Blogging from the Samsung Rogue

Just invested in a new Samsung Rogue from Verizon. Not officially a Smartphone, it’s dubbed an Advanced Multimedia Phone and requires a data package of 25MB per month at $9.99 if you don’t have a plan with unlimited data. Has a beautiful touchscreen with brilliant graphics, which wears down the battery fairly quickly. Slide-out QWERTY keyboard works with the main touchscreen turned sideways, unlike the LG enV3 (another texter’s favorite), which opens to a smaller second screen when the keyboard is in use. Buttons are a little closer together and therefore slightly harder to use than those on the enV3. (Note that the Rogue does not have the option of a virtual QWERTY on the touchscreen.) The touchscreen is very responsive (the reason a Verizon rep recommended the Rogue over the LG enV Touch…unless of course she’s making commission on the mandatory data package, which also seems likely.)

You’ll forgive the short review, I hope, on the grounds that it’s being typed on the Rogue’s keypad by someone with less-than-adequate hands for texting. Stay tuned for updates…

 

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Turtle Talk #5: Playing Tag

Another episode in the webcomic adventures of Michaela the Turtle.

Squinting? Click on the strip to enlarge.

Click here for the full Turtle Talk comic strip series.

Teaser Tuesdays: Slamming Open the Door

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
• Go back to Should Be Reading and add a link to your teaser.
  

Tonight he sits down to dinner
at the head of the table
as we eat, mute;
later, he climbs into bed
between us.

Even as I sit here,
he stands behind me
clamping two
colossal hands on my shoulders
and bends down
and whispers to my neck:
From now on,
you write about me.

~ Excerpt from “Death Barged In,” leading poem in Slamming Open the Door by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno

Turtle Talk #4: Meet the Roomies

Another episode in the webcomic adventures of Michaela the Turtle, who doesn’t get quite as much alone time as she might like.

Squinting? Click on the strip to enlarge.

Click here for the full Turtle Talk comic strip series.

Waterproof Cameras Reviewed by PCMag

Another waterproof technology article popped up last week on PCMag, this one a review of Cameras You Can Swim With by Zack Honig. The subjects of scrutiny are true waterproof cameras — no normal cameras stuck in waterproof cases, no disposables.

The best review goes to the Canon PowerShot D10 ($329.99 list, pictured), which is rugged and easy to navigate and offers excellent image quality.  As the only camera  in the test group with an external lens, it’s also the bulkiest.

Other models reviewed include:

• Pentax Optio W80 ($299.95 direct): Shoots HD video but only works well in bright light
• Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 ($379.99 list): Has innovative tap controls but less-than-ideal picture quality
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 ($399.95 direct): Fails some tests of the waterproof seal
  
• Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP ($179.95 list): Fogs up in the water, causing  poor picture quality
  

Check out PCMag’s side-by-side comparison to compare features.

Turtle Talk #3: New Place

Another episode in the webcomic adventures of Michaela the Turtle, who’s been feeling a little confined lately.

(Note the log from which Michaela blogs in her aptly titled Blog from the Log.)

Squinting?  Click on the strip to enlarge. 

Click here for the full Turtle Talk comic strip series.