Where does one get advice about Apple products?

I know nothing about Apple products!

I received, as a retirement gift, a pickup order at the Apple store for:
1. iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB
2. iPad mini w Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB

The gift is sort of a joke, because I've been complaining about Windows
for the last decade, and more recently, about Android - but now I have
to make a decision because everyone chipped in for two iPads for me.

Should I pick up these two items, or, should I get a laptop instead?

Note: I don't have data on my T-Mobile Android 4.3 cellphone and I
only have a Windows desktop with WiFi at home, so I can't really
use two iPads (although I can let the grandkids play with it).

What would you recommend?
(Where is the right place to ask this advice?)

On 02/21/2014 04:14 PM, Susan O'Reilly wrote:
I know nothing about Apple products!

I received, as a retirement gift, a pickup order at the Apple store for:
1. iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB
2. iPad mini w Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB

The gift is sort of a joke, because I've been complaining about Windows
for the last decade, and more recently, about Android - but now I have
to make a decision because everyone chipped in for two iPads for me.

Should I pick up these two items, or, should I get a laptop instead?

Note: I don't have data on my T-Mobile Android 4.3 cellphone and I
only have a Windows desktop with WiFi at home, so I can't really
use two iPads (although I can let the grandkids play with it).

What would you recommend?
(Where is the right place to ask this advice?)




This is a Windows forum so you'd be better off asking on a Mac forum.

However, I am sure that when you go to pick up your retirement presents
they will explain to you about the products.




I got my gold watch many many years before I retired and I must have
overstayed my welcome...as when I finally did retire all I got was a
handshake.

Why not just do a little research and figure out if
the iPads are something you want? If you really
have more use for a laptop, and it won't hurt peoples'
feelings, then get the laptop. (You might even be able
to get a laptop *and* a backup PC, TV set, etc, for
the cost of the iPads.)

They probably got you the iPads simply because Apple
products are considered to be snazzy items. It's
a socially acceptable choice of gifts when it's not
appropriate to get personal; like buying you the best
scotch: Even if you don't drink, you can give it away.

So it seems the real question is whether to cash them
in for something you actually find useful, or whether you
should be gracious and give the iPads to your grandchildren.
That seems to be a social question.

Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation. So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.


"Susan O'Reilly" wrote in message
...
|I know nothing about Apple products!
|
| I received, as a retirement gift, a pickup order at the Apple store for:
| 1. iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB
| 2. iPad mini w Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB
|
| The gift is sort of a joke, because I've been complaining about Windows
| for the last decade, and more recently, about Android - but now I have
| to make a decision because everyone chipped in for two iPads for me.
|
| Should I pick up these two items, or, should I get a laptop instead?
|
| Note: I don't have data on my T-Mobile Android 4.3 cellphone and I
| only have a Windows desktop with WiFi at home, so I can't really
| use two iPads (although I can let the grandkids play with it).
|
| What would you recommend?
| (Where is the right place to ask this advice?)
|

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:00:54 -0500, "Mayayana"
wrote:


Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation.


LOL! A good way to put it.

I remember talking to my brother-in-law, and asking him whether he
could read e-books on his iPad. He said, "no, I can read i-books." No
matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince him that an i-book is a
brand of e-book, just as a Ford is a brand of car.

On Fri, 21 Feb 2014 22:14:23 +0000 (UTC), Susan O'Reilly wrote:

I know nothing about Apple products!

Nor do you know anything about Usenet... You ask about Apple in a
crosspost to an Android (?) and a Windows newsgroup?

(Where is the right place to ask this advice?)

That should have been your first question.

--
s|b

Hi, Susan,

On 2/21/14 3:14 PM, Susan O'Reilly wrote:
I know nothing about Apple products!

I received, as a retirement gift, a pickup order at the Apple store for:
1. iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB
2. iPad mini w Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular for T-Mobile 64GB

The gift is sort of a joke, because I've been complaining about Windows
for the last decade, and more recently, about Android - but now I have
to make a decision because everyone chipped in for two iPads for me.

Should I pick up these two items, or, should I get a laptop instead?

This depends on what you would be doing with the new "toy". iPads are
tablets. I'm a member of a Mac user group. Many of the retired members
use their iPads as if it was a laptop, but they aren't trying to do
"power" work with them, just ordinary home owner use. Most have other
Apple computers and devices, and the integration appears to be more
sophisticated that Windows at the moment. If that appeals to you, good.
If not, it doesn't matter. That integration doesn't appeal to me on
any platform.

As I said, it all depends on how you would use it.

Note: I don't have data on my T-Mobile Android 4.3 cellphone and I
only have a Windows desktop with WiFi at home, so I can't really
use two iPads (although I can let the grandkids play with it).

What would you recommend?
(Where is the right place to ask this advice?)

On 2/22/14 8:00 AM, Mayayana wrote:

sip Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation. So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.

Mayayana is right, many Apple product owners are irrationally devoted
Apple products. But, you'll find the same types owning Windows and
Linux. And you'll find the same types arguing over Ford, Chevy, and
Chrysler products.

So whoop-dee-doo, ignore all of those types, you won't get relatively
fair opinions from any of them.

You'll note from my signature below, I'm using a Mac. But I've got a
dual boot XP/Vista machine to my right, and a Win7/Win8.0 to my left.
All are networked for file sharing, and that includes a Win 7 netbook
and a Google Nexus 7 tablet. There are things I like about them all,
things I hate about all of them. Someday, if it ever comes, I want to
try out Linux, just don't have the time.

That being said, the Apple products are gifts, those that contributed
may be hurt if you don't pick them up.

Try them out, but be aware, you must, must, must put away the
notion/idea the Apple products will be just like using Windows. I made
that mistake, assuming things worked the same as far as the user
interface. Plan on being frustrated for awhile, I was.

Terminology may also drive you up the wall. With a Mac, you have
Airport. Say What?!?!?! Took me two weeks to figure out it meant
wi-fi. But I've got a friend who never could figure out Windows, knew
what Airport was right away. Go figure.

This Mac is 5 years old, and slower than molasses compared to the Win
7/8 machine I built. But, I've no desire to switch to Windows as my day
to day computer just because of speed.

Asking about Apple products here is off topic, and I'm not going to push
that boundary. But, if you want my honest opinions and thoughts about
those items, feel free to send an email, I'll answer you questions as
best I can. The email address shown is valid.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 24.0
Thunderbird 24.0

On 2/22/14 9:31 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 2/22/14 8:00 AM, Mayayana wrote:

sip Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation. So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.

Mayayana is right, many Apple product owners are irrationally devoted
Apple products. But, you'll find the same types owning Windows and
Linux. And you'll find the same types arguing over Ford, Chevy, and
Chrysler products.

Just had to chuckle, if you read the Recommended Email Application
thread, you'll find a similar discussion brewing between Word likers and
Word Perfect likers.

So, as I said, try them out, and get to know at least some of the
details/intricacies of the iPads before you decide if you wish to keep them.

Or, to put it more simply using an old bromide, "Don't judge a book by
its cover."

--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 24.0
Thunderbird 24.0

In article , Mayayana
wrote:

Why not just do a little research and figure out if
the iPads are something you want? If you really
have more use for a laptop, and it won't hurt peoples'
feelings, then get the laptop. (You might even be able
to get a laptop *and* a backup PC, TV set, etc, for
the cost of the iPads.)

They probably got you the iPads simply because Apple
products are considered to be snazzy items. It's
a socially acceptable choice of gifts when it's not
appropriate to get personal; like buying you the best
scotch: Even if you don't drink, you can give it away.

So it seems the real question is whether to cash them
in for something you actually find useful, or whether you
should be gracious and give the iPads to your grandchildren.
That seems to be a social question.

or just keep it, because the ipad can be quite useful, despite you not
liking it or any mobile device.

hundreds of millions of ipad owners are very satisfied, as are android
tablet users.

Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation.

nonsense. a small minority of users of *any* product are 'devoted'.
that's not the typical user by any stretch of the imagination.

most users just use the product because it does what they need it to do.

it's not a religious anything. in fact, more than half of ipads are
sold to windows users.

So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.

the mac forums will give accurate advice rather than propaganda and
trying to turn it into a bash session.

they'll tell you what's good *and* what's bad, unlike some of the other
forums.

In article , Ken Blake
wrote:

I remember talking to my brother-in-law, and asking him whether he
could read e-books on his iPad. He said, "no, I can read i-books." No
matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince him that an i-book is a
brand of e-book, just as a Ford is a brand of car.

no.

ibooks is not a brand of ebooks.

ibooks is one app that can read ebooks on an ipad or iphone in a
variety of formats.

there are other ebook apps available, including kindle.

In article , Ken Springer
wrote:

many Apple product owners are irrationally devoted
Apple products. But, you'll find the same types owning Windows and
Linux. And you'll find the same types arguing over Ford, Chevy, and
Chrysler products.

some might be, but the vast majority are not.

most people don't give a **** who makes the product. they buy what fits
their needs. if something better comes along, they get that.

some people have android phones and ipads. some people have iphones and
android tablets. more windows users buy ipads than those who have macs.

| Just had to chuckle, if you read the Recommended Email Application
| thread, you'll find a similar discussion brewing between Word likers and
| Word Perfect likers.
|
| So, as I said, try them out, and get to know at least some of the
| details/intricacies of the iPads before you decide if you wish to keep
them.
|
| Or, to put it more simply using an old bromide, "Don't judge a book by
| its cover."

The issue seems to be whether she has a use for
tablets, more than an issue between brands. It's not
a matter of whether to "give Apple a chance". What if
she tries them out and decides she doesn't want them?
It doesn't sound like she has an option to use them for
awhile and then trade them in.

Personally I still don't have any use for a tablet.
If they cost under $50 I might want one for reading
long articles, so that I could sit on the sofa. But we
have a jailbroken Kindle here and I've still yet to use
it. Small e-screens are simply not a comfortable way
to read text. If I'm going to leave my 24" monitor for
the comfort of a sofa or reading chair I'd rather just
print the text to paper.

I took a friend shopping awhile back, to see what's
available for tablets. At the Apple Church the clerk couldn't
tell me whether there was a usable file system on the iPad.
After some exploring, it turned out that there apparently is:
an "app" named, appropriately, iExplorer. But it was clear
that customers were not expected to actually manage
their own files. Apparently one is expected to rent iBooks
and iEntertainment from the iStore.

The we went to the Microsoft store. The Surface tablets,
like the iPads, were wildly overpriced. And of course Microsoft
is in on the same racket: trying to hook people into online
services through a limited device.

There was an interesting
Acer tablet for about $500 with full Windows 8. But the more
I looked at tablets the more I realized I was looking for something
that could give me the functionality of a PC: Real software.
File storage. Multiple media ports. Preferably a CD writer.
Definitely an option for mouse and keyboard. Looked at that
way, a tablet makes no sense. Given the limitations and
lock-in with tablets I'd almost expect them to be given away
for free.

On the other hand, I know people who like to read
news online or shop via tablet. Some people seem to
find them very handy. To each their own. (I suspect that
the majority of buyers bought for novelty, egged on by the
mainstream media, flooded as it is with press releases about
how tablets are the future.)

If this were me I wouldn't be much concerned with whether
it's an iPad, Surface, Kindle, or whatever. The question would
be whether I actually want two tablets, assuming that I
have the option to get something else of equivalent value, like
say a new PC and toaster oven.... an expensive laptop.... or maybe
a washer, dryer and TV. One pays a dear premium these days
for small size in electronics. I could think of a thousand better
things to spend $1,000 on than two tablets.

On 2/22/2014, Ken Springer posted:
On 2/22/14 9:31 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 2/22/14 8:00 AM, Mayayana wrote:

sip Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation. So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.

Mayayana is right, many Apple product owners are irrationally
devoted
Apple products. But, you'll find the same types owning Windows and
Linux. And you'll find the same types arguing over Ford, Chevy,
and
Chrysler products.

Just had to chuckle, if you read the Recommended Email Application
thread, you'll find a similar discussion brewing between Word likers
and Word Perfect likers.

Who, me?

:-)

So, as I said, try them out, and get to know at least some of the
details/intricacies of the iPads before you decide if you wish to
keep them.

Or, to put it more simply using an old bromide, "Don't judge a book
by its cover."

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On 2/22/14 8:12 PM, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On 2/22/2014, Ken Springer posted:
On 2/22/14 9:31 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 2/22/14 8:00 AM, Mayayana wrote:

sip Apple customers, more than any other group I can
think of, tend to be irrationally devoted to the Apple
product. Any Apple product. At any price. It's a quasi-
religious affiliation. So a Mac forum is not going to be
the best place to ask advice.

Mayayana is right, many Apple product owners are irrationally
devoted
Apple products. But, you'll find the same types owning Windows and
Linux. And you'll find the same types arguing over Ford, Chevy,
and
Chrysler products.

Just had to chuckle, if you read the Recommended Email Application
thread, you'll find a similar discussion brewing between Word likers
and Word Perfect likers.

Who, me?

:-)

Now, why would you think that??????? LOL


So, as I said, try them out, and get to know at least some of the
details/intricacies of the iPads before you decide if you wish to
keep them.

Or, to put it more simply using an old bromide, "Don't judge a book
by its cover."



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 24.0
Thunderbird 24.0

On 2/22/2014, Ken Springer posted:
Just had to chuckle, if you read the Recommended Email Application
thread, you'll find a similar discussion brewing between Word
likers
and Word Perfect likers.

Who, me?

:-)

Now, why would you think that??????? LOL

It must just be paranoia, doncha think?

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

In article , Mayayana
wrote:

The issue seems to be whether she has a use for
tablets, more than an issue between brands. It's not
a matter of whether to "give Apple a chance". What if
she tries them out and decides she doesn't want them?
It doesn't sound like she has an option to use them for
awhile and then trade them in.

resale value for ipads is very high. if she doesn't like it, she can
sell it for nearly retail prices.

plus, it was a gift anyway.

Personally I still don't have any use for a tablet.
If they cost under $50 I might want one for reading
long articles, so that I could sit on the sofa. But we
have a jailbroken Kindle here and I've still yet to use
it. Small e-screens are simply not a comfortable way
to read text. If I'm going to leave my 24" monitor for
the comfort of a sofa or reading chair I'd rather just
print the text to paper.

what if you want to carry dozens of books with you?

and the ebook readers are about the same size as many books and bigger
than some.

I took a friend shopping awhile back, to see what's
available for tablets. At the Apple Church the clerk couldn't
tell me whether there was a usable file system on the iPad.
After some exploring, it turned out that there apparently is:
an "app" named, appropriately, iExplorer. But it was clear
that customers were not expected to actually manage
their own files. Apparently one is expected to rent iBooks
and iEntertainment from the iStore.

that would be wrong.

ebooks, movies and music do not have to be rented from apple.

they can be bought or rented from many places.

there are also free options, including project guttenberg for books.

movies and music doesn't tend to be free but there is some, or just
encode cds.

The we went to the Microsoft store. The Surface tablets,
like the iPads, were wildly overpriced. And of course Microsoft
is in on the same racket: trying to hook people into online
services through a limited device.

that's funny. the usual claim is macs are overpriced, not windows
systems.

There was an interesting
Acer tablet for about $500 with full Windows 8. But the more
I looked at tablets the more I realized I was looking for something
that could give me the functionality of a PC: Real software.
File storage. Multiple media ports. Preferably a CD writer.
Definitely an option for mouse and keyboard. Looked at that
way, a tablet makes no sense. Given the limitations and
lock-in with tablets I'd almost expect them to be given away
for free.

you want a laptop.

tablets are for a different use case, one which doesn't fit your needs.
no big deal. tablets aren't for everyone.

hundreds of millions of people have tablets and are very satisfied.

On the other hand, I know people who like to read
news online or shop via tablet. Some people seem to
find them very handy. To each their own. (I suspect that
the majority of buyers bought for novelty, egged on by the
mainstream media, flooded as it is with press releases about
how tablets are the future.)

you suspect wrong.

If this were me I wouldn't be much concerned with whether
it's an iPad, Surface, Kindle, or whatever. The question would
be whether I actually want two tablets,

two tablets are not needed unless there are multiple people wanting to
use it at the same time.

it's no different than two computers or two tvs or two cars. sometimes
one can be shared and sometimes it can't.

assuming that I
have the option to get something else of equivalent value, like
say a new PC and toaster oven.... an expensive laptop.... or maybe
a washer, dryer and TV. One pays a dear premium these days
for small size in electronics. I could think of a thousand better
things to spend $1,000 on than two tablets.

except it was a gift. she didn't spend anything.