Tag Archives: iPad

What Do We Do Now?

22 Jun

After saying goodbye to M2, we left Portland and headed for Washington Square to check out Dick’s Sporting Goods. There I found a box of matte fluorescent golf balls which I had to buy. I’ve never seen a purple matte golf ball before. Pretty cool.

So colorful

We hung out at the mall and the Tesla showroom caught our eyes. There were two cars – the Model 3 and the Model X. The X was way, way cool with its super huge double iPad touchscreen panel and wing doors.

The super cool Model X

Checking out the Model 3

The 3 has its appeal too with its super minimalist look and equally huge iPad-like touchscreen panel which controls everything. So clever.

We left the mall to go get an Earl Grey boba tea at Bubble N Tea en route to TopGolf golf range for some fun. The weather by then was beautiful to be semi-outdoor, so we ended up spending an hour and a half there, hitting balls into targets. Quite a good workout!

But the day went by slowly as we waited to hear from M2 which we did when she finally arrived at Atlanta in transit to connect for the next flight to Ireland. Feeling assured that she’s safely on her way, we made our way back to Corvallis, had a home-cooked meal and prepared for an early good night’s sleep to recover from today’s trip.

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Ugh! Nasty

30 Nov

King.com is nasty. They make the levels in Candy Crush different on different devices! I did not realize this until over the weekend when I attempted Level 1306.

On the iPad, the challenge was to get 3 cherries in 35 moves but in Facebook on the laptop, it required just 2 cherries and 50 moves! No wonder I have been stuck here for so long. Eesh.

Finally made it.

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7 Days Left

6 Nov

Candy Crush had yet another update! This time, Candy Crush Soda has a countdown added to its icon: 7 days left! Ooohh… That’s good. I have been playing it every evening on the laptop at home ever since it was introduced in Facebook.

With it being available on the iPad by next week, looks like I will be having a sweet time again.
CandyCrush44

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Back to the Pre-Candy Crush Era

20 Jan

Before I became a professional candy crusher, I was a farmer. I was so into farming, managing three farms simultaneously: Tap Ranch (renamed and upgraded to Dream Ranch HD now), Tap Ranch Lite and Snowy Tap Ranch, on my first gen iPad. All very different from Zynga’s FarmVille which was very popular then in Facebook. These farms appealed to me because I did not have to play online or rely on others to send me crops and things. In other words, I was a full-time independent farmer. At least that was what the girls labeled me, a farmer.

Whenever I was engrossed in the iPad, they will dutifully not disturb me because I was farming and concentration was needed to tend to my alfalfa and other crops as well as my animals. Ah… Those were the days.

Then Candy Crush struck and my status changed (I was a professional candy crusher). The farms were neglected and ignored as I crushed my way to the top of the candy saga. But my status changed again (I am now a retired professional candy crusher) at the strike of midnight into the new year. Last Friday, I downloaded yet another game from King.com to occupy my time because suddenly, I stopped reading (I don’t know why), Zookeeper Battle has not been holding my attention as much and I had deleted Papa Pear because of launch issues.

A sense of deja vu has struck because it’s a farm app: Farm Heroes Saga. Another saga to march on, like Candy Crush, but a farm, thus making me a farmer again.

Maybe I should change my status again to be a full-time farmer this time? Hmm…

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Candy Withdrawal

6 Jan

Even since I completed Candy Crush at the end of last year and officially retired from it on January 1st, I feel as though I am experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. For five consecutive days, I have not played the game in Facebook on the laptop; although I still go in to help my fellow candy crushers by sending them lives and tickets, this does not count as playing. Even on the iPad, Dreamworld has lost its appeal. So what I am doing to occupy my time? I have been reading as there’s nothing else to play (besides Zookeeper Battle) before I go to sleep!

The last few nights, I decided to give my favorite author, Nora Roberts, my devotion again and have been reading the MacGregor series online into the wee hours of the night. Now I don’t know if this is good or not because in the mornings, I wake up with a splitting headache from a lack of deep sleep.

As a result, I feel grumpy. And irritated. And tired. Can’t be Nora’s fault since her books are always so captivating. Definitely withdrawal symptoms from lack of candies. Hrmph.

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Life is Candylicious

29 Oct

Coming home from work yesterday, the first thing I did when I walked into the house was to flip open the MacBook Air to get my dose of Candy Crush. I told hubby, “Let me have five rounds before we go out again, ok?” and quickly went on with my crushing business.

Two rounds into the game, hubby called me on the mobile! “Hurry up.” I could hear impatience in his tone. I guess he was too annoyed to come upstairs to hurry me. I was in the midst of some exciting moments, overcoming two levels to arrive at 455. What’s even more exciting was that right after I wrote about my predicament, waiting for the release of the update on the iPad, I was on the verge to complete the Butterscotch Boulders chapter.

But the imminent going out was more important. So I had to leave the game to join hubby at the driving range to hit some dimpled balls.

The next morning, routine kicks in first with the iPad to check email, a round of Zookeeper Battle and then on to the laptop for another round of crushing candies. I couldn’t believe my luck! Level 455 has been conquered!!! And with a trophy and title to my efforts! Life indeed is candylicious.

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Just call me Cherry Sheriff!

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Decisions, Decisions, Part 2

25 Oct

I had a prompt on my iPhone4 yesterday afternoon for an OS update to 7.0.3, which I did. But I have yet to update my iPad Mini! Should I update it or not at this point? The OS has had two updates ever since the new OS7 release came out, if I am not mistaken.

I must say ever since my phone was updated, I have mixed feelings about it. The color of the text bubbles still irks me but I appreciate the shortcuts especially to music and the torchlight.

I don’t like the passcode part every time I have to use my phone. What secret can there be when there you are, sitting next to someone (friend, family or even stranger), and they can see clearly what you key in to access!

Imagine having to do that every time I want to battle some zoo animals or crush some candies at the old levels. Pretty annoying, isn’t it?

It’s pretty obvious I love my iPad Mini for its easy access and how I have it the way I like it. I fear with the overhaul to OS7, I have to relearn to appreciate it. Sigh.

Decisions, decisions…

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Homeward Bound

14 Oct

We arrived in Bali in the new MH B737-800 (notice the big iPad-like touchscreen?) and going back to KL in the more spacious 777-200 (albeit with a smaller screen, like a Samsung 7″ tab but much bigger than the Nintendo sized screen of Air France when I went to Paris in July).

Thankfully I managed to catch the last 45 minutes of Man of Steel, which I had watched when Bali-bound and could not finish on time upon arrival then.

Contented now after the meal and a satisfying coffee, I count the hours until I see my girls at home.

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The iPad-sized touchscreen of the B737-800.

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The 7″ Tab-like sized touchscreen in the 777-200.

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This is Not a Review of iOS7

26 Sep

Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I reach for is my iPhone to look at the time, then the iPad to play Zookeeper Battle, followed by Candy Crush. This morning is no different from always but I groaned when I saw a prompt on the iPad to update the OS to iOS7!

Oh no! Do I have to?

Two days ago, I gave in to update my iPhone4. Initially I was skeptical to do so, knowing there will be limited features that my phone is capable of; so I wanted to wait it out and hear a little more feedback from friends to be sure before taking the plunge. I am also a creature of habit and don’t like my comfort zone disrupted; my phone being what it is now is a comfort and I am in my zone. But when I did hear nothing but positive raves, I went ahead and updated.

Right after I did the update, I felt so let down. My phone is now so ugly, flat and devoid of depth. I kept comparing it with my iPad to see the difference and without hesitation, decided to not update my iPad for as long as I can.

iOS7-iPhone

See how flat and unappealing it looks.

iOS7-iPad

So pretty, no?

It didn’t help that on the homefront prior to the update, M2 kept pestering me when will I buy the new phone so that she could inherit the current model. She even dispensed with manners and just came right to the point asking when will I change my phone? When I stared daggers at her, she changed tactic and nagged me at when will I update the OS instead? Hrmph.

That night, I lamented about the flatness of the phone, M2 quickly pounced on it and pointed out that since it’s now ugly, and I don’t like it (and she does) she will just take my phone! Eeesh… The child is just notorious.

But ugly as it is, I have to learn to like it. After all, there’s no turning back to iOS6 (and silly to pay or hack to downgrade) or heaven forbid, consider migrating to an Android phone! So learn I did.

Despite its lack of depth and being so flat in looks, it is nice in terms of operating system, definitely an upgrade. There’s a range of new ring tones besides the many features already reviewed by techies and all out there, so I will not delve in this. It’s the look that I am not used to, it’s so flat. I was horrified to see the message bubble coming out so green, Granny Smith would be envious of the green being more green than their apples. When highlights and depths are taken away, what you end up with is a flat horrid shade that totally lacks character. Having said that, the iMessage blue is no better.

Also, I miss the green felt in GameCenter. I feel so lost in the new layout.

So will I update my iPad? I think I will wait a while longer.

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I Feel Cheated!

6 Sep

Last night, I was going through my usual routine playing Candy Crush and then Zookeeper Battle, I decided to use the laptop to continue crushing candies for I had ran out of lives on the iPad.

Ever since arriving at Level 410, I have yet use the laptop to play the game. To my horror, I discovered that this level has a different and much easier layout in the app on Facebook compared to the app on the iPad! How could this be? I feel cheated!! Of my time, effort and energy, what more, lives wasted in my attempt to overcome this level.

The grid of the iPad app has four less squares on it, thus making it harder to conquer compared to the app on Facebook on the laptop.

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iPad Mini: see the two left and right gaping spaces above the bombs?

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MacBook Air: now see the same spots, not gaping but with candies over jellies!

With just that two extra squares on each side at the bottom, the playing field becomes totally different in strategies and moves to diffuse the bombs and eliminate the jellies. I have played the game long enough to know the level of difficulty and challenges thrown at us. So my level of authority on this is credible.

And for as long as I have been addicted to the game, this is the first time I am encountering a discrepancy in the grid on two different devices when it shouldn’t be. Hello… King.com Limited, you hear me? Fix it on the iPad so that my feeling cheated will not mar the love affair that I have with Candy Crush.

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