The new SkyDrive – [someone else's] thoughts (now updated with proper link)

I was going to write about the new Microsoft SkyDrive features and what could be improved this week. But someone has beaten me to it , and they’ve essentially summed up what I would like. So I recommend you have a read of this post:

http://wp.me/p15Dp2-eh

In other news, I have updated the blog’s icon to the new Windows 8 logo. I have done this because the focus has changed from a primarily Doctor Who blog to a Doctor Who and technology blog (in part because there hasn’t been any Doctor Who for ages, and there won’t be any Doctor Who for ages yet, and in part because I find technology interesting, wanted to blog about it occasionally and didn’t want to start a different blog). In relation to the icon changes, I’ve changed the name to the more simple doctorwhofan98′s blog. This may or may not be a temporary name (as it depends on whether I think of something better).

Do let me know if you have any good name ideas. Do you use cloud storage? Why/why not?

Edit/update 05/05/2012: I’ve updated the link above in the post to go to the correct article. The previous link went to a post written in February when the features were announced, but not released. The newer post is after the app was released. Here is a link to the old post, and look above for a link to the new post.

Windows 8 isn’t just about metro… the new desktop features

A lot of people seem to think that Windows 8 is just about touch screens, and is rubbish when just using a mouse and keyboard. This isn’t true in the Consumer Preview (the beta), but even if you want to completely avoid metro-style apps etc., the desktop offers a lot of improvements over Windows 7 that makes it worth upgrading:

• Windows Explorer has the ribbon - this makes file management a lot easier and quicker. Also, the copy experience has been improved (pause/resume, multiple copies in one window) and deleting, for example, no longer requires confirmation (the file is sent to the Recycle Bin so it can be recovered, and confirmations can be turned on).

• Faster startup: true, this isn’t really a desktop feature, but it certainly makes Windows boot faster (restart, unfortunately, is as slow as ever )
• Improved task manager: the default interface is simpler and more user friendly, and clicking a button gives power userswaymore features. This is perhaps one of Windows’ most used features, so it’s good that it has got an update.

• Built in anti-virus software: you may have heard of Microsoft Security Essentials. Well, it’s got a new name and is built into Windows 8 – yes, you don’t need to install another anti-virus program. You can if you want to, though – it will automatically disable if you do.

• Finally, pin to start. Even quicker access to your files!

So those are just a few improvements to the Windows 8 desktop. All Windows 8 computers can run both the desktop and metro apps if they have a resolution of at least 1024×768 – this means netbooks are stuck in the desktop environment.

I recommend you take a look at Paul Thurrott’s article on the Windows 8 desktop:

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-feature-focus-windows-desktop-142642

The Hunger Games trilogy – Review

Words can’t really describe the Hunger Games trilogy. But since this is a blog post, words are kind of necessary. Well, to start, this is the trailer for the first film, which is (not surprisingly) based on the first book, and comes/came (the former is for me as I write this on the 17/3, and the latter’s for you guys) out on the 23rd March 2012:

That should give you an idea of how utterly amazing the Hunger Games series is. But enough on the movie. Onto the books…

There are 3 in total, and they’re all simply brilliant.

1. The Hunger Games
2. Catching Fire
3. Mockingjay

And the basic idea is that it’s in the far future. An evil capital have control of 12 districts, which they treat terribly. Every year a random teenager boy and girl are selected from each district to fight to the death, in what’s known as (you guessed it!) The Hunger Games. And I really can’t stress enough how good this series is.

I can’t go into much detail without spoiling the plot, but I will say this. No matter your age/gender, you won’t regret it if you buy the books.

Happy Hunger Games!

Why I think Apple made a mistake calling the new iPad just “the new iPad”

This is probably going to be quite a short post, but I just wanted to say that I think Apple has made a mistake naming the 3rd generation iPad “the new iPad” and not iPad 3, iPad HD or even iPad 2012. When the fourth generation iPad comes out next year (or whenever it will come out), what with the third generation by called. “Introducing the new new iPad!” doesn’t really seem to work. Along with the new iPad, the iPad 2 is still on sale, making matters complicated.

True, Apple doesn’t put a number at the end of its computer or iPod line-ups (other than “late 2011 generation” or “fourth generation”), so why put a number at the end of the iPad line-ups? Well, for one, they have before. If Apple had done MacBook, MacBook 2 then the new MacBook it would be very confusing. Secondly, because they are much more popular. If you compare how many MacBooks were sold in 2011 compared to how many iPads were sold that year, iPads I’m sure would beat them by a mile.

But Apple has named the new iPad just that. And they’re not going to change it. So what does that probably mean? That the new iPhone will most likely be called “the new iPhone”, not iPhone 5 (though the 4S istechnicallythe iPhone 5) or iPhone 6 or iPhone 4SS or even the 4S2. Which could be confusing.

So basically, Apple has confused everyone by calling the new iPad just that.

My thoughts on Windows 8 Consumer Preview

My Windows 8 Start Screen

If you don’t know what Windows 8 is, be prepared for a lot of change. You can probably tell from the image above – that is what you now see when you boot up Windows – not the desktop (though the desktop can be accessed by clicking the desktop tile). I’m not going to go into all the details about Windows 8 (you can find out that info at preview.windows.com), just my thoughts.

I was initially worried about how the new “Metro-style” apps would work with just a mouse and keyboard – Windows 8 is what many people think to be basically iOS. But it actually works really well. From what I understand, the Developer Preview (which came out in September) wasn’t very mouse friendly, but Microsoft have certainly made improvements on that front. Metro apps are as easy to use as normal, desktop apps! Onto my favourite features (in no particular order) of Windows 8 and their details:

• Signing in with your Microsoft account (formerly “Windows Live ID”) – when you launch Windows 8, it gives you an option to create a ‘local account’ (which is what accounts are in 7, Vista, XP etc.), or to sign in with a Microsoft account (if you use Hotmail, SkyDrive, Windows Live Messenger/MSN, XBOX Live etc. you already have one). Signing in with the former doesn’t sync apps, settings etc. - you’ll have to create a new user account from scratch on each PC, and re-install apps and not have bookmarks syncing etc. The latter option syncs everything (except for normal PC non-metro apps and files not on SkyDrive) between all your Windows 8 PCs. So, you customise your Start screen. All your PCs have that customisation. You add a favourite in IE, and you visit some websites. Your favourites and History are synced. It’s like having one computer.
• Another of my favourite features is the super fast start-up. Windows 8, by default, saves your session onto a file (or something like that) when you shut down, so when you boot up it’s really fast. I mean, my PC boots up to a usable state in 15< seconds. Restart isn’t affected, as I found out when trying to demonstrate how fast my PC is to my dad, and it turned out to be really slow because I’d restarted and not shut down.
• Another favourite feature, no matter how small, is the fact that spellcheck is in IE10. And I love it!
• My final favourite features are the “refresh” and “reset” option. If you’re computer’s playing up, these options are for you. Refresh re-installs Windows, but keeps your files, settings and Metro apps (but not desktop apps) so you basically come back to your old Windows… but new. Reset re-installs Windows but keeps nothing - great for the last resort. It only takes about 15 minutes (I know from first-hand experience – there was a problem with user accounts and refresh wouldn’t work because it keeps user accounts).

Now for my worst features of Windows 8:

• No plug-ins in the metro style IE10! Why, Microsoft? Why?!?!
• Shut down/restart etc. are not the easiest options to get to. I mean, you have to launch the charms bar (no clicking but takes a couple of seconds). Secondly, you have to click the settings button. Thirdly, the power option. Then shut down. In Windows 7, it’s 2 clicks – start and shut down. Please make this easier, Microsoft!
• Allow us to post updates in the People app. It’s the only thing missing from that app!
• In Mail, let us see our folders AND messages at the SAME time. It’s really annoying to 1) right click 2) Click folders. 3) Click the folder 4) Click the message. There should only be steps 3 and 4.

Overall, Windows 8 is off to a great start. I recommend you give it a try. I think it’s the best version of Windows yet…

Sherlock – my thoughts

Image via Wikipedia

With a severe lack of Doctor Who in the next few months, I wondered what to write for this post. I mean, it’s a Doctor Who themed blog, isn’t it? Then I realised I haven’t reviewed Sherlock yet. So here’s my review (or ‘my thoughts’) on my second favourite TV show of all time… Sherlock.

You probably know who Sherlock Holmes is, so I won’t go into detail (if you don’t, click here). Same for Dr. Watson (again, click here if you don’t know who that is). Well, imagine that but in a modern day setting, with computers, cars etc. No more late 1800s/early 1900s for Sherlock – he’s in the 21st century. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock is the same in some ways but different in others.

But does it work? Yes, I think so. And very well. The series was made by Steven Moffat (who is currently Doctor Who’s head writer, so he writes all the openers/finales and the scary ones) and Mark Gatiss (who writes at least one Doctor Who episode every year). So the fact that I like Doctor Who and Sherlock is either a very big coincidence or the writers are very good. Not every Sherlock story is made for the 21st century – there are only 3 (yes, just 3! Versus 13 DW episodes! It’s not fair!) 90 minute (well, at least the episodes are long) episodes per series, and there have been 2 series so far (in 2010 and 2012), with a third coming hopefully next year. And the stories aren’t exactly the same as their Arthur Conan Doyle originals, they’re just loosely based upon them. But they’re brilliant. And scary.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing at least (it’s 25/2/12 now, but you’ll be reading this on 3/3/12 at the earliest) there are no Sherlock episodes on iPlayer for you to watch. However, the good news is that DVDs are available:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sherlock-Box-Set-Benedict-Cumberbatch/dp/B006K1IIAC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I recommend you give it a try.

On a different note, it’s amazing how fast 2012 is going. When you’re reading this, you’re a sixth of the way through it… already!!

My Amazon Kindle experience

I suppose another title for this post could be “the pros and cons of using a Kindle (or any other e-reader)”. A while before getting my Kindle Keyboard 3G (more on that device and why I chose it over the newer models later), I loved to read real books. I still do. But there are some cons to using ‘real’ books:

• They’re heavy (especially big hardbacks). Try holding one above you when trying to read at night!
• They take up space – one of the main reasons I got a Kindle was because I am running out of bookshelf space.
• This may sound silly and obvious, but you can only carry a certain amount around (e.g. on holiday).
• If you finish a book and order the next one straightaway, the soonest you’ll get it is that evening or the next day (if you pay a lot) or, more likely, a few days away. Enough to start a new book, and when you eventually read the sequel to the original book you’ll have forgotten what happened in it.

But there are some advantages to a real book:

• Super high contrast
• Battery life that is endless (well, it’s until the book falls apart so it’s quite a few decades of reading)
• Never go out of date

But I decided the bad outweighed the good so I got a Kindle. Disadvantage of a Kindle:

• Have to charge it (though battery lasts about 2 months)
• Costs around £89-£149 (in the US, the Kindle e-reader line-up ranges from $79-$149 with ads, and $109-$189 for the non ads version – note that the UK version has no ads, the US prices I’ve put don’t include the Kindle Fire, which is a tablet and is $199)
• No colour (at least not yet!)
• Not as high contrast

Advantages of a Kindle:

• Lightweight
• Can hold 1,400 books to 3,500 books on the device depending on the model (but there’s free cloud storage for all your books, so you can remove ones you’ve read and download them for free later – effectively unlimited storage)
• Long battery life
• Cool design
• Get books in 60 seconds over WiFi (all models) or free 3G (selected models)
• Can sample books before you buy

So those are the advantages and disadvantages of Kindles and ‘real’ books. I decided the Kindle was better, so I got that one. Now for why I chose the Kindle Keyboard 3G…

It’s complicated. Basically:

• Kindle Keyboard is the 2010 model of Kindle (it was previously known as Kindle 3). It came in WiFi and WiFi + free 3G models (I’ll refer to these models simply as 3G from now on).
• Amazon introduced a new Kindle lineup in 2011, consisting of the Kindle (no keyboard, 1 month battery life, 1,400 books storage, WiFi model only, most countries), Kindle Touch + Kindle Touch 3G (touch screen, 2 month battery life, 3,000 books storage, WiFi and 3G models available, US only) and Kindle Fire (a US only 7 inch tablet like a mini iPad).
• I wanted a decent Kindle that had 3G, so my only option was Kindle Keyboard 3G because the only other UK model – the basic Kindle – had shorter battery life and didn’t have a 3G option.

So that’s basically Kindles for you. Do I recommend you get one? Certainly if you like to read books. If you’re in the UK, see this page to buy Kindles:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051QVF7A/ref=amb_link_162945927_2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0Z5HYNVFAKKKBE4ANFZB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=281838027&pf_rd_i=468294

And if you’re in the US, see this page (look for the other Kindles at the top of the page – I strongly recommend the Kindle Touch W-Fi with special offers:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051QYGXA

What are your thoughts on Kindles, or e-readers in general? Do you prefer ‘real’ books, or ebooks?

My Kindle's home screen, just so you know

The Life and Death of Doctor Who

Ok, that seems a bit dramatic. But it is kinda true. Look at it this way:

In 2011, Doctor Who had a full series (though it was split), plus a Christmas special. Not only that, it had three, yes three, spin-off shows (DW Confidential, Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood). 2011 was a great year for perhaps the best TV show in existence. As was 2005, 2006, 2007 etc.

And now we’re in 2012, there just isn’t as much Doctor Who stuff as before. Firstly, there are no spin-off shows whatsoever. Below are the fates…

• Doctor Who Confidential – price cuts
• Torchwood – low ratings, American version didn’t work
• Sarah Jane Adventures – Elisabeth Sladen passed away

It’s not just that – Doctor Who starts in the Autumn this year, and, from what is currently known, there will only be about 7 eps., inc. the Christmas special. The remaining eps. are going to be next year. In case you didn’t know, it’s Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary next year. We were told that the BBC were fully committed to the big event. What a way to celebrate – less episodes. And did I mentioned that there’s no planned 2-parters for this year (or next)? I like 2-parters! You can have longer stories!

So though people are saying that Doctor Who’s going to keep being on our TVs every year, I’m worried about it. True, it has good ratings (bad ratings killed it off in 1989), but they’re not that amazing now compared to other shows (e.g. soaps get way more, X-factor gets way more, even Sherlock - which is amazing – is getting the same viewings). I really hope that DW survives for many more years. But, to be honest, it’ll need more eps., and at least one spin-off show to do that.

Merlin Series 4 – the two-part series finale – Review

When I saw the trailer for The Sword in the Stone – Part 1 I wanted it to be next Saturday (aka. 17 December 2011) straightaway. It was amazing, and the episode lived up to it. You can view the trailer below:

And the exact same for part 2:

I’ll stop talking about the trailers now, though, and talk about the actual episodes, which were by far the best in Merlin Series 4. Maybe in all of Merlin – they were that good.

If you’ve read my other Merlin Series 4 reviews, you’ll might know the basic plot – Morgana tries (and suceeds) attacking Camelot. But it’s more than that. Just reading that description would make me think it was a repeat of last year’s finale. It wasn’t, though.

These 2 episodes pack everything that’s good about Merlin into, well, 2 episodes. There’s funny moments, great acting, an amazing plot and an interesting kind-of cliffhanger. I’ll give you an example of ‘funny moments’ – Arthur is made dumb by a spell cast on him by Merlin, and it’s really funny watching him, for example, hug trees and wear simple clothes. Great acting… well, everyone does great acting in Merlin, but Katie McGrath is really good as Morgana. And as for the cliffhanger…

Morgana’s just been stabbed (it seems fatally), and she’s staggering around in a forest. Then the dragon that Merlin saved earlier in the series comes and appears to breathe life back into her…

And then episode ended with the simple words: Merlin Will Return. I can’t wait! Does this mean the dragon will become evil? Will Morgana return? So many questions!

Owning an iPad

Out of all the things I expected to get in the family New Year treasure hunt, and iPad 2 to share with my family was the last thing I imagined. iPads are practically legendary – the king of tablets. And I’m still not used to saying I have one, even as I type this post using it. Below are my thoughts on using the tablet.

I, like many other people, doubted the success of tablets when they were first introduced. I mean, we already have smartphones, laptops and sometimes separate MP3 players as well, so was there really space for basically a large phone as well? But the iPad proved that tablets can be poplar, and now I wonder why I ever doubted tablets in the first place. Yes, they have the power and storage capacities of smartphones (16-64GB, versus about 120+GB in laptops), and yes, they don’t run, say, Microsoft Office, but they’re just… Brilliant.

Smartphones are for calls and on the go small tasks. Laptops are for work and detailed tasks. iPads, and tablets in general, are for at home music, games and more. They’re also good for things like blogging. Advantages on a laptop include fast boot up, an amazing touch screen, great apps, and weight. True, it’s lacking user accounts and vast storage, but that’s what laptops are for. iPads are not cheap, though, and they’re certainly not a necessary part of life. At £399 for the most basic model at the time of writing, you might as well go for a refurbished laptop that will certainly be more powerful. But if you already have a laptop and you’ve got the money spare, iPads are certainly worth having.

Now to see if I can schedule this post using the iPad, and if not, then what on earth I’ll do. Hopefully, if the scheduling works, you’ll be reading this in 2012 (which is next year for me). I hope you’ve all had a great Christmas and New Year. And I hope you’ll have a great day!!