Unfortunately our AGM has had to be deferred once more since we can't get all the officers of the Club to the June Meeting. The next meeting in July is also in doubt at the moment since Andy, who was to be the main presenter, is unwell.
This impromptu meeting is somewhat open ended at the moment. If you have a problem with your machine or need help with some software please bring it along and maybe we can sort things out for you. Also if you have some topic you would like to discuss or talk about then please do so.
Peter began by showing his new Android and demonstrated output to a TV monitor via HDMI and also Bluetooth connectivity to his Leica Disto 3a BT laser distance measurer.(LIDAR). This enabled readings of distance and angle to be inserted directly into an Excel spreadsheet using a Leica disto App. He also described some of the other apps which came with the Android. His machine was a Scroll Excel II 7" Tablet PC Android 4.0 ICS manufactured by StorageOptions and purchased via the BT shop website for just over £80. It has a capacitive touch screen and uses a Boxchip A10 Cortex A8 1.2Ghz processor with 512GB RAM and 8GB of memory with a possible extra 32GB via an optional micro SD card. It includes a WiFi connection 805·11 b/g/n.
It can output 1080p HD or 3D by connecting an HDMI cable (not supplied).
Installed software includes browser, email, adobe reader etc. Peter had purchased and installed Kingsoft Office and Adobe Flash and the Disto App mentioned above. The Kingsoft Office although it will read and write Excel files it does not have any mathematical functions included.
There is also some pre-loaded software which you can install later if wanted. He was still trying to learn how to use it!
Paul then took over and showed his machine running Froyo (Frozen Yogurt) an earlier version of the operating system(- see table below). Paul's machine is about 18 months old. His 10" tablet was made by Arnova. Apparently different manufacturers do not all provide upgrades to the latest operating system.
Android 2.0 Eclair (API level 5)
Android 2.0.1 Eclair (API level 6)
Android 2.0.1 Eclair (API level 7)
Android 2.2 - 2.2.3 Froyo (API level 8) ....... Paul's system
Android 2.3 - 2.3.2 Gingerbread (API level 9)
Android 2.3.3 - 2.3.7 Gingerbread (API level 10)
Android 3.0 Honeycomb (API level 11)
Android 3.1 Honeycomb (API level 12)
Android 3.2 Honeycomb (API level 13)
Android 4.0 - 4.0.2 Ice Cream Sandwich (API level 14)........Peter's system
Android 4.0.3 - 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (API level 15)
Android 4·1 Jelly Bean (API level 16)
Android 4·2 Jelly Bean (API level 17)
Paul likes to keep his machine switched on to give quick access rather than have to wait for it to boot up each time. By keeping WiFi turned off unless needed he finds he can extend the battery life on standby to several days.
Also due to licensing restrictions not all machines can access the Official Android App Store either. Peter's can't which may account for its low price; (I didn't know about all this when I bought mine- Peter) however there are still a lot of Apps available.
There are multiple home screens and is not Google approved so the Google Playstore is not available. However you can find software on Appslib. If you find a filename of the form called <app>.apk you can download and install this if it is free.
Useful Apps include the Kindle App, which Paul has synced with his phone so can carry on reading when he does not have his Android or kindle with him.
He also uses Evernote for note taking again synced to the cloud (Evernote Share) and for browsers he likes Dolphin or OneBrowser which also have Evernote plugins. So web pages and bookmarks can be loaded to Evernote.
Another App called Android Assistant has App backup as one of its features.
Also Hublife is a cloud based Calendar programme. The London Underground map is another useful App from TFL.co.uk. Fing can scan your WiFi to show all your IP addresses. EveryCicuitfree will allow you design electrical circuits and then test them. Electrodroid will give a lot of useful electronic circuit info like USB pinouts, resistor codes etc.
OISafe is an encrypted database for storing credit card PINs, passwords, etc. Team Viewer for controlling machines through the internet.
Shazam will identify a piece of music if you give it a few notes. It has an in-built microphone.
The CIA world fact book is also a mine of information.
Paul had visited Dragon Hall in Norwich recently and found QR codes on the wall of each room so using your own phone you can read them to obtain a description of the room you are in, instead of using an audio handset.
Android is another distribution of Linux, a card mount point is a folder and so even without the card installed you can still store files into the mount point. This explained Peter's puzzlement when he found he had files apparently stored in an SD card when he had in fact not got one installed. You can run Linux directly in an Android Terminal App.
This was a very informative meeting and there was quite a lot of general chat even though there were only three of us there. (Peter, Paul and Duncan). It shows how useful and flexible the tablet computers are these days. Thanks Paul for the Lion's share of this meeting.
We shall endeavour to hold our AGM once everyone is available.
| 2013 | ||
| June 19th | (AGM deferred) Impromptu evening | |
| July 17th | Arduino and programming | Andy et al |
| August 21st | Summer Social Evening - Venue TBA | |
| September 18th | Mac Evening | Gareth |
| October 16th | Raspberry Pi, Linux and RISCOS | All |
| November 20th | Video Editing | Peter et al |
| December 18th | Gadgets and Party Evening | All |
| 2014 | ||
| January 15th | Winter Social Evening - Venue TBA | All |
| February 19th | Windows Evening | Michael |
| March 19th | Computer Surgery | All |
| April 16th | AGM + | All |
Meetings are now on the Third Wednesday of the month unless otherwise stated.
Our meetings are held at the Bourne Vale Social Club, Halifax Road, Ipswich IP2 8RE , for a map and other details please see the website.
http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
The first visit is free and subsequent visits for non - members is £2·50. The membership fee is £20 due from the AGM date in April, but may be reduced for those joining late in the year.
We are continuing our publicity for EAUG events , however their website has not been updated for a year now. So if you wish to know information please phone one of their contacts.
Meetings are at the Great Baddow Village Hall, on the second Tuesday of the month
opening at 7:30 p.m. for a start at 7:45 - 8:00 p.m.
http://www.eaug.org.uk/mtg.htm
For directions see below (note the new web addresses)
http://www.eaug.org.uk or 'phone one of the contacts on http://www.eaug.org.uk/ppl.htm
Tea/coffee/biscuits usually available.
Visitors pay 2.00 GBP for the evening, which is deductible from the normal joining subscription if you decide to join at a later date.
See the Membership page of the website for more information:
They have now moved to the St. Andrew's Computer Club at Britannia Road, Ipswich.
They have a full programme on the parish website
(http://www.ourstandrews.co.uk), We may be able to make new contact with them to arrange something in common.
"ICENI does not have any Insurance cover for computers or other equipment so please be advised that you bring machines to the club at your own risk."
However many household insurance policies will include cover away from home often with no increase in premium. (Ed.)
Our website has had to be moved since BT is no longer giving free hosting to customers and Peter was running the old website on his account. So Gareth has been fortunate to register a web address of our own and has generously hosted it on his own woolridge domain. All our old website data has been ported to the new site and a redirection placed on the old address. The old site will disappear some time soon
If anyone would like a copy of the CD of our old newsletters this could be arranged.
I am open to suggestions on what people would like to have included in the website.
Our website URL is
http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Email to: iceni@woolridge.org.uk