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Where the Hell Is Matt Harding? He's at Macworld, Baby!

GeekSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:00:50 -0800

I got up bright and early yesterday morning to wait in line for the David Pogue panel at Macworld, and was pleasantly surprised to find that this wouldn't be like the other forums I've seen before - this was the David Pogue Show! Set up like a late night talk show set, David welcomed a few tech-savvy guests you may (or may not) recognize, one of them being Matt Harding.

Matt is the dancing man you (and 17 million others) have seen on YouTube, going from country to country, dancing the same little jig at each location. Matt was there to tell us all about how he started this whole adventure in the first place. Check out how it began when you read more.

After spending years as a video game designer, Matt had a change of heart:

I had just quit my job - cause I realized I wasn't very good at it - but I realized I was really good at traveling, so I made my first video in 2003, shot it on a little digital camera I kept in my pocket and was easy to carry around. In 2005, it was sorta "found" and got over a million views, and that's when Stride Gum approached me and asked me to do a video for them.

I'm totally blown away to see how someone could make a career out of dancing around the world, just by doing what they love! Enjoy Matt's latest video above, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm totally jealous.

Peek, the Email-Only Device Goes On Sale Monday

GeekSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:01:57 -0700

Remember the email-only device, Peek, that I got a peek of early (I know, I know, but I couldn't resist)? It looks like it'll be available for sale on Monday at Target, and it's already available for preorder on its website.

I guess we weren't the only ones who were into this simple little device - not only does NYT tech columnist (and my idol) David Pogue love it, the turquoise and cherry colors are already on back order.

I can't wait to see Peek on Target shelves - and at $100, with the $20/month subscription service, I'm curious to see who'll be picking these up. Are you going to get one?

David Pogue Reviews the Amazing $100 Laptop

GeekSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:02:59 -0700

Back in March we discussed a new initiative called the One Laptop Per Child project which is aiming to provide low-cost OX laptops to children in developing nations. According to CNN Money, the OLPC already has around 7,000 machines in demonstration projects in about fifteen countries including Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Rwanda. We've heard alot about this project in the past few months, but now we actually get to see it in action thanks to New York Times technology columnist David Pogue. In this video below which was featured on Gizmodo, you'll get an eye-opening review of the $100 laptop (actually $188 laptop to be exact) and learn about all its incredible features. A must-watch indeed! I'd love to know your feedback about this video. Leave your comments below!

2006's Brilliant Ideas That Actually Worked

GeekSugar — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:15:01 -0800

The New York Times' David Pogue released his second annual Top 10 List - not of the greatest tech products of the year, but of the greatest ideas, individual features, that surfaced. The list, which includes a bevy of items we've reviewed here on geeksugar, pays homage to the sole factor that makes a great gadget: ideas.

Pogue's Top 10 Brilliant Ideas That Actually Worked includes:

The Flash-Drive Fuel Gauge - A flash drive with a bar graph that tells you, without even plugging the thing in, how full it is.
The Magnetic Power Cord - Standard with Apple’s 2006 laptops, these power cords connect with a powerful magnet rather than a pin or a plug.
The Two-Stage Flash - When you push the open button on the Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-L1 and LC1 cameras, built-in flash pops up and faces forward.
A Record Radio Button - When you hear a song that you like on one of the Samsung Helix's 70 themed, ad-free music channels, one button-press records that song from the beginning.
Music Beaming - The Zune, Microsoft’s new music player, lets you beam songs or photos wirelessly to another Zune.

Check out David Pogues' Brilliant Ideas That Found a Welcome at the Times for the rest of the list.

Daily Tech: The Droid Invades the Nation!

GeekSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:05:51 -0800

Shoppers line up bright and early for the Motorola Droid - Engadget

TechCrunch writes an open love letter to the Droid - TechCrunch

Here's how you can scoop up a Motorola Droid for only $150 - CNET

Verizon has already promised tethering for the Droid - Wired

David Pogue says the Droid's design screams "Star Wars" if not "Darth Vader" - NY Times

It's giveaway time on GeekSugar! Log in for your chances to win one of these AT&T Smartphones - GeekSugar

Daily Tech: Why the iPod Touch Didn't Get a Camera

GeekSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:20:15 -0700

Steve Jobs tells David Pogue why the iPod Touch didn't get a video cam - The New York Times
Six video games that give you permission to be naughty and bad - Green Pixels
The iPhone and iPod Touch OS 3.1 is now available for download - The Boy Genius Report
The Chip Chick ladies check out Beatles Rock Band - Chip Chick
Thanks to Oprah, we can all get $100 off a new MyTouch 3G - Engadget
It's giveaway and game time on GeekSugar! Be sure to log in and play our Best Video Game ever bracket! - GeekSugar

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How Does Apple Keep Its Secrets?

GeekSugar — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:02:40 -0800

The fact that every tech blog and media outlet was obsessed with the iPhone this week is a testament not only to the the phone's design, functions or timing, but to Apple's ability to keep a really juicy secret. Manufacturers release sleek and innovative phones and gadgets every season, some of which are wildly popular, but never talked about in the press the way the iPhone is and will continue to be. When it comes to big announcements, Apple is in its own league.

This week New York Times columnist David Pogue investigated Apple's hush tactics by asking Steve Jobs if he knew of the work of Jeffrey Han, who’s been demonstrating his big “multi-touch” screen technology since at least August 2005. According to Pogue, Jobs told him: “We’ve had ours for two and a half years,” implying that Apple’s version came first. For more of Pogue's story, read more

I also asked Mr. Jobs and Cingular’s CEO, Stan Sigman, how Cingular managed to keep the iPhone a secret; he conceded that the company had never had to manage a project in such secrecy before.

The answer, I was told, is that Cingular (like Apple) divided the project up into teams of engineers, each of whom worked on only one section of the phone. In fact, Apple actually supplied Cingular with a fakeout user-interface design that bore no resemblance to the final one, so that its programmers wouldn’t know what they were working on.

There are few people in this world I would trust my secrets with. Steve Jobs is one of them.

Did Microsoft Rip Off OSX When Creating Vista?

GeekSugar — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 07:04:05 -0800

According to New York Times Tech guru David Pogue's recent video blog, the answer is yes. That is, if you understand sarcasm.

Windows Vista will be available January 30, 2007.

To read Pogue's response to some of the e-mails he received after posting his Vista review, just read more

Some of you claim, with much anger and swearing, that Apple steals from Microsoft just as much as the other way.

My response to one such response: “You’re right–very few things were actually invented wholesale by Apple. The mouse, menus, overlapping windows, the CD drive, Wi-Fi wireless, and so on–all of these things were developed elsewhere.

“But Apple *standardized* them. Chose them, recognized their potential, perfected them, made them over in its own way, and brought them to the masses.

“In Vista, on the other hand, Microsoft did not select unrecognized features, did not have any particular vision in knowing what would work and what wouldn’t, did not put its own stamp on anything. It simply waited for Apple to recognize and perfect good technologies, then duplicated them bit for bit. Oh, and then claim to be a leader in innovation. That’s quite a difference!”

Check out Pogue's full response >The Redmond Copying Machine? on his NYT blog. All hail a sarcastic geek!

Looking For A Great Digital Camera For Less Than $300?

GeekSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:45:18 -0800

New York Times' David Pogue recently pondered what he calls an annual question: How much digital camera can you get for $300? Pogue notes:

This year, 11 companies submitted their best cameras with a street price under $300. The contenders are the Canon A630, the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z700, the Fuji FinePix F30, the Hewlett-Packard Photosmart R827, the Kodak EasyShare C875, the Nikon Coolpix S7c, the Olympus Stylus 740, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3, the Pentax Optio A20, the Samsung Digimax NV3 and the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W100.

His More Camera, More Style, Modest Price criteria was based on style, speed, low-light and shutter power, megapixels and battery. Check back Monday for my holiday digital camera gift guide.

Geek Tip: iPhone Typing Shortcut

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:00:53 -0700

I assumed that when David Pogue was going to address the most annoying thing about the iPhone's keyboard on his Missing Manual site, it would be the the fact that the phone makes it difficult for those of us with less than slender fingers to type, We'll leave that one for another day, but what he does provide is a great iPhone tip and solution for, is how to add punctuation to text simultaneously without having to switch back and forth from the '.?123' key to the 'ABC' key- which I've learned can be a big pain in the yoohaw! Keep reading to learn how to do this. To type on the iPhone with one single gesture: touch the '.?123' key while holding your finger down. Slide your finger onto the period, comma or any other punctuation key and release. The 'ABC' layout will return automatically. Finally- now I can get back into my speed text-messaging mode! Thanks David!