I am going to make a confession today.
Although I am a lover of all things old I am also not-so-secretly addicted to gadgets. If it is new and shiny, has buttons and goes BEEP I want one.
I don’t necessarily get them mind you, after all, who can justify spending tonnes of money for no reason, but still, it doesn’t stop me wanting them.
As luck would have it the other day the Man made an excuse to had to get himself an iPad for work and bought me an iPad mini as well! WOO HOO!!
I have wanted one for ages but, you know, who can justify buying an unnecessary toy like that for no reason? Trust me, I tried my best to find an excuse that didn’t ring hollow…. 😉
Since the arrival of my new best friend I have spent more time than I should have downloading apps for it (and, admittedly, playing games) and found some photo editing ones that I have been having lots of fun with. (Snapseed is my favourite so far.)*
Our changed weather has been keeping me amused because I have been able to take what would have previously been boring photos of cloudy skies and make them look like all hell was about to break loose. 🙂
I unwound my window and took this one from the car while I was waiting for the kids one night. The clouds were nowhere near as menacing, I had to crop out the roof of the nearby police station and time the picture between the cars going past! I messed around with it until the school bell rang and I was really pleased to see what it turned out like.
I can see that I will be taking pictures of everything that seems slightly interesting to see what I can do with it from now on. The problem with that is nobody should be seen taking photos with an iPad, you just look ridiculous!
Now I just have to work out how to post photos to my blog properly from it, how the hell do I get the text to wrap around the picture instead it just sending it to the bottom!!!! Aaaarrgghh! 😀
*and for those of you who have been following my saga with Telstra, I am finally posting from the couch using the new modem (the third one sent to me) wirelessly with the iPad, no computer needed!
Thank you to poor Rachel at the Telstra call centre who finally got it working, she is my new hero. We were on the phone so long that I think we may have broken some kind of phone help persistence record yesterday. We were on for so long, in fact, that she had to call me back on the mobile phone as the battery in the home phone ran flat after the first hour and a half, and she waited while I called the school to tell the kids to wait for me as I wouldn’t be there in time for the bell!
Buried words and Bushwa. 
Enjoy the toy!! I’m green with envy. 🙂
So are the kids! 😀 When they wanted to know why they didn’t get one too I asked where their playstation Vitas were, you know kids, the ones that cost us a fortune and you both reallyreallyreally wanted for your birthday? Wear them out first! 😉
Mom 1 Kids 0
Mums don’t always get to win in the new toy stakes, it was very nice to this time! 😀
That is very cool. I’d love a tablet of some sort but I haven’t worked out how to justify it although my old trusty Toshiba laptop has been having moments so maybe by the time I need something else they’ll have refined the new hybrid notebook-tablets enough so they aren’t a headache. I’ve heard Windows 8 is a pain… I’m just coping with Windows 7. I’m glad your Telstra issues are done with 🙂 have fun playing, no doubt the kids will enjoy it too.
Shhhhh!!! Don’t say that or you’ll jinx it! Just say “better for now”. 😉
I still can’t justify having an ipad but there is no way I am giving it back now!
It is great fun and I am trying to get the hang of using it for my blog so I can take it on holidays instead of the whole computery ensemble. It certainly won’t replace the laptop but it is a great bit of extra kit. Plus, having it has opened a whole new world of bits and pieces to add to it… I think I need a keyboard for it too…. “Oh honey, you know how it is Mothers Day soon….” 😀
The new modem is supposed to work wirelessly with my computer as well but they don’t seem to be on speaking terms unless they are plugged in together. Oh well, could be worse, at least the computer is talking to the internet at all!
GIRRRRRRRRL. LET’S. TALK. APPS. I got an iPhone in November, remember? I am NUTTY for apps. Esp. photography apps (SNAPSEED is GOOD!) and organization apps. And odd apps that do stuff that’s just silly.
WOOT! I am so excited for you, Metan! Congrats on your iPad mini!
Here’s the first thing I got that is considered a must-have— Camera+ It’s on sale right now for 99 cents in the U.S.
Camera+ is more-than-basic camera app that takes much better photos than the built in photo program. I mean, waaaaaay better. In camera processing that won’t flip your wig, and for another 99 cents, you get these wonderful extra filters that I used for months and months.
*Wicked grin* And then after you get settled let me tell you the Tale of Hipstamatic. Oh, it is a wondrous tale, indeed!
The only thing that bugged me about Snapseed is that it changed all of its filters in one of the upgrades— and the changes weren’t an improvement. But, new stuff comes out all the time.
YEEEE! SO excited for you! And you take some GREAT photos with your camera, so I can’t wait to see what else you shoot with your mini iPad!
Thank you thank you! I just raced over to the apps store and bought camera+! 🙂
The camera in there is pretty basic so I am pleased that there might be an alternative. I have yet to put any photos taken with my good camera in it and have a go at editing them. Hopefully it can perform some magic and give me even more to play with!
You are going to be the happiest girl on your block. Seriously— I’ve tried dozens of things since Camera+, and it’s still the BEST one. In fact, other camera programs are designed primarily to compete with Camera+!
The camera ALONE is super fab.
The other “very best thing” I ever got is another 99 cent program called “Night Modes.” It’s a really simple camera that can take low-light pictures. (You’ll see in awhile why this is important. Half the pictures you will want to take will be low-light pictures.) There isn’t another one like it out there.
And “Night Modes” curiously enough does this one major thing really well— if you set it correctly, it takes the most amazing high-speed landscape pictures (from a car going 75 MPH) in full light you’ve ever seen.
Nearly all of those big bright landscape photos I’ve been taking out of the car window are done with “Night Modes.”
(Don’t bother with Camera+ Pro, by the way— you can do everything it does in Snapseed, and the filters are blecch. I don’t even think the camera function is as good as good ol’ Camera+.)
Metan, we can talk all day about apps, if you want. I’ve learned some really neat things in the last five months.
Remind me to tell you about the really awesome real-time astronomy program I got for The H. It’s called Star Walk. You and yours would loooove it.
Ooh, I like the sound of night modes, so many automatic cameras are utterly dismal when it comes to low light. Thanks for sharing your app secrets, I’ll be back to ask for more before you know it!
I agree that you should never been seen taking pictures with the iPad. I saw a few older ladies at our Otanical Gardens doing this, and they looked really silly. Even a phone these days doesn’t look so bad. I usually only take pics on mine at home of misc things.
And I have too have a broken record of long Telstra calls, ours was about two hours as well. Glad itis all fixed. 🙂
When I see someone with an ipad held in front of their faces taking pictures I just wish they could see how silly they look! I have been very surreptitious while I am taking pictures, fully aware of what a tool I could appear to be. 😀
Maybe you should take a picture of them taking a picture… And show them.
iPads are so prevalent now surely they have seen someone else looking so silly! Hmmmm. If we took photos of everyone who looked stupid while using gadgets we would never have time for anything else! 🙂
True true. But then we’d all look silly and no one would notice anything wrong. What’s wrong with a small camera or your phone people??
😀
I’ve been looking for Ju’s laptop bag since she dies as I bought her a tablet last year. I finally found it yesterday but am not saying where since I still don’t believe it and may even get a blog post out of it yet. Can I get it to work? No-way ! It’s never a good idea to give me something technical. I do remember an app I liked that she had though. It’s called colour splash and is great on photos. You can have the picture in black and white and then just reintroduce colour to a part of it say a wedding picture with the groom’s tie in colour and the bride’s flowers. Really easy to do.
So glad you got your Telstra problem worked out at last even if only for now ( not tempting fate).
xx Hugs xx
Colour Splash was one of the other ones I bought! I have been using that for a picture and then using Snapseed to edit it again to make the background better. 🙂
I’m glad to hear you finally found Julia’s bag. I read your post the other day where you mentioned that you were having trouble finding it I almost made a comment about domestic blindness and that it was probably right in front of you but I restrained myself. 😉 I can guarantee (from experience) that the Man would NEVER be able to find anything important without me!
I hope you get it going , I bet you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
I think fate has already been tempted… The modem is still working but I got the monthly bill today. Even though it has only been working for hours they had charged me for ALL of them at varying rates for a total of $347.982. So glad they didn’t forget the .2 of a cent….
More than an hour on the phone and the account was finally credited. PHEW!
Great photo Metan, and congratulations! For both the iPad Mini AND the modem. 😀
Yippee!! I am replying to you with it right now. Now I just need a bunch of money to spend on iTunes to buy all the apps, books etc etc I need! The worst thing I’ve bought has been Boggle. Oh, the hours wasted! 😀
lmao – shame Metan, shame! You should have your nose to the grindstone finding quirky bits of history for us to enjoy. But we’ll forgive you just this once. -runs-
Just sharpening the saw. Not playing for enjoyment you understand, only exercising the mind. 😉
Of course… 😉
We are all falling in love (or sometimes out of love) with our gizmos and gadgets. I love my iPhone…. But sometimes I think it’s got too close a hold on me. Like a jealous lover, it wants to be with me all the time. LOL…
They certainly are time wasters aren’t they? We never need to suffer the dreadful trauma of being without entertainment again!
I think humans are going to lose the ability to amuse themselves in a very short time, a bit of a backwards step in evolution really… 😉