GeekSugar

Geeks We Love: Doug Aamoth of CrunchGear

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:06:23 -0800

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we're kicking off our third annual Geeks We Love interview series to showcase some of the most talented and loved tech writers in the industry. And who better to get things under way, than the charming Doug Aamoth, who spends most of his days reviewing high-tech gadget goods for CrunchGear? I had the pleasure of meeting Doug at the HTC Touch Diamond Event in London last year, and found him to be very much the way he comes across in his work - passionate and knowledgeable about technology, and a really great guy with an addictive sense of humor. By the end of this interview, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about - enjoy!

GS: Considering you're the king of product reviews, what types of gadgets are you most excited to take for a test drive?

DA: I'll review just about anything, but I really like to take a look at stuff that has some sort of technological slant to it instead of being a full-fledged technology product. Basically, if I think it's something that would be interesting to other geeks, I'll review it. We get some pretty good response from stuff like the Penguin Home Soda Machine and a little four dollar keychain breathalyzer that also has a built-in stopwatch and flashlight. Of course, right? Every breathalyzer should have a stopwatch just in case you want to have an emergency footrace outside the bar before you figure out if you're okay to drive home.

As far as "real" technology products go, I'm really enjoying this netbook craze right now. I think it'll get much better, too, once Intel sees some more competition from AMD, NVIDIA, and VIA. Other than that, I also really like reviewing things that make people's lives easier. The simpler the better. Oh, and energy drinks. I love taste-testing energy drinks.

To learn more about Doug, including his "ah-ha" moment and his thoughts on technology and dating, read more

GS: What's the most outrageous and hilarious gadget that's arrived on your doorstep?

DA: I think that one of the best reviews I've done was for a product that never showed up. I spent a few days waiting for the new Flip Mino to arrive, at first thinking it would be here on a Tuesday morning, then being told Wednesday instead, then getting a press release envelope but no camera on Thursday, and finally having it show up Friday morning after all our competitors had gotten theirs on Wednesday. It wasn't really that big of a deal but I thought it'd be funny to chronicle the event as though it were an episode of The Office.

Aside from that, the most outrageous review would definitely be for a product called FyreTV, which is a set-top box that streams, um, "non-traditional" video. It's weird because it's basically a review just like any other. We rarely look at the media content for set-top boxes, but more at the actual hardware and how well it handles streaming. So for the FyreTV review it was like, "Here's the box, here are the connections, here's the remote, it streams stuff really quickly, and the video quality is pretty good. Oh, whoops, sorry I had to blur everything out and block the camera with my hand at certain points but you get the idea."

GS: Describe one of the most memorable moments of your career thus far. . .

DA: I had an "a-ha" moment about six months into my career when I was at this Acer conference in Spain. It was my first real work trip and I postponed my own bachelor party to go to it. I remember getting into this big conference hall with a bunch of other reporters, and sitting down at this long table with my laptop and my voice recorder waiting for the presentation to begin. I looked around and thought to myself, "This is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I love this stuff." I've had over 30 jobs in my lifetime (I get kind of restless) but I finally felt pretty calm for the first time.

In retrospect, I wouldn't have moved my bachelor party for a work trip but at the time I didn't know how often an opportunity like that Acer conference would come around. Turns out, it was a lot. It was still a great experience, though. Singing White Wedding at CES this year was pretty cool, too.

Also, any time I meet someone that I used to read before I started blogging is always really cool. Every person I meet always looks at me weird when I tell them I'm a big fan of theirs or that they're like a hero to me. I used to read tech blogs and magazines and think "Man, that would be the best job." Now that I'm actually doing it, I still haven't forgotten that feeling. I consider myself to be really fortunate.

GS: How geeky is your significant other? Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home?

DA: My wife is probably about a three out of ten on the geekiness scale. She's not into tech stuff whatsoever, but she'll think some of the things I tell her about and some of the products I show her are cool. So she's definitely not against technology and she's pretty savvy with the stuff she uses on a daily basis. She does NOT like all the boxes we have around the house, but I can't blame her for that. It gets pretty out of hand sometimes.

I handle all the IT administration and technical support in the Aamoth household. Interestingly enough, I've been terrible about picking a good cell phone for my wife. I got her the LG Chocolate a few years ago and she didn't like it. Then I recommended the Samsung Glyde and between the non-responsive touchscreen and the poor reception, it's really been a terrible device as far as our relationship goes. One of these days, though, I'm going to pick out a good phone for her. It's just tough being in the doghouse for two whole years while we wait for her contract to come up for renewal!

GS: In the new movie He's Just Not That Into You, Drew Barrymore's character has the following to say about technology and dating:

"I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, and so I called him at home, and he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think technology makes dating more complicated?

DA: Sure, I can see technology complicating things for people who don't embrace it. As someone who's into all this stuff, though, the thought of having seven different technologies that don't synchronize with one another is mortifying to me. I have a single Grand Central phone number that forwards to any other phones I might currently be using and my various e-mail addresses all funnel into a single Gmail account.

It's funny, though, because people will be like, "Give me your cell phone number, I can never get a hold of you at your work number," and I'll try to explain that my work, home, and cell phone numbers all forward to the same place. So they'll leave a voicemail on what they think is my home number saying that they'll try me on my cell, which leads to them leaving the same message in the same voicemail system two minutes later. Same thing with email: the same message three times to three different email accounts.

I think just starting to date someone would be really weird nowadays with Facebook and Twitter and everything. Do you friend this person right away or what? Is there a rule as to how many dates you go on before you can friend someone? And it'd be super weird if you were dating someone for a little bit and then they told you they were getting too busy with work or whatever, and then all of a sudden you see their status change on their profile and you see photos of them with someone else and all that. My buddy told me he watched his little brother's relationship with his girlfriend fall apart over Facebook, which seems totally surreal to me. That's what happens now, though, I guess. Everyone has access to everyone else's private lives with all the social networking stuff.

I'm really apprehensive to admit this but a former girlfriend and I actually broke up over AIM once. And we'd been seeing each other for a long time - like a couple years. We'd been living together in Seattle and I'd moved home to Minneapolis and I think we were both kind of ready to move on, so the mutuality of it made everything easier. I don't think most breakups would work that well over AIM but if you're both pretty much on the same page and it's going to be a relatively clean breakup because you both want the same thing, then it actually kinda works. Weird, huh?

GS: Now for the lightning round!
Mac or PC? DA: PC
iPhone or BlackBerry? DA: I love my T-Mobile G1 but I'd take a BlackBerry. I need a real, physical keyboard.
MySpace or Facebook? DA: Facebook (as the lesser of two evils).
iPod or Zune? DA: I really like my iPod Touch.
The Hills or Gossip Girl? DA: I've never seen Gossip Girl, but The Hills is absolutely, positively, 100 percent the bane of my existence. My wife has to watch it in our bedroom with the door closed or when I'm not around because the way the brats on that show talk is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. So Gossip Girl.
Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? DA: Bill Gates. His acting in the Seinfeld Microsoft commercials was mesmerizing.
Picasa or Flickr? DA: Picasa. Great example of a desktop app working harmoniously "in the cloud."
Texting or Emailing? DA: Email. I like the cost better.
WiFi or Wired? DA: I'll borrow from a golf saying here and say WiFi for show, Wired for dough.
Pac Man or Space Invaders? DA: Pac Man, preferably Ms. Pac Man.
Star Wars or Star Trek? DA: Star Wars
Laptop or Desktop? DA: Ouch. That's like Sophie's Choice. I have both and could never part with either of them.
The Bachelor or the Bachelorette? DA: ABC should cut out the fluff and have them marry each other. I mean, they're both looking for the same thing, right? Set them up together and spare us all from having to sit through it.
Coffee or Tea? DA: Monster Low Carb energy drink. Coffee will do in a pinch, though.

Geeks We Love: Devin Coldewey of CrunchGear

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:01:32 -0800

What better way to countdown to Valentine's Day than by showcasing fun interviews with some very special Geeks We Love. Without further adieu (cause I know you want to know who the hottie is in the pic below), I bring to you today's geeky guy - The geekalicious Devin Coldewey, a Seattle-based freelance tech writer who works as an associate editor for CrunchGear-one of my fave tech blogs. You can't help but love a guy with a great sense of humor, who watches nature documentaries, knows a ton about gadgets, and was once . . . a preschool teacher. . . (all together now, awww!) Keep reading to learn more about Devin, and find out why he thinks the MacBook Air is a "sexy lemon!"
GS: Tell my few readers that haven’t heard of you a little about yourself:
DC: Well, I used to be a preschool teacher, but now I do this ridiculous gig. Writing about cool stuff all day, kind of awesome. My life isn't too exciting. . . I spend my days and nights hanging out at bars and cafes writing, reading, and seeing friends. I really love obscure music, nature documentaries, and old-school video games.

GS: When we chit-chatted at CES, you mentioned that you don't read a ton of blogs each day. Is this true? And if so, how do you get all your info for stories?
DC: Well, what I write on isn't always what I keep tabs on. I love looking up stuff like new camera gear, Indie gaming news, and PC hardware. . . But for random cool gadgets like that bad breath detector you guys had, I feel there is so much out there, that I have to leave it the guys who are naturally inclined that way. We edit each other and say "dude, is this cool or not?" all the time, and trade posts when we know the other guy would have loved to have found it.

To check out the rest of the interview, and to see what Devin describes as the ultimate geeky Valentine's Day date (trust me it's realllly good), read more

GS: What three gadgets can't you seem to live without and why?
DC: It may sound strange, but I'm not really a gadget guy. However, I've recently gotten a Helio Ocean, which is chunky but awesome - full HTML internet, GPS, 3G, MySpace and YouTube apps, it's really great to have around. I usually have my MacBook Pro with me, which is indispensable since it's, well, my computer unless I'm at my gaming box. Lastly I have my Canon Rebel XT, which is just a fantastic camera. The Mac and the Canon have been all the way around the world with me and survived a lot of abuse, so I'm not afraid to take them pretty much anywhere.

GS: Your MacBook AirHead story seemed to stir up alot of discussion across the blogosphere. I totally agree with your perspective (and the awesome ditzy model-actress' entourage analogy), but for those who were a tad confused, can you briefly explain why the MacBook Air is a "sexy lemon"?
DC: Oh man, I really shook up the hive with that one! From the time the thing came out of the envelope to when they showed its specs, I was in love. The Air is a beautiful piece of engineering and industrial design. But it fails at everything it wants to be. It's too wide to be a subnotebook like the Eee. It's too limited to be your only computer, and it's too expensive to be a supplementary one. It's just not useful was my point. People pointed out, rightly, that practicality was the farthest thing from Apple's mind when they designed this thing, but one of Apple's best points has always been that it's not JUST eye candy-it also works. People tolerate the premium price because it's a good product and it looks great to boot. The Air is flagrantly placing form before function, I mean my MacBook Pro is two years old and still faster than it, and really it's not that heavy or thick. The Air is, in terms of usability, a lemon - but undoubtedly a sexy one.

GS: Being based in geek-chic Seattle, what would you describe as the ultimate geeky Valentine's date in the city?
DC: Uh oh - my inexperience is going to show here. I don't go out on a lot of dates, I prefer to spend time in a less formal way with a girl, doing fun stuff and not worrying about who pays, which date it is, what exactly the other intends, and that whole game. It's depressing! But if I had the chance to spend a couple hours with a like-minded lady friend, I think this is what I'd do:

If it's nice and still light out, go to the park for a bit and play on the equipment. Fun as hell, and grown-ups often forget this. If there's time, try to get in a few rounds of Super Mario Kart on the SNES or some cooperative Katamari Damacy. Then off to a nice but cozy restaurant I know well - I don't need to impress this girl, just make sure we can have some good food and laugh and talk and maybe see some people we know. Not very geeky. . . but we could have our DS's under the table, pictochatting about how awkward some of the dates around us look. After dinner, get a coffee somewhere and share headphones for watching an episode of Planet Earth or Yacht Rock or something. Then meet friends for a drink - hey, I know it's Valentine's Day but everyone gets date fatigue and it's good to shake things up. This is a good time for sidelong glances and secret text messages to each other. Go somewhere else for a more private drink or share a bottle of wine at a nice overlook somewhere - Seattle has lots of great little spots with great views. If we pick a park, we can climb on the equipment again. Depending on how things go, maybe one last round of Mario Kart?

Geeks We Love: Peter Ha of CrunchGear

GeekSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:00:15 -0800

In my daily online tech travels, there are always sites that I visit not once, not twice but multiple times a day. One of the sites in this daily line-up includes CrunchGear, a chic tech blog filled with gadgets, geek gear and up-to-the minute news stories. I particularly enjoy reading posts by freelance writer Peter Ha, who dishes about everything from his wild Seoul trip adventures to his first experience on a Virgin America flight. Peter incorporates honesty (Sony I don't understand your commercials), wit, and insight into all of his articles, making them fun and enjoyable to read. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Peter and getting to know all his geeky quirks and favorites. Let's just say that after I learned he contributes to Surfing magazine and men.style.com, I was even more of a fan... talk about the ultimate geek chic package!To learn more about Peter and check out the entire interview, read more
GS: Tell my few readers that haven’t heard of you a little about yourself…
PH: Let’s see here, I was born and raised in Oregon and spent some time along the west coast before moving out to NYC. I’ve been freelancing for CrunchGear since December of ’06 and I’m now the news editor. I also contribute to Surfing magazine and men.style.com.

GS: You knew you were a geek when...
PH: I’ve been a geek since day 1. If I had to pick one particular moment then it would have to be…the day I started writing for CrunchGear.

GS: What are the top three gadgets you can't live without?
PH: Hands down, I’d go with my MacBook, Pentax K100D Super and then it’s a toss up between my iPod, Helio Ocean and Sidekick Slide. If I had to pick, though, I’d take my…Ocean.

GS: What are you hoping Santa will bring you for Christmas?
PH: You know, there really isn’t that much I find myself salivating over anymore. It’s quite sad, really. I wouldn’t mind a couple of new lenses and maybe a MacBook Pro. I’m pretty content with what I have now. I also don’t have any more room in my apartment for gadgets. Heh.

GS: What are your favorite websites?
PH: Waiter Rant, Jango, gossip blogs, OurStage, NOTCOT, flickr, and I’ve found myself obsessing over Facebook, again.

GS: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
PH: Somewhere in the range of 150, but it changes daily as I drop some feeds and add new ones.

GS: Who do you think are the top 3 sexiest female geeks in the world?
PH: Cali Lewis is a good friend of CrunchGear and I’ve always had a crush on her. Natali Del Conte isn’t too shabby and I’m leaving the last spot for someone new to come along, but Amanda Congdon isn’t unattractive.

GS: Who do you think are the top 3 sexiest male geeks in the world?
PH: Me, myself and I. Ok and maybe Matt Hickey.

GS: How many hours do you spend online a day?
PH: I spend entirely way too much time online! I’m usually at my desk by 7:30 and I’ll sit there until 5 or so. I’ll get a few things done here and there in between and then I’m back on my computer until I go to bed around 1 or 2. So, I’d have to say I’m online anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day.

GS: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit?
PH: I’m not so sure this is a geeky habit, but I really need to detach myself from work ‘after hours’. I’m constantly on my Sidekick/Ocean checking e-mails, AIM and CG.

GS: Which do you think will come first... The next generation iPhone, the Google phone, or something so cool we can't even talk about it?
PH: I think it’s safe to say that the next iPhone will be first, but you never know what some of the other phone manufacturers are laboring over right now. CES is just around the corner and I expect big things to be announced.

GS: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek?”
PH: I’m not ashamed to call myself a geek. I was just watching the show Chuck and one of the characters in a flashback to ’99 said the new millennium would be the age of the geek. I think everyone is geeky in their own special way. I just have a platform to show the whole world.

GS: What are some non-geeky things you do in your spare time?
PH: I try and surf as much as I can, but it’s hard living in the city and not seeing what the ocean is doing so I usually get skunked. I enjoy doing anything outdoors since I grew up in the great state of Oregon. I’ve been pretty keen on photography lately as well. So I’ll just wander the city and snap pics of anything that piques my interest.

GS: What's the best part about being a writer for CrunchGear?
PH: All the new toys I get to play with before everyone else.