Tech Wars: Time to get an upgrade Part 2

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This is the camera edition of “Tablet Wars: Time to get an upgrade”.  In the last “Time to Get an Upgrade”, dated June 13, 2015, I talked about upgrading my Ipad and my phone.  What had happened at that time:  I was grocery shopping.  Grocery delivery had not come to my area and I needed some vittles (southern talk for food-trying to be funny, bear with me, people).  Anyway, I knew it was about to storm, but it looked like it was so far away. 

Photo by: NDTV Gadgets

If you know anything about Ohio weather, you know that it could be sunny one minute, raining the next, followed by snow, sleet, and hail, topped off by a tornado warning in a split second.  I can see some of you from other states nodding your heads as well. Anyway, I thought I was safe.

The purse I was carrying at the time had pockets on the side and for convenience,   I went into the store, grabbed a cart, and started shopping.  In the middle of my grocery shopping, down came the rain.  I was not too worried because I thought that the rain would stop by the time I checked out, but I started to hurry.

I carried my Samsung Galaxy SIII in one of the pockets.

I paid for the groceries and started outside, but stopped because the rain was harder than before.  My car was too far away to do a full sprint to it, but I attempted when it lightens up.  Running to the car I go, popped the truck, grabbed my purse to toss inside to the passenger side of the car, not thinking that the USB hole on my phone was exposed to all that water.  I tossed the groceries in and left.  No worries (at least I thought).

I got home, put the groceries in the house, then put them away.  I thought that I had to turn off my phone, but it died from all that water going inside.  I took the battery out, put it in rice, and let the rest of the phone air out.  I could not believe it, my precious phone, gone.  The rest of the story is on that blog post, and even though it is an old post, it is still a good read.  I even upgraded my Ipad the day I upgraded the phone.  The bad side of the story was getting the bill, which Verizon charged more than I was willing to pay when the rep told me another price. 

For today’s Post

I am interested in another phone.  The one that replaced the SIII phone is dying a slow, painful death.  It is slow, and it is painful for me to watch as I decide to take a picture, video, or add a new app, and the memory isn’t there to support my forever growing social media presence.  I want the new Galaxy 9 phone, but the money does not support it, and not only that, my dad is the owner of the account and told me to forget about getting a phone anytime soon.  Same goes if I decide to switch up and get an Iphone.

I also need a new Ipad. The current one is still ok, and I still can do all the things, except drawing.  I can draw on it, but I do not have the proper stylus.  Plus, I would love to hook it up to the new laptop or the desktop, then I can see what I am drawing.  Enter the New Apple Mini Ipad 5, which I played with today at the Apple Store.  I was asking about a stylus that I could draw with my current mini Ipad, and the rep pointed me to another person who showed me the Ipad 5.  I love the price, $389, which is the same price as my Cricut Maker, and actually, come to think of it, the current Mini Ipad.  I also love that I do not have to pay for the Procreate software that I would have to get for my current Ipad. ($9.99, yikes!!!)

Last, I need a new camera.  The last camera, which was a baby camera (I will call Pocket), is lost somewhere in the condo.  This is how tiny it is or was, I cannot decide which is which, and it depends on if I can find it or not.  If I can, then it will be a backup camera, but if not, Oh well, I am not crying over a lost tiny camera.

I have been thinking about getting the Canon G7x, Mark II camera or the Canon Powershot Camera.  I tend to get cameras that I am familiar with or have heard good reviews on.  The Cannon G7x, Mark II camera is currently being used by one of my favorite YouTube families, Gabe and Chad Rader, and have been using it for a couple of years with success.  The only problem has been for them was Chad accidentally leaving the camera on the top of the family car and driving off.  The camera immediately fell off, and the screen broke.  Yep, sounds like me, but lucky for them, they have a warranty, and Gabe (as is Gabrielle) seen off the camera this week for a replacement.   I would also choose the Powershot Camera because at $369 it is a cheaper version than the Mark II’s $669.  I am not sure I will be taking that many pictures between now and my trip to Disney later in the year.

 Yes, I did it….

Photo by: www.wdwsecrets.com

I am creating a new series over on my At Home with Tricia's Baskets blog and it is properly (I think) says, “I’m Going to Disney World”.  The story starts like this:  Have you ever wanted something so bad until you can taste it? Well, that has been me for the past 8.5 years.  (as long as my youngest nephew has been alive, he will be 9 in August.) This trip was actually 16 years in the making.  I started planning my next trip (in my head) at the end of our last trip in 2004.  We went in 2007 to Disneyland, but it was part of the California trip.  If you are a true Disney fan, you know that any trip to Disney is not a proper trip if you add on going outside of the park, but while me, my oldest nephew (then 11), and my mom were at Disneyland, my dad took in a Dodgers game.  It worked out for all of us.  My sister was at home tending to my middle nephew, who was 2 months old at the time, and not able to travel.  Tip: ladies, your little one can get on the plane at 3 months.  He was so cute in the Disneyland onesie I bought him.  Now at 12, I think he is a little bit too big for it, LOL.  We flew out on one of the now-defunct airlines, which I forgot the name of.

Anyway, sidetrack moment, and a good lead-in.

I do not give out full trip details for privacy reasons (See protect yourself from Unwanted viewers-July 23, 2018). I will say that I and the family, minus three dogs (Strype, Chewy, and Duchess) and a cat (Gizmo) will be staying in a 3-bedroom Grand Villa at Bay Lake Towers at Disney World.  It is part of a package deal that includes the deluxe dining plan. 

To get details on the series, go to At Home with Tricia's Baskets soon.

My only takeaway tip for today is to research what you need and watch your camera budget. Sometimes suggestions are just that…. suggestions.  It could be that these cameras are out of your price range.  That is ok.  There are plenty of camera choices out there but go in knowing what your price range is, what you plan on doing with the camera.  Is it for photography?  For videos? What about both? For this, my plan is for all of it, but I need a phone that allows me to do Instagram and Pinterest posts as well.

As for trips, the same thing.  You do not have to go to Disney, nor have my package.  I will give more details on how I got my package in the first place, and how you can get it cheaper at a later time on both this blog and on At Home with Tricia's Baskets.

Until then, I will have to clean out my phone.  Goodbye and God Bless.

Tablet wars: Time for an upgrade…

assorted tablets (c) Goggle files 

I have an Ipad 2.  I love this tablet.  I think it is the bomb, but lately, it has been acting like a bomb.  Why?  Well, even though I have only had it for 2 years, it is considered in the tech world, old.  Since the time my father gifted me this computer (folks, it is a computer), Apple has come out with the Ipad 3, 4, Ipad Air 1 and 2, and the Ipad mini 1 and 2.  In addition to the Apple tablet products, Android has come out with some tablets, as well as Windows. 

Now one would argue that I should get a tablet that matches my smartphone.  OK, I have a Samsung Galaxy S III phone, and when I upgrade this year, it will most likely be another Samsung phone, because I just looove this phone.  I did not get an Iphone, because to me, that is overkill, and as long as my phone can sync with the Ipad, that can sync with my Dell All in One Desktop computer (yes, I said DESKTOP), I am good.  I am not one of those people who needs all of my electronic gadgets become one product.   After all, I got my first desktop when I was 16 (graduated from high school in 1982).  A desktop was all you had, and you had to program the darn thing yourself to even type a letter.   OK, I am dating myself, so let’s move on.

The current Ipad is 16GB, which is not that big.  I need the next size up, which I believe is the 32GB.  The reason why I am taking some time to make a decision, is my budget.  I know it has to be done THIS YEAR.  When I received my Ipad, I thought that I would just use it to do some reading, a little game playing, and looking up something on Google when my desktop is occupied with the bigger programs (MS Office, viewing email, and so forth).  I could have been wrong in my assumption.  I use my tablet for almost all business functions, when I am at my parent’s house (you do not dare touch dad’s computer, LOL), then there are my favorite apps (Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, Netflix, and Audible) that I cannot live without.  I also use the MS Office apps on my Ipad (yes Office lovers, there is finally an app for that, and Microsoft listened).   Do not forget the games.  I had already maxed out my storage once, and ad to clear out some things, and now I am nearing that crucial mark again. 

So, back to the decision-making…I can always go with the Ipad 4, BUT, the Apple Air 2 sounds so nice.  Mini Ipad 2 gives me the small screen, and is perfect for the big purse I use to carry the current one in, but then there is always Windows Surface 3, if I want to get rid of the IOS software altogether.  The only problem is I have a Cricut Explore Electronic Die Cutting Machine, which only uses IOS software for me to connect with if I want to design, and have it cut while I am upstairs.  Again, so many choices, but who knows.  I forgot to mention the Kindle Fire.

 I may just end up with a laptop, or just jump ship. 

Hey, What are you reading?

(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Do you love to read?  I do, and I read anything and everything.  I have read how to books that can bore you to tears to incredible steamy love stories, that transform you to that moment in time, and then you forget what time it is.  I have also read erotica stories (you know, Zane and her stories).  I have gotten out of those stories, because well her stories leave enough for the imagination and then some.  Not only that, but even though God sees all, and knows all, I still may have to answer to that in Heaven, and I am not ready for that, LOL.
Anyway, since I got my smartphone last December, I started reading e-books, and I have switch them to my Ipad a few weeks ago, but I keep a copy of them on phone just in case.  I have found both the Ibooks and  Kindle apps for the Ipad very pleasing for me.  I have yet to try the Nook apps, and I will let you know what I think of it soon, or not.  I also have Overdrive, which allows me to borrow e-books from my library.  At first, when I was making a choice of what I was going to use for a e-reader, I thought that I was going to get a Kindle for the e-reader, and the Ipad for everything else.  I since learned that I do not need a separate e-reader to take care of what I need, which is to simply read a book.
So what do I have on my Kindle app?  I have all kinds of stuff from cookbooks to organizing to a sampling of this book:



Just got it.  It is part of my online reading group's book choice for the month.   I am going to read it, and if I like it, I am going to download a pay for the rest of it.
So again, what are you reading?  More important, is it a traditional book or do you have an e-reader?  I still go to the library, I still order books, and I still have my print versions of my magazine subscriptions, as well as the e-version of these same magazines.
So with that end, be blessed everyday, and I will talk to you real soon.

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Dependency on Techie.

(Photo credit: hjl)

I never knew I would be one of them.  I am wondering how did it happen this way.  I thought I was careful not to let this happen to me.  I thought I was old enough to know better but I wasn't.  I am just like everyone else in this country, and perhaps the world.  Today, I was heating up my lunch.  I had stopped working long enough to make lunch. Well actually, it was a frozen entree.  I had followed the instructions to the letter, "5 mins", that is all the package said.  I turned on the microwave, and before the lunch was finished, it happened.  My microwave oven quit on me.  It was over 10 years old, and I knew I had to replace it soon, but I was hoping for a nice Christmas present from the folks.  I could not ask them, because dad had just bought me an Ipad 2, and told me that it was my early Christmas present.  So I did what every too lazy to turn on the oven person would do, I ate it as is. Now I have an oversize timer, because that is the only thing that works on the microwave.  Yes, I am a dependent of the microwave.
About 2 hours ago, I was watching a you tube video when all of a sudden, Google Chrome quit on me.  Ok, I started it back up.  It would not connect to Facebook, which I use as my go to home page. Next, I tried to retrieve my email on Outlook, it would not connect either.  Skype crashed as well as Windows Live.  I got into a panic, which I quickly recovered, long enough to notice that my WiFi had crashed (tried it with my Ipad, and could not get connected).  I tried to call my cable company (I have Time Warner), but my home phone was disconnected, and I got a busy signal from my smartphone.  I thought they cut off my cable, but the television was working, and since when Verizon and Time Warner was one in the same company. (It could happen, but not that fast, unless I was asleep under a rock).  So I turn off the computer.  I shut it completely down, let it purge data (or whatever this thing does when it is in the off position), and then I restarted it.  Now it is acting like nothing happened.  I have my phones working perfectly, checked email, and of course I am writing this post.
I finished doing almost everything a few moments ago, decided that I was not sleepy, and wanted to play a game of Free cell solitaire on this machine.  As I reached up with the mouse pointer to grab the Ace of Diamonds, it dawned on me about the last few hours of technology disasters, the incident with the microwave and now my computer system, IPad, and phones, we depend too much on technology.   I am old enough to remember the phone attached to the wall, with an actual phone company servicing the phones, not a cable company.  My parents did not have bundled packages containing cable, phone and internet access when I was a child.  They do now.  Not only that, my grandparents, who are now gone, warmed stuff in a pan on the stove, that was gas powered.  I refuse to touch a gas stove, being afraid of leaving the pilot light on.  There was no such thing as a microwave oven in the house. If they wanted information, they turned to the local news, the library, or the next door neighbor.  Everyone had a nosy neighbor.  I can barely remember my neighbor's name and what shift she works.  We talk, but I am usually running out the door or in the door from somewhere.  I live in an all electric home, which is fine for me, until one winter 2006 when the lights went out, and I could not get any heat to save a life.  I had to have someone help me get my car out of the garage, because I have a door opener, and I am too short to reach up, pull the lever to release the door, so I can left it up manually, back the car out, and then let the door back down manually.
Do not get me wrong, I love technology, but sometimes I wonder if I love it too much.   I had problems this past weekend with same cable company.  They said they did not receive my payment, and they called to leave a message on my phone (home land line phone).  It was done electronically. I had to call some stupid 866 number, verified that I was the owner of the bill by pressing a number on the phone, enter the amount of the check on the phone and the date paid, which was the 17th.  Then I got back on the phone, called the number I usually dial when I am having tech problems, and told a human rep that I want a human being to call me next time they are having problems.  The reason?  In case I have questions.  No VRU (Voice Response Unit) will ever answer questions and help you understand the situation. It is always push 1 for this, push 2 for that.  I realize that they want to expedite problem questions to the right people, but when I worked in customer service call centers, I had to know everything.   Now if I have a question about something, if these people do not know the answer to that question, they will transfer you in a heartbeat, which is usually to someone else who does not does not know the answer either.
Well it if you do not mind, it is time for me to go for another round of solitaire or read a chapter of an ebook I downloaded with Ipad before I close my eyes in my non-tech bed.
Be blessed everyday.

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This is my first post started from an IPad.

Image via CrunchBase

I can get use to this.  Hello,I am typing this as I sit here waiting for my sister to come out of the house. Technology has afforded this society to become mobile, I know this, this is nothing new.  What is new is the fact that I am doing it. (Ok, I am at home, now, switching to typing on the big kahuna desktop computer keyboard...)

Ok, that's better.  As I was saying...

People have a sense of wanting to be where the action is, whether is it typing outdoors in the sunlight (BTW the glare was not bad to me when I was typing on the Ipad), or typing in a coffee shop like Starbucks.  desktops like my Dell Inspiron 530 are made for those people who do not want to adapt, libraries, and workplaces.  Even these people and places are slowly adapting to the mobile society.  I will also admit, that my only mobile technology is my phone.  The IPad is a borrowed one, courtesy of my mom, who got it for her birthday.  I, on the other hand, am waiting, impatiently for the day that I will get one at least by Christmas, 2013, or the next lunar eclipse,  whichever one comes first.  My birthday has passed, and every time I get a little money, it has to go towards something more important than an Ipad.  After I get one, I will still have my Inspiron, which was 5 years old yesterday.  That's old in computer years. I will also have my smartphone.

Well that's it.  This article was mostly to see how well I can type on it, when I find a WIFI connection, outside of my own router, and I will have to say that I will enjoy it on a regular basis once I get it.  In the meantime, I am blessed to enjoy the borrowed one.

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