Mrs. Beard came home last night with an unexpected gift, namely a Samsung Galaxy 7" Tab3 8GB. It answered a question I didn't know I'd asked. I have a phone so I'm not going to use it for that, but what should I use it for?

It would probably be useful to have a second method of accessing the Internet while Mrs. B is using the laptop, and I think I'll probably use it for watching videos or as an e-book reader while travelling. I may use it as a camera and an image viewer.

But will I be under utilising it? I've found something on t'internet where some bloke with dodgy accent loaded a 64GB Mini SD Card onto an identical tablet so that might give me a fair amount of material to be going on with. Maybe I can listen to music I'll load on it in the house as well. The camera won't be as good as my DSLR but I'll need to find out if I can put images onto the card taken on my Nikon as well as those taken with this device.

Suggestions and elightenment required please.

With a micro USB to USB adaptor and MES loaded it would make a good diagnostic tool, light, easy to carry, will sit on passenger seat, etc.

Along with music you can load a stand alone sat nav onto it (old eyes/big screen, works for me :thumbup: )

portland_bill said:

With a micro USB to USB adaptor and MES loaded it would make a good diagnostic tool, light, easy to carry, will sit on passenger seat, etc.

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Good idea, but I have an app for that. He's called Alfie and runs an Italian specialist garage in Sandbach

scout said:

Along with music you can load a stand alone sat nav onto it (old eyes/big screen, works for me :thumbup: )

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Interesting thought. It beats trying to thumb through the index of an A-Z while attempting to negotiate a large roundabout.

Eklipze3k said:

The Internet is for porn avenue Q original - Video - YouTube

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I've got a laptop for that kind of thing.....but enough about Mrs. Beard for now.

Think of it as a netbook that doesn't work properly. (To misquote Steve Jobs.)

Now, I use my netbook because it's lighter than my laptop.................

I have used mine to stream the latest movies, live football and TV all in hd and onto my 42" tv. I have finally been able to ditch Sky TV and am now saving £34 a month. and of course you always have the annoying but addictive flappy bird game!

Now then, streaming movies and downloading e-books. Sounds good, I'll just have to find out how to do it.

I used mine to communicate with a chap who was sat in his truck 50km from anywhere using his HF radio talking via an Echolink radio relay van that itself was in the middle of nowhere else - somewhere in the wilds of South Africa.

And it turned out to be the same chap I had been communicating with on a local forum.

That was the day after talking to someone in Florida.

The list of things I can do with my Nexus 7 is longer than I care to write down, so the question really should be "What can I NOT do with a tablet?".

I have it crammed full of useful apps yet the most used one is the big button calculator

Speaking to someone using a radio.............by phone?

You'll be telling me you can fly to Spain for your holidays now.

I know how Ham Radio works. I know how a phone works. But how do you make the link, or had you communicated on a forum?

You say the list of things you can do with your Google thingy is very long, but I really don't know (apart from films and music) what I'm going to do with it. It might have been more useful if she'd pair for a service and MOT on my old Yamaha.

You can browse this mighty fine forum from it

jenks69 said:

You can browse this mighty fine forum from it

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Oops! We took a long time to suggest this one. Black marks for nearly everyone.

HA! Took yer long enough. I plan to speak to BT in the next few days about mobile broadband.

Ta chaps..........and er, chapesses if there are any in this thread.

The Beard said:

HA! Took yer long enough. I plan to speak to BT in the next few days about mobile broadband.

Ta chaps..........and er, chapesses if there are any in this thread.

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If you are on BT with the landline, you have access to free WiFi. Anywhere there is a BT hotspot, you can log in using your home id and password. It uses some public hotspots, but also lots of private routers.

e.g. If you sat outside my house, you would be able to see my WiFi and could connect to the internet using your login and password. It piggybacks on my connection, using some of my bandwidth, but you cannot see or connect to my computers. Using the management console, (where you read the settings of your router) I would be able to see an id of your connection, but could not access your device. I could turn off your access, but then that would also turn off my id from using anywhere else. It's a clever system for BT to give a lot without having to spend any money on infrastructure. Like a mutual society.

Now you'll have to dig out your notes and see if you can find your original Id and password.

Got to love BT Wifi, one reason why I moved to them [even though I am paying over the odds for a crappy <3Mb ADSL connection...]

portland_bill said:

If you are on BT with the landline, you have access to free WiFi. Anywhere there is a BT hotspot, you can log in using your home id and password. It uses some public hotspots, but also lots of private routers.

e.g. If you sat outside my house, you would be able to see my WiFi and could connect to the internet using your login and password. It piggybacks on my connection, using some of my bandwidth, but you cannot see or connect to my computers. Using the management console, (where you read the settings of your router) I would be able to see an id of your connection, but could not access your device. I could turn off your access, but then that would also turn off my id from using anywhere else. It's a clever system for BT to give a lot without having to spend any money on infrastructure. Like a mutual society.

Now you'll have to dig out your notes and see if you can find your original Id and password.

Click to expand...

That's a relief, I'm not bothered about anyone finding out I'm on
www.hugebreastedswedishteenagenymphoschoolgirlvirgins/middleagedmenwithfacialhair.com but if word gets out that I visit FIAT Forum I'm screwed.

I'll get the sack, never be able to show my face in public again, plus I'll fail any CRB checks and I'll have to make my own meals every day when Mrs. Beard leaves due to the embarassment and shame.

Still, could be worse.

Actually stu and bill, we suddenly started getting BTFon come up on start up of the laptop and I got them to take it off because it seemed to serve no purpose and was just irritating, especially as we had no intention to take the computer outside, but with this new Thingy 3 I might have to review that decision.

Would BTFon have been the mobile doofah?

There are three ways to access BT free WiFi.
Piggybacking as described above. These show up as an available BT Home Hub.
BTFON. This is Bt's public WiFi nodes.
And the third I can't remember, or find the details right now, but it also shows up as a BT..something.

When out, just look at the WiFi connections available, and any strong BT listing without a padlock should connect securely.

If they have taken it off, you will need to log into your MyBT account online and opt back into the BT Wifi service.

This will then set up your router as a public access point and then you can access BT Wifi with whatever you want, wherever you are. You will be surprised as to how many spots there are around the country or even just walking down the street.

The Beard said:

I know how Ham Radio works. I know how a phone works. But how do you make the link, or had you communicated on a forum?

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Not a phone but a wifi tablet (Nexus 7).

Its done using an"Echolink" app that uses VOIP and t'internet to communicate with a VIOP/radio interface. As I no longer have a radio station I am reduced to this - not that I use it a lot.

It was a completely chance contact and I was amazed that its someone I have been talking to like I am talking to you.

You say the list of things you can do with your Google thingy is very long, but I really don't know (apart from films and music) what I'm going to do with it. It might have been more useful if she'd pair for a service and MOT on my old Yamaha.

Click to expand...

OK I'll try and list some:
Calculator with really BIG buttons.
movies/music/emails (both personal and works)/internet as youd expect.
WIFI hacking.(less said the better )
sat nav - several apps for many countries.

Electronics: 555 timer calc, Gerber viewer, circuit designer, pcb layout, electronic calcs, PCB track width calcs, oscilloscope, PCB thermal cals, microwave calcs, resistor colour code calc, signal generator, SMD component code base, parallel/series calc.

Ham radio: echolink, callsign database, repeater lists, frequency lists, morse decoders, radio controller etc.

Shopping - shopping lists, comparison sites, ebay bidders/sniper etc.
I no longer simply go and buy a fridge etc- instead when I have found a good offer I first check out reviews etc before purchasing.
(Out of milk is a superb shopping list app).

Cloud storage - I can access everything I have on the cloud with it.
Reading books - magazines, the law (keeping the RTA, TSRGD etc with you can be handy).
Newsreaders - I keep up with the news on it.

Unit converter - as I have to make exacting calculations between thou and mm often this is very useful.

Skype - of course - useful when i'm away with work.

DIY apps: Spirit levels, smart tools - length/angles/distance/sound/vibration measurement etc.
I have tinnitus so use "white noise" to produce various sounds to cancel it out when I feel the need for it.

Fishing knots - reminder app to show me how to tie them well.

Voice recorder - having a bad memory (Goldfish have better than me) and problem at work because I am forgetting stuff - this is now going to be used a heck of a lot. like a dictaphone.

I support a PCB CAD package at work and there is an app that allows me to control it.

Notepads - re the above memory issue - these are great - see something and note it.

Facebook access, twitter, an alarm system to ensure it doesnt go walkies.

Games, I have gigabytes of games available for it - from COD type warfare to freecell and get to choose which I want and can install it.

NFC/RFID tag reading. useful to start apps - I have an NFC tag on my vent mount that starts the satnav app after disabling all wifi etc.

Google everything - all google functions are available from the tube to the mail.

And so on.

Oh - my next use will be with an ODB reader.

I can keep my blog updated via it.
I can watch the iplayer, control my sky box, record programs tell whats coming on etc.

When I went to Norway last year it was a translator.

I can access here on it, also that stupid eco thing on the car.

First aid - it has plenty of first aid advice on it.

Geocaching - using the gps I can use some of the many geo apps to find the cache.

Passwords - I use it to access lastpass where I store all my passwords.

Raspberry pi - if I could be assed to do anything with them, this would control it with the apps.

Remote desktop - I can use teamviewer etc and take control of my home PC using the tablet.

Music - if I was musical I could use these drum/music apps to make music.

Drawings - I have autocad sketch programs so can make mechanical drawings - useful when designing PCB's, garden/kitchen layout etc.

wifi analysis - I can find the strongest wifi signal - where its best to sit etc for it.

Porn: yep - I can watch this on it too.

Do I get to do all this even if I have them installed?
Not always - but they are there should I need to.

But if you put your mind to it - there is little that you cannot do with them.