I am a believer in competition.
Anything Apple is counter competition.
That is why there is no USB ports.
Paul Lamar
The iPad and iPhone are well integrated, well thought out products. Apple spent
a bunch of money making sure they work. And Apple provides support for them.
They don't need every Tom, Dick and Harry plugging cheap-assed USB devices into
them and then whining all over the place when something gets fouled up. Neither
Windows nor Linux handle all USB devices perfectly. Numerous times I've had to
restart Windows because of USB. And USB is one thing I've seen to actually
lock-up a Linux box. Don't want this in aviation GPS. Actually, I don't want
this at all.
Why'd you pick those Itronix boxes? The lightest one weighs more than 2x as
much as an IPad, is about 5x thicker, and has a smaller screen.. Yeah, you get
slightly more open architecture. That's great if you want to be a developer, but
it adds no value if you just want a good functioning tool. Everyone has their
preferences.. For getting on with my life, I just want tools that work.
Matt-
Oh sounds like I hit a nerve :)
What Linux distribution gave you trouble on the USB?
I have used half a dozen distributions on two different computers with nary a
problem.
I went to Frys today and they had almost dozen different brands of "pads"
running Android software. I took notes :)
Name........Price..LCD
------------------------------------
Maylong....$109.. 7"
Coby.......$149.. 7"
AOC........$139...8"
Pandigital $159...7"
Samsung... $699...??
Samsung....$269...5"
Asus...... $499...10.1"
Asus.......$999...12.1"
Acer...... $499...10.1"
Fujitsu... $849...10.1"
Most had USB ports plus card readers and HDMI video.
The wife has a Mac computer but an NTC phone (with USB)
running Android software. We used the moving map app
driving back from Minneapolis with the RV4 in the back of a
truck. The cloud computing worked great in the cities
giving us accurate real time traffic data, restaurant and
gas station locations. Not so hot
out in the country where cell phone coverage was spotty.
Paul Lamar
Sorry for the tone of my email, Paul.. I stand by the content.
I don't think the USB problem is with the release of Linux.. The issue is with
the open nature of the architecture. It's easy to have a buggy USB device
plugged in which can take down the rest of the USB devices. Requiring a reboot
to clear. I was probably using Ubuntu. On a five year old laptop.
Does your wife's NTC (HTC?) phone take a thumb drive? Or do you mean it just
takes a mini/micro USB cable as its interface? The Apple devices also plug into
USB ports.. They just have a different cable end on them. Until recently, lots
of phones had proprietary cables.. Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, etc. The
socialists in Europe mandated going to a standard plug style...
How often does your wife have to reboot her phone? How often do apps crash?
Most of the people I know with Android phones get to reboot them every few days.
I'm sure they're getting better. Just like Windows is getting better.
Matt-
mini/micro USB cable
She has very few apps and she picks 4 star or above apps only.
He she does not turn it off for weeks on end. It reboots of course
when you turn it off. She loves the swipe apps for sending
email and text messages. On hind sight she wishes she bought the
larger screen Samsung with no keyboard.
(wife) I had a Blackberry for years and wasn't sure how well I would like the
Android. There is a steep learning curve, and its different. But I do like it. I
am surprised that your friends are having the apps crash. It might be games. I
am pretty simple with apps - mag light- etc.
Paul & Robin Lamar
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