iPad vs "the rest"

iPad and iPhone have the Face-Time feature which works great. We FaceTime with our kids and grandkids with either iPads or iPhones and the cameras do a great job. Much better than Skype. I would think this would work great for video conferencing also.

 

Face time only works among Apple devices. Skype is cross-platform. Other than that, are there any other video conference tools suitable for corporate environments?

 

Same guy as above wrote this: Why are the built-in Mail and Calendar apps on Windows RT so bad? | ZDNet.

Microsoft Surface: Why is the new tablet so much worse than the iPad? - Slate Magazine - from a different author

 

A lot of the reviews are comparing the MS Surface and numerous Android devices (kindle fire HD, Hook HD, Transformers, Galaxy Tabs and note 10.1) against the iPad. They all pretty much concluded that if it doesn't work like an iPad then it's junk. Doesn't matter if rest of the tablets have their own unique features. They kept forgetting that Apple patents EVERYTHING on the iPad and iOS. If a function is similar to the iPad or the iOS, Apple will sue. MS and Google would have to come up with their own way of dealing with similar tasks. A good example is the animation when reached the end of page. Apple patented the bounce back and sue anyone that has the bounce back animation when end of page is reached. Google came up with their own end of page animation by glowing.

Here's another example.

The author doesn't seem to get the concept of rendering time. Apple doesn't have a patent for graying out the previous page so MS used it. Now the author thinks it sucks because it doesn't work like the iPad. The tablet version of the Chrome has similar page rendering too. When you close Chrome with multiple tabs, those tabs are grayed out when you reopen Chrome and goto those tabs until they are refreshed again.

Yet another example.

Again, comparing it with the iPad. If it doesn't function like an iPad then it sucks. If you want it to work like an freaking iPad, go buy a freaking iPad. For all we know, Apple probably patented the wait time before rotating and will sue anyone that built a tablet that rotates within 500ms of physical rotation of the tablet.

 

It's like comparing cameras with different purposes. Of course the approach won't be the same. Expecting that doesn't even make sense.

RT has been working great for me. My requirements didn't match what either iPad or Android offered though. So, comparisons are moot.

 

Apple learned its lessons well in the 1980s when the Mac was ripped off by other companies. At one time, the unix community was outraged by Apple's patents. Oh well, the 'three finger salute' remains safe.

Bob Wilson

 

That depends on a whole host of considerations. Your best bet is to figure out what software package is being used on the other end, then find out if there's an associated app for the tablet you're considering. As far as I know, no one has ever created a universal app that can connect to any and every video conference host.

 

It's not a question of "it doesn't function like this other device, so it sucks". It's a question of "do we like how it functions?" Sure, Apple's patented a ton of innovative and cool features in iOS. After all, they created them. Other companies have to find their own ways to accomplish the task, and if they can't come up with a way that's as good as the iPad, that's their fault. Frankly, if there's a delay when I turn the device, I'm going to find it incredibly annoying. Other items, depending on how they work, could be equally as annoying... If I was writing a review, about anything from any company, I would call out anything I found annoying.

 

I like my iPad. It's different from my laptop at work where I spend all day slaving over middle-ware collaborations. And better too, for example I can see if I got any Emails today just by opening the cover and seeing if there is a red number next to the mail icon. So simple and I don't even have to logon to anything. I like that. Recreational computing!

 

In addition to recreation, I use my RT for content creation. Having an extremely portable device to create Word documents and do spreadsheet updates is quite a bit outside the usual realm of tablet features.

I also envision the Pro version becoming the work-slave alternative. Rather than lugging around a laptop, you have the convenience of a tablet while not giving up any power and still using a mouse, full-keyboard, and monitor at times.

 

Sigh.

 

I have long and still admire your Prius work so this was a surprise:

• Word - each release seems to set more infuriating defaults and controls hidden in obscura 'what you want to see has been hidden again . . . here is Clicky-like help to treat you like an idiot.' Yes, Clicky is dead but the sickeningly, treakle-like, memory lingers on and the help options still misses too often.
• spreadsheet - I had been moving towards OpenOffice until Excel finally open up the number of rows. But the default 'vlookup' continues to use self-relative table offsets instead of the more useful, absolute row and column table definitions. Does anyone think a lookup table shifts its offsets based upon the source cell? (Only for self-modifying code fans.)

I have co-workers who enjoy the Microsoft paradyne but I'm of the 'less is more' school. Screen estate is precious and less is more because I can and do 'walk and chew gum at the same time.' I want the fixed screen-estate to reflect what I want to do and overloaded window headers do not help.

Bob Wilson

 

It sounds like you're referring to the massive UI change starting w/Office 2007 (aka the ribbon aka "Fluent UI"), which I personally hate. Unfortunately, we're stuck with it. I do feel like a lot of valuable vertical screen real-estate is wasted by it (esp. given the disturbing trend where LCDs are going towards 16:9, instead of 16:10 or 4:3) and the large # of buttons and controls increases the cognitive load when searching for something vs. menus.

In fact, on my main machine (the one I'm typing on now), I've still got Office 2003. I plan to use it until it's no longer supported (when security updates cease). I have Office 2010 on my other machines, but those aren't used much.

At least one can toggle the ribbon on/off via Ctrl-F1...

 

Office 2013 changes that, rather significantly.

 

Interesting, I tried OpenOffice when I got my first Mac, found it lacking. Got Office Mac 2011 as soon as it came out to get back all the easy to use features, some of which Numbers and OpenOffice didn't have.

 

If I want to use my iPad for Powerpoint presentations (via something like SlideSharks) what would I need to hook it up to an overhead projector?

 

Apple 30-pin Digital AV Adapter - Apple Store (U.S.) and a long cable

 

Unfortunately, most overhead projectors I work with still use analog input designed for old school laptops.

 

Apple 30-pin to VGA Adapter - Apple Store (U.S.)

There you go... 30-pin to VGA.

 

It appears there are many incompatibility issues with the VGA adapter, based on the reviews. Depending on your device model, iOS version, or the apps you use, this solution may or may not work. Sigh... Better stay with the trusty laptop for now I guess.