Networking...

At breakfast this morning with hubby looking out kitchen window:

With 8 month old I-Pad between us playing this video:

We looked at each other at the same time in amazement. Who knew that on this day in 2012 we would be eating breakfast watching this thing on an unplugged little piece of electronics, metal and glass?

I can understand why our grandchildren have that vacant look in their eyes when we describe the absence of technology when we were kids. Knowing there is still more to come can be a bit overwhelming.

It has come time for a new computer. I have a Sony Viao running WinXP that I purchased used five years ago for $100 bucks. Paid the same for a later model of same computer that I hooked up for my husband because it had Excel which I never use. Networked us together and believed we would be good for at least 10 years. Ha!

Of course, I am the culprit. With Photoshop, my picture and font files, videos and apps, I have pushed memory to its limit. So I ordered a ZT Infinity with 2 TB's and sporting a 6-core processor! Whoopee!

Should be here today. Now my old Viao will be just somebody I used to know. 

What's a gal to do?

Technical difficulties! Best laid plans! Resolutions! Life!

Accidentally took photo while playing with I-Pad. Made a cartoon in Sketchy app.

If you are even able to read this it will be a miracle. My Feed Burner (which is now owned by Google) somehow broke and after an entire week of trying to fix it, I decided to go with Feed Cat so won't know if all is well till all of you let me know. Please? Thank you.

Also have discovered that I CANNOT use I-Cloud on my lowly XP run elderly PC computer. Would have made things so much simpler. My friend gave me her unused Wacom Bamboo tablet, something I have wanted for years and there is a learning curve going on with that also. So far I like drawing with the Bamboo Pen much better than the stylus for I-Pad.

So much for techno-babbo. Except to let you know CES2012 began here on Tuesday. These TV's shown in the video were featured there. So all this is not far away. The stuff of science fiction.

Today,s Trials

Electronic joy and madness

color blast, sticker letter

photoshop, sticker letter

Still playing with apps on my i-pad while making cookies and packing gifts. The new cover will just have to wait....

Why I-Pad?

Truth be told, I would probably never have gone out to buy this small piece of electronica with such a big price tag. It landed in my lap by way of a barter exchange three weeks ago and I have hardly put it down - that is, if I can grab it from the man's hands. After a week of nothing but Scrabble, Angry Birds and watching all three of the foreign version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc., on my Netflex App,(in bed.at night.scary-good)I decided to see what else this little gem of a toy could do. Already had Kindle for PC so got the App for Pad and started reading again. What a pleasure. Read the 'Future of Us' in 2 days and am into 'The Night Circus' right now. Got my shelves full of future reads. I love Flipboard and Zunio for my Google Reader and digital magazines and newspapers. Took Pad to kitchen and used Safari to find perfect orange marmalade recipe and kept it nearby while I whipped up 8 half-pints. Found out good stuff about my orange tree and how to make it happy at the same time! There are ka-jillions of Apps out there. I have Sketch Book for drawing/painting that if I like will get the pro version but others I want to try. Photoshop Express is great for taking the noise off the photos you take with the Pad - and you do get a lot of noise! Other photo editors I like are Photo Toaster and Effects. For a cool visual on how to make a painting (she used I-Phone but the same App is available on Pad)go: HERE

We recently purchased a new car that has Bluetooth and I-Pad connection but no GPS. Well, viola! There is an App - I got Gps Drive HD. With a nice big screen hopefully we will not get lost anymore. HA!

The last thing is how to blog and send other stuff from the Pad. Used Pocket Cloud to send previous post connecting my desktop! But find it a little cumbersome. You can do on your Pad anything you do on your desktop - in fact, you are on it! But the mouse and scrolling give me a headache. So I purchased BE Write HD which seems to have great reviews so will do my next blog from there. 

So, you get my drift, it is a keeper. Stay tuned for more evidence. In the meantime I just have to share with you this poem my sister wrote:

A Game With Passers-by 

by J.S. Colley

They turn their heads

When I drive by

In my little red car

I toss them a smile

And they high-five

And shoulder bump

As if they’ve just won

Some great victory

You don’t understand

My husband says,

You never have

Yes…I do

I want to say

But what good is it?

Except for a lark

A game with passers-by

So I stow it

In the back of my mind

Because I know

Whatever it is

It won’t last forever

And I’m afraid

When the time comes

I won’t want to let it go

  

First post from my I-Pad (2nd attempt)

Posted yesterday but had difficulties with photos. using I-Cloud app to do this-maybe there is better way...

 Ms. Mattie in the garden. notice the rounded corners? from a quick but nifty little PS tutorial over on Mary Ann's blog.

Whoo Hoo! seems I got it.

First batch of oranges from garden. more about how I made marmalade coming soon!