File Syncing: which programs are easiest, and do most?

Started by Bernadette, March 25, 2017, 08:33:52 AM

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Gardener

"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

aquinas138

Quote from: Bernadette on March 27, 2017, 07:43:07 PM
Quote from: aquinas138 on March 27, 2017, 11:00:26 AM
Quote from: Gardener on March 25, 2017, 10:13:57 AM
In all honesty, I find my smartphone is more used for wasting time than anything practical.

It has been useful on occasion, like when shopping and trying to determine if something is a good deal (particularly at a thrift store where I cannot necessarily go back and find the item the next day).

My plan, once we are no longer under contract, is to move to a basic call/text phone and have my wife keep the smart phone.

I switched to Ting, which has saved me gobs of money. My wife and I both have smart phones, and since Ting really only charges for what you use, we usually pay ~$45 for the two of us. In a data-heavier month, it's $50-55. It's perfect for no more data than we use, and more convenient than prepaid plans. You have to bring your own phone, so if your existing phone isn't compatible with their network, there can be an upfront cost, but I just by a refurb off of ebay anyway. I save more than $150 on the phone itself, and the bill for the two of us is half of my old AT&T plan that was just me.
Can you break down your data usage for me? What makes it less than other people's? And I appreciate the way you think. ;)

My wife and I together usually use around 1.5 GB; we play Apple Music on our commutes, but no video on cellular. We have gone over 2GB recently, but the bill was still sub-$55. Ting charges for certain "buckets" or usage thresholds - you only pay for the threshold you reach. So on the linked chart, we have 2 phones ($12), and usually use less than 1000 minutes ($9), less than 1000 texts ($5 - iMessages use data, not text), and data runs $16-20. Fees are barely more than $5. If you used a ton of data, this would be expensive, and you would be better off with a standard plan, but if you're a modest data consumer, it's great.

The only downside I've found is that they don't (yet) support visual voicemail on GSM. That's not a huge deal for me, and there are workarounds besides.
What shall we call you, O full of grace? * Heaven? for you have shone forth the Sun of Righteousness. * Paradise? for you have brought forth the Flower of immortality. * Virgin? for you have remained incorrupt. * Pure Mother? for you have held in your holy embrace your Son, the God of all. * Entreat Him to save our souls.

Bernadette

#17
Quote from: Gardener on March 27, 2017, 08:24:04 PM
Quote from: Bernadette on March 27, 2017, 07:49:50 AM
Quote from: Gardener on March 27, 2017, 06:40:36 AM
Please don't Chromebook.
Now I need to know why.

What's your max budget?

What will you do with it?

Max budget is undetermined, since I'm only planning to get a new computer when my old computer dies/becomes unuseable. So far, it's going strong. This is just tossing around ideas for the future, while they come so easily to my net and I don't have to seek them out. ;)

As for what I'll do with it: word processing and productivity, mostly. Anything else would be a temptation to distraction. This is going to be a tool, not a toy. I have other devices as toys: this one needs to be dedicated (at least until I develop enough self-discipline where it doesn't need to, anymore).

My particular needs for a cell phone under current conditions are:
Few minutes: calls will only be as necessary; I'm not a big phone person
low-mid data requirements, as long as I can work offline and upload wirelessly
good bit of texting capability, since I can see this coming in pretty handy. Cross-network texting would be a huge bonus, but I don't know how common a feature that is.
My Lord and my God.

Gardener

Quote from: Bernadette on March 28, 2017, 02:31:17 AM
Quote from: Gardener on March 27, 2017, 08:24:04 PM
Quote from: Bernadette on March 27, 2017, 07:49:50 AM
Quote from: Gardener on March 27, 2017, 06:40:36 AM
Please don't Chromebook.
Now I need to know why.

What's your max budget?

What will you do with it?

Max budget is undetermined, since I'm only planning to get a new computer when my old computer dies/becomes unuseable. So far, it's going strong. This is just tossing around ideas for the future, while they come so easily to my net and I don't have to seek them out. ;)

As for what I'll do with it: word processing and productivity, mostly. Anything else would be a temptation to distraction. This is going to be a tool, not a toy. I have other devices as toys: this one needs to be dedicated (at least until I develop enough self-discipline where it doesn't need to, anymore).

My particular needs for a cell phone under current conditions are:
Few minutes: calls will only be as necessary; I'm not a big phone person
low-mid data requirements, as long as I can work offline and upload wirelessly
good bit of texting capability, since I can see this coming in pretty handy. Cross-network texting would be a huge bonus, but I don't know how common a feature that is.

Ok.

Then you don't really need a whiz-bang laptop. 4GB of RAM would be sufficient. Hard drive (HDD or SSD) won't matter much either, particularly if you use an external for backups -- can also use it for main data storage).

I'd check out Amazon or microcenter.com when you are ready to buy.

As far as phone -- I'm not aware of anything which is a main player which would prohibit inter-network texting... intra-network only sounds like some kid's phone, or something Zack Morris would use.
"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Hat And Beard

Quote from: Gardener on March 28, 2017, 06:37:34 AM
Then you don't really need a whiz-bang laptop. 4GB of RAM would be sufficient. Hard drive (HDD or SSD) won't matter much either, particularly if you use an external for backups -- can also use it for main data storage).

I'd check out Amazon or microcenter.com when you are ready to buy.

Perhaps buy a used laptop from newegg? https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834321996 That computer will last for her use for another 4 or 5 years and she could probably buy it right now if she wanted. :laugh:

Gardener

She could pay not much more for a new, clearance item from microcenter.
"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Hat And Beard

#21
Quote from: Gardener on March 28, 2017, 08:10:22 AM
She could pay not much more for a new, clearance item from microcenter.

I'm looking at the site for microcenter and I don't see anything. I see refurbished laptops like newegg has, and they're all of comparable specs.

I'm a big fan of thinkpads because they're really durable. I know it's a cult, but any laptop you can do this with has already proven itself in my book:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDmCmmvIA8A[/yt]

ETA: That laptop still runs.

Gardener

Microcenter is store-based. If the store you selected doesn't have anything, you won't see it.

"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Hat And Beard

Quote from: Gardener on March 28, 2017, 08:32:01 AM
Microcenter is store-based. If the store you selected doesn't have anything, you won't see it.

You weren't impressed by the thinkpad?  :'(

Gardener

Quote from: Hat And Beard on March 28, 2017, 10:43:41 AM
Quote from: Gardener on March 28, 2017, 08:32:01 AM
Microcenter is store-based. If the store you selected doesn't have anything, you won't see it.

You weren't impressed by the thinkpad?  :'(

They're fine. Have supported them before. Typically the IBM business-purposed laptops have some better hardware. My only hangup would be the refurb aspect. Then again, I've seen enough borked new machines to not have a warm and fuzzy about those either.

"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Bernadette

#25
Ladies; gentlemen: I'm building my own (Laptop)! ;D :grin:
  I'll sync at home, at night, and charge there, too. And get a cheap, 4G tablet or something for texting with. I feel so smart.  :P
My Lord and my God.

Gardener

Quote from: Bernadette on March 29, 2017, 05:46:09 PM
Ladies; gentlemen: I'm building my own;D :grin:




You... you.... cannot build your own! The Guild will not allow it! You're putting 10 year old Chinese kids out of work!
"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Bernadette

Quote from: Gardener on March 29, 2017, 05:48:36 PM
Quote from: Bernadette on March 29, 2017, 05:46:09 PM
Ladies; gentlemen: I'm building my own;D :grin:




You... you.... cannot build your own! The Guild will not allow it! You're putting 10 year old Chinese kids out of work!

But I must. I am compelled to. And I can even "make" it virtuous (go ahead: ask me how. C'mon.)  ;D
My Lord and my God.

Kaesekopf

Quote from: Bernadette on March 29, 2017, 05:46:09 PM
Ladies; gentlemen: I'm building my own (Laptop)! ;D :grin:
  I'll sync at home, at night, and charge there, too. And get a cheap, 4G tablet or something for texting with. I feel so smart.  :P

Why would you build a laptop?  O.o
Wie dein Sonntag, so dein Sterbetag.

I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side.  ~Treebeard, LOTR

Jesus son of David, have mercy on me.

Gardener

Quote from: Kaesekopf on March 29, 2017, 11:32:33 PM
Quote from: Bernadette on March 29, 2017, 05:46:09 PM
Ladies; gentlemen: I'm building my own (Laptop)! ;D :grin:
  I'll sync at home, at night, and charge there, too. And get a cheap, 4G tablet or something for texting with. I feel so smart.  :P

Why would you build a laptop?  O.o

That would be my only question -- the form factor and associated headaches. I'll replace parts in one, but I won't build one.
"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe