Parallel's is a great app for running Windows on a mac, and more

After years as a windows pc user I decided to give the macbook pro a go. I've been blown away by the hardware quality. And MacOs is easy to use and integrated. However, there are some apps that I need to run on Windows. So I installed parallels on the mac. I can now run Windows on my mac. And the experience is better than on any of my previous pcs! I gave parallels a go on my ipad and it works very well indeed.

Parallels Access remote access app jumps from iPad to iPhone, gains Finder-like functionality http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/16/parallels-access-remote-access-app-jumps-from-ipad-to-iphone-gains-finder-like-functionality/

Monitoring mobile phone usage

Using the break free app. It also shows you the top 5 apps used in a day. (number one for me Evernote -  1.53hrs)- handy for deciding to rearrange home screens.

Nokia 1520 - early impressions of this gorgeous device

The Nokia 1520 is one of the most mouth watering devices that I've used. However,  is it practical to use? I've spent a few days just using it and my conclusion so far is that for me, it's brilliant as a weekend phone,  and as a tablet in the evenings. For the working day the gflex is still the most practical,  comfortable device for my needs (especially when used alongside an iPhone 5s). However, I still get a certain 'wow' and feeling of luxuriance that I don't with any other phone or tablet. Part of that is helped by the vivid and fresh windows phone ui.

Pro
-it feels lovely to hold (could be a bit wide for some. It's noticeably wider than the gflex,  though both are 6").
-the display is lovely. Indoors and outdoors (the flex is difficult to read in bright sunlight, unlike the 1520- especially using the increased contrast setting).
-the camera is great for fiddling with and takes very good photos (if a bit slower than the iPhone 5s and requiring more set up than the iPhone). I'm getting better and better at taking decent photos with this. And the large,  gorgeous screen that is fine in bright sunlight makes it great for showing photos to people.
-The windows phone ui makes a refreshing change after so long with Android & ios. I like the ability to set up live tiles for specific podcast subscriptions, and see how many unplayed episodes there are.
-kids corner: this is one of the better implementations of kids account. I've just specified which games, music albums, video clips and apps my daughter can access.
-audio is very good on earphones. The external speaker isn't the best but it's pretty decent, and I like it especially for vocal (bbc iplayer,  audible,  podcasts...).
- Nokia car navigation (Nokia here) is NOTICABLY better than using Google maps to give directions. Trying it over the same route I was surprised at just how much better Nokia is than Google maps. It could do with pausing other audio when giving directions though (not just reducing the other app's volume).
-I'm enjoying Nokia radio. I've found more new music that I like with this than using similar apps on ios and Android.

Con
-the squared corners make it less pocket friendly than the gflex.
-most apps I need are on Windows phone, or on their way. It's not as seamless a Google app experience as android or ios but it's good enough for me.  And some apps that I use are better on WP than Android or ios.
-I haven't yet managed to get a lower case ' i ' to automatically change to upper case (good reason for not using I too much!)
-the buttons on my hands free sets don't work (yet). The 3 buttons sets work fully on ios,  and partially on Android. I'll look for a decent one that works fully on Windows phone.

Misc notes
-it's heavier than the gflex but the weight is manageable.
-audio and call quality were fine. Though the gflex is clearer.
-using the same sim card on the flex and in the Nokia, the flex seemed to have more success in finding a signal.
-battery life of the 1520 is decent, though not as good as the gflex.
-not all of the apps I want are on Windows phone (eg citymapper). However, most are there or there are usable alternatives. 

Did I say how gorgeous a device this is?

Not misleading people through use of numbers

The BBC more or less podcast is an enjoyable breathe of fresh air in a world of misuse of stats/use of inappropriate figures. Topical and interesting eg will Scots be better off in/out of the UK; world cup odds; misleading figures used to drum up bad feelings...
This week has a great selection including the coin tossing when making major decisions and risk taking.
If there were just three podcast subscriptions I could have this would be one of them.

http://pcasts.in/laQ8

macbook pro convert!

After years of being a 'PC person' (from MS & PC DOS, through windows 3.1, and beyond, to windows 7 and 8), I eventually decided to give a mac a go. It's been at the back of my mind for a while. I've had ipads and their durability,  range of apps and usability have impressed me. I had a stint with an iphone 4s and was very impressed (and now back to using an iphone 5s- having been mostly an android user, though I am still using android alongside IOS).

Anyway, back to this macbook pro retina- it is difficult to put into words just how good this is compared to any other laptop I've had before. Most recently a lenovo yoga, and before that various samsung laptops, sony, acer, HP, Toshiba... (of which my favourites at the time included the samsung q45 and a sony vaio). Anyway, this macbook beats all of those. The following reasons stand out:

• the trackpad- responsive, practical and feels good. I've had touch screen laptops- but this trackpad obviates the need for that (I've used styluses on laptops & am using still them regularly on tablets- I'm using this macbook as a laptop and I don't miss a stylus) 
• Screen quality- this is a pleasure for viewing, browsing... (not too surprising given it is a retina display)
• keyboard- after the lenovo this is so so much better!
• general hardware- this feels well build, durable and a quality feel that comes from attention to detail (I'm starting to sound like an apple marketeer! But after some of the so-so hardware I've had the difference is noticeable. As an example press the screen and it doesn't wobble (unlike some of my previous laptops). Also it doesn't overheat my lap and no sound of fan whirring away.
• Audio quality- when I first played music on this I had to look to see where the sound was coming from - it sounds very good and that makes watching videos even more of an enjoyable experience
• battery life: what can I say- this beats my previous laptops by some way
• Mac OS: feels integrated and intuitive- time to get used to this after windows, a few days if that 
• versatility: using parallels I can use windows on this macbook- and the experience is better than on my previous laptops. It also gave me the opportunity to run chromeOS on this mac (and android though that's not great)
• I'm sure there's more but this is easily the best laptop I've ever had and well worth the price difference (which for what I was after wasn't as much as I was expecting compared to the windows laptops I'd been looking at- and, touch wood, this feels like it would outlast the ones I was looking at as well as providing a more enjoyable experience along the way)

LG tab 8.3- one month on

I've been using the LG gpad for over a month now. It's grown on me more and more. It's practical,  has excellent build quality and is a pleasure to use. I've had a Samsung 8" and ipad mini but I'd choose the LG G pad in preference. I've used the Samsung 2014 8.4 which has a great screen. However, I didn't find it as enjoyable to use as the gpad, due to the feel in the hand of the Samsung 8.4, and the gpads's more practical approach to multitasking gives it an edge over Samsung's equivalent.

What orientation do I hold my phone

After a recent discussion that touched on one handed phone use,  I decided to
actively pay attention to how I hold my phones.

For the gflex:
Portrait: 75% (70% one handed, 30% two handed).
Landscape: 25% (25% one handed, 75% two handed. The one handed use mainly whilst watching video)

iPhone 5s and htc one:
Portrait: 95% (60% one handed, 40% two handed)
Landscape: 5% (10% one handed, 90% two handed)

So overall,
Gflex: one handed 59%
IPhone & htc One one: 58%

I was surprised that I was using the larger gflex more one handed than the smaller phones. Thinking it it's the back button on the flex and a couple of other features to support one handed use that lead to this. And with the smaller phones two handed use helps with being able to see the screen better when typing- though I do considerably more typing on the flex)