Being Geek Chic is a blog for stylish geeks, sophisticated nerds and people who enjoy the musings of a complete dork. Join us as we dream of driving the TARDIS, cuddle with our eBooks and test out an iPad sleeve. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi and a team of brilliant lady nerds. Meet the team.
I’m a lady boss. There are lots of amazing things that come with that and I’m proud and thankful for it every day. But there are also days when it’s stressful and not as fun. The holidays can be one of those times… well, because it’s crazy busy when everyone else is chillin’ with family. When I need a word of encouragement, I gotta change my surroundings. One of those surroundings? My tablet background.
It can be tough to remember that just doing this thing called entrepreneurship is a kick ass way to live. It’s hard! Which is why most people don’t do it… so how about a reminder that you’re KILLING IT. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
DOWNLOAD THE KILLIN’ IT BACKGROUND ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE.
I believe in the power of supporting other women in business. It makes all of this less lonely, more fun and frankly, a lot easier to deal with. So if you run a full fledged office, get yourself this background. If you run a blog. Get yourself this background. If you run an Etsy shop after work. Get yourself this background. If you run your family. Get yourself this background.
DOWNLOAD THE LADY BOSS BACKGROUND ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE.
Being the boss takes many forms. And you deserve to be reminded that you’re killing it. Every time I look at the background on my Windows 8 tablet, I get a gentle reminder that I chose this life and it’s a great one. And, I have the power to make life awesome… through technology like my tablet or by just waking up every day and having a great attitude. Here’s to a 2015 that’s full of great lady bosses killin’ it in their own way.
Disclosure: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment. If you want to see what other bloggers think of Windows 8, check out #tabletcrew on Twitter.
I’m obsessed with rocks and gems and stalagmites and anything that’s pointy and shiny and comes from the earth naturally. Mother Nature is a beautiful magician. She’s not screwing around when it comes to her creations. No wonder I’ve become inspired by these delightful stones for my latest freebie for my Intel Windows 8 Tablet.
Of course, I’m not a total jerk. I’ve worked these up so you can download them for free too. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GEMS ONE.
I usually hate beige, but when it comes to stones, well, even beige has a certain charisma. I mean, I would kiss those. I would purse my lips and pucker up and kiss those stones If they were in my hands.
Are you also a fan of the beige goodness? It’s kind of like vanilla ice cream stone, isn’t it? CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GEMS TWO.
I’ve got to give special props to Vintage Printables for having a wonderful collection of gem images, which I was able to use for this lovely freebie. Honestly, Vintage Printables is the best free thing ever. Yes, even better than a free refill at the coffee shop.
Disclosure: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment. If you want to see what other bloggers think of Windows 8, check out #tabletcrew on Twitter.
My love of space is probably overly documented around here. But I just can’t help myself. The vastness of it. The unknowns. The knowns. They all mix together in galaxies and clouds and moons and suns and they feel like some version of heaven.
The words on the design say, “It’s Possible.” When you’re a creative soul, sometimes all the possibilities in front of you can be paralyzing. But knowing that you are able to take the risk, make the art and give it a shot… that’s a gift. Your dreams are possible. And I think that’s why NASA gives me so much hope. In all the vastness of space, a few solitary dreams of wild dreamers brought a man to the moon and a nation to their screens.
It’s possible.
Perhaps this is why I so consistently surround myself with space images and one of the easiest ways for me to do that is with backgrounds on my devices. So today, I offer up some Windows 8 Tablet Backgrounds in these spacey designs:
From NASA: “The ring-region Saturnian moons Prometheus and Pan are both caught “herding” their respective rings in this image. Through their gravitational disturbances of nearby ring particles, one moon maintains a gap in the outer A ring and the other helps keep a ring narrowly confined.”
Download Spiraling Beauty Here.
From NASA: “This new view of spiral galaxy IC 342, also known as Caldwell 5, includes data from NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. High-energy X-ray data from NuSTAR have been translated to the color magenta, and superimposed on a visible-light view highlighting the galaxy and its star-studded arms. NuSTAR is the first orbiting telescope to take focused pictures of the cosmos in high-energy X-ray light; previous observations of this same galaxy taken at similar wavelengths blurred the entire object into one pixel.”
The images are courtesy of NASA’s “Image of the Day Gallery” - which is a favorite place of mine on the World Wide Web. Bookmark it. It’s beyond wonderful.
Disclosure: I was given a Windows 8 Tablet to use as part of Intel’s Tablet Crew blogger outreach program. I was compensated to be part of this program. If you are interested in my thoughts on the product (Windows 8 Acer Iconia W5), you can read my review here. If you want to see what other bloggers think of Windows 8, check out #tabletcrew on Twitter.
Color me surprised.
After nearly a decade of strict Apple-only computing, the Acer W5 Iconia Windows 8 Tablet actually made a positive impression on me. In fact, I’ve found myself truly enjoying it. Let’s remember two critical things: First, my expectations were super low. Even though I had read a lot of really positive reviews, I still found myself concerned that the Windows 8 Operating System would be too clunky. It’s not. It’s fairly intuitive and has a beautiful graphic fluidity. Second, I have not used a Windows machine since XP, so my learning curve was probably higher than others who were jumping into it from Windows 7.
It’s clear that simplicity has finally won out with this OS. The Atom-Based Hybrid (tablet or laptop) could be the perfect in between for new computer buyers who can’t stomach the cost of a tablet, but want the option. As a tablet, it’s a solid device and one worth checking out. As a laptop, I would have serious reservations.
From here on out, I’m going to give you the ins and outs for how I used it: as a tablet. Overall, it’s surprisingly fun to use. The mixture of colorful apps are playful and more engaging than the iPad apps and remind me a lot of the Kindle Fire experience. Your home screen is like a playground just waiting to be jumped on.
The Good:
1. The Design: There is no doubt that the Windows 8 interface is smooth and beautiful. I like the use of color and had way too much fun changing up the color schemes to my liking. It’s this kind of flexibility that I really appreciate on the Windows devices. I understand Apple’s desire to keep the user from reducing the design to a less sophisticated level, but I ultimately think that if you are going to spend the money on the device, you should be able to make some changes like this. Overall, kudos to Windows 8 on that one.
2. The Weight: This thing is light. It’s about the same weight as my Kindle Paperwhite, which was a nice surprise. Remember, this is without the keyboard attachment though. (It’s 2.8 pounds without the keyboard, just over 3 pounds with it.) This is a double-edged issue for me, because while I like the lightness of the device, the plastic feel is something I may never get used to with non-Apple devices. I’ve decided that I don’t mind it on the casing if it can give me the reduced weight, but that what would truly make it feel more high-end is if the screen was made of something more substantial.
3. Mobile Movie Viewing: Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. I will probably never stop yammering on about this issue. Years ago I publicly complained that if Apple was going to advertise its products as “optimal media devices” then they needed to stick with accepted aspect ratios. The iPhone 5 screen change was a major, “I Told You So.” moment for me. Mark my words: iPad can’t be far behind.
Rightly, the entire range of Windows 8 tablets figured this out early on and this is hands down the best part of this tablet. My gym has drastically reduced the number of channels available on the machines, but with the Netflix app, my headphones and the W5, I’m all set. The screen is surprisingly sharp and not too hard on my eyes, which really shocked me considering the hardware. Set to a low brightness, I found it more watchable than my iPad.
4. The Battery: I can go an entire week of heavy usage (streaming, games and browsing) on one overnight charge. This is impressive.
5. The Storage: Again, if you are using the W5 strictly as a tablet, you’ll be pleased with a 64GB solid state hard drive. If you are thinking you might use this as a laptop, I’m not sure that storage will be sufficient.
6. Plenty of Ports: If you think of this device strictly as a tablet, you’ll be happy to find a lot more ports and connections here than on the Kindle Fire, Nook HD or iPads. There’s a Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, and a microSD card slot.
The Bad:
1. The Browsers: Internet Explorer and I are just not meant for each other. I just don’t understand why it can’t render pages properly. Updates are constant and yet improvements are lagging. Chrome was fine, but the simple act of zooming into a page was absolutely impossible to achieve. After some Googling, it turns out you have to open a toolbar and then there is a zoom functionality hidden there that’s percentage based. It’s crap. Every website is different - which is why you need the ability to manipulate a page quickly and easily. Additionally, there’s the new Acer Browser, which was fine, but ultimately just a bland branded browser without many features. Firefox was ultimately the most usable and user-friendly, but I was really hoping IE would get it together here.
2. The Price: At $599 (just tablet or $749 with keyboard), it seems utterly impossible to imagine the average consumer holding the W5 with an attached keyboard next to an iPad with a Bluetooth Keyboard and choosing the Acer. I don’t understand the pricing strategy here. Plus, you can get a pretty powerful PC for $749, albeit without a detachable screen.
3. The Back End: When you are downloading certain apps or when you are connected to the optional keyboard, this sleek tablet goes back to the basic version of the Windows desktop you’d expect. To me, this tablet is weakest when it’s trying to be a computer without any real computing power.
If you aren’t an Apple person, you will like this product. It’s smart, sleek and fun to use. Some of the oddities and annoyances of previous Windows OS’s are still around and IE seems impossible to fix, but you’ll be relieved to find an easy to use app store and endless customization options.
Overall: B
Disclosure: The Acer Iconia W5 was gifted to me by Intel as part of their Tablet Crew program. See #tabletcrew on Twitter for other bloggers’ thoughts on the device.
I searched for an iPad folio for the longest time. Figures I’d find one in my own backyard.
Russel+Hazel is a Twin Cities company that specializes in personal and professional office and productivity items that have a sense of style.
The Tablet Folio started at $120 and is now marked down to $60. It’s genuine leather and while it might seem a tad expensive, remember that the leather Smart Cover is $60 and not nearly as stylish.
Go check it out.
