So I search in a closet where I think I saved the boxes these things came in, and there they are. There's no troubleshooting pamphlet, but there is a 24/7 phone number for NetGear.
I get someone, not quite sure what part of the world they're from, though English is clearly not their first language. But, hey, it's about midnight on Sunday night and I'm happy for a live person.
And I humor her by doing some more unplugging and replugging, though she has also warned me that she really can't do much more for me because my 90 days of free phone support has ended and she wants to transfer me to someone who will sign me up for premium (i.e. paid) phone support.
But in the meantime I keep pushing her for ideas and she mentions a really small button on the back of the router and says hold it down for two seconds. So I hold it down for maybe 5 or 10 seconds just to be sure, and a blue light comes on for a bit and then goes off. And still my laptop finds no network.
I report back and she says, no, hold it down for just two seconds. So I try again, lo and behold, this time the blue light stays on. Back to the laptop, woohoo, the network is now popping up, all set. And meanwhile my phone support person has run out of patience and transferred me to premium support.
I hang up, because I'm good to go.
Except when I go to load up a page, no go. I go through the Mac's diagnostics, 4 green lights but 2 red ones, that's not good.
Wondering what to do next when my phone rings. It premium support from some other part of the world. Best as I can understand him, he's offering me a full year of unlimited phone support for just $120, or, plan B, 90 days for just $60. Which seems a bit much as I can get a new router for less than that. And it's clear that even premium phone support doesn't happen in real English.
So after a bit of back and forth, I hang up on him.
And turn my attention to Cablevision, find a phone number for them on their box, call them, great they've got 24/7 tech support, except you get a computer speaking weird English instead of a live person speaking weird English. But I play along because I don't have many other options.
And very slowly and rather painfully I have to answer all these questions about what the cable modem looks like, and whether the TV is working (which it is) and then we go through the unplugging and replugging process, except this time I also have to unplug and replug the co-axial cable that comes into the modem, and I do all this and then I go back to the laptop and damned if it doesn't work. Perfectly.
The phone is still squawking, wanting me to say if this has changed things or not. I hang up on someone (something?) for the third time in a hour.
See, I'm not helpless. Fixed the problem. Just that it took an hour, and I felt pretty helpless most of the time, and then stupid when it seemed a fix was so easy.
So I'm wondering if a possible smart phone for me needs to be extra smart, or maybe a little on the dumb side?
Case example from last night (and early this morning) --
Got to Litchfield about 11:30 pm, took care of a couple things with the staff and then noticed the WiFi wasn't working.
At this point Kenny or Biggins or Cristina would have it back up running in no more than a couple of minutes. But me....
It's actually been incredibly reliable, two years and not a single problem, cable service from Cablevision, cable modem from Scientific Atlanta, router from NetGear. But now it wasn't working.
So I turned the router off, and then back on.
And then I unplugged the cable modem, and unplugged the router, and checked all the connections to be sure they were tight, and then plugged in the cable modem and waited until it was fully lit up, and then plugged in the router and waited until it settled down.
And then did all that again just in case it might work the second time. So far still nothing, of course. And the laptop is searching for a network and finding nothing.
So I search in a closet where I think I saved the boxes these things came in, and there they are. There's no troubleshooting pamphlet, but there is a 24/7 phone number for NetGear.
I get someone, not quite sure what part of the world they're from, though English is clearly not their first language. But, hey, it's about midnight on Sunday night and I'm happy for a live person.
And I humor her by doing some more unplugging and replugging, though she has also warned me that she really can't do much more for me because my 90 days of free phone support has ended and she wants to transfer me to someone who will sign me up for premium (i.e. paid) phone support.
But in the meantime I keep pushing her for ideas and she mentions a really small button on the back of the router and says hold it down for two seconds. So I hold it down for maybe 5 or 10 seconds just to be sure, and a blue light comes on for a bit and then goes off. And still my laptop finds no network.
I report back and she says, no, hold it down for just two seconds. So I try again, lo and behold, this time the blue light stays on. Back to the laptop, woohoo, the network is now popping up, all set. And meanwhile my phone support person has run out of patience and transferred me to premium support.
I hang up, because I'm good to go.
Except when I go to load up a page, no go. I go through the Mac's diagnostics, 4 green lights but 2 red ones, that's not good.
Wondering what to do next when my phone rings. It premium support from some other part of the world. Best as I can understand him, he's offering me a full year of unlimited phone support for just $120, or, plan B, 90 days for just $60. Which seems a bit much as I can get a new router for less than that. And it's clear that even premium phone support doesn't happen in real English.
So after a bit of back and forth, I hang up on him.
And turn my attention to Cablevision, find a phone number for them on their box, call them, great they've got 24/7 tech support, except you get a computer speaking weird English instead of a live person speaking weird English. But I play along because I don't have many other options.
And very slowly and rather painfully I have to answer all these questions about what the cable modem looks like, and whether the TV is working (which it is) and then we go through the unplugging and replugging process, except this time I also have to unplug and replug the co-axial cable that comes into the modem, and I do all this and then I go back to the laptop and damned if it doesn't work. Perfectly.
The phone is still squawking, wanting me to say if this has changed things or not. I hang up on someone (something?) for the third time in a hour.
See, I'm not helpless. Fixed the problem. Just that it took an hour, and I felt pretty helpless most of the time, and then stupid when it seemed a fix was so easy.
So I'm wondering if a possible smart phone for me needs to be extra smart, or maybe a little on the dumb side?
Dec 3, 2012 1:47 PM
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Excellent work! You're very persistent. Don't know why "owner's manuals" don't explain these simple buttons and troubleshooting procedures...maybe so they can collect an after-sale $120? I had an erratic wifi connection for 18mos and spoke with those customer service folks, both on the phone and on service calls to my home many times, to no avail.
As with your experience, I was forced to diagnose and fix the problem myself: turned out that moisture from an adjacent shower accumulated frequently on a co-ax connection down in the basement cable box, and shorted out the delicate internet signal. More robust TV signals were apparently not affected. Rerouted the co-ax wire and connection 6"...and no more outages!
As with your experience, I was forced to diagnose and fix the problem myself: turned out that moisture from an adjacent shower accumulated frequently on a co-ax connection down in the basement cable box, and shorted out the delicate internet signal. More robust TV signals were apparently not affected. Rerouted the co-ax wire and connection 6"...and no more outages!
This discussion thread is closed.