Community a little slow?

[joanmcq]

Since I read this mostly on my iPad, hovering isn't an option. I've never reported a post.  But I had no idea the share post icon was there until you mentioned it and I looked for it.

is the different greyscale the only option with this software?

btw, it is much improved than the first version!

[Abby Normal]

It IS a lot easier to read now than it was immediately after the transition.

We also now have a line of blue dashes across the page just above the first new unread post.  Nice!

​Thanks for pointing that out! I may never have noticed that or known what it meant.

[Eric]

Since I read this mostly on my iPad, hovering isn't an option. I've never reported a post.  But I had no idea the share post icon was there until you mentioned it and I looked for it.

is the different greyscale the only option with this software?

btw, it is much improved than the first version!

​No, hovering isn't an option on a touch screen, but tapping a particular post has the same effect as hovering on a computer.  There are additional controls that moderators and admins see when they tap a post as well.  

This is what the software looks like by default.  It's the only option out of the box, but new themes can be built from scratch or purchased from 3rd party developers.  I have built custom themes for clients who needed a forum that matched their branding/existing site design, but it's a lot of work to change every single color, modify the layouts, and re-develop every graphic for every interface element.

This software is still very new, so there isn't much available for 3rd party plugins/themes.  As time goes on, I may buy other options for people to choose from.

[Jack from Ohio]

I like my desktop and my laptop.  No tablets in my world.

[joanmcq]

Desktop & laptop are in my offices.  The iPad travels around the house.  I'm on my front porch as I'm typing this.  That's why I read most of my forums on the tablet.

[JohnH]

i can't imagine being productive without a tablet. Desktops have their place and so do laptops.  I use a windows desktop and a Mac for my laptop. But my iPad mini with a Bluetooth keyboard frees me from the constraints of both those devices.  Just as Joan says, the tablet provided freedom you just can't get in any other way with any efficiency. 

[Eric]

I like my desktop and my laptop.  No tablets in my world.

Just think about all of that lost productivity while you're on the toilet.

[JohnH]

I'm already fairly productive at that time...

Edited May 6, 2015 by JohnH

[Jack from Ohio]

I like my desktop and my laptop.  No tablets in my world.

​

Just think about all of that lost productivity while you're on the toilet.

​I will pass on the large number of tacky comments that could be expressed here in response...

[Catherine]

One HUGE problem with tablets is privacy/security.  Look at the settings (and some of them are pretty deeply hidden):  all the apps want access to EVERYTHING (Denninger at market-ticker dot org has had some*excellent* reports on tablet security; he used to run an ISP so I give his opinions much credence).  So I will not use a tablet for anything that needs to be secure.  It's great for the handouts for my CPE meetings; instead of big floppy bunches of paper just my tablet.  It's great for pdf's of my talks.  It's great for games.  Won't use it for much else, though.

[michaelmars]

Just think about all of that lost productivity while you're on the toilet.

​Eric, I know you don't do taxes but you should realize that going to the toilet is a very rare luxury during tax season. 

[JohnH]

One HUGE problem with tablets is privacy/security.  Look at the settings (and some of them are pretty deeply hidden):  all the apps want access to EVERYTHING (Denninger at market-ticker dot org has had some*excellent* reports on tablet security; he used to run an ISP so I give his opinions much credence).  So I will not use a tablet for anything that needs to be secure.  It's great for the handouts for my CPE meetings; instead of big floppy bunches of paper just my tablet.  It's great for pdf's of my talks.  It's great for games.  Won't use it for much else, though.

​Catherine: That's interesting.  So I take it that you don't use your tablet for email?  What about forums such as this one?  I use my iPad in the same way I use my iPhone - email, texting, forums, web surfing & searches/research.  But I don't use it for anything that needs to be secure.

[Catherine]

​Catherine: That's interesting.  So I take it that you don't use your tablet for email?  What about forums such as this one?  I use my iPad in the same way I use my iPhone - email, texting, forums, web surfing & searches/research.  But I don't use it for anything that needs to be secure.

​

Hi JohnH -- I leave my tablet at home.  I might use it for this forum:  nothing secure here.  I don't use it for email.  I would use it - using the Ixquick search engine - for research on open sites; nothing that needs a login.

 

[JohnH]

Speaking of the "hover" feature, I'm betting someone is working on an app to enable a form of hovering on the touch screen devices.  It will likely never be as convenient as the hover feature with a mouse, but one never knows what these creative minds can devise...

[Eric]

My last phone handled hovering, but it had an Wacom active digitizer built into a screen and a Wacom stylus.  Any of the Samsung Note series of tablets and phones have the feature available.  Doodling is the only thing that keeps my brain from totally checking out during a long meeting.

As far as app security goes, I can't speak about iOS because I don't have a lot of experience with it, but every time you install an App on Android, you are given a list of permissions to accept before the installation.  Whether the app will have access to your photos, or to your dialer, or to your contacts list, etc.  Of course most people don't look at them, but it's nice to have the information if you're interested in acting on it.  

Maybe you feel like tablet apps are less secure because they ask for permission, making you wonder what the app will be doing with that access?  Windows applications don't ask for anything but Administrator confirmation that you want to install it.  Once it's installed, a windows application has significant access to much of the system.  

No matter the OS / platform, it's pretty common for the freebie apps to make their money in other ways, hence the bundling of spyware/adware/malware.

[JohnH]

This discussion caused me to take a look at my iPhone for a unrelated reason.  Lately the battery has been draining very early in the day. I tried rebooting and a few other things, but still had the battery drain.  I took a closer look at my apps after reading Eric's post above, and noticed that WAZE had permission to run all the time in the background.  I used WAZE a couple of weeks ago, and I'll bet simply activating the app gives it permission to not only activate for the session, but to stay activated.  I'll know if that is the case by 5 or 6 pm today. Thanks Eric, for answering a question that hadn't even been asked (as well as the one which was). 

Edited May 7, 2015 by JohnH

[mcb39]

I have both AVG and Malwarebytes on my Android tablet.  I have no security issues.  In fact, I feel more comfortable using my tablet for private conversations, etc. because it does not have any of my tax info or any of my client info on it.  I also lock my tablet (just in case) and have to open it with a password. 

[Eric]

I'm already fairly productive at that time...

Multitasking!​

​​I will pass on the large number of tacky comments that could be expressed here in response...

​Hey, if whatever's written on the back of the shampoo bottle is interesting enough, then who am I to judge.

 

Alright, I'm sorry, no more toilet talk outa me.