Breakfast at the admiral bird

Enjoying a nice coffee shop chill out / dork around on computers session with my lady at the admiral bird, which is a new coffee shop at the admiral junction.

I am going to try to take a pic and stick it in this blog post with the device I am writing with. Future tech moment. Behold?

BAM!

I don't know why I am so blown away by that? Also cool, I can totally look like I am studiously working away on my computer, but secretly be filming people.

Anyway this coffee shop is pretty nice, a very comfortable space.

Getting there!

So, I am getting more and more accustomed to the new rig. The only thing that I am disappointed in is this things ability to edit video. I guess that is not exactly what I purchased it for, but it would be nice if I. could at least do a little minor editing.

I am getting a handle on the multitasking thing, which I have to admit is pretty cool. There is a really nasty error that prevents the Netflix app from working, but luckily the desktop version still works in a browser.

In other news I sold an old car I was not really using, and perhaps a guitar. If I also manage to sell my old MacBook pro for a decent amount, my balance sheet will be on its way to recovery.

Expaning my powers - like magic!

I just picked up a 64gb micro SD card, I can't believe how much storage is on such a tiny little thing, simply mind blowing. There is 4 times as much storage on this than there is on my iPhone.

I plan on using the card as a transfer device to move the last of the files off my MacBook (R.I.P.)

So, total storage on my device is upwards of 300GB, which should hold me for a while. Now to just sell the MacBook, which is a feat all in itself.

Day 3 - still more files. Gar.

I don't know how my digital life go so big. I have so many GB of files to transfer sooooo many. The trouble is that there is no real good way to transfer files from a mac to a windows PC. I am finding that a lot of the files I cannot open. I am sure this is just because I don't have whatever modern program is required.

I am still thinking I made the right decision. I scaled down my collection by one device (once I sell the MacBook), the surface is much quicker than the MBP, though the user-friendliness leaves a little to be desired. Luckily I normally have the patience to figure my computing problems out so that I can get the computer doing exactly what I want. More computing adventures tomorrow.

Day 2 - going great

So, day 2 has been pretty cool. I had  a meeting and took some hand written notes on the surface. It was great to be able to scribble away without wasting paper as is usually the case during meetings.

I am getting a handle on the interface and multi-tasking is getting a lot easier. For instance I am able to jot down this blog post while doing many other things.

I think I am going to push this purchase up to 4 stars.

Building up my power

So, thanks to my selective memory when it comes to free software that is useable. (not cutting edge, but useable), I remember that my good friends at boing boing made me a happy mutant by giving me links to adobe's website where they kind of warn against just downloading and installing the software with the given code because "it won't work on a modern OS", I have found this however to be not so true. I mean there are probably a few things that I won't be able to do, like edit HD video in première, but I can probably definitely make YouTube worthy things at least. Oh, and Photoshop, I have to have Photoshop. Hey at least this keeps me from being a pirate.

It's not stealing at all if they are giving it , right?

So far so good

I've been doing pretty well on the surface all day. Switching computers, let alone operating systems, is so jarring. I am just trying to be as thorough as I can about the transition. It's weird how many nooks and crannies you hide your data in on your computer, and how much weird random shit is saved for apparently no reason at all.

I am still liking the device, and I think it will be a suitable replacement for the MacBook, which I am hoping I can still sell for a fair amount.

The test tonight will be to see how well I can shoot some video of band practice.

Day 1- Complete

Made it through the first day back in the windows world without too much fuss. I didn't have anything too irritating happen except that the surface lacks an "insert" key, which is required in Lotus Notes to mark an email as 'read' , that kind of frustrating to actually have to open an email or right click it and select to mark it as read. I guess it sounds kind of pathetic that the insert key is the only thing I can think of to complain about thus far.

Tomorrow I will probably go the entire day on the new computer. Wish me luck!

First day

So, with some experimenting and tinkering I am getting everything ready to roll with the surface as my main rig. Luckily the Apple version of the mini display port to VGA also works with the surface as well as the Apple keyboard and my Logitech mouse. So, the struggle of getting used to a new keyboard is not going to be necessary. I do dig the type cover though, it's nice if not just a little loud.

I think it will be a while before I get my hands on a dock which will allow me to pump dual screens out of the surface, I think I can wait for it. Using it as a little laptop situation hasn't been that bad actually.

One thing fixed for sure

Bypassed MS's piece of absolute shit "X Box Music" app, wtf is that thing? Most un-intuitive music listening app, absolute garbage. It's not that iTunes is much better, but it is at least useable.

I think I have transferred most of my most critical files to the little guy, and I should be able to crank away on it at work tomorrow. The only thing I am really worried about from the get-go is not having more than 1 USB port. I don't know if my apple keyboard will work with this thing, I am hoping it does, otherwise I may have to pick up a different keyboard for work purposes, I cannot do my job without a 10 key, a sad fact of life.

Trials and tribulations part 1

Ok, so I am totally digging the touch screen for the most part. I keep forgetting that the surface also has a mouse pointer. I am in the middle of transferring over a lot of data right now, it is going very very slow. I couldn't even get my Mac to see the surface, which is strange, the Mac usually sees everything going on that involves our network.

So, downsides thus far:
-Internet explorer hangs often for no apparent reason.
-Unable to share .pano files or put them on a viewer online, as the guy in the MS store said I could.
-Mousepad feels "cheap" compared to MBP.
-I have no idea how to use most of the stuff, must re-learn.

Got a new toy / serious thing

So, I took the plunge and picked up a Microsoft surface. It's pretty neat, definitely powerful. I am still trying to get used the keyboard, it seems to type pretty well, I am adapting to it faster than expected. The soft keyboard is ... bull shit, I can't deal with that. I don't currently have a wireless mouse, so that might be a little bit of an issue.

I thought they said that once you go Mac, you never go back. (unless of course you get a way better computer in a smaller package with a bunch of bonus stuff for a reasonable price. )

The special Ladyfriend and I are going to take the surface into a park nearby and do some panoramic shots, which are super cool!

The only thing really holding me back from totally replacing my mac with this thing I think is its ability to record audio, with a quad core processor and twice as much ram, it shouldn't be a problem. Also, if I am going to be switching computers every 5 years to stay current, I need to amok sure that I am keeping a fair amount of stuff on the cloud or on an external hard drive.

OK, more on this experience later. It's about time for some computer changes, I was starting to get bored.