GeekSugar

Geeky Girl We Love: Gina Hughes

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:30:09 -0700

Words like "geek," "techie" and "diva" can drum up some nasty stereotypes, but Gina Hughes, the Chief Editor and Founder of TechieDiva, seems to embody only the sugar-sweet aspects of each and her site is anything but diva-driven. Like geeksugar, TechieDiva showcases fun gadgets, iPods, cell phones as well as practical services and killer applications. We fell for Gina because of her inherent ability to merge technology and style and her aptitude for keeping us entertained and coming back for more everyday. Turns out she's a karaoke fan (big props here!) and she thinks Gizmodo's Jason Chen is a dead sexy geek...following her hubby of course. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Gina: Soon after my four-year tour in the Marine Corps ended, I moved to Austin, TX where I worked as a Web Designer for several years. Colleagues introduced me to blogging, mainly to learn the code, but I ended up creating my first business blog in 2003. I launched Techie Diva in 2005 all by myself, mainly to stay up-to-date on the latest technology out there. Blogging has opened up many doors for me, including the opportunity to write a column for Yahoo! Tech which has really exposed me to a broader audience, and gives me the opportunity to help tech novices around the world. I love it!

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Gina: Anyone who blogs for a living, might as well say good bye to any kind of social life they had. It can become an unhealthy obsession! I completely shut off my
computer on weekends to get my weekly overdose of Vitamin D playing tennis, running, biking, hiking, or golfing. I also enjoy watching foreign movies, playing
board games (yes, board games), shopping, playing guitar and guitar hero, reading, entertaining friends, and chilling out with my hubby. My geeky hobbies have me slaving away on the computer editing home movies, digitizing my photo collection, burning DVDs of old home videos, and helping my friends and family with any techie needs. I try to change things up all the time, and love to try anything at least once.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Gina: I refuse to spend any time on the computer on weekends - that's my time. But during the week, I can literally spend 12-15 hours a day online - and it feels
more like a guilty pleasure than work! I have to remind myself to take breaks often, since sitting down all that time can be really bad for your back. I started doing some yoga to stretch out the muscles. It works great.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Gina: A very old and slow one, that I'm quite embarrassed to talk about. I was a poor student at the time, and it was within my budget. But ask me about my computer
now...(cough) Macbook.

Geeksugar: What are three luxurious things you've featured on your site that you really want?
Gina: I want them all! I wouldn't mind a Vertu Phone, Muiro iPod Robot, and the NailJet Pro, since I'm terrible at doing my own nails.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites/websites that inspire you?
Gina: I tend to visit design and celebrity gossip blogs to break up the monotony. My favorite eye-candy blogs are Coolhunting.com, TheCoolhunter.net, Design Sponge, Treehugger.com, Digg.com, Blogher.org, and Valleywag.

Geeksugar: What is your greatest techie luxury in life?
Gina: My car. I drive an Acura RL with GPS, Bluetooth, voice recognition, satellite radio, iPod connections, keyless entry, gosh you name it. That thing can do just about anything, but park itself, but I hear that's coming soon. I also feel really guilty about having a swanky 40" 1080P Sony Bravia in my office so I can watch Oprah. That TV is insane!

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Gina: Over 500 feeds! I don't visit them on a daily basis, but I do visit them at least weekly.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Gina: The warm weather has motivated me to start working out again, so these days I try to exercise early in the morning or sometime in the afternoon. After the occasional A.M. workout, my day starts out by checking email, IM, posts on my blogs, reply to email, review products, do a little video blogging, go through my RSS feeds, and write up my daily posts on Yahoo! Tech and Techie Diva. After that, I take a long TV break to catch up on my TiVo programming, then I'm back on the computer blogging before I go to bed. Pretty boring, which is why sometimes I hit the bar during happy hour, and on Thursdays happy hour turns into Karaoke night. A girl's gotta have some fun.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Gina:

Mr. Hughes- my daily inspiration and great all around geek.
Chris Null - The man is funny and smart. Funny is the new sexy.
Jason Chen - Any guys who sticks electronics down his pants is pretty damn sexy.
Ricky Montalvo - Ricky is bringing technosexual back!
Sergey Brin ( in drag) - Need I say more?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Gina: There are so many sexy geeky ladies out there, and I wish I could list them all here. Sexy geeky women are a combo of brains, humor, fearlessness, and inspiration. I think these five ladies fit the bill right now.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Gina: I love David Pogue from the NYT because he's so funny, and really out there. I admire the way he has fun talking about tech.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek?"
Gina: Geek is the new chic, don't you know? I consider it a compliment.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Gina: I spend more time at electronics stores, than a shopping mall. Anyone who really knows me, would be shocked to hear that.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for Techie Diva? What do you want your readers to get when they visit your site?
Gina: These are exciting times, so I hope Techie Diva visitors get their daily fix of present and futuristic technology trends changing the way we live. My goal would be to inspire more women to embrace technology in their own way. It has literally rocked my world, and even I feel like I learn something totally new and exciting every day. I just love it!

Daily Tech: Barnes & Noble to Design a New eReader?

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:02:28 -0700

Sounds like everyone is cashing in on the e-book reader craze. Rumor has it that Barnes & Noble has been in talks with Verizon and now Sprint about a possible eReader partnership. - Switched
Wal-Mart and Amazon are following in Apple's footsteps by adjusting the prices for their digital music. - USA Today
Find out what etiquette rules Tyra Banks suggests practicing when using Facebook and Twitter. - Techie Diva
Read It Later app is a Firefox extension that will allow you to bookmark a page's text or all of the content to read offline later on your iPhone. - Lifehacker
The HTC Touch Diamond will be coming to Verizon Wireless this month and will cost a whopping $300 even with a contract. - Engadget

Daily Tech: The T-Mobile G1 Is Now Down to $98

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:06:33 -0700

If you head on over to Amazon, you can now pick up the T-Mobile G1 for only $98 with a two year contract.- CrunchGear
The controls being placed on the new iPod shuffle's headset cable may not have been a good idea for a variety of reasons. - Gizmodo
Rewind back to 2005, when the writers at Saturday Night Live envisioned a similar looking iPod shuffle (the iPod Micro) to the one that was announced today. - Cult of Mac
French designer Be.ez has created some stylish bags for all of your gadgets. - Boing Boing
Christian Siriano, winner of season four of Project Runway recently admitted that he loves Twitter and MySpace, but isn't a big "gadgety" person. - Techie Diva

Daily Tech: Workout With Gaming Gear. Gizmodo Style.

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:01:00 -0800

Are you a geek looking for a new workout? Illustrated New Year's workout for geeks...with nothing but gaming gear. It's hot. - Gizmodo
What does the AC/DC Shifter do? It plays AC/DC songs and allows you to mix the tracks with the tractor handles. – Unplugged
Our friends at Techie Diva have designed their site. It's pretty fly. - Techie Diva
MTV Networks video is coming soon to a site near you. - Crave
Popgadget wonders: How addicted are you to your cell phone? If they only knew. - Popgadget

This Week on Geeksugar - Luxurious Cell Phones

GeekSugar — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:00:19 -0700

The Touchmate TM-M800 cellphone is ready to give the glittery Prada and Gucci phones a run for their money.
If you are in the market for bunnies, chicks, eggs and chocolates consider asking the Easter bunny for geeky treats instead of something sugary-sweet.
There's a new gadget trend in town, and love it or not, its hit the geek circuit with a bang. Geeky product connoisseur Thinkgeek has unveiled the Hip and Shoulder Holsters. It's James Bond meets Dwight Schrute.
Words like "geek," "techie" and "diva" can drum up some nasty stereotypes, but Gina Hughes, the Chief Editor and Founder of TechieDiva, seems to embody only the sugar-sweet aspects of each and her site is anything but diva-driven.
Alert the press! I was pacing San Francisco looking for one of the new R2-D2 mailboxes but a reader found one in Oregon. Not sure which is cuter, the mailbox or her. Okay, she wins!
This year at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, a panel of experts came together to discuss "Getting Girls Into The Game: Designing and Marketing Games for Female Players. Always a conversation starter!
Sony's new PlayStation 3 video game was once the top dog in terms of video game console sales and now it's considered the underdog. Are you a PlayStation 3 or Wii fan?

For all you outdoorsy, hiking and jogging enthusiasts, there is a free download for Mac users called trailrunner that lets you plan workout routes on a geographical map.
You can add some color and flair to your online life with Google's personalized home pages. You'll get the choice of six fancy panoramas - a city, a teahouse, a winter scene, a sky, a beach and a bus stop - that change depending on the time of day and the weather. I must say, it's pretty as a peach!
Of all the expensive gadgets and items people carry on their person with them everyday, the iPod seems to the universal must-have item for robbers and bullies. You better watch out cause the SF Chronicle is reporting that Robbers Love iPods!

Tech News Roundup - Custom Zune Colors Arrive

GeekSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 12:30:45 -0700

Custom Zune colors arrive - Engadget
Cat Cable Clip Looks Cute, Organizes - Gizmodo
Who says blogging's not journalism? Engadget, influence and journalistic responsibility - Shiny Shiny
Does your phone need a vibrating wristband? - Crave
Kitty Keyboard Kover offers a compromise - Techie Diva
Mini desktop filing cabinet holds business cards - Techie Diva
Microsoft Bans Altered Xbox 360s - Switched

Pet Beat Generation Bag Trumps Non-Pet Bag

GeekSugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:00:48 -0800

If you liked the geek chic lifepod purse we showed you yesterday and you have even slight pet-lover tendencies, you're going to go hog wild at the Beat Generation Stereo Pet Carrier. I have to admit I would have missed it were it not for Techie Diva's Gina Hughes, who admitted even though she doesn't have a dog she kinda wants her own carrier. Is it wrong I share her sentiments?

The pet-carrier was made to groove with any iPod, MP3 player, DVD and even your laptop so you can listen to music or audio books without headphones...and carrying your pooch. According to Techie Diva, the carrier was given to Oscar attendees last week at the Roosevelt Hotel, so expect to see celebrities promoting their next album at the airport. I can just see Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel toting this around with their cute pooches!

Fun and Functional Techie Finds For Kids

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:04:24 -0700

As much as I go ga ga for techie products targeted for adults, there are certainly some accessories for kids that make me drool just as much. It's a given that kids today are going to be exposed to all sorts of technology, so it's only fitting that they be included in all the gadget frenzy fun. Here are some of my favorite child friendly tech toys.

The Sansa Shaker by Sandisk is a fun mp3 player that kids can shake to change the songs. They can also go wild customizing their players with the included colorful stickers. Each shaker comes with its own lanyard and a SD memory card slot so they can rock out to their fave tunes. And if they're not comfortable the earphones, there's a built-in speaker so they can blast their music for everyone to enjoy! Only $40 at Amazon.

Ok if your child is spoiled and has a 30, 40, or 80GB video iPod, or if you just want to protect yours, the iFrogz tadpole will provide you with comfortable grip handles to help make viewing easy and fun! The only exposed parts of the iPod are the click wheel, the screen and hold button. There are also headphones to go with the cases and are compatible with all iPod's. Cases are available in cool colors like mandrin orange, purple parade, pink panther, royal blue, lymon green and bright red. Price is $20 for the wrap or $25 with the headphones.

Techie Diva posted this adorable HANNspree bright red apple 10 inch LCD television- a perfect accessory for a playroom or kids bedroom. Just open the doors to reveal the TV as the speakers are right inside. Check out the site for more super cute styles. Price is around $400.

An Exclusive Look at Aliph's Latest Jawbone Headset!

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:30:08 -0700

Sleek and chic was the name of the game at last night's Jawbone party here in San Francisco. Me and my geeksugar partner in crime were out in full force, checking out Jawbone's latest and greatest second generation bluetooth headset, which is now available for $130. Not only did we get to examine this fashionable device, which features stellar noise-blocking technology and is fifty percent smaller than the original model, but we ran into one of our favorite tech savvy gals - Gina Hughes of Yahoo! Tech and Techie Diva!

For a full gallery from the event, check out all the pics below. And if you're wondering how to get your hands on the gold and silver designs, they'll be available soon. Finally, a bluetooth device with extraordinary sound quality that is comfortable to wear and is absolutely stylish!

View 5 Photos ›

Daily Tech: 3G iPhone to Include GPS, Nike+ and Much More

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:50:39 -0700

Rumors are swirling that the new and improved iPhone will feature Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity to provide Nike+ applications to go, including the Nike+ Coach feature. - Gizmodo
The four finalists in the international $1.8 million Millennium Technology Prize from the Technology Academy of Finland have just been announced. - USA Today
Are you an obsessed bubble-wrap popper? The Japanese have just designed a new toy, the "Eternal Poppety-Pop," which can constantly fill and refill bubbles in a sheet of bubble wrap. - CrunchGear
Check out what Virgin America flights have to offer with this video review by Gina Hughes. - Techie Diva
TeamSugar user Cinnamon Girl tells us five things you never knew your cell phone could do. - Technology & Gadgets