This article was written by Don VanSyckel, the club president, as a part of "The President's Pen". This article appeared in the March 2015 WYSIWYG newsletter.
Laptops, Tablets, Cell Phones, What's Right For You? (cont)
by Don VanSyckel
Cell phones can make calls via an internet connection in addition to the traditional cell phone to cell tower connection. Cell phones have cameras. They have keypads for data entry. They run applications. They contain a GPS receiver and software to use the information to give you location information. Cell phones can talk wirelessly (via blue tooth) to a headset and to your car. They can be a WIFI hot spot for other devices such as laptops and other cell phones.
Cell phones can have a down side if you don't know how to set up and use them properly. Your activities can be tracked. Your movements can be tracked. Pictures can have location information embedded in the meta data. Meta data is information contained in the file about the contents of the file but is not a part of the data information. Many types of files contain meta data; what data type and it's format is file type specific.
Tablets can reach down and do many of the things that cell phones can do. Tablets can reach up and do many of the things that laptops can do. Tablets are larger (height and width) than cell phones so the display is larger, but they are smaller than laptops. Tablets are thin, generally not as thin as many of the new cell phones but they are definitely thinner than laptops. Being smaller in all three dimensions makes tablets much lighter than laptops. they fit into briefcases and purses more easily. They are easier to hold up to take pictures with than a laptop.
If you work on a computer all day, you don't want to be stuck using a tablet, you want a laptop or a desktop. What it really comes down to is the right tool for the job. Possibly a tablet is for you. possibly a cell phone and a desktop. A laptop and low end cell phone could be the right combination. it all depends on you. Oh another thing that I haven't mentioned is your vision. I'm finding that I want items on the screen a little larger and with more contrast than I used to require. have you noticed how most electronics were always getting smaller in the new version? Now many items have expanded a little. There's a lot of baby boomers maturing.
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