I already posted some comments from the first 24 hours, so the observations below are further comments and ruminations as I enter this strange new world of apps and internet connectivity sans laptop. :)
I got my case, stylus, and screen protector on Saturday.
The stylus has been great (and can double as a pen!), though I do manage to click in ways I don’t intend because my coordination is sometimes lacking and I don’t always remember that I can make a webpage bigger rather than trying to click on the tiny links. ;)
The case does help with holding it, yay, and I got one that automatically puts it to sleep when I close the cover, so that helps the battery life.
It took me several tries (and two screen protectors) to get the screen protector on and smoothed out properly, but I appreciate the anti-glare look of the one I chose.
I used my tablet in a meeting, and it was nice. If I’m going to take a lot of notes I’ll probably need a bluetooth keyboard, but for situations where I’m mostly listening, this is great. I was able to pull up a webpage to look at something we were discussing, and I also passed a bit of time with Candy Crush (and finally defeated level 65 after two and a half weeks of trying!!).
I read most of a book on my tablet and I am totally sold on the general convenience of ereading. (Case in point: I couldn’t fall asleep Wednesday night, so I switched to the Night view—white text on black background—and finished my book without having to turn on the lights. Awesome.) I just wish that all of the books I currently have checked out from the library were available in ebook form!
I still haven’t tried doing anything with ebooks via a library (the book I read was public domain so I got it straight from Google). When I do, that will be a post of its own.
The tablet is fantastic for those times when you want to look something up quickly without bothering to turn on your computer (i.e. the weather, when you’re picking out clothes for the next day/the weekend). It’s also great when your computer is otherwise occupied by someone or something else.
It still occasionally locks up/crashes. These instances seem to occur when it’s updating in the background and I’m trying to do something else and I guess it gets the wires crossed or something. Can be annoying, but so far it hasn’t been a terrible inconvenience.
I installed Advanced Task Killer, and it has been fascinating to see what apps will start up without any action on my part (and it’s fun to kill them when they do :-) ).
The lack of arrow keys and the tab key is throwing me off, especially when inputting text. I haven’t gotten the hang of using my finger/the stylus to put the cursor where I want it.
11th May 2013
I decided months ago that I wanted to get a tablet (not an ereader, a tablet), and settled on the Nexus 7 as the best choice for my wants/needs. I finally actually purchased the thing, and it arrived yesterday.
Comments from the first 24 hours:
- It has crashed several times already. I think I know why it did for several of the occasions, but in one or two other instances it just locked up and I’m not sure why.
- I don’t yet have the case I ordered, and I haven’t yet figured out a way to hold the thing without making my hands/wrists complain about it. I’m hoping/expecting the case will help, as will my increased familiarity with it as I use it more. (I also got a stylus, which might help. I’m so old-school, haha.)
- A few apps I might have installed don’t work with my version of Android (having decided to get it via ebay, it seems the Android version on mine is 4.1 rather than 4.2, as required by some apps—didn’t think to check that in advance! I will have to get that updated. Update: my tablet updated itself automatically, apparently, so the problem is presumably that the apps haven’t been updated to be compatible with the most recent Android version. Whew, it’s not a problem on my end!).
- I haven’t yet delved into downloading ebooks, except for a few straight from the Google interface. I figured I should start with the easy stuff—like Facebook and the games I play there ;)—and sit down with the library stuff once I have a better handle on using the device itself. (Especially since I’m still accidentally hitting all sorts of things…)
- The enter/go button on the on-screen keyboard is where I would expect the backspace to be, so I managed to flub my very first tweet from my Nexus. Ah, well, c’est la vie. :)
- Using the on-screen keyboard is giving me a whole new perspective on my passwords. Namely, using numbers for letters doesn’t seem nearly so clever, especially when you have to switch between the letters and the numbers in rapid succession. The idea of using passphrases instead of passwords with specific character requirements (a capital, a lowercase, a certain kind of symbol…) seems wise in this context. I wonder if sites that have specific requirements will begin to change as more people interact using mobile devices of all types?
- I’m looking forward to taking this to meetings—I might finally be able to do paper-free meetings! (From my end, at least.)
- Web browsing on this smaller screen is going to be enlightening, though I haven’t done much of it yet—I’ve been too absorbed in figuring out what apps to install. (I’m especially going to focus on using my library’s resources on this screen to get a better idea of what the students are having to deal with; there may be changes I can make so the process is smoother/easier for them on smaller screens.)
- Apps: THERE ARE SO MANY APPS!! And, surprise surprise, most of the top free ones are games. Considering I installed several games pretty early on (*cough*CandyCrush*cough*), I have no standing to comment on that. :)
- On the subject of apps, it greatly amuses me that I can browse for apps on a computer, choose what to download from there, and the apps get installed on my tablet. It’s like magic. :D (Also, that makes it easy to be messing around with apps without actually having my tablet out where people can see it. But my intent is to use this to aid my work, so they’re going to have to get used to seeing me with it at work…)
- I’m going to be giving Evernote a try for my note-taking needs… maybe I’ll finally see what the fuss is about?
Overall, I’m very excited to finally have a tablet! And can I just say I love my mailman—he managed to get the package into my mailbox so I didn’t have to go to the post office to pick it up. <3
I’ll be posting again about my tablet once I have a chance to experiment with library ebooks—I already know I’ll have comments on that subject. I might also have thoughts on web browsing and library resources once I devote some time to that, but we’ll see.
Notes: 3
Not a huge fan of Valentine’s day, but these are amusing. :)
Reblogged From thecommonlibrarian
Great example of using familiar things to describe new concepts. :)
(Source: infodocket.com)
Cooper is a therapy dog available for check-out at the Harvard Library for 30 minutes intervals from 9-5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The discussion came up in my cataloging class as to how one would go about creating a record for him. The link above will take you to his OPAC record. I think my life has been completed.
Reblogged for the AWESOME.
Every librarian has a fandom they will talk about endlessly to coworkers or patrons. It is general practice not to allow two librarians with the same fandom to work in the same library, as they will not get any work done.
[originally submitted by wanderingaroundaimlessly]
LOL. There is logic to that. ;-)
(And some of us have more than one fandom!)
South Pacific Sandy Island ‘proven not to exist’
A South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps, does not exist, Australian scientists say.
The supposedly sizeable strip of land, named Sandy Island on Google maps, was positioned midway between Australia and French-governed New Caledonia.
But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.
The phantom island has featured in publications for at least a decade.
» via BBC
This part was key for me:
Australia’s Hydrographic Service, which produces the country’s nautical charts, says its appearance on some scientific maps and Google Earth could just be the result of human error, repeated down the years.
I’m familiar with this phenomenon in article citations (i.e. people re-cite something they obviously never actually saw/read, because the citation is incorrect to the point that the article cannot be located), so it doesn’t surprise me that it might occur in other situations.
Though you’d think with as much satellite info that Google has, they would’ve figured that the island wasn’t there long before now…
Here’s a resource that will help you amaze family and friends on Thursday (for those of you in the U.S.) with your knowledge of all things turkey.
The guide was last updated today.
In celebration of Thanksgiving, the University of Chicago Library has created [a] research guide to provide a lighthearted, yet informative look at some of the many resources available about turkeys.
A little bit of informative fun for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. :)
“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.”
(Source: 1omniavincitamor)
Maria Popova’s children’s literature sculptures. More here.
WPA poster promoting Library Week at the Chicago Public Library.
“Your public library invites you to make its acquaintance” ->I love that!
There is work to be done but all I want to do is READ
This is my life..
Fortunately, parts of my job involve reading. ;) It’s not always stuff I’d choose to read, but I do learn all sorts of weird tidbits that I use to entertain my friends.
(Source: amandaonwriting)
