OT- computer question

1/18/20, 1:27 PM #1

Tom Norton
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OT- computer question

Tom Norton

Wondering if anyone is familiar with programs that allow Apps to be run on a desktop?

I have heard of BlueStacks & Youwave. But before I go forward I want to make sure I am not creating a problem.

Thanks!

Re: OT- computer question

1/18/20, 2:50 PM #2

David Yoho
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Registered: 1/5/04

Re: OT- computer question

David Yoho

Tom, BlueStacks is an Android Emulator that allows Android Apps to run on a PC. The only problem with these is they consume a lot of RAM and increases the CPU usage. This slows down your system and reduces the system's performance. It also uses the Graphic Card that is available on you PC.

That said, it will run well on your PC, especially if your PC is a powerful one. PCs with generous amounts of RAM, fast CPUs, good graphics cards, and fast solid state hard drives will work great.

If you have a PC with minimum resources your experience may not be so good.

- - -

I live in Mechanicsville, VA (not far from Richmond) and I've been building furniture and cabinetry for well over 20 years now. It all started with my frustration of not being able to cut a straight line with a hand saw. About this same time, a guy named Norm appeared on my local PBS station. The more I watched, the more I learned. I also started thinking, "Hey, I can do that"! And so, I began with small projects and soon found myself moving up to increasingly advanced work. Word of mouth started the ball rolling and before I knew it, I was building all kinds of things for people. While this is not what I do to pay the bills, it has provided me with a means of equipping my shop over the years. The main downside to all of this is when my wife looks at a finished project and says, "I want one of those" and I know I don't have the time to make that happen right then. I take advantage of any slack time between commissions to work on things we want and this seems to keep her "on my side". She even surprised me one day with a new Tormek sharpening system. Sometimes it pays to leave that tool catalog lying around open! For me, woodworking is a type of therapy. I can go out to the shop and totally forget about the world outside. There have been days when I get out there early and before I know it, it's dark outside and I have no idea where the time went! I also enjoy challenging my skills and learning new things. Most of the time, since the majority of my work tends to be custom pieces, I'm working on projects I�ve never built before. While this takes me longer than if I were doing production work, I find it more appealing because there's always something new to learn. I haven't had any formal training in woodworking. My teachers have been experience, the many books and magazines I've read, WoodCentral, and of course, a guy named Norm.

Re: OT- computer question

1/18/20, 3:01 PM #3

Tom Norton
Guest

Re: OT- computer question

Tom Norton

Thanks! Being very tech challenged I am not sure if our computer has a graphic card.

Re: OT- computer question

1/18/20, 4:48 PM #4

John K Jordan
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Re: OT- computer question

John K Jordan

All computers have a graphics "card" which may be a separate card or a set of chips on the mother board. Some have multiple graphics processors. Some are very fast and optimized for certain types of graphics. Most are customizable for specific applications. For example, I had to change parameters on this computer so Sketchup would run faster than slow molasses in February.

Try the app if you want. If it doesn't work suitably you can investigate further or delete it.

What apps to you want to run and on what computer and operating system? Knowing such basic info might help someone help you.

JKJ

Re: OT- computer question

1/18/20, 5:23 PM #5

Tom Norton
Guest

Re: OT- computer question

Tom Norton

Windows 10 and the app is Osmand+. It is a mapping and navigation app.

Re: OT- computer question

1/18/20, 7:00 PM #6

Bill Howatt
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Re: OT- computer question

Bill Howatt

It really depends on your hardware such as CPU, amount of RAM, graphics capability, etc since it has to run both the emulator and the app. I don't think you should have much trouble with that app but there is only one way to find out and that is to try it.

Most phones run on only 1 or 2 GB of RAM. The on-board graphics chipsets these days are light-years ahead of what they were originally. The poor performance of the early ones has given them a general bad name that is no longer warranted. On the Intel processor line, most people, unless they are heavy duty action game players or are doing graphics rendering, would get no benefit going to a discrete graphics card.

Try it.

Bill

OT- computer question

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