Inside the loft new video!

A short video on my current desk set up!

We are waiting for the lockdown for the Covid-19 virus pandemic is lifted so as to allow our builders back to start again and finish the build for the loft and my new office!

Inside the Loft #12

Todays post on Thursday 23rd of April 2020 : Lockdown haul

So as work is on hold currently, I am slowly working on ideas and plans for the layout of the new office Inside the Loft and so far the ideas are coming and the plan is slowly taking shape!

The picture above shows a similar layout for the desk that I am planning

The desk idea is to have it coming of the wall, on the side, so that the desk is not pushed up against the wall.

This will allow me to get around the back of the desk and access the back of my iMac as I often want to plug in USB cables and my SD card from my Nikon camera.

That will be a positive aspect to the desk layout which I am looking forward to once it is all finished.

The chair show in the picture above is the Ikea ALEFJÄLL and I plan to buy it and have it as my new office chair. The old chair I shall keep and use as a second chair for when someone else/visitor, is in the loft with me!

Remember you can visit the ever developing on-line Inside the Loft store and buy some really cool merchandise so please do click here to get to the store! Thanks!

Well it is getting a bit frustrating not having the work done on the loft but I will just have to be patient and wait for this Lockdown and ~Covid-19 to move on, then the work can restart!

Yes thats me on the scaffolding taking in the view 

from there and the wonderful sunshine!

Back too the on-line store, I am adding new ideas and designs to watch this space as i will share with you all the new designs as they are added!

Ok stay safe out there and thank you for stopping by!

Steve :)

Technology in the Loft

Welcome to the new blog post...

My Post today is focused on technology and the hardware I use. 

Today it’s all about my mobile devices!

As I have mentioned before I use Apple products for my computing needs.

So it should be no surprise that my mobile devices are my iPad & my iPhone!

So let’s start with my iPhone....

I have an iPhone X and I have had it for 30 months. It is the 256 GB size model.

So what do I think? Well I love it and these past few months I have taken the case off and have been using it without a case. I have now got used to using the iPhone without a case and have not had any problems. In fact it feels better without the case!

Software... well as my main computer is the iMac and along with my full use of ‘Files’ and 'iCloud' for all my work etc etc, this all streams easily across all my devices and makes life very easy.

In terms of the iPhone specific software, I like but I am not a big fan of face recognition.

let me explain....

Face recognition works and it is a fantastic security element but there are times when I pick up the iPhone and go to slide open to access my home screen (see the photo above for my home screen) and nothing happens! I have wait a moment for the iPhone to 'see' me!

What has happened is that it has not recognised my face. Sometimes it works perfectly and it’s fast, but there are times when it does not and that is frustrating. It is not the end of the world I know but it is still frustrating!

As I write Apple are working on getting ready the next new update/iOS to iOS14 and I am hopeful that face recognition may get an improvement to its software, to make it better and faster at working on face recognition.

Apart from that the iPhone works perfectly and I am very happy with it. The camera is very good but I still reminisce about my iPhone 7 Plus that was simply brilliant at taking photos and the results were outstanding. The iPhone X is great but I feel that the iPhone 7 Plus had the edge.

And that brings me on to say that later this year I am looking to buy the new iPhone 12 Pro plus or whatever they will call it. By the time is is available my iPhone X will be around 3 years old. Watch this space as once I have the new iPhone I will of course be doing a review on it!

Now the iPad!

My iPad is is the Pro 11.5 inch model 2015 128 GB

So it is almost 5 years that I have had the iPad Pro but this is my second one. The first one after a year locked upon on me and crashed and after taking it to the Apple Store where they could not get it to unlock and restart, they very kindly gave me a new one identical and that has served me well for almost four years and I have not had any issues with it.

Well I say no issues, some software can crash at times and mainly that is has been when I have been working/drawing at an event using my iPad to provide digital caricatures and after a few hours, once or twice but not every-time, the software/app has frozen. 

I mean its taking a real beating when I am drawing non stop for a few hours so its no surprise and a simple 'quit' of the app and a restart/reopen of the app and everything is working fine again.

I also have the first gen Apple pencil and that is almost 5 years old and still works perfectly and has not given me anything to worry about. It changes quickly when attached to the iPad and it simply works! Great!

The only modification that I have made to my iPad is the addition of a thin plastic film called 'paper like' that once attached to the screen, gives a better paper like feel to the surface of the screen and allows the pencil to feel like it is writing/drawing on traditional paper.

The screen with out the 'paper like' film, acts like a brake as the pencil runs over its surface and always caused a very uncomfortable feel to using it in that way.

With the addition of the 'paper like' film, drawing is smooth and gives no problems at all. It really is much much better.

If you use your iPad and an Apple pencil to create on your iPad and you find that the pencil does not glide over the surface of the iPad screen as smooth as you would like, then I can recommend 'paper like' to you.

Click HERE to go to their website!

I have no plans yet to buy a new iPad although the brand new one, just out at time of writing looks totally awesome, but I shall have to be patient and wait a while longer yet.

Stay safe and if you have any questions please do ask away in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!

Thanks for stopping by - Steve

Computer info!

My computer is an iMac.

I have been using Apple computers for around 13 years. I used to be a Windows user but made the switch and have not regretted it at all.

As I am currently without an actual office, my computer is set up in our conservatory while the building of the loft conversion and so the new office in the loft, takes place.

Above is how my iMac looks right now as I type this blog post!

So here I am stuck in the conservatory trying to make do so to speak!

Back to the iMac and here is a screen shot of the configuration of my iMac...

As you can see the iMac is almost 5 years old and it really still works perfectly like it did the first day I bought it!

I also have a 1st gen iPad Pro and pencil that again still works perfectly and of course the picture was taken with my iPhone X.

So as you can guess, I am a full 'Mac environment' user and it works brilliantly for my needs in terms of my business and other stuff like photography and running this Inside the Loft blog and social media channels.

Once the new iPhone 12 is announced and we have a preorder date I shall be placing my order for the new iPhone. Once that comes my current iPhone will be 3 years old. Again my iPhone works perfectly well like new, so there is no real need to buy a new one but I can't resist after nearly 3 years of not buying a new iPhone.... crazy huh!

I am excited for when the office is finished and I have it all set up as then I can share with you how it looks and works!

Stay safe - Steve