Tuesday, February 28, 2012

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ASUS TRANSFORMER


***Losing A File In Android - Boy oh boy! What an arduous task! Not a physical one but a mental task. I was typing a draft for a blog in my Android tablet and I knew I was saving the file every few sentence, however when I was looked for it later at home, I couldn’t find it. All that thinking and typing disappeared into the ether. Would you believe that there is nothing similar to Google desktop search for Android tablets? It sure could use one. I don’t know if there is a file search app for the Ipad.
So after searching for one for more than an hour, I gave up. Later in the evening I got the idea of connecting the tablet to the laptop computer and using Windows search. Voila! I found the file. The problem was that I just started using Dropbox and I mistakenly thought that the changes would upload automatically.  This is also one problem I’m having with saving files on the tablet. Often, I don’t know where the file is being saved to because I’m still in the learning process of the file structures of the system. So where did I finally find the lost file? Deep in the bowels of the Android system.
***Clunky keyboard - The keyboard docking station for my Asus Transformer arrived and my hopes were high that typing, copying and pasting would be much easier. I don't know if it's the way I type or if it is the sensitivity of the keyboard that makes the cursor jump all over the place. Sometimes as I'm typing, I inadvertently hit something and the save command comes up. Okay, I think I just figured that one out. When the touchpad mouse is tapped,the save command in Polaris appears so I have to be really careful and make sure that my fingers are floating over the keyboard and not resting my palms on it.
***Frustration- It's has been frustrating so far trying to type something for this blog while using Polaris, mainly because I couldn't copy and paste to the blogger website itself or even to the android blogger app. Usually, I compose the post in word processor first but with this Polaris limitation, I would have to type directly to the blogger app. The best thing for this Android tablet is just surfing the web. I'll have to rely on my netbook to make things easier for me to blog. Of course another feature I like about the tablet is the fast boot and the touchscreen.
***Tablet Case- I already have a case just for the tablet part of this device, however it won't accommodate the keyboard. One must have to buy a different and more expensive case. The problem with that is it makes the device bulkier thus defeating the purpose of having a lighter and more portable machine.
***Newspaper Reading- Another incovenience I experienced involved reading the electronic edition of the local newspaper. When you connect to the website, the screen is in three sections: breaking news on the left, the main page in the middle, and the text of whatever you click in the middle section comes up on the right side.
There is an option to close the left section and that's what I had been doing. However, when I scroll the right side, the text doesn't always go in a straight line if my swipe is unsteady. That usually happens when I'm on the stationary bike or treadmill. I discovered that if I don't close the left section, the right section scrolls in a straight line. Problem solved.
***Another discovery - If I use the Hacker's keyboard app instead of the Asus English keyboard, the problem of the sensitive touchpad mouse disappears and doesn't launch the save function anymore. Don't worry, it's not an app used by hackers, just a keyboard with slightly different functions.
***Still another discovery - All of a sudden I can now copy and paste from Polaris to blogger. Did this have anything to do with the Ice Cream Sandwich update a few days ago from Asus? I haven't had time to try copying and pasting straight to the blogger website yet. Okay here is an update on that: it is now possible to copy and paste from Polaris Office directly to the Blogger website without having to use the Blogger app. Thank you Asus, for the free update :)

Well folks, I hope you will excuse me for acting like a bumbling idiot while I try to figure out the ins and outs of this device.

1 comment:

Johns said...

For the ipad I don't know, but there are good online file search engines aroound

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