M&I / GBMINI

eBooks

Posted on February 13, 2013February 18, 2017 by Ian C.

Since getting my first iPad back in 2010, I’ve read paper books / magazines less and less – I’ve tried a few times to read eBooks, but until I got my iPad Mini last year, I found the (full size) iPad too heavy.

The iPad Mini is almost perfect for reading; agreed the display is not quite as crisp as retina, but the benefit of such a low weight far outweighs that – the one problem is that it’s really difficult to read outdoors, especially down here at 8002 in Florida with all the bright sun!

With the low prices and claimed fabulous screen quality of e-ink displays on Amazon’s Kindle, I purchased one … outdoors, the Kindle is so much more readable than the iPad:

I did find the Kindle display a bit disappointing indoors – even with the backlight of this latest “PaperWhite” version; iPad wins, indoors:

I also tried an “app” on the Kindle (called “Active Content”), but it was quite pointless – the slow to update and not-too-clear screen resulted in a fast delete!

Curiously also, the Kindle seems heavier to hold, even while tech specs claim it to be much lighter. Not sure if the larger iPad is expected to be heavier and then is surprisingly not, or if it’s because it’s thinner, or … whatever reason, the lower weight is not apparent.

Stick to iPad Mini for everything non-reading, and even for reading indoors; the Kindle is great for outdoor reading, but little else. But since that’s exactly why I bought one, I’m happy!

Another new garden area at 8002

Posted on February 12, 2013February 27, 2017 by Ian C.

Margaret continues to add plants instead of lawn at 8002; this latest area incorporates our orange “tree” (still only three feet tall) with some new bushes and smaller shrubs …

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Replacement windows for 8002

Posted on February 11, 2013February 18, 2017 by Ian C.

It’s always amazed us that Florida windows are single glazed; I understand there’s less need for winter heat than back in Massachusetts – but surely there’s a/c energy savings in the summer?
Whatever the reason, we finally decided to replace some windows with double glazed units – my office (front bedroom) is priority since it is north facing and the huge old window leaks terribly; it gets cold in there on cold winter days (well, cold by Florida standards at least).
We chose in fact to replace the windows in all four bedrooms – the other bedrooms was mainly to reduce exterior noise; we chose Window World (mostly because they seemed to be about the only company around!)

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