Charging portable devices (laptops/tablets etc)

[infobleep]

Mods' note: split from an unrelated topic

Sockets are about you just gotta know where to look for them.

However the caveat is they're not surge protected so if your electronics get spiked on your head be it!

I have used those once or twice but it's best not to given the potential for spiking. Now I have a mobile battery charger I make use of that. Doesn't work with my laptop however.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

I have used those once or twice but it's best not to given the potential for spiking. Now I have a mobile battery charger I make use of that. Doesn't work with my laptop however.

Buy a tablet then. I use the hidden sockets all of the time when I'm at work, so it leaves me with battery power later.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Buy a tablet then.

Or buy one of the larger battery packs that supports powering a laptop, mine does (other than a Mac because of Apple's patent on the power connector, though as Macbook Pros have very long battery life it's not really an issue as you can get a full working day out of the battery anyway near enough).

Neil

 

[infobleep]

Buy a tablet then. I use the hidden sockets all of the time when I'm at work, so it leaves me with battery power later.

I much prefer laptops of tablets. There is so much one can't do on a tablet vers a laptop.

 

[infobleep]

Or buy one of the larger battery packs that supports powering a laptop, mine does (other than a Mac because of Apple's patent on the power connector, though as Macbook Pros have very long battery life it's not really an issue as you can get a full working day out of the battery anyway near enough).

Neil

Plenty of manufactures make iPhone connectors so I wouldn't be surprised if the reason hardly any exist for MacBooks is due to companies not wishing to build for such things.

Correct me if I'm wrong though. On a related note, I often find companies are happy to design and build software for iPhones and Windows PCs but not MacBooks. Yet you can't design and build anything for an iPhone without a Mac! So they will use the Mac to build for an iPhone but can't be bothered to build for the computer they are using.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have a Macbook and am not finding it an issue - so much stuff is online these days you just need a browser.

Neil

 

[dgl]

I much prefer laptops of tablets. There is so much one can't do on a tablet vers a laptop.

I brought my mum a dell xps10. It's a Windows Rt tablet and has the clip on keyboard which has extra speakers and more importantly an extra battery.

With it running Windows Rt it looks and behaves like windows 8 and even has all the standard built in apps such as paint and includes office for free. Also has normal printing support (usb/network), supports flash, has the normal file management facilities (inc. USB flash/HDD support) , usb audio support and keyboard has 2 USB ports (great for phone charging) and hdmi out.

Just can't install any normal desktop apps, only the built in windows apps (file explorer, IE, Paint, Office etc.)

Miles better than an iPad and I only paid £140 S/H

 

[infobleep]

I brought my mum a dell xps10. It's a Windows Rt tablet and has the clip on keyboard which has extra speakers and more importantly an extra battery.

With it running Windows Rt it looks and behaves like windows 8 and even has all the standard built in apps such as paint and includes office for free. Also has normal printing support (usb/network), supports flash, has the normal file management facilities (inc. USB flash/HDD support) , usb audio support and keyboard has 2 USB ports (great for phone charging) and hdmi out.

Just can't install any normal desktop apps, only the built in windows apps (file explorer, IE, Paint, Office etc.)

Miles better than an iPad and I only paid £140 S/H

Well that's the problem with it for me. You can't install any desktop apps.

I admit I don't always do vast amounts with my laptop that requires unix or my desktop apps but I like to have the option. Also if I'm staying away overnight then I'd prefer to bring it to a tablet anyway.

 

[BananaRepublic]

....Correct me if I'm wrong though. On a related note, I often find companies are happy to design and build software for iPhones and Windows PCs but not MacBooks. Yet you can't design and build anything for an iPhone without a Mac! So they will use the Mac to build for an iPhone but can't be bothered to build for the computer they are using.

Yes you are wrong.
Macs come with most things you need in the way of software, already installed.
The obvious omission is the MS Office suite, but almost all of the key Office apps are available for the Mac.

Better than that, if a utility like the amazing Parallels desktop for Mac is installed, you can simultaneously run Mac OSX alongside Windows and drag and drop, sync or work between apps running under both OS's in real time. Any Windows software can then be run, including the full blown Windows version of MS Office.

There are also hundreds of apps available in the Mac App store, in addition to the more specialist, big powerful custom software packages that are used for the likes of TV and Video editing, engineering, architecture and graphic design.
Elsewhere, Mac versions of software are often offered where a Windows download is available.

 

[infobleep]

Yes you are wrong.
Macs come with most things you need in the way of software, already installed.
The obvious omission is the MS Office suite, but almost all of the key Office apps are available for the Mac.

Better than that, if a utility like the amazing Parallels desktop for Mac is installed, you can simultaneously run Mac OSX alongside Windows and drag and drop, sync or work between apps running under both OS's in real time. Any Windows software can then be run, including the full blown Windows version of MS Office.

There are also hundreds of apps available in the Mac App store, in addition to the more specialist, big powerful custom software packages that are used for the likes of TV and Video editing, engineering, architecture and graphic design.
Elsewhere, Mac versions of software are often offered where a Windows download is available.

I have a copy of VMWare but when you run that battery life is only 5 hours instead of 7.

Also a fair amount of speclaist GIS [mapping] software is Windows only. I can think of times when I've been looking for software and it just doesn't exist for the Mac. Microsoft don't make Access for Mac for example. VietualDub I believe was Windows only. Sometimes alternatives exist but they might be as good.

Some of my favourite programs are Windows only, which is why I run VMWare. I have one very good program, Inspiration, that has memory leaks on the Mac version but not Windows one and the developers don't wish to fix it.

So in my opinion, I prefer Macs but they do not have as much software for them as Windows.

 

[tony_mac]

Well that's the problem with it for me. You can't install any desktop apps.

I admit I don't always do vast amounts with my laptop that requires unix or my desktop apps but I like to have the option. Also if I'm staying away overnight then I'd prefer to bring it to a tablet anyway.

I have an 8" Windows tablet - it is surprisingly useful. If I am not expecting to do much work, I just take that (and a small keyboard) with me.

For example, I've worked on both Eclipse and Visual Studio projects without any major issues.

 

[Tom B]

A member of the public got very upset about "defective wiring" a while ago. It turned out that they were plugging in their mobile phone charger in various sockets around the building and complaining that they were all dead. Which they should be, since they're for the cleaners to plug their vacuum cleaners in, and controlled by a timeclock!