CC at West Chester in action!

Mrs. Keeler and Masters

Mrs. Stokarski and Abecedarians

Mr. Greer and Apprentices

Hooray for our nursery tutors!

Here is a link to motions for timeline weeks 1-6. We have a few variations, but most are the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF24C_22ZDk

Please let me know if you would like copies of our lab sheets for the first 6 weeks. I'd be glad to email them to you!

Please RSVP to Jeneene if you are planning to attend our field trip to Ramsey's Farm on the 26th. Also be sure to email her about the November 13th and December 11th dates.

Let's be praying for the Tan family this week!

Don't forget tin whistles and campus pictures this Thursday!

Windows 8 Launch Nears

Although I have been out of town I have not be out of touch with technology news these past few days. Microsoft was apparently not deterred by my vacation and their company continues marching towards 2013 which is set to be one of their most exciting years in more then a decade.

Windows 8 RTM was just released to VLK and MAK customers which is good news because it provided me with some time to install the full version on both my home office PC and HP Ultrabook Folio 13. I had been using the "consumer preview" for the past few months now but I was very eager to see what the final release looked and performed like.

For the consumer market Windows 8 will be released on October 25, 2012.

Microsoft has just sent out invites to a Windows 8 event in New York City for that Thursday. The event starts at 10 a.m. (EDT), and also includes a Surface tablet announcement. The Surface Table promises to finally provide a true competitor to Apple's IPAD.

Windows 8, Microsoft's make it or break it operating system, is set to go public on October 26.

Microsoft had said the Surface tablet will go on sale the same day as Windows 8, meaning there will be a dual launch on October, 26.

Some Microsoft pop-up stores will spring up at the midnight hour to start selling the tab, while other Microsoft Stores will open their doors to the slate during normal business hours. I am disappointed to say that there are none of these stores in the Philadelphia area.

Pricing
The Surface tablet which is being built my Microsoft will initially only be available directly through Microsoft either at one of their new stores or on their webpage and is listed at $499 (16GB) through $699 (64GB).

Windows 8 pricing is a little more complicated. Windows XP and Windows 7 customers will probably be able to upgrade their computers for less then $40 while new customers may expect to may close to $70. This price point is big change from what we have experienced in the past and most purchases will be direct downloads. The age of media is coming to an end friends.

I will be writing a detailed article regarding my experience with Windows 8 very shortly and I hope to get my grubby hands on a Surface in the near future as well.

TX House Rep Linda Harper-Brown Has a Party!

So, who would throw this Fancy Fundraising Party for 

Mrs. H-Brown?






As you can see, her Tweet only gives last names of other current Republican House Reps in North TX, an Unnamed Longhorn that was Alive and "Over 200 Unnamed People." 



We hear from our friends in Irving, TX that Mrs. H-Brown loves nice things! Even if it's been questionable as to how she acquires them!



Apparently, from all accounts, the "Fancy Fundraising Party" was Friday from 1~3 PM at the Mansion on Turtle Creek!   Awesome!!  We had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for our lunch Friday!  It was Delish!

Anywho, we're just getting to know Mrs. H-Brown, but we also hear she simply Adores Luxury Cars, too, like this one:  

Click here to see a listing from an Events Calendar for the Big Fundraiser at the  magnificent Mansion! Looks like the Texas Civil Justice League was involved?



Wow!  This party makes us wonder since it was so far away from the suburbs of Grand Prairie and Irving and TX House District 105 voters!  And then there's this April 20, 2012 News Update ~ we wonder if the Texas Civil Justice League knows??!

TX State House Rep Linda Harper-Brown Fined $2,000 for Failing to Disclose Mercedes from State Contractor!!

What's a TX HD105 VOTER to do???

Unnamed Texas Longhorn (Alive)

Greetings West Chester CC Families!

My smile of the day on Thursday came when I heard little Micah (who is just 3 and not even "officially" enrolled in one of our classes since he spends his AM in the nursery) humming to himself the song for the Latin Noun Declensions as he was walking down the hallway! It's a catchy tune, isn't it? And, it sticks in those little minds so easily! It's a good reminder to keep playing that CD and reviewing your grammar each week.

Please remember to pray for the Piper family this week and that the Lord would bless our homes as we school during the rest of the week. Pray that the Lord would give us grace and patience in those moments of frustration and that we would be continually grateful for the opportunity we have to school in our own homes!

A few reminders and updates:
1) Tin whistle starts on October 25th. Please make sure your child(ren) has one and if you are able, give them some time to play with it a little before we begin this fine art unit.
2) Monika has set up our campus Shutterfly account. I will email the username and password early next week. She will be occasionally taking pictures on campus and on special event days. We would like to get a campus picture and individual class pictures on Thursday this week. Tutors will dismiss their class at 12:00 to meet right outside the lobby for these pictures. Because the account is new, you will be able to receive a few free pictures through this account!
3) Don't forget to RSVP to Jeneene for our Fall field trip to Ramsey's Farm on October 26th. Hope to see you there!
4) The Chester County homeschool science fair will be held on January 19th. You do not need to be a Chester County resident in order to participate. Please let me know if you would like further information and I will email contact information to you.

Have a great weekend!

WIndows 9 before Windows 8?

Tech Bloggers I will be out of town for a few days so this will be my last article until late next week, unless of course if some breaking news in the world of tech grabs my attention.

Do you ever think that technology is moving way to fast for you? For example by the time you get your new 55" Samsung LED in your family room and setup it up it will have already been replaced with a new more superior model. This sadly happened to me only a couple of years ago. And to make matters worse no matter how much I try to explain that it has been replaced with a bigger-better model the wife simply will not improve it's replacement! There is not much any of us can really do about this and in fact some news I just heard about Microsoft only reinforces this situation. Every regular reader of this tech blog knows that I am looking forward to "Windows 8" which has not even officially hit the market yet. Windows 8 which will bring big changes to how we used our computers is apparently already "old news". I have been using the "Consumer Preview" of Windows 8 for about 4 months now and must say that it will turn some heads, drive some people crazy but I really-really like it.

According to several "insider" reports, Microsoft executives confirmed on October 3, 2012 that the company has begun to develop the next generation Windows 9 operating system.

Yes you heard me correctly. Microsoft's "new" Windows 8 operating system will be on sale later this month, but the company has already started the development of their next-generation operating system. Although there is no official news, apparently Windows 9 will be the next major project that the company will release.

Interestingly, sources said that Microsoft is developing what they are calling Windows Blue, a very different Windows follow-up system from Windows 8.

Microsoft has obviously learned from Apple that to remain relevant, new and interesting updates are required in order to survive today if you are in the business of technology.

Learning To Use SkyDrive

It's become incredibly easy and often required to compute while on the road. Our laptops, tablets and smartphones offer many productivity functions. These enhanced mobile devices in addition to the expanding 4G cellular networks is making it easier then ever before to work with our documents and data stored in the cloud.

Between Dropbox, Google Docs, Microsoft SkyDrive, Apple iCloud, and other services, a expanding options of cloud-based storage options are competing to provide you access to your documents, photos, and other data from all your different devices. Although not quite as popular as Dropbox (which has been around for years) or iCloud (which has a big built-in user base), Microsoft’s SkyDrive is poised to make a big splash when Windows 8 officially launches in October. The Windows 8 SkyDrive app is prominently displayed on the Windows Store, and Windows Phone 8 is expected to seamlessly integrate your SkyDrive account with your smartphone.

But you don't need to wait for Windows 8 to start taking advantage of SkyDrive. This is becuase SkyDrive apps are already available for just about every major computing platform. If an app isn’t available for your operating system of choice, files stored in your SkyDrive folders are still accessible via a Web browser. In this guide, I will show you how to set up SkyDrive on your PC, how to access your SkyDrive account from different devices, and how to use a few tips and tricks to get the most from this free service.

How to get started with SkyDrive
With Windows 8, SkyDrive is installed by default with the OS and is available on the Start screen as soon as you boot up your PC. If you prefer to stay in Desktop mode while using your Windows 8 PC, you'll need to install the stand-alone SkyDrive application. (Using SkyDrive on any platform that doesn't run Windows 8 also requires the installation of this stand-alone app.)

To install the SkyDrive application on a desktop PC, simply open the SkyDrive homepage in your browser of choice and click on the Get SkyDrive button. The installation process is pretty simple: If you’re running Windows, you need to click the Download SkyDrive For Windows button and save the file to your system. If you’re running Mac OS X, click on the Mac OS X link in the text at the top of the page and then click on the Download button on the subsequent page.

Once the download is complete, simply double-click on the downloaded file to launch the SkyDrive installer. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation; when you're ready to configure your SkyDrive account, go ahead and launch the program. The first time you launch the SkyDrive app, you’ll be asked to sign in to a Microsoft account. If you don’t have one, you'll see a link to sign up for free; go ahead and set one up now, since you'll need it if you ever install Windows 8. Sign into SkyDrive, and a group of folders will be created on your system—any time a file is placed into one of these folders, it will automatically be synced to Microsoft’s servers, provided an active Internet connection is available.

SkyDrive offers users 7GB of storage space for free; you just need to download the app and sign up for a Microsoft account. If you want (or need) more space, Microsoft offers different levels of additional storage for an annual fee. At this writing, 20GB of space is available for $10, 50GB for $25, and 100GB for $50, annually.

If you want to access data stored in your SkyDrive account on your tablet or smartphone, the free SkyDrive app is available for download in almost every platform's respective app store. SkyDrive is available in the iTunes store for iOS-based devices, in the Google Play Store for Android-based devices, and in the Windows Phone Marketplace for Windows Phones.

Accessing Your SkyDrive

Now that you've set up a SkyDrive account, actually using the service is simple. If you're running Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, your SkyDrive folder will appear in File Explorer; on Macintosh systems, they’ll appear in the Finder. By default, inside the parent SkyDrive folder, the app creates three more folders—Documents, Pictures, and Public.

Anything placed into these folders will automatically be synched to Microsoft’s servers when a connection to the Internet is available and the SkyDrive app is running (it runs automatically with the OS). When a file is dragged into one of these folders, the SkyDrive icon in the system tray will report the status of the synchronization process and report “SkyDrive – Up to date” when the sync is complete. Once the sync is finished, the files are stored on Microsoft’s servers and will be available to other devices.

Using SkyDrive on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets is equally simple. Once you have the app downloaded and installed, a SkyDrive icon will be available in your list of applications. Open the app, sign in, and your SkyDrive folders will be listed along with some details regarding their content.

If they don't have a device that has a Skydrive app, they can use a browser to view their SkyDrive storage. Accessing your SkyDrive folders from a Web browser doesn’t require any local files to be installed, which saves you the hassle of setting up the app on a PC over which you don't have full control. Provided you’re using a modern browser, navigate to http://skydrive.live.com/, sign in, and your SkyDrive folders will be accessible right from the browser window. Keep in mind that you’re not only able to download files from your SkyDrive, but to upload files to it as well. Dragging a file (or files) from a PC into one of the SkyDrive folders in the browser window will automatically upload that file so it will be accessible from your other devices—a great way to quickly save photos and documents from a friend's or coworker's PC so you can look them over later at your leisure.

Data storage in the cloud is only going to become more important to all of us as we are expected to "work on the run". The mobile devices we use are being built with this ability in mind. Becuase of SkyDrive's easy integration with Windows I believe it's popularity will only grow. Check it out today.

Going Paperless at B&N

OK today I ran into another example of technology moving forward even if some of us want to put our heads in the sand. Earlier this afternoon I stopped by Barnes & Noble to look for a book to read during my upcoming vacation. Just to satisfy everyone's curiosity I picked up "The Lost Citz of Z" by David Grann. Anyway back to my article. At the counter I paid the cashier and she asked, "Would you like your receipt printed or emailed to you?" "Wow" I said, "is this something new?". She responded, "Yes, that Barnes & Noble just started offering the option". I know it may be a little scary, but being the tech guy that I am I of course said "yes".

After getting in my car, and before starting the engine I checked my email on my iPhone. I was impressed! There in my email was the Barnes & Noble receipt from my purchase only minutes ago.

I am a Barnes & Noble member so I did not even have to provide the cashier my email address. Isn't technology wonderful? I truly hope that this option starts spreading through the retail market.

Just maybe we will someday truly get to paperless society!