GeekSugar

Follow What Obama and McCain Are Reading on the Internet!

GeekSugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:30:56 -0700

This is the first campaign we've got to follow in this particular age of the Internet; with blogs, every little story becomes a big story, every mountain a molehill, as word-of-mouth has become URL-link-hand-offs. I'm already trying to keep up with CitizenSugar, and now, you can keep up with what the candidates and their campaigns are reading themselves, with Google's new Power Readers feature.

The Power Readers page is like reading shared items in Google Reader, only instead of a shared blog post from your friend, it's from Barack Obama. Choice on his reading list? The Daily Show!

Share Your Stunning Photos!

GeekSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:20:16 -0800

Have you had a chance to take a look at some of the impressive photos in the GeekSugar Community? Why not submit some of your own! We have a group called Cool Capture, where you can upload images that you're proud of, and share any special photography techniques you used to take the pic as well as the model of the camera.

On that note, I know you've probably had a hard time taking your eyes off this beautiful photo that reader aggiemsd took while exploring her beautiful city of San Diego. Taken at Torrey Pines State Reserve aggiemsd says she used her Canon PowerShot SD940IS to capture this amazing pic.

Be sure to upload your photos, and you might be featured on GeekSugar! There are lots of ways to share, so read on to learn more.

Geeks We Love: Mike Fahey of Kotaku

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:05:00 -0800

A man after my own heart, Mike Fahey is a game addict. Currently helping to hold down the East Coast office of Kotaku, and ripping through game after game so you don't have to, Mike is a man of many hats. He's been everything from an arcade attendant (totally expected) to a vinyl sign cutter (huh?), but still, his love for games made him who he is today. But besides being multi-talented, Mike is one seriously good catch, and why we included him in the Geeks We Love series: he loves to game (but doesn't demand that you do), he's a good listener, and he even loves to cuddle. Score!

GS: For our readers who don't know you, tell us a little about yourself.

MF: Hello there, readers of geeksugar! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Michael Fahey, and I'm the East Coast Associate Editor for Kotaku, a website about video games and video game-related cakes. I am a six foot, six inches tall fellow who is much less intimidating once you realize that I am writing this with one of my two cats laying belly-up on my desk, desperately trying to finish typing without succumbing to the lure of tummy rubs.

In my 35 years of existence I've been a shoe salesman, an arcade attendant, a tech support specialist, a gas station manager, a web developer, a vinyl sign cutter, a dishwasher, a graphic artist, and several different flavors of customer service representative, all following a brief period following my birth during which I was too stunned to speak. Now I spend my days writing about video games in my pajamas. How the video games got into my pajamas is another story entirely.

Find out how gaming accidentally introduced Mike to Playboy, why he'd spend the rest of his days with just a Nintendo 64 and a coconut tree, and discover a softer, more tender side of Mike when you read more.

GS: Do your earliest memories involve a game controller, or did you develop a love for gaming later on in life?

MF: My entire life seems to be punctuated by video games. They're how I organize important milestones. My first kiss was given to me by a girl who was trying to tear my attention away from a Speak and Math game she had in her bedroom - the start of a long tradition of women trying to tear my attention away from whatever I was playing at the time. I first discovered sex while trying to get the Atari 5200 in my father's den working late one night and accidentally switching to the Playboy channel. My first real sexual experience took place in the hallways behind the video game arcade at the mall I used to hang out at - her name was Sula and the amount of hairspray in her bangs was the stuff of legends. I guess it isn't so much my earliest memories, but really all of my memories.

GS: What's your all-time favorite game EVER?

MF: This is a terribly unfair question. Would you ask a mother which of her children was her favorite? Would you demand that she single out one of the tiny humans that sprang from her loins into the world as the end-all, be-all? Yes, you would, and she'd look around to make sure no one else was looking and then quietly whisper Final Fantasy III (U.S. version), which is a terribly odd name for a child.

GS: Are you down with girls that don't know how to game, or is holding their own on Gears a prerequisite?

MF: I've found over the years that the perfect woman for a gamer is one who is game curious - she enjoys watching them, and every once in awhile grabs the controller from you when something strikes her fancy, but on the whole just enjoys knowing that she has a man who she can leave alone for a week knowing that when she returns he'll be in the exact same spot, in front of the television. I've been with women who are nearly as passionate about video games as I am, and it isn't really a good combination. Any relationship needs some sort of anchor to the real world. . . a person who can pull the other one away from the controller long enough to eat, bathe, clean the house, and have sex. You put together two rabid gamers and soon you are getting horror stories about folks leaving their babies out in the car after returning home late for a guild raid. I'd like to think I would remember a little person that I helped make, but man those guild raids can be intense.

GS: You're stranded on an island. It's just you, a coconut tree, and a gaming console. Which console would you want to spend your days with?

MF: At first I thought this was a trick question, so I began to research which console had the ability to draw power from a coconut tree. Then I realized the true extent of your trickery: I have no television, and no games. Just me, the console, and Dr. Treeheart (I would have named the tree after the first day). Having finally come to realize the full extent of the question, I'd have to say the Nintendo 64, because if you turn it around and look at it just right, it could pass for a face. Not a very pleasant face, but when you are stranded on a island with only Dr. Treeheart to keep you company you take what you can get.

GS: Is there a game you just can't live without?

MF:It's not that there is one game that I cannot live without - I just couldn't live without some sort of gaming. I constantly have at least two devices on me that could run a video game of some sort, and if hard-pressed I can build a chess board from sticks and rocks. . . which I've actually done. It's just comforting to me to know that I have some sort of game available to me should the need arise. Otherwise I am stuck alone with my own thoughts, and my own thoughts are kind of odd.

GS: We're so close to Valentine's Day! Tell us what your perfect date would be like.

MF: The perfect date isn't about a place or an activity. The perfect date involves getting to know someone. The best dates are the ones where you can sit an talk with the person you are with, sharing stories, telling secrets, and basically basking in this new person you've just discovered, immersing yourself in them while sharing yourself. In this day and age, where you can find pornography with a few keyboard strokes, learning about a person is so much more intimate than having sex with them. That having been said, the perfect date for me involves a great deal of talking and perhaps a bit of cuddling, an activity of which I am a huge fan.

Arrange Your Furniture Virtually Before You Move the Couch

GeekSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:02:16 -0800

Tell me you've been here: you decide one weekend to rearrange your living room, so you gather your boyfriend for muscle power, and begin to move every piece of furniture to the spots you had planned in your head. Only to find they don't fit, or you totally hate the placement. Frustration ensues.

Instead of jumping the gun, plan out your arrangement on FloorPlanner first. See your room arrangements in 2-D and 3-D by dragging and dropping your furniture where you want it. Plus, if you're a design nut, you can add your floor plan to your blog and share it with your readers. It's totally easy to use, plus signing up won't cost you a dime.

Daily Tech: Google Reader Gets a Mini Makeover

GeekSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:01:23 -0800

Yay! Google Reader received a much needed facelift which includes a much cleaner, softer interface with more space and a collapsible navigation. - Lifehacker
Apple's new $79 in-ear headphones get taken for a test drive. See how well they did when put to the sound test. - CNET Crave
For the past few years, cell phone text numbers were noted to be higher in Europe than the US. Well now my friends, the US has finally surpassed Europe in texting. - Switched
Flickr has just unveiled their new mobile site which offers features like video playback, the ability to add new contacts, and favorite images. - Mashable
Last Day! It's giveaway time on geeksugar! Be sure to log in and enter our laptop giveaway for your chances to win a Windows Vista powered Sony VAIO CS laptop or a Windows Vista powered Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue Notebook. - geeksugar

Daily Tech: Wired Celebrates 40 Years of Mighty Mice

GeekSugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:00:02 -0800

The mouse had a big birthday yesterday and Wired put together a beautiful and geeky retrospective of 40 years of mighty mice. - Wired
Power up with the sun! The Voltaic Generator solar bag is now shipping and capable of charging a laptop. - Boing Boing Gadgets
Need a little vintage geek pick-me-up? Check out old computer ads to make your machine look shiny and new. - Gizmodo
Google has added several magazines to its searchable book cache, complete with decades' worth of archives. - Switched
It's easy to let a salesperson convince you that you need to buy a $50 HDMI cable to make your new gear work. Save yourself some dough with a $10 version! - Crave
There's nothing better than getting a brand new functional and chic computer for the holidays, which is why we have teamed up with our friends at HP to give one lucky geeksugar reader a HP Mini! - geeksugar
Feeling crafty at the office? Binder clips make the perfect iPhone stand. - Unpluggd

Geeky Girl We Love: Kate of Apartment Therapy

GeekSugar — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:00:04 -0700

CasaSugar and I share an appreciation for Apartment Therapy, a network of sites that's all about making small spaces more livable, hip and beautiful. In the past few months, I’ve fallen in love with the network’s Home Tech section, which features great tips, tricks and gizmos that will enhance your tech life without costing you a bundle or taking up too much space (we don’t all live in homes that can fit giant home theaters, right!).

Home Tech’s editor, Kate Mulinix, is just as lovable as the site. She claims she has appreciated good design in small spaces ever since the Barbie bus of her childhood. From her appreciation and understanding of good design, as well as the ability to articulate why it was so, came work in the advertising business when she was six-years-old, writing copy and designing the ads. Technology and the newest tools to increase productivity must run in her blood, as her father had one of the first portable computers that eventually became her first computer, one of the first cell phones (heavy enough to be a boat anchor), and GPS long before it became mainstream.

Kate has been the editor on Apartment Therapy's Home Tech site since it launched in March. I recently tracked her down to interview her about all things geeky. To check out the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: What element of Home Tech or technology in general interests you the most?
Kate: The best part about my AT:HT gig is being able to connect people with meaningful things that are well-designed and improve the quality of their lives. That's the entire premise of what we do, and though we occasionally divert from that premise to bring news like the Mobile Phone Throwing Competition to our readers, or the coolest, oddest, or most expensive prototype out there, our sweet spot is where technology, design, usefulness and home intersect.

Geeksugar: Do you use a PC or Mac?
Kate: PC, but my next one will likely be a Mac

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Kate: About six, spread out over the course of the day; one-half to two-thirds is for researching and writing for AT:HT. I have a full-time, non-internet-based job besides AT:HT, so I can't be as involved as I would like in all things Apartment Therapy.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Kate: Corona PPC-440, billed as a "portable" computer…weighing in at 40 pounds!

Geeksugar: How many gadgets do you carry in your purse? What are they?
Kate: Cell, Compaq iPaq (old PDA, until I upgrade), red iPod Nano, Olympus FE-190 digital camera

Geeksugar: What's a practical home tech or computer tip you use all the time?
Kate: If you have a laptop, stash multiple wireless, laser mice in multiple locations so you don't have to worry about carting around one more thing.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites/websites that inspire you?
Kate: All of the Apartment Therapy sites, but especially NY and Green. Plus, MoCo Loco, Danny Seo's blog and Dooce.

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Kate: I'm old-fashioned when it comes to my RSS reader and don't use it because I like the visual piece of the blogs I read that doesn't come through on the RSS reader. Instead, I use the links on AT:HT's homepage, and my other favorites are planted under the address bar and above the tabs within Firefox. I read about 10 with regularity (usually daily or every-other-day), and another 10-15 semi-regularly (once a week), though I'm also not afraid to go from site to site to site as I'm linked through.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 3 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Kate: My husband, Jonathan; Jon Armstrong, husband of Dooce; and Ryan Opina, a fellow AT:HT editor.

Geeksugar: And sexiest female geeks?
Kate: Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce (her humor kills me every time), Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Kelly Goodman, a fellow AT:HT editor.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek" or "techie"?
Kate: Geek=cool, in the tech blog world, so I'm all over that one! However, in the rest of the world, they still haven't picked up that geek=cool, so they don't yet know how cool I am. I'm just waiting for the inevitable throngs of fans to pick up on this.

Geeksugar: What is your main goal for Home Tech? What do you want your readers to get when they visit?
Kate: I want readers to be able to integrate technology in a way that will improve the quality of their lives, not just have a gadget for the sake of having it. Technology for the home has too much potential, especially when combined with great design, to miss out on the opportunities arriving all the time.

Geeksugar: What is one item you've featured that you had to purchase?
Kate: Haven't purchased it yet, but will when it becomes available I want the Solarjo "Power Purse". It's a handbag with the ability to recharge your gadgets via solar power (the panels are the pattern on the outside of the handbag) feeding the USB port inside. Next phone and camera will definitely have to be USB-rechargeable.

Geeksugar: What's the most useless thing you've featured?
Kate: It's probably useful to someone (see the comment on the post), but I don't want to be talking to someone through my pillow as I'm drifting off to sleep except if I were in a long-distance relationship while in college: perCushion Cell Phone Cushion.

Geeksugar: Did you buy an iPhone?
Kate: Nope. 97 percent of my calls are on the Verizon network, so I'm sticking with that, for now, because then they're "free." If someone hacks it for the Verizon network, then I'd seriously consider.

Geeky Girl We Love: Peggy of BuzzFeed

GeekSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:35:58 -0700

As much as I like to think I know what the buzz is on the net everyday, it's virtually impossible to always know what's hot and what's not. That's why I rely on BuzzFeed, a NY-based site that posts 10 "Buzz Detected" topics per day, so you don't get bombarded with content.

With a clean, fresh layout and categories ranging from science and celebrity to food and tech, you're guaranteed to find the most talked about stories on the net at any given moment. Have you read up on the Stephen Colbert Backlash, did you know James Lipton used to be a pimp and have you ever considered adding scrabble fashion to your wardrobe? Buzzfeed claims they use "technology and human editors to find the hottest buzz" on hot topics and they aren't kidding.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing one of the site's "professional trend detectors," senior editor Peggy Wang. Peggy has been working in the tech industry for the past five years is the total tech-savvy geek chic package so I had to put her on the spot and test out her geek cred. To check out the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself...
Peggy: When I started working at BuzzFeed, it was almost a total 180 degree career change for me, moving from computer programming to creating content. Basically, I went from being a code monkey to a "tastemaker," which is awesome because now I get to incorporate my obsession with pop culture, music, fashion, etc. At BuzzFeed, I've always had the opportunity to delve back into the back end, but honestly, it's been a year and I haven't quite had the desire yet!

Geeksugar: With so much content on the Internet, how do you determine what is Buzzfeed worthy?
Peggy: Usually, I'll just spot something I think is interesting either in my RSS reader or in our trend detector, and then I do some research to see if the "buzz" is thought-provoking in some way, especially if bloggers seem to have vehement opinions or even just something clever or funny to say. Also, if I hear about some obscure movie or band or website that is getting some attention from respected resources (early adopters, if you will), then there's a good chance it could take off.

Geeksugar: What is your main goal for Buzzfeed? What are you hoping readers get when they visit?
Peggy: Well, I really love that the trends we choose to cover are a hodgepodge of interesting things that you might have a conversation about at a party. When I was a computer programmer, I didn't have time to read a lot of blogs or newspapers or magazines, and I always felt a little out of the loop and a step behind. So basically, I would hope that BuzzFeed helps our readers feel less awkward at parties. Also, we help make good things popular by giving bloggers ideas to write about. Truly "good" things don't need marketing dollars and huge advertising campaigns to gain steam - word of mouth is so much more powerful. If you've got a friend with great taste who recommends something to you, that means a lot more than seeing some flashy ad. That's why I think having human editors is so important. We use lots of technology to find features on BuzzFeed but in the end everything is written in a human voice by an editor with good taste.

Geeksugar: What are some popular tech and/or gadget trends on Buzzfeed?
Peggy: One of my favorite tech trends we did is The Mullet Strategy because it's a concept that we coined, and bloggers responded by writing about it and sending us their posts to link to. Some other popular ones were Hand-Drawn Video Games, Lifecasting, and Lolsecretz.

Geeksugar: Other than the iPhone, what gadget has created a lot of buzz on Buzzfeed?
Peggy: The Verizon Voyager is doing really well. And, um, stylish sex toys got lots of clicks.

Geeksugar: What websites do you love visiting and why?
Peggy: I love gossip sites that are clever and funny, like Best Week Ever and Jossip. The blogs for Wired and Vice Magazine always have really interesting posts. As far as personal blogs go, I love Momus' blog and this girl Jessica Hopper's blog (she's a writer for the Chicago Tribune, and I love her taste in music and writing style). I'm also addicted to eBay. And the Sugar sites are all interesting and really well designed.

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Peggy: I have about 300 blog feeds that I read every day, but they get backed up pretty quickly. They are organized by category and I have a very methodical procedure for going through them. But sometimes if I'm feeling impractical, I'll spend a bunch of time going through my fashion feeds because I need an outfit idea for an event, or my food feeds because I want to make dinner that night. Two birds, one stone! Also, the BuzzFeed trend detector automatically "reads" and filters about 50,000 sites for me so I can see what is bubbling to the top. And I get dozens of tips and suggested links from BuzzFeed readers. All this information comes together in what we call the "BuzzFeed Terminal." It is like our own Bloomberg Terminal for web buzz and all the editors use it to find stuff and publish features.

Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day?
Peggy: I'd say between 8 and 10. It's hard staying away from the internet before bed, but I try to keep an active social life to keep me away from the computer.

Geeksugar: Are you a PC or Mac user?
Peggy: I'm pretty exclusively a Mac user.

Geeksugar: Which do you prefer and why? BlackBerry, iPhone, neither.
Peggy: I was an iPhone pessimist at first, jaded by all the hype. Then, my friend Scott had one at this wedding I went to, and he was able to surf the internet during all the boring parts. Needless to say, I was jealous of his iPhone, even though he looked like kind of a tool. It's probably not the best etiquette to write an email while your friends are exchanging vows, but that's just the sort of power you've got in the palm of your hand with the iPhone. I personally use the LG enV, because I like having a QWERTY keypad for texting. Honestly, I don't really get enough email to justify having a BlackBerry. I wish I got more email. More people should write me.

Geek Gear Round Up: Your Computers

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:00:28 -0700

Last week I asked you readers to share your computer make and model and let me know what you love or hate about it by bookmarking it on TeamSugar. To my surprise, the results were incredibly varied, but it seems most of you use laptops. From the Dell XPS Notebook, Apple MacBook, HP Compaq nx7300 Notebook PC, to the Dell Latitude D620, geeksugar readers seem to run the gamut of computer brands, models and makes.

Longtime geeksugar reader glamsugar shared her Power Mac G5 with Dual 2.7 processor, 1.5 GB Ram and a 20" widescreen monitor.

She admits she doesn't have a name for it, other than when it occasionally acts up. When it's being bad she calls it "he" as in "he's acting up today."

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To check out the rest of the computers bookmarked by readers browse through the widget above.

Reader Profile: macgirl Shares Her Geekiness

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:00:17 -0700

When it comes to loyal and engaged geeksugar readers, macgirl is right up there with the best of them. An Apple Systems Engineer, macgirl is, well, quite frankly a mac geek. She's also married to a geek and as she puts it "immersed in technology." The founder of our popular Mac group on TeamSugar, she recently shared her iPhone unboxing and even reported from the iPhone queue at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, Ca.

When she's not working, she's playing video games, creating art, spending time with her son and watching movies. And reading geeksugar of course! In an effort to get to know her better, I asked macgirl to share a little more about herself. read more

Geeksugar: It seems like you were one of geeksugar's first avid readers. How did you learn about the site and when did you start reading?
Macgirl: I had a friend turn me onto popsugar.com and I started obsessing about celebrities' lives. One day I saw the announcement that geeksugar.com was coming soon and I knew that I would be loading that page daily.

Geeksugar: I already know the answer to this, but for the sake of readers who may not know you, do you consider yourself to be a geek?
Macgirl: Oh yes, I'm a total geek. I don't think geek is quite the dirty word it used to be. I'm just really into technology and surround myself with others like me.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Macgirl: This is embarrassing... Probably twelve or more? Keep in mind at least 9 of that is mostly work related (I've been known to sneak a peek at a sugar site during the work day).

Geeksugar: Name your top 5 favorite websites.
Macgirl: Just 5? That's hardly nice. To be totally honest I start my morning off with TMZ.com. It is so smutty and horrible but I can't break the habit. Others that I visit everyday: engadget.com, geeksugar.com, macnn.com, popsugar.com, apple.com/discussions, popgadget.net, postsecret.com (I visit this on Sundays).

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Macgirl: How far are we going back? My parents bought an Apple IIe that I would type in page after page of code to try and get something to move across the screen. My dad worked with some guys that would send him home with stacks of these "programs." You make one typo in a hundred lines of code and you quickly tire of this game. The first computer I purchased with my own money was a beige Power Macintosh 9600 with a giant 20" Sony CRT Monitor (two weeks later Apple released the first G3).

Geeksugar: Top 3 gadgets you couldn't live without.
Macgirl: My iPhone, MacBook Pro and Tivo!!

Geeksugar: You knew you were a geek when...
Macgirl: When I got up at 3 am to sit on the cold concrete in San Francisco to see Steve Jobs give a live keynote at 9 am. Do you know how cold it is in SF in January??

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Macgirl: Confession of the day: I don't use RSS I've tried, I really have. There's just something I enjoy about the whole page with all of its pictures. I guess I'm afraid I'll miss something due to a non-exciting headline.

Geeksugar: What are some non-geeky things you do in your spare time?
Macgirl: Spending time with my 8 year old son. Playing board games is about as non-geeky as it gets. He reminds the family how important it is to put the computer down and focus on our time together. He is however, brilliant on his MacBook. He is savvier than most of my clients. We also like to travel, before my husband I hadn't really been out of the US. He's taken me to so many great places. It's really neat to watch movies and be like "we've been there!"

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Macgirl: My husband has to be number one. He's my partner in geek crime. Other than that I tend to admire people who really know their stuff and are passionate about it.

Geeksugar: So your name gives you away, but PC or Mac?
Macgirl: Mac, but I'll let you in on a little secret... Raised PC (well after the Apple IIe but that hardly counts). My parents to this day still only operate on PC. In college I actually had my first graphics classes on Windows 95. I didn't go Mac until I interned at an Ad agency. I had this tiny all in one Mac Classic (or something close) I taught myself Quark on it. I took to the Mac so well that I moved from intern to full time production artist in a year or so. I think they moved me up to a Quadra.

Geeksugar: You started a Mac group on TeamSugar. Can you tell us about it?
Macgirl: I've been working as an Apple technician for 7 years now. I have soaked up a ton of knowledge in that time. What I really wanted was to be able to help people with their Mac questions/problems and share the info I come across on a daily basis. Our group is almost to 100 members, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. The thing I find with Mac people is that they often suffer in silence. They are starting to come around and really posting some great things.

Geeksugar: Anything else about yourself?
Macgirl: I love video games! We have a Wii, a couple Nintendo DS', Game Cube, SNES and two Xbox 360s that we play via system link. For those of you who don't know what that means- I'm upstairs on one TV while my husband is downstairs on another we have little headsets where we can talk "You open, I'll frag and clear honey." I guess I've sealed that whole is she or isn't she a geek question.