1. davefromcm's Avatar
    I am a university professor and a father of 9. I am also a soccer coach, a musician and my kids all play soccer/hockey. I have a Blackberry Torch and a Playbook, and it has made me a very, very productive person. This device may not be for everyone but I can just relate my experiences and what I use every day. In just this past month and a half, my playbook has become indispensible.

    For my work, I lecture and this year, I have the tough 8:30am time slot. However, I got an HDMI to VGA box (cost about $300) and use my playbook and Slideshow to go for all my lectures. I use videos and youtube videos in my lectures and the PB has been phenomenal. I use Word to Go and Adobe Reader to read and make notes on papers and theses that I need to review (thus far, 5 papers and 4 theses). I use the screen capture a fair bit. I occasionally use Simple Grapher to make simple plots in my second year math course. I use Noto and Cogimap to brainstorm and it has made me much more productive.

    For scheduling and managing the 9 kids schedules and the 2 parent schedules, the ability to bridge my Torch to my PB is phenomenal. I can check email on one device and make changes to my calendar on the other. My kids use Facebook and BBM a lot so, needless to say, this device has made coordinating my "little company" pretty easy. Occasionally, I have used Bing Maps to find a location of an "away field" or "rink" but I haven't used it all that much. I use PlayCreator when I coach and it has been very useful when combined with Noto to create lineups.

    For leisure, I use Orb and Orb running on my home PC to allow me to access about 1 TByte of music. I am also a musician and love the ability to listen to whatever I want, whenever I want. I also use Orb to access home videos and photos. Needless to say, the built in camera and video has been used to death already.

    Other applications I find extremely useful is Bluebox, where I dump all documents I am currently working on so that I can access them whether I am at my PC or my PB. I use AIR Browser a lot and I use my PB in the mornings to watch television shows that I have missed, usually on Megavideo (all the videos play great), played on my HDTV while I run on the treadmill or elliptical. I use aVNC when I forget something at the office and I need to send myself a document to work on. I have even used StudentNotes to remind myself of some trig identities and integrals.

    Anyways, I have a bit of an unusual lifestyle so I thought I'd share how the PB has absolutely helped me keep on top of things. Would an Ipad 2 also work? Possibly but I don't really care. The PB works for me and that's the end of my story. What else could I use? More functionality in the apps, particularly Word, Sheet and Slideshow to Go. A better GPS program would be awesome. BLUETOOTH CONNECTIVITY for my bluetooth speakers would rock as we have these speakers all over the house and it is wonderful to be able to go into any room and wireless connect to a speaker. An application to do simple video editing would be incredible. Other than these small caveats, I love my PB. Just thought I would share.
    semicoln, shupor, boldbob and 18 others like this.
    05-26-11 07:42 PM
  2. sportline's Avatar
    9 like 3 x 3? that a lot to manage
    nice experience you got there. with 9 kids and all that work i think i can barely touch anything but a broomstick and a towel
    05-26-11 07:46 PM
  3. SmakBerry's Avatar
    holy crap NINE kids? You sir, are a busy man. haha
    Now, what were you saying?

    Just kidding, thanks for sharing
    05-26-11 07:52 PM
  4. semicoln's Avatar
    Great report. I'll have to try the apps that you are using. I'm a Ph.D. student, sounds like they might come in handy for me as well.
    05-26-11 07:56 PM
  5. BaconMunch's Avatar
    Congratulations on juggling students, your health style and still making time for your kids.
    05-26-11 07:57 PM
  6. Snoke's Avatar
    I hope this was from several women. I hope you didn't have one produce all.
    Busy guy and still making very good use of time.
    I like finding more uses for it, thanks for your info.
    05-26-11 08:00 PM
  7. Snick Snack's Avatar
    Phew... I'm exhausted just reading about your daily activities. You are definitely a super PBer!
    jpg likes this.
    05-26-11 09:27 PM
  8. davefromcm's Avatar
    Same wife for all nine kids.

    I should have mentioned that my wife and oldest kids all have BBs. The next three oldest are switching over this month from cell phones to BBs to make use of scheduling and BBM.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-26-11 09:32 PM
  9. mark_rivers19's Avatar
    I believe the OP is an NBA player, which explains the 9 kids.
    Kidding aside. Good post. I enjoyed reading it. What a breath of fresh air.
    05-26-11 09:36 PM
  10. drethos's Avatar
    yayyy some positive enlightenment in a largely negative time. thank you for the good read and damn 9 kids. thank you again
    05-26-11 09:37 PM
  11. snowindec9's Avatar
    wow from this its certain that the pros outweigh the cons if they are any.with 9 kids thats just amazing how you keep with a busy lifestyle.when i have kids of my own,i don't believe i would be able to do all that.anyways,i want to watch tv shows and movies on mine.how do you go about getting them on the device?where do you download them free from?also how do you transfer music from itunes library to pb?any help would be appreciated.thank you.
    05-26-11 11:15 PM
  12. letstalktablets's Avatar
    Wow, did RIM hire you for this sales pitch and if so how much did they pay you? lol, all jokes aside though that was very interesting to read. It's nice to hear that the PB has been so beneficial to you. As far as the few "caveats" that you mention I'm sure the PB will only improve over time and likely sooner than later all of those things you mention among many other things will be possible.

    Sounds like you have a very busy lifestyle, so it's reassuring to know you can manage and organize so much with the PB. Keep up the good work my friend.
    05-26-11 11:27 PM
  13. jajano's Avatar
    what a busy life..

    i'm looking forward to buy a PB and wanna see how it will make my hospital life more great... (i'm a medical degree)
    05-27-11 02:16 AM
  14. siausin's Avatar
    great stuff..thanks for sharing. i also like the screen capture function..when i watch HD video and like what i saw i used it to capture the screen shot. i also use it to capture website and email it to people to discuss a topic..i love it
    05-27-11 02:55 AM
  15. Username5300's Avatar
    To answer your question: Carefully? Congrats on what you have in your life, I can see how all of them having BB can be very useful. If you don't mind me asking, do you set up appointments (Dr., Sports, Dentist, Etc.) on their calendars to keep them all in line? I know that has to be tough on you and your wife. You should really consider some type of commercial for RIM. I personally think it is neat.
    05-27-11 04:57 AM
  16. bobalooski's Avatar
    I teach at a university and use the PB in the classroom. I use the browser to access our learning management platform and Slideshow, Sheet, and Word To Go to open students files. Just started using Zipio to unzip files because the system compresses the uploaded student files.
    I also use the browser to access my email via outlook web access and it works great. Adobe Connect also works good for displaying Breeze sessions. A few more apps and the PB will be a great device to carry into the classroom, hookup to the HDMI port and not have to carry in a laptop and books.
    05-27-11 05:46 AM
  17. cwoodffr's Avatar
    you just pointed out a very useful thing....using mail or calendar on bb or pb while the other is open on the other device. The other day i was entering an entire summer of my son's baseball schedule from a spreadsheet into calendar....switching app to app on the pb, vs having both up.

    duh moment
    05-27-11 06:27 AM
  18. davefromcm's Avatar
    wow from this its certain that the pros outweigh the cons if they are any.with 9 kids thats just amazing how you keep with a busy lifestyle.when i have kids of my own,i don't believe i would be able to do all that.anyways,i want to watch tv shows and movies on mine.how do you go about getting them on the device?where do you download them free from?also how do you transfer music from itunes library to pb?any help would be appreciated.thank you.
    I watch my television programs from Tv-Links : Free Movies links, Watch Tv Shows links online, Anime, Documentaries
    Search for your program. It will give you various options for streaming tv shows. I usually choose the Megavideo links (choose only the ones that are still active as they get removed regularly due to copyright restrictions). As a musician, I am also keenly aware of royalty issues so I always buy the shows I watch after they come out on DVD to help support the artists and companies producing the programming. Just something I feel strongly about.

    Because orb streams it from your PC, I have not had any issues playing anything I have bought from iTunes. Just make sure you set the Orb app on your PB to play flash. I believe you PC then converts the mp4s to flash to transmit and you are actually playing a stream using flash so there should be no problem at all!
    05-27-11 07:00 AM
  19. davefromcm's Avatar
    To answer your question: Carefully? Congrats on what you have in your life, I can see how all of them having BB can be very useful. If you don't mind me asking, do you set up appointments (Dr., Sports, Dentist, Etc.) on their calendars to keep them all in line? I know that has to be tough on you and your wife. You should really consider some type of commercial for RIM. I personally think it is neat.
    Right now, my wife and I do the bulk of the scheduling. When one of us types something in, we invite the other person through the calendar. This immediately updates both our calendars. The older 5 kids now range in age from 18 to 12 so they will now all be responsible for their scheduling. When they enter it into their BB, they will simply invite everyone else and we will all have a master schedule. In the winter time, when we often have 25 ice times and 2 or 3 soccer events per week, and we are coordinating 3 drivers between these events, it is critical that we all know the schedule. Every season, out of about 400 events, we only mess up around 5 events which I figure isn't too bad.
    05-27-11 07:06 AM
  20. Username5300's Avatar
    Right now, my wife and I do the bulk of the scheduling. When one of us types something in, we invite the other person through the calendar. This immediately updates both our calendars. The older 5 kids now range in age from 18 to 12 so they will now all be responsible for their scheduling. When they enter it into their BB, they will simply invite everyone else and we will all have a master schedule. In the winter time, when we often have 25 ice times and 2 or 3 soccer events per week, and we are coordinating 3 drivers between these events, it is critical that we all know the schedule. Every season, out of about 400 events, we only mess up around 5 events which I figure isn't too bad.
    Awesome infrastructure
    05-27-11 07:49 AM
  21. Michelle Haag's Avatar
    Right now, my wife and I do the bulk of the scheduling. When one of us types something in, we invite the other person through the calendar. This immediately updates both our calendars. The older 5 kids now range in age from 18 to 12 so they will now all be responsible for their scheduling. When they enter it into their BB, they will simply invite everyone else and we will all have a master schedule. In the winter time, when we often have 25 ice times and 2 or 3 soccer events per week, and we are coordinating 3 drivers between these events, it is critical that we all know the schedule. Every season, out of about 400 events, we only mess up around 5 events which I figure isn't too bad.
    While I think you and your family have it all well under control, you could also investigate using a BBM group for the family. The calendar feature might work well for you as it syncs automatically without having to send an invite. Just a suggestion, not sure if it would be any different from what you're doing already.
    Thanks for sharing, it's nice to read posts that show how positively our devices can be used, instead of all the constant bashing.
    05-27-11 03:57 PM
  22. Kronk's Avatar
    You, sir, have my respect and admiration. I can barely handle scheduling for my 3 kids.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-27-11 04:01 PM
  23. skyscraper04's Avatar
    are you asian?filipino maybe?9 kids seems like asian lifestyle.
    05-27-11 04:07 PM
  24. xandermac's Avatar
    9!!! Hats off to you for having time to do anything! I do like the bridge feature, all tablets should be able to do that. It's the main reason I'll buy another playbook when the NDK is released and more apps are available.
    05-27-11 04:58 PM
  25. davefromcm's Avatar
    are you asian?filipino maybe?9 kids seems like asian lifestyle.
    My kids are half Asian LOL. I am full.

    Here is a clip from youtube about my family that appeared on Hockey Night in Canada. We were/are the biggest hockey family in Canada. It is on youtube so you can all see this on your PB!

    lyricidal and Snick Snack like this.
    05-27-11 10:45 PM
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