That's it. I've had enough. I've asked, I've begged, I've pleaded, I've threatened but you don't listen. You never listen. You don't care about me. You never did. I don't know why I stayed with you so long.
When we first got together you were new, fun, exciting, you knew what I liked but over the past couple of years you sort of lost your luster. I think I was just staying with you because I had invested so much time with you.
But, well, I don't know how to say this, but, umm, I met someone new. So, this is is it, I guess. Anyway, good luck with your other relationships.
Why
The letter above describes how I actually feel about my relationship with Spotify. I like Spotify. I really do. I have a shit load of playlists that took me hours upon hours to create. But there were two things that always bothered me.
1. Lack of Chromecast support
2. Music Discovery
In the end these became deal breakers when Google Play Music All Access came along.
What Is Google Play Music All Access
Basically, it's the same as Spotify. You can choose the music you want to add to a playlists from a catalog of a bazillion songs. You can also listen to music on radio that is tailored to your listening habits (taste). In addition, they offer Youtube Music (music and videos streamed from youtube in a playlist format).
Lack of Chromecast Support on Spotify
I like to listen to music through my television and sound system connected (tied into) my television. This is where chromecast comes in. Why Spotify refuses to offer this feature is beyond me. Especially for their premium users. Forum after forum show Spotify subscribers begging for this feature to be added. Clearly, there's some licensing issue between Google and Spotify. This means Spotify loses in long run.
Music Discovery on Google Music All Access
This is where Google Play Music All Access is much, much better. The music discovery is on par with Pandora. Spotify always had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to hear. It would get stuck on a specific genre or offer songs that really weren't in line with my tastes. Google Play Music All Access offers music much more in line with what I'm looking for no matter what genre I select. Better music discovery algorithm. That's about right for Google.
For my money, I'm going with Google Play Music All Access and you should too.
Think differently? Let me know in the comments.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
I Just Went Rogue: The Edwin Jagger DE89lbl Safety Razor
Big news on the shaving front in my house...I just decided to go old school and ditch my Mach 3 Turbo razor in favor or a Safety Razor.
To start the new year, and in line with my quest to find the perfect shave, I have purchased this razor, to be exact:
To start the new year, and in line with my quest to find the perfect shave, I have purchased this razor, to be exact:
The Edwin Jagger DE89lbl.
I'm petrified to actually shave with it. I have visions of my face looking like it has gone through a blender. But, I'm a man! My daddy and my grandpappy and his father before him all shaved with an actual blade. Why not me? I'll be ok, right? I'm not optimistic. I can see this item available for sale on ebay in about two weeks.
I'm hoping this is a keeper - I'll keep you posted.
Do you shave with a safety razor? What's your poison? What's your favorite blade/handle combo? Leave your comments below.
Do you shave with a safety razor? What's your poison? What's your favorite blade/handle combo? Leave your comments below.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Why You Need To Buy An Acer C720 Chromebook Right Now: Tales from a week of using the chomebook in the real world
I've read all of the reviews. I've watched all of the terrible (and some not so terrible) YouTube videos. I hemmed and hawed and waited over a year and then I finally took the leap and bough an Acer c720 Chromebook for my very own. Once it was delivered I was determined to see if I could use it as my sole computer.
Full Disclosure/Pro-Tip: I bought the Acer on ebay for $100 with free shipping.
Model
I bought the 2gb version. Don't believe the hype. The 4gb version is like a unicorn. You won't find one. If you do happen to see one you'll pay a pretty penny for it. And, it's not worth it.
I'm not boring you with the rest of the specs. If you're reading this you know it comes with the Haswell processor or the new i3. Either one is fine. If you're not attempting to launch a vehicle to space using this chromebook you won't notice any difference.
The Real World
I wasn't sure I could live with a chromebook as my daily driver. After all, you're forced to live in the cloud. That was the argument that prevented me from buying this thing in the first place. But then I realized I'm not as sophisticated as I made myself believe. I don't spend my days toiling away on photoshop, lightroom, dreamweaver, etc. Sure, I edit photos, who doesn't, but Pixlr is more than enough for me. If I find myself wanting to do some serious editing I move to one of my 2 iMacs. If I want to edit on the go I use my MacBook Pro. Guess what? I'm not a professional photographer or graphic designer and neither are you. You might think that meme you made is awesome, but it really sucks. Don't worry, you can still make your shitty edits using your chromebook using Pixlr. But, I'm begging you, please don't.
But I use Word! Grow up. Word is shit. Google Docs has everything you need to write, edit, etc. Google Drive has the rest of the stuff you need. If you're a professional, you might need word and excel for work. If that's the case you can't use the chromebook. Sucks, but, hey, you need your job. (Get the Acer c720 for your personal use)
I write books. So, this is fantastic for me. I use Docs for everything that I write. Auto save, up in the cloud, sharing and editing capabilities, collaborative editing, it has it all. All meaning everything that I need.
Shameless Plug: Laugh Your Ass Off Reading My Book: Sh*t.Falls.Up
Pro Tip #2: You don't need to download software. You won't use it. You literally can do everything in the Chrome browser.
I like the Internets. Good for you. You tweet, you post, you love social networking, you browse, you stream shit, you binge on Netflix, you chat and join hangouts with 8 of your friends, you do all of this at the same time. You're in luck. Go ahead, open 20 tabs at once. The Acer c720 can do all of that, at the same time, with no trouble a'tall. No sputters, no pauses, no buffering, no nothing. It all works perfectly and snappy. Fo' Reals.
Added Bonus
If you are entrenched in the Google ecosystem then this is the ultimate machine for you.
Hangouts: The app sits right on the "desktop" and notifies you when you have messages using chatheads.
Google Now Notifications: You are alerted to new messages on the home screen.
Gmail, Drive, Google+, YouTube, Photos, Inbox: All one click away.
Everything runs great. Everything is synced across all of your devices.
Battery Life
8.5 Hours. It's true. I bought mine used and the battery gague was all screwed up. It was telling me I was getting 4 hours. I was pissed. I panicked. I called Acer. I panicked again. I explained the situation. I asked for a new battery. I was wrong. The customer service rep told me to try to calibrate the battery and if that didn't work then, yes, they'd replace the battery. He was right. I calibrated the battery and I'm getting at least 8 hours. More importantly the gauge is showing a better estimation of remaining battery life. Phew. I can relax.
Size
Every video and post that I have read about the Acer c720 has pictures of the chromebook on a table. No one uses this on a table. You use it on your lap. This thing is super light. It doesn't heat up. It's super quiet, the fan never comes on. In short, it's a pleasure to use. In comparison, my MacBook Pro all but burned my legs as the fans roared and the battery quickly depleted.
Boot Up
7 seconds or less. That's from off to browsing the web. It is as quick as your ipad or tablet. That is quite remarkable.
Final Thoughts
I've used the Acer c720 as my daily driver for a week and I absolutely love it. I haven't picked up my ipad or any of my other laptops. It is light, powerful, easy to use, quick to get online and overall a pleasure. This just might be the best hundred bucks that I have ever spent.
Thinking of getting one? Do you already own one? Leave your comments below.
Full Disclosure/Pro-Tip: I bought the Acer on ebay for $100 with free shipping.
Model
I bought the 2gb version. Don't believe the hype. The 4gb version is like a unicorn. You won't find one. If you do happen to see one you'll pay a pretty penny for it. And, it's not worth it.
I'm not boring you with the rest of the specs. If you're reading this you know it comes with the Haswell processor or the new i3. Either one is fine. If you're not attempting to launch a vehicle to space using this chromebook you won't notice any difference.
The Real World
I wasn't sure I could live with a chromebook as my daily driver. After all, you're forced to live in the cloud. That was the argument that prevented me from buying this thing in the first place. But then I realized I'm not as sophisticated as I made myself believe. I don't spend my days toiling away on photoshop, lightroom, dreamweaver, etc. Sure, I edit photos, who doesn't, but Pixlr is more than enough for me. If I find myself wanting to do some serious editing I move to one of my 2 iMacs. If I want to edit on the go I use my MacBook Pro. Guess what? I'm not a professional photographer or graphic designer and neither are you. You might think that meme you made is awesome, but it really sucks. Don't worry, you can still make your shitty edits using your chromebook using Pixlr. But, I'm begging you, please don't.
But I use Word! Grow up. Word is shit. Google Docs has everything you need to write, edit, etc. Google Drive has the rest of the stuff you need. If you're a professional, you might need word and excel for work. If that's the case you can't use the chromebook. Sucks, but, hey, you need your job. (Get the Acer c720 for your personal use)
I write books. So, this is fantastic for me. I use Docs for everything that I write. Auto save, up in the cloud, sharing and editing capabilities, collaborative editing, it has it all. All meaning everything that I need.
Shameless Plug: Laugh Your Ass Off Reading My Book: Sh*t.Falls.Up
Pro Tip #2: You don't need to download software. You won't use it. You literally can do everything in the Chrome browser.
I like the Internets. Good for you. You tweet, you post, you love social networking, you browse, you stream shit, you binge on Netflix, you chat and join hangouts with 8 of your friends, you do all of this at the same time. You're in luck. Go ahead, open 20 tabs at once. The Acer c720 can do all of that, at the same time, with no trouble a'tall. No sputters, no pauses, no buffering, no nothing. It all works perfectly and snappy. Fo' Reals.
Added Bonus
If you are entrenched in the Google ecosystem then this is the ultimate machine for you.
Hangouts: The app sits right on the "desktop" and notifies you when you have messages using chatheads.
Google Now Notifications: You are alerted to new messages on the home screen.
Gmail, Drive, Google+, YouTube, Photos, Inbox: All one click away.
Everything runs great. Everything is synced across all of your devices.
Battery Life
8.5 Hours. It's true. I bought mine used and the battery gague was all screwed up. It was telling me I was getting 4 hours. I was pissed. I panicked. I called Acer. I panicked again. I explained the situation. I asked for a new battery. I was wrong. The customer service rep told me to try to calibrate the battery and if that didn't work then, yes, they'd replace the battery. He was right. I calibrated the battery and I'm getting at least 8 hours. More importantly the gauge is showing a better estimation of remaining battery life. Phew. I can relax.
Size
Every video and post that I have read about the Acer c720 has pictures of the chromebook on a table. No one uses this on a table. You use it on your lap. This thing is super light. It doesn't heat up. It's super quiet, the fan never comes on. In short, it's a pleasure to use. In comparison, my MacBook Pro all but burned my legs as the fans roared and the battery quickly depleted.
Boot Up
7 seconds or less. That's from off to browsing the web. It is as quick as your ipad or tablet. That is quite remarkable.
Final Thoughts
I've used the Acer c720 as my daily driver for a week and I absolutely love it. I haven't picked up my ipad or any of my other laptops. It is light, powerful, easy to use, quick to get online and overall a pleasure. This just might be the best hundred bucks that I have ever spent.
Thinking of getting one? Do you already own one? Leave your comments below.
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