My wife's Lenovo laptop (64 bit W7) is physically falling apart, with the lid hinges broken and incapable of proper support for the screen in all positions. The keyboard cover is separating from the main chassis, too.
Presently it is, however, working, but for how long is the question?
I'm researching tablet options, in the circa 10" screen range and have been impressed by the iPad Air which may be had from around £320 in its basic form.
There is only onboard storage of 16GB and no USB port for backing up and transferring photos etc to and from an external hard drive (of which latter we have two).
I cannot seems to establish how these problems may be overcome.
Has an iPad owner any practical solution to these issues?
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Apple will like all users to use their cloud for storing files. But you can connect the iPad Air via USB to a computer to transfer files. It's also possible to plug in USB devices, e.g. you have a Lightning to USB camera adapter.
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...............but the iPad Air does not have a USB port or am I missing something?
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Search for Lightning USB OTG and you should find the cable you are looking for.
The following is an example;
www.cellphoneshop.net/8lightning.html
Be aware though that anything larger than a USB Stick will probably need to have its own power. A powered hub can be a way around this.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Fri 20 Jun 14 at 13:35
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OK - got that! Thanks.
Once connected to external storage, or a Windows PC, can one copy & paste - or drag and drop, from the iPad to the other device?
Could one use a wireless mouse if it's connected via such a converter?
(Neither of us likes touch pads and both use meeces with our lapt0ps)
Last edited by: Roger. on Fri 20 Jun 14 at 13:44
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>> Could one use a wireless mouse if it's connected via such a converter?
>> (Neither of us likes touch pads and both use meeces with our lapt0ps)
No idea about mice, but you can get bluetooth keyboards. (EDIT just googled - you can also get bluetooth mice but as the iPad doesn't have a pointer, how would you track its movement?)
eg www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/400726299997
With the touchscreen however, there really is no need for a mouse.
And has already been mentioned, you can get wifi adaptors and the like to transfer off the pad to other devices.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 20 Jun 14 at 14:07
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Hold your horses - the lightning to USB converter only means you can physically plug in certain USB devices - very few - and none of them are external hard drives or sticks. Just a camera, a midi interface and not much else.
(If you're keen, there are some wifi enabled external hard drives you can use with an app, but the main point is - you can't stick any old USB device into an iPad and expect it to work.)
Just use the Apple cloud for photos. As long as you have wifi it's seamless and just works, all built in.
edit: - yes, you can connect it to a complete PC or Mac and move stuff over that way, if you want to be clumsy.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 20 Jun 14 at 13:44
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But you have to PAY for Apple Cloud storage :-(
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You get 5GB free.
You can use A N Other provider like Flickr or something if you want, it's just not built in and quite so simple.
But sure, to avoid that if you want, connect it to your pc and drag and drop stuff if you want. Just don't expect to connect it straight to an external drive.
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I am no apple expert, but I think you can plug in a USB stick although perhaps you need to jailbreak.
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I know nothing about jailbroken iPads. If you know of a USB stick that works, I'd like to know too. Always happy to be proved wrong.
There IS a product called iStick, but it's only just been funded via Kickstarter and is at "pre-order" stage.
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Or alternatively get an android tablet that will have a removable micro sd capability and enjoy the independence that Mr Apple doesn't want you to have!
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Yes - I've also been looking at Android 10" tablets: the Nexus 10" has some decent reviews.
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>>get an android tablet that will have a removable micro sd capability
Although you never need to remove the SD card since the android mounts as an external drive on a PC.
As a matter of interest I rooted my S4 and with an OTG cable can use pretty much any USB device, including sticks, although some need to have their own power supply.
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Ta - jailbroken though, so once you've done that, then sure, the world's your oyster, a phrase the derivation of which I have no clue, so will go away and look it up.
Edit, oh, it's Shakespeare.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 20 Jun 14 at 15:34
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There seem to be few if any implications of rooting an Android, but I'm not sure if Jailbreaking an iPad is similar.
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Surface Pro 3? Not desperately cheap - but not too much more than an iPad. Watch the video...
www.yahoo.com/tech/if-you-had-to-be-a-tragic-mythological-figure-86496376264.html
Mine is already ordered, scheduled to be delivered by the end of August. :-)
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That does look interesting!
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Tech radar does quite good reviews generally. Here's the surface pro 3 review fwiw.
At least it's not running the impossible RT!
www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-3-1249750/review#articleContent
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>> Surface Pro 3? Not desperately cheap - but not too much more than an iPad.
>> Watch the video...
>>
>> www.yahoo.com/tech/if-you-had-to-be-a-tragic-mythological-figure-86496376264.html
>>
>> Mine is already ordered, scheduled to be delivered by the end of August. :-)
>>
www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/21/microsoft-laptops-surface-pro-macbook-alternative-tablet
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Problem solved! SWMBO took one look at iPad Air, Chromebooks and similarly sized devices and point blank refused to put up with "that silly sized screen"!
So a replacement laptop ordered : SONY VAIO Fit 15 E SVF1532I4EW 15.5" Laptop - White, for her!
It's from the dreaded PC world, but I found a 5% off voucher on-line to save £20.
It's running Windows 8.1, so I bet that there will be wailing & gnashing of teeth and plaintive cries for help!
Last edited by: Roger. on Tue 24 Jun 14 at 18:02
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Just Google your problems. Most things have an answer by now. Add Classic Shell to get a more normal screen and start button.
Think that is the same model my lappy is.
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>> It's running Windows 8.1, so I bet that there will be wailing & gnashing of
>> teeth and plaintive cries for help!
I've been using it for a few weeks now, and have taken to it like a duck to water.
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We have had computer(s), from clunky desktops with dial-up, to laptops with fibre broadband, for much in excess of fifteen years and SWMBO still has to ask for help with the most mundane thing, slightly out of the ordinary, which occurs.
She is completely unaware and uninterested in the "how" & "why" of things mechanical or electrical - she just wants any form of machine to do what she wants it to do and in the same way in which it always has done! (Cars included!)
Last edited by: Roger. on Wed 25 Jun 14 at 07:30
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>>she just wants any form of machine to do what she wants it
>> to do and in the same way in which it always has done! (Cars included!)
Be prepared with your anti-stress management techniques then; you're going to need them in the next few days. Suggest you look up Windows charms and how to access them, as they are the key to "lots of stuff you used to do in a different way" in Win8.1.
You'll get used to it, but there's no denying it is different in places.
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I am really grateful for the tip about Classic Shell!
It's making it so much easier to set up the new Sony, install programs and generally tweak settings.
Nice laptop though, but am a bit undecided myself about backlit keys!
OK in the dark , I guess, but in the light the characters on the keys, being lit makes them quite hard to see: OK if you are a touch typist!
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Isn't the backlight on the keys adjustable. It is on Macbook Pros and the newer Airs.
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On this model the backlight is on all the time , off all the time, or comes on when any key is pressed. Just those optios.
It is made so by altering a setting in the Viao control panel (not Windows control panel) and is too fiddly for constant adjustment.
Now - if I could find a way to allocate an "F" key to work it.................................. !
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The Macbook keyboard lighting goes all the way from very bright to off. And lots of levels in between. And keys are black with white on them (obviously). Sounds like Sony could have done better.
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>> On this model the backlight is on all the time , off all the time, or comes on when any key is pressed.
Slightly different model, but does what's suggested work?
docs.esupport.sony.com/pc/SVS1311_13A1_1511_series/EN/contents/03/12/10/10.html
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Yes - that's the way to do it, but the on/off, ambient light facility is not available on this (relatively) poverty model - neither, thankfully, does it have a touch screen.
My better half is totally happy using a wireless raton, (E) as am I.
The more I see of the Windows 8.1 GUI, the more I hate it and the more thankful I am for the Classic Shell free-ware, which sorts it out.
Comes to something when a market dominator like MS produces something that so many folk dislike, with no real option other than a lone programmer's efforts to fix it.
(Yes - I know that W 8.1 gives a sort of option for a "proper" desktop, but it's not good).
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iPad storage etc. - rtj70
