new user help, please!

[scubaboyc]

Hello all,

I have a couple of question that I couldn't "find" answers to. Sadly, I have an anti-matter touch with tech.

1 - Web pages - Any suggestions on how to view the non-mobile versions of websites?
I've tried both the advanced setting and the about:debug to no avail.
Am I missing something? Should I use another browser (suggestions?)

2 - (Related to 1) Can I watch videos (tv shows, movies, etc) by fixing the problems in #1? I bought my tablet some my wife could have the computer and my kids could have the tv. All the research I did said I could watch streaming videos, but have yet to do so.

3 - Saving - How do I save files to the tablet?
A - I have a file manager for accessing the USB, but where do I put the file if it's not a picture? I lost several files to the abyss within my Droid X2 and don't want to do the same here.
B - I never get the option to save files, ever. How do go about saving a spreadsheet that was emailed to me? Can I save files I created on the tablet to the tablet or does it all need to be on the cloud? Parts of my building does not have wifi and I'd like access to some of my non media files.

Kinda #4 - Is there a "Using/ Navigating an Android Tablet for Dummies" thread, book, YouTube video, something? I know I'm evil for thinking it should "be like Windows", but I feel I'm lacking in the underlying basics that would elevate much of the frustration I'm having.
Any help/ advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Icebike]

1) Web
The About : debug is a two step item, so make sure you did that correctly. Use search to find those posts describing this step. Its a little tricky. Don't forget the UAS String under debug in those steps.

Also bear in mind that this process has a habit of undoing itself if you power off (reboot) the tablet for some people. I have NOT found this to be the case with mine. Mine has been set to desktop and has stayed there. Don't forget to also set View mode Desktop under advanced in the browser settings.

2) Movies and video
Lots of different Video Sources, so no one person can answer that fully.

Streaming TV example:

1. Install Adobe Flash free from market.
2. Enable plugins in the browser settings
3. Go to CBS.COM
4. Drill down in shows, find one to test with. (Clips or Full Episodes)
5. Tap it and it should start playing.
6. Tap the playing image, then tap full screen.

There are a hundred other sources of on-line streaming tv shows, and I don't know about most of them. Can't vouch for any of them. Don't over look YouTube.

Movies Example
Google Movies came with the latest version of Android. With this you buy and download a movie and watch it right there on the screen.
Tap Apps (upper right corner)
Find Movies (red Icon). Rent something to test with. (Your google account will be charged).
Download any time in the next few days and watch it within 24 hours after download.

Side loaded movies example:
You need to have a DVD and rip the movie on your computer, then transfer to a microSD card or USB stick and get a player from the market. This is more than I want to cover in this post.


3 Saving Files:

Get a Gmail with a Spread Sheet,
Tap Save
It will go to downloads.
Use your file manager to find that directory, tap the file, answer which app should be used to open it (if there are more than one).

If you don't have a file manager, go to settings, / Storage / Tap Downloads, etc.

Treat Downloads as your In-box.
Don't get in the habit of leaving stuff there. Use a file manager to Copy it from there and paste it to where it belongs: Songs in Music, Documents in Documents, pictures in ... well, you get the idea.
An organized Tablet is what you want. Purge downloads periodically, because it gathers detritus and fills up your storage.

Get a MicroSD card.
This will be shown under /mnt/external_sd in a file manager.
Create folders of similar names on the MicroSD card using your File Manager. But Don't name them exactly the same, or confusion sets int. I call mine PicturesSD, MusicSD, MoviesSD, etc.
Strive to keep most of your stuff on the microSD card (external_sd) instead of on the internal SDcard directory. When upgrades happen, or you have to Factory reset your tablet for what ever reason, you can remove the microSD card and be assured it won't get clobbered.

4 Learning.
Just do it.
Anything dangerous will ask you if you are sure before it does it (deleting, etc.) Don't Click (tap) thru pop-ups. Read them.
Have fun with it. Learning is half the fun. Don't be afraid of it.

 

[quantrel]

So if you want to save you must go through an email account? NO other way?? PLEASE advise, I am going crazy here.
Thanks

 

[scubaboyc]

Thanks!
I tried both the advanced setting and debug again, to no avail. Next I'm going to try deleting my bookmarks. So in the meantime, I downloaded Dolphin for Pad, that seems to working.
Upgrades can mess w/ my data?
Does the tablet automatically pull info from like folders or do I need manually load them? What your suggesting is what I tried to do on my Droid X2 and generated the abyss.
microSD is next on my list.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Icebike]

So if you want to save you must go through an email account? NO other way?? PLEASE advise, I am going crazy here.
Thanks

No you don't have to go thru an email account. The OP asked explicitly about email attachments.

Did you miss that FULL SIZE USB port on the side of the tablet? Use a thumb drive. Use the microUSB port to plug it into your computer. Use wifi to surf shared drives from other computers on your network using a file manager like ES File Explorer.

What is it you want to save? Where is it located now?

We can't give meaningful answers without specifics.

 

[Icebike]

Thanks!
I tried both the advanced setting and debug again, to no avail. Next I'm going to try deleting my bookmarks. So in the meantime, I downloaded Dolphin for Pad, that seems to working.
Upgrades can mess w/ my data?
Does the tablet automatically pull info from like folders or do I need manually load them? What your suggesting is what I tried to do on my Droid X2 and generated the abyss.
microSD is next on my list.

Thanks again for the help.

Don't clear your book marks.
Clear your cache. And remember the web site has ultimate control of what it sends you, and often if it can detect a tablet (or any android browser) it just defaults to sending you to the mobile site.

Opera outsmarted SyFy.com for me, but they use some hoky video playing method so you can't see any of their video content using the browser. You probably have to install their app.

The tablet does not "pull info". Like every other computer you have to use the copy and paste method, using a file manager like ES File Explorer and copy files from Shared folders on you local area network, or from a thumb drive, and save them to a location you want.

There is a rather lame drag and drop capability for windows if you install the acer drivers available from their web site, but you have to cable the acer to your computer to get it to work and you can only save it to subdirectories on the SDCard, not the external_sd.

 

[scubaboyc]

What I meant by "pull info" is does it just search by file type when using an app or does it pull from "similar" folders? For example, all of my pics on my Droid X2 are in different folder (dcim, camera, my_pix, etc) on both the internal and external SD. When using my gallery, it pulls all of them so I can see them. My abyss was created when I had it plugged into my laptop and tried to move some pics and a word doc onto it. Saw the pics in the gallery; opened the doc in Quickoffice. Next time I turned it on, they were "gone". Sometimes they pop up, other times they cant be found. I just want to make sure I'm naming them right, I know that doing that wrong can be painful.
My thumb drive issue is that I can files on it but not save them from it. When I did my running around trying to decide which tablet to buy, I went to 5 different stores and brought my drive with me. I plugged it in and tried to access the drive. I had no problems and it didn't seem like I was using a downloaded file manager. They way I interrupt the owner's manual, I shouldn't need one. However, I downloaded Astro and I'm getting better at using it.
Dolphin for Pad seems to be working well for me. I just feel the need to conquer the hiccup in the tablet browser. I'll feel like I accomplished something

Thanks for all your help.