Technology, Uncategorized

Surface Review

by SymoneF7 Comments on Surface Review

This post is about the Surface, let me state that I am in no way a technical person and my husband has had absolutely no influence on this.

I’ve had the surface for just over a week now and I think that is enough time to give a review. Overall I like it. I’m glad I waited for this as I was never really interested in the iPad. Just like the first iPad or any other first generation tech products, it has its flaws. I will list a few as well as what I like about it.

Cons:

  • The kickstand at the back doesn’t open far enough. I like to play the game Wordament (currently only available for Windows users) at night and I have to prop it up with my leg or the sheet. Nothing major but I imagine this will be fixed on the next one.
  • There is a lag in opening some apps. You can open the app and wait about 10secs or more for it to load and be ready to use. I don’t know the cause of this but I know it’s something minor that will be fixed eventually as well.
  • IE10 takes forever to load a page. Personally I use Chrome with Bing search, so I have no problem with the results I get but pages do take a while to load.
  • I have to go to desktop mode to see how much battery power I have left. I think this is something that should be seen easily. Have a little icon in the corner or something. I know it’s all about clean lines etc but it should be more accessible.
  • Closing apps is not easy with the finger swipe down once you’ve pulled it from the side. Mine never close and I have to just let them close on their own or right click with the Touch Cover or press and hold the corner in hopes that I get the Close button to come up. Womp.
  • One of my biggest issues is the WordPress app, this has nothing to do with the Surface but the people who created the app. I was hoping that I can manage my blog easily from an app and not have to log into it from a web page, but I was wrong. The app allows you to read Freshly Pressed and to create a new post. Not check my stats, look at past posts, or even read posts from people I follow. I’m hoping whoever created this app looks into making it more about managing your blog than just adding a new post.
  • There aren’t any cute girly cases for it as yet :(.

Pros:

  • I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that Word, Excel, Powerpoint and One Note come with the Surface (I don’t use One Note but this is just for informational purposes). I love writing or jotting down notes and if pen and paper aren’t handy, some kind of notes app or even Word is a blessing when I can edit anything just to transfer.
  • There is a USB Port. Enough said. (Apple – Womp!)
  • Personalization 1:The live tiles are a huge plus. It really is nice to just see everything updated without opening anything. This design truly caters to the person on the go. As soon as Whatsapp fixes its Windows phone app I will be getting one. It would be a plus if Instagram would hop on there too :P. But I like knowing that I can pin my husband and friends to the Start Screen. Tiles can also be adjusted and moved easily to customize you Start Screen further. Who says you have to keep what they have there!
  • It’s lightweight. I will definitely be taking this with me on my trips and not my laptop. It has everything I’ll need (even if I have to use web pages). I won’t have to worry about extra weight to my handbag.
  • I love the camera on it! Since I got it, I’ve been using it to Skype with my family, and the kickstand is perfect here because when I place it on a table next to me it’s at the right height and everything. (Would still be nice for it to be adjustable though).
  • Personalization 2: I love that I could customize the colours! I’m an Amethyst girl and I’ve always gravitated towards purple and pinks. I’ll survive until I can get a purple/pink case for it. But I told my husband to give me purple for my Start Screen :D.
  • Everything can be uploaded to your Skydrive (store files online) easily.
  • The cover is also a keypad! I mean, you already have two keyboard options on the screen – you can split the keyboard for typing with your thumbs or have the full keyboard if you like finger pecking, BUT if you’re not in the mood for touch screen typing, just use the cover! It’s not bulky, not extra weight AND it protects your screen when not in use. And the Touch Cover comes in four colours: blue, white, black and pink.
  • Windows 8 is really easy to learn with all the swiping from the top and bottom and sides. And if you didn’t follow the tutorial, Bing it! You’ll get the hang of it quickly.
  • I’m totally obsessed with Wordament! (This should’ve been higher on the list but I wanted to cover some other stuff first :P)
  • Nothing else to say (now). Get one.
This picture was taken the night I got it. I have since moved the tiles around and adjusted the sizes of them to suit me!

xx

Quotes

Daily Inspiration

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Daily Inspiration

I know I’ve been rather quiet but I’ve got some stuff that I’m working on. It is also that time of the year for all of our check-ups to make sure we’re healthy and so far it’s looking that way. Yay! I just wanted to post a few quotes for you today to help you get through the day and this week. As usual, they are taken from Real Simple. I have to prepare a review of the Surface from Microsoft so look out for that ;). Keep those being affected by Hurricane Sandy in your prayers as well as those affected by the earthquake here on the West Coast. Until next time…

xx

Travel, Uncategorized

Overheard

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Overheard

I had this lingering in my drafts and forgot I was to post it! Sorry!!

Let me begin by saying I am a very observant person. I often got into trouble for it when I was younger because it led to lots of questions and you know adults get annoyed when you are inquisitive. I also like to people watch because people are interesting! This post is simply about my observances during a three hour layover, as I sat waiting for a flight from New York to Seattle, via Delta, that was practically the boondocks of the terminal.

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yes, that is a pigeon under the chair… please excuse my lazy foot

Old Couple

She’s on the phone, well she’s on a call and has the person on speakerphone about one inch from her ear and not speaking English. I’m sorry that I don’t know the language because the call was so lengthy it would’ve been very interesting to hear what was going on. He sat eating something, but I was more aware of him cleaning his teeth. This was brought to my attention because I thought one of them was making a kissing sound to whomever was on the phone but I looked up and saw his mouth going like he was determined to get all the stubborn pieces out! Poor fella!! I later realised they were biscuits hahaha.

Delta staff (on break?)

As I mentioned before we were in the boondocks. I can only assume that these four people, sitting very relaxed across more than one chair were hiding and relaxing until they were needed, for over an hour… But they just reminded me of school kids playing hooky.

The Loud Delta Staff Phone Talker

(Unique titles.. I know :D) this guy sat away from the others and his conversation was for all 15 ppl in that area of the terminal at the time. [It was him who allowed me to know that the others were waiting on a flight to come in to help some people who required assistance.] He spoke of being ill and how his grandma would give them special soups and other remedies growing up and that’s how he got over whatever illness he just had – rest and soups. He hung up and then there was another call… This one was about business and I was HOPING that the person he was speaking to had a bad signal or was in a noisy area. He repeated himself soooo many times!! I knew way more than I needed to. And it didn’t end after that call! No sir! He met a colleague or manager and they stood behind me and spoke about politics and everything under JFK International Airport! My ears were chewed off. I couldn’t zone out if I wanted to :(.

So my question is: why are people so loud?!? I want to say namely Americans but it can be said for people with mobile phones in general. Why must everyone hear your conversation like you want them to be involved? Shall I just get involved next time? I want to… I want to jump in and drop remarks to throw you off because I feel like you are talking to me more than the person on the phone.

I heard “right, right, right” so many times I wanted to say “left” or “wrong” out loud for him to hear and wonder “wtf?” because that is exactly what I’m thinking! Maybe next time I’ll say it loud enough to my husband and have them wonder what’s going on.

[Side note: why do old people have food flying out of their mouth so much when they are eating? Is it the dentures? I think it’s major inspiration to look after my teeth even more than I do now… That’s so scary! Plus I don’t want to do that to my grand kids…]

I love traveling. I don’t always have the best experiences coming and going but my trips tend to be fun. We were in Boston from Tuesday to Friday because my husband gave his first talk at a conference (MonkeySpace) and I went for moral support. I slept Wednesday and Thursday while he was out even though the plan was to sleep Wednesday and visit Faneuil Hall Marketplace on Thursday. I do not regret sleeping. I’ve been going hard for the last 6 weeks or more and I got some much deserved rest.

It is always interesting to see and meet people in the tech industry because of the different personalities you encounter and I just find it very intriguing. I have a soft spot for nerds so I like to see how similar or different they can be in these settings. Always a treat for my inner psychologist lol!

Anyway the end of the year is almost here! And I’ll be working out with our old trainer soon again but at a different gym and we have all of the holidays coming up. Busy time again! But I’ll save that for another post :).

Xx