Tech Part 2

Lets start with games.............

I love playing computer games, I was a fairly decent Call of Duty 4 player online. Yes I may have been in a clan and for a time had top player on several maps. Despite cooking the video card on my dell twice it did the job but I always knew it was my weak point.

Then we sold our house and moved, then moved again, days got longer I was getting home later, I had to wipe and reload the OS on my dell and I just didn't re-install COD4. The new version Modern warfare 2 came out then COD Black Ops and knowing my laptop wasn't up to the challenge I resisted.

Knowing I was due for a laptop refresh this year I started looking into alienware laptops but was very hot and cold with them as they probably are enough to scrape by in terms of a gaming machine but the size and noise of cramming better video cards and extra cooling made for a highly un-portable laptop. In considering the alienware gear I think I was focusing more on wanting to be able to game and less on having something portable to use on my commute.

I then started to to sway towards the Macbook Air as my portable then compliment it with a simple server/desktop at home for our families storage needs. The new MBA came out and despite having several decent plays I couldn't see the wafer thin notebook as something I could use on my lap every day, it was just too small.

I'd been keen for a tablet for sometime, since here actually.... but my satisfaction with my Android phone faded somewhat when I updated to froyo. I found some of the features I loved like swype text bombed on the new version. I pretty much didn't want to consider any androids tablets running 2.X until early this year when the Motorolla Xoom came out sporting honeycomb, the Android tablet specific OS. I still um'ed and ahh'ed swaying between Ipad and the Xoom but waited for more honeycomb offerings from the other tablet manufacturers to enter the ring.

I found the Xoom more to be an ipad copy than a competitor. I still really liked the Android OS then as more makes got thrown into the mix the Acer caught my eye. In a nutshell it does everything the iPad or Xoom can do with a few added bonuses. Firstly, a microsd slot like that with my galaxy makes it so much easier to load content on/off your device and its expandable storage. Secondly a standard USB port, this is an awesome idea because while tablets a supposed to be alternatives to pcs the more "useable" and specifically connectable they are the more things you can do with them. In the case of a USB port it could be to bang in a keyboard and whack out a long winded opinion piece like this or simply transfer some data from your main machine via USB key (I have a really small 16gb key that barely sticks out when inserted and is perfect for this sort of use, so 32gb on board, add my 16gb microsd card and my 16gb key and bingo I have the same storage as the top spec ipad with the added bonus of swap-ability.

I guess you can't find something that ticks every box and the downside to acer is its a little more bulky but for the added features I was still keen. The other issue is that they are relatively new (June/Julyish release for the 3g model??) meaning choices for cases are currently a little thin (there are 3). Lucky I have big hands so bulk is no worry actually it easier to handle and there will bemore cases sooner or later.

So thursday I pulled the trigger and picked up an Acer Iconia a501 32gb. DSE had a decent price & were happy to throw in the Acer case, 2 screen protectors so I up'd the warranty from 1 to 3 years then stopped into Telstra store & had them load a sim card for mobile broadband, plugged it in and away I went. Review to come



This left me with a decision to make in terms of desktops where my options are limitless. Dollar value for reasonably high end gaming desktop + android tablet comes in slightly more than the 14inch alienware or the macbook air. I'm currently decided (unless I change my mind which tend to do) on i7 with enough ram, a few 1tb hard drives, video support for eyefinity (linking monitors as one large one batcave style as opposed to extending your desktop over multiple screens and gaming on one screen). All this in a case with ample slots for optical & hard drives that keeps and looks cool so stay tuned.



Until Next Time...........

Tech

So i'm typing this update from new android tablet.....

I spent many hours over the past few weeks trying to come up with a tech solution to my changing every day needs. The key driver was it was time to upgrade my pc which turned 3 in march this year. I initially considered getting a desktop and an ipad but as I looked more and more into the ipad it didn't suit my portability needs.

I then began to sway towards a macbook mainly because i was really over the windows experience and could see a need being met by the decent battery life on offer.

I waited for the new Macbook Airs to come out and still wasn't entirely grabbed by them then started looking at a alternate laptops before deciding on desktop/android tablet combo.

oops looks like i posted prematurely stay tuned.

A week gone by and another to come

Firstly I must apologise for the dot point update, its been hot and I've avoided extra PC time.


Miss P turned 3
Its hard to believe its been three years since the smallest (though not youngest) memeber of our family popped out into my waiting hands. While her 1 year old sister isn't far off sharing her clothes she is the bigest personality of our crew by a long shot (not to mention the loudest) We had a quiet gathering with her grand parents and she got some different pressies including a doctors kit that has been a big hit.

Shoes
I finally got a decent enough break in to go to my fave little specialist shoe shop for some new clod hoppers, In the form of some snazzy boots for work and a second pair for walking around town.

Man Bag
I managed another equally extended lunch break to pick up a man bag for all manner of things I like to cart around. While the brief was simple it had to:
-Fit an iPad
-Have ample internal pockets for headphones keys and coins & phones
-Be waterproof
-Be small enough to be worn on a crowded train
-Have velcro and a clip for security
I scoured the interwebs for all manner of man bag but unfortunately didn't like anything I saw. I remembered where there was a factory outlet for crumpler and while nothing on their website met my needs I decided to have a look in the hope of getting an older model that may tick my boxes. I did in the form of "the soupandsalad son-o" yeah I don't get the names either. (I got the blue/yellow one)
Sickness
Mamma Bear was ill, in 6 children she has only had mastitis twice and this time was pretty hard on her, mixed in with a few high 30 degree days and plenty of humidity saw her pretty wasted. I felt crap that I couldn't do more for her. She never loses her cool with the children but I could see the combination of being crook and the heat and half a dozen shadows wore her down. Its frustrating seeing people with 1 or 2 children who get multitudes of help all the time, people dont offer to "take 5 off your hands" for an afternoon so mum can rest so we make do. I tried to have all the washing done before mondays return to work as well as taking care of the meals but with a 1 year old you are challenged thats for sure. Heres to no more sickness and a paid babysitter so maybe we can have our first date in well over 3 years

Incense for mosquito's
Living in the sticks means bugs and if you're unfortunate to be a mosquito magnet like some in our family are they can be an annoyances. Its not ideal to close up the house when we get such nice breezes and mossie candles stink so we decided to try some sandelwood incense. I have to say I love the smell and each night I've had a stick burn I've sat next to an open window and haven't had any bites.

Work
Work has continued to be awesome, I'm really getting into working for the government and can really see good in the work people in my department do and indirectly the systems I work on.

Lack of two wheeled action
Its been almost 2 months since I've been for a motorcycle ride, I'm not craving it but am missing it. I'll probably take the Duc for a spin just to give it a run this weekend but wont do any long rides for a few more months. Life is a little busy at the moment for selfish passtimes

Hiking
The eldest boys and I went for a hike up one of the local mountains yesterday, despite torrential rain we wore ponchos, it was challenging, steep, slippery and the track was more overgrown than I expected, we also encountered several leeches I had alf a dozen on one leg. I think I might invest in a water resistant camera for capturing some of the more active and messy activities we do as there were some awesome photo ops.





And the week ahead?

One of the great things about home schooling (there are so many I could bang on all day about them) is the fact that you're no bound to standard school hours or calendars. Lets face it if you go to a family destination be it the zoo, the beach or even the movies it kind of blows during school holidays. Don't get me wrong I love children (well certainly my own) but when an attraction is swarming with families its not as enjoyable.

Enter home Education, forget the crazy 8:30am traffic as parents flock to their childrens school drop off zones, forget about the panda enclosure that you queued at for 90 minutes, or the noisy movie theater. Its awesome when everything is quiet-er.

Monday we have the annual "Not-back-to-school" meet where by many Home Educators take their broods to a water park down the coast for a day of water slides and aqua cycling and much more. Monday is "Not-back-to-school" day and I cant wait.

The change in jobs and switching to consulting (no paid leave) means that our 2011 wont be as active as 2010 was in terms of me taking days off work for activities so I hope to get the most out of Mondays water fun.

Until next time

EDIT - I should add that by help I meant taking the children of MB's hands for an afternoon. She did receive help via our ever so handy Doula who delivered some herbs and potatoe compress to ease the mastitis.