GeekSugar

Gadget Accessories Based on TV Shows: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:45:42 -0700

Color me happy! Not only have I spied a Beverly Hills, 90210-engraved iPod, I also found this Sex and the City iPod speaker lurking about.

I saw the Sex and the City movie twice and own the first couple seasons of 90210, but I don't know if I have the die-hard commitment to go this far. On the other hand, I don't really shy away from more accessories, so maybe I would etch Brandon Walsh's mug on my iPod. Would you?

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Refine Your Web Searches - Get Better Results

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:36:36 -0800

Ever search for something on Google or MSN and get way too many results that have nothing to do with what you wanted? Writer Sarah Milstein recently taught me that you can prevent this by filtering out unwanted query results through more specific search tactics.

It's actually incredibly simple and will save you the time of combing though results. All you have to do is type the minus (-) sign in front of a word or phrase to search for web pages that don't include the negated term. For more help, just read more

For example, every time I search "Beverly Hills 90210" I get a ton of results for "Dr. 90210." This is fine, only I want to know obscure trivia about the hit 90's show "Beverly Hills 90210," and not about the current E! show. So, I simply refine my search to "Beverly Hills 90210 -Dr." and I get the results I'm looking for. This works for narrowing down practically any search. My online life has been forever changed.

YouTube Gets Full Episodes of Geeky Classics!

GeekSugar — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:00:21 -0700

This has got to be the best news I've heard all week! YouTube is now streaming 15 50-minute episodes of geeky classic TV shows like Star Trek, MacGyver and, wait for it - Beverly Hills 90210! Once you click on a show, you can decide whether you want to watch it in Theater View with the surrounding LED light on or off. It's pretty cool, and hopefully just the beginning of what's yet to come!

Fake Baby Tracking on the New 90210: Really?!

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:15:50 -0700

I knew that Beverly Hills was a wealthy place with fancy schools, but I had no idea that they had amazing technology. . . for the Home Ec class! On the last episode of the new 90210 (no, it's still not as good as the original, in case you were wondering), the Home Ec (or is it Domestic Science?) teacher alleged that for the requisite teenagers-taking-care-of-fake-babies experiment, there was a "unique tracking device" in each baby doll, so that they'd know if the faux kid got left behind. Really?! Really. Each kid. Wow, 90210.

I mean, back when I was in high school, we got a sack of flour with an egg inserted in the top and if you screwed up, the egg broke. I mean, it was low budget, but it was effective. I think if West Bev High can afford technology so outlandish, they should probably be investing in programs that make the students smart enough to question a "unique tracking device" for baby dolls.

Home Ec. . . in the year two-thousaaaaaaaand. . . !

Photos courtesy of The CW

Sidekick LX: A Star on the New 90210

GeekSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:00:44 -0700

Bada da da DA da da da da da Wa wa waa wee wah. . . get it?! It's the theme for 90210! Not the old Beverly Hills, 90210 of my young years, but the brand spankin' new 90210 that premiered last night. Truthfully, I tuned in to see Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh confront each other about Dylan McKay in their thirties, but I was equally intrigued with the new younguns, sure to challenge my teen drama TV cravings for Gossip Girl.

These new characters are certainly as techie - I was pleased to see Shenae Grimes's character pull out a Sidekick LX to read a text, since I like to think of Sidekicks as the smartphone for serious text messagers. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of geeky teens on the show!

Photo courtesy of The CW

Best And Worst WiFi Hotels Lists Released

GeekSugar — Wed, 02 May 2007 08:00:13 -0700

Just when I started worrying about my summer travel plans and my ability to keep updated with what's going on in the geek world, Hotel Chatter has released its best and worst hotel WiFi lists. Given the demand for WiFi in hotels, the list makers expected they would see more hotels offering free wireless and with greater consistency, but that was not the case. Here's more:

Instead of finding more and more hotels offering free WiFi, we are finding more restrictions are being added to free hotel WiFi. For instance, you can get free WiFi in the lobby, but in-rooms it's Ethernet and it starts at $9.95. Or you can get free WiFi in your rooms but you need to belong to a hotel's loyalty program or be assigned a code with a special password.

Hotel Chatter's Best WiFi Experiences:

Residence Inn, Courtyard, Springhill Suites by Marriott - Marriott is so close to doing WiFi right. Residence Inns, SpringHill Suites, and Courtyard all have strong, free, fast, working wireless in the rooms and the lobbies. Furthermore, the rooms at the above hotel brands will give you an ethernet cable, and a free tethered connection if the WiFi in your room is spotty or not preferred.
André Balazs Properties - For those of you who need a bit more of a scene than a Residence Inn can offer, and find yourselves traveling to urban centers like New York, LA and Miami, André Balazs has consistently good, free, strong WiFi.
Jeff Klein Hotels - Another upscale boutique hotlier well worth mentioning here, takes it one step further and offers complimentary WiFi with no code or agreements to all their guests. The WiFi experience at both Klein hotels, Sunset Tower in LA and City Club in New York, is some of the best we have experienced.

For the worst list, read more

Hotel Chatter's Worst WiFi Experiences:

Kor Hotel Group - Again Kor makes the list for having what seems like eight separate and distinct WiFi policies at each of their eight hotels in the U.S.
Delfina Santa Monica - (once the Sheraton Delfina) the internet access is wired only and is also $11.95. (This is also the same hotel that makes you pay for iPod use after two hours.)
The Avalon in Beverly Hills - There's wireless throughout but it's $10.95 and the passcode you get to use in your rooms, should work by the pool as well. We had a disastrous time at the Chamberlain in West Hollywood last year in which the lobby WiFi was $9.95 a day but there's not much of a lobby to work in, and the wired room internet was busted.

Check out the complete best and worst hotel wifi lists online.

Have you had an amazing or painful experience trying to use WiFi in a hotel recently? Share your tales below!

Signal Map Compares Cell Providers In Your Area

GeekSugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:00:19 -0700

If "can you hear me now?" is part of your everyday vocab, you might want to check out Signal Map, a user-generated cell phone signal map that notes the strength of major service providers on a map. You can use the free service to find a cell signal in your area, or add your signal to help others. As you can see from the image below, my search for AT&T service in the 90210 zip code showed there is a three to five-bar signal in Beverly Hills, while there's limited coverage in the West Hollywood area. So, if Brandon Walsh had an iPhone, he'd be all set...

Match The Celeb With The Cell Phone

GeekSugar — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:53:17 -0700

This famous superstar is shown here out and about in Beverly Hills with her silver BlackBerry 8700. And yes, she has conquered the hands free ear piece accessory - very impressive! Maybe she's chatting with her mo money (hint hint) boyfriend, or discussing her latest role in an upcoming movie. Any guesses as to who this actress is? Leave all your comments below! To see who this gal is, just read more

It is Jessica Alba sporting quite the earth-tone look! Did you guess right?

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