GeekSugar

Obama Addresses BlackBerry Rumors

GeekSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:00:04 -0800

After two weeks of will he or won't he have to hand over his beloved BlackBerry before being inaugurated in January, President-elect Barack Obama set the record straight with ABC's Barbara Walters during an interview last week. Granted, only a minor portion of the interview involved tech and new puppy talk, but Obama did say he's hopeful that he'll still be able to stay connected via his BlackBerry. But what if he does have to bid it farewell? Fifty-six percent of you predict that he'll replace his BlackBerry with his iPhone. Here's what he had to say about the issue.

Will You Put Up With Commercials For Free TV?

GeekSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:50:47 -0800

I don't just love TiVo because it allows me to watch my favorite shows whenever I can fit it into my crazy schedule. I also love it for the fact that I don't have to watch commercials. I decided a long time ago: Commercials, me no likey. ABC seems to be totally missing the point with their new video-on-demand service that streams their shows on TV, for free and anytime you want (like HBO's On Demand). The catch? You have to watch the commercials.

ABC's (with Cox Communications) new service would be great if you don't already have a DVR. The ability to fast forward through the commercials has been disabled, so to get that free content, they've got you, Clockwork Orange-style. ABC executives say this is a direct challenge to DVRs like TiVo, but the addition of force-fed advertising just makes me want to go home and hold my TiVo (his name is Gilligan) closer. It's a dealbreaker for me. What about you?
Source

ABC Streams Shows In HD Over The Net

GeekSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 04:00:17 -0700

With ABC's new full episode flash player, you can check out all your favorite shows online for free. In addition, ABC recently launched HD Streaming in Beta, which means you can get high-def quality through the convenience of your computer (a minimum 1024 x 168 resolution is recommended). To watch the HD shows, you will need to download a player from Move Networks as well as have a broadband connection which is a bit of a pain. I say wait a few months or so for further improvements.
Source: CrunchGear

Taylor Swift, Travis Barker, and Pete Wentz Talk Band Hero

GeekSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:40:05 -0800

Available in stores today, Band Hero is Activision's latest game, which lets friends and family members rock out with their Guitar Hero instruments to favorites like "ABC" by the Jackson 5 and "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls. You can even sing along with other famous singers including country superstar Taylor Swift who performs some of her most popular hits like "Love Story," "You Belong With Me," and "Picture to Burn."

Here's some footage from the making of the Band Hero commercial, which includes mini-interviews with Taylor and her musical heroes including Travis Barker, and Pete Wentz.

Band Hero for the Wii costs $60.

How I'd Wire Jules Cobb From Cougar Town

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:15:36 -0700

Cougar Town's Jules Cobb, played by Courteney Cox, is plenty hip, but a tad behind the times. She seems to have a good handle on her BlackBerry, but if she is going to catch up on everything she missed out on while she was playing young mommy and keep up with the youngsters in her life she's going to need a tech makeover. A lot has happened since the '80s! Jules will have to come to terms with the new tech dating rules and update her gadget drawer so she's ready for sexting, tagging and everything in between. How should she get hooked up? Read on for my sassy suggestions.

Photo copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.

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Is Checking Your Work Email After-Hours Overtime?

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:24 -0700

The New York Times reports that ABC and its writers have had disputes over whether employees checking their company-issued BlackBerrys after work hours is considered overtime.

Although I'd laugh off checking one or two emails and simply reading them as obviously not being overtime, it's clear that we have a modern-technology-induced gray area here. Reading a couple of emails while outside work (and occasionally replying) is a way to check in, and as long as that's optional on the employee's part, then I don't consider that working (and hence, not overtime).

But, some people will get caught up or will be expected to answer the emails and work as a result of that and that's when you get into the aforementioned gray area.

What do you think?

Source

Daily Tech: Samsung's Latest Cam Includes a Front-Facing LCD

GeekSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:52:31 -0700

This is pretty neat. The Samsung TL225 point and shoot camera includes a front LCD screen for self portraits - Dvice
Yelp's latest iPhone app, which will be available soon, comes with a cool Sales and Offers Near You feature - TechCrunch
TheRadio is an on-demand service that aggregates radio stations from around the world - Makeuseof
Oil painter Bill Guffey uses Google Street View to paint destinations across the globe - ABC News
Google has just introduced new Google Reader features to make sharing interesting links easier - Mashable
Wal-Mart is selling the Toshiba Satellite L355 laptop for only $350 - CrunchGear

Ed From The Bachelorette Works at Which Tech Company?

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:05:00 -0700

Now that The Bachelorette's Jillian Harris has picked her prince, we can't help but ask - who is Ed Swiderski?!

Aside from knowing he's from Chicago, we also know that he is seriously committed to his job. The guy walked away from the show halfway through after receiving pressure from his boss. Upon his return (and especially now since he'll be walking down the aisle with Jillian) I had to find out if he was: a. still employed and b. what this big important job was.

Well I've got the answers, and it turns out the cute Chicagoan works for a well known tech company. Can you guess which one it is?

Take the quiz

Do You Live Blog on Twitter?

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:50:54 -0700

Monday night was the last episode of The Bachelorette and I was invited to a finale party. Not at someone's apartment, you see - it was a Twitter party! A few gals and I twittered our thoughts about the episode as it unfolded, and although some people were peeved at the amount of updates we posted in the two-hour window (I know, I know - two whole hours), I have to say it was pretty fun for us.

Twitter is a form of blogging ("micro-blogging" if you will), so you could technically say that we live blogged the event. This thought caused me to wonder: do you ever live blog on Twitter?

Found! Katherine From Desperate Housewives' Earpiece

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:31:41 -0700

I don't know what it is about Katherine from Desperate Housewives, but she seems to be one of the leading gadget girls on the show. We've already unveiled her cell phone - a nice fire engine red Centro, and now I've figured out what kind of Bluetooth earpiece she uses as well. For $90 you can have Katherine's Plantronics Voyager 520A Wireless Headset, which offers eight hours total talk time, a noise canceling mic, and 33' range from your Bluetooth enabled cell phone. I can't wait to see what gadgets ABC has cooking for Katherine for next season!