Surface Pro review round-up: Fast, fat, and not enough battery life to be useful

via extremetech.com

More than three months after the release of Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet, the first full reviews of the Surface Pro are in — and they’re not good. While being lauded for its innovative design and top-notch display, almost every review notes that the Surface Pro is plagued by poor battery life, cumbersome dimensions for a tablet, and weak cameras.

The hard truth of the matter is that the Surface Pro — like Windows 8 — suffers from a massive identity crisis. The Surface Pro, without a dock or physical keyboard, tries to be a tablet — but with just four or five hours of battery life, using the Surface Pro as an on-the-move tablet is impossible. The Surface Pro, with a kickstand, tries to be a laptop — but it’s very hard to actually use on your lap, the screen’s angle can’t be adjusted, and again the battery life is an issue. As with its brother, the Surface RT, we have to ask: What is the Surface Pro, and who is it for?

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Real Life Tetris by Artist Michael Johansson

via huhmagazine.co.uk

Created by contemporary Swedish artist Michael Johansson, these "real life Tetris" installations see other people's unwanted objects methodically and painstakingly packed together into neat, colour co-ordinated blocks. Inspired by real life coincidences, such as two people passing each other dressed in the same outfits, Johansson has been constructing the sculptures since 2007, installing them in public areas like tight alleyways and strangely shaped doorways as well as showing them at group and solo exhibitions all over the world. Speaking to PINCH magazine, Johansson said...

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

BlackBerry's Best Trick: Nailing Work-Life Balance

via gizmodo.com

Today BlackBerry demoed what it's calling BlackBerry Balance, a clever way of separating one's personal and work lives in one device. You don't see it as much these days but carrying two phones—one for business, one for pleasure—was commonplace not too long ago. I remember having a BlackBerry 6200 alongside my Sidekick 2; and I'm sure a lot of you remember those days as well.

But now that smartphones have been ingratiated into corporate IT infrastructures with beefed up security protocols, the need for work-issued BlackBerries has been on the decline. Not to mention the fact that it's cheaper for employers to just have you use your own phone and pay for it yourself. Now you can have both your work and personal lives live on one single device.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

7 Signs You are Living Beyond Your Means

via mint.com

Whether you consider yourself to be financially responsible, or you always seem to come up short on cash, there are a few key indicators that may indicate you are living beyond your means—and being aware of them can save you loads of money woes in times of a cash emergency.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

6 Business Apps That Make Life Easier

via inc.com

A swarm of new business tools coming to phones and desktops near you promise to boost efficiency and streamline collaboration by borrowing social features from the likes of Facebook and Twitter. But do they really work? As CEO of HootSuite, I preview hundreds of social business apps--from virtual rolodexes to group notepads. And, to be honest, lots of these apps are more trouble than they’re worth. They’re pretty to look at but end up wasting time. They complicate things better done in person (like getting an actual coffee in an actual cafe). And they solve problems real businesses don’t have (Does the world really need more virtual blackboards?).

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Why Success Is Never an Accident

via inc.com

Successful people always seem to make their own luck and find opportunities, but it has more to do with their state of mind than anything else.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Impossible Video Games That Deal with Real Life Situations

via laughingsquid.com

Jeff Wysaski of Pleated-Jeans has designed Impossible Video Games, a humorous and clever collection of five made up video game titles that each deal with real life situations. Good luck with ignoring that adorable digital puppy.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

9 Daily Habits That Will Make You Happier

via inc.com

Happiness is the only true measure of personal success. Making other people happy is the highest expression of success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if you're not happy yourself.

With that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can make to your daily routine that, if you're like most people, will immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life...

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Photoshop in Real Life

via ufunk.net

“How to use Photoshop in real life” manipulations by Sad and Useless.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Photoshop in Real Life

via youthedesigner.com

Wouldn’t it be nice if Photoshop was real? All those blemishes will be gone with just a pinch, that annoying eye bag will be gone in just a matter of seconds and finally no-one will have to spend millions and millions of money to buy beauty products anymore. While many are still wishing that someone should make a Photoshop or at least a patch tool in real life — Flóra Borsi is a Hungary based photographer who did a mini-series of what would it be like if Photoshop was real and how would people use it. The resulting images are hilarious and very well thought of, we are now thinking that Adobe should get her to do a print ad for Photoshop.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

The Importance of Being Early

via dumblittleman.com

We all notice the people who are always late.

There’s no hiding it when a report is handed in after a deadline. Or when the same person arrives late for meetings every day.

But what about those who are habitually on time? Those who walk in at 9, avoiding trouble by the skin of their teeth?

What benefits could being early possibly give to the 'okay' time keepers?

The fact is that being early actually saves time – here’s why...

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Learning Real Life Lessons in the Virtual World

via mashable.com

Last week someone called my ten year-old daughter a bitch, to her face, sort of. She wasn’t in the halls at school or in the playground; she was in the hottest destination around, where fake ID wasn’t necessary and her bright pink hair was all the rage. She was on WeeWorld.com, one of many virtual worlds where kids create avatars and engage in social activity with “friends.”

This is not the first time my daughter has come up against nasty behavior online. At ten years old both of my daughters have been actively participating in virtual worlds meant for kids for the past 4 years. They started on Webkinz and Club Penguin, then progressed to Moshi Monsters, Bearvilleand Fantage. They tend to bop between worlds, forgetting one for a while and then returning months later to rediscover the old and familiar while taking in the new. They have different friend lists –- some populated with real life friends –- and take their possessions and self-built environments very seriously. They have spent hours over the years decorating their virtual spaces, trading goods, earning and changing outfits, and caring for pets. These are not games for them, but in many ways an extension of their identities. And it’s just as fluid and evolving as their real world childhood identities.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

The Demanding Art Of Still Life Photography - 25 New Photos

via designyourway.net

I felt that an addition to the last article about still life photography had to be made and here it is with 25 new photos showcasing this wonderful but demanding art.

The pictures in this article, unlike the ones in the previous one, are mainly focused on still life photos that look like paintings. I know it looks like the photos have been retouched but actually this effect is created with the help of good lighting. Apart from these painting-like pictures, you will also see various photos that fall into the still life category but are quite different then the ones that I’ve been talking about.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Recreations of Famous Cartoons as Real Life Characters

via blog.gaborit-d.com

A great collection of inspirational recreations. Very imaginative.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

A Work-Life Balance? 8 Steps to Help You Juggle It All

via dumblittleman.com

One of the most important things in life is having balance.

Unfortunately, it's not easy to find this balance sometimes.

We want to be productive and hard working, but we also want to be good friends, siblings, parents, and significant others.

And sometimes it's very hard to be all of those things at once.

Before I discuss my thoughts on keeping it all balanced, I first want to note that it's pretty much impossible to keep everything together all the time.

There are going to be times when we can't be at work because we have to care for a loved one or deal with a personal issue.

There are going to be times when we miss out on a fun event because we have to focus on a work deadline.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Still life photography inspiration from Kevin Best

via thedphoto.com

"I have always been a story teller and I love the deep thought that is required to create a narrative using objects alone. I choose to photograph in the style of the Dutch Golden Age because much of what they experienced is with us today: fear of religious outsiders, the guilt of being wealthy while others struggle, and a sense of wonder at new discoveries. Still Life can capture universal truths, while still allowing individual interpretation."

Posted via email from Inspiration

25 Amazing Gadgets To Make Your Life More Interesting

via designyourway.net

I think that there is no one not to have watched at least a single episode from the Start Track series and the various, but fictional, gadgets used by the actors amazed everyone. Fortunately, what was at this time unimaginable, nowadays is very present; obvious there are still some items that aren’t used in practice but it won’t take a long time until these will became usual.

Once with the release of the multitude of smartphones and tablets, the gadget market simply exploded and people are still very interested in it. Some specialists say that the auto industry is suffering (but not only from this fact) because people prefer to buy a new gadget instead of saving money for a car. Anyway, we all are grateful to gadget inventors and we are expecting new and newer gadgets to make the life more commode and pleasant. The entire process of creating a new gadget is difficult and tons of resources are invested in it… if you want to work in this industry you must be aware about this.

Posted via email from Inspiration

7 Habits of Extraordinary People

via dumblittleman.com

The concept of living an extraordinary life has been on my mind since I was a child.

I wanted to be a singer or an actress like every other girl and I believed that this was the ultimate way of showing that I was special.

20 years later, I’m a tiny bit wiser and know that being exceptional has nothing to do with being famous.

But everything to do with your own attitude and mindset.

Being extraordinary can have many forms and everyone has his or her own definition.

But there are a few habits we can all create to take our life and ourselves to the next level.

Posted via email from Inspiration

Replenish Your Life with These 5 Tips

via inspirationfeed.com

The responsibility of operating, designing and living a successful life falls largely on you. This merely means that from this point forward, the burden of shaping your adult life, is on your shoulders. The sooner you realize this, the better!

The most important question to ask yourself is, what can I do today, this week, this month, this year, to induce my life going in the direction I want? If you are either on the verge of forgoing, or are sick and bored with being mediocre, you’ll create a decision to begin winning, by casting a YES vote in your favor today!

Posted via email from Inspiration

Here Is How To Get a Detailed Report of Your Facebook Life

via webaroundme.blogspot.com

Wolfram Alpha the Knowledge Engine has introduced a new tool that analyses your Facebook data and gives a detailed report ranging from the relationship statutes of your friends to top commentators and even the eldest and youngest one of your friends.

Posted via email from Inspiration