What to do with an old iPad 2

Staying at home has made me look for new ways of spending my time.

Two ways.

I had been thinking of what to do with old abandoned devices, and I had been playing piano after a long interim.

The two came together.

I could use the old tablet for sheet music at the piano.

That would allow me to rediscover and maybe revive what I had half-forgotten from the past. Maybe learn something new.

The process of doing just that resulted in some discoveries.

I needed first to create a library of sheet music.

I went to the Internet Archive to download some fakebooks, a process which reacquainted me with the wonders of the archive. No cost and an abundance of free media of all kinds. We all use it for too little.

I downloaded two huge fakebooks to iBooks.

I then printed out a few items and then decided to simply to use the iPad screen for sheet music rignt on the piano.

I then decided to add a few functions to the iPad in between playing.

The iPad 2 cannot run newer apps.  I reset the iPad to factory with as few apps as possible to avoid slowing things down.

Most can be done with the browser anyway.

But nowadays we need to be able to stream video and prefer to use voice input.

The old iPad did a good job with YouTube streaming but at first I could not dictate to the browser.

I could not load the chrome browser and Safari did not support voice.

A big downer.

I wad stunned to find a simple solution from an unsuspected source. Microsoft Edge provided voice browsing.  A solution from Apple's competitor!!!

I could also have installed Dragon Dictate but I did not try it.

So the old iPad 2 could be made to work just fine if a bit on the slow side, well worth the effort.

Don't get me wrong. The new iPad is a bargain for its speed and updated apps.

But the only important thing I could not do with the old iPad was to dictate into Google Docs. I do that with my iPhone anyway.

Maybe I could have done that with Dragon Dictate. No matter.

Anyway, don't give up on your old iPad!

In

Getting Computing Up to Date for Covid-19

 With covid-19, more time at home, and slower internet, I needed to rework my computer arrangements.     I needed to speed everything up since I am using internet so much more than before.

I realized my five year old router was very slow and I replaced it and moved it to a central position in our living space.    

At my computer stations, I installed  Intel PC Windows 10 sticks so that I could locate them in the best position to receive Wi-Fi.  They save space. 

I added a new 24” Insignia Fire TV with 3 HDMI inputs, one for my old Tower, one for the Windows PC stick, and one for Chromecast.    I installed endless Linux alongside Windows for a faster speed and fewer support issues.

I kept an old Dell display for a Chromebook and for Roku.    It never worked well with Windows.

Wherever possible, I moved away from Wi-Fi, which has become extremely slow with heavy usage nearby.     When our living space is re-carpeted this fall,  I will be extending flat ethernet cable under it to reach  everywhere as opposed to relying on Wi-Fi.     I have ethernet adapters for iPad and and tablets.

I retired other older tablets and replaced them with a Kindle Fire 8, a Walmart ONN tablet*, and a wonderful Lenovo Chromebook designed for students: fast and rugged and with a wonderful trackpad,      I use all these in my easy chair or at bedside or away from home.

None of this equipment requires special attention except where Windows is used.     I need to police Windows memory tightly, even though I added SD memory to the sticks and primarily use cloud memory anyway.  

I have added very inexpensive (under $30) microphone headsets which work both wired and with Bluetooth so that I can take advantage of using voice wherever necessary as opposed to typing.    These included a headset which works directly with USB.     

I added 7-port powered hubs for the sticks, to service printers and also support USB mics and speakers.      I did away with wireless mouses to avoid the annoyance of batteries going dead.

So now I am back to getting things done fast. 

•   if you buy this, don't buy the Walmart case, but get a Fintie case which fits better