GeekSugar

Website of the Day: The Filter

GeekSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:04:36 PDT

My ongoing struggle with Netflix is that it can never really recommend the right movies for me. It tells me that it thinks I'll like flicks I've seen and flicks I know I'll hate, so I usually just ignore that they even try. As for music, I get my recs from word-of-mouth, by friends whose taste I completely trust. The problem with both of those things is that I want constant recommendations for things - I always want to hear about a new band or see a movie I've never heard of.

Newly released, The Filter wants to fill that void. So far, it's been way more adept in telling me things I might like, and the format is ultraappealing - it's clear and simple.

Good for culture vultures, it also lists news and reviews about newly-released movies and music. Now I just need the time to go see these movies and hear this music! One thing at a time.

Handy Everyday Gmail Tips and Tricks

GeekSugar — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:01:03 PST

If you've moved to Gmail recently (congratulations!), it's possible that you could get overwhelmed with all of the options, settings, and possibilities at your fingertips. We've got a ton of tips to share, but let's start with a few basic and handy tips that you could use every day. Check them out below!

Make voice calls - You can easily make voice calls in Gmail on the cheap. In the "Chat" section, just click the "Call Phone" button and enter the digits. You'll then be able to make free calls to landlines the US and Canada, and for super cheap you can call cell phones and landlines worldwide.
Search with options - If you haven't discovered the "Show Search Options" link to the right of the Gmail search bar, you're in for a treat. Clicking it reveals a host of helpful options, including the ability to search by sender, date, attachment, subject, and more. It's extremely helpful if you are less than diligent about labeling and filing emails in your inbox.
Use rich text signatures - Tired of those boring text-only signatures or canned responses coming from your Gmail account? Take note: Gmail supports rich text signatures! Add links, colors, images, or formatting to your Gmail account signature, or any other account you've set up to send from Gmail. It's super easy to set up - just head to your settings page, scroll down to the Signature section, and design away!
Use keyboard shortcuts - First, enable keyboard shortcuts in your Settings menu. Then, use these fast and easy keyboard shortcuts to navigate!

See the rest of the list after the break.

Share Your Home and Decor Inspirations Using Instagram!

CasaSugar — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:00:00 PST

Have you started using Instagram yet? It's a great way to share photos with your friends - and with us! In a nutshell, Instagram is a free photo-sharing application. You take photos with your iPhone or iPad, apply a vintage filter, and then share your snapshots on the service and through other sites including Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

Want to share photos with us? First, follow CasaSugar on Instagram. Then, when you upload your photos, make sure to tag your photos with #LLV and we may feature your snapshots on CasaSugar as part of our Lovely Little Vignettes community group.

Need help getting started? Check out Instagram's support page for answers on everything from editing your profile to tagging your photos. Or feel free to leave a question below and we'll help you get started.

A Tour of the Latest Instagram Update v2.1

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:09:56 PST

Instagram issued an update to its popular photography app, and with version 2.1 comes a streamlined look, easier interaction, a new filter, and an easy way to jazz up your pics without filters.

First up, the fun stuff - Instagram added a new filter (above) called Sierra. This adds a nice, soft vintage feel to images and looks great in almost any light. Also new is Lux, a feature that allows you to brighten your pics without using a single filter. Activated by tapping the sunlight icon in the lower left-hand corner, Lux brings out detail and adds light to your images. Easy peasy.

Find out what else is new in Instagram 2.1 after the break.

Share Photos of Your Home and Decor Inspirations Using Instagram!

CasaSugar — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:39:03 PST

6 Geeky Valentine's Date Ideas For Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:12:51 PST

Don't settle for dinner and a movie this Valentine's Day! As photographers, you're both stimulated by the visual elements around you - why not incorporate your favorite pastime (or profession) into your next date? Check out these ideas for a very photo-friendly evening out.

Create a photo scavenger hunt. Each of you write down a random clue, rhyme, or abstract fact about three locations, then exchange clues and have the other person take photos based on the clues received.
Honor your shared love of photography by baking some camera cookies.
Do a bar crawl to hit up the city's best photo booths. Take a set of pics and have a different cocktail at each.
Make funny gifs of your favorite memories together.
Grab your cameras and spend the day snapping photos of your hood.
Say cheese and challenge yourself by posing for self-portraits together using every filter in Instagram or every film style in Hipstamatic in different locations.
Act like a visitor and snap pics at every tourist attraction in your city.
Stay up late to capture light trails on a city street or highway.
Spend some time after dinner perfecting your bokeh skills around town.
Give each other a list of images to capture throughout the day and compare your shots over drinks.

Source: Flickr user BlueGoaॐ☮

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

Trade the Ikea Prints For Instagram Wall Art

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:21:34 PST

Blame it on the dozens of downloaded photo apps and high-quality cameras in smartphones for our obsessive photographing and documentation of everyday life. Since there are tons of ways to print Instagram photos, I wanted to see how the square lo-res images translate to wall-worthy prints. Using CanvasPop, I turned an Instagram print from a memorable weekend into gallery-style canvas art as seen here.

Available in two sizes: a 12-inch stretched canvas square ($30 for a limited time) and a 20-inch stretched canvas square ($60 for a limited time), each canvas comes outfitted with a sawtooth hook for easy at-home hanging. The entire CanvasPop ordering process was as simple as taking an Instagram itself. Select a canvas size, a white or black canvas edge (which is not seen from a head-on view of the print), then the image itself by signing into your Instgram account on the site. If a retro border is what you want, be sure to select a photo from your Instagram library created with a filter that has a built-in border like Lomo-fi or Earlybird.

My 12-inch print was ordered during the hectic holiday season, but even with national holidays accounted for, it only took about two weeks for the finished canvas print to arrive nestled in a very secure cardboard box. I'm eager to make a few more prints for a pretty wall vignette while the introductory price deal is still on, since it's hard to rationalize $80 per print, despite the expert craftsmanship. The photo and filter colors on the canvas were nearly spot-on to the original image, just slightly more saturated, which actually seems appropriate considering I usually only see Instagrams in their tiny phone-sized resolution.

Whether it's a college dorm room or your first "grown-up" apartment, the CanvasPop Instagram print is a high-quality and affordable way to decorate with favorite memories.

Best Apps and Tools For Serious Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:21:19 PST

Serious photography requires a serious camera, but that doesn't mean you have to be chained to a laptop or desktop to process them. Paul Pierson, app designer and photo nerd, tossed his laptop aside for six months in order to find out if the iPad and iOS apps could handle a professional photo work flow. He found that the iPad is actually quicker and more efficient in processing photos than the traditional setup of a computer and Photoshop software, not to mention a lot less expensive.

At this year's Macworld, Paul shared some of his favorite tools and apps to help you create a love match between your DSLR and iPad. First tip? Get a Card Reader from Photojojo ($30) so you can get those beautiful images captured on your DSLR to your iPad and, thus, your camera apps. Duh. Also you'll probably want an iPad with lots of storage - 64GB ($700), please.

Load up your iPad with the apps below for professional photographers, and experiment with more than one to create stunning images with less equipment.

Sunseeker ($5) - Helps you find where the sun is, or it will be, with the help of augmented reality. Great for landscape photos.

ioShutter ($70, coming Feb. 12) - Turns your iPhone into an intervalometer. This tool plugs into your iPhone and SLR, allowing you to fire your SLR again and again with the app and help you create beautiful time-lapse sequences.

Ollo Clip ($70) - This clip-on lens gives your iPhone or iPad an advantage with three different lenses built right in - fish-eye, wide angle, and macro.

ACDSee Camera Flash ($1) - Brings out details in underexposed images.

Snapseed ($5) - Won Apple's App of the Year because of its variety of filters, edit tools, and selective adjust tools like edge detection that applies changes to objects within the perimeter.

Ready for more? See the rest of the list after the break.

iPhoneography Tips From the Pros: Stephanie Roberts

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:03:26 PST

We headed out to Macworld earlier today to sit in on an interesting and informative tech talk that featured Stephanie Roberts, founder of Lens on Life Foundation and author of The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity, who shared some helpful tips on mobile digital photography and some of her favorite apps for the craft.

The iPhone is now the most popular camera in the world, partly thanks to its small, portable, and discreet form. While you don't have much fine-tune control while you're shooting, you have lots of options when it comes to postprocessing apps to tweak and share your photos on the go. Below, a few ways you can use iPhoneography to your artful advantage, and some apps to download now.

Let your creative instincts guide you - Think of iPhoneography as a daily practice. Keep shooting and keep perfecting your craft. Since you'll want to be shooting throughout the day, collect moments that move you - whether it's colors, images, shapes, or scenes. Then, study your work over a period of time to find your true vision. It's also a great way to document your daily life and keep you connected to the practice of photography.

Craft your toolkit - Don't be shy about loading up your iPhone with photography apps. Learn about some of Stephanie's favorite apps after the break.