Forza Fuel

What do you get when you take 8 YouTube stars, throw in supercars, challenges and prizes? The answer is "Forza Fuel", the adventure currently taking place from 15-18 September. As I'm writing, Forza Fuel is on day two and is still going strong. But what exactly is it?

Overview

Forza Logo. Source: Microsoft

Forza Fuel is based around the new game in the Forza racing series, Forza Horizon 2. Eight YouTube stars were selected to take part in an epic road trip from Bologna to Barcelona, along with eight expert drivers taking the wheel of various supercars from the game. Each YouTuber and driver represents a specific team. The race is split into four stages, one for each day of the adventure. 

Each stage has its own challenge and they are ridiculous. For example, the first challenge involved the supercar drivers racing against a helicopter, with points (or fuel) being awarded for those who could outrun the helicopter. At the same time, the YouTuber's tried to gain fuel for their team by tasking their fans to take "supercar selfies". Future challenges involve the drivers racing the supercars around a track, all while the YouTube stars do the same thing (but in Forza Horizon 2!).While this all sounds a bit far removed from the rest of us, there are chances to win big!

Win Big?

That's right, by taking part in the YouTuber's task, you get the chance to win various Forza and Microsoft prizes, such as an Xbox One and even a Surface Pro 3! It doesn't take much to enter, so it's definitely worth throwing your weight behind a team and getting involved. The challenges keep going for the next few days and they are only going to get madder, so make sure you take a look at http://www.xbox.com/en-gb/forzafuel/

Back to Uni

Is it that time again already? Yes, sadly the summer is drawing to a close, but never fear! The dawn of autumn brings various treats with it, one of which is the return to (or start of) university! Being able to reunite with housemates and meet a bunch of new people can be one of the best parts of the year, but are you prepared for what comes next? No, I'm not talking about the hangover, rather the start of lectures, essays and reports! If you're playing the part of the stereotypical student and aren't prepared, then don't worry, Windows has got your back with these apps to make your year a breeze.

Getting Organised(ish)

One of the biggest issues for students, myself included, is getting yourself organised. There are always the tried and tested methods to remember your new timetable (take a picture of it) and deadlines, but never fret, there is always something better! If you're like me, you don't have the patience for some organisation apps, which seemingly need to know every aspect of your life. I prefer to make notes as I go along, and the To-Do Prime app is perfect for that.

You've got projects, categories, folders...

It's essentially a souped-up version of the Hotmail calendar, with extra features which make it really useful for student life. It even works with the Hotmail calendar! For example, let's say you're doing an essay one evening and you realise you need to get a book out, you need to speak to your supervisor about your essay, and a whole bunch of other essay-related issues! Now, you could make one notification for all these things. However, you might do the first one, delete the note, then forget about the others! But some aren't quite as important and can be pushed back? You also don't want your calendar completely cluttered up with just essay tasks either. What to do? Well, with To-Do Prime you can put tasks in projects, folders or categories, whichever one works for you.You can list them in terms of importance and push them back easily if need be. It's built for Windows 8, but with an app of Windows Phone, you'll be able to sync the two and get your reminders wherever you are. So you'll still get all your reminders, but you'll get them by your terms!

Office Lens- Windows Phone 

One thing that's always a pain is when you can't quite get all the information from a whiteboard before it's wiped clean. Yes, this might not happen often, but when it does it can be disastrous. Well, never fear, those clever heads at Microsoft have got your back, with Office Lens! Office Lens basically turns your phone into a scanner, but it gets even better! It works for anything you want to keep a note of, from receipts to whiteboards. It will also straighten out and enhance any pictures you take, so even if you're stuck at the edge of the lecture theatre, you can get a decent picture of the professor's work.

Before...

And after!

With three different modes (whiteboard, document, photo), you'll always be able to get a sharp looking image of what's important. Yet, it goes one better than that and also stores your notes in OneNote, meaning you can access it anywhere. So you take a picture of the blackboard at the end of the lecture, rush home and it's waiting for you on your PC. Perfect!

Ta-dah!

The Power of Office

This last one isn't an app as such, but it celebrates the power of Microsoft Office. It's very likely that you're already familiar with Office, you'll have used in frequently in the past. I mean, who doesn't love spending a Friday night with Excel? Anyway, the folks up at Microsoft HQ have told me that certain universities allow their students to get Office for the low, low price of free! It depends strongly on which university you go to, but it's well worth having a chat with your university IT department about how to download it just in case.

Saving straight to OneDrive!

One thing that is now completely synched into every piece of Office software is the ability to save straight to OneDrive. It sounds mundane, but it really is a lifesaver, as you haven't got to cart a memory stick around (which you'd end up forgetting anyway). here). You can even do quick edits online using the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote web apps! With these skills, lost drafts and edits are a thing of the past.
The Office programs also regularly save your document to your OneDrive, so if disaster does strike, you've got a recent copy available. You can grab your documents from anywhere using your OneDrive account (linked into your Hotmail account, previous blog post

Finishing Up

And there we have it! It's not much, but those apps and with the spruced-up Office, hopefully you'll be able to take charge of your work and power through the year.

Travel Apps for the Summer

So the summer is well and truly upon us, with Britain being basked in the sun and people heading for the nearest pool. If you’re looking to escape the house for a little bit, then there are plenty of Windows apps willing to help you in your adventure. You’ve just got to know where to find them, which is where we come in!

Meet ½ Way (Windows 8.1)

If you’ve been meaning to meet up with one of your housemates over the summer, but you both live quite far from each other, this app might be for you. Meet ½ Way is true to its name and will find the halfway point between two locations. You can choose a contact from the People app, which will automatically put their listed address into the relevant box. But surely you can find the halfway point just using a map and a ruler? Well, the app calculates the halfway point using roads and motorways. So say I want to find the halfway point between me in London and my mate who lives down in Exeter, I just put the locations in…

It even works for international journeys!

It then calculates the driving route and gives you the option to find local places such as coffee shops and cinemas. Or you can meet each other on the side of the road, whatever’s best for you…

Once you’ve made your decision, you can share your choice of location with a friend via e-mail with just the press of a button.

The Friar Tuck Cafe. Sounds scenic!

And it’s as simple as that! With the use of this app arguments over where to meet are a thing of the past.

Bing Translator- Windows Phone

One of the biggest issues when you’re abroad is the language barrier. Obviously the best way to overcome this is to learn the language, but when you’ve got a degree to do this isn’t always an option! One way of dealing with unknown warnings and strange signs to use the Bing Translate app. This app translates text and speech into a language of your choice in a variety of methods. For example you can type text in using the keyboard, but you can also use your phone camera to translate text! Yep, all you have to do is point your phone at a sign and the app will translate it in front of your eyes.

Give it a second...

Ta-dah!

While the translation at times may seem a bit basic, it’s a lot quicker and easier to use this than to dig out your dictionary and translate each word! You can download language packs for offline use as well, meaning you don’t have to use up your data for each sign you see. You can also you’re your favourite translations for future use, which is great if you need to read the same signs everyday. So with the Bing Translator app you can sidestep that language barrier and spend more time seeing the sights!

Skyscanner- Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone

If you’re still itching to get out of the country this summer but think that it will be too expensive, think again! Skyscanner, the flights comparison website, has apps on both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone. Let’s say that you want to escape the country for the first week of September and you don’t care where you go. You’re a free spirit and you want to see the world! So you select “Everywhere” on the starting page and find out what’s in store…

So many choices!

So you’re presented with a whole number of countries and their lowest prices. The countries are listed in price brackets, for an easy choice. You fancy going to Germany, so you give that a press…

Even more choice!

And you’re presented with which airport you want to go to and their individual lowest prices. You are a student after all, so you select the lowest price and…

Voila! All your potential flights are listed in front of you, ready for you to select. It even shows the airline you’d be flying on and the times of flying. 

 

The Skyscanner app can of course be used for when you have definite plans. However, when you want to fly somewhere on a whim, it really helps whittle down your possible choices. It’s also available on Windows Phone, with a very similar layout, if you need to find flights on the move.

So there we have it! 3 apps on Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone which can help you out this summer. Using these apps will help you save time and money and who knows, they might even help you find the holiday of your dreams!

Visit to Chester

Hello! You may have noticed that I've been remarkably quiet on this blog recently, but that changes today! Yes, I'm going to tell you the story of how I used my Windows phone and Windows 8 to plan and make the most of my recent trip out of Manchester...

Where Did He Go?

And that's not even all of them!

A very good question, I was asking it to myself not long ago. I knew I wanted to get out of the city for the day, but I wasn't sure where. So I decided to try out the Bing travel app and have it tell me what was nearby, as it can lock on to your location. And it didn't take long before I had a plethora of local destinations of which I could go to for the day.

After having a peruse through each destination and having a read up on what I could see, I decided on Chester. 

How Did He Get There?

By train of course! However, I did leave it quite late to get tickets, I only remembered to get them the day before I went! Luckily for me, I had my phone on me and I was able to use the "thetrainline.com" app. Through this app I was able to search through all the possible train combinations and I was able to tailor my journey exactly how I wanted.

See how easily you can find where
to go?

So many options!

So the tickets were sorted, all I had to do was remember to get up in the morning! Easier said than done...

What Did He Do? 

Well, I did the usual stuff you would do in a different city. I wandered around, saw the city walls, the cathedral and all sorts. I also took the time to truly test out the 41MP camera on my phone, the Nokia Lumia 1020. Have a look below, I think you'll be impressed:

One of the main streets in Chester.

Chester Cathedral!

The River Dee.

So that was my trip to Chester, made a lot easier through the use of some clever apps. Plus, with the Lumia's camera, I've got some good shots to look back on!

Kindle App

So Xmas is over, the turkey has been consumed and most of the chocolate has disappeared. All that remains is a lingering resolution for the New Year. What was yours? Exercise more? Spend less? Drink more sensibly? We all know those aren’t going to last very long, so how about a different one! After all, we’re not too far into the year, so it isn’t really giving up…

So what should it be? Well, a cheap and easy one is to read more. You’ll get a lot of benefits from it and with Windows 8, it couldn’t be easier!

Introducing Kindle!

Yes, Kindle isn’t just an e-reader, it describes the whole of Amazon’s book store. A wealth of content, all of which is incredibly simple to get hold of. But how? If you don’t have an e-reader, then all is lost! Right? Wrong! The Windows store has a free Kindle app, for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone, which will allow you to read all your favourite novels wherever you go.

How much will it cost?

The Kindle app for both laptop and phone are completely free, the only cost is that of the books. While that could be expensive, there are several books which are free to download and read on your device. These range from classic literature such as Dickens and F. Scott Fitzgerald to new, emerging authors. These can be purchased from the amazon website, from any device.

Above: Buying a free book from the amazon website. Note the choice of devices on the right.

Once you’ve got your book, just open up the kindle app and the book will be downloaded and you’re ready to go!

Ta-dah! The book is downloaded and we’re ready to go!

Synching between devices.

So you’ve been reading your new book at home and you’ve almost found out who the murderer was and…you’ve got a lecture to go to. Yet, the book can’t wait until later but the lecture is a really important one. What to do? Never fear, someone clever came up with a solution. You can synchronise your books between Kindle devices, meaning you can pick up where you left off! Perfect, now you can read it on your phone while on the bus. All it takes is one click of a button!

Above: Where I left off.

Above: Sherlock Holmes is synched to my phone! Take that Cumberbatch!

So, through the use of a few free applications, you are able to indulge and succeed in your New Year’s resolution of reading more. Start turning those pages!

Xmas Cards.

So the time has come once again! The 12^th month has rolled around, bringing with it mince pies, tinsel and of course, Christmas cards! We all know, deep down, that we want to give out the best cards to our friends and family. Those store-bought ones just aren’t going to cut it are they? So what to do?! Well, making your own cards is a lot of effort isn’t it? Isn’t it?

No!

No, making your own cards isn’t a hassle, you can do it while the wine is mulling or while the pudding is being steamed! But how? Well, all you need is a few apps…

Fresh Paint

Fresh Paint is brilliant if you want to give your cards a real personal touch. Similar to paint, the program we all know and love, Fresh Paint has a lot of extra options which make it even easier to design the perfect card. It’s free as well, so you have nothing to complain about! You can also grab Fresh Paint for free on Windows Phone, so you can create masterpieces wherever you are.

Above: The Fresh Paint homepage.

So how do we go about making these perfect cards? Well, if you’re in a rush, never fear! Fresh Paint comes with a load of Christmas themed designs, which you can easily turn into a brilliant card. Just have a look below:

Above: So much festivity!

You can use these as a template to make a card, which makes things a lot easier! So I think I’ll take the one with the sleigh and see what I can do…

Above: With this many options, I've got to be able to create something good!

The Fresh Paint app isn’t just for professionals, anyone can use it to create fantastic pieces of art. It’s got some set-up scenarios to help you create brilliant oil paintings or pencil sketches. If you’re struggling to find inspiration, you can use Bing’s “inspire me” setting to search the internet for visual stimulation! So everybody, of every skill level is catered for.

Above: My masterpiece of Santa's
sleigh, without the
template.

With the template.

So it really is that easy to create a Christmas card worthy of sending to all your mates. But, if you have decided that you’d rather put it up on the wall instead of in an envelope, you can print it to canvas straight from the app. Suddenly, a personalised Christmas gift for all your friends is a lot easier! Now, if only I'd posted this sooner, you might have had a chance to post them. Ah well, there's always next year!

Custard Creams

If there's one true way to my heart, it's with custard creams. Yes, custard creams. Little rectangular biscuits from heaven. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside with a vanilla burst. They are a fancy biscuit in the lowest price range, but this just makes them all the more appealing. So, my love/addiction to custard creams meant that, recently, eating them just wasn't enough. I had to find a recipe and master the art of the custard cream.

Where To Find A Recipe?

I had a look online and I found a suitable version very quickly. However I was worried that if I decided to make this recipe again, the website may not exist anymore! This would mean that what could potentially be the best custard cream recipe in the world would be gone! So I decided to store it. But where? I could have written it down or printed it off. That would take time and effort, then I would inevitably lose it somewhere. I had to store it somewhere I could easily find it and easily use it. A mystery...

Enter The Bing Food App!

Yes, Bing (the search engine, I know) have a food app! It sits very nicely on my start screen and tempts me with different pictures of exotic cuisine from time to time. Open this up and you're greeted by more pictures of food! You can expect to be very hungry when you close the app.

Thankfully for me, the Bing Food app has the ability to add recipes. You can see the option for it on the main menu, between "Collections" and "Shopping List". Open that up and adding in your favourite recipe is easy. If you are copying a recipe from a website, like me, make sure you add the source of the recipe in!

Step 1: Open the "Add Recipe" page.

Step 2: Add recipe. Simple, really.

Step 3: Admire your work!

Shopping List

Now that's done, I just need to get the ingredients. I need to make sure I get the right ingredients however, so I need to use a shopping list. Lo and behold, a shopping list function is included in the app! Just click "Add to Shopping List" at the bottom, select the items you need and they will be waiting for you in your shopping list. The list can be accessed from the main menu.

This can then be shared to Microsoft's OneNote program, which means you can then get it on any Windows Phone with OneNote.

Above: Sharing to OneNote from my laptop.
Right: The shopping list on my Windows Phone.

The Final Result

So I've managed to get all my ingredients now thanks to OneNote and I decided to make one, giant custard cream! Yes, you read that correctly. A giant one. Following the instructions on the food app allowed me to transform this:

The boring ingredients. Not much on their own, really.

into this:

Voila! A giant custard cream!

Yes, it's a giant custard cream! You'll have to excuse the lack of decoration, I was in such a hurry to try and eat the thing. And yes, it was delicious, perhaps even more so due to the time saved using the Bing Food App and OneNote. Or maybe it was the high amounts of sugar. I'll let you decide.

Now you've read about how Windows 8 can help you make extremely sugary treats, tell me what you think of it here!