Technology

My 2nd (or 3rd, depending on how you look at it) Jawbone UP

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Last week I got a new Jawbone UP.  So far I have been very pleased with it.  MC saw it and I was suprised that she was interested in one too.  She wants to work out more and it seemed like a good tool to motivate her.  After trying to see what colors I could get her I ended up back at the Apple store picking up another black band for her.  Only difference between hers and mine is hers is a smaller size.

We now are “compeeting” with each other and seeing our results.  I hope for both of us this gets us to be more active.  If anything it makes me smile every time I see the cute picture MC took for her profile picture.

My New Jawbone UP

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Last year when Jawbone announced the UP I thought it was a super cool idea and I got one.  I wore it every day for a month or so until it broke.  My UP was one of the many defective units that ended up being recalled by Jawbone.  Jawbone was very cool and I got all my money back so there was no hard feelings.

I still thought the idea was great but the alternatives (Nike Fuelband or the Fitbit) didn’t apeal to me.  The fitbit clips onto your clothes so i wasn’t a fan of the idea.  The fuelband doesn’t track sleep and it needed charging often compaired to 10 days with the UP.  The Fuelband is also big.  I was pleasantly suprised when Jawbone reintroduced the UP (even thought they said they would I am always skeptical until it happens).  I was in the Grand Central Station Apple Store getting a gift card for my Niece for the holidays and I saw the UP, so I got myself one.

I am excited to see how much it works.  I like the ability to track sleep and activity still but they added better food tracking.  I hope to write more about it once I use it a bit.

Automater Script Gone Bad

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Automation is great, but you have to be careful.  A few months ago I setup a script to look in a folder were i download videos and based on certain criteria I gave the script move them to another folder.  It worked great but today I dont’ know what happened.  I noticed all the videos on an entire hard drive missing.  I ended up finding them in one folder.  It seems that the script started applying the rules to all folders on the drive not just the one I told it to.  I had to spend several hours re sorting everything back to were they came from.  I was trying to be careful since I didn’t want to put in the wrong place a home movie or accidentally delete one.

I think the script went bad when I moved to my new Mac Mini.  Even though I ran the migration wizard to copy my old computer setup to the new one I think something went wrong.  I am on my new machine for less than a week and I dont believe in coincidences.  I do believe I have it fixed it so it should be working correct now.

Android vs iOS

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I am not a professional reviewer. I want to get that out there first thing. I have wrote about my opinions and comparisons of technology products in the past I am well aware that any number of people have written about this subject. I am writing about it because I continually try to be open minded and it has been very difficult to do so when comparing IOS to Android.

I can safely say that I’ve used regularly all of the major mobile operating systems in the past 10 years. I have owned many generation Treo’s with the Palm OS. I can’t even count the number of blackberries I’ve had. I have used three or four Symbian devices and loved my Nokia E60 for the 6 or 8 months I had it before I got my iPhone 3G.  I have tried numerous Android devices, and even had a few windows mobile phones.  I mention all that because I am not someone who just gets Apple stuff by default.  I look like that but that is a credit to Apple for making great devices and software.  I actually have only been buying Android devices because I didn’t want to be so reliant on Apple. My observations started between Android & iOS only because I wanted to see what was out there.

As a technology person on paper iOS has problems and Android looks promising.  What I mean by that is if I read anywhere else that an operating system and an ecosystem was so restrictive as Apple’s was I probably wouldn’t try it.  When you dig a little deeper that restrictiveness some of my Android friends like to complain about actually makes some sense.  it provides for a more stable phone.  It really does.  I have seen it between my iPhone and several Android devices.  I do not want to go back to the days were I reboot my phone every few hours like i did with my Treo 600.  Lack of true multi-tasking on iOS is another item that when it was announced iOS would be that restrictive i was turned off by it.  Now Apple has come up with interesting ways to let you think you have multitasking but still limiting it and thus reducing power usage.  Restrictive yes, but in the end it probably helps the overall experience.

On the other hand that restrictiveness has a drawback.  On my Galaxy Nexus I love the Locale app that changes settings based on my location and time of day.  My ringer goes off at night except for some work numbers.  My Google Voice # would change to point to my desk phone when I was at work and Skype when I was at home.  Come on that is cool.  Using that same example though, one of the best plugin’s for that app has a big note saying it is buggy and the developer does not suggest using it.  Really? If it crashes the phone then block it.  Apple would.  I know its heavy handed but the idea here is to be transparent as possible but have the customers interests at heart.

There are plenty more examples.  The last big one i would highlight is the fact that iOS is again restrictive on how the UI of apps look.  Sounds bad on paper, its apple being restrictive again.  Only problem is have you looked at Android apps?  How about comparing them to iOS apps.  Not just any iOS apps.  Compare something to the same app on iOS.  Apples restrictiveness gives the customer a consistent user experience.  Androids openness give you an inconsistent experience.  As a user i have been frustrated by this.  Heck I still don’t know what some of the dam icons mean on my Nexus 7.  Apple uses icons also but they just come across as more intuitive.  Getting back to that app comparison.  I have used many apps on both platforms.  When I bought my first Android phone that is what i did.  I went through making sure i could get the same experience on Android I had with iOS.  For the most part i found the same apps for Android that i had on iOS or ones that did the same thing.  Problem was they weren’t comparable.  Sometimes in features, but mostly in general look and feel and polish.  Some have improved over time but Apple still has better looking apps.  Foursquare, Facebook, Lastpass, Yelp, to name a few of the ones that I have had issues with.  The last aspect of user experience I would question is Exchange mail support.  Its built in to both platforms now but have you used the email app on Android.  Not the Gmail app because that is actually a great app.  I do give them credit for that.  I am talking about the regular email app.  Or the calendar app.  Using them on Android for my exchange mail was horrible.  It is just plain ugly and clunky to use.  iOS mail app may have its problems but it is intuitive and nice to look at.  Even the 3rd party apps such as Touchdown were horrible looking and I stopped using them after their trial ended.  That exchange limitation alone is a show stopper for me.

The theme I have seen with Android is that the apps work but they leave me wanting to go back to my iPhone or iPad.  Thats the problem.  I have gotten these devices wanting to be swept away and to sell my iOS stuff on eBay, but every time I get one I end up back with Apple.  Android keeps getting better but its been 4 years and they still aren’t that close in my opinion.

By now its clear I am in the Apple camp, but I really don’t want to be.  Given the opportunity I would switch.  The 5 or more Android phones I have had since using iPhones are an indication I do want to try.  Of course in the end I have a new iPhone 5 and an iPad Mini on order.  With those purchases Apple has locked me in for another year or two.  I will see how the landscape looks then, and maybe my own personal opinion may change.

 

Baby Tech

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I do not hide the fact that I am a tech person, or that I love gadgets.  If they have a usefull purpose and they are easy to use I am all for them.  Tech for me was always easy.  I found what I liked and just used it.  When we found out we were having a baby I knew there were some tech items we would need, but I didn’t realize how much stuff we would have that would help.

The first thing I thought of when I thought stuff we needed was a video camera.  My friend Jayson had one for his little ones and I thought it was the coolest thing to be able to see and even interact with them from your iPhone.  When the time came to look I narrowed my search down to the Withings Baby Monitor and the Dropcam.  Withings makes another device I have used and they seemed like their camera was pretty well built but it was $300.  The Dropcam was half the price but it wasn’t designed specifically as a baby camera.  We wanted 2 cameras anyway.  One for the play area the baby would eventually play in and for her crip.  I bought the cheaper camera first to try and if we didnt like it i would use it for the play area and then buy the other camera.  In the end I love the Dropcam and we will be buying another one.  As I write this post I have my Nexus 7 in a stand with the Dropcam app running on it.  I leave the Nexus 7 by the side of my bed with the camera app running at night.  MC switched from a blackberry to an Galaxy Nexus because Android devices could display the video.  She also leavs her phone proped up at the side of her bed with the video on.  When I am at work she props the phone up by the TV in our living room so she can see it on our couch.  I have been leaving the camera site up on my computer at work so I can easliy switch over to see if Teagan is napping.  We still use the audio monitor and leave the sound off since there is a few seconds delay.  We do realize that we may be quick to react sometimes because we see Teagan moving on the video but not making much noise.  We know now to stop and wait a bit before we go check on her but it is still a fantastic tool!

We also have the traditional baby monitor, but even thought it is a common house hold consumer electronic device it is still baby tech.  I got a model that was the best customer reviewed on Amazon and the same day we got it my friend Jenn sent us one from our gift registry.  Thanks Jenn, we use that thing all the time.  The battery lasts all day, and we only plug it in at night when we goto sleep.

The video camera and baby monitor were both items we knew we would be buying.  What I didn’t think we would ever need was a humidifier.  It is very low tech, but it is still tech.  We have steam heat and it gets pretty dry in the winter.  Teagan was very nasal sounding almost from right when we brought her home.  I have a video of her sounding like Darth Vadar.  The doctor recommended a humidifier.  Its a pain to clean often but it works.

Another item we didn’t think we would need was a temperature & humitity sensor.  When we realized it was dry we wanted to know how bad it was and when we should run the humidifier.  I bough a humidity sensor and MC put it in Teagan’s crib.  We put another one on my desk were my computer is since that is near were we will setup Teagan’s play area.  It tells us the humidity and temperature, and also says when humidity is high or low.  We are not sure how accurate the readings are but it has been good so far.  Consumer electronics have come a long way when a decent big LCD temperature sensor like what we got goes for less than $9.  I can just imagine how much something like that would cost 20 years ago.

The last major item that we use daily that you wouldn’t really consider tech.  My mom bought a Giraffe that plays music.  It also will play sounds simulating a human heart beat.  it is supposed to be soothing to the baby, and we find it great to use when putting her down for a nap.  Its a stuffed animal but it is a consumer electronic device with a mini music player inside and buttons up its back for the different options.  Not as high tech as the video camera but tech none the less, and we rely on it every time we put Teagan in her crip.

Other items we use are our phones to view the Dropcam, as well as my Nexus 7.  I am finding I use the Nexus 7 more at home as a clock and dropcam viewer than I do taking it to work.  That is due to other reasons i posted in late October, but because its around the house more I find myself using it for the baby more.  When we sit down to eat dinner or watch a movie we prop it up and use it to keep taps on Teagan.  When I feed Teagan in her room I will take it in and use it to play a sleep play list I made to calm her down.

It seems like a running theme for me in recent posts to point out that yes we dont need most of this tech, and things like the Dropcam weren’t really a viable option for kids as young as my 3 1/2 year old niece but they are pretty common today.  Need or not, they all make caring for our newborn significantly simpler than it would have been.  Raising a baby still isnt easy but it could be much much harder.  I look forward to talking about more tech I get to use with or for Teagan as she gets older.  I am personally waiting for the GPS tracker bracelet or neckless so i know when she is going or coming from school.  i know that is a way off but she is only 6 1/2 weeks old.  I have time.

The Decision To Get Another Mac Mini

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I know that I waffle on what approach I take with regards to my computer equipment.  I have been known to swing between wanting one laptop I use for everything to a laptop and desktop, to just a desktop and using works laptop.  Right now I have a semi-new 2012 Macbook Air.  I sold my main desktop, a 27″ iMac that I bought and tricked out in 2011 over the summer.  I also am selling my old 2011 Macbook Air because I wanted one computer, a laptop.  At the time my thoughts were I wanted a single machine so I can go between work and home and have my stuff with me.  I had the iMac because I previously worked from home 2-3 days a week and having the more powerful desktop made sense.  Since I am in the office most days as of early summer that didn’t make much sense anymore.  I also have a 2010 Mac Mini I have been using as a media center.  Its no longer plugged directly into my TV but is hosting all my media and acts as a headless server that my Apple TV or Macbook Air connects to.  I can’t use it as a desktop since the Thunderbolt display I have is not compatible with the older Mini.

Flash forward to now, and I am happy with my Air however I am finding myself wanting a desktop that is always on.  I still need my laptop for now for if I need to work from the bedroom or anywhere else if the baby is in the area were my computer is, but having a desktop for me and the family has its advantages.  Having a super powerful iMac still doesn’t make sense.  My current solution is to get one of the new Mac Mini’s that were just announced.  It is 1/3 of the price I paid for my iMac, and if i need to I can unplug the Mini from my display and plug in my laptop as needed.  The 1TB Fusion drive looks like a good compromise for speed and storage space.  The new Mini’s looked good enough that I ordered a new one on the 5th.  It arrived Friday.  So far the Cinema Display and the Mini is a great alternative to a laptop or an iMac.  I still have to carry around a laptop to work but I like having a flexibility the mini provides vs an all in one iMac.  Only time will say if I remain happy.

 

The Case for Two Tablets

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On last Wednesday Apple announced several product refreshes as well as a new iPad mini. It was very funny that a company as secretive as Apple had this product announcement predicted so perfectly weeks before. I for one was hoping the rumors were true since I really wanted a smaller iPad even though I love my third-generation iPad.

The dilemma for me has been I want a tablet to use in multiple situations. MC and I use my iPad around the apartment, usually on the couch to do all sorts of things. We will order take-out, fresh direct, browse the web, or just look up where we know some actor that were seen on TV using the IMDB app. We use it when we travel as a map, research tool, email checker, reading a book, watch a movie, and probably lots of other things I’m not remembering. At work it’s what I take to go to a meeting. I have a notebook and a pen but I barely ever use it. With the iPad I can take notes with Evernote, jot down a task with remember the milk, or quickly pull up a story on our Jira system via the web browser.

For all those situations the iPad is fantastic! The screen size is beneficial and it’s either sitting on a desk or not being held long enough for the weight to matter that much. If there were no other use cases for me one device would be perfect. Problem is I also want something that I can use on my 45 minute commute each direction to work. I could use my smartphone but the screen is still pretty small and sometimes it’s difficult to read for long periods of time. If I’d better vision maybe that would be in, since plenty of people just use that. A Kindle is a great idea, but the regular ones you can only read books on. I would love to catch up on just by reading but during the commute time I want to be able to get up to date on all the overnight email at work (I get up to 100 overnight). I also want to review my tasks for the day, read news stories, books, and watch movies or podcasts. I don’t do that every day but each day in the mood to do something different. Using my full-size iPad is difficult since it’s hard to hold in one hand while standing on the subway. If I get a seat it’s usable but still not the best option. Let’s face it I don’t always get a seat anyway.

When Google announced the Nexus 7 I was excited because I thought that form factor would be perfect for my commute to work. I was right. Reading on it perfectly fine with one hand for less than an hour at a time. The screen size was okay. I would’ve liked bigger but I understand the need to be aware holding one hand was more important. The problem is it’s low and kind of buggy. This is an about the Nexus 7, so not going to all the details. Let’s just say I got what I paid for but the experience is still lacking. So much so that I do not always take it with me each morning.

I am hopeful that the iPad mini will be as well built as the larger iPad. There’s no reason to believe otherwise. With the smaller device I’ll be able to use it on my commute to and from work, possibly in meetings, when empowered about in the city for the day, and as a second device when MC and I both want to use it at the same time. That last one has happened several times when we traveled even though she’s not wanted to get her own.

I will admit that it’s an expensive device for specific purpose, however that aside I see need just by looking at how much I’ve tried to use the Google tablet. I opted to spend the extra $130 to get the LTE model. I’m not sure if I will activate it but I have seen the limitations of just Wi-Fi only in both the original iPad and the Nexus 7 slut want the option. Now all I have to do is wait three or so more weeks and give it a testdrive. Worst-case scenario is it gets eBayed. The unlikely but possible best case scenario is I eBay my iPad three.  More likely is I end up keeping both, but we shall see.

I will end this post by saying that no one really “needs” a tablet computer.  There are people out there who can’t afford food so having one or two niche devices that didn’t really exist before 2010 is not necessary   Whats necessary and what people want or makes their lives easier is a totally different story.

Thanks to Quicken 2013 I am Now Using iBank

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I would like to thank Intuit for releasing Quicken 2013.  It was what I finally needed to ditch Quicken (hopefully for good) and try a native Mac application.

I have been using personal-finance software since my first year of college. I remember getting a free copy of Bank Street writer Pro. From there I moved to a copy of Quicken. I’ve been using various versions of Quicken since.  Things were easy for almost a decade. That all started to change after I bought my first Mac in July 2002. At that time I still had a Windows machine and didn’t switch to a Mac as my primary computer until late 2002 or early 2003. Back then I still had several machines so there was always a Windows box to run Quicken. At that point I’m using that software for so long there was no way I was going to stop. Microsoft Money didn’t appeal to me. By then the ability to download transaction data from banks and credit cards locked me in.

The problem turned out to be was using Windows less often as the Mac dominated my computer use. As I transitioned from Windows to Macintosh try to identify all the pieces of software that I used on Windows so I could find the equivalent Mac software. This is where I ran into a problem. Quicken for Windows is great. On the Mac not as much so.

After a time I made the decision to export my data from my Windows Quicken import into the Mac version. That was a generally painful process but I did succeed. I happily used the Mac version of Quicken for a year or so, maybe longer. The limitations became pretty painful. I am not going to go into the limitations of Quicken for Mac. They are well-documented all over the Internet. Let’s just say I wasn’t pleased. The only viable option I had which was to bring all my data back into Windows Quicken. That process was equally painful than the previous conversion. After moving back to a Windows version for a time (somewhere in the area of a year or more) I had a laptop or desktop basically for the sole purpose of running one or two pieces of Windows software. One of those was Quicken.

By the time Apple came out with Intel-based Macs most of my personal computing was all Mac except for some pieces software like a mentioned that didn’t have a Mac equivalent. For work however I was very dependent Windows centric software. Parallels and then later VMware fusion allowed me to consolidate down to one computer. I was able to use a Mac running a VM of Windows. That was a huge win for me and probably millions of other people. To this day I have a Windows VM on my MacBook Air. The reason I bring all this up is after the Intel Macs came out I was able to transition pretty much every application I use to a native Mac Application or to a web-based application. At my current job they have a bring your own device policy which allows me to bring my Mac and use it on company networks. I stopped needing a VM for work a little over a year ago when the exchange server was on got upgraded and outlook for the Mac work perfectly with it.

By this point the only reason I need a Windows VM regularly was to allow me to use Quicken. It is the last piece of software that I rely on Windows for. The problem was I really liked it and I hadn’t been able to find a replacement for it that was a native Mac app. I had used mint, the web service ironically owned now by Intuit but without the ability from you import almost 2 decades worth of data I was never going use it full-time. No other Web service allowed me the ability to import either. That got me looking at Mac programs that did personal finance. Surprisingly there were several I tried a few of them but none of them have the features that would equal Quicken. I probably went back and forth trying out applications on all for the past year or two with no success. During this time I had a growing desire to be able to use my smart phone to sync with my desktop bank software. It bothered me that years ago I could do this with my Treo and Quicken yet I couldn’t with a modern smartphone.

In late June hyper down and force myself to try iBank. It had the smart phone thinking that I wanted and the major features I was looking from Quicken. It wasn’t perfect but I thought it was a better choice than Moneywell or Money Dance.  I spent several hours exporting my data from Quicken importing it and cleaning it up in iBank. I was all set to cut the cord from Quicken when I ran into some reconciliation issues using iBank. Turns out if you have transactions in your register with iBank that are from the same payee and for the same dollar value as a new transaction being downloaded the software will sometimes get confused and think you’ve already downloaded it and not suggest that it’s a new transaction even know the date may be different. I’ve never really had a problem with Quicken doing anything like that. The first time it happened with iBank it took me about 45 minutes to figure out what happened and fix it. It spooked me to the point where I didn’t really trust the software and fell back to Quicken.

That brings us to this month. By now I accepted the fact that I would be stuck with my one holdout piece of Windows software. I figured I have been using our virtual machine for years and it wasn’t such a huge deal to continue using one. It bothered me to do it but it was something that worked even if it was not very elegant of an option. I also figured at some point into it had to offer a smartphone app.

I got excited when I read about Quicken 2013 and the option for using your iPhone just as I had wanted.  I went out and purchased a copy, and downloaded it right away.  I didn’t do too much research online because they offered a 60 money back guarantee. I should’ve looked at reviews and forum posts before I bought it. Downloading and installing the new version was trivial. The problem was you it wouldn’t sync to the iPhone, or technically to their cloud service at all.  I wasn’t a fan of the fact that they needed to sync my data to their systems before it could goto my smartphone in the first place, so it totally aggravated me to find out that because of that the data wouldn’t sync at all. At that point I went online to check out the forums and noticed lots of people with similar problems. There didn’t seem to be a solution other than Intuit was hard at work fixing the bugs. I deal with software development and if a major function of the software doesn’t work you don’t release it.  I personally wouldn’t have purchased the upgrade without that function.

I was really pissed off. First I thought I should just downgrade. Then I decided enough was enough and it didn’t seem like there ever really was going to be a stable solution from Intuit so I decided to sync up my iBank file again with my current Quicken data and give it another try knowing the limitations that I learned in June. I also immediately requested a refund from Intuit.  The only positive out of this experience was intuit was true to their word and I got a refund without any hassle. Now they might fix their bugs but at this point their lack of an up-to-date Mac version of their software that isn’t crippled and the fact that their new Windows software is still so buggy they convinced me to use to finally go all Mac and use iBank.

It has been only three weeks or so and I am still getting used to the new software.  There are things I liked much better in Quicken but now that I have a handle on the transaction download issue I am pretty happy.  Some of the bulk edit and change functions of Quicken I miss but I don’t use them that often to have that really be a reason not to switch.  Am I at the point of no return?  I hope so but don’t know.  After 3 months you can’t retrieve your data from banks online anymore (typically so wanting to switch back after that will be problematic   For now and hopefully for good I running all Mac.

Ordering an iPhone 5 Drama

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I think I’ve said this before, I’m a fan of Apple but I don’t just blindly buy their stuff. I’ve actually tried android phones for over two years or so and keep coming back to my iPhones. I mentioned that now because I’ve gone out immediately ordered every iPhone that’s been out. I’m not sure if the original counts in that statement since I returned it the next day. I’ve written about that in the past, that just goes to show me the product inferior even know it’s Apple product I’ll send it back. With the iPhone 5 it was the first device that I was not 100% sure I wanted it since the original.  I ordered one as a knee jerk reaction to the fact that there was one.  I did want the bigger screen and LTE but I really wasn’t sure it was enough to upgrade.

I went online at 6AM the day you could pre-order only to find that even though i was online 2 hours after you could start ordering my order wouldn’t show up for 2 weeks after the launch date.  I had second thoughts about my order after reading that even though the Verizon iPhone was LTE it would still not be able to do voice and data at the same time unless you are on wifi.  I was not pleased since that was one of the reasons i didn’t go with the CDMA Verizon iPhone. 4.  My initial reaction was that I wasn’t sure if i wanted this new phone with that limitation so I went and canceled my order.

I went back and forth on what I wanted for almost 2 weeks.  I know its just a phone but lets face it I use this thing all the time so making the right decision is important to me.  That and I like technology that works, and wont stand for using something every day that just doesn’t work right.  Note to self that means my microwave needs to go soon!  In the end I realized that I do want a bigger screen, and having a phone that be used with one hand is important especially with a new baby being held sometimes in the other hand.  The final straw was that yes voice and data wont work at the same time but at least i will get both voice and data to work period.  Lets face it AT&T just does not work at my office, and that is right in the middle of Times Square.  Everyone with Verizon doesn’t claim any issues.

So here I am ready to order my phone now.  Well Apple didn’t want my order.  For some reason by caneling my last order they didn’t like me anymore.  it had something to do with the credit authorization for a new verizon account.  Whatever the reason i wasn’t happy.  I ended up placing an order with Verizon directly.  I went with the black model, again.  I kept telling myself i wanted a white one but concerns over it getting dirty looking got me to go with black again.  The only issue was Verizon told me I wouldnt get my new phone until October 19th.  I was not pleased but at least i could use IOS 6 on my 4S in the interim   I was suprised to get a note in late Sept telling me that my order had shipped.  In the end I got my new phone from Verizon around the same time that Apple said I would have gotten my phone if I ordered it from them on the first day of pre-orders.  Go figure.  So after a bit of drama I now am sporting a new iPhone 5.  The best part is I can now make and receive calls at work.  Something I havent been able to do since 2009, but more on that in another post, maybe…

Dragon Dictate 3 Upgrade

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Since I like writing, but typing at the end of the day after working at a computer all day is not the most fun thing to do I have been using dictation to write. It has been fantastic.

The issue is since I upgraded to mountain lion my dictation software on the Mac has not been working. I’ve actually been using the dictation on my iPhone 4S. I think I’ve written about that before. It’s actually quite good, but nowhere near as good as using the computer. As if to prove a point, the WordPress app on my iPhone 4S just crashed for the second time in a day. I lost about two paragraphs of this post and had to write it over. That sort of thing doesn’t happen on the Mac.

Today, Nuance the makers of Dragon Dictate released an upgrade for Dragon Dictate for the Mac that works with Mountain lion. Because of the limitations of the iPhone dictation I am pleased to be able to upgrade. But I’m not pleased about is the rather expensive price of the $149 to be able to upgrade. I don’t typically buy software is expensive. The only other software that comes anywhere close to this price is Microsoft office. Even that I got a rather steep discount through work the last upgrade. I just hope the price was worth it.

I am downloading it now, and I hope to have it working tonight. I’m wondering if I need to train it again. This software I like the mobile phone versions of the software requires you to train the software by reading. It does not take very long, but it does require some minor concentration to read to a computer. I will give my opinion in a later post.