and wanted something portable and small, would you get a small laptop/netbook or a tablet computer?

buying my mom a computer soon... total number of hours she has used a computer is under a few hundred, over the last 10 years.

she will be using it for

internet
email
looking at pics of her grandkids
listening to audio files (mp3, wma, rm)

99% of the time.

so if you were a novice user, would you prefer a keyboard and a mouse or a large touch screen for the above purposes?

i have played with a tablet computer for only a few minutes ever, so i can't really compare. intuitively, i think for those purposes, a tablet pc would be better, as navigation would be quicker (for an old person). and if she really had to type a document, an external keyboard could be used with a tablet.

thanks for any input.

p.s. first it was just apple, now

asus
samsung
motorola
lg
acer
and a few other companies make tablets also. don't know what to go with... any insights? (if indeed tablet is the better option)

can wma/v and rm a/v files be played on the iPad?
can openoffice be used on the iPad?

sorry for the stupid questions.


[Edited on July 14, 2011 at 5:04 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2011 4:57:00 PM

Fuck RealMedia.

And the answer is to get her an iPad.

7/14/2011 5:18:42 PM

^ thanks for the suggestion. she already has some Real files (mostly audio). i guess i could convert them to mp3 or wma, but still, i need to know the answers to these questions:

can the ipad play wma/v files? rm a/v files?
can openoffice work on the ipad?

one more:

can skype work on the ipad? this is important.

btw, i have checked the skype and openoffice sites and they have versions for mac os... i have been out of apple for a while, so i don't know if the ipad runs mac os or some new os specifically made for the ipad.

7/14/2011 5:30:48 PM

Quote :

"can the ipad play wma/v files? rm a/v files? can openoffice work on the ipad? can skype work on the ipad? this is important."

Google motherfucker, can you use it?

7/14/2011 5:42:16 PM

seriously though, this is a joke right?

7/14/2011 7:30:27 PM

No to open office. If she needs a productivity sweet, get iWork.

For wma/rm convert the files to mp3/mp4.

Yes Skype has a native app.

7/14/2011 7:47:09 PM

Quote :

"A PRODUCTIVITY SWEET"

7/15/2011 2:20:42 AM

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

Quote :

"Audio Playback Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV User-configurable maximum volume limit Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through with Apple Digital AV Adapter (sold separately) TV and Video Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (cables sold separately) Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format"

RE WMA/WMV: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oplayer-hd/id373236724?mt=8# (they have a free ad supported version too)

Skype is native http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skype/id304878510?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

iWork should do for any office suite work she needs, but if she just needs to be able to view the files in question, the iPad will do that natively.

http://www.apple.com/apps/keynote/
http://www.apple.com/apps/pages/
http://www.apple.com/apps/numbers/

[Edited on July 15, 2011 at 8:23 AM. Reason : end tags]

7/15/2011 8:23:18 AM

Try an ASUS transformer before settling on an iPad. Then you won't need a PC with itunes and you can enjoy every feature mentioned here, most likely while saving money. And if you ever need to add a keyboard you'll get bonus battery life instead of sucking it down trying to use a bluetooth keyboard with your pad.

Also set them up with dropbox or homepipe to your NAS or home computer. That way when they need a file or program (for android, anyway) you can just drop the .apk in there and tell them to click on it instead of hunting through the app store or trying to explain how itunes works so she can view pics from the grand canyon.

[Edited on July 15, 2011 at 8:31 AM. Reason : grandparents with this + dropbox + live mesh. i can fix anything software without leaving home.]

7/15/2011 8:30:22 AM

LibreOffice is better than OpenOffice.org, but anyway neither will run on the iPad.

The iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch all run iOS, which is based on Mac OS X but written for ARM (a 32-bit platform); meanwhile the various iterations of the Mac OS have been written for the 16- and 32-bit 68K and 32- and 64-bit PowerPC and Intel architectures, all of which are different from ARM and poorly suited for the power-efficiency needs of mobile devices.

Basically I recommend a laptop (a netbook will probably have small keys and a screen that shows tiny text).

7/15/2011 9:44:04 AM

The native skype app for ipad is the iphone/ipod touch version in which you will not get full screen res. They are coming out with one, but as of right now the best video conferencing app for the ipad 2 is facetime. I would assume by the end of the summer we will get the full ipad skype app, but now it looks crappy when you blow it up.

7/15/2011 10:10:26 AM

I like the small laptop idea. It's got the versatility you're used to and you can help troubleshoot when she has problems. Imagine trying to tell her how to do something over the phone when you've never touched an iPad

7/15/2011 11:25:24 AM

Wwwebsurfer: that's exactly why you don't by anything android for non nerds. its too damn complicated.

7/15/2011 12:26:18 PM

lol; Put the browser, dropbox, media player and picture viewer on the first homescreen tile and I was golden

I'm not even sure they're aware of that home button to bring up the other programs.

And android is not that complicated; particularly in the 3.0/3.1 iteration. Everything is delivered neatly to the notification bar. They have yet to have a problem... It's definitely easier than trying to explain how to sync and explain itunes. Every video or audio file I send them has to be converted before it will play on a iPad - android chews through almost anything I throw at it. They even load up our church live stream (flash based) and tune in.

7/15/2011 12:40:10 PM