Monday, December 26th
Dec. 26th, 2011 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandraerinTHE DAILY REPORT
So, Christmas was really pretty nice, as it tends to be with my family. I'm back in my attic. The house here is very crowded at the moment with my housemate's extended family, which is something I wasn't really expecting so I've scaled back my plans for the day to just finishing and posting the next chapter.
I've been taking a hard look at my finances lately, and there's going to be more vulgar money talk in the near future. But thanks to a generous contribution from the Kringle Foundation, I have a little breathing room. I'm currently weighing my options when it comes to replacing my netbook. The three main choices as I see it are getting something with a little more muscle (which would require waiting and saving a bit more), replacing it with something similar (which could possibly be done in the next few weeks), or replacing it with a tablet and docking keyboard.
I'm only considering the third option because of the sheer number of people who say that I should get a tablet when I say I might be in the market for a netbook. Here's the key facts, though: without a physical keyboard I can put my fingers on and feel and type without looking, I am buying a very expensive toy. A tablet + keyboard combo that will give me a similarly sized device to my netbook is going to run me $500-600. It seems that I could pick up a 7 inch tablet and compatible keyboard for a comparative song right now, but if I do that and then find that I cannot comfortably and accurately type on the keyboard then it's a wasted song.
At the same time, though, I can see some clear advantages if the 7 inch set-up is workable for me. I use my Android phone (which doesn't have a physical keyboard and is naturally far smaller) to do writing when I find myself inspired at an odd moment, or stuck waiting somewhere. A 7 inch tablet with keyboard would let me get more done quickly when that happens, and save me from having to drag my netbook places where I expect to be stuck/spending time writing.
And if I can write on my phone's touchscreen or the Kindle's clunky physical keys, it seems like I should be able to write on a slightly undersized QWERTY keyboard, right? Except my experience is that touch-typing on a cramped keyboard is actually harder than learning to thumb-type with a new device. So my feeling is I need to get my fingertips on one of these things before I make up my mind.
...
Hmmm, I just found a 10 inch tablet and keyboard combination that would cost less than a 10 inch netbook... at least for the time being. There's a $100 discount listed for it on both Amazon and BestBuy.com. If that's still there in a few days, I might have my solution.
Edit to add: the reviews of the bargain tablets aren't very favorable. I'll have to look at them more closely to see if it's just a matter of technophiles being displeased that they don't perform on par with top-of-the-line devices or if they're just not very good.
Edit to add #2:
Please don't comment to tell me how much easier it is to type on a tablet than I think it is.
Seriously.
Just don't.
I get this suggestion every time I mention the subject of tablets, netbooks, or physical keyboards. An on-screen keyboard does not answer my needs. I've had a phone with only an on-screen keyboard on it for more than a year now and while I've gotten used to it, I still can't make it dance the way I can do so even with the really awkward physical keyboard on my Kindle that I've spent less time learning how to work with. Of course, that's thumb-typing, but my housemate has a 10-inch tablet and I've had ample opportunity to try it on for size with real typing.
Don't get me wrong, I might actually be able to type faster on a touchscreen I've just met than the average person can on their favorite keyboard, but in order to write at the level where it can be a primary device for me I need it to be second nature, to be able to think a word and have it appear on the screen like magic.
For that, I need a physical keyboard.
STATE OF THE ME
Fairly good. There is a sniffling situation continuing to develop, but I think it might be on the wane.
DREAMS FROM LAST NIGHT
I was fighting an incredibly resilient and determined jester/assassin on a beach.
PLANS FOR TODAY
Finish and post the next chapter of Tales of MU.
So, Christmas was really pretty nice, as it tends to be with my family. I'm back in my attic. The house here is very crowded at the moment with my housemate's extended family, which is something I wasn't really expecting so I've scaled back my plans for the day to just finishing and posting the next chapter.
I've been taking a hard look at my finances lately, and there's going to be more vulgar money talk in the near future. But thanks to a generous contribution from the Kringle Foundation, I have a little breathing room. I'm currently weighing my options when it comes to replacing my netbook. The three main choices as I see it are getting something with a little more muscle (which would require waiting and saving a bit more), replacing it with something similar (which could possibly be done in the next few weeks), or replacing it with a tablet and docking keyboard.
I'm only considering the third option because of the sheer number of people who say that I should get a tablet when I say I might be in the market for a netbook. Here's the key facts, though: without a physical keyboard I can put my fingers on and feel and type without looking, I am buying a very expensive toy. A tablet + keyboard combo that will give me a similarly sized device to my netbook is going to run me $500-600. It seems that I could pick up a 7 inch tablet and compatible keyboard for a comparative song right now, but if I do that and then find that I cannot comfortably and accurately type on the keyboard then it's a wasted song.
At the same time, though, I can see some clear advantages if the 7 inch set-up is workable for me. I use my Android phone (which doesn't have a physical keyboard and is naturally far smaller) to do writing when I find myself inspired at an odd moment, or stuck waiting somewhere. A 7 inch tablet with keyboard would let me get more done quickly when that happens, and save me from having to drag my netbook places where I expect to be stuck/spending time writing.
And if I can write on my phone's touchscreen or the Kindle's clunky physical keys, it seems like I should be able to write on a slightly undersized QWERTY keyboard, right? Except my experience is that touch-typing on a cramped keyboard is actually harder than learning to thumb-type with a new device. So my feeling is I need to get my fingertips on one of these things before I make up my mind.
...
Hmmm, I just found a 10 inch tablet and keyboard combination that would cost less than a 10 inch netbook... at least for the time being. There's a $100 discount listed for it on both Amazon and BestBuy.com. If that's still there in a few days, I might have my solution.
Edit to add: the reviews of the bargain tablets aren't very favorable. I'll have to look at them more closely to see if it's just a matter of technophiles being displeased that they don't perform on par with top-of-the-line devices or if they're just not very good.
Edit to add #2:
Please don't comment to tell me how much easier it is to type on a tablet than I think it is.
Seriously.
Just don't.
I get this suggestion every time I mention the subject of tablets, netbooks, or physical keyboards. An on-screen keyboard does not answer my needs. I've had a phone with only an on-screen keyboard on it for more than a year now and while I've gotten used to it, I still can't make it dance the way I can do so even with the really awkward physical keyboard on my Kindle that I've spent less time learning how to work with. Of course, that's thumb-typing, but my housemate has a 10-inch tablet and I've had ample opportunity to try it on for size with real typing.
Don't get me wrong, I might actually be able to type faster on a touchscreen I've just met than the average person can on their favorite keyboard, but in order to write at the level where it can be a primary device for me I need it to be second nature, to be able to think a word and have it appear on the screen like magic.
For that, I need a physical keyboard.
STATE OF THE ME
Fairly good. There is a sniffling situation continuing to develop, but I think it might be on the wane.
DREAMS FROM LAST NIGHT
I was fighting an incredibly resilient and determined jester/assassin on a beach.
PLANS FOR TODAY
Finish and post the next chapter of Tales of MU.
no subject
on 2011-12-26 11:59 pm (UTC)I hope you find a tablet you like soon!
no subject
on 2011-12-27 04:32 pm (UTC)