MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Pondering Replacing laptop and reader with Tablet???

mldavis2 · 09-23-2011, 08:28 PM

I've admitted elsewhere, I'm a Luddite. I grew up learning to TYPE (not "keyboard") on a manual typewriter, then an electric, then in the military on an IBM Selectric (ball writer - remember them?) and finally a REAL sloped computer keyboard where the keys still lined up with my anatomical finger spacing. I am not a "hunt and pecker" nor can I use the flat laptop keyboards effectively, though I somehow manage.

I own a laptop. It's great for accessing e-mail in a motel room away from home if I don't have to do a lot of typing. When I do, I've nearly worn out the Backspace key to correct errors from the marginally adequate keyboard. I've tried any number of smaller devices from Blackberrys to smart phones to iPads and I don't like the keyboards and the inadequate screen real estate. I hate using tablets and their smaller screens for internet web page browsing because web pages are usually not made for miniature screens, and those that are, are pathetic, squeezed versions of what they were intended to be, with an abundance of popup ads substituting for what used to be innocuous border frames on a real monitor.

So, yes, they are a bit lighter but my gosh, what's 3 pounds of real 15" LCD screen and anatomically-sized keyboard worth? To me, it's a game breaker and you can give me all the free tablets on earth and you won't pry the 15" laptop from my cold dead fingers. Sometimes it is not better to do something because you can instead of because you should.

I own two worthless Apple devices, an iPod Nano and an iPod shuffle, both with weak, inadequate, irreplaceable batteries that won't last long enough to listen to a few MP3 tunes during a 45 minute workout. Planned obsolescence. Steve Jobs and the rest of the tablet manufacturers, Apple or otherwise, will see none of my money.

But, like what you buy and buy what you think you like. I did and I'm sorry.

And, no, I don't own a "smart phone" either. I have an old Nokia that came over on the Mayflower that grabs a 4-5 bar signal when the fancy-fones are dropping calls.

Just my opinion. Obviously ... I'm a Luddite.

09-23-2011, 08:28 PM	#40
mldavis2 Coffee Nut Posts: 410 Karma: 298350 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Missouri Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre	I've admitted elsewhere, I'm a Luddite. I grew up learning to TYPE (not "keyboard") on a manual typewriter, then an electric, then in the military on an IBM Selectric (ball writer - remember them?) and finally a REAL sloped computer keyboard where the keys still lined up with my anatomical finger spacing. I am not a "hunt and pecker" nor can I use the flat laptop keyboards effectively, though I somehow manage. I own a laptop. It's great for accessing e-mail in a motel room away from home if I don't have to do a lot of typing. When I do, I've nearly worn out the Backspace key to correct errors from the marginally adequate keyboard. I've tried any number of smaller devices from Blackberrys to smart phones to iPads and I don't like the keyboards and the inadequate screen real estate. I hate using tablets and their smaller screens for internet web page browsing because web pages are usually not made for miniature screens, and those that are, are pathetic, squeezed versions of what they were intended to be, with an abundance of popup ads substituting for what used to be innocuous border frames on a real monitor. So, yes, they are a bit lighter but my gosh, what's 3 pounds of real 15" LCD screen and anatomically-sized keyboard worth? To me, it's a game breaker and you can give me all the free tablets on earth and you won't pry the 15" laptop from my cold dead fingers. Sometimes it is not better to do something because you can instead of because you should. I own two worthless Apple devices, an iPod Nano and an iPod shuffle, both with weak, inadequate, irreplaceable batteries that won't last long enough to listen to a few MP3 tunes during a 45 minute workout. Planned obsolescence. Steve Jobs and the rest of the tablet manufacturers, Apple or otherwise, will see none of my money. But, like what you buy and buy what you think you like. I did and I'm sorry. And, no, I don't own a "smart phone" either. I have an old Nokia that came over on the Mayflower that grabs a 4-5 bar signal when the fancy-fones are dropping calls. Just my opinion. Obviously ... I'm a Luddite. Last edited by mldavis2; 09-23-2011 at 08:30 PM.