Review: Windows 8 Kickstart, By James Howard Russell

May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

When Microsoft released Windows 8, a lot of users were left dazed and confused, (see video at bottom), and even I had some unanswered questions. Windows 8 is designed (and confusingly so) to frustrate. Still, once you master all of its nuances, it’s got some incredible features that make it worth the hassle (maybe).

For new users of Windows 8 looking for guidance, I highly recommend James Howard Russell’s new book, Windows 8 Kickstart, which provides fantastic instructions on getting to know the OS, while also offering helpful tips and tricks for more experienced users.

One of the greatest testaments to Mr. Russell, is that he has managed to go into detail on a ridiculous number of features, while still breaking each step down into easy-to-follow directions. Learning becomes linear, and learning the operating system becomes much easier.

Ever detail, from the partners involved in creating the sports app, to the various different versions of print app, has been thoroughly researched, and it shows.

Another area of excellence, is in the book’s design. Kickstart makes frequent use of special side-boxes, screenshots, and tables, to make the book more enjoyable, and usable as a reference guide. After I read through it, I found myself frequently referring to Kickstart, as I tested Windows 8. It was my companion through the fire(too figurative?), helping me move my tests quickly along, and coming to my rescue if I got a confusing message of some kind , and didn’t know what to do next.

If I had this book when I started using Windows 8, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more

Check out this page, which illustrates my point on its’ design, and definitely pick Windows 8 Kickstart up here.
Screen Shot 2013-05-07 at 8.58.50 PM

 

 

 

 

PICK UP WINDOWS 8 KICKSTART IN E-BOOK OR PAPERBACK FORM HERE.

 

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Filed Under: microsoft, Reviews, windows, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How To Blog From a Mac: 10 Crucial Mac Blogging Apps

January 25, 2013 By

Blogging is a blast, and Macs are my favorite computers, but it’s a challenge finding good blogging software to get my daily post done from. A few apps are absolutely critical to my blogging, and I think the’d be helpful to you too, so I wanted to share them with you.

10 Best Mac Blogging Apps

  1. MarsEdit: MarsEdit isn’t cheap at $40 but it is hands-down the best mac blogging client available. It offers integration with nearlyever blogging CMS, including WordPress, Blogger, Movable Type, and Tumblr
  2. Photobulk: Best two bucks I ever spent. Photobulk makes it really easy to make and position watermarks, resize photos, and do it all in bulk. It’s very well designed, and serves its’ purpose very well. And at $2, it’s cheap.
  3. Adobe Photoshop CS6: This is a bit out of reach for some bloggers, so a good free solution is GIMP, an open source software which is comparable. Photoshop is another vital app of mine, great for creating unique graphics, and things that will last. I also frequently design secondary elements of my site, and buttons using photoshop. It’s a valuable tool, and very versatile. Also good for book covers.
  4. iBooks Author: If you want to easily lay out a great looking ebook, this is the best option there is. iBooks Author is 100% free, and offers a variety of free templates, and page layouts that make laying out and organizing your ebook a breeze. You can even export straight to the iBooks Store, or to a PDF format. Unfortunately it doesn’t offer Epub exporting, but PDFs can be converted to Epubs for free using converters like this one.
  5. Evernote: I use an odd mix of Evernote and Apple Notes to keep track of all of my ideas on the go, and thanks to the cloud they all nicely sync straight to my computer. The additional forms of post that can be added to Evernote ultimately give it the lead, and for the price of free it’s excellent.
  6. Wunderlist: Are you a mess? I am. Wunderlist is my taskmaster, and that beautiful, functional list design on the mad app keeps my tasks managed, and my posts somehow make it out on deadline. Thank you Wunderlist.
  7. Grandview: For the “grand” price of free, Grand View offers a brilliant distraction free interface that goes beyond the concept of a white page. You see only one sentence at a time which shrinks to fit the page as you type more text. The whole concept is stop you from constantly looking forward and back at what you’ve written. It’s great for getting good ideas down on paper, but not so great for spelling, which naturally suffers because you don’t see the full text until the end. Fantastic if you’re willing to proofread.
  8. Skype: Microsoft’s Skype is fantastic for making connections, conducting interviews, and saving time communicating with important people that can grow your blog. Video chatting truly is the way of the future.
  9. Pages: Apple’s pages is another valuable resource for creating white papers, ebooks, et cetera. You can export to .Doc, PDF, and even .Epub (the universal Ebook format) meaning that you can create a document and have it ready to be sold on Amazon in minutes. Pages also has a wide variety of nice templates that help to make for a nice layout for any document. Charts and graphs are easy to make, look great, and screenshots of them work well in blog posts. Everything is manipulable by drag and drop. It’s excellent, and it’s only $20 which is a small price to pay.
  10. Google Drive: I rest really easily knowing that any post I write, or image I save is backed safely up in the cloud, and Google drive is really good at that. It’s also nice to be able to edit a document from anywhere and have it up-to-date and ready to publish wherever you end up.

Also Read Our List of 34 Great Blogging Resources and Tools

There are a lot of good apps out there for blogging and writing, and I’d love to find out some other good ones from you. What do you use in your blogging? How many of the above do you use?

 

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Filed Under: app, app review, app store, apple, Blogging, help, how to, ibooks, Link Post, list, mac, new media, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What is the Real Cost of Your iPad? Calculate it Here

January 23, 2013 By 4 Comments

The list price may start at $329, but that’s in no way the price. The actual costs to you for a tablet may be higher or lower than list price based on a few factors. Here’s how to calculate the cost of your iPad. We created a simple checklist to calculate the exact cost to you. Add and subtract the below values to calculate the value of your iPad.

  • Have you had an iOS device before? If you don’t have apps, add $50 to your costs. This is a low standardized number, but it’s a pretty good indicator. Add $10 if this is your first iPad for specialized iPad apps.
  • Do you plan on selling it? How soon?  Gazelle.com and other buyback services will buy it back, at about half cost on average for the most recently obsolete model, and a bit higher than 1/3 cost for older models. If you plan on selling your tablet, subtract 1/2 from the price if you plan on selling it within a year and a half, and 1/3 if you plan on selling it within three years. Selling on ebay would take longer, and require more effort, but would leave you with more money in the end.
  • How many accessories do you plan on buying? A good iPad case can run you $50, and a screen protector can cost you an additional $10-20. There are thousands of other creative accessories and toys that connect with your iPad as well. Add $70 if you don’t plan on buying many accessories, and $150 if you plan on buying something beyond a case.
  • What’s the value of the work you plan on doing on this? How much “value” are you creating by mobilizing your work further? Time is money too.

Calculating Your Costs:

Screen Shot 2012-12-06 at 10.03.23 PM

Here’s an example: If I were to buy an iPad mini- The starting cost would be $329 if I bought the base model.  If I plan to resell at the year and a half mark from its’ release, I can expect about $165 back. Right now our cost is at around $165. I already have an iPhone with hundreds of apps, many paid, so I’m only adding $15 for iPad specific apps, bringing cost to $180. Accessories are where they get me. Anyone who has seen our review page knows I like nerdy toys and gadgets. I’m going to add $30. And we’re up to $210. Now for the value proposition. I can expect to get plenty of extra work done on this, and much of the app and accessory costs are business expenses that will probably be payed off with revenue. I’m going to subtract that $30 I just added, bringing the total cost of this gadget to $180.

Depending on yourself and your device the value may vary widely, but it’s important to calculate these things beforehand. Buying an iPad mini isn’t actually that costly to me, and it may be cheaper or more costly to you. Just keep in mind these factors when choosing a device that fits your budget. I hope this is helpful, and if it is, I hope you’ll consider sharing this with your friends and signing up for our newsletter.

Thanks guys.

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Filed Under: apple, ios, ipad, ipad 2, ipad 3, ipad mini, Tablet, tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Which Sims Game Should You Buy on iOS, iPhone, IPod, Etc.?

January 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

So you’re trying to figure out which of the 7 Sims Brand games on the app store to buy huh? EA basically broke up two games (Sims 3, Sim City) into 7, which makes it really confusing to figure out which to buy. Let me make your decision easier by providing an unbiased summary of each one.

 

  • Sims 3: Have a job, and climb the corporate ladder by sleeping with your boss. Buy furniture. Go fishing. Have sex wahoo. Move in with another Sim, and grow richer and richer. It’s a fun game for the basic Sims experience. I once found a cheat for this game (which is gone now) that made me millions of eaves in a few minutes, so I stopped working, and bought everything, but in this game there’s only so much you can buy because you can’t expand your house (you can in Sims ambitions below).
  • Sims 3 Ambitions: All the stuff above, and you actually do stuff at your job ( you can actually participate). You can have a baby, start a daycare. Get married and have sex wahoo (and a baby). Renovate your house and make it bigger. This is probably my favorite, tied with world adventures.
  • Sims 3 World adventures: Have a job, all the other stuff from Sims 3, travel the globe and explore (around 4 other cities). This is my favorite feature for all of these games because it gives you so many options. I had ladies wanting me all over the globe :)
  • Sims 3 Medieval: Sims meets vampires. Same usual stuff except it’s themed to the middle ages. I wouldn’t buy this AND Sims 3 but it’s not a bad thing to buy one or the other.
  • Sims Free. Basic features for free. Nothing worth downloading unless you can’t buy a $0.99 game.
  • Sim City Deluxe: I played this game religiously as a child, so I was SO dissapointed to see how featureless this game was, and how bad the graphics were. On the PC this game is incredible. You can go as micro as watching one guy and setting people on fire (god mode) and as macro as full view. If you want a city-building game for iOS that won’t nickel and dime you, this is the best option available though.
  • Sim City Deluxe Free: Are you sure you want to buy Sim City Deluxe? Try out many of this features in this good testing platform.
So, in short, you’re making compromises no matter which you buy. They’re pretty good though, and whichever you choose, as long as you put thought into it, will keep you occupied for a few hours, and maybe a few days. Thanks for reading. If you want to play some great games, check out our ten favorites.

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