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How Many Text Messages Did You Send on Saturday?

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:04:32 -0800

I know, Valentine's Day is over, so why am I still talking about it? Because I want to know if you went crazy and sent a hundred "Happy Valentine's Day" text messages to your loved ones? I emailed some hilarious Someecards, made a few phone calls, and probably sent about five text messages. What about you?

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I'd Heart a Heart-Shaped Flash Drive

GeekSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:00:52 -0800

Don't worry, with Valentine's Day coming (and going) tomorrow, my obsession with pink-and-red heart-and-flower all-out girliness will soon come to an end.

But it's not tomorrow yet, so I'm feeling free to gush about how frigging adorable these Heart-Shaped Flash Drives are.

It's about $38 bucks for a paltry 2GB and you'd have to pay for some outrageous shipping from Japan, but all I see is the pretty, pretty heart. Sigh.

Ten Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas!

GeekSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:01:26 -0800

I know, I know, you're sick and tired of hearing about Valentine's Day. But wait! You maybe missed some of my awesome V-Day gift ideas, date planning tips, or the free and fun things you can do on the Internet? If so, have a look at this slideshow, and you'll be fully prepped for tomorrow!

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This V-Day, Send Your NYC Friends an e-Condom on Facebook

GeekSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:00:51 -0800

There are a lot of things you could send your significant other on Valentine's Day, but did you ever think a virtual condom would be one of them? New York health officials are now giving you the option. Hoping to increase the use of condoms in their city, the NYC Department of Health has unveiled a new Facebook page to promote condom use, and an app that allows you to send an e-condom to your pals.

What's the deal with the e-condoms? With HIV rates in New York rising (over 100,000 residents testing positive), the need for protection is more important than ever. Officials are hoping to reach millions by using the social networking site to spread the word, allowing users to send a virtual version of its branded "city" condom, which has been handed out to 70 million people in New York so far. So for those of you who are connected to the Internet 24/7, you can protect yourself in reality. . . and now even in cyberspace as well.

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Valentine's Day Deal: Pick Up a Peek For $49

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:00:54 -0800

For the fellas out there that go all out for Valentine's Day and you get your girlfriend a gift, your sister a gift, your mother a gift, here's a great gadget gift that anyone would love. The Peek Email-Only Device is the cheapest its ever been - only $49. Keep in mind the monthly service is $20, but if somebody like your mom doesn't need a fancy smartphone but likes to be able to check her email on the go, this is the perfect solution. And you can even get her one in cherry red, how fitting for February 14th!

Geek Out: Do You Text, Call, or Email the Most With Your Love?

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:03:35 -0800

I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't single when it apparently became de rigeur to ask people out via text, like what Ginnifer Goodwin said she encounters.

I had an old-fashioned, caller-ID cell phone courtship (Yep, that's what's considered old-fashioned now).

But now that we're serious, I don't mind the "let's go out to eat" or "I love you" text or email; I don't demand phone calls for things I would have early in the relationship (is that problematic, Greg Behrendt?).

Maybe we're texters and emailers because we get plenty of face time at home, but it's interesting that we actually don't call each other that much. As big geeky smartphone people, who needs to pick up a phone?

But tell me; what kind of communication do you and your significant other most often share - texts, emails, calls - or are you even geekier, Twittering or Facebooking your plans and feelings?

Photo courtesy of New Line

Valentine's Day Gifts For Him Under $35

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:00:45 -0800

You're ready to go with gifts for her, now get ready for him. Check out my sweet V-Day suggestions for geeky guys, all under $35.

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Geeks We Love: Elaine Chow of Gizmodo

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:01:36 -0800

You've already seen the men of this year's Geeks We Love series, and now it's time to mix it up with a girl-crush: Elaine Chow of Gizmodo.

A gadget girl living in and writing from China, Elaine is set apart by geography and gender, as most of the Giz staff is male. Check out what she has to say about that, as well as a valuable dating/technology lesson she learned in my interview with her.

GS: You're the Gizmodo member who writes from Asia. Do you look out for what's breaking in tech while we're all sleeping on the other side of the world?

EC: Basically that's my job! Catch things that are only around the Asian websites or that would otherwise fall through the cracks during the graveyard shift. Thanks to the Internet, it's not too hard to do - though it sometimes gets lonely since very few of my coworkers are on the company chat room at two in the morning.

To see the rest of my interview with Elaine, just read more.

GS: Gadget rundown! Cell phone, computer, console?

EC: I actually have a terribly old cellphone - a Nokia model from 2005 that my dad stopped using last year. I'd lost my U.S. phone, a SE W580, on the plane ride over here. I've been hemming and hawing over what to replace it with since. A part of me wants something I can slip into tight jeans. Another part of me wants to use a smartphone already. Preferably running Android.

I've got my tablet PC, a Fujitsu Lifebook T4210, and my desktop. . . a Shuttle PC I built myself. I've been kind of lazy with my Shuttle. Back in New York, I had it hooked up to a 27-inch LCD TV. I was going to do that here, but just haven't found the time or money to go TV shopping. I got the Shuttle because it was small and easy to move around, but I wanted to be able to swap components as they got old. With the tablet - I love tablets. I like to doodle, so sometimes when I'm feeling a little strung out, I'll fire up Sketchbook Pro.

Besides that, I've got a Wii, a PS2, and my DS Lite. I've been a little obsessed with Mario Kart lately. I used to DDR a lot, but I haven't found a good mat in China yet. I'm waiting for Sony to come out with a slim PS3 (you know they're going to at SOME point in time. Come ON Sony!). . . and debating whether I really need an Xbox 360.

I waffle a lot when deciding whether to buy new stuff. I'm very stingy and I hate waste, so I'll obsess over the value to use ratio of my purchases. My TV's a big ol' 26-inch CRT my parents donated to my apartment.

GS: As one of the only female writers on the Gizmodo staff, do you feel you have an edge? Do you think you handle tech stories differently?

EC: I don't know if it gives me much of an edge to be a girl writer. When I first started out, I'd get some misogynistic comments if I ever wrote about say, a kitchen or cleaning gadget. I would like to think I don't handle anything differently than my fellow writers because I have ovaries though. It helps that the Giz crew is a pretty enlightened bunch. Maybe the guys tend to make a few more boner jokes. . .No. . . No, I make a lot of boner jokes too. Never mind.

GS: Being a woman writing in tech, is it more important that you connect with a female audience and show them you're a woman so they can relate to you, or that you are seen on the same level as a male tech blogger?

EC: I think the best way for me to write is to not think about being anything other than being "Elaine, who was fascinated enough with geeky things to become a tech blogger." I think me being a woman will color my posts as often as me being an environmentalist, me being a science lover, me liking cats, etc. You know? Like, it's important. . . but it's not the most important thing. That being said, if me being a woman blogging at Gizmodo has made any girl out there think "Hey, maybe this tech stuff isn't just for guys after all," I'd be super psyched.

GS: How do you feel about the current state of dating and technology? Any funny mishaps happen to you that could be blamed on tech?

EC: I'm one of those terrible people that never write letters or calls to say hello anymore thanks to email, IM'ing and text messaging. I think the last two guys I dated, I never actually conversed with on the phone. Part of that is probably because I actually hate phone conversations. It's a weird neurosis.

Hmm . . . a mishap with technology. Well, I don't know if I can call this one funny. A former boyfriend of mine had problems controlling his jealousy. One day, I had left my MSN messenger on before leaving my house for work and he saw that I'd received an email from another ex. He went into my emails, from there got passwords to my private blog and then proceeded to read it and yell at me for things I'd written (sometimes about him) that he didn't like.

Now my laptop is password protected and there's a specific guest setting for anybody that's not me to use. Also, I try not to date psychos.

GS: What's your favorite or most memorable thing you've gotten to do as part of Gizmodo?

EC: Meeting Brando in Hong Kong was a very surreal moment and it was thrilling to know that he was a fan. I think that sometimes I forget that millions of people are reading us, and some of those people are making the things we talk about all the time. And then you meet one of them and you're kind of like "whoa, why are you even giving me the time of day? You're awesome!" I love that I got the opportunity to do that.

Website of the Day: I Love You More Than

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:24:00 -0800

If you're the kind of couple who is not so big on just standard flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day, then let me introduce you to I Love You More Than, a website that lets you add your own sweet candy-heart message, declaring "I love you more than . . . " whatever you love your SO more than.

And if you're just a fan of love, particularly little personal declarations of quirky love, you'll also love this site more than most others. And that's saying something.

Have you discovered a cool website you want to share with geeksugar readers? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" 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!

Valentine's Day Deal: All Incipio Pink Phone Cases 30% Off

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:00:29 -0800

I've never really been a "pink" girl, but there's something about the impending holiday that softens me toward the hue. I guess it's just more romantic than obnoxious - so what better time to get a pink cell phone case than for Valentine's Day?

Sweetening the pot is Incipio, who's offering 30 percent off all of their pink cases - for iPhones, BlackBerrys, iPods, etc., - from now until Feb. 15. Just add the pink case to your cart to see the discount.

I've bought an Incipio case before and seen most of their colors in person, so I can attest to the shades looking great in real life. Yes, even the bubblegum pink.