GeekSugar

How I'd Wire Betty Draper

GeekSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:50:33 -0700

It's not easy being Betty Draper. The trendy housewife and former model from AMC's Mad Men has to keep up appearances, keep up with three children, and keep her often chaotic emotional life on track. She certainly deserves a few push presents after delivering her new baby and putting up with Don's adulterous antics. I've offered up some suggestions for how I'd wire hubby Don Draper, but it's Betty's turn.

The charming Mrs. Draper is all about keeping up with the Joneses, so instead of relying on predomindately vintage-inspired gizmos, I've collected an assortment of retro and modern devices that would assure the couture gal stayed connected if she were living in current day.

Photo courtesy of AMC

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Mad Men and Its Glam Vintage Geek Dream

GeekSugar — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:14:11 -0700

Tonight, AMC's retro drama Mad Men returns, which also means the return of the most gorgeous retro tech in TV. You know how I'd wire the show's leading man, Don Draper, but the best place to see the vintage pieces are on the show itself, so before you watch this evening, check out some of my favorite gadgets from the first two seasons. Photos courtesy of AMC

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Retro Goes iPhone: Mad Men Gets an iPhone App

GeekSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:33:28 -0700

Set to return for its third season this month, excitement for Mad Men is heating up.

Luckily, there's lots of geekiness involved - I told you how I'd wire Don Draper, and AMC first made a Mad Men avatar generator perfect for your Twitter and Facebook profile photos, and now they've added a free iPhone app so you can keep up on the latest news from the set of the 1960s drama.

There's behind the scenes video, blog updates, and sneak peeks from Mad Men and a few other AMC shows too, should you tire of the fabulously retro program (not that that's likely to happen).

How I'd Wire Don Draper

GeekSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:44:08 -0700

I've showed you how I'd wire Bruno and Weeds' Nancy Botwin, but now I'm going to take it back old school - real old school - and hook you up with my tech picks for Mad Men's dashing yet complicated hero, Don Draper. All my picks are vintage, true to the era and the character's vibe - 1960's ad man sophistication.
Photo courtesy of AMC

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Follow the Twitters and Tweets of the Mad Men Characters!

GeekSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:06:00 -0700

“Technology changes fast, ladies. Who knows what kind of silly contraptions the boys are going to come up with next. If faced with something you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask one of the copy writers for help. They’ll think it's endearing." What I wouldn't give to know more about what goes on in Joan Holloway's head!

Well, I sort of can - with the Twittering Mad Men characters.

The Tweeters are unrelated to the actors from the show, but are considered "brand ambassadors" and Twitter their retro moves - after a slight dust-up worthy of a Mad Men episode, that is (AMC briefly shut them down, but with a "gentle nudge" from their web marketing department, let them resume).

People like Don Draper and Peggy Olson are Twittering, so get on it - their musings might be in the next Mad Men Tech Quiz!

The Beast Revealed: Mad Men's Copy Machine

GeekSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:00:56 -0700

I've already quizzed you on the geeky first season of the amazing show Mad Men, and one of the questions was regarding one of my favorite early quotes by Don Draper about how he had no "magical machine that could make copies."

But, lo and behold, at the beginning of the second season, his foreshadowing scoff becomes a reality, and the office of Sterling Cooper gets a copy machine. Watch the flabbergasted expressions of the ladies of the office in response to the behemoth marvel of technology!

Mad Men Season One Tech Quiz

GeekSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:00:11 -0700

I've already brought up the vintage geek explosion of AMC's Mad Men; now I want to see how much of the geekery you remember from season one. Wonderful and old-fashioned, the characters of Mad Men are just beginning a love affair with gadgets that has given way to today's obsession. See how well you do on the tech quiz for the first season!

Photo courtesy of AMC

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Vintage Geek Explosion: Mad Men

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:00:08 -0700

You wouldn't think that geeksugar would have much to say about AMC's runaway hit Mad Men, set in the early 1960s - but you'd be totally, utterly wrong.

The retro-era show is actually rife with geekery - vintage geekery that is. Not only is it a rare look into how the times were for health, the sexes, minorities, and business, we also get to see the infiltration of technology into the home and the workplace.

Amazing tech quotes abound, like this over-the-top sexist zinger: "The manufacturer made it so easy a woman could use it." Of course, we'd love to say that sexism in regards to technology manufacturing has gone the way of the black and white TV, but we can't, necessarily.

Besides the women-friendly typewriter, there's the old-school video cameras, the wild concept of the copy machine, the out-of-placeness of a tube television in a single woman's apartment, and one of my favorites, the crazy (and crazy important) sight of the switchboard ladies, connecting the mad ad men with their clientele.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Website of the Day: Lazy Feed

GeekSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:07:57 -0700

Even the most voracious of readers have a hard time keeping up with everything we want to read on the Internet. I know that with the hundreds of feeds I subscribe to, I couldn't get through everything if I tried.

With Lazy Feed, you don't have to sort through everything - instead, everything comes to you, but only if you want it! Instead of subscribing to individual feeds, you tell Lazy Feed the subjects you're interested in, like Mad Men or Brad Pitt, and when articles come out relating to those subjects, that's what you get fed.

Have an interesting website you want to share? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click "New Post" under the website of the day tab at the top of the page.
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Type "Technology and Gadgets" in the Categories box
Add keyword(s) in the tag field with relevant tags (for example mine for this story was "Website of the Day").
Choose whether you want the post to be private or public.
Click "Create Post" 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!

10 Vintage Desk Lamps to Light Up Your Life

GeekSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:43:00 -0700

Although I'm a technology geek, I can't get enough vintage. And with the upcoming premiere of Mad Men - my favorite retro drama that tosses in vintage tech left and right - I couldn't help but include a roundup of some vintage goods within these here pages. But why desk lamps? Well, desk lamps not only perform the important task of lighting up my work area so I can see, but it's an old-timey technology that will never go out of style. Check out 10 of my favorite vintage desk lamps in this slideshow, and tip your hat to history!

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