On Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 2:48:03 PM UTC-5, Brian Christiansen wrote:


They have meddled with their file formating and extensions so that it will not interface well if at all with other devices.
I keep everything on my desktop computer, so when they did that the
tablet's usefulness ended.

That is perhaps true, but except as a experiment to see what might
happen when I connect it (ubuntu 14.04 recognizes it, ubuntu 12.04 did
not, or at least did not appear to), so I really do not have any
problems there.

Ubuntu Studio 16.04.1, on a custom build.
The tablet will not mount. It's icon blinks on the desktop, so the computer knows what it is and that it is there, but it cannot mount it so that you can access it. When I first got the thing back in August I did not have this problem. The tablet upgrades madly though, and will even turn itself on to do so. I really found that to be a boggler! Right around the beginning of November is when it started refusing to talk to my computer. I have just done a desktop software upgrade, so after I do a hardware upgrade tomorrow (new fan is all, Hyper 212 EVO, I'll either have to cut a hole in the side of the box or leave the side cover off to make it fit. Bit of fuss.) I'll try again. So far no upgrades have helped, but one never knows.
The fact that I use linux means no help from Amazon on this.

If you do opt for an Amazon device, make sure you turn off Alexa. Alexa will eat your charge very quickly. When it downloaded onto my tablet, battery life was cut in half until I turned it off.

I do not know what Alexa is, nor have I ever seen it on the list of
installed programs on my Fire, but I do agree that battery life is a
problem on tablets, but I don't think that problem is unique to Fires.

It could be that your Fire is older than mine and could not handle Alexa.
Alexa is a sort of a bot program that is supposed to help you with your shopping.
This I do not need or want, but it installed itself permanently so all I could do was turn it off. It eats charge like crazy and bogs the system.

When I got the tablet out of the box it was loaded with just over a page of pre-installs, not counting the standard stuff that you expect to find on a new OS. None of which could be removed or replaced. It has added stuff since then. The side pages are stacked with junk as well.

Oh, and if you put a book on there from anyplace but the kindle store, it sticks it in the documents folder not the book folder. Even if it is in the kindle format (.mobi). Even if you specifically put it in books, when you go to read it it will be in documents. Now the reader function is pretty darn good. Your book in the documents file will read normally, just as if it came from the store. I can actually read an e-book with no headaches, eyestrain, or glare issues. The folder goofiness is just a mild irritation quickly gotten over once you know what it is doing.

Mind you all my complaints about the thing may be unique to the specific Fire version I have.
I am also completely spoiled by how easy it is to customize a linux system, and the notion of not being able to remove useless software, especially memory heavy stuff, is just appalling to me.


The best technique I have found for extending battery life between
plugins is to fully shut it off between uses, and not just let the
screen go blank ("go to sleep").

At home I just keep it plugged in. I always shut it off completely, but when I pick it up again it is always on. That is one of the most irritating things about it. You would imagine that if it can turn itself on to upgrade it could just as easily turn itself off when it is done! I can put it in airplane mode to stop it doing that, then it takes an age to get to doing anything when I want it because it has to do all the upgrading it missed out on. Since I cannot use it as a reader I do not use it very often. easier just to keep it plugged in and let it do what it wants.
Anyway, an extension cord and a macro to micro usb cable and I can comfortably use it plugged in anywhere in the house. If I can get it usable again for anything but Neflix, video really eats the power, I will be able to use it for what I wanted it for which is all those hours in waiting rooms. Paperbacks tend to squish and mangle in my purse, hardbacks are cumbersome, and between my medical and Ash's school stuff (another school meeting coming up, I better lay in some crosses and holy water), I spend way too much time in waiting rooms.
I have surgery to fix the incisional hernia coming up next month. DH says he will lend me his power brick if it is going to be an overnight stay, which it probably will be all things considered. That way I can at least watch video if I haven't managed to sort the interface problem.


NightMist