Geehall1's Tech Adventures

Tablet Time...

2012-02-23T05:18:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday the 2.0 update for Blackberry Playbook went live. So many of use had eagerly awaited it and were looking forward to seeing the official and full update on our devices. We also wanted to get some preliminary Android apps running as well. Admittedly, my favorite Android app was already sideloaded...Tweetcaster Pro...but I loved being able to add Dolphin HD and Taptu to the list. Then

"A Question Of Theories" Goes Live...

2011-12-03T00:13:00.001-08:00

Normally I'd be posting iPad-related articles, but this year a family-health issue has taken up a significant amount of energy. Thankfully it is now solved, so there'll probably be a bit of a speed-up on new posts. However, today I have an important announcement to make. As of mid-October, my novel "A Question of Theories" has gone LIVE on: Barnes & Noble Nook Book Apple iBook This is

A Videoblog Episode Utilizing iPad 2's GarageBand...

2011-06-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

The things you can do on an iPad 2... GarageBand for iPad 2 is great for creating your own tunes/songs. Here's an example of my first GarageBand creation.

iPadding With A Bluetoothed iPhone Data Connection...

2011-05-15T04:01:00.000-07:00

Unlike my first iPad, my iPad 2 is only wifi. So if I want to use it outside my house I have to keep my Virgin wireless modem dongle charged. This is one way to access the internet on the iPad 2, but not always practical. What happens if the wireless wifi modem runs out of power when I'm out? This past weekend I took a look at my 3GS iPhone and discovered the next best thing. Since

Catching Up To iPad 2...

2011-05-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit of time since last I posted, but especially the past five have been busiest. I also emergency information relaying and collating on Twitter, so a few months' worth of natural disasters both in Australia and around the world have kept me flat out. Anyway, with it being quieter in that area the past month it's now time to catch up on my tech toy. It's been well-used,

iPads and iOS, The Future of Macs?

2010-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've had my iPad for two months now, but my poor Macbook is now relegated to serving TV from my EyeTV dongle.The iPad is becoming a versatile little unit in my computing, social media and blogging.Like all iPad owners, I'm still a month or two away from seeing iOS 4 on it.My iPhone 3GS already has iOS 4 installed and I'm impressed with it. I'll be very antsy to install it on the iPad and look

The iPad Settles In

2010-06-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've had my iPad now for well over a month and a half and it's getting to be a worthwhile addition to my kit. The only time I don't use it and go to my Macbook is when I have to tighten a blog post. This is more due to the nuances of the blogging interfaces than the iPad itself. Otherwise, it's become my main computing device. It's instant-on. It's lightweight and compact. It

Live Digital TV On An iPad

2010-06-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

So what's so special about a picture of @sunriseon7's Kochie and Mel? It's on an iPad. Live. Yes, real digital TV (DVB-T). None of this recorded stuff in five-minute bursts. Not Bigpond-Mobile Foxtel. It's Freeview running live on an iPad. And as you can see by the little circle in the bottom-right corner, it's the iPhone version of an app, still showing immaculately at

Documents To Go Updated For iPad

2010-06-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Documents To Go has been around since Palm's early days. I can still remember downloading it for a Palm 505 and I remember when it came bundled on the Tungsten models. When I first got an iPhone, I was quite pleased to find it available for iPhone OS, though I don't think I used it much on the iPhone. Perhaps that was because it didn't quite serve the same functionality as on Palm OS

Great Note Apps For iPad

2010-06-08T02:20:00.000-07:00

Since I've renamed the site "Geehall's iPad Adventures, I'm not sure if commenting on today's WWDC announcement of iPhone 4 would be on-topic. Still, I can't wait to put iOS 4 on my iPad. Anyway, today's post is about note apps for the iPad. I've had a chance to sample a few of these over the past month and I'm actually impressed with a few. One of the advantages of the iPad over the

Some iPad News and Some Changes

2010-06-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I made a discovery about 3G iPad micro sims. I've yet to see how they do things over at Telstra and Optus, but I've seen how Vodafone are doing things. At Dick Smith Super Stores, they have the Vodafone micro sim available, at zero cost. However, there is no recharge on their systems. The reason? At the moment Vodafone don't have a recharge voucher. To activate or recharge

iPad Adventures - Part 7 - The Aussie Response

2010-05-30T18:42:00.001-07:00

Above is a photo of the Apple Store at Doncaster Shopping Town (Melbourne Australia) yesterday, the first Sunday after the arrival in Australia of the Apple iPad. If you look closely, you can see how many people in the right of the picture are crowed around demo models of it. Over on the left of the photo, there's an equally-big crowd looking at the rest of Apple's wares.

iPad Adventures Part 6 - One Day Later...

2010-05-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

As you can see in the image above, my iPad is now combined with the Apple Keyboard Dock. So what am I writing? I've decided to give novel-writing on the iPad a try, starting off the first draft of my second novel. At the same time, I'm going to see what it's like to write a whole novel on my iPad. Whether I'm the first to do so remains to be seen, but it's one of those personal

iPad Adventures Part 5 - Books and Office Suites

2010-05-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

iWorks and iBooks Australia Active It's the day before the Australian release of the iPad and this blog post is being written on the Pages app. Yesterday the whole iWork suite became available on the Aussie App Store. That's not all. iBooks also became available. All is in readiness for tomorrow, it seems. Later today I'll have to ring an Apple store to see if the hardware

iPad Aventures Part 4

2010-05-22T19:51:00.001-07:00

It's been good having at least a three-week head start on iPad blogging here in Australia, but that draws to a close in roughly five days. The iPad will be available to Australians on Friday. The App Store for Australia and other countries was live on Thursday, a nice little treat. No more having to sync with iTunes on the main computer to download an app. I've been looking at drawing

iPad Versus Asus T91MT

2010-05-15T19:45:00.001-07:00

HP cancelled the Windows 7 Slate for a reason. A Windows 7 tablet PC wouldn't cut it in the mobile tablet market once the iPad came into being. At this point of time the closest thing to a Window 7 tablet is the Asus T91MT netbook/convertable. It's a good device to pick for a shootout against the iPad. Let's begin with start up times...the iPad is instant...just hit the Home

iPad Adventures Part 3

2010-05-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

Finally the word is out. Australia and eight other countries will see the official arrival of the iPad on May 28th, along with the ability to use the iBookstore. Of course, I also hope they have the Australian end of the App Store running on that date, too, as I'm impatient to buy the iWork suite. However, there is no word as yet as to what Australian telcos will be charging for the

IPad Adventures Part 2

2010-05-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

If there's only one thing bugging me about the iPad, it's the weight. I think Apple should make the iPad a bit lighter when they get to the second generation. Other than that, I'm still having great fun with the device. This post in particular is being written with the BlogPress app. Is the iPad that hard to type with? Not too difficult. You have to adjust your typing style a

iPad Adventures Part 1

2010-05-04T01:53:00.000-07:00

After 48 hours of owning an iPad, I'm quite enjoying it. Of course, being one of the first iPad owners in Australia and managing that three or so weeks before its retail release in the country, I still don't have access to the Australian branch of the App Store. There are a couple of ways around it, but I'm avoiding the idea of opening a U.S. iTunes account. For me, it's better to just

I Can Haz iPad (In Roughly A Week)

2010-04-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Australian launch of the iPad is still over a month away. The latest news this week puts the Australian release as some time in late May, due to an extraordinarily-high demand in the U.S. In one way this is good, because it means the iPad has established a strong market presence early on. On the other hand, if you're an Australian or anyone other than an American, boy, does it get

See Now, #cnow...

2010-04-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

A few of my social media friends from Melbourne are up in Sydney for the Connect Now conference. Me? I'm still down in Melbourne. The fun of social media and Twitter, though, is that I can still tune into the Twitter hashtag for the conference, #cnow and keep up with what the main speakers are saying. Then, using Twitter again, I can relay the most salient points to my own followers.

When It Comes To iPads, It Helps If Your Missus Loves Tech Too

2010-04-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

The missus was talking about the iPad last night. She and I had already discussed getting an iPad, both of us being tech fans, so there was no problem with budgeting for one. However, we realized we had a four-way wrestling match imminent once we got on. My partner, the nine-year-old, me...and the three year-old. Yes, even the youngest member of the family loves Apple i-gadgets

Waiting For The Aussie iPad

2010-04-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

April 3rd, 2010 is the day the iPad is released in the U.S. However, those of us here in Australia can expect it in late-April. There is one bonus to this: the Aussie release will include both the wi-fi and the 3G versions. I've just watched a news report on the iPad this morning and I'm impressed by what will be available. The iPad looks to be a very slim device, thickness-wise.

The Snail Web Dies Out

2010-03-31T03:24:00.000-07:00

It's still under two years since my family switched to broadband Internet. It took a while to do it, but the prepaid dial-up we were buying was getting less and less reliable. Not so much for technical reasons as for the fact the company kept getting sold and each new owner was even less reliable than the previous one. So we finally went broadband. Our first broadband connection was

Melbourne Tweetups

2010-03-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

I'm involved with Tweetupmellers/Twums, but it never hurts to be aware of other tweetups in Melbourne. I've been aware of Twums and MTUB, but this page I found today shows there's a few more than just these two. Twums turns one year old in late April 2010. Almost a year ago, social media/Web 2.0 strategist Sam Mutimer organised the very first Tweetupmellers. It took place at the