Why I Bought My Surface 4 Intel Core i7 - 32GB Memory - 1TB SSD

Buying My New Laptop Microsoft Surface 4

I have been using my current laptop, an ASUS ZenBook Flip S UX370UA, for over 4 years. It still works and runs perfectly, but got notoriously slow for video editing. After researching a few other brands, I decided to go with Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4.

Other brands that came close on my list are Lenovo and Dell, but I found it hard to pick one that offered 32 Gig RAM with an i7 processor and 1 TB space. Lenovo had one that came very close, but it was bulky and the price was not reasonable.

I was thinking of bumping up my RAM power to 32GB RAM from my old Asus Zenbook’s 16GB RAM. I chose 32GB RAM and a 15-inch screen, so it's slightly bigger than my Asus Zenbook’s 13.5 inch.

32GB of RAM costs $2849.99 (SALE saves CAD $300) before taxes. 16GB of RAM costs $2149.99 (SALE saves CAD $200) before taxes. These are Intel Core i7 processors. So, I paid $700 more just to get higher RAM and in the world of video editing this can make a big difference.

So far, everything has been going smooth with my new Surface 4. This is a sleek, skinny laptop that shows it is high end and performance-wise I can feel the difference in extra RAM power. I converted to Windows 11 from Windows 10 and it runs even better now.

My expectation is that my Surface 4 will serve me at least 5 years and anything beyond that is a bonus. What I have noticed is that these days computer and phone manufacturers make products in such a way that they don’t break but get so slow that it’s no longer usable – forcing consumers to buy new ones.

I am sharing my Surface 4 experience on my YouTube Channel here:

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 | Tips, Tricks, & The Basics

First Class Lounge at Terminal 3 Cairo Airport | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 09 (Part 64) 08D19

Visiting Cairo Airport First Class Lounge at Terminal 3 – Egypt | Leaving Cairo Tonight

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

My Priority Pass app pointed me to the only lounge available at the Terminal 3 in the Cairo airport. Ironically, the name of the lounge was First Class Lounge, although later on I concluded this had to be one of my worst lounge experiences.

The First Class Lounge was small and not well lit. Right after entering, I noticed the run-down and disorganised conditions of the lounge. I decided to do a video first before getting some food and drink. 

The food section had almost nothing. I saw only some sweets, cookies, muffins, and breads. The refrigerator only had 2 types of soft drinks and water. There were 2 coffee machines, but I was pretty leery about drinking coffee out of these machines. I don’t think I had ever seen this type of barely adequate food and drink at any other lounge before.

The sitting area had some chairs, sofa chairs and 3-4 pieces of old long sofas. Nothing looked or felt like I was in a lounge.

I decided to check the restroom, although I had an idea that there was nothing good to expect there either. It was a very small washroom facility with almost no amenities. Some airports’ regular washrooms looked better than that.

I grabbed just a bottle of water and some sweets to kill some time. I had arrived at the last segment of my 10-day Egypt trip. You will be able to see the full trip on my Ahmed Dawn Instagram and Ahmed Dawn YouTube Channel.

I wish to put together my experiences in a book as well, which will soon be published. I will resume publishing travel posts once my next trip starts. Thanks for reading and see you soon.

Reached 5000 Subscribers – Special Thank You Post | Ahmed Dawn (A Dawn) YouTube Channel

A Dawn YouTube Channel Reached 5000 Subs

It feels like just yesterday when I had 60 or 70 subs. Then it passed 1000 one day and kept growing and growing. Today, I am taking a few moments to say thank you and that I’ve appreciated your support all along. It has been a great journey.

Since the beginning, I refused to think inside the box and stay put in one niche on this channel. I understand that creating videos on a variety of topics slows growth, but I never gave up despite 99% of YouTube Gurus constantly telling us to think inside the box, stay with one niche and grow.

I had accepted the outcome (that I would grow much slower for thinking outside the box) before deciding what sort of videos to publish. I would rather be happy and express myself by putting out any videos that interest me and help someone out there, rather than publish the same, niche-specific boring-subject videos day after day, month after month, year after year.

I am happy to tell you that I still got some great subscribers like you who are not afraid to see something new and different and think from a different perspective. I am certain I would have had triple or quadruple the number of subscribers I have today had I chose to stay on a single topic.

But numbers are not what I am after. My objective is to educate and entertain you with something new and different every time and not to let you predict what’s coming next. This is the journey I want to take and I’m not too worried about the destination.

Whether you are with me since Sub 1 or Sub 1000, I appreciate and thank you for supporting this channel and staying with me so far. And remember, always live for the journey, not the destination – the journey is the destination.

What Is Skyroam Solis Lite Wi-Fi Portable Hotspot?

How Do I Use Skyroam Mobile WIFI Hotspot to Get Internet Across the Globe?

In the past, there has been many times in various places across the globe that I needed Internet access, but I was unable to stay connected. When you travel, it's always good to have Wi-Fi at your fingertips, especially if you need Internet access for emergencies or for business purposes.

The last time this happened I knew nothing about Skyroam. Skyroam Solis is a tiny portable hotspot device that connects to cell phone towers (with coverage in 130+ countries) and works as a Wi-Fi Hotspot to provide you Internet access. Skyroam offers other similar devices (like Solis) with more features as well.

I am more confident now travelling knowing I can have Internet access almost everywhere on Earth.

The hockey puck-like bright orange device costs around $130 to $160 Cad and you have to buy various plans according to your needs to have Internet access. There are several other brands offering similar services, but I found that Skyroam devices and plans make more sense (although they are not cheap, they do cost less than others).

I am not going to talk about how to set up Skyroam today because I have a detailed video showing that here: Skyroam Solis Lite Wi-Fi Hotspot | Review & How to Setup Guide

I used Skyroam in Toronto (Canada) to test and so far, the results were satisfactory. I noticed a feature called SignalScan which lets you switch network providers with the press of a button if you are not satisfied with your signal strength. SignalScan worked for me in Toronto, but this feature may not be available everywhere.

One tip, if you are using Skyroam, buy their data plans when they go on sale. I stocked up on some when they went on sale on Black Friday.

How to Use Google Pixel Camera’s Magic Eraser

How to use the Magic Eraser on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

Google Pixel phones are known for their excellent cameras and the latest version of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro take it further, offering professional grade photo editing in a snap.

Magic Eraser lets you remove or erase unwanted subjects on your picture by just rubbing it with your finger. Photo editing to remove something you don’t want could not have been easier than this.

Most of the times Magic Eraser works just fine. I noticed sometimes a minor hue or shadow of the removed object remains, but it’s not very obvious and hard to see.

When I created the video below, I tried removing a cork ball behind an apple. It worked fine, but if you look closely you may see some faded white leftover – but it’s really hard to see. On some pictures it worked very well – without leaving any trace.

How to Use Magic Eraser On Pixel 6 Phones

To use Magic Eraser, take a picture as you regularly would, then:

- Click on Edit
- Look underneath Enhance – Dynamic – Warm, where you will find another set of options like Suggestions – Crop – Tools
- Click on Tools and you will see Magic Erase and click on it
- Now choose what you want to remove and rub it with your finger
- Once you are satisfied, click Done and then Save.

Magic Eraser is currently available only on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. I hope Google will put this amazing feature on other Pixel phones as well. For step-by-step instructions on how to use Magic Eraser, please watch the video mentioned above.