boards/forums for newbies; Motorola Moto-X (Android) phones?

[Rebel]

Were there one to read, I would have read it by now.

Would any of these be helpful?

[ChrisGreaves]

Were there one to read, I would have read it by now.

Would any of these be helpful?

Thanks Rebel, but as soon as I clicked on your link I saw that mostly the set of links were purpled, that is, I've already been through this.

I am a staunch believer in working through a good user manual on the grounds that I didn't have to remember everything that is in the manual, but I can remember that there is something in the manual ("Oh yes, now I recall seeing something about being able to force photos to be saved to the memory card ...").

I am gradually making progress, but it is by accidentally touching a significant part of the screen or accidentally swiping somewhere that I discover things. Learning by a Random Walk is not a good way to learn.

It strikes me as odd that I have to stab at the screen to take a photo, which means my photos are all blurry. I'm sure there is a better way, but searching online for every single trick is beginning to bug me.

(signed) "temporarily disgruntled" of Toronto

[HansV]

It strikes me as odd that I have to stab at the screen to take a photo, which means my photos are all blurry.

A very gentle tap on the screen should be sufficient.

[BobArch2]

Were there one to read, I would have read it by now.

Would any of these be helpful?

Thanks Rebel, but as soon as I clicked on your link I saw that mostly the set of links were purpled, that is, I've already been through this.

Hey Chris, did you download the User Manual in PDF format using any one of Rebel's link(s). I just tried it and the manual is pretty informative.

[Rebel]

Learning by a Random Walk is not a good way to learn.

So then I'm baffled as to why you seem to insist on "learning" via that method.
Your choice of course, but if you can't (or won't) read the manuals, then ? ? ? ? ?

[ChrisGreaves]

It strikes me as odd that I have to stab at the screen to take a photo, which means my photos are all blurry.

A very gentle tap on the screen should be sufficient.

Well. OK> Perhaps after a few minutes I was getting a LITTLE frustrated.
My old flip-phone had a little button on the side.
I have tried a very gentle tap, and as long as I do it at the bottom half of the screen it works.
Of course, that would be the right-hand side, or the left-hand side depending on which way I rotated the camera for a landscape shot.

In all the material I d/l and reviewed before sitting down that first evening I didn't see anything that said how to operate the camera. just how to bring up the ap, and how to disable/turn/shut it off.

This morning I saw a thin crescent moon in the sky, and contemplated trying a zoom shot, but realized that i didn't know how to zoom.
There is a rotating arc looms out the left hand side but nothing there said zoom.
Tried the volume rocker-switch.
Went to make my breakfast ...

Felt better after that!
Cheers
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

Not a problem Bob.

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If anything I am now suffering from a surfeit of material.
The image shows the PDF files in my laptop's Moto-X folder. Double that number of web pages, and those web pages from Bell Mobility won't load properly offline in either Firefox or Chrome

I maintain a Diary.doc to which I append each new question as it comes up, and skim through unanswered questions before tackling a manual, in the belief that my mind will be triggered when I see outstanding topics.

I suspect I'd better set aside a solid block of time, say three hours, to wade through everything.

There is a ton of documentation, PDFs, web pages, forums and so on, but I had not (yet) noticed a standalone document that went through all the essentials in a detailed manner.
I miss those A4-sized three-ring binders that covered the entire operating system for the NOVA or the IBM.
There was another thick 3-ringer for the assembly language.

(signed)
"frustrated and not loving it, but getting there" of Toronto.

[ChrisGreaves]

So then I'm baffled as to why you seem to insist on "learning" via that method. Your choice of course, but if you can't (or won't) read the manuals, then ? ? ? ? ?

Hi Rebel. Please see also my earlier replies.

I am not advocating the random walk method at all, it's just that sometimes I accidentally tap or swipe in a particular way and a new horizon opens up.
That is, I am learning some stuff by accident, as it were.

I don't have a problem with manuals.
Indeed were there a single document that I could sit and read with several cups of hot tea, I'd pass up on the next two John Grisham novels.

In the store I waited patiently while the clerk printed off a hard-copy of the document I was supposed to have read prior to signing the "I have read" line.
I said "I can't sign this because I haven't read this other document because I haven't received a copy".
The clerk, having loaded more paper into the printer then stood patiently while I skimmed all twenty pages of legalese.
Glad I did that, because although I had no problem with the terms and conditions, it did dig up two features of the plan I'd not known about, so a good-thing-all-round.

Tonight I will set aside hours and wade through every PDF in the folder, and then report back here.

I have learned how to delete a file in "File Wrangler", but can't see how to delete a folder once it is empty. I had half-expected that since the little three-dot menu allowed me to delete a file, a similar three-dot menu might allow me to delete a folder.
Apparently not.
I had even hoped that trying to delete a file from an empty folder might bring up a prompt 'This folder is empty, would you like to delete it?", but no such luck.
As Adrian Mole might have said.
Cheers
Chris
Oops, sorry:-

(signed) "Manual-lover" of Toronto.

[HansV]

By default, Android hides a lot of functionality from the user.

The free app File Commander lets you create and delete folders.

See How to Create and Delete a Folder in File Commander for Android Phones.

No doubt other file manager apps offer the same capability.

[BobArch2]

You have already downloaded one of the manuals that shows a complete set of features and how they work. It is for the Motorola Moto X 1st Gen, which is one I downloaded. Here is a snapshot of the first couple of features. Tapping on the one for Photos & videos shows how to zoom in, or out.

2016-08-29_10-55-25.gif

If you have the 2nd Gen or 3rd Gen of the Moto X, there are like manuals available.

[ChrisGreaves]

By default, Android hides a lot of functionality from the user.

Thanks for the links, Hans. Duly saved for perusal (and I guess installation).
Can you offer a reason why Android might go out of its way to hide functionality?
I'm sure that all the stuff will be intuitive to me - once I learn all about it - but it seems a bit like walking. Once we have learned how to walk, it is intuitive, but there were a lot of skinned knees and sore bottoms (and a few tears) along the way.

FWIW I noticed yesterday that my HUGE 8GB memory card is somewhat eclipsed by the puny 10GB on the phone.
I suppose now I will have to get a proper memory card that won't put me to shame. Or at least will store six weeks of music files (in case my flight is delayed)

Given that much memory it seems that it ought not hurt to put a complete manual of basic functions on the phone. The last section could be "How to delete this manual now that you have read it"!

Thanks again for the links and insight.

[ChrisGreaves]

You have already downloaded one of the manuals t....

Thank you Bob.
If it hadn't been for all that chatter about selecting tables in MSWord, I was going to spend this evening reading about MOTO-X (grin!).

Perhaps a part of my problem is that with smartphones I am a complete newbie, starting from scratch.
If you've ever coached a raw novice into using a Computer plus Windows plus Internet plus Web plus Email plus Attachments all at once, you'll know what I mean.
My case then is further complicated because I thought I knew all about that stuff, after years of practice, but the user-interface for smartphones (or at least, Android) is different.

On top of that while the MOTO-X manuals are no doubt good (once I know enough to bootstrap my learning), there still appears to me to be no "Moto-X and BELL Mobility" manual, that presents the entire system as a single system.

Answering incoming calls is covered (I am sure) in the MOTO-X manuals.
But picking up voice mail must, of necessity, be unique to BELL.

Although, I was hopeful after the Millennium bug scare that there would be but a single interface for debit-card machines, voice-mail etc. (Rudi: You know very well what I mean!)
(signed) "Calming down after my third coffee" of Toronto.

[HansV]

Can you offer a reason why Android might go out of its way to hide functionality?

Operating systems for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) are intended to be used by all kinds of people, including those who aren't familiar with the way desktop/laptop computers work, so their interface is simplified and restricted.

[ChrisGreaves]

Can you offer a reason why Android might go out of its way to hide functionality?

Operating systems for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) are intended to be used by all kinds of people, including those who aren't familiar with the way desktop/laptop computers work, so their interface is simplified and restricted.

Thanks Hans.
This makes sense in a weird way.
It seems akin to "You are all of you coming with different skills sets, so we are only providing this one-page guide".

I know that that is an oversimplification, but to my mind, regardless of skill level, there seems to be a need for something to provide hand-holding for the basic functions, such as how to send and receive voice calls.

Thanks
Chris

[HansV]

Android is supposed to be intuitive...

To make a phone call, start the Phone app. You can then either select one of your contacts, or click the phone pad icon and tap the phone number.

When you receive a phone call, you'll see a phone symbol on your screen, with instructions to swipe it to the right to accept the call or to the left to reject it.

[ChrisGreaves]

On top of that ...

Here's another wrinkle:
Last night I was reading and saw something about "Moto-Assist".
Three minutes ago I was working through my diary and searched for "Moto-x motoassist" and found this page

OK.
So I had previously Googled for Moto-X features of some kind and found a web page, saved it, read it, without realising that it was out of date.
I should, of course, check the date of every web page.
But that doesn't really help. The owner of this (same) page is under no obligation to update or remove the page. The information may still be relevant.

It could be true that I didn't realise which of all those PDFs is the one for me, but with a new phone my tendency is to grab as much reading material as possible and read through it. I'm not sure that I would have been able to determine which PDF was the most current (print or save date is no sure guide).

Perhaps I was just to keen to get into the phone and master all the features. At least how to pick up on an incoming call.

I am enjoying the voice-recognition:-
Yesterday, just for laughs, I hid the phone under a cushion on my sofa, walked away and called out "OK MOTO-X" and then "Where are you?".
It gamely started beeping expecting me to go find it, but cruel heartless bastard that I am, I just walked away and washed my breakfast dishes and ignored its plaintive cries.
Serves it right.
It's a bloody little time-waster is what it is ....

(signed) "Luddite" (retired) of Toronto

[ChrisGreaves]

Android is supposed to be intuitive...... you'll see a phone symbol on your screen, with instructions to swipe it to the right to accept the call or to the left to reject it.

Not on this device!
When the phone rings, 3 to 5 concentric circles appear and vibrate.
That's all.
Five inches of black screen with five tiny blue circles like stone ripples in a pond.

What's a guy to do?
I tried tapping the circle. It seemed to be drawing attention to itself, and so tapping it seemed to me to convey the message "OK, I'm here; what next?"

The only people who phone me are women (Norma, Cathy, JoAnne, Eva, Marjan etc) so every incoming phone call is important.

For the first two days I decided to let incoming calls go to voice-mail, because I had worked out how to pick up voice-mails!

Then I learned that I had to SWIPE RIGHT to pick up the phone, but only after I had accidentally SWIPED LEFT and dismissed a call. (sorry, Norma!)

I kid you not; there is/was no visual clue or pop-up menu on an incoming call, and I've watched the screen several times since then.

I suspect that Motorola are in league with Microsoft, who have told Motorola how much I hate changes to the vehicle!

Cheers
chris
P.S. I'm not totally fed up, but I think I'm fairly bright, and am convinced that there are serious obstacles to learning these intuitive devices/systems.

[BobArch2]

I have a Moto G, an earlier model of the X. I just checked the apps on the G and there is an app called Device Help. It's icon is a blue question mark. Entering that app looks to be a user guide. Not too sure if it covers all of the material as is presented in the PDF document but is fairly comprehensive.

I am assuming you know how to access the various apps that come with the Moto. If not, look at the bottom of the main screen and you will see a circle with six small squares. That is the entry point. At least for the G.

As a side note, your issues are leading me to examine more of my Moto G. Great learning experience... thank-you.

P.S. You can always add Dropbox as an app and store your various documents in there.

[BobH]

There is a camera app for iPhone called 645Pro. I don't know if it is available for the Android OS, but if it is you should give it a look. It can be set to take a series of shots using different exposure variables for each press of the 'shutter release' which quite frequently gives me a much better shot than if I had tried to manage settings before taking a pic.

[ChrisGreaves]

I feel that an apology is due.

I owe you all, those of you who have responded, and those of you who have read and figured that I was beyond your help.

Perhaps I have found myself in a stressful time, new phone, preparation for vacation, six(!!) construction projects surrounding my humble abode, wishing that my body was where my mind was (Poissy) ...

I am sorry that my attitude has been that of a petulant child of only seventy years ... You all deserve better.

I spent the morning organising and prioritising my questions and notes, and am here in the library taking a break before strolling downhill back to Jackhammer Alley.

I see another couple of new posts and will reply to them tomorrow.

(signed) "Humbly Gratefully" of Toronto.