Why I left Surface Pro 2 for Ipad mini and Macbook Pro: life lessons

First The Rant

So as I was deciding to begin writing a post about why I dropped pc and went back to mac I decided to check on something on my desktop pc. I tried to download a file but it needed administrator access, I proceed to put the code in but oops there is no box to put the code in....thats odd? I click something else and,,,,,. I think, well maybe its a bug and I need to upgrade, I go to upgrade but uh oh, in order to upgrade I need to have administrator access! So Im stuck , oh great! time to refresh the computer totally, now that takes me to a reboot in which I cant get to any recovery memory even though its set aside, so off to the box o junk I go hoping I have a restore disc made because I cant download one without admin privileges... I find a disk , go through the process and I format drive, but wait its not over,, "windows cant be installed on drive,,,," That ladies and gentlemen, is exhibit A and the prevailing argument for dropping pc for Apple!

So as I try the ol power off and turn back on method,,,I begin my next paragraph...

Stepping into danger 

Allow me to give background, around Christmas I became intrigued by the propaganda spewed by Microsoft Execs about the Surface Pro 2 . I was also bored with the Iphone and jumped ship to android. I was thinking this will be the best time of any to go windows. I promptly sold my macbook, Ipad, and powered off the Imac. I replaced my beloveds with a Surface pro 2 with a dock. Hopefully I have some returning readers out there who remember my grandiose exit explaining why I'm leaving Apple for Surface Pro 2.

I was excited by the well constructed and different gem. I noted how I was bored of things just working and I want a little chaos and opportunity to create chaos. My fellow Apple fanboys responded to my motives with a smirk replying "you will be back". I scoffed at their prediction as I shown off the 4 pains I was able to do on my surface in docked mode and pull it out to walk around with still two windows. I aggravated them with my showcase of games I was playing with my dongle and wireless xbox controller. I wrote articles about using it to root my phone. I wanted chaos and work and work I did. Like a kid going off to college, you are free from the monotony of order and someone telling you whats best for you but now the prodigal son returns , why you may ask? Because freedom and excitement has an adverse and equal reaction of pain and frustration.
I mentioned a point of frustration earlier.

By the way, its starting now after the reboot..

That is just one example. I hated how I got freezes from day one. Doing the simplest of tasks. I figured it was maybye because it did not come out the box updated. Most task I did took an extra step than it would have taken on the Ipad. For instance , passwords didn't always save so I had to answer questions. I had to log back in by first moving up the screen then type in. I couldn't press the off button to long because it would go to sleep mode thus having to log back in. If I had a few desktop apps running on start up this slowed me down a great bit. I had to think what place to write my notes in because they look different depending on what part of Onenote you enter your info into. I had to adjust my screen because chrome browser was fuzzy by default. There was two different explorers and depending on the site, sometimes you got switched into the desktop mode. If you are having trouble following , it was purposeful to give you a since of the experience.

• I purchased a Macbook Pro used and I was able to hook it up to the internet and let the magic happen. It asked for my Itunes account name and noticed I previously downloaded osX like windows and it loaded it up for me. No discs, no long product id, just a log in and a server. I don't get many freezes even though its more buggy than previous OSX. Chrome is in all its chrome glory, which it should be seeing as though most Googlers are using macs in press photos. The Ipad turns right on. I have a passcode because my job uses exchange (ahem Microsoft) but thats understandable,,,I guess. It stays on all day, my wife was laughing because i kept charging it. she said "you don't have to do that with apple". On my Ipad when I want to go to a website I realize there is an app for that that is often more feature rich and quick so I just go there, but we will get to that later. 

Portability 

I noticed that I couldn't get used to the weight. Every time I managed to at least not bug me, I picked up my wife's Ipad and voila there it goes again. I literally had thoughts to take it with me and then ended with a "nah i don't feel like lugging that thing". It was a chore when I had the only personal time I get as a father (ahem the bathroom). So I defaulted to my phone. When I go to the mall to let the kids get free time in the play area, I defaulted , to my phone. When I was in the back yard bbq  and wanted to read while the food was smoking, I defaulted , to my phone. When my kids wanted to play a game , they had to hold the xbox controller because I was scared the heavy tablet would lead to them dropping it. (Notice that was the first time I used the word tablet). I was thinking it would replace my laptop as a more mobile device but it was essentially serving the same purpose. It was just a tiny desktop.

• But my new Ipad mini fits in my big pockets, partly because I'm stuck in the baggy 90s. I can take it to my "daddy area". And feel fine! I also have a laptop that is sitting stationary or on my lap. What Microsoft is missing about the type keyboard is that the weight needs to be on the base to feel sturdy. Until then it will never be lapable. (is that a word?) 

I just rebooted twice because the screen went blank and the cd stop spinning during the refresh ! 

Software 

I touched on how getting started is a dream. I hate to beat a dead horse because i rolled my eyes at the constant mentioned of the poor amount of apps but once again like a teen I should have listened! I am not ashamed to admit I like wrestling! I was trying to get the WWE APP but it seemed as though it wasn't updated in years! It didn't even have the added live network so I was forced to access it through the browser. I went to the one of choice, chrome and it was a bug in it. Chrome kept thinking I was using a usual tablet so it told me to download the app. Even though I was in desktop mode. I searched and found a hack but the hack took away the touch functionality of my surface so that was not a viable option. I then wanted to use a grade book program that has an awesome app for the Ipad. I couldn't use it so I went desktop mode. The icons where to small for touch so I lost my ability to walk around and check grades. Those are just examples of my angst for the app store/ market place/ whatever. 

• Ipad apps are amazing. There is something for everything I can think of (accept for Instagram for some reason, its a stretched mess). I was able to go back to my mobile grading. I was able to do quick Iprint. I dint have to bother with messy hookups to my tv because I can just click air play and once again my kids was playing games. They was excited to be back to playing lego on tv but this time controlling the Ipad as he stare to the main screen. I miss the controller but I read there are bluetooth ones available. My mac keyboard is so nice. I actually like the typecover 2 keyboard but the laptop keyboard is better for in the lap. Everything works together too! You can air drop, airplay share open tabs like a dream. Everything works. At one point when showing off my pc stuff I always uttered the words "hold up wait one minute let me try something". Now its just watch this, did you see that? Oh and the books, have to love the books. It was so awkward reading in widescreen or legal pad mode haha, ibooks ,and of course kindle looks beautiful on my Ipad! 

apparently I have two volumes of windows 8 started now :(...I have been recovering/ DIY PCS for 20 years by the way 

Sooo

To sum it up, I came back to apple for normalcy! Normalcy and Quality. No its not as fun being back home but moms meals are always good , there is no sleep like your old room and waking to that good breakfast. Its the normalcy that feels good! When I can type this blog up on my Ipad comfortably with no plug , print with drivers installed automatically, close it down and go out side with my Ipad air in my pocket, grabbing a cup of coffee and pulling it out to read my Bible app comfortably. When things get chaotic in my tech life like mama , Apple makes it all better, with its auto updates, and Icloud backup. Easy Facetime call to the wife and kids to make me smile. I can tell the wife I will be right there, because Im not loosing time getting something to work. Im sorry apple , thanks for welcoming me back home.

Thanks for working guys :) 

Screen went black again , I'm rebooting 

GOD BLESS!

Why I am back to Iphone ,,again! a android fanboy treasonous tale

yes yes I the prodigal son returned home to his first love, Apple, yeah I know you heard this story before, I try and try to leave apple to get out of line with sheep but every time I think the grass is greener on the other side, I realize that apple is the best there is! So as the flames begin, continue to read if you’re not one of those fan boys that leave comments like "As soon as I read.... I stop reading your crappy isheep article". 

me with my galaxy mega! 

So I grew bored with IOS 6 on my iPhone 5 and I became lured to the large screen android smartphones I read about on google+. I decided to first go with the S4 after the constant advertisements during the NBA finals and popups, and YouTube ads, it was endless. I loved it initially, seeing something different, I then began reading about how things could be so much better without samcrap so I decided to go Nexus. The NEXUS 4 that was an amazing phone but I found myself missing little goodies like ir remote I used on Samsung, and multi-screen, so I decided, let’s go bigger. That leads me to Samsung Galaxy Mega! Mega is the key word, because this thing was huge! At that time, I was using the nexus 4 and 7. Toting two devices seem to be cumbersome so I wanted to get a device to rule them all. The mega satisfied my needs for a while until once again, I grew angry with the samcrap. So naturally I went to CM11. CM11 was pretty cool but it was full of quirky bugs, which is fun to work with. I used that to argue for android before, the problem though came to when I needed it to work right away, ,, ahh here comes that annoyingly true apple standout, motto "it just works". 

The design and those little UI things began irritating me fairly early though I was able to ignore them. For example:

1.    Snap to the top scrolling. - I was using twitter when I first went back to android and I didn’t realize that it doesn’t have snap to the top scrolling. When you began to scroll through your feed on twitter and google+. Sometimes you want to go back to the top right away, on android you have to begin rolling that finger! It speeds up but that’s the best you can do! Google+ implemented this but the browser still makes me scroll through reddit and xda etc. 

2.    Pull to refresh- listing to podcaster and stitcher forces me to find the little widget to refresh my feed vs just pulling down. On my mega, I was waiting for the green refresh arrow to pop up. It is just much easier to pull "thinking pull in new content. 

3.    Quick settings from the bottom up - ironically Apple actually seem to copy this feature from android but like apple they steal or "gets inspiration" from others who mess up first and clean it up to make it work. I know kitkat has the two finger gesture to separate settings from notifications but I use the calculator and flashlight all the time and I like being able to scroll up and get what I need. I also really like how I get to my stitcher music controls from the bottom separate from the notifications on the top, (because the top notifications still sucks! ) 

4.    Google apps - That was one of the nails in my android owning coffin, the google apps looks so much better on iPhone, it’s like they made it for the iPhone and just ported it on android, or made it an afterthought. Hangouts is awesome on iPhone, the colors pop and options are quick for things like hangout video etc. Google + scrolls nice, and the notifications and everything get out of the way. Yes the feed is harder to see on the small screen but wow! Apple even let my password load on all of my google apps automatically. There was little difference between the sync of my google account over the iOS apps like android apps. It is almost like I never gave up what made android best, instead it feels like a visual change to my android. 

5.     Print - iprint is so seamless, I was toting google cloud print to others but the last

print right there!!!!

week of my android ownership came when I was attempting to print out an emailed coupon. I found myself struggling to connect for some odd reason and the button was inconsistently popping up. I sent the email to my wife’s IPhone and she just tapped and printed! WOW! I couldn’t believe how easy it was, she saw my expression and smirked, "yeah it just works" .. 

6.    I was laughing at how you never see the apple community talk about how they are angry because they still are waiting for the update to kit kat, Samsung just announced that 4.4 is coming to the mega in the next month but the month after that Google will announce the next version. When apple release an update we all get it! No wait, no matter the carrier, it works! (there I go again) 

7.    Apps in general - I was so upset when I was on my surface and mega trying to work with the WWE app on my chromecast and I went through lag, quirks, freezes, and pixelization. I grew ill one day and was regulated to the bedroom with an apple TV and it was a totally different experience. Using my wife’s IPhone I was scrolling in beauty as the app loaded up perfectly looking good. I tried PlayOn which was a lagggy nightmare, but when I tried it on iOS, and it feel worth the lifetime membership I paid. 

8.    Contextual keyboard. - I didn’t really pay too much attention but when it was in Instagram, I saw the @ and # sign in the corner waiting for me, making it easier for me to bang a comment out quickly. I see I type better too with less mistakes, my buddy +Alex Glover always make fun saying "that’s that android keyboard" when he get messages like "hty yoy kile that song? I have seen an improvement in just a couple of days. 

notice the keyboard icons in the corner?

On Another note 

No matter how much I enjoy the user interface and beauty and solidness of hardware, I can’t ignore one MAJOR sore point, this phone is Tiny! It wouldn’t be so glaringly small if I wasn’t coming from a 6.3 inch screen but I am squinty my eyes trying to read the text on websites, and google+. I soon was reminded of one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to go android, a bigger screen. You can defend Apple using a plethora of evidence but this is not one of them. There is no way you can argue that the screen is perfect. With that being said I do like being able to use it with one hand comfortably but I think you can go bigger without messing that comfort up. 

I also miss the easy sharing capabilities with android. When I took a picture it was easy to share to any program I like right from the camera app. I thought I remember doing this so if I am don’t criticize me, criticize apple for not making intuitive enough to notice. Android let all the apps talk to each other so I can share between google+ and Instagram easily. I see I can’t do the same. 

I miss my slide keyboard. It was pretty cool sliding through the keys to type faster even though I ended with many mistakes. 

The notifications are horrible, its random stuff, random things I don’t care about, stock, and it’s to transparent for my old eyes to see differentiate what imp looking at in a glance 

Conclusion 

I came back and at least for now, I can say I am going to stick with the IPhone! I have the option of upgrading in September due to the pricing wars I wrote about in another article. I am hoping the rumored 4.7 inch iPhone will solve the remaining angst I have about the iPhone. I keep looking at that White and Gold beauty, holding the well-constructed metal

Sorry!!!

and glass, opening up with my thumbprint and think to myself, what was I thinking leaving you? ..haha GOD BLESS 

The One Plus One SPEC -tacularly Show How Consumers Benefit From The Price Wars

I'm so excited about the pricing war of smartphones! I am fresh of an exciting Friday rushing to get to a crashed server for the One+1.  I was reading on Android Central (click here)The feature packed phone will have:

•  the snap dragon 801 processor, you know, like the one in the S5, 
• 3 gigs or ram, twice as much as that um other phone, same as the note 3, 
• 13 megapixel Sony Camera 
• 5.5 1080 p screen on par with the top smartphones today 
• and 16 gigs of ram 
• Google apps (full Google integration)

• cm11 (no need to root and brick for an hour or so trying to get it) 
• all for the low price of $299 ; $50 off the steal of a phone Nexus 5 

So lets bring this into context. The suggested subsidized price for the note 3 was $299, that's not unlocked, that's tied to a expensive phone plan that helps providers make up the cost, that's the shackled price that comes with 2 years of baggage called a contract! We raved at the Moto x with in some cases half the specs at that price. In the past, people joked that unlocked phones where smartphones of yesteryear helping companies to clean out inventory! (HTC EVO , Samsung Galaxy S ).. We then get the low ram low capacity Asian Market variants but still nothing you proudly can pull out. But man have things changed!

We now can spend less than $400 ( a subsidized level price), and have a phone we can proudly show off! What makes me most excited, this One Plus One is better than many if not all the current phones on the market right now. It has the operating system that most geeks use anyway when we buy a Samsung or HTC phone. Ok so it does not have a heart rate sensor , but I think I can pass on that haha.

We are reaching a monumental moment in tech history. The market is working at its best. Consumers are benefiting from the pricing war giving us several sub $400 smartphones, these are the ones I am aware of so far, and a rounded estimated price.

• Motorola X $379
• Motorola G $179 
• Nexus 5 - $350 
• One plus One - $300 

Sermon Reflection 4/20/14 "Why Grieve , HE is Risen "

Why Grieve , HE is Risen 4/20/14

Our past Sermon addressed how we should take a look at the empty grave of JESUS Christ! Our Pastor talked about how many times we talk about how JESUS died for our sins and that is good recognizing that JESUS died for our sins. At the same time we have to be sure not to focus to much on that and negate the fact that JESUS rose! JESUS had to rise from the grave showing us that we serve a living GOD! We should make sure we stay focused that we have reason to hope because death is not the end for us! We as Christians shouldn't be looking at death as the end of the road because this life is not for us, we have something greater to look forward too! We are told not grieve like unbelievers. We have to know that this is just a phase. We should know that death is just a pathway to heaven so we do not experience true death. We was also reminded of something else that makes our faith different than others. We serve a living GOD , Buhda , and the Islamic patriarch Muhammad died. But JESUS shown the grave did not hold him! JESUS left the grave in perfect order, showing it was all a plan. HE wasn't stolen in haste. HE Rose! The final point was the fact that JESUS had to rise so that we may receive the HOLY SPIRIT on the day of Pentecost! We were challenged to celebrate that day like Christmas and Easter, we should abhor this day because the HOLY SPIRIT dwells in conforming us to GOD’s will. We are incapable of doing good works and baring good fruits without that HOLY SPIRIT!

I was spiritually lifted as I rejoiced at my living GOD. Reminding myself not to get to down because of my problems in life because this life is only temporary and I have a destination in heaven. I was smiling and elated to think about how I am just a visitor here and I am on the list for Heaven only because GOD loved me enough not because I was good enough. Nothing better than a free gift. But I will live this life I’m visiting thanking GOD for HIS GRACE until I can thank HIM more in Heaven!

I am also going to make a great effort to honor GOD on the day of Pentecost. I want to make sure I recognize and thank GOD for a true undeserved blessing in the HOLY SPIRIT! I don’t want to be another selfish Christian only celebrating the days in which I get gifts. I want to truly praise GOD for his blessings and Grace! It’s a blessing to truly learn about GODs grace on Easter Sunday, or more appropriately, Resurrection Sunday!

Sermon reflection 4/13/14 and my spiritual journey to JESUS!

This past sermon talked about JESUS triumphal entry into Jerusalem to die for our sins being the final sacrifice. We were filled with excitement and praise as our pastor talked about how blessed we are that we have a reason to praise because JESUS sacrificed for us! HE was blameless, sinless, yet HE died for sin, Our sin! That alone is reason to praise knowing that JESUS CHRIST died for us, but  the grave didn't hold him. HE is RISEN!
I was crying in the pew as I was reflecting on GOD's mercy. I grew up without much religion and was exposed to Islam. I considered myself wise and a forwarded thinker so I looked at religion as a science or a case study but I was curious. GOD placed people in my life to drop seeds like my sister , and grandmother. I was still questioning and wondering until my father had me read the Quran. As I was reading GOD began talking to me , he began making me pull JESUS out of what I was reading. Ironically I was given the task of helping to translate the Quran for an English speaking audience so that I can learn more about Islam. But GOD decided to let me pull out hints that Islam was missing the true beauty and answer to life. JESUS! I began praying more and more and asking GOD to forgive me for my confusion. I never really reflected until the sermon a special moment. ..
By the time I met my wife I have accepted that Christianity was the path GOD wanted me to take and it was JESUS that will be the only path to get into heaven. I was still not understanding the true essence of JESUS CHRIST. I was standing in Church on New Years Eve when JESUS Finally put the last piece in me! The HOLY SPIRIT entered me as I realized, JESUS is GOD in the Flesh. JESUS came down as the SON of GOD to model for us to do GOD's word and dying for our sins so we are Forgiven. Only because of JESUS CHRIST I have a place in Heaven and since I am Saved I am filled with the HOLY SPIRIT which is the true essence of the TRINITY of GOD. I went from a unbeliever, to a believer in GOD , to knowing I needed help, to a believer that JESUS was the way to Heaven , to understanding the TRINITY and only being saved by GRACE!
My plan for writing this sermon reflection during Resurrection week wanted me to reflect on Good Friday! The way every believer should celebrate is by sharing a testimony! Sharing who JESUS CHRIST is is true love and true worship the Easter Resurrection weekend. Testify so much there is no room for bunnies and egss,,,,, GOD BLESS!

Why Windows 8.1 update 1 is a good move for Microsoft.

I was reading about the Windows 8.1 update 1 and I am pretty excited for the changes. I want to start by saying that my gripes with windows are gripes I always had about windows in general so the update is not a game changer for me personally, but it is a game changer for the general public. When I think about those changes I think its a major step in the right direction for Microsoft. This is why I think non techies will be excited about Windows 8.1 update 1. 

Power Button and time on Modern Start Screen 

It was so jarring to have to swipe in just to check the time. I know many of us working on our computer also use the computer for our watch. I did not notice how much I do this until I was working on my surface, and I am thinking "what time is it?" That is one of those little UI things that gets the fan boys defending the Apple Tax.

The bigger plus of this U addition of this UI improvement is an easy way to log off/shut down the computer. I was so happy with 8.1 when I was able to right click the windows button (quasi start button) that made shutting down the computer much quicker. I hated the original procedure of having to go through several swipes and clicks before shutting down the computer. That procedure made me downgrade to windows 7 a week after the initial Windows 8 beta. Now I know even my mother can feel comfortable shutting the computer down in the Modern Start screen. 

Taskbar added to Modern Apps 

Now the Modern Apps will have a close minimize button to it. It will also have the traditional menu buttons that will enable you to access,,,,menu items

, haha seriously a file menu will be extremely helpful and clear to someone who is using keyboard and mouse just like its been for 20 years. The best thing that Windows has going for it, especially in light of the rise of the macbook, is that most of us are familiar with the windows interface, specifically the file menu. That is open of the most jarring thing about Mac OS. The menu is much different. 

Modern Apps back in windows mode.

This is Awesome. I no longer have to commit to a full screen. In today's society, commitment is scary in a multitasking world! I like that I can do the cool apps in multiple windows. With a touch screen we can scroll through 4 windows randomly on once. More importantly, with a keyboard and mouse, we can use the mail app and keep it open while working other items on the desktop. Once again, non techies will be used to apps in a window and being able to do multiple things at once instead of yelling "uh oh what I do?" 

Windows store on desktop 

This is another thing that I was greatly interested in. Windows store currently seems like a metro , I mean modern interface.,,,,,ooops I tried hard not to do that ;).

Now that your woke again, like I was saying, I think the store will be used more often now that it will be part of the desktop. People shy away from that because its almost buried. Now we can see it from anywhere on the computer. The modern apps as well will be able to be pinned to the desktop so we are free to use the apps as we wish, once again not having to commit to the app.  

Summation 

If you are paying attention you will see that Microsoft has gone great efforts to create a user interface that supports the mouse and keyboard. This is well done because they did this while retaining the touch niceties that they focused on in the beginning when creating this radical Windows 8. I love that Microsoft has listened to the frustration of the non techies and UI focused fans alike. The biggest complaint from co workers, family members is the unfriendly touch interface. I'm excited to see the results! 

Sermon Reflection 3/30/14 John 6:70-71 "Little Devils in Church"

This past Sermon addressed John 6:70-71 Titled "little Devils in the Church". In the Sermon the pastor talked about Judas and why he truly went to hell. He spoke about how in fact even though Judas performed Miracles and was their with JESUS he was still not a believer therefore he still went to hell. I know I have been confronted with misinformation with the thought he was saved but went to hell for betraying JESUS. This is wrong because its arguing that you can loose salvation, but JESUS guarantees everlasting life. We also know that its not what we do that save us but its GODS grace so if GOD chose Judas to be saved he would have been. He contrasted this with Peter, tho he was arrogant and cowardly, he was saved and therefore repented and continued to serve GOD through his life time. We must understand Judas to gain a understanding of our Church today and GOD's grace. Pastor brought up how JESUS said many people will call HIS name and do miracles in HIS name but JESUS will say they don't know HIM ,, ,Judas did these things but he will go to the place where JESUS will send those who he don't know. Those he didn't call to heaven .
Applying this to life I was thinking when I myself fall into the trap of assuming someone knows the LORD. Saying things like " they know better they grew up in church!" We know the world learned from this with that wretched term, "PK's" this is because there are a ton of little devils that do good things. Jim Jones come to mind but it can be on a much smaller scale!
It is more important to think about who we share the Gospel to. We know that dude on the corner need to hear about JESUS and living the world according to GOD's will but what about that kid in the choir. We don't take time to talk to them about the LORD. Do we know whats in their heart. I know its no way to fully know but do we even ask? I don't... MY pastor talked about how he was 17 when he was saved but been in church since 3!
This also gave me more reason to be sure to depend on my personal relationship with GOD... Of course you have to fellowship with other Christians not forsaking the assembly of GOD, but you should also let the HOLY SPIRIT guide you and take advantage of today's society with the ability to read the Scripture for yourself. If what your pastor or spiritual leader is going outside of GOD's will or sharing a word out of alignment, you need to address it! I was thinking about the people that went with Jim Jones may have had warning signs from the HOLY SPIRIT before taking his lead, for those who were truly saved! You must also learn from this that Humans can be flawed so trust in GOD and understand only he is flawless.
This was a valuable lesson especially for those who belong to a church home like All those who are saved should be!!! I pray its a Blessing for you as well. GOD BLESS!