Kate Hunter and Katrina on the set of The Block. This post is sponsored by Microsoft
This competition is now closed. Well done Lady Sarah!
A true child of the eighties, it took me a long time to let my Filofax go. (For those born post 1990, the Filofax was THE diary of a decade. As surely as video killed the radio star, the smartphone killed the Filofax). Mine was bright red with an impressive selection of inserts. It saw me through uni, some forgettable relationships and a memorable wedding. I resisted all digital organizing devices. But then, one day, I don’t know what happened. Maybe the schedules of five people collided and I was forced to embrace the ‘sync’. Now every second and song of my life is synced. If you’d told me that would happen in 1988 I would have called you, a nerd. See? Child of the eighties. No one says nerd any more. Didn’t see that coming.
Technology and the way we use it is a constant surprise. Who could have imagined downloading Jamie Oliver at the supermarket? Getting your best friend’s opinion on a pair of potential new jeans (while she’s in the Grand Canyon). Or using a laptop as a home renovation tool. Like they did on The Block.
As a supporter of The Block, Microsoft flew me to Melbourne last month for a top-secret tour of the houses. I’ve seen them all, completely finished. I’d tell you all about them but I would be sent to Guantanamo Bay or similar. The security was that tight. BUT, I can tell you about meeting Katrina, Wagga mum and blogger who’s renovated with her sister Amie.
I can tell you that they did the most amazing job, in front of TV cameras. Can you imagine? You know how horrible it is to have a photo taken when you’re not ready – this was constant. And they had to take their house from ruin to showpiece in EIGHT WEEKS. It would take some of us eight weeks just to choose bathroom tiles.
But on the upside for the residents of The Block in 2011, they were supplied with some of the latest technology thanks to Microsoft. Armed with fast, portable Windows 7 PC’s, Windows Phones and various Microsoft software programs, the teams were equipped for every occasion in and out of the home. To top it off, Katrina and Amie won the Best Living Room Challenge where Windows 7 rewarded the winning team with the Ultimate Connected Entertainment package that they could then incorporate into their design.
Funny, you’d never imagine from a renovating point of view that a PC would be more valuable than a power-saw. But there was no doubt in Katrina’s mind which was more important. You can always borrow a power-saw, she said, but having her own PC with Windows 7, linked to her Windows phone, meant she and Amie could find anything – from the perfect paint colour, to a handy bottleshop. Having this technology close at hand meant they could divide and conquer their endless list of jobs, and that prevented ugly scenes that could have seen The Block move to a later time-slot. Being able to do that didn’t just surprise Katrina and Amie, it made them wonder how people ever renovated without it. How did the residents of The Block 2003 manage without wireless internet, PC’s with Windows 7 , smartphones and a HDTV that could blare Marky Mark tunes while they painted at 3am. That never would have happened with a Filofax.
You can see my chat with Katrina here. It was heaps of fun, but I don’t think Tracy Grimshaw should feel threatened.
Now it’s your turn. How do you use your PC to multi-task in your life? What piece of technology can’t you live without and why?
The comment that receives the most thumbs up will win one of the latest PC’s with Windows 7, the Samsung Series 9 notebook and a copy of Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010! A fantastic prize that will have you multi-tasking on-the-go like never before. Votes count so get your friends and family to like your comment. But remember that you have to be a Mamamia member to take part in the competition so if you aren’t already a member you will need to sign up here
Competition closes 9 August 2011 at 5pm AEST. Full terms and conditions can be found here
This is a sponsored post from Microsoft. Comments on this post are just for this post. If you want to talk about the IDEA of sponsored posts or the choice of advertisers please click here. We will be reading all those comments too for feedback
Check out these awesome pics from The Block
Comments
82 Comments so far
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Was there a winner?
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PLEASE remember that to be in the running to win this competition you HAVE to be a Mamamia member.
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i cant live witout my pc
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My University demands that my life revolves around my computer. I use it to keep in touch with peers, do my work, and to procrastinate when the time comes to do either of those.
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Curious as to how you got from 18 to 40 votes in such a short space of time..
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It’s been brought to the attention of the Mamamia team. Enjoy your day Anonymouse!
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You can’t hide anything on Mamamia!
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I rounded up a fair few buddies when I was at Uni today.
But yeah, I can kinda understand how it would look a little strange…
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We encourage people to share the post on their Facebook walls, their twitter feeds and their other social media outlets. Big jumps often happen after someone has shared something in their status on Facebook.
It’s all good
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That day began bad and ended in disaster. First, I wake up an hour late, then my car didn’tstart. So I had to ask my husband to take me to office.
Well, this part wasn’t so horrible after all. But, unfortunately, I forgot my laptop in my husband’s car – and the crazy part starts here. I am a newspaper reporter, so my laptop is my right hand, my left hand and sometimes even replaces my brains – so, now you can imagine how it is for me to work without my laptop.
I keep contact with all my collaborators, my friends, my family, thanks to the laptop, via email and social network sites. I am also a really bad case of Facebook and Twitter addict – first thing I do every morning, after I open my laptop, is to read my email and see what my friends are up to that day. Not to mention I receive a lot of important emails, like invitations to different events, press releases or tips from my contacts. So, if I can’t check my email and my social network accounts, it feels like I don’t even exist and I start freaking out. Talk about a bad day.
I don’t know where my life would be without my laptop..
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That sucks. Voted for you!
(LadySarah – wouldn’t let me log in!)
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My PC is synced with my phone so the two act as a dynamic duo organising events, keeping in contact and up to date with the world around me. Being at uni it makes life easier when I can take my work with me where ever I go.
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I can’t live without my computer. It is my organiser, my encyclopaedia, my post office, my telephone, my shopping mall, my music centre, my library, my photo album, my bank and so much more. In the morning when I get up and turn it on, my darling husband, comments that the rest of me has finally woken up!
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Can we have a competition to win a vcr?
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I’m a Mum, and work from home. My PC plans our meals, our shopping lists, our appointments and our holidays. It keeps us in touch with family and friends – email, Skype, FB, and VOIP. It runs my business, allows me to do my work, and promote my business. It tells me when I need to pay bills and when people pay me. I love it! What would we ever do without our trusty PC’s? Without it I’d have no choice but to get another one!
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My PC actually changed my life – I used my trusty PC through five years of Uni, and one of my first jobs after graduating was putting together a website for a band, who had found my portfolio online. After a lot of late nights at the keyboard designing, we launched the site and I was invited to a gig to celebrate (definitely the fun part!). It was two hours away from where I lived, and I was only able to stay for a bit before dashing off home again – much to my dismay as the guy photographing the band was quite dreamy and I spent more time checking him out then my client onstage! The next day, I received an email, from the cute photographer guy (!!), saying that if it was indeed me he saw dashing from the venue, that it was a shame I did so early, as the band had thanked me onstage afterward (I felt terrible!) Struck by what a nice gesture it was for this stranger to let me know (and to say he liked my work!) I wrote back, and then he wrote back, and then I wrote back…. We ended up catching up for another gig about a month later, and after one of the best nights of my life, we started dating, then got engaged, and married, all within a year! As we lived so far apart during our courting, and visits were limited to weekends due to work, we spent a lot of time online, chatting, exchanging emails, jokes, feedback on our designs, and recommending music to each other. A simple one line email from him would make my day, and the distance we were apart a little easier… I would live for that little sound that meant I had new mail in Outlook! Fate definitely played a hand in us meeting, but falling in love was all via PC. Now, I just have to look to my left to see him working away at his own computer, but I’ll never forget how exciting it was to get to know him one email at a time!
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My laptop is on the list of things I use everyday. Between uni, work, writing reports, and social networking, I seem to live with it nearby constantly. I love the advances in technology and as technology grows, as does our uses for the computer’s we use everyday.
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Also, if you want to read the products of my blog :p
http://www.singlefearlessfemale.blogspot.com
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Would love to see you or the sports injury victim win, unfortunately don’t see that happening. Love your motives though, sounds like you have an amazing heart!
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Skype is my saving grace. A new puter would be my lifeline back home to Australia.
If you head out from the Sunshine Coast, where I come from, and keep on going and going and going across the Pacific, you will eventually hit Peru. That is where I now live for work and romantic reasons. I come home every December for 2 1/2 months and my heart and mind remain strongly Aussie, but my family are all in Aus and I am elsewhere most of the time.
My son was born in Australia and we spent his first 4 years living with his grandparents too. As such, he views them pretty much like parents too. Over time there have been many tears as he misses his grandparents so much. Before we had Skype he used to shout goodnight to my mum out the window thinking that she would be able to hear it across the world. Luckily Skype is a magical technology that is the next best thing to having them right there with us and now he can really say goodnight on Skype and have my mum read him a good night story.
My laptop is on its absolute last legs now though and randomly goes blank and has no battery life left. A new one would help my son and me stay in better contact with my family and help him to maintain his Aussie side too.
I might use it to look at Mamamia every now and again to, to which I am now just a smidge addicted.
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My computer is my most favourite piece of technology I own. I use it for absolutely everything. I live in the middle of nowhere, and I find the best way to keep up with my friends is via my computer.
I have met so many nice people on the internet. It is amazing that you can have friends you have never met, but you can chat on anytime via the internet. I may not be able to see my “real life” friends in the flesh a lot too, but I can chat to them through the computer. I love that you can get any answer to any question within seconds.
We run our cattle/grain/sheep property with my PC. I can find buyers, grain traders, prices etc. in an instant. I can see the weather and look out for major rain which tells me if I need to move my stock to higher ground before it floods. Also it is an instrument of torture looking at the weather every day and not seeing any rain forecast (like now). I can try to plan our next move and hope that I have made the right decision.
I can be helping my boys with their homework and looking for a recipe for dinner at the same time. The information I need is literally at my fingertips. It saves me from searching through my recipe books by hand looking for the elusive recipe, thus saving me time by not getting distracted by the food porn
When my internet is down I feel like I have lost a limb. I know that if I want to ask a question like “Is soccer still on?” I will get a response instantly saving me many a wasted trip to town finding no one at soccer.
I am renovating at the moment and the computer is a godsend, as I can order pretty much anything over the internet and it is delivered to my door. It is saving me time and money not having to travel hours away to shops. I am a bit obsessed by The Block and I have been getting lots of ideas from the couple’s rooms. I check out lots of homes over the internet and it is helping me co-ordinate everything together.
My computer is the most useful piece of technology and the next best thing would be my washing machine I cannot live without both.
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I can’t go past the good old ‘Outlook Express’. Although it’s ‘old school’, it literally controls and organises my life. The calendars on there are perfect, and I am constantly adding alarms so I’m reminded. For me, a final semester Uni student, it is the perfect multi-tasking tool. All my assessment due dates are there, what lectures and readings I need to do by when, and most importantly, my actual class times!! I honestly wouldn’t have survived my past 4 years without it!!
(I have posted this before, but I forgot to log in!!)
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We use windows 7 live as our tv, our pictures and to play music! My two little girls watch play school on it everyday! Our PC is our everything! The one we have got is getting a bit old! We also go on there to sync our diaries which are also connected to our smart phones. Before my husband and I connected our diaries we use to double book things. But now we always know because we are connected with our diary! Best thing for a busy young family! Good for the marriage! We could not live without our Windows 7 live or our smart phones!
love the block! When the kidlets are sleeping I go on line and it is my down time! Thanks for the opportunity to share and this offer! Love Kate 
xo
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Born in the ’50′s, I lived in South Africa where Television was only introduced in 1976. The first computers I worked on were Wang & Hewlett Packard. In those days one had to learn to write computer programs to be able to use one! The company I worked for had a mainframe computer system that was housed in a huge room that was specially cooled. In later years, my first mobile phone was more like a brick it was so large & weighty. In the 90′s a friend lent me a computer graphics software, which I diligently spent many, many hours on painting a nature scene, pixel by pixel! Today, I couldn’t possibly live without my computer for digital photography editing, social networking, information & knowledge, music, etcetera, etc! Nor could I survive without my newly updated mobile, the android or smart phone!
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Hi I have been watching the block and LOVE IT and want the sisters to WIN!!
Technology is my heart beat and would be so soo soooo coooool….to win one!
I blog at 5:30 in the morning, set my timer for 30mins to get my breakfast and cuppa so I can pull myself away from the tweets, emails and posts and of course facebooking..oh and tweetdeck…google+ (still learning)..what else..everything else…then have a coffee, get dressed and thats an hour gone and I’m ready for the day..yippee! Ideal Candidate: Vote memememe
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I’m a kids’ book author, and I use my PC to manage every aspect of my career. From using Word to write my stories, to using outlook to send them off to publishers and to keep in contact with editors and my agent, then using Facebook, Twitter, my blog, my author website and more to promote my books, it seems my PC IS my business. First thing I do in the morning is start it up – and last thing I do at night is close it down.
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I am a WAHM. I live in country nsw and using my PC I can work remotely for the family business which is based in Melbourne, I can keep in touch with all my new and old friends and I can research regional businesses that i am trying to sell market stalls to for a market day that I am heavely involved with organising, not to menton family business that I need to keep on top of.. Basically, I’m stuffed without my PC!
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Don’t have a laptop
I sit at my desktop at my desk and manage to browse Mamamia while craning my neck and watching The Block and other shows at the same time.
I need a technology boost, a chiropractor for the neck or else I’ll have to redecorate my lounge room so the computer is in front of the TV
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“IT’S MY TURN MUM”
Is not what I want to hear,
It’s a daily quarrel
It always ends in tears..
Sharing is non exsistant,
For Google and Facebook,
The kids a getting louder,
The eldest is a sook!
“IT’S MY TURN MUM”
Is not what I want to hear!!
We need another PC, keep the kiddies happy,
Don’t want to share my laptop,
Cos this mum is techno savvy!
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Hi Mamamia,
My little laptop is the control centre for my work and personal life! I use it connect through social networks, to update my blog, to write articles, to keep up-to-date with Uni assignments and even to do my shopping (pretty much 24/7!)
I definitely couldn’t live with out it…. or at least I couldn’t pass uni, keep my job or continue blogging!
I will admit though, it has become a little outdated and a new PC with Windows 7 would be a dream come true!
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LOVE LOVE LOVE watching other people renovate.
me doing the renovating? not so much.
my fave piece of technology would be my smartphone. i check my emails, read mamamia news and check my facebook page before i even get out of bed in the morning. it helps ease me into the day, not to mention give me a few extra minutes in the warmth of my bed.
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I have a virtual till on my IPad, keep all my text books on it, write reports and an update my work website and booking calendar.
It also doubles as my book as I mainly read ebooks now. I use it for speech therapy practice for my son, learning to read for my daughter and I only down load movies on my iPad now ad I lose/ destroy dvd’s.
It is the ultimate child bribe- movies, jig saw puzzles without pieces to lose.
Snap without cards to lose and coloring in when all the pencils are lost.
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Oh I loved watching THe Block. I love watching makeovers so much I even flicked through the gallery too many times
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I am a working mother and I think I need a computer to help me manage my life. I need to be able to shop, work and help the kids with their homework without ever leaving my seat. Do you think the Samsung can do that for me?
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My computer is my life. We’ve been through a lot together. Like the time I had to write to my parents to let them know that I wanted to quit my job as a teacher and go back to uni to become a writer. It stood by me as I anxiously awaited my uni results every sememster. It has helped me apply for countless jobs. It doesn’t care that I like to put it on my lap sometimes just because it keeps me warm. It doesn’t even get jealous when I type out love letters to my boyfriend. My PC is a part of me now. You won’t find one without the other.
Besides my computer, I probably couldn’t live without my smart phone. I didn’t want to be one of ‘those’ people, but I can’t help it. I do EVERYTHING on my phone.Pay bills, watch tv, order pizza, shop online, read Mamamia (it’s bookmarked on my phone) Email, play games…I can go on and on and on and on…
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Is this the same Sabrina from below? Have voted for you anyway xx
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Not even trying to win the comp but i just wanted to say I love the show/ so nice to see it on mamamia
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Not to sound like too much of an old timer but in my day we used good old pencil and paper and it worked very well. But given that we are in the 21st century why should nt we let letchnology do the work for us. Until we have robots building the houses we may as well have computers desining them
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My good old waffle maker
hopefully that counts as technology
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When we renovated I was travelling a lot for work and I used skype to stay in contact with our builder. Was a life saver.
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Don’t you love Skype. My husband travels a lot and he we still managed to make all the decisions about our reno together thanks to Skype. I even used to take my laptop to the shop with me and skype him from the showroom floor
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I had no idea you could do all those things with your computer. Fancy that!
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I use my PC to watch The Block, order my groceries and to my work all at the same time
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My PC is my life…it’s my favourite piece of technology. I use it to sync my calendar with my phone & email, manage my diary, manage my music and videos. As a postgraduate student it is my lifeblood. I have hundreds of documents stored on my PC which are necessary to finishing my thesis…not to mention my thesis. Without my computer I am screwed. And yes, my laptop is in that precarious state where it might turn on or it might not…or it could just die while I’m typing away, mid-sentence…I just never know. A new one is in order, I think!
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I can’t go past the good old ‘Outlook Express’. Although it’s ‘old school’, it literally controls and organises my life. The calendars on there are perfect, and I am constantly adding alarms so I’m reminded. For me, a final semester Uni student, it is the perfect multi-tasking tool. All my assessment due dates are there, what lectures and readings I need to do by when, and most importantly, my actual class times!! I honestly wouldn’t have survived my past 4 years without it!!
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Oh I love Outllook. If there was one complaint that I had with my job it would be that we don’t use Outlook…. How I loved the task list.
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I met the girls in the make-up room at Channel 9 yesterday. They were so lovely…..
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I cannot manage my day without my online calendar anymore. I work from home, at the office and in meetings, need to know when and where I will be available.
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Has anyone got a Windows phone? Are they cool ? thinking of getting one
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I do. Amazing. Highly recommend it.
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I use my Mac and sync it with my iPhone.
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my boyfriend and I watch the block religiously. if we had a new computer we could read katrina’s blog while watching the block. how’s that for multi-tasking?
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My favourite piece of technology is my loyal, reliable, toshiba laptop that is about to die. It gets so hot the plastic has melted off the area around the fan & the battery life is half an hour. But it has been with me through several moves & has my EVERYTHING on it. My computer is my baby. I would really, really, really struggle without it. My computer has my uni notes, my writing (I’m writing several novels at the same time), all of my pictures, skype so I can contact friends who live in various states, all of my iPhone’s data, all of my music, facebook, the internet, my blog, twitter….it pretty much holds anything that is important to me.
Yes, I am a geek, and I’m PROUD of that status!
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Hope you back up
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Oh, Ella! PLEASE back that baby up!!!!! I’m wincing at the very thought … no … I won’t say it … just back it up!
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Loving the Block but wish they would do more renovating. If i had a new PC with Windows 7 I would renovate anything – hint hint
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My fav piece of technology at the moment would have to be skype – to keep in touch easily and on the cheap with family all around the world. And so much more fun for kids than the phone.
My PC is on the bench in the kitchen most of the time – for recipes, e mails and f’book and blogs…..I peruse all of the above while cooking dinner!
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I have a 6 year old laptop (an antique) that needs an upgrade – so I can upload photos/sync them to various photo sites and facebook, and hook up skype video so my entire family (including my parents) and all my friends from age 0-36 can see more of my baby (not the same as a cuddle, but when living thousands of miles away, it’s pretty good). My antique laptop can’t handle the photos (let alone video) – it just freezes. Oh – and the screen is blown, so it’s hooked up to the tv which isn’t very convenient for a laptop – I have to contort myself to use the key board and see the tv screen!
I can’t live without my crackberry – the name says it all…although any other instant messaging device (with a key board) would satisfy my addiction.
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I cannot live without my iPad. Even though it is grammatically challenged. And can’t spell. I struggle with laptops because you have to use a keyboard. And shouldn’t touch the screen:)
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I sync my laptop calendar with my phone and I still stand my friends up. I still forget appointments and birthdays and even though I flag an email I’m lucky if I go back and reply to it within a week.
Does this new software have a fire engine alarm and a sledgehammer for a subtle smack in the back of the head so I can actually remember something?
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I am so loving The Block, Katrina and Amie are my favourites. I’d use the PC to help multi-task with my own renovations!
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I am loving the Block at the moment, especially Polly and Waz, they are my favourites. Have also been watching a bit of the Renovators but the tasks they have to do are a bit tedious, who wants to watch people paint a wall for 20 mins? I guess my laptop is definitely the piece of technology i use the most, i am always using it while watching tv .
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I love The Block and I love you too Katrina
Great post – thanks for sharing
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i use my computer for everything!!!!! and the battery on mine is slowly dying so i could really do with a new one. i seriously use it to work, do assignments, brwose the internet, play games, listen to music, organise my life, watch movies and tv. would love something streamlined to replace my clunky old thing though!