Its been almost a full year of absolutely nothing to really speak of. Yes there has been the multiple purchases and returns of the Apple watch - and the Surface 4 Pro  til I finally settled on the Surface 3, and the Microsoft Band 2, Lumina 640 XL and iPhone 6+.

But I am not here to speak of those, instead I want to talk about my old 2006 Mac mini - Intel Duo Core 1.66 GHz, 2 GB memory and the 350 GB HDD that I apparently installed but I sincerely can not remember doing so... initially it only came with 60 GB as per Apple's information page : Mac mini (Late 2006) - I must have done it.  And as I write this I vaguely remember the internals of the machine so ... well there it is.

Anyway what I want to blab on about is how limiting  new technology has become. - out of the box wise.

My new (yeah I forgot to mention) Retina 13" MacBook Pro - will not recognise a 3.5 input jack unless its the three groove kind and only want either lightening or usb (same with my iMac) - but I can't find the cable that I want to finish the job that I started and won't waste my time or money looking for one.

All I want to do is record what I can hear on my PC - or Mac for that matter. My fairly new AIO PC has a very limited sound card, very intentional of course BUT does have a dedicated line in and headphone jack of the two groove variety.  That's a start.

But as I can't record anything that I hear except through the internal mic I have to find an alternative. Hence I dust off my old Mac mini.

It has a dedicated input jack ! It accepts two groove 3.5 jack ! I can still get legacy software for Snow Leopard ( Mac OS X V. 10.6) and voila I can record but passing my output via headphone jack to my Mac using the input and capturing using lovey Audacity.

Now I record what I want, save it in .aiff move it to my newer iMac (late 2012) and convert it using a free MP3 converter called " To MP3 converter Free " (you can find it in the Mac App store).

Now I am happy once more. I am recording hours of music from Groove and archiving it for future enjoyment in my vehicle or on my phone when I don't have a data connection - I am on a economy carrier network - Happy once again :)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Bronze

Slim, Light, Stunning !
Beautiful screen resolution, adjustable and easy on the eyes.

Silky smooth touch response, the skinned UI is fairly un-obtrusive.
Android is one of my favourite mobile OS's, and this variant is not disappointing.

Picked-up the 16 GB 8.4 version, with microSD up to 128 GB.

Media consumption is wondrously easy and almost complete:

Video Playing Format	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Video Playing Resolution	WQHD (2560 x 1440) @30fps
Audio Playing Format	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

Choose the Bronze edition, love the colour combination, elegant. The plastic encasement is fine and not completely obnoxious. The form factor is comfortable and nice for reading.

Using this for a mobile device, transfer photos from my d7100 to my One Drive ... I could use my Surface 2 .... hmmmmm 

I really like this device and am trying hard to find an excuse to not return. The screen res may be the main excuse, the expandable drive space is another reason.

Why return it ?  The price point ! 419.00 CDN its expensive and honestly not really worth this price.

I suspect that the resale value will not hold as well as the Apple mini with retina.

So willing to take a future loss in value I will probably keep this device and enjoy its awesome performance and eye candy display.

CONS:

It did however, take some time to get used to the the navigation buttons and the very narrow bezel.

The keyboard is OK, and can be annoying until switching to the Google keyboard with swiping to type, which is very good.

The book cover adds some appreciable weight, but it looks tops when attached. 

I find the battery not last as long as my iPad Air. 

Verdict, Samsung has done it right with their premium flagship tablet its a lovely device with a stunning screen, the microSD card is a great edition and is a strong selling point in my opinion.

Overall it loses point for the plastic construction soooo its an A-.

UPDATE - returned it in exchange for the Nexus 7FHD - far better bang for da buck! Hahaha !

2nd Update - exchanged the Nexus for the iPad mini Retina. I am finally perfectly happy, Google apps that I love, the iOS environ that I appreciate with excellent craftsmanship and design, satisfies the perfectionist in me. I am not an apple Fanzite but I do respect and admire their iPad and iPod devices. Then changed the world. 

Surface 2 - adventures with Windows 8.1 RT -

Windows Surface 2

I can give you all the specs but you can get those here what I am about to write is simply my week long experience with the new Surface 2.

I am using the type cover 2 with backlit keys, excellent idea and fairly comfortable to use and good accuracy. Three lighting settings - nice, protects the tablet as well. I was debating if I should drop the 129. + 13% HST on it and in the end I did it, mainly to protect the screen then of course typing on a keyboard is far better then the screen keyboard.

Speaking of the screen keyboard, it is very good and has many ways to display itself. I used it alone for 1 week and was not turned off in anyway.

 

 

The onboard speakers are typical for the Surface line up, the audio system shines with headphones and external speakers ... Bluetooth connection to my JBL Flip is awesome with no issues at all. I also add that the same connection using my iPad Air is also flawless and the 'Flip' is a great stereo speaker for the 99.99 + 13% HST.

I use a Bluetooth mouse that is ancient in the tech world and it works great, the track pad on the keyboard is horrible and useless by my expectations and standards.

Xbox music rocks, videos play extremely well and now in 1080p HD which is lovely. I really enjoy the close up experience visually paired with stunning audio its so much fun.

I have the 32 GB and after all the required updates I am left with ~ 16 GB I create a recovery USB drive and promptly remove the Restore partition to free up ~ 4 GB.

*** be forewarned that if you lose your USB Recovery Drive you are out of luck in regards of Refreshing / Restoring your Surface if you delete this partition. It is difficult and convoluted though not impossible to restore this partition, the average user will be hard pressed to do so. I know that it is possible because I have done this successfully. ***

I have a 64 GB class 10 microsd card and have moved all my media to direct there instead of the OS drive. This leaves me with more room to install apps at my leisure. You can also free up drive space by performing disk clean up and removing any apps you are not going to use. This Surface 2 configuration is not for hoarders.

Apps run in the background nicely - I am using Xbox music collections listening to Mozart whilst performing this task with no lag - nice for more capabilities I highly recommend viewing this excellent video ..



OK onward ... PRINTING and FILE SHARING -

I use Google cloud printing and as far a file sharing I was interested in file sharing to my iPad Air.
I have a classic printer that is UPD PCL6 that is not supported by Windows 8.1 RT so using Google cloud was a no brainer - the app to attach costs 1.99 and well worth it - would be better if it was free of course.
I use a file sharing app on my iPad Air that essentially turns on a lite FTP server and I attach my Windows 8.1 RT using ftp:// call and it works darned well. It is a bit of drain on the CPU resources but it does work.
Homegroup sharing works well and you can also attach to Mac OS effortlessly as well.

One more interesting app is a Torrent client that works pretty well, it is slower then a conventional desktop or laptop but hey ! there is at least that ;)

So in the end I have decided to keep the device and its very expensive keyboard, and enjoy it very much. It's speedy, clever and sexy.  I recommend picking one up and spending a good amount of time on it before you decide to return it. You may find that despite certain limitations - meaning how you currently work, you may find that there are alternatives and answers to your glass walls... you will hit one guaranteed, but like me you will find an answer.

Who says ' think different' ? not sure, who, is supposed to be thinking different ( definitely NOT the end user ) with Microsoft, you WILL think different.

Overall I give it an A.

I edited this blog using the Surface 2 entirely. hmmmmm ..... ;)

Jay Bird Freedom Sprint Bluetooth ear duds ... i mean ear buds

It's been a while I have been a little busy, but back on track now regarding ear buds. Winter is finally beginning to leave us and its time to get moving outside, and audio motivation really works wonders especially if you are looking to shed that extra bit of you ;)

So off I go and grab a pair of these little sport quality blue tooth buds, that are comfortable and stay securely in your ear using either the inner ear supports or the outer ear hooks ( which I prefer ).

Both work well. The physical design it not bad, a little bulky but they managed to style it with the choice of two tones, white and black with chrome accents.

I was however not impressed with the tonal quality of this product. Not tinny > more like cardboard.
Tonal range was disappointing with no bass and really flat highs.

The hands free experience was good though, easy to pair ... volume and voice control was good as well all on the right hand side = not sure if there is a left handed version available couldn't find one.

Regarding the blue tooth reception, even at waist level ( I am 5' 10" ) I did get cut out, I had to transfer my ipod nano 7th edition to a pocket higher in my coat.

The spoken work sounds quite good with this device but a big disappointment with music.

So I give this a passing grade be it low, it does what its sold to do. It's hands free, it is distortion free, the battery life lasts fairly long ( charging takes forever ) it is comfortable, I easily wore if for over an hour, but unfortunately sound quality is important to me and this product loses grade point here.

C+ for me but may be a good match for someone else with different needs.

Specifications

Specs:	Details:	Description:
Warranty Terms - Parts	1 year
Warranty Terms - Labor	1 year
Height	1-3/8"
Width	5/8"
Depth	3/8"
Headphone Style	Earbud
Bluetooth Built-in	Yes
Sound Isolating	Yes
Wireless	Yes
Driver Size SE	8mm
Magnet Type	Neodymium
Frequency Response	20Hz - 20kHz	Range of sound (low to high) that an audio or video component is capable of reproducing.
Sensitivity/SPL	114dB
Total Harmonic Distortion	<5%	Amount of distortion that occurs when an audio signal is amplified. The lower the percentage, the cleaner the signal and the better the sound quality.
Impedance	32 ohms
Ear Cushions	Silicone
UPC	855366002263

Samsung Chromebook 11" - 2 GB RAM - 16 GB HDD Review

The first thing I want to say is " Don't compare this device against a laptop of any make." Essentially it is not really a laptop, is a hybrid thin client.

Yes it does have a processor - not much of one, you won't be creating any graphical masterpieces on this machine nor will you be scoring orchestras mixed with dub step.

This device is a convenient on-line device that is hooked into the Google network. Your main GUI (graphical user interface) is Chrome browser. You can download Apps from the Chrome Store as well as add more functionality with extensions.

What about the drive space ? well think of it now as a tablet. Drop box, Goggle Drive are available to you for drive space, there are two USB ports for use 2.0 and 3.0 , as well as HDMI and SD ports. You can use a thumb drive or external USB HDD or SD for expanded storage.
There is a port for headphone/mic and power plug, as well there is a pretty decent webcam with mic in the expected position on the screen forehead.

There is a bluetooth too.

Battery life is 6 hours. The trackpad is sensitive and works well, and the chiclet keyboard is reminiscent of well you know who ;).

You can not compare it to a notebook of any kind. I have seen people comparing it to the Apple Airbook, silly rabbits !

The Airbook is @ the 1000 $ price point, the Samsung is @ the 250 $ price point .  HELLO!

As with most things in life and especially with electronics YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

I am writing this blog using it, and with ease I will add.

So to sum up my thoughts, don't compare it to a laptop 'cause its not one. If you are using Google you will love this light airy device for productivity using Google. Don't think its extremely limiting cause there is no skype ' cause guess what .... you can dial for FREE to a landline using Google+ Hangout ... Yup FREE.

Oh I forgot to mention, youtube Yup, netflix Yup, audio via Google play and more may be released in the future but its really not a multimedia device.
There is remote desktop ability, ssh, VPN and some other admin stuff this further extends its usability.

I think there is a pretty good bang for your buck here, if you have a couple a hundred bucks you want to blow on an interesting and different gadget consider this one.

Score A for Goggleability
Score B for price point
Score B for build
Score B for expandability

over all I give it a B.

Here are some other reviews that may interest you:

http://liliputing.com/2012/11/samsung-chromebook-review-249-arm-based-model.html

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/10-things-google-should-fix-on-the-chromebook-1165837

Its sunny today and fall is definitely on it way.

Nexus 7 2013, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 low tech review

Good day ! Its been a while I have been busy starting a new venture, and will review that soon.
While as all this is going on I have decided that it was time to check out two new small slates on the market.

First let me say that I love the new smaller size. Yes I have the iPad 4 with retina display - big and beautiful. Yes I have the iPad mini - that's another review? Hmmm as I write this I will review it here too.

OK, so I will be low tech about this ... the Samsung is attractive, has an IR port so you can use a nice remote feature for your t.v.
It is also chunky and heavy for its size. It is a brick
 as well in operating, slow to respond and the display is disappointing.

iPad  mini is larger, familiar OS, which frankly is quite dull, but keeps us content. Display is disappointing, considering the price point. Touch screen not as responsive as its parent product.

Then there is the Nexus 7 2013. Pure android. Awesome display, excellent response, super battery life, comfortable form factor. Affordable @ 230.00 excellent bang for your hard earned buck.

I wrote this entire blog using my Nexus slate and to perfectly honest I can't put it down. It's very engaging.

The camera is fun too. The panoramic capture is nice and as far as mobile device cameras go I am satisfied with the result

All my mobile devices are 16 GB, and have never required more, for some there is a small draw back it lacks expandable storage. This is taken care of with cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive to name two), just like the iPad mini.
 Samsung however does have micro SD slot. I still returned it the next day.

It performs auto backup end easy restore, similar to is apple counterpart, you only have to re-enter you credentials.

Enough yap... Just try one of these sleeper tablets. You will not be disappointed.

To check out a very good review click here.

Its an A in my humble opinion.

Its hot today... Muggy.

Soda Stream Water Carbonator

Hi,

I have been using the Soda Stream Water Carbonator for a week now and love it.
I love that I can carbonate my water at an affordable price.

The initiation is pricy but you get everything you need to start saving. The CO2 cylinders recycle @ ~ 17 $ at Canadian Tire ( or other outlets ).

I did however find on-line an adaptor that will allow for even cheaper refills from lets say a scuba shop, or paint ball POP's.

This adaptor is 60.00 $ as the cylinders give you about 60 Litres of carbonation, it will take about six months to make it pay for itself.

I was using the  "Twist and Sparkle" carbonator, what I still love about this gadget is that you can carbonate juices... seems there was a recall regarding this product, I suspect it was not used correctly as I have carbonated at least a100 times with no issues, or maybe I am just lucky.

You can not do this with Soda Stream, the back pressure reacts with the sugar when you release the bottle and it volcanos.

So this is the model I got ( it was the last one on the self at Canadian Tire as a starter kit )

Soda Stream Source. It was priced @ 149.99 Canadian Tire so I got a deal.

It came with 9 sample syrups which are good, but not too exciting. They are low on calories as sugar is used in conjunction with Acesulfame Potassium and Sucralose @ 35 calories for 1 Litre. As well as completely sugar free using only Acesulfame Potassium and Sucralose.

I am not excited by the recipes ingredients but what the hell try em out. They are on the average OK.

I prefer the citrus combinations as it masks the artificial sweeteners, and will start making my own syrups in the future or simply add all natural fruit juices @ 1/4 cup per Litre.

I use tap water, that is chilled over night and use high carbonation. Yup, you have a choice of 3 carbonation levels, that are indicated by a LED light on the front of the dispenser, so its nice to have that choice.

Its an Old World Type product brought into the 21 Century .... YEH !

So I give the hardware an A. Easy to use, quick simple very little setup, convenient and cost efficient. 

The Soda Stream flavours a C for convenient flavour.

BTW, the recipe for 1 Litre of carbonated water is 52 ml of syrup, just in case you were wondering ;)