kakarotto
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- California
still no pricing and release date. i was thinking i was going to pick up a 2 at an expected price drop but this thing is too damn beautiful
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Windows Tablets For Fieldwork
- Thread starter brbkr
- Start date
still no pricing and release date. i was thinking i was going to pick up a 2 at an expected price drop but this thing is too damn beautiful
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
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The only thing "official" is $799 and order tomorrow... I'll report tomorrow on what I order, why, etc. FWIW, I almost always order a single unit of the lowest (practical) end unit so I can do proper testing on low power devices, but I honestly don't know what sort of upper end units I will get. It depends on how I will distribute them to employees...
Of course, that price is probably for a Core i3, not a Core i5, not to mention a Core i7. Still think a Core i5 is plenty for a "laptop replacement" and that a Core i3 would suffice for a more mobile crowd, but again, we'll have to put them through their paces and include some bloated software.
I am still a fan of the 4GB Bay Trail devices mentioned for now and I think many users put too much emphasis on getting max CPU & RAM vs. pushing software developers to write more optimized software.
Will have to see how well Cherry Trail and Broadwell perform, but I think we're at a place where we can get truly useful work done on devices now.
I am personally a fan of the 12" screen size for ME, but I also like 8" devices for most appraisers (software permitting, of course.)
Lots of chatter, speculation ATM. Will take a few days to distinguish fact from fancy/speculation. As I mentioned, this device was totally unexpected (by me) - I was honestly expecting a Surface Mini reveal and was (foolishly?) hoping it would be a Bay Trail vs. ARM/RT. In our larger Enterprise market, however, there is surprising traction in RT, but I doubt we'll see much in the Fee Appraiser market...
Gotta run. Still feeling poorly and I need to go back to room to rest, take meds, etc. I can catch up with the "pundits" later ;-) Sorry this is all so poorly written. Not at my best today...
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Of course, that price is probably for a Core i3, not a Core i5, not to mention a Core i7. Still think a Core i5 is plenty for a "laptop replacement" and that a Core i3 would suffice for a more mobile crowd, but again, we'll have to put them through their paces and include some bloated software.
I am still a fan of the 4GB Bay Trail devices mentioned for now and I think many users put too much emphasis on getting max CPU & RAM vs. pushing software developers to write more optimized software.
Will have to see how well Cherry Trail and Broadwell perform, but I think we're at a place where we can get truly useful work done on devices now.
I am personally a fan of the 12" screen size for ME, but I also like 8" devices for most appraisers (software permitting, of course.)
Lots of chatter, speculation ATM. Will take a few days to distinguish fact from fancy/speculation. As I mentioned, this device was totally unexpected (by me) - I was honestly expecting a Surface Mini reveal and was (foolishly?) hoping it would be a Bay Trail vs. ARM/RT. In our larger Enterprise market, however, there is surprising traction in RT, but I doubt we'll see much in the Fee Appraiser market...
Gotta run. Still feeling poorly and I need to go back to room to rest, take meds, etc. I can catch up with the "pundits" later ;-) Sorry this is all so poorly written. Not at my best today...
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Professional Status
- IT Professional-Appraisal Related
- State
- Texas
FWIW, I ordered 2 @ MS Surface Pro 3 devices yesterday. Only the Core i5 models are available for delivery on 06/20 so there is no use ordering a Core i3 or Core i7 models at this time (for my purposes) due to the delay. Th difference between the two devices I ordered is that one has 128 GB of storage, and the other has a 256 GB SSD. The actual storage space doesn't matte to me for testing, but if you read the "fine print" shows that the 128 GB model has 4 GB of RAM, while the 256 GB model has 8 GB of RAM. I do not expect to see any appreciable difference in performance when running the two devices in mobile scenarios (i.e. In "tablet mode") but since many who might look at an SP3 as a "laptop replacement" caliber device will prefer more RAM for deeper multitasking of "hoggy" desktop type programs, I wanted to do a direct comparison between two otherwise identical devices with 4 GB and 8 GB. Once the Core i3 and Core i7 devices get close to shipping, I will obtain those, too, and report my findings. I will also report my impressions on the various accessories as they arrive.
Hope this helps for now.
-Randall Garrett-
@Apex Software@
/end/
Hope this helps for now.
-Randall Garrett-
@Apex Software@
/end/
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Professional Status
- IT Professional-Appraisal Related
- State
- Texas
More pictures
Well, I normally wait around for some of my folks to return some of the more popular devices that they tend to "borrow" in hopes of bright sunny days so I can shoot pictures. For this holiday weekend (sincere respect and gratitude to ALL vets!), I planned ahead and brought some home with me before they could be absconded with ;-)
And... of course, it has been raining here for most of the weekend - mostly moderate, but as happens in TX sometimes, you get a "______ floater." (Fill in the blank with your own local colloquialism, LOL.) So, I figured that since two devices I brought are rated as "business rugged" (one more weather resistant "out of the box" than the other), I'd take advantage of the inclement weather and shoot a few shots. As usual for me, not everything went according to plan ;-) but I'll go into that later, along with recommendations for those who might have to deal with similar weather on occasions.
First up is the HP EP 1000. This is a bone stock, lower-end-of-their-spectrum model which I picked up as a straight retail purchase from Newegg. I also purchased some "case" type accessories but for these pictures, I wanted to photo the unit "bare", sans any extra protection.
I want to be clear - I definitely recommend a protective case (recommendations in a later post) IF you are going to subject your HP 1000 to the conditions exhibited by my photos. I got drenched while taking these photos (my cell phone camera didn't help matters - oh the joy of trying to use a capacitive display screen in the rain!), and I subjected my EP 1000 to conditions outside of the stated operating conditions. For regular rain, it (like most tablets) should be fine, but the EP 1000 is not rated for complete submersion without some additional protection.
Anyway, with some apologies for some blurriness, below are three pictures:
In all the pictures, you can clearly see that the unit is continuing to operate normally. I say "normally" in that there were no issues outside of the intermittent ability to use "touch" on the screen. You see, water on a capacitive screen interferes with the signal necessary for the screen to recognize that you are touching it with your finger. Thus, depending on the amount of water on the screen, using a device with a capacitive can be a "hit or miss" affair. This is but one reason our clients who work in inclement conditions insist on having an "active pen" system. The fact that they are better at accuracy is secondary - they just need to be able to interact with their screens to operate their software. FWIW, in normal rain, a good capacitive screen is more responsive than my device's screens were since I clearly subjected them to more extreme water/dirt conditions tham most of you would run into.
I further subjected the device to even more torture (read "pool") but it started giving me trouble then, showing signs of water intrusion. I'm letting it dry out to see if the screen survives. Again, note that this unit was put into circumstances which severely exceed the ratings! The unit itself is fine (hooked up to external monitor), but it'll be a few hours before I know if I did permanent damage to the screen. I am confident that if I had been using the $59 Rugged Cover G2 (http://tinyurl.com/jvlx7d7), the unit would not have experienced this issue, even though total submersion for that length of time is not expressly covered. I like this accessory over something like the more expensive "Otterbox" type protective shells. First, as noted, it is less expensive
Second, it comes with different straps, etc. for various operating scenarios. Again, unless you are working in extreme conditions, the EP 1000 will likely exceed your desire to work in rain/sleet/snow anyway, and the straps make for a great accessory for not much money and doesn't "bulk up" the tablet unnecessarily. IF you really need more protection, then maybe you should look more closely at the Q584 covered earlier and in the following post. It also has a case with strap, but even "out of the box, it'll handle more extreme scenarios.
[Edit] As of this moment (1:03 pm, some 35 minutes later) the EP 1000 has now recovered and is working just fine - including the screen Whew! "Dodged one"
Next up, the Fujitsu Q584...
Regards,
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Well, I normally wait around for some of my folks to return some of the more popular devices that they tend to "borrow" in hopes of bright sunny days so I can shoot pictures. For this holiday weekend (sincere respect and gratitude to ALL vets!), I planned ahead and brought some home with me before they could be absconded with ;-)
And... of course, it has been raining here for most of the weekend - mostly moderate, but as happens in TX sometimes, you get a "______ floater." (Fill in the blank with your own local colloquialism, LOL.) So, I figured that since two devices I brought are rated as "business rugged" (one more weather resistant "out of the box" than the other), I'd take advantage of the inclement weather and shoot a few shots. As usual for me, not everything went according to plan ;-) but I'll go into that later, along with recommendations for those who might have to deal with similar weather on occasions.
First up is the HP EP 1000. This is a bone stock, lower-end-of-their-spectrum model which I picked up as a straight retail purchase from Newegg. I also purchased some "case" type accessories but for these pictures, I wanted to photo the unit "bare", sans any extra protection.
I want to be clear - I definitely recommend a protective case (recommendations in a later post) IF you are going to subject your HP 1000 to the conditions exhibited by my photos. I got drenched while taking these photos (my cell phone camera didn't help matters - oh the joy of trying to use a capacitive display screen in the rain!), and I subjected my EP 1000 to conditions outside of the stated operating conditions. For regular rain, it (like most tablets) should be fine, but the EP 1000 is not rated for complete submersion without some additional protection.
Anyway, with some apologies for some blurriness, below are three pictures:
- The first one is the EP 1000 sitting in rain & muck (mainly dirt/mulch) up to the level of the screen - it is mostly, but not fully, submerged.
- The second shot shows the unit after sitting out there for about 12 minutes and letting the flow from our house's roof drainage system wash over it, thus submerging it. (Sorry so blurry - I was trying, in vain, to stay as dry as I could and with all the rain coming down, I could not tell that the shot was blurry when I took it.)
- The third picture shows the unit sitting on a pot next to some "rain chains" where I was letting the "splash" wash off most of the gunk from the previous picture.
In all the pictures, you can clearly see that the unit is continuing to operate normally. I say "normally" in that there were no issues outside of the intermittent ability to use "touch" on the screen. You see, water on a capacitive screen interferes with the signal necessary for the screen to recognize that you are touching it with your finger. Thus, depending on the amount of water on the screen, using a device with a capacitive can be a "hit or miss" affair. This is but one reason our clients who work in inclement conditions insist on having an "active pen" system. The fact that they are better at accuracy is secondary - they just need to be able to interact with their screens to operate their software. FWIW, in normal rain, a good capacitive screen is more responsive than my device's screens were since I clearly subjected them to more extreme water/dirt conditions tham most of you would run into.
I further subjected the device to even more torture (read "pool") but it started giving me trouble then, showing signs of water intrusion. I'm letting it dry out to see if the screen survives. Again, note that this unit was put into circumstances which severely exceed the ratings! The unit itself is fine (hooked up to external monitor), but it'll be a few hours before I know if I did permanent damage to the screen. I am confident that if I had been using the $59 Rugged Cover G2 (http://tinyurl.com/jvlx7d7), the unit would not have experienced this issue, even though total submersion for that length of time is not expressly covered. I like this accessory over something like the more expensive "Otterbox" type protective shells. First, as noted, it is less expensive
Second, it comes with different straps, etc. for various operating scenarios. Again, unless you are working in extreme conditions, the EP 1000 will likely exceed your desire to work in rain/sleet/snow anyway, and the straps make for a great accessory for not much money and doesn't "bulk up" the tablet unnecessarily. IF you really need more protection, then maybe you should look more closely at the Q584 covered earlier and in the following post. It also has a case with strap, but even "out of the box, it'll handle more extreme scenarios.[Edit] As of this moment (1:03 pm, some 35 minutes later) the EP 1000 has now recovered and is working just fine - including the screen Whew! "Dodged one"
Next up, the Fujitsu Q584...
Regards,
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Attachments
Last edited:
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Professional Status
- IT Professional-Appraisal Related
- State
- Texas
Whereas the HP EP 1000 is a regular "business rugged" device, the Fujitsu Q584 is rated for more rugged duty and is spec'ed to be good for up to 30 minutes in 3 feet of water without any extra protection (case, whatever.) The particular unit shown here is also a "straight retail" purchase from Newegg. If I were ordering one, I would have it built to *** some extra stuff commonly needed by most of our Enterprise clients (NFC, stand-alone GPS, etc.) but as previously mentioned, this unit is a "generic", bone-stock, off-the-shelf unit which is priced well below the units we recommend for those who really want/need a low cost device for inclement weather use. I think I paid $684 for this unit...
You've already seen the pictures I took of this unit in the surf which, as those of you who work in areas with sand and salt already know, is considerably more hostile to most devices than regular rain & even sleet/snow.
The Q584 has a higher resolution screen than the EP 1000 (2560 x 1600 vs. 1920 x 1200) but that is not really an issue - the EP 1000 is plenty "crisp" enough and really, all other factors being equal, the higher the resolution, the less bright the display is. The two tablets both feature multi-point touch screens and active pen input. The Q584 uses the tried & true Wacom technology , where the HP is using a new revision of the Atmel digitizer. The previous Atmel combo on (say) the EP 900 was not good in retail units but the "G2" version, as found on the EP 1000 and some of HP's other (newer) devices is MUCH improved according to tablet geeks as well as my own observations. That said, it is yet unproven in longer term field trials, so while it looks good at present, it is to be expected that things will get tweaked over the coming months.
Hope this helps!
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
You've already seen the pictures I took of this unit in the surf which, as those of you who work in areas with sand and salt already know, is considerably more hostile to most devices than regular rain & even sleet/snow.
- The first picture is of the Q584 partially (mostly) submerged in the same spot where the second HP EP 1000 picture (above) was taken. At this point, it had only been in the gunk for about a minute.
- The second picture was taken a few minutes later after it had become completely submerged. I tried to shoot it at an angle to show this fact better. At this point, it had only been submerged for about 5 or 6 minutes. There was no point is waiting longer (per the 30 minute/3 feet rating) as I was still attempting to stay as dry as I could.
- The third picture is like the third one for the HP EP 1000 - just added to "match up" with the one taken of the HP EP 1000.
The Q584 has a higher resolution screen than the EP 1000 (2560 x 1600 vs. 1920 x 1200) but that is not really an issue - the EP 1000 is plenty "crisp" enough and really, all other factors being equal, the higher the resolution, the less bright the display is. The two tablets both feature multi-point touch screens and active pen input. The Q584 uses the tried & true Wacom technology , where the HP is using a new revision of the Atmel digitizer. The previous Atmel combo on (say) the EP 900 was not good in retail units but the "G2" version, as found on the EP 1000 and some of HP's other (newer) devices is MUCH improved according to tablet geeks as well as my own observations. That said, it is yet unproven in longer term field trials, so while it looks good at present, it is to be expected that things will get tweaked over the coming months.
Hope this helps!
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Attachments
Last edited:
kakarotto
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- California
i've done several inspections with my windows tablet, and i must say, aurora and total sketch BLOW for use during inspection. I can use a clipboard and draw my sketch, and input them into my desktop software much quicker. this has quadrupled my inspection time. sigh, so much for saving time. i came from an android tablet, and that blew too. i guess i'm stuck with the clipboard.
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Professional Status
- IT Professional-Appraisal Related
- State
- Texas
kakarotto,
Just my opinion here, but I'd lay most of the blame for your troubles with your software. A better device - one made for outdoor use vs. a bargain 2014-version of a "netbook" - would help, but as far as your work flow, efficiency, etc., the main culprit is most likely the lack of software which meets your needs. I say this not to "bash" your software, but rather from the experience of witnessing our Enterprise customers having completed hundreds of thousands of sketches in the field with Windows tablets. "Going mobile" also requires some change to your methods, much like measuring with a DISTO, and it is fair to say that not everyone recognizes the importance of backing away, revisiting your techniques with the hardware/software in mind, and making the changes that will make the best use of the tools. This is really not all that different a concept than "the old days" when we grey-beards resisted embracing "forms" software, spending too little time learning how the software was designed to work and too much time trying to make things work the way they did when "the secretary" typed up forms from our hand-written field sheets/notes/etc. As a (debatable) rule, I've seen appraiser types on most non-US environments gain far more efficiency than the US appraisers because their software was designed by folks who actually use it, they are given proper training, etc. Look how long it took for most appraisers to adopt a DISTO. Some 10 years after we introduced this to the US appraiser market, it is finally catching on, even though the basics haven't changed. In other parts of the world, appraisers rely on using a DISTO, some even refusing to change employers unless they were given access to one. And, the right equipment matters there, too - a lesser simply will not do. Yet here, we see appraisers mainly resisting change and "stepping over a dollar to get a dime" with respect to getting the right equipment. Maybe some stuff is over-hyped, some software half-baked? Still, the "culture" here mainly seems to be negative vs. more positive in other areas, and their efficiency gains are proven out.
With respect to hardware, it's all about getting the right combination to get the job done. Of course, nothing is ever perfect, but with tablets, it is not much different from the point I tried to make for years - this is about value, not cost. You would think that most appraisers understand the difference between cost and value. Yet, mostly I see (my personal observation) appraisers putting the most weight into the "cost" factor - i.e. getting the cheapest thing they can vs. getting what works at the lowest price acceptable. One of my favorite examples is the purchase of digital cameras - appraisers will typically find the lowest price camera they can vs. the one that might work best, last the longest, etc. I've found that the extra 10% paid for a "sports" camera is money well spent. They are far less prone to breakage, survive weather that you'd likely not even consider inspecting in, yet they are not big sellers with fee appraisers. They are with Enterprise customers who actually study TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) which includes purchase price, repairs, downtime from failure, etc. I feel that fee appraisers should take a look at what some Enterprise customers use and try to take heed. This is far beyond the old "$5,000 government toilet seat" stuff, and I'm not talking about the need for $3K - $4K "ultra rugged" equipment - those folks who NEED that stuff already know it and respond accordingly. I simply feel that far too many folks will look at something like the Fujitsu I have shown at under $700 and then somehow feel that spending $400 will get them something just as good. In this case, the $400 ends up being wasted (for mobile appraising usage), not to mention the time and frustration spent by the user.
I wish you more luck in the future and hope that more appraisers are able to get better software. The hardware has (finally!) come to a point where you can get adequate performance at reasonable prices. If the software developers would deliver, I feel that appraisers would be better off.
My advice here is free, and comes from the actual experience of seeing some things fail, some things pay off, and trying to draw conclusions in order to share with fellow appraisers. Again, I am not trying to sell my software here - I could say "Well, it works, try that." but that is not what I do here. Perhaps you should take advantage of one of ALM's mobile seminars - it might be time well spent. It is likely laced with sales type things, but my guess is that you'd learn something very useful by attending. Most of the comments I've seen by those who have attended were positive. A little hand-on training might really help. If attending a (free?) seminar to learn how to use the tools isn't worth one's time, then I'd say they were never really all that serious about getting ahead in that regard. Just my 2¢, and not meant to offend anyone.
Best regards,
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
Just my opinion here, but I'd lay most of the blame for your troubles with your software. A better device - one made for outdoor use vs. a bargain 2014-version of a "netbook" - would help, but as far as your work flow, efficiency, etc., the main culprit is most likely the lack of software which meets your needs. I say this not to "bash" your software, but rather from the experience of witnessing our Enterprise customers having completed hundreds of thousands of sketches in the field with Windows tablets. "Going mobile" also requires some change to your methods, much like measuring with a DISTO, and it is fair to say that not everyone recognizes the importance of backing away, revisiting your techniques with the hardware/software in mind, and making the changes that will make the best use of the tools. This is really not all that different a concept than "the old days" when we grey-beards resisted embracing "forms" software, spending too little time learning how the software was designed to work and too much time trying to make things work the way they did when "the secretary" typed up forms from our hand-written field sheets/notes/etc. As a (debatable) rule, I've seen appraiser types on most non-US environments gain far more efficiency than the US appraisers because their software was designed by folks who actually use it, they are given proper training, etc. Look how long it took for most appraisers to adopt a DISTO. Some 10 years after we introduced this to the US appraiser market, it is finally catching on, even though the basics haven't changed. In other parts of the world, appraisers rely on using a DISTO, some even refusing to change employers unless they were given access to one. And, the right equipment matters there, too - a lesser simply will not do. Yet here, we see appraisers mainly resisting change and "stepping over a dollar to get a dime" with respect to getting the right equipment. Maybe some stuff is over-hyped, some software half-baked? Still, the "culture" here mainly seems to be negative vs. more positive in other areas, and their efficiency gains are proven out.
With respect to hardware, it's all about getting the right combination to get the job done. Of course, nothing is ever perfect, but with tablets, it is not much different from the point I tried to make for years - this is about value, not cost. You would think that most appraisers understand the difference between cost and value. Yet, mostly I see (my personal observation) appraisers putting the most weight into the "cost" factor - i.e. getting the cheapest thing they can vs. getting what works at the lowest price acceptable. One of my favorite examples is the purchase of digital cameras - appraisers will typically find the lowest price camera they can vs. the one that might work best, last the longest, etc. I've found that the extra 10% paid for a "sports" camera is money well spent. They are far less prone to breakage, survive weather that you'd likely not even consider inspecting in, yet they are not big sellers with fee appraisers. They are with Enterprise customers who actually study TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) which includes purchase price, repairs, downtime from failure, etc. I feel that fee appraisers should take a look at what some Enterprise customers use and try to take heed. This is far beyond the old "$5,000 government toilet seat" stuff, and I'm not talking about the need for $3K - $4K "ultra rugged" equipment - those folks who NEED that stuff already know it and respond accordingly. I simply feel that far too many folks will look at something like the Fujitsu I have shown at under $700 and then somehow feel that spending $400 will get them something just as good. In this case, the $400 ends up being wasted (for mobile appraising usage), not to mention the time and frustration spent by the user.
I wish you more luck in the future and hope that more appraisers are able to get better software. The hardware has (finally!) come to a point where you can get adequate performance at reasonable prices. If the software developers would deliver, I feel that appraisers would be better off.
My advice here is free, and comes from the actual experience of seeing some things fail, some things pay off, and trying to draw conclusions in order to share with fellow appraisers. Again, I am not trying to sell my software here - I could say "Well, it works, try that." but that is not what I do here. Perhaps you should take advantage of one of ALM's mobile seminars - it might be time well spent. It is likely laced with sales type things, but my guess is that you'd learn something very useful by attending. Most of the comments I've seen by those who have attended were positive. A little hand-on training might really help. If attending a (free?) seminar to learn how to use the tools isn't worth one's time, then I'd say they were never really all that serious about getting ahead in that regard. Just my 2¢, and not meant to offend anyone.
Best regards,
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
kakarotto
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- California
I have no problem with the hardware, it's the software that's been my issue. Total for Android blows. I tried several inspections with Aurora and total sketch for Windows during inspection and that blew too. It's not a hardware issue and the issue lies with WinTotal. I thought I made it clear my issue is with alamodes software and not the tablet. im not going to hold my breath for future updates to fix these issues. sketching on a tablet sucks, and so does data entry. sigh, it just had so much promise
total for tablet pc wont sync with wintotal. so i opted to use the full desktop version of aurora (total 2013 doesn't work with datamaster, which i use), along with total sketch as a separate application. this would allow me to switch between the sketch and data entry easily. the problem was the sketch isn't responsive. won't accept changes in dimensions all the time, and frequent crashes.
the issue i had with android was the same thing with sketches, but it wouldn't allow me to do data entry easily. i would have to close the sketch portion and go back to data entry and vice versa. finally, when i would try and sync with my desktop software, my sketch would disappear on my android tablet and there would be nothing there on the sketch in my desktop software. imo it's a poor, poor implementation of the software and leaves much to be desired.
total for tablet pc wont sync with wintotal. so i opted to use the full desktop version of aurora (total 2013 doesn't work with datamaster, which i use), along with total sketch as a separate application. this would allow me to switch between the sketch and data entry easily. the problem was the sketch isn't responsive. won't accept changes in dimensions all the time, and frequent crashes.
the issue i had with android was the same thing with sketches, but it wouldn't allow me to do data entry easily. i would have to close the sketch portion and go back to data entry and vice versa. finally, when i would try and sync with my desktop software, my sketch would disappear on my android tablet and there would be nothing there on the sketch in my desktop software. imo it's a poor, poor implementation of the software and leaves much to be desired.
Last edited:
Randall Garrett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Professional Status
- IT Professional-Appraisal Related
- State
- Texas
kakarotto,
I understand your meaning. I apologize for getting off on a rant.
I was originally trying to say (agree?) that the main issue is likely a software thing and not a hardware problem, per se. While trying to note that better equipment can mitigate some issues, I sort of "went off" on my (strong) opinion that folks should get better equipment than what I've see most get over the years. I let my passion and poor writing skills let hardware opinions come to the forefront (by volume of words and tone) instead of moderating it and keeping it simple. Not saying that I am by any means, but in the end, it really doesn't matter how smart/brilliant a person is if they can't communicate to the readers.
My apologies if I offended anyone. That was not my intent - I mean to help, not distract, and I'll endeavor to improve.
Hoping your situation changes for the better!
Let's get back to discussing hardware...
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
I understand your meaning. I apologize for getting off on a rant.
I was originally trying to say (agree?) that the main issue is likely a software thing and not a hardware problem, per se. While trying to note that better equipment can mitigate some issues, I sort of "went off" on my (strong) opinion that folks should get better equipment than what I've see most get over the years. I let my passion and poor writing skills let hardware opinions come to the forefront (by volume of words and tone) instead of moderating it and keeping it simple. Not saying that I am by any means, but in the end, it really doesn't matter how smart/brilliant a person is if they can't communicate to the readers.
My apologies if I offended anyone. That was not my intent - I mean to help, not distract, and I'll endeavor to improve.
Hoping your situation changes for the better!
Let's get back to discussing hardware...
-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+
/end/
kakarotto
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- California
this has almost convinced me to give up on tablets for fieldwork. even the last couple generations of hardware have been more than adequate to run our appraisal software. i can get a nexus 7 or a surface pro, and the end result is the same. poor software execution. even if i were to use apex (which i migrated away from, because after having purchased two sets of licenses (forced upgrades - both times i purchased 3 licenses for a total of six), they want me to upgrade again to use apex for mobile entry. even if i were to buy apex, i would still need wintotal for data entry during inspections. when i called alamode about total for tablet pc, they pretty much told me that they're not going to be upgrading any of that software and are focused on android and ios (again both android and ios versions of total for mobile are pretty much useless).
sorry for being negative, but we appraisers dont have many options for appraisal software
sorry for being negative, but we appraisers dont have many options for appraisal software