Surface going back... for now.

I'm returning the Microsoft Surface.  Not cause I don't like it, but for the following reasons:

-  I know that if I actually invest in the platform, I'll need the 64gb one.  After the OS and everything is installed, only having 10GB is a little odd.  I don't want to pay the extra $100 right now.  I've installed a few apps and games, and when I checked, I have 6.5GB of space left.  That's with no music, and 2 tv shows.

-  It is a really good 1st gen product.  Really good, and the hardware is good as the best.

-  The unsettling feeling that I've probably bought $300+ worth of apps on the iPad, and giving it all up just for some new hardware.  I've already given up my iPhone, so there is a money thing there that gnaws at me.

-  It's not the KEYBOARD that makes Surface good, it's the perfect integration with the whole operating system, and the cursor that comes with it.  This is something the iPad will never match.  Using an external keyboard on the iPad (like the excellent Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover) has always felt like a second class citizen.  On the Surface, it's a 1st class citizen and experience.

-  Some of the key first party apps were just weird and slow.  The People app, great in concept, clunky in reality.  It seems to want to Live-Tile update everything that "begins" joelo, instead of mentions and RTs that actually relate to me.  The messaging app doesn't deliver/notify when it should.  This will get better over time.

-  In many ways, the BEST experience  for Surface is actually within Internet Explorer 10, and the Desktop version of it.  If that's the case, the tablet side has somewhat failed.  The thing is, it's still a compelling laptop, if not for that reason alone.  The Surface has the best browser on any tablet I've used.

-  For now, it's an iPad world.  The same sites are optimized for iPad, work better for iPad, show less ads, etc...

-  I check for new apps every day, and they are coming out at a trickle.  The store interface is clunky in that you can't search for "new apps", only "new within each category". The apps that DO come out, though, are high quality.

-  The software support is weak.  I wanted to buy a few apps (like the excellent NextGen Reader) but could not because the store wouldn't let me switch my billing address country

-  For my current use case, I don't need to be ultimately productive on the road.  Actually, I don't need to be productive at all.  For now, I just need to play.

And a side, non technical reason:  I feel sheepish that I bought one even though I'm going to Hawaii for vacation next Sunday.  I don't want to constrain our family's vacation mood financially just because I bought the latest gadget!  

Surface, I'll be back, I promise.

Microsoft Surface tablet part 2

So after 3 days of heavy use, I have a few more points to make about Surface.

-  The battery life really is as advertised;  It's not the iPad mini's 12 hour battery life (far from it), but it will do 8 hours solid, running at full blast.  That is more than good enough for me.
-  I look forward to using it.  When I get a chance to hold it, I smile.  The beveled edges are very satisfying
-  I keep checking for software updates to make the device better.  I still believe that the software is holding the hardware back.
-  I've decided to keep it (and won't be returning it, provided nothing bad happens over the next few days...)
-  It is a totally different class of device than an iPad.  Totally different, that it doesn't make sense to compare them, even though many people will.
-  The keyboard is as good as needed for me. That being said I also did not have any problems with the iPad touch screen keyboard.  I can type way faster on this thing though.  I don't have to look down, and rarely make mistakes that I wouldn't normally make. 
-  Apps are still anemic, but good thing IE10 is actually pretty good.
-  Buying into the Microsoft ecosystem makes me think about Windows Phone 8.
-  Buying into the Microsoft ecosystem reminds me of how annoyed I am at the cash grab of Xbox live gold
-  I like the idea that the Surface feels very personal to me
-  I keep checking the windows store for new apps, but they are coming out at a trickle.  Things I'm looking for are: Zite, Flipboard, a photo editing app (Photo taking app is useless as the cameras suck) like Snapseed (will never happen because Google bought Nik), Facebook, Twitter.  Everything else, I can do on my phone
-  OH, and HALO WARS.  Come on, Microsoft, release an awesome first party Halo game for WinRT.

Microsoft Surface RT First Impressions

Surface Impressions/Live Review (written on Word rt 2013)

Random thoughts.

Device was purchased at the Burnaby Metrotown pop up store on opening weekend.

- Out of box impression is not good. The device feels very sturdy, and the hardware is great, but man, the software lets the whole thing down.
- Out of the box, everything needs an update. All the first party apps had an update, which are different from system updates, which are different from Office updates
- Why does Windows Defender RT need definition updates every single day? I thought malware couldn’t even run on RT. Unless somebody is telling me something wrong;
- The software lets the system down. The system works great, but the individual apps are slow to launch, and pretty low functionality. I.e. the web versions of the metro apps are always better on the web
- Games are choppy. For example, “Fruit Ninja” is slower on a brand new surface, tegra 3, quad core, blah blah blah, than it is on my first generation iPad.
- Screen is more than good enough. Especially in laptop mode, where you are much further than 10” from the screen
- Speakers are soft
- Kickstand is awesome
- The beveled edges make holding it very nice. I like holding it.
- Its like 60% a laptop, 25% a tablet, and 15% missing
- The Fresh Paint app (first party drawing app) is outstanding, and beats any iPad drawing app
- The Music and Video apps are embarrassing
- The touch cover is great! I type over 100 wpm on a regular keyboard, and can type what seems like 80+ wpm without looking at the keyboard. The keyboard is very good. Very, very good. It just needs a gentle auto correct functionality and it’s perfect. And if the space bar could be slightly more responsive. I guess we don’t hit the space bar as hard as the other characters.
- I want to like it as a laptop, and as a tablet for the odd time when I need it - The “missing apps” problem is significant, but not really that significant.
- On my Desktop for example, I have 3 apps – Lightroom, Photoshop, and Chrome. What’s on here is already better than expected. I know that the number of apps will only increase. Not sure about the quality of the apps though.
- I kind of find it fun that I can do a “regedit” and mess around with the OS.
- The trackpad is slightly annoying in that after you scroll, the mouse cursor is not responsive for about 2 seconds, then starts again. This is surely a firmware problem that we should be able to fix.
- Netflix doesn’t seem to want to stream in HD
- Xbox Music Pass sucks. You don’t know what you get for your $10 a month! If I didn’t get it free for a year, I would be complaining and demanding a refund by now
- The windows 8 gestures work great for Surface.
- As I thought with windows phone 7.5, there is too much wasted space in the Metro UI. Having to do a gesture to bring up the context menu to press Refresh is annoying (should be pull to refresh, or at least a BUTTON)
- I typed all of this in about 5 minutes on the touch cover
- The cameras are only good for video conferencing. Not worth talking about otherwise
- The device works great on the couch on your lap
- In portrait mode, it feels kind of tall. Trick is to not look down.
- IE 10 seems to work great. I would book my plane tickets on here, but wouldn’t on my iPad
- No VPN, Citrix VPN access (sorry, work!)
- The office apps, as promised, are here – but are slow, crash, and are weird. The skydrive integration is nice, but needs to load for every single little thing. Annoying. I didn’t buy this thing for iPad I guess.
- The bottom line is this – I bought this thing wanting to like it. Wanting to love it even – but I don’t. Not yet anyway.   I’m looking for ways to like it, to justify keeping it. I think as a laptop it succeeds in many ways. And as a tablet, not really. But I guess between my oversized HTC one X, and a small Surface, maybe there isn’t really a need for an iPad.
- The vaporMG, the kickstand, all good stuff.  Kickstand is hard to open, but you get used to it.
-  Opening the surface is sort of strange.  On an iPad, you're used to flipping the smart cover over the top of the iPad, like a landscape calendar.  On the surface, it's designed to be flipped down (so the keyboard lays in front of you).  But if you want to use it as a tablet (sans keyboard), then it's odd.  You have to lift the whole thing, then tuck the touch cover under.
- Battery life, as promised, and probably better than promised. You do not need to worry about the battery. When you do need to charge it, it charges super fast (2 hours to full)
- The video out is just a micro HDMI. Don't buy into Microsoft's stupid video adapter. More thoughts as they come.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

Phil &Teds Smart stroller and Peanut bassinet

(Mr Fox models the Smart for us in forward facing configuration)

Vancouver Dad told me the most fun part of shopping for a baby is looking for the stroller, I certainly agree. So this isn't really a review article for the P&T Smart, it's more like a stroller shopping article:Click here to skip to pros and cons

The process

The Smart stroller

The accessories

Buying used

===============================

The Process

Me and Mrs. Tester started stroller shopping a while ago, and we came up with a list of requirements:

• Newborn compatible
• Baby faces backwards towards the parent
• Baby sits high close to the parent

Right away, the Stokke Xplory seem to fit the requirements. I think Mrs. Tester took a liking to it after digging through some Japanese baby magazines. But the >$1200 price puts me in a coma, never mind the heavy 35 lb.

Compared the Stokke, the Bugaboo Frog seems almost like a bargain at $900.

I also heard some rave reviews the Orbit G2 on one of the mommy podcasts. It fits the requirements and was selling at $799 but was weirded out by the design.

We then shifted our focus on the I'coo Targo at $599 because it has a lifting feature, but she didn't like how it feels loose and flexes easily.

Next, we looked at the Uppababy Vista at $700, it is a very good stroller. It's sturdy, baby seats high, organic fibre, etc. We thought about it seriously, but I still couldn't get over the price.

At this point I thought about resetting my price expectations, I did spend $2000 on a mountain bike in my youth (got stolen). Can I really expect to get good stuff for cheap?

Reminiscing about the bike got me thinking seriously about the weight of the stroller: Since Mrs. Tester doesn't drive, she will be pushing it uphill, lifting it onto buses, etc. We have to add more requirements:

• light weight
• maneuverable
• price < $500

Which is why we ended up looking at the Phil & Teds Smart, which was selling at $380 as a combo with the Peanut bassinet. It weighs 18lbs with the seat, and 20lbs with the bassinet, which makes it 6-8lbs lighter than the Uppababy Vista.

It wasn't on our list before because it did not have rear facing configuration. But Phil and Ted just released the Verso Adapter that allows you to switch the seat around so now it is a serious contender.

We pushed it around in BabysRUs for an hour against the funky hydraulic Quinny Buzz (which was just pushed around for reference since it's 26lbs because it's not really newborn compatible), and we decided to get the Smart. Then we started scouring Craigslist in earnest and settled on $280 for both the stroller and the bassinet.

=======================================================

The Smart Stroller:

(Rear facing configuration, complete with the optional cup holder)

(Mr. Fox and his kid in the Peanut bassinet)

Pros:

• Lightweight (at 18lbs it is only rivaled by the Baby Jogger City Mini's 17lbs but the Mini doesn't do rear facing)
• Maneuverable (at least in a mall)
• Stylish, suits Mrs. Tester's sensibilities for simple modern looks and dark colours
• Baby can face parent
• The Croc's like material Aerocore seat is completely waterproof, just hose it down when dirty
• The Peanut bassinet feels very comfortable
• Adjustable sunshield that follows the sun, for sunsets, etc
• Step on brakes so it doesn't scratch up shoes

Cons:

• Doesn't include rain shield ($19), bug shield
• Doesn't include rear facing adapter ($35)
• No suspension, hard rubber tires
• Doesn't feel well padded
• Doesn't include cup holder ($9)
• No console, bumper
• Doesn't fold down easily
• Only 2 recline positions for each direction
• Split handlebar

Since we are still expecting parents, we only have Mr Fox to try the stroller with. So we cannot yet say whether we can get over the cons.

=============================================

Smart Accessories:

I was trying to buy the Verso adapter from TJ's, but they did not have it in stock, nor did they have a price for it so I ended up ordering from Phil & Ted's directly.

Since the shipping cost is the same ($30), I decided to get the rain shield and cup holder on the same order. I know that the cup holder will be important to the coffee addicted Mrs. Tester.

I thought about getting the Cushy Ride to add more padding and a dash of color, but decided to defer the purchase. It is important to know that if you are buying padding for the Smart, you should look for the one that fits the 2nd seat on the regular Phil and Ted sport stroller.

The Verso adapters:

They comes in two, plugs into each side of the stroller where the seat or bassinet usually goes. You just have to insert them with the metal part pointing inwards. That wirey part is used to set the recline level on the stroller.

The Rain Shield

The rain shield rely on the built in sunshield to make a tent over the occupant, so you have to spread it open before putting on the shield.
Even though it was original designed to work in front facing config, it appears to work well when rear facing.

========================

Buying Used

I made a decision at the beginning that all major baby purchases (car seat, stroller, crib) will be used, partly to save money, partly to be more earth friendly. It took me a while to get over it, since I don't usually buy used clothes or used furniture for myself (Don't know if I would classify Ikea As-Is used).

Craigslist is a great place to look for bargains, but you have to be thick skinned. I have bought many things on it over the years, and the one regret I have is that I don't walk away from a deal more often when the quality is not 100% great, or the price can be better.

When dealing on Craigslist, you had to haggle over email, there is a lot of effort spent on research, you showed up at the seller's house and you never know when will be the next time this item goes on sale. But, you have to be prepared to walk away if you want the best deal and the best quality of items.

The Smart stroller is very easy to clean because it is waterproof, we took it apart and brought the seat into the shower for thorough cleaning. I also heard on the mommy podcast that Oxyclean is a great cleaner so I picked up a bottle at BabysRUs.

TENS unit from Birthing Buddies

This isn't an item used by dads, but since it's got a battery in it, this soon-to-be dad is interested.

In short, the TENS is a pain management device for women going through labour. It is apparently widely used in Europe as an alternative to drugs during birth. With the advantage that it can be used in conjunction with drugs.

A coworker said that she used one for two births and it worked really well. She said the pain was unbearable without the TENS unit - that is why we opted to rent one.

TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation according to the manual. It's basically a Dr Ho's like stimulation gadget. It works on the gate control theory where if there is light pain somewhere along the spine, the severe pain lower down will not register in the brain.

Anyway, the unit arrived in a package that includes 4 brand new electrodes, burst mode button, spare batteries and instruction manuals.

We decided to test it out on her arm first, lest the shock is too much and starts labour prematurely or something.

The unit already had a battery in it so I just hooked up the 4 electrodes into the two channels. The two channels allow you to send two levels of currents to two separate locations on the body.

The electrode pads are wet and sticky, and felt very cold. There is only so much space on her arm so I put channel one on her and channel two on me.

Then we turned and clicked on the dial:

- at level 1 we felt nothing
- and at level 2 it feels tingley
- at level 3 it feels like I touched a wall socket

It was somewhat unpleasant so I took the electrodes off.

She then started to experiment with the bust button, when in contractions she is supposed to use the continuous mode, and when between contractions she should click the button to use the pulse mode. The pulses are supposed to trigger natural pain killers so she is expected to use the TENS throughout the entire labour.

When she was done with on the arm I thought I would be helpful and turn off the unit with the dial.
But the power indicator light doesn't turn off right away so I turned it in the other direction.

Next thing I hear was something between a howl and a scream - I cranked it to the max (lvl 5) and accidentally tortured my wife! She claimed that I tried to execute her, but that's silly - the baby hasn't come out yet!

Anyway she said that it was very painful, this thing is a pain administration device afterall.

Lessons learned:
- leave the control of the device in the mother's hand
- and know that the power doesn't turn off right away!

We then tried it on her lower back, same as when we need it for real. It went the same as before but the back can seem to tolerate higher settings. The instruction said to put the channels one above the other and we did not see what would happen if placed side to side.

The unit rental goes for $90 for 35 days from Birthing Buddies in North Vancouver, you tell them your due date and hopefully it gets to you around the 37th week of pregnancy. When you are done with it just send it back using the prepaid envelope.

It will most likely be covered by extended health insurance, my coworker claimed hers and got money back from the insurance company.

We haven't used it for real yet but it is looking promising and hopefully we can avoid the epidural.

Still need to write about

Some things I got over the past few months that I still want to write about:

1. Think Tank Urban Disguise 50 camera bag
2. Birkenstock Davos Clog
3. Macbook Air
4. Ikea toddler bed

Strollers - part deux

We already have 3 strollers in the Lo family household:

1. Evenflow Aura Travel System (http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=127&pfid=10)
2. Schwinn Free Wheeler (http://goo.gl/Vg0iR)
3. MacLaren Quest umbrella stroller (http://global.maclarenbaby.com/toddler-buggies/quest-sport?lang=en)


Now, the wife (9 months pregnant with our second child, a girl supposedly) wants another stroller!

She wants a Phil and Teds Dash double (http://philandteds.com/productsus/pushus/dashus). It's marketed as the "Urban inline".

And... I kind of like it.

I like how it looks, and how you can have the big and small baby both fit in the stroller. It seems like a clever system, and when the big baby is not sitting in it, there's plenty of space in the undercarriage to put random junk like groceries.

Only problem is, it's a little expensive at over $500 CAD plus another $100 for the doubles kit, and $50 for the car seat adapter, etc... and soon we will be looking at $800 taxes in for a... stroller.

But somehow, parents can justify it.