Knitting and computer issues.
1. I finished my mother's long-overdue Christmas sweater! This was to replace the first one that turned out to be too small. Here's a photo, modeled by one of my friends. The pattern is Metro, which is simple and classic and has that neat cabling along one side. I splurged on Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted since I didn't want to worry that it would look ratty (as happens when I use KnitPicks for sweaters), and I love the way it turned out. Those colors are right up Mom's alley! And after neglecting it for a year, I finally finished my semi-tacky granny square throw, mostly because I wanted to see if I could crochet something. ;)
2. From the NYT: Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter. Not sure how I feel about the article. I do really like Twitter for instant blather. I have a Facebook account that I never touch, though I can see the appeal. I've been on LJ since 2002 and don't plan to leave, though coming up with things to post is difficult, especially since I'm not that active in fandom. I tend to see Facebook as a RL thing, whereas sites like LJ are much better for fandom and when you want to maintain some semi-anonymity. As for the article... the primary reasoning seems to be that teens prefer the instant gratification of those sites, rather than sitting down and composing a blog post. Which, again, I totally get, but there's something to be said for writing. Hopefully the young people in the article do reflective writing via other methods, but I hate to think that it would go away. (But I'll admit I'm becoming more "Kids these days!" as I get older. ;)
3. I only have a trial version of MS Office on the new computer, and even the student/teacher license is a bit too pricey for me. I might eventually get it, but right now I'm exploring other options. I tried Google Docs last night but the web interface was too clunky and without some of the features I like. Plus, I prefer a standalone program rather than via my browser. A couple of years ago I downloaded Open Office and used it for a few months, but I remember it being a bit of a pain in the ass. The only parts I really need are Word and Power Point (for school), or their equivalents. Any suggestions?
4. One more computer question! When I got the new laptop, I immediately downloaded Firefox. All week it's been a bit sluggish, but the main problem is in loading pages. Most of the time they stall on the first try -- I get the spinning circle and a blank tab while they load -- and I have to refresh several times to get them to work. The only add-on I've installed is AdBlock. I downloaded Chrome to see if it was just a Firefox issue, but I had some of the same problems there. (Plus, after trying it for a couple of days, I'm not really fond of the Chrome interface. It's just a personal preferences thing!) Do y'all have any ideas of how I can fix this?
2. From the NYT: Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter. Not sure how I feel about the article. I do really like Twitter for instant blather. I have a Facebook account that I never touch, though I can see the appeal. I've been on LJ since 2002 and don't plan to leave, though coming up with things to post is difficult, especially since I'm not that active in fandom. I tend to see Facebook as a RL thing, whereas sites like LJ are much better for fandom and when you want to maintain some semi-anonymity. As for the article... the primary reasoning seems to be that teens prefer the instant gratification of those sites, rather than sitting down and composing a blog post. Which, again, I totally get, but there's something to be said for writing. Hopefully the young people in the article do reflective writing via other methods, but I hate to think that it would go away. (But I'll admit I'm becoming more "Kids these days!" as I get older. ;)
3. I only have a trial version of MS Office on the new computer, and even the student/teacher license is a bit too pricey for me. I might eventually get it, but right now I'm exploring other options. I tried Google Docs last night but the web interface was too clunky and without some of the features I like. Plus, I prefer a standalone program rather than via my browser. A couple of years ago I downloaded Open Office and used it for a few months, but I remember it being a bit of a pain in the ass. The only parts I really need are Word and Power Point (for school), or their equivalents. Any suggestions?
4. One more computer question! When I got the new laptop, I immediately downloaded Firefox. All week it's been a bit sluggish, but the main problem is in loading pages. Most of the time they stall on the first try -- I get the spinning circle and a blank tab while they load -- and I have to refresh several times to get them to work. The only add-on I've installed is AdBlock. I downloaded Chrome to see if it was just a Firefox issue, but I had some of the same problems there. (Plus, after trying it for a couple of days, I'm not really fond of the Chrome interface. It's just a personal preferences thing!) Do y'all have any ideas of how I can fix this?