The weather and the snow

Please note: this post was written when the cold snap originally hit the UK.

As a Scotsman, I have to say in all honesty, that snow doesn't bother me. The wind and the cold doesn't bother me either. The rain... Well, not ideal but I can cope. But with memories of my formative years trying to battle my way to school through blizzards and serious hardcore cold snaps and eventually making it, when the bloody trains are not working into Waterloo, it is pretty feckin annoying.

In the last week, I seem to have spent more time in Waterloo than a homeless person without a home, who happens to be quite found of Waterloo and it's cosy cavern spaces.

I don't mind Waterloo, but I don't want to live there. Nor do I want to have to spend any more time in the less than adequate bars on offer.

Anyway, there is a point to this blog - gadgets. Or more specifically, the iPad. Since Tuesday last week, I have either been stuck at Waterloo (I know, I am entering this blog into the contest for the most mentions of the word or place, Waterloo), on an actual slow moving train (sometimes moving) or in a coffee shop/bar waiting for said train to arrive and take me home. So in those periods I have had considerable time to play with the iPad ( as have many other people I might add as I notice more and more using them).

So firstly, Pages. I have blogged about it before, but it is pretty feckin excellent (please note that as I write this I am on a slow train to Guildford after two previous trains were cancelled. It is 10 o'clock on a Monday night and I am not even close to being home). Pages is even better now with the update. For the basics it meets every need apart from a folder structure - I hope they bring that in soon. It is intuitive, comfortable and most of all easy on the eye. Highly recommend it... In fact I can't recommend it enough. It turns the iPad into a serious word processing offering (this was a massive sell for me).

Comics. As a comic lover I was somewhat dubious about digital versions but I have to say, the Marvel and Comixology apps are excellent, as is the DC app. The art looks pretty sharp and clear and the viewers are intuitive. I will definitely be downloading some stories I am not familiar with and getting up to speed.

Movies. Watching film on the Videos app (which I think is essentially the iPod videos section) is pretty good - but is highly dependent on the format of the video. If you have downloaded it from iTunes then you wont have any problem (other than maybe the price which for many things I think is not competitive). If not then you will have had to convert it. There are many options and I am still playing around with this. So far I seem to be having success, but I will blog about it in the new year when I have carried out some proper tests.

3G. I'd highly recommend that you get one with 3G capability. Wi-fi is great but is not always available in the UK. The 3G option gives you the added dimension. On a train, you want to access the Internet, assuming you have connection (just like your phone) you can and all is well in the world again.

Well, I could bollock on about the iPad and gadgets until the cows come home (which I suspect will be before I get home tonight) so I am going to watch Kick-Ass on my iPad and I'll see you shortly.