GeekSugar

What If Websites Were Rated Like Movies?

GeekSugar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:00:23 -0800

What if you went to a website and a rating popped up, telling you it was PG-13? That's the suggestion of British Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, who thinks that "film-style ratings" for websites is a good idea.

Whether it would work or not, I think it's a logical conclusion to come to, since even video games are given ratings these days. Of course, the big questions would have to be worked out - How would it be decided? How would it be enforced? And whose responsibility would it fall under? The little questions abound too - what about personal blogs and individual social networking pages?

I could see this being a relief to parents who are eager to shield their children from all that can be found on the Internet, but I could also see it as a big hassle for those of us who are of age, if we're talking age verifications.

What do you think?
Source

Website of the Day: Gnoosic

GeekSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:30:26 -0700

I know there're plenty of ways for you to discover new music online - from Pandora to my new fave, CitySounds - but I'm about to add another to your bag of tricks. Called Gnoosic, this website asks you point blank what bands or artists you like, works its analyzing magic, then spits out a list of recommended artists you might fancy.

Sure, it doesn't have a fancy interface like Pandora, but it's smart - it's a self-adapting system that has compiled thousands of band names from users, then learned what people like and don't like based on its rating system. Plus, it's free and won't ask for any registration to use, so I don't know why you wouldn't give it a shot. Your ears will thank you.

Have an interesting website you want to share? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click "New Post" under the website of the day tab at the top of the page.
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Type "Technology and Gadgets" in the Categories box
Add keyword(s) in the tag field with relevant tags (for example mine for this story was "Website of the Day").
Choose whether you want the post to be private or public.
Click "Create Post" 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!

Use the HotelPal App to Find Hotels by City, Zip or GPS

GeekSugar — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 07:05:20 -0700

I know - more travel stuff - but I just can't help myself! I've rambled on about useful travel websites and devices to take with you on your Summer getaways, but boy did I ever get excited when I discovered this app. Powered by Travelocity the free HotelPal iPhone application will help you find a hotel when you are planning a vacay (or if you need something last minute!). It even provides photos, a list of amenities, and descriptions, so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. And I love the fact that it will tell you the hotel rates and if it is full or not!

Would You Use a Website to Track Your Sex Life?

GeekSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:01:43 -0700

This geek may have known that gadgets in the bedroom might not do a sex life good, but she had no idea that there's a website that allows you to chronicle all of the dirty details of your sex life. I can officially say there's a website for everything, because with Bedpost, you can enter the date you had sex with someone, the time, how long it lasted, who it was with, you can include descriptive tags, and my fave - the star rating scale.

The site creators know that this info is as private as your financial data, so they swear it's kept confidential, secure, and can be deleted at anytime. In my opinion, if you're having sex that much and you need to keep track of who it was with, there may be other things you need besides this website - OK, I'll leave that for TrèsSugar - but I'm really interested in knowing if anyone would actually use this?

Daily Tech: The iPhone and the BlackBerry Bold Get Free WiFi

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0700

AT&T is already offering free WiFi at its hotspots for iPhone users. Well they've just announced that they will be opening it up to BlackBerrys with the Bold getting it first. - Gizmodo
Netflix's latest partnership with TiVo allows TiVo users with Series 3, HD, or HD XL sets to start streaming high-quality movies to their home TV. - The Boy Genius Report
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has teamed up with Parenting.com to create a videogame rating system that will help prevent kids from playing age-restricted games. - Kotaku
Can you believe that a new study is suggesting that social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace actually make workers more productive? - Switched
Planning on watching some scary movies tomorrow night for Halloween? Here's a list of websites where you can find a ton of horror movies for free. - Yahoo! Tech

Make Your Own Web Shows With Take180

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:03:05 -0700

Ever wish you could take your brilliant ideas, submit them to a website and have a team of skilled producers create real-life episodes with them? Still in beta, but launching today, Take180 is an interactive site that poses challenges to its users, and users then submit a video, picture, story, etc., as their answer. Within the Take180 community, other members will rate the submissions, leave comments, and then the producers will choose finalists for the final vote. Whoever ends up with the most votes is selected as the winner (winners receive fancy prizes) and their submission is used in an upcoming episode of a Take180 series.

All Take180 shows are less than 180 seconds, hence the 180 part and show titles already include My Alibi (a high-school comedy), In2ition (a metaphysical mystery), and The Juice Box (a celebrity/pop-culture spoof). It's pretty neat, it's free, and there's even famous actors and actresses starring in episodes (Gabrielle Carteris!).

Yelp Gets a Rival in the Decider, Courtesy of the Onion

GeekSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:00:18 -0700

I'm a longtime Yelp user, but lately things are getting a little crowded and messy in there. But it looks like I'll have options pretty soon: The Onion (yes, that Onion) is launching a new website for users to rate businesses, called Decider. It's not satirical, like its founder, but sincere, much like the AV Club.

So far, the only city Decider is in is Chicago, but they are planning to open it up for other cities soon, and so far, I'm a fan. The layout is clean and is sort of a hybrid of Yelp and CitySearch, employing the former's social networking and user ratings, and the latter's more formal elements, such as the editorial descriptions of businesses before the reviews.

I'm not taking sides; I can be a Yelper and a Decider - they just better get to San Francisco quick!

Easy Ways to Share Your Honeymoon Photos

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:45:21 -0700

We're winding down from all the killer wedding coverage here on the Sugar Network, and since we've walked you through the wedding-planning stages, the wedding shower, the Big Day, and helped you map your geeky honeymoon destination, it's only right that I follow through and give you some simple ways to share your amazing – and G-rated – honeymoon photos with your friends, family, and guests!

Sharing your photos is a great way to let your family in on the fun you had, and will remind you of your special day forever.

Using a free Flickr, Picasa, or Photobucket account provides a quick and easy way to batch load and edit the photos you want to share from your honeymoon. I would suggest starting a new account just for your wedding festivities so your attendees can browse at their own leisure.
Display your photos on a digital photo frame! If you forgot to add one to your wedding registry, the good news is that they are getting less and less expensive. You can pick up a really nice one like the sleek Philips 6.5-inch model that holds 30 photos for around $100.

To see a few more tips, just read more.

Upload them to your wedding website! Since all of your guests already have the site information you sent out with your invites, it should be easy for them to find and browse through your pics.
Turn your most interesting photos into a stunning coffee-table book with iPhoto! The simple process has you dragging and dropping your pics into your custom-themed pages, and in a short time, your book will arrive at your door complete with a custom dust jacket.
Last but certainly not least, upload your photos to TeamSugar (and other online communities you belong to) for free and simple sharing with your friends.

If you're still wanting more wedding mania, check out more of our coverage on I Do Sugar!

Source

Forget Your Car - Pimp Your Safari

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:05:19 -0800

If you're a Safari user you should check out PimpMySafari.com, a website that catalogs some of the better plugins for the browser. While the idea for the name came from the MTV series on blinging car customization called "Pimp my Ride," PimpMySafari is a bit more practical and useful.

Safari doesn’t have an official ‘extension architecture,' so many users don’t know about the extensions offered on the site. The emphasis is on plugins that work within Safari, but occasionally the creators have included apps they feel are essential - and for the most part, they are on track. There's no rating system, but only the better apps are included in the first place.

PimpMySafari's three essential extensions are: Saft, PithHelmet and Stand.

Download Music Legally, Part Deux

GeekSugar — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 09:10:30 -0800

Everyone seemed to love my tips for downloading free music, so you'll be happy to hear there are plenty of other great sites that offer free and legal downloads - many of which will add that much-needed spice to your usual music collection.

MFiles.co.uk: Is a simple, but rich site that provides free downloads of well-known classical music. From Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 to Bach's Preludes & Fugues (with a few, modern twists in between), the site will quench your thirst for classical music and provide a perfect soundtrack to your January work day.

Music.download.com: The music section of the ever popular Download.com site, music.download offers free full-length MP3s in all genres including: children’s, spoken word, comedy, folk and religious tracks. A fun site to play around on.

MP34U.com: Marketed as a site where "MP3 Lunatics Run the Asylum," MP34U is anything but crazy. Artists create profiles at the music website where they can upload an unlimited number of songs and get 100 percent free lifetime hosting for their MP3s. Find music at the rate of one MP3 a day, four or five a day, or thousands a day

For one more site, just read more

Vitaminic: Though it is currently undergoing an overhaul, Vitaminic has a great selection of iPod-compatible MP3 format and iPod-incompatible Realmedia format. The site spans a wide range of genres - even including ones such as classical, jazz, and world music.