the icon is still up because it's still christmastime goddammit [the Dalaverse]

For once I have happy things to post:

1. It's snowing! It's snowing! Yay! Thankfully Ingrid called me down to their office to see, since given my windowless state I might not have missed it otherwise. I even wore a hat and gloves today.

2. My pay is not being cut! I suppose this should've been #1 but SNOW. I'm still job hunting (for a "real job" as my dad says), but at least I can pay the bills in the meantime.

3. I'm going bowling for Jessie's birthday today. She's turning twenty-seven, which means that we have now been friends for twenty years. That is blowing my mind a little.

4. Amy brought us Australian chocolates for Christmas! Mostly Cadbury. There are some funny things in there I don't know because the Brits don't have them, and also little squares of Crunchies. <3<3<3 Crunchies. Although I actually liked the violet-flavored ones she brought last time even better, and I don't ordinarily approve of flower-flavered candies.

5. I got two Kindle gift cards for Christmas and while adding them to my account this morning, I discovered you can use them towards any Kindle products...including actual Kindles. I am now sorely tempted to get a Kindle Fire. On the one hand I don't really need it; I got a regular Kindle for Christmas last year and I am still passionately in love with Threepio (I totally celebrated our one-year anniversary by loading the Dealing with Dragons series). It performs its e-reading duties admirably and I like having a keyboard.

On the other hand, well, I never get the shiny new thing just because it's new and shiny. I didn't get an iPod until a couple years after they'd gotten popular, and I don't intend to get rid of its replacement until that dies (ditto my laptop, which is still running in near-perfect condition after three years). I have an actual honest-to-god flip phone; it does absolutely nothing and is frankly embarrassing to take out in public (we've been due for an upgrade for like a year, but my mom doesn't want to get one and I'd rather stay on the family plan than get my own contract). This goes all the way back to childhood, when we hung onto our Apple II waaaay after everybody else was online and never had a game system until I was thirteen (true that I'm not much of a gamer, but really it was because my dad had A Problem re: my cousin's NES. He once broke into their house when no one was home to play Zelda. I am not even kidding).

So yeah, I do kind of want it just because I want it; but it would also fill a niche that most everyone around me has filled with their smartphones and the occassional tablet. It would have saved my ass when I got lost going to Vanessa's bridal shower and had to call and ask Ingrid for directions (which, ironically, she obtained from her own phone). And it wouldn't set me back that much. And my utilities bill this month is only half what I budgeted for. And...I want it.

Anybody have a Kindle Fire and want to share what you love (or don't) about it?

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Yay for not getting a paycut! *throws confetti*

It's 70 here today. I'll take that over snow and cold any day, but I admit it doesn't "feel" like the holidays.

I am rather addicted to my smartphone and my Android tablet, so I can see the appeal, but I'm a gadget-loving gal, so I'm not the one to ask.

*hugs*

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Yeah, I'm rather resistant to change as long as my old gadgets still work, so it's a bit strange to be considering a brand spanking new one!

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I have a kindle fire and I loooove it, but FYI, it only works with wi-fi, not 3G, so you'll only be able to access the internet when you're hooked up to someone's wifi. (Unlike the 3G iPad and most smartphones.)

Yep, I realized that when I was checking on Amazon. 3G would be nice but on the other hand, no worries about data plans and whatnot, and you can find wifi most places you go (I would really like to use it at my conference, for example, which means I've got to make up my mind in a few hours!). I probably will get a smartphone eventually with actual Internet access, too.

One thing - does it not have the text-to-speech function like the regular Kindles? I saw a review that mentioned that but it wasn't anywhere in the blurb. I read at work by using that function almost daily. It's not a deal breaker, but I think it's a bit strange that they would roll back a feature for an improved product.

I've never used that functionality on my regular kindle or the fire, so I didn't know where to find it, but this article (http://frrl.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/review-of-the-amazon-kindle-fire-has-amazon-lost-its-way-on-e-book-readers/) makes me think it's gone on the fire. Sorry!

I'm probably not the best person to talk to about the pros and cons of adapting new technology, because I'm certainly guilty of deciding I want something, then just charging ahead and DOING IT. But I think you should do it. The one thing I can really think of that might be a problem is that if you want this to kind of fill the smartphone gap of looking up directions in the middle of nowhere, lack of 3G might be a problem. But if that's not going to be a dealbreaker, I say go for it. :)

I did :) I slept on it and read the negative reviews and still wanted it, so I figured that was a good sign. I will definitely have a smartphone at some point, hopefully in the next few months, but for now - FIIIIIRE!

Snow! No pay cut! Cadbury's! All the excellent things. :D

the Dalaverse

the icon is still up because it's still christmastime goddammit

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January