Thursday, August 31, 2017

Typing on a keyboard with an unconfigured synaptics keypad is awful!

I'm using a Live system and having a lot of problems with the synaptics touch pad.  I have to be SUPER careful not to lean any part of my hand or arm on any part of the keyboard or surrounding area; otherwise unplanned cursor movement or cutting out text takes place; it's no wonder that I use phones for short messages.

At work I have a docking station; that helps a LOT!

Update: if the system you are using has the synaptics tool.  PCLinuxOS is interesting: they have a graphical version that allows you to toggle the enabling or disabling of the touchpad.

MOTO G5 Plus vs desktop computer and previous Droid phone

Ever since the original Motorola Droid phone came out in 2009 I have been a fan of the Droid line of Android phones.

Motorola has produced many good models that always have excellent phone reception and call quality.

Now with the E and G series you can get a really inexpensive phone like the MOTO E4 for around $130 or the best budget phone on the market, the MOTO G5+ for $299.


Both deals trounce the popular phones, undercutting them considerably without sacrificing speed or call quality.

I find myself frequently using the phone instead of the computer to write quick notes.

My only issues with the Droids: the Droid Bionic tended to run a bit hot. Not too surprisingly it warped a battery the last month I had it.  The Bionic came after the original Motorola Droid phone and it was an early 4G LTE model. Maybe that's why it tended to run hot.  It was considerably faster than the 3G Droid.

I had the MOTO X next and really enjoyed it, then came the Droid Turbo.  Really solid phone.  Ended up working well past the two year contract, so I had time to experiment with the no contract unlocked G5+.

Only disadvantage is changing volume.  It's touchy and difficult to move between soft and medium-loud volume.  Otherwise this is the best deal around.

Performance is good enough to use instead of a computer, particularly because there is no bloatware installed.  I have a stock Android 7.0 software with only the apps I installed.  I didn't even have Facebook or Messenger installed at first, but I installed Firefox Focus and often use it instead of browsers that track my every move.

The bottom line is that I use the phone that greets me, 'Hello MOTO"!