William Knelsen As I wait in hope for the Lord.

Archive for January 2010

Fall Plans, 13 Years in the Making

January 30, 2010

13 years ago, I made a commitment to God, and although I stumbled and struggled with my faith along the way, I always knew that one day I would go to Bible College for Christian Ministry. Lynn and I have decided that this Fall is the time for me to do this.

Over the next couple weeks, we will be making a decision to move to one of two communities, depending on which school I choose. Our first choice is Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta. This is our first choice for many reasons, most of which have to do with family life within the community. Our second choice is Providence, which is closer to home, but not as good for family life.

Please pray for us as we make this decision, and all of the steps that need to happen from now until August: application and acceptance, scholarships, bursaries and students loans, selling our house and arranging housing at the school campus, and our kids as they will have to adjust to a different living arrangement.

We appreciate your prayers and support!

Microsoft tablet… not so much.

January 7, 2010

Yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer almost embarrassingly showed of the new “slate PCs”. It’s almost as though, when they heard Apple was releasing a tablet this month, they quickly got HP to load some software on the slate so he could show people that it exists.

Here’s a “promo” video created for the slate. I’m guessing the HP marketing team quickly put this together at Microsoft’s request.

Why I Would Buy a Microsoft Tablet

January 6, 2010

With rumors that Steve Balmer will release a tablet PC today, I got to thinking… what would it take for me to buy a MS Tablet? Here’s a non-exhaustive checklist:

  1. No Windows!
    That’s right. The tablet would have to be running an entirely new OS. There would be no sign of this being a Windows device, rather a Microsoft (or hardware manufacturer) device.
  2. New Web Browser.
    Along with Windows, IE would have to be thrown out. Use web standards this time, and call it anything but Internet Explorer. It needs to be a fully functioning browser.
  3. Cheap.
    I’d be willing to pay no more than $800 for a tablet. If Apple comes out with one, I might be willing to pay more.
  4. Not Brown.
    Please, Microsoft, don’t make another brown mobile device.
  5. Wireless Connectivity.
    The device should have WiFi (obviously), Bluetooth and 3G.
  6. It just needs to work!
    If Microsoft would just come out with something that works very well and is really easy to use, they will have a winner.
  7. It needs to be as good as or better, plus cheaper, than Apple’s tablet.
    This can mean many things. But, essentially, every aspect of the device would need to match up or function better than Apple’s tablet. Even then, if it’s around the same price, I would rather buy Apple’s device simply because it will likely sync well with my MacBook Pro, iPhone and soon-to-be-purchased iMac.

There are many other things that could make me decide not to buy it, but if these 7 items are checked off, there is a good chance I might be interested.

User Experience in Everyday Objects

January 5, 2010

This is a brilliant talk observing user interface features within objects we use and see every day.

Learning IxD From Everyday Objects
View more documents from Bill DeRouchey.