iPads

iPads. Before going on this trip, I decided to buy a lap top, as a means of keeping in touch and for Internet banking. I did consider an ipad, but dismissed this option as being too expensive.  I then weighed my new el cheapo laptop and was shocked at it's weight of4 kg.  I put it in my pack and decided, it was too heavy to cart round on a trip.

So I sold the laptop and bought an ipad the week before going away. A bit of a steep learning curve, but it does have the killer advantage: a low weight.

Coming from a PC usage of over thirty years, it was a little hard to get used to not closing down applications (called apps), saving nothing and not using a mouse at all.

One of the best apps is a built in one : Maps. Hooked up to the Internet this is a wonderful thing, especially if you turn on satellite and show things in 3D.

Not on the Internet, useless.  So off to the App Store and download the National Geographic Map of the world.  Good, it has an option to download the map so you can use it off line, so better do that.  Time to use it on the bus, level of zoom is not good enough to use, so it is back to the drawing board.

One of the interesting things is the linkage to other Apple devices. You can take a video or photo on your iPod and it will automatically appear on your ipad.  Just a pity that in the UK most hotels charge you 5 pounds for 24 hours of wifi.