Category: Technology & Gadgets

  • The science fiction magazine e-format boom!

    03 Aug 2011 » 2 min read about iPad, kindle, magazines, Reading & Books, Technology & Gadgets

    I hesitated to update the Kindle App on my iPad to the most current version because of a philosophical issue I had with Apple’s in-app purchase policy. And yet I am weak, and cast my morals aside when the right circumstances arise. Two events converged this evening that convinced me to update the app: Event #1: Fantasy…

  • My virtual to-read stack (who needs a nightstand anymore?)

    03 Aug 2011 » 1 min read about iPad, Reading & Books, Technology & Gadgets

    Since I haven’t posted it in a while, here is what is on my virtual “to-read” stack on my Kindle App for the iPad: And in case you can’t read what’s there, here is the list, in no particular order, except the first item which is what I am reading now: A Storm of Swords…

  • Going digital: New Scientist

    01 Aug 2011 » 4 min read about iPad, Technology & Gadgets

    I’ve been a subscriber to New Scientist since October 2008. It is my primary source of keeping up with science and technology each week. For those who’ve never read it (or heard of it), New Scientist is a weekly science magazine out of the UK. It is usually around 48 pages and contains a summary…

  • The Death of Borders and My Book-Buying Practices

    19 Jul 2011 » 5 min read about iPad, kindle, Reading & Books, Technology & Gadgets

    If you are at all a fan of books and reading, you’ve by now heard that Borders books will be liquidating their stock and closing their remaining stores. This has to be incredibly tough on the 10,000 or so employees who will be jobless at the end of this process. And yet, I felt like…

  • The new GPS

    04 Jul 2011 » 1 min read about GPS, Technology & Gadgets

    As I mentioned earlier, our GPS died yesterday. It was a Garmin GPS (the model number escapes me at the moment) but it provided outstanding service for almost exactly 4 years. This morning, I replaced the device with a Garmin Nuvi 1450LMT device. Naturally, I bought another Garmin device. Aside from the old one working…

  • Some more thoughts on the iPad 2

    04 Jul 2011 » 3 min read about iPad, Technology & Gadgets

    This holiday weekend is the first time I’ve taken the iPad on the road. I didn’t bring my laptop with me–a deliberate effort to see how well I could get along without it, and how many of my most common tasks I could perform using just the iPad and my wireless keyboard. I’m pleased to…

  • Feed your writer’s block

    21 Jun 2011 » 3 min read about GPS, Technology & Gadgets, Writing & Publishing

    From time-to-time, I get into a rut where it seems like nothing I write is any good. This can be self-propagating. You write more and it feels worse, so you write even more and that seems even worse. In reality, it isn’t. When this happens to me, however, writing doesn’t seems as fun as it…

  • Retiring the iMac

    19 Jun 2011 » 3 min read about Technology & Gadgets

    I took advantage of the quiet day today (I was giving a “day off” for Father’s Day) in order to do some stuff around the house. One of the things I’d been wanting to do for some time now is retire my iMac. With the iPad, the new home sharing technology, and a fix for…

  • Going iPad: the complete series

    15 Jun 2011 » 1 min read about iPad, Technology & Gadgets

    For those who haven’t had a chance to see it yet (and because I am particularly busy today and don’t have much time for new content), here are the links to the entire Going iPad series I wrote a few weeks back after I first got my iPad 2: Reading on the iPad Writing on…

  • Going iPad, Part 5 of 5: Entertainment and Multimedia

    03 Jun 2011 » 4 min read about iPad, Technology & Gadgets

    In part 4 I discussed how I’ve been using the iPad to keep up with my social network. Today, I’ll talk about how the iPad has served my need to be entertained. The truth is, I’m pretty simple when it comes to entertainment. Between my day job, and my writing, and my family, I don’t…

  • Going iPad, Part 4 of 5: Social Networking

    02 Jun 2011 » 5 min read about iPad, social networking, Technology & Gadgets

    In part 3 I discussed how the iPad has made it easier to take notes, using a science fiction convention as an example. Today, I’ll discuss how it works to help me keep up with my social networking. You would think that, as a science fiction writer, I could simply find a nice quiet corner…

  • Going iPad, Part 3 of 5: Note-taking, Evernote and Science Fiction Conventions

    01 Jun 2011 » 5 min read about iPad, Technology & Gadgets

    In part 2, I discussed how I am using my new iPad to do my fiction writing. In part 3 I want to talk about using it for note-taking and in particular, how it seems almost perfectly designed to be used at conferences and conventions. When the original iPad was first announced, I had a…