GeekSugar

Cheap Ways to Chat With Mom on Sunday

GeekSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:00:44 PDT

Sometimes the best things in life are free, so if you won't be able to see your mom this Mother's Day, why not surprise her with a phone call or video chat session? Even if you can't be with her, she'll still be able to hear your voice and see your smiling face. And just think, you won't be spending a small fortune on a gift she'll never use anyway!

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Daily Tech: First Look at the Google Android's Virtual "Cupcake" Keyboard

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:01:10 PST

A new virtual keyboard, called Cupcake, offers predictive text, error correction and is currently being tested for use on the Google Android OS. - Wired
Here's a real inconspicuous way to hide a USB drive. These thick-rimmed gadgets only cost $29 and offer a 2GB USB drive/bookmark. - Engadget
It was only a few weeks ago we heard about a teenager sending 17,000 text messages a month, well now a Canadian girl has topped that total, sending 41,600 messages in one month. Thank goodness for unlimited text messaging phone plans! - Switched
In Google Talk, you can now paste direct links from YouTube into the chat box and it will automatically convert the link into an embeddable clip. - TechCrunch
In a recent phone interview with Tim Cook, the chief operating officer of Apple, he revealed info about the company's product philosophy and need to achieve excellence across all facets of the company. - MacRumors

Use Google Talk in Safari on Your iPhone

GeekSugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:45:55 PDT

I'll admit this isn't a life-changing tip, but a reminder that Google Talk has been redesigned specifically for the iPhone. It runs right in your Safari browser, so you don't have to download any special application. All you have to do is navigate to talk.google.com and sign in to your account.

The version was made to work in your browser so you'll be automatically signed out of Talk when you navigate to a different browser window or app. That means you won't always be online, but you can check in at any time to see if your friends are online or if they have updated their clever status updates.

Geek Tip: Making Yahoo Messenger Look Like Google Talk

GeekSugar — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:01:13 PDT

If you are like me and have made the switch over to Google Talk because you appreciate its intuitive interface and simplistic design, then this might be a useful tip for you.

To make other chat programs like Yahoo Messenger, look like the ever-so-lovely Google Talk, all you need to do is download a Google Talk skin, and your complex Yahoo messenger days will be over! Just follow these simple steps:

Installing the skin
Click here to download the skin. Extract the contents of the zip and move it to C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Shared\Graphics (default installation folder, change it only if you have installed Yahoo Messenger somewhere else)

Activating the skin
Run Yahoo Messenger > Go to Messenger > Change skin…Choose Google Talk from the drop down menu and click OK

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How To Download Google Talk On Your Blackberry

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:00:20 PDT

We all love instant messaging. It's cheap, it's fast, and it's great for people on the go. The creators of Blackberry Research In Motion (RIM) have released a free Google Talk application for the BlackBerry.

Google Talk runs on all 7100, 7200, 7500, 7700, and 8700 series BlackBerry devices running BlackBerry OS version 4.00 or higher. One more thing, unless you have a cell phone service provider from the United States or Canada, you unfortunately won't be able to download the Google Talk client on your Blackberry. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates and additional releases in the meantime.

To download, click Google Talk for your Blackberry.

Are Your Birth Control Pills Safe?

Shape — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:06:17 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Last year during my annual exam, when I complained to my doctor about my terrible PMS, she was quick to pull out her pad and give me a prescription for the birth control pill Yaz. "You're going to love this," she said. "All of my patients that are on it think it's the best. It's even helped some of them lose weight!"

Less PMS and not having to worry about my weight? I was sold, even though I'd only intended to talk to her about lifestyle and/or diet modifications since my birth control needs were already taken care of. Before I stopped into the pharmacy, however, I looked up the pill online (Paging Dr. Google!). The results were anything but the lovefest I'd been promised. In fact, the information I found scared me so badly that I never filled that prescription.

Am I Normal? Your Top Six Sex Questions Answered

It quickly became evident that I wasn't the only woman concerned when Yaz and it's sister pill Yazmin, two of the most popular pills on the market, came up for review by the FDA after reports that the manufacturer may have hid and minimized critical health risks. But is the hysteria warranted?

Find out how safe birth control pills are after the break!

Security Tips For Data Privacy Day!

Anna Monette Roberts — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:30:34 PST

It's Data Privacy Day, so we're here to give you 10 tips to keeping your computer safe, secure, and totally private. Nothing is worse than having your computer hacked into, your personal information stolen, or becoming a victim of fraud. We've rounded up all of our best tech advice to help keep your computer protected and free from hacker malice. If you haven't implemented these 10 tidbits yet, today is the perfect day to begin to take charge of your computer's safety.

Avoid fraud: Be wary of emails, calls, and log-in screens that ask you to verify all of your information. Always air on the side of precaution when sharing more sensitive information like banking passwords. If a company reaches out to you (rather than you personally reaching out to them), don't give your personal information out. Redial the number or email the company using the information posted on their website.
Set up a hack-proof password: When logging in to websites, come up with difficult and different passwords for each site, using a variety of letters, numbers, and symbols. Change it every couple of months for additional safety.
Double-check your firewall: Most computers have a built-in firewall that protects your computer by stopping hackers and malicious software from accessing your computer via the Internet. Make sure to keep your firewall setting on, and you could even customize what websites, domains, and IP addresses you want to access from your computer.
Forget about free public WiFi: Hackers often create fake networks, titling them "Free Public WiFi" in hopes of stealing your personal data. Even if the WiFi is legit, it's still dangerous to access private information in an unsecured network. Always opt to pay the small fee for a service that requires you to log-in to an official network.
Safely search for celebrities: Googling your favorite celebrities can be a dangerous business if you don't recognize the sites you are clicking on. Many Google results of famous celebrity names lead to infecting your PC with malware and viruses.

See more tips to better privacy.

David Beckham Kicks It With Romeo and Cruz

Lauren Turner — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:55:33 PST

David Beckham hit the field with his two youngest sons, Romeo and Cruz Beckham, in LA yesterday. The boys kicked around a soccer ball before joining in a game with their teammates. David watched while Romeo and Cruz played, but he also apparently made time to pose with a few fans on the sidelines. Victoria and Harper weren't spotted at the match, as they've been in the UK. Victoria ate at pal Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant, Bread Street Kitchen, in London over the weekend while David lunched with Romeo and Cruz on the West Coast. David will soon make a trip to Northern California, where he'll participate in a live chat with GoogleTalks this Thursday.

CNET's Women in Technology Panel: Where My Ladies At?

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:06:03 PST

We just arrived back in San Francisco after a whirlwind four days at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and while we're still processing the stats, data, information, and products we've seen, there is one thing we noticed: there's an obvious disconnect in the ratio of men to women at the show.

CNET brought together some of the most influential and powerful women in the tech field - including Padmasree Warrior of Cisco, Marissa Mayer of Google, Caterina Fake of Hunch, and Lindsey Turrentine of CNET - at this year's CES to talk about the state of the tech industry, pink gadgets, and how to strike a balance between work and home. You can see the entire panel (it's about an hour long) in the embedded video after the break, but first, a few highlights:

The general consensus is that women have come a long way in terms of the technology field, but there's a lot more work to be done.
Marissa Mayer says that more students (men and women) should be exposed to computer science at the high school level, so that they have more of a chance to get into the technology industry after college. When speaking about women in technology, it becomes a numbers game, but it's not about the size of the slice of pie, it's the size of the pie as a whole; we need to make the pie bigger, and expose women to computer science earlier.
Caterina Fake lets her daughter in on her work life in order to make her feel included. She conducts family meetings every morning around the breakfast table to talk about what worked yesterday, what they could do better today, and the goals they have for the week ahead.
Lindsey Turrentine says that one of the most important things you can do for your children is to show a strong partnership at home. When raising kids - girls and boys alike - it's important to show that you can do both: have a strong family and lean on each other to pick up the slack when work needs to be done. No one's career is more important than the other.

See what all of the amazing women had to say about the state of the tech industry for women in the full video after the jump.

Tech Trends to Watch Out For at CES 2012

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:13:07 PST

Our CES coverage kicks off this weekend (follow our coverage here, and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, too!), and while there are over 20,000 products launching during the show, there is a common theme running through their veins. Take a look at four trends we'll be watching this year below.

Ultrabooks - Netbooks are so 2010. CES 2012 might just be the year of the ultrabook. Light, thin, and travel-friendly, look to companies like HP, Toshiba, and Lenovo to battle it out with Apple's MacBook Air for beauty and portability.
More tablets - There were hundreds of tablets announced at last year's show, but that doesn't mean there won't be more in 2012. Acer, Viewsonic, and others are expected to debut their offerings in Las Vegas.
Large, thin, and connected TVs - Your TV set learns to multitask with the addition of WiFi and specs like Google TV which are becoming more common in the list of specs. And while TVs are getting bigger (we're talking 84-inches and up), they're also getting thinner. LG will be demoing an OLED screen that comes in at just 0.16-inches thick. That's impressive.
Fitness gadgets - Staying healthy is a way of life, and tech companies will be showing off ways to keep track of your fitness, food intake, steps, workouts, and more with the help of gadgets. Many, many gadgets.

What trends are you most excited to hear about?