My Electronic Fog

Today I’m in the position to bemoan the effect of social media and how it is implemented.  Yesterday Google + was opened to the public.  Today we have some major changes at Facebook.  Twitter has stayed the same, thank goodness and I can’t integrate some of my favorite accounts into my favorite desktop clients.  Let me start at the beginning.

It took me a great while to use any social media, but I relented and went on Facebook.  I quickly added family and a few friends and called it good enough.  I have family members that live in a few different states and Facebook is a natural to keep track of each other a bit.  I made a big decision and jumped into Twitter because I saw so many of the technology writers I follow use Twitter.  I logged into the websites for both Facebook and Twitter and flitted back and forth.  I decided that was very inconvenient at best.  I began my search for a desktop client for my social media.  Little did I know I would stumble upon something great, or a few somethings great.  I did a lot of searching and installed Seesmic and TweetDeck for my desktop computer.

I launched TweetDeck first and fell in love with the interface.  I found I could run multiple accounts and happily added my Facebook account and began arranging columns.  I was inspired to make lists of my Twitter interests and was soon organized the way I wanted to be.  I went to the Seesmic client and set it up to mirror what I had with the other.  Having both desktop clients set up nearly the same helped me determine which I liked best.  I took advantage of each program and customized them to please me as far as coloring goes.  TweetDeck won the customization because I could change the background color of the tweets.  My eyes are not what they used to be and a white background tires them.  With Seesmic Desktop 2 I sadly could not remove the white background of the tweets.  I searched the help on the Seesmic site and it looks like older versions could be changed.  I’ve also noted that at times I have to set up Seesmic again when I open it.

By that I mean; I have to choose which columns I want to view again like my last configuration was not saved.  This fact can be very annoying if you want to open the program and get to work right away.  This very well may be due to clearing Silverlight cookies when my browser of choice is closed.  I will test my theory in a few moments to see if that is the configuration problem I am causing myself.  Yes, I am wiping out the Seesmic configuration when I clear out Silverlight when my browser closes.  This is an inconvenient fact that I cannot hold against Seesmic.  My decision has not been changed, but I cannot hold it against Seesmic.

My official decision is that I much prefer TweetDeck.  I am not an expert at using any programming languages these days, nor am I sponsored by anyone to review software or hardware.  I find TweetDeck slick in appearance and easy to use with more features than I need.  TweetDeck was purchased by Twitter and has mobile versions for folks with tablets and smart phones.  A person can use multiple accounts like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more if they want.  This makes TweetDeck a hub for a person’s social media which many people desire, myself included.  I don’t want several programs running when I can do everything with one slick interface.

With Facebook getting all strange with the “new” features and Google + opening to the public finally; I have a few requests.  I’m complaining here for the most part.  Facebook doesn’t seem to understand the word simplicity.  This week alone Facebook has changed their user interface a few times leaving things in a jumble.  Just when I got my friend lists straightened out from Facebook’s new way of listing things, they changed the news interface.  There is no changing that back to how they had changed that before.  Facebook always seems to use an obtuse angle of introduction where change is inserted.

Twitter did not confuse me right off, I read a little and I was fine.  Google+ was easy, I watched a video and I began adding people to circles.  Google and Twitter were in use in minutes as opposed to Facebook that took me a few days to understand.  I couldn’t care less about Facebook, but it is a necessary evil for me to have.  It’s had to say if all of my family members will ever switch to Google+, but I’m hoping they will.  Google has a simple approach to how things are done and privacy is better.  Better privacy in that people can communicate with groups of people they choose without the Facebook shuffle taking place.  That is the sort of privacy I’m talking about.  Never say anything on the internet that you don’t want the world to know and you will be fine.  Directing comments about a wild party to just the party goers is better than putting it on your wall and having to explain to mom and dad.

My biggest wish of all is for TweetDeck to incorporate a few more social media accounts.  I would love for Google+ to be added to the list.  I also use FormSpring a little and it would be nice to have it included.  There is something known as getting too big, or bloated to work well also.  I wouldn’t want that to happen to TweetDeck because I like it well.  I did see a Google+ and Twitter Client while searching last night that could be interesting to use.  Twitter is my highest volume message client and I expect Google+ to become the second most active.  These are my opinions and I expect folks have different opinions from me.  I’m becoming more adept with social media, but I’m far from being an expert with it.

I’m happy to report I have had no need to consult support with any issues I’ve had with my Galaxy Tab in the last three days.  The most interesting thing I’ve done is attended at live Question and Answer session online hosted by Verizon.  Every question I asked was answered and a good many questions I had were answered by others asking the same things.  I know a good bit more about my Android tablet than I did to start with.  Right off I found out I cannot uninstall the programs that came installed on my Tab.  That was a little daunting to know, but I can remove the icons.  A good many icons are now MIA and I feel better seeing they are gone from sight.  I muddled into figuring the USB connection, duhhhh John, and am happily transferring things to the Tab’s memory card.  I learned how to place widgets on the screen for quick access and I am testing a few apps against each other.  That means I’ve become acquainted with the market and searching things out.  I have a multipurpose computing device here.

I’ve got a color Kindle, Kobo, Nook, mp3 player, camera, social media hub, HD movie viewer, etc.  I paid less than the price of the Nook Color and the rumored price for the Amazon Kindle tablet.  I don’t recall the price for the Kobo reader and I, quite frankly, don’t care.  I’ve got my e-reading covered nicely.  I can keep up very well with my social media through Seesmic or Tweetdeck.  I haven’t made a decision which I will use full-time yet.  The provided music player does a decent job of playing music.  I put about four CDs I like on the expansion card so I could listen to music while I read if I want.  I’m still looking at calendar applications to see which one works for me as well.  I don’t use an online document service like Google, or Microsoft.  The ThinkFree app won’t do me much good, but it is a nice try.  It looks like there is a bunch of things on my Tab I will never use actually.

I’m perfectly OK with the amount of money I paid and the two-year contract I have to get the Galaxy Tab.  I look at it like the HP TouchPad that sold for $99 in the fire sale.  That has WebOS as opposed to the Tab using Android.  I feel the Android is the better operating system for now even though WebOS still has developers working on things.  I bought my Tab for less than the HP product anyway.  I purchased my Galaxy Tab as a Certified Pre-Owned product at $69.99.  After taxes it cost just over seventy-five dollars.  I got a thirty dollar a month data plan along with a two dollar a month extended warranty.

Let’s put this into perspective.  Amazon sells a single use Kindle for $114.00 that has targeted advertising on it.  That Kindle has a six-inch diagonal screen and WI-FI that only connects to Amazon or business partners.  The Kindle 3G has free 3G and WI-FI with the 3G working globally to connect to Amazon for a price of $139.00.  This price includes special offers as Amazon calls it.  There is a $189.00 version without advertising.  This Kindle also has a six-inch diagonal screen to read on.  The Kindle DX is the king of Kindle line for now.  The price is $379.00 and gets you a 9.7 inch diagonal screen plus all the bells and whistles of the 3G model.  Oh yeah, no WI-FI on this model and less battery life.  I find it a little strange that the Amazon Kindle tablet is priced around $250.00 which is less than the Kindle DX.

That is just one example of why I chose the Galaxy Tab.  The Nook editions are less deceptive in my thinking.  No free WI-FI that I saw, unless you are in the store.  They all have WI-FI which is nice if you have a WI-FI capable network.  The Nook is priced at $139.00 and the Nook Color is $249.00.  There are differences here, one does not have color or applications that go along with it.  I’ve said before the Nook Color was my original pick because you could surf the web, listen to music and things that the Amazon readers could not do.  When I saw pricing below the Nook Color for a tablet that could do more, I had to do some comparison thinking.  I ended up with a device that had a larger realm of applications that will prove more useful on a more mainstream operating system.

In short, I think I made a good decision buying the Galaxy Tab for less money.  It’s no secret the Nook color can be turned into an Android tablet, but I haven’t seen it do 3G yet.  My Tab is 3G and WI-FI plus it seems to perform really well.  I’ve yet to use my Tab as an e-reader even though I have all my e-books loaded on it.  I’m perfectly happy to have it hooked to my PC through the USB port.  I have to say the battery doesn’t hold up too well if I keep the radio going on WI-FI or the 3G.  I have several books lined up for when I’m ready for that.  I’m a little busy learning about the device to assign it to one thing or another just yet.  I can slip the tablet in my pocket and go where I want with it and be a happy camper with little trouble.  The pre-owned part of the tablet is something I have no clue of.  There is no blemish that I can see on the outside.  The device is of older make than the brand new tablets on the market today.  That I can live with easily because I don’t require whatever it is the brand new items have.  I’m not going to be out waiting for the bus watching a movie or sitting in the office needing to take notes.

My conclusion so far; a seven-inch tablet is not a productivity device for the working world that I know of.  A highly customized version of Android, much like the Kindle customization could be very useful.  Samsung has already proven a desire to produce many different tablet sizes.  So what is the deal with Amazon?  Why has Amazon chosen to stay in the reader industry when everyone else is shooting for the moon?  I think Amazon is the tortoise in the race and aims to win in the reader race.  Right now we have app developers working for the consumers to make a buck on Android.  We all know the real money is in the enterprise.  Don’t get me wrong; the consumer world has plenty of money to spend as well.  Just look at all the Apple products that the public buys willingly.  I’ve seen the buzz where people are using the Apple iPad in business and other tablets as well.

Enter Microsoft and the upcoming Microsoft Build conference.  The rumors have been running rank full of quad-core tablets and other MS surprises.  Microsoft is heavy in the enterprise computing market and Microsoft had a tablet on the market many years ago.  Let’s hope Microsoft has finally figured out how to things with Windows 8.  There are all sorts of rumors that Build will finally confirm or dismiss.  I know one thing for sure; I like my Android tablet and Microsoft will have a big job catching up in the market.  That is not a new bit of news in the Technology market or anywhere else for that matter.  If anyone is looking for a tablet; check out Samsung.  Just don’t try to buy one in Europe.  Apple is giving Samsung a very hard road with patent issues in Europe for now.  Samsung has actually come out with a few more sizes of tablets.  There is a five-inch and a seven point seven-inch tablet Samsung announced at a European trade event.  It appears there will be a size of tablet for everyone.

The day finally arrived when the FedEx man arrived at my apartment delivering the seven-inch version of the Galaxy Tab.  The activation process was immediately flawed.  All instructions were referenced to use the material included in the package to activate.  There was nothing in the package that had anything to do with activation of the product.  Being the sleuth that I am, I simply dug up the email that Verizon sent with a bunch of numbers on it including a service center number.  The email also informed me the package coming to me would have all the information I needed to activate my device.

I called the service center number and waited a minimum amount of time before I was connected with a nice gal that attempted to help get my Tab up and activated.  We laughed and joked a bit; that is my mechanism for taking pressure off the csr a bit.  I know how it is to have a customer call in and be a complete pain.  Besides, you get better quality help when the csr isn’t in defensive mode.  We went through manual activation twice taking about twenty-five minutes.  My Tab was not in the mood to activate, so the young lady escalated me up one level.  I got another nice young lady and we went over what I saw displayed on the screen.  There was an airplane indicating my Tab was in airplane mode.  That was the offending thing ceasing the activation process.  The process proceeded on its own like it was supposed to as soon as I got the correct method of connecting to the internet.  I teased the gal about her hitting a magic button or something and told her to go tell her boss she needed a raise.

I spent about forty-five minutes total with Verizon support getting my Tab activated.  To me, the time spent is not a big deal.  I had a chance to have guided instruction on some of the inner workings of the tablet I would not have seen otherwise.  I’m sure other folks would have been irritated that their Galaxy Tab didn’t “just work” when they turned it on.  Besides, I’m a geek and retired, so I have time to burn.  I managed to take a few spins around my tablet and decided I have way too many repeated apps.  I have no idea why I should have YouTube, Verizon Navigator, two or three weather apps, and a host of other things on different screens.  I figure one Verizon Navigator, one YouTube,  one weather app, etc should be enough.  So far, the YouTube app just puts me on a page with a bunch of videos and I haven’t discovered how to search for what I want.  That isn’t real useful yet; I think there will be a mass uninstalling when I figure that deal out.

I did manage to install a few things and hook up the Kindle reader.  I have my Kindle library safely tucked in on my Tab along with my Nook library.  I managed to get Tweetdeck installed and running.  I love Tweetdeck on my desktop PC and not so much on my Tab.  I’ll give Seesmic a shot on my Tab because it was fairly good on the desktop as well.  I have managed to tweet from my Tab, so that is full speed ahead.  I am sure I’m going to have fun with this device.  Heck the girls in support were working on me to get a smart phone already.  I told them I don’t want a phone with an I.Q. higher than mine.  That got a laugh, but I don’t think big red will stop trying to sell me.

The nomenclature of the Galaxy Tab is the well-known seven-inch size.  I happen to like the black on black design of the Tab.  The screen is nice and bright on the auto setting; I’m sure I will tinker with that on manual when I get used to things a bit more.  The auto-brightness control does work although I’ve not had the Tab outside yet.  That is a task set for later today.  The Tab is a bit heavier than a medium thickness paperback book, but easy enough to hold.  I tested the book readers and both worked well with crisp page turns in either direction.  E-reading was one of the reasons this tablet was purchased.  I’m happy with the reading parts I’ve tested so far.  When holding the Tab upright the lighted icons at the bottom are very easy to use.  When the Tab is turned on its side, everything switches quickly.  You need to be careful to keep your thumb away from the lighted icons obviously.  The buttons on the screen are very responsive.  I’ve mastered the flip or flick to change screens.  I also got the pinch down on web pages for zoom in and out.

I’ve managed the keyboard for “peck” typing, you have to be quick for that.  The swype I will take on when I feel brave, or feel like doing a test document in the document hub thing.  You can see I have just been hitting icons and experimenting to see what happens.  Later today I’ll be hitting up the tutorials on the Verizon site to learn how I’m actually supposed to be doing things.  The “RTM” thing is usually my very last option when it comes to figuring things out.  One thing is for sure; there is a lot of crap coming off the tablet.  The video I’ve watched on my Tab has been very good-looking.  The sound for it has been mediocre,  the Tab has two very tiny speakers.  The audiophile in me tells me there is no way to get any real quality audio out of something so small.  I’m amazed sound comes out at all.  I would be really surprised if 250 milli-watt max actually finds its way out of the speaker.  I’m not going to complain about the sound.  If I must hear loud and excellent sound, the Tab will be hooked up to something much bigger and better at reproducing sound.

I have to say I’m surprised I have to use the 3G on the Tab at times for updates.  I purchased the two gigabyte data plan and I really doubt I’ll use that much.  I rarely travel and have a use for a portable device that need internet connection.  I did find good enough speed on the 3G for browsing and download of my e-reader libraries.  I have a NetGear RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router WNR3500L.  I set the connection speed to nominal 145mbps in the router using WPA2-PSK [AES] security and put the Tab on the access list.  My Tab hooked right up after using the pass phrase.  My Tab also listed all my neighbors and thankfully they run secured as well.  My daughter brought her laptop over a week ago and we couldn’t get her connected no matter what we did with the router and laptop.  I’m happy to say the Tab reports its connection speed is 65mbps.  I really doubt I can take advantage of that, but it looks nice.  The Tab will spend the bulk of its time on my network when connected.

So, this is my neophyte view on a Galaxy Tab after ownership of about 22 hours which I have spent time mostly dabbling with it.  At this time, I’m very happy with my purchase.  There is much more time to spend with my Tab and I will use it for one of its prime purposes today.  I have to go to the VA to see a doctor.  That means hurry up and wait.  Enter the Galaxy Tab to make waiting more pleasant.  Maybe if America finally does get a health care system that our President envisioned, more tablets will be sold for the same reason.  You can take your magazine with you and not feel like a jerk for depriving someone else!

This should actually be a review of a review.  I haven’t actually seen or touched the long hyped Amazon Kindle tablet.  No one I know of has except for perhaps a Tech Crunch writer who did the initial review on Sept. 2nd.  Follow the link to see the original review.  After I read the review, I was pretty uncomfortable about the tablet that Amazon is bringing to market.  I was hoping for a lot more of a tablet.

My first impression of the Amazon Kindle, the tablet name, was it mimics the Nook Color in a lot of ways.  I’ve taken several days to mull over what Tech Crunch had to say before I put electrons on electrons espousing my opinion.  I have stated elsewhere here that I was interested in the Nook Color E-reader because it could do the simple things I actually would want or need.  Then I reached a price point of $249.00 which has stayed static.  I still thought that was a decent price for something that I could actually turn into a full-blown Android tablet.  I did some shopping around and found the Galaxy Tab seven-inch going for $199.00 and did an about-face on price point.  That price is a subsidized price from Big Red (Verizon), but it is an Android tablet.  Oddly, the tablet comes with the kindle reader on it.  I use more than one reader, so I hope to get more than that one app on the tablet.

Back to the Amazon Kindle; it has a color display with a seven-inch capacitive touch screen.  It is reported to look like the Blackberry Playbook tablet and use two-finger multi-touch sensing.  The Amazon Kindle is back-lit with no e-ink display.  The price point is $250.00 which is directly in line with the Nook Color.  There is more to it than that though.  The Amazon Kindle is thought to be hitting the market in late November of this year.  The memory size that was reviewed was a disappointing six gigabytes with no indication of micro or regular size expansion card slot.  That is plain irritating in my mind, but the review tablet was not one for the market.  Things change when it is time to actually sell a product and I expect internal memory will be a changing thing.

One thing Amazon Kindle tablet has on the Nook Color is the massive Amazon marketing machine behind it.  All things Amazon from the cloud to music and video.  There is a very hefty market that will be built right in for the tablet that most other tablets don’t come with.  Marketing is another thing to consider as well.  When HP decided to sell off their fated tablet they went to a heavy discount.  I can see Amazon knocking a bit off the price of the Amazon Kindle tablet and watch the sales soar.  Another thing Tech Crunch mentions left me with the walled garden feeling like Apple gives me.  Amazon did not include anything Google in their tablet.  The operating system of the tablet is said to be pre-Froyo (android 2.2) and heavily customized by Amazon.

Google released Android to open source so it could be used and customized to whatever effect.  Tech Crunch tells us not to expect Gingerbread, Honeycomb, or Ice Cream Sandwich versions of Android.  I’ll leave private versioning up to Amazon and Apple to keep their closed worlds spinning in bliss just the way they want it.

Again read the Tech Crunch article here.