Tag: gadgets

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

Fashion, Uncategorized

Cloth

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Cloth

Last month I “purchased” an app called Cloth and I just started using it today. The app is free but if you want the filters and weather (to help you categorize the type of weather your outfit is suited for) you pay $0.99. I’m so happy about Cloth that I wanted to share my thoughts on it! I’d found out about it in an article by Mashable.com (← click for article). I downloaded all of the free ones just because I didn’t want to forget to get them and I didn’t want to spend money on apps that weren’t for me and it would be a waste of money.

I’ll be going home for a wedding next month, but prior to that my parents will be here then we all leave together. So I got to thinking that packing would be quite interesting if we’re out doing stuff with them and I won’t have my usual time to think through outfits that I want to take. That’s when I pulled out my phone, went looking at all the apps I’d bought about “digitizing your wardrobe” and I found that Cloth suited my needs to a T! So off I went snapping away :).

 

You can take the pictures while wearing the outfits but I just want to have a general idea of an outfit so I laid mine out on the floor and started taking pics to just build up ideas. I managed to get about 6 outfits done but we’re having a pretty hot day in Seattle for once and the heat got the best of me so I decided to take a break. You can share your entries on Clothapp.com, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter as well. As far as picture saving goes, you have the option of just keeping the pictures within the app or saving them to your Camera roll (I really like that).

You have 7 categories (some seen below). The only issue I have here is that you cannot customize them. I would LOVE to customize the categories but for now I’m just adding tags for what I’d use in place of a category. You can also receive badges for your entries but I’m not interested in that right now. I went in with a purpose and further exploration will be done later.

Some of the categories

As I said, the main purpose of me using this app is a means of “pre-packing” planning. I’ll be adding more outfits as the days go by but for now, I’m really liking what I’m seeing so far. I always told my husband that an app like this would be icing on the cake. I’m kind of happy I switched from Blackberry to iPhone now or else I’d still be living in the shadows lol. If you’re a budding fashionista or professional, I think this app is great. You can always have an idea of how you wore an outfit and how you may be able to change it up for another occasion. So go on and check it out!

xx