GeekSugar

Flickr Caved in to Protesters Donut Demands

GeekSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:00:22 -0700

Here's the lowdown: recently, Flickr rolled out a new video feature that allows pro members to upload 90 second videos to their pages. This move sparked a heap of "No Video on Flickr" protest groups demanding that Flickr disassemble the feature in fear that the beloved site would become a Jr. YouTube. But knowing nerds all too well, where there are protestors, there will be mockery.

Flash forward: a "non-protest," protest group calling themselves "We Demand Donuts" isn't interested in taking Flickr video hostage, they just want free donuts. Insisting that Flickr buy them all free doughnuts – and subsequently making a mockery of the video protest groups – if they get 20,000 members to join hands for their donut demands. And surprisingly enough, Flickr obliged:

"While you have not yet reached your goal of 20K members, we at FlickrHQ have heard of your noble efforts and seek to answer your cries for justice."

Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone got the free donut goodness, since the "Donut Day" festivities took place yesterday in San Francisco only. So I'm curious, did anyone from SF get his or her free donut on yesterday?

Source

Flickr Members Can Now Upload and Share Videos

GeekSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:16:42 -0800

What was once restricted to Flickr Pro users, has now been extended to all Flickr members - uploading video content!

What Pro members will be able to do though, is upload high-definition videos and still have unlimited uploads for videos 90 seconds or less.

For all of you who already use Flickr as your main online photo management site, this will make sharing much easier since everything will be in one spot!

Do You Text During Concerts or Other Shows?

GeekSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:29:00 -0700

The other night, I went to a concert with a few of my friends. After the initial bag check and ticket scan from security, we saw large signs at the entrance to the venue reading, "The artists ask that you set your phones to vibrate and refrain from texting and other cell phone use during the performance." While I'm used to signs asking concert-goers not to take photos or videos during the show, this was the first ban on texts or cell phone use I'd seen during a concert. The reasoning behind the ban makes sense, but I wondered how strictly it could be enforced in a crowded venue.

Surprisingly, it was enforced by the venue's staff - I was totally busted when I absent-mindedly pulled my phone out of my pocket! Also surprisingly, concert-goers respected the texting rules. I'll have to admit, though I'm guilty of during-show texting, it was nice to enjoy a concert without the constant glow of cell phone screens from around the room. I'm used to seeing the polite no-texting signs displayed in movie theaters (and soon anti-WiFi paint could make texting impossible), but I'm on the fence about a similar ban during live shows. What do you think?

Source: Flickr User akeg

Mii Madness: The Office Cast

GeekSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:33:04 -0800

My new favorite flickr user has created a hilarious collection of "Celebrimiis" of the cast of NBC's The Office. For those of you that have not been initiated into the Nintendo Wii world yet, Miis are customizable player characters that you can dress and model after yourself, the girl next door and in this case, the cast of The Office. You then play the Wii games as the character and great fun ensues.

The whole collection of The Office cast Miis are genius, and I give kudos to the fact that they were able to maintain the full integrity of Jim's hotness in Mii form, to see what I'm talking about and check out the full cast, read more

View 19 Photos ›

Tech Dating 101: To Upload, Tag, Untag, or Delete?

GeekSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:05:16 -0700

Posting photos and videos online is more popular than ever thanks to mobile upload technologies to sites like Facebook and Flickr. And along with uploading comes tagging, keywords, titles and captions. I use tags and keywords on photos, so I can find them easily, but it's also a pretty public way of showing the world, "Hey! I'm with him!" When is it appropriate to tag a date? What do you do if he untags himself? And, scariest of all, what do you do if the relationship ends? That's what we'll find out on this edition of Tech Dating 101.

Tagging and Identifying Photos:
If you've been hanging out fairly often, it's fine to tag a few Facebook photos from the day trip you took last weekend - after all, you have to actually be Facebook friends for the tag to work. Just don't overdo it.

A few choice photos are fine - every single photo (including those featuring his left foot in the corner of the frame, you know which one I'm talking about) is overkill. The same goes for Flickr - adding titles, keywords, or captions with his name is fine if used sparingly. And, of course, keep the mushy stuff to a minimum, please.

To see my other tagging suggestions just read more.

If He Untags Himself on Facebook:
Do not panic. He may think it's an unflattering photo (yes, guys can be vain), or maybe he's just not a tagging fan. I know plenty of girls who are antitag, too. If it really bothers you, you can ask him why, but avoid accusation - especially if it's a new relationship. You can always try again in a few weeks.

If It Ends:
I've touched on this a bit in Getting Your Ex Out of Your Digital Life, but post-breakup, it's best to edge him out. Start by de-tagging cute or coupley photos of the two of you. Don't feel the need to remove them from your page unless you have no desire to look at them - if so, by all means, delete! Tags and keywords are an easy way to organize photos, but if you use Flickr, that means they're searchable. Tag those photos with his first and last name and . . . bam! You never know when you'll realize someone (is it him? A new girl?) has been checking out photos of the two of you.

What Video-Sharing Website Do You Use Most Often?

GeekSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:45:55 -0700

Yesterday, MSN announced that it was shutting down its video-sharing property, Soapbox.

Though I didn't use Soapbox myself, I'm sure its users are both bummed and hunting for a different video-uploading and sharing website.

Which brings me to my question - of all the sharing sites out there, what do you use? I use TeamSugar, YouTube, and Vimeo for uploading, but I watch video on whatever site the latest viral is on (usually YouTube). There's also Flickr, Metacafe, Google Video, and MySpace Video, just to name a few.

Which do you prefer? And do you prefer to upload different videos to different sites?

Turn Your Pics Into a Music Video With Animoto

GeekSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:38:47 -0700

I love iPhoto's slideshow feature, but if you aren't a Mac fan (or even if you are), and want a fresh, simple, and quick way to put some music to your pics, check out Animoto.

Animoto is different from a regular slideshow, since the program does all the work for you. It analyzes your photos you upload (via your computer, Flickr, or another photo-sharing website) and your music choice, then creates a custom slideshow (or more appropriately, music video) for your pics. This is not just the same ole boring fade-in, fade-out slideshow you're used to - this site uses some sweet touches and effects to keep things exciting. But more than just an attention-getting slideshow, the best part is that it's free (there's a fee if you want to create longer videos).

Have a cool website that you want to share? Submit it to our Website of the Day group. To learn how, just read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Gmail Labs Adds Previews For Yelp, Picasa, YouTube, Flickr

GeekSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:15:51 -0700

Imagine if it wasn't necessary to click a link to view a photo album or YouTube video? Now if you go into your Gmail Labs under Settings and enable YouTube videos (you can watch the entire clip right from your inbox), Flickr and Picasa preview, and Yelp review preview, you can see everything inside your mail window. Yes, Gmail will automatically detect links from various sites and show you previews right from your email message.

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.

Models Take to the Streets of Manhattan With Sony Vaios

GeekSugar — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:06:55 -0800

Here's one way to draw attention to a product. Take a group of hired models and dancers, arm them with Sony's clutch-sized Vaios - like the P Series Lifestyle PC - dress them in the clothes of emerging designers, parade them all around Manhattan, and what do you get? A brilliant marketing campaign by Sony.

The Wall Street Journal Blog notes how this joint fashion-tech campaign will kick off NY Fashion Week in a couple of weeks, with models wandering through the Bryant Park tent on Feb. 13 and 14. - still toting their Sony laptops.

And starting tomorrow, you'll be able to track the models and IM them from Sony's Go Lightly site. Sony will also be posting photos and videos from the campaign on YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook.

Source