Device for my Mum...

My mother would like me to sort out a new device for here and I am pondering:

Android Tablet
Laptop

The reason I ask on a Linux forum is that I am running Linux and currently support her on her Windows XP netbook using TeamViewer. I'd like to be able to support her remotely on her future device. She'd like a tablet but I can see drawbacks:

• Storage - a tablet is likely to only have 16 or 32 gb. How do I ensure she has all her stuff to hand?
• Remote support - this is probably the deal-breaker. Are there any remote access tools for controlling tablets? I certainly can't find any.
• Applications - Probably not a huge problem as I am sure there are android apps that will edit Word and Excel, which is about all she needs
• user interface - Obviously this is very different (and may be part of the reason I can't find remote control options).

One thing I did think it that I could upload all her stuff to the Cloud (maybe an upgraded DropBox account) and get her using the Google applications. Maybe getting her to mail me screenshots of issues she may be having as a way around the lack of remote control software, if that is possible.

Or I could just sort her out with a new laptop.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

--- Alistair.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Morat

• Storage - a tablet is likely to only have 16 or 32 gb. How do I ensure she has all her stuff to hand?
• Remote support - this is probably the deal-breaker. Are there any remote access tools for controlling tablets? I certainly can't find any.
• Applications - Probably not a huge problem as I am sure there are android apps that will edit Word and Excel, which is about all she needs
• user interface - Obviously this is very different (and may be part of the reason I can't find remote control options).

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I'm no expert on the remote support bit, but:
*Storage: a great deal of Android tablets have expandable SD card slots, problem (kinda) solved
*There are several Office apps on android, some free. The question is, how does she feel about typing on a touchscreen?
*User Interface is on a per user basis, really. Take her to the store, and let her play around on a few :)

Hope I helped at least a little!

You really haven't told us much about her computing requirements. That will go a long way toward determining whether a tablet would be a suitable replacement for her netbook. Personally, I see tablets (at this stage in their evolution) to be supplements to PC's rather than replacements.

Perhaps you could buy her a tablet and upgrade her netbook from XP to a lightweight Linux distro. That way she could still have both types of devices.

Remote desktop wise, doesn't Skype have a screen viewer / desktop share mode?