On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 8:31 AM, Kevin T. Neely <ktneely@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 09:15:07PM -0600, Mark Haury wrote: > > Kevin T. Neely wrote: > > > > I'd love to be able to run office apps on my tablet, but might it not just be easier in situations like the above to use vnc or similar to connect to a desktop machine that can run these apps and viewers? > > > > > > > Not if the tablet is all you have with you, or a desktop machine with the > > requisite apps isn't available or connectable via wireless, or you simply > > *can't* take a larger machine with you, and the list goes on and on. When > > I bought my tablet, I really was hoping it would be more of a laptop > > > I assume that the tablet has internet connectivity, b/c you mentioned dl'ing the presentations on the fly. That wasn't me. I more often take the files with me, and occasionally copy directly from somebody else's drive (with them present, of course). > In any case, it can almost always be connected through your phone. > Uh, no, my phone doesn't have bluetooth (or a camera), and at any rate, I don't have a data plan. Can't afford it, don't need it, refuse to pay by the outlandish prices for that access as compared to any other form of Internet access. GSM data, at least in the USA, is not the least bit attractive. You have to pay a monthly premium, plus per-MB charges. Meanwhile, free Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in most metro areas, where the need for urgent Internet access is most likely to occur, and it's way faster than any form of wireless phone network based data access. And no, I don't txt or IM. If I really wanted/needed to, I could send a txt message for ten cents, but it's free (for both me and the recipient) and a whole lot more effective to either voice call or leave a voicemail if something is really urgent. Txt messages always incur charges for anyone who doesn't pay extra for the service, regardless of whether you are sending or receiving. My sister cost me some bucks in a short period before I was able to make it clear to her that even though it wasn't costing her extra (meaning above the extra it was *already* costing her for adding that service above the basic plan), it was costing me just to read her messages. There's no way to txt without it costing you something. I will *never* understand the popularity of txt or IM. The only purpose of texting is for incredibly rude and/or irresponsible people who should have their attention on something else. IM is an extremely poor substitute for a voice call. Either one is *far* less efficient than voice. > The other assumption is to leave home or office workstation on, with VNC server (or equivalent) running. Every windows machine (since XP) has remote desktop built-in, so that is also an option. With that running, just have the appropriate ports forwarded on the router to the machine. > Harder than it sounds, and a _whole_ lot less reliable. If you take the files with you in the first place, network access is irrelevant. > Perhaps not the ideal solution, Definitely not. >but should be implementable (is that a word) for just about anyone. Nope. Not even close. > And, in any case, is easier than fooling around with office for the tablet and worrying about its ability to convert a 12meg powerpoint or complex spreadhsheet. > > Wrong again. I have yet to have a recent version of OOo choke on any Word, Excel, or Powerpoint file I've thrown at it, or even screw up the formatting. That makes it - and offline files - by far the most effective solution. Until the entire planet is covered by affordable (or free) broadband wireless access (via satellite?), there is only one ironclad guarantee of getting your work done: Take it with you - both the files and the apps. People who work in the computer, communications, or other high-tech fields easily forget that the overwhelming majority of people don't have even a tiny portion of the network access that they do, especially people who don't have a lot of money. It's not just that they can't afford it; the availability just isn't there. That doesn't mean they don't have computers or work to do. Mark _______________________________________________ maemo-users mailing list maemo-users@xxxxxxxxx https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users
