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Tech Cinema! 4 Geeky Movies to Look Forward To

GeekSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:50:55 -0700

The Summer blockbusters are blowin' up the big screen, but I'm turning my focus toward the future, and the slew of geeky movies that are in the works. Indeed, as many movies as there are that turn into video games, there are tons that are going the other way. Check out some rad upcoming movies, adapted from video games and other geeky fodder.

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How I'd Wire Brüno

GeekSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:47:34 -0700

Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat taught us "iPod minis are for girls," but his next saucy comedy Brüno promises a more androgynous approach to technology. Having recently proposed tech makeovers for the characters of Gossip Girl, I'm ready to offer up gizmo suggestions for the fashionable, fearless and fierce fictional reporter. 'Cause you should never leave home without your iPhone or your murse.

Photo courtesy of Universal Studios

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Geeky Twilight and New Moon Mania!

GeekSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:40:16 -0700

Every which way I turn, it's Twilight this and New Moon that! Are you as obsessed as everyone else? This slideshow of geek-worthy Twilight goods is sure to fulfill all of your cravings - there are even some Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson surprises mixed in as well!

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Hollywood's URL: Fake Movie Dot-Coms

GeekSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:47:51 -0700

Facebook getting a feature film about its origins got me thinking about how the Internet has been portrayed on film - particularly the dot-com business side and the fake websites that movies have to create to further their plot. Check out a few of my favorite fake URLs from the big screen!

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Sex and the City Blu-ray Discs Come With Digital Copies!

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:00:49 -0700

I preordered Sex and the City on Blu-ray, and when it came yesterday, I was greeted with a pleasant geeky surprise: A digital copy was included! Digital copies have been included on a few DVDs and Blu-ray discs since the beginning of the year, but this is the first time I've gotten one - and with a movie that truly makes it worth it!

The disc is separate from the Blu-ray disc itself and when inserted, opens iTunes, where you enter the unique code that comes with your disc. Now I can put Carrie and the posse on my iPhone (and not even bat an eye when those broads take up 1.6 gigs!)

Have you gotten any digital copies with movies you're buying yet? Do you use them?

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Sex and the City Blu-ray Discs Come With Digital Copies!

GeekSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:59:19 -0700

Sex and the City Blu-ray Discs Come with Digital Copies!

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Gossip Girl Website Gets Gadget Makeover

GeekSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:02:58 -0800

You've probably noticed I've fallen for Gossip Girl, a show that combines fashionable and chic clothes with spiffy gadgets and quality teen drama. Of course, it's about an anonymous blogger (narrated by the fabulously geeky Kristen Bell), who details the scandals and adventures of a group of wealthy New York City teenagers on her website. I was checking out the Gossip Girl website in preparation for tonight's episode and I realized it's all decked out with gadgets and gizmos from the show. While it's partially an advertising stint (the show, website and show's commercial breaks are filled with Verizon phones), I am intrigued that a show with that demographic is pushing the gadgets so intently. It begs the question, do TV shows and celebrity endorsements prompt you to buy certain devices, or do they just offer you a chance to check them out?

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Watch the show tonight and tune in tomorrow for my Gossip Girl tech quiz!

Celebrity Gadget: Scarlett Johansson's Leica M8 Camera

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 06:00:20 -0700

When Molly noticed Scarlett Johansson has been working both in front and behind the camera for an untitled Woody Allen movie in Barcelona, I wondered what kind of camera the starlet has been using.

My investigation team - made up of camera geek YumSugar and myself - concluded that it must be the uber chic Leica M8.

The model, which is a digital version of the company's famous M camera, was recently released in Europe and is sold in silver and black. It is known for using the analog Leica M system for sophisticated and creative digital photography and features a low-noise CCD image sensor with a resolution of 10.3 megapixels that has been specifically matched to the compact lens design.

Clearly, professional cameras come with a hefty price tag. This one costs $4,795 on Amazon.

To check out additional images of the Leica M8, read more

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Picture Perfect Tech: Headphones in Reign Over Me

GeekSugar — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:07:36 -0700

In Reign Over Me Adam Sandler plays Charlie Fineman a depressed man who spends most of his time in a lost world with his headphones rocking to an ‘80s rock soundtrack. In fact, it doesn't seem there is a scene in the entire movie without Sandler's clunky headphones.

It's a little hard to tell the model, but I do believe Sandler is rocking the QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones from Bose. These babies sometimes get a "business class" reputation because geeky travelers tend to sport them on the plane and in transit, but they are known for their quality sound. And honestly, even playing a worn down man, Sandler makes them look pretty spiffy and hip. They are able to electronically identify and reduce noise while faithfully preserving the audio you want.

Sadly, they aren't a bargain - you can snag your own pair for $349.

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Picture Perfect Tech: Phone From Casino Royale

GeekSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:01:17 -0700

Sony Ericsson's special silver and black versions of the K800 and K790 Cyber-shot camera phone took center screen in Casino Royale and if it means being one step closer to Bond man Daniel Craig I don't know how anyone could resist them.

The exclusive camera phones, which were available for a limited period of three months, are highly capable mobile phones that also provide a 3.2 Megapixel camera with Autofocus, Xenon Flash for lowlight conditions and BestPic, which allows the user to take nine pictures of a moving object simultaneously and choose to keep the best shot. It also allows high speed 3G data transfer then allows the user to share images easily and instantly so you can share them with friends, colleagues - or even MI6 – as you take their picture.

Since releasing the first model, Sony Ericsson has come out with newer versions of the phone so if you really want one you still have a chance. For an up-close look at the phone read more

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Picture Perfect Tech: Headphones in 'Music and Lyrics'

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:00:07 -0800

No, I didn't just pick this one because Hugh Grant is deliciously British and charming. In Music and Lyrics Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore play a washed up singer (Grant) who is given a few days to compose a chart topping hit, and a younger woman who plays his muse (Barrymore). Front and center in most of the musical scenes in the movie are the ever-classy Ultrasone PROline 550 S-Logic Headphones.

Word is the PROline 550 has a 50mm heavy duty driver which produces a tight and powerful bass, so they are great if you're listening to a lot of drum-based music (no offense, but does anyone think Hugh Grant could sing along to drum-based music? He may be charming, but I'm not buying that!) Also, because of the headphone's closed construction design, external noise is minimized, which makes them ideal for the studio. For a gallery of delightful images from the movie and more about the headphones, read more

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The Ultrasone Proline 550 Stereo Headphones are on sale for $239.

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Picture Perfect Tech: Homerun For Apple In Fever Pitch

GeekSugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 08:00:11 -0800

Fever Pitch may not have stolen any bases from critics, but the 2005 film certainly wasn't lacking in the Mac love. The film features Drew Barrymore as a young woman that falls in love with a man, played by SNL alum Jimmy Fallon, who happens to be obsessed with the Boston Red Sox. She tries to work with him - even toting her PowerBook to Fenway Park and working in the stands.

Besides the fact that I think there's no place for laptops at the ball park - you need a hot dog, beer and one of those puffy hand pointers, am I right? - wifi at sports stadiums is a given these days. As a matter of fact, my dad has been trying to convert me to the world of being a Giants' fanatic by reminding me I can "be on my computer the whole game." Maybe Drew had the right idea... For a gallery of geeky Fever Pitch photos and a filming glitch, just read more

Fever Pitch Tech Glitch: The film incorrectly shows Lindsey's dash across the field on TV - she is shown from a handheld camera that must be "on" the field. There would be no such TV camera on the field during a game, only after the game has ended.

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Oscar Worthy Gadgets - Watch in Children of Men

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:00:26 -0800

Nominated for an Academy Award for cinematography Children of Men features some of my favorite things: Clive Owen, Sci-Fi and awesome gadgets. The movie takes place in 2027, as humankind faces extinction and a government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary of scientists.

My Buzzsugar spy tells me that in this scene a tech wiz teenager is zoned out and playing with this wild futuristic toy of some sort by just staring at it and flickering his fingers. As far as we can remember, there’s no mention of what it’s called or what the game is or anything. He’s just completely absorbed in it with half-closed eyes and his dad tells him to take his pills. Yes, it's one of those moments and it kind of makes you wonder...what will my world be like in 2027? For more photos, just read more

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Oscar Worthy Gadgets: Cameras in Blood Diamond

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:16:09 -0800

In Blood Diamond Academy Award-winner Jennifer Connelly plays Maddy Bowen, an American journalist who gets caught up in the story of two men, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, in search of a rare pink diamond. The film is set in 1990's Sierra Leone and filled with civil war and conflict, which Connelly's character captures on a fancy Leica camera.

According to camera fans, Connelly's character uses an M6 Classic and a 35mm Summicron. However, the sound director dubbed an SLR sound whenever Connelly took a photo. For more Blood Diamond photos - Leo has an awesome watch!- and another filming goof, read more

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Filming goof: An arrival scene at Cape Town International Airport shows yellow posters in the background advertising 3G video cellphones. 3G technology was not available when the story was set.

Have you filled out your Oscar ballot? The winner will score a fabulous Prada bag, runners-up will get $50 to $500 gift cards Neiman Marcus, Sephora and The Apple Store. Get your votes in! Good luck! For official rules click here.

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Oscar Worthy Gadgets - Remote in Click

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:31:20 -0800

Nominated for achievement in makeup, Click was the one movie in 2006 with a plot revolving around a geeky gadget. While the idea of an all-powerful, time controlling universal remote is far-fetched; it did provide some lighthearted laughs and drama. Whether you call your remote by its real name, "clicker" or "twanger," remotes play a daily part in our tech lives and it's easy to wonder what you would have done were you in Adam Sandler's shoes in the movie.

For a brief history of the remote, just read more

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Apparently, one of the earliest examples of remote control was developed in 1893, but the first remote intended to control a television was developed by Zenith Radio Corporation in the early 1950's. The remote - unofficially called "Lazy Bones" - was connected to the television set by a wire. To improve the awkward setup, a wireless remote control called "Flashmatic" was developed in 1955 which worked by shining a beam of light onto a photoelectric cell. We've come a long way baby!

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Oscar Worthy Gadgets: Microphones in Dreamgirls

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:00:31 -0800

One of my favorite things about historical dramas is that there are often a handful of bloopers that only the discerning (or really geeky) eye can catch. Considering the other techie mistakes in the film - the lip-syncing is off during some verses of "It's All Over" and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - I thought someone in the tech department might have been asleep at the wheel when it came to using the right microphones for the time period. My sources tell me this is not the case. Apparently, the movie featured an Electro-Voice from the '50s and early '60s and an old Neumann mic, which among others was perfectly accurate for the time.

Electro-Voice received a special citation at the end of WWII for the development of the T-45 lip microphone and even won an Academy Award in 1963 for its advances in the world of film sound. Those famous photos of Elvis Presley show him performing with one of the Electro-Voice's best models. For more photos from the film and a gadget goof, read more

Gadget goof: During a 1965 press conference in the film one of the photographers is shown taking pictures of the Dreams using a Nikon camera, which was not sold until the late 1980s. I guess you can't get everything right.

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Oscar Worthy Gadgets: Little Miss Sunshine's Answering Machine

GeekSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:00:14 -0800

There are a few reasons why I love Little Miss Sunshine. No. 1: Steve Carell. No. 2: The Script. No. 3: The scene where little Olive (played by Abigail Breslin) unleashes a scream more intense than a stampede of hundreds of people getting their hands on a Wii when she finds out she was accepted to the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty and talent competition. Olive: "I won, I won, I won, I won, I won!"

Not only is Breslin the new Dakota Fanning in my book, but her answering machine gets my pick for being an Oscar-worthy gadget by osmosis. Who uses old school answering machines anymore? The cutest 11-year-old ever, that's who. Want to see more Little Miss Sunshine gadgets? read more

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Oscar Worthy-Gadgets: The Devil Wears Prada Phones

GeekSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:00:40 -0800

Fab may have been checking out the hot messenger bag by La Rue that Andy carries in The Devil Wears Prada, but my eyes were locked on the Sidekicks that seemed to sneak into every single street scene in the movie. In fact, I even noticed a movie goof: At the end of the movie when Miranda, played by Meryl Streep, calls Andy, played by Anne Hathaway, in Paris, Andy looks at her T-mobile Sidekick and it's ringing. The phone shows Miranda's name and under it, it says, "Connecting." For it to say that, Andy would have had to call Miranda and her phone wouldn't have been ringing.

IMDB clued me in to another Sidekick blunder: In one scene, Andy throws her Sidekick into the fountain, she is holding it in one hand. The reverse shot of the face of the Sidekick shows her holding it with both hands. Still, Anne, Meryl and Emily Blunt looked smashing in the whole movie and their Sidekicks were just as flashy. For more dangerously fashionable Prada pictures and a link to check out the pretty blue Bang and Olufsen phone from the film, just read more

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The trendy BeoCom 2 Bang and Olufsen phone made its way into the scene where Andy meets her boyfriend and their two friends at a bar and shares some of her trendy Vogue give-aways with them. You can buy one online for $850, which in my world is a little much for a phone, but if you're totally Vogue, go for it!

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