GeekSugar

The Next Best Thing To A Keyboard Shortcut For Bugs

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:05 PDT

A few years ago I spilled something onto my lap, and all I could think of was, "Edit, Undo". I was embarrassed for myself.

But that was then - now, I fully embrace my nerdiness and I am all for geeklife infiltrating real life, like with Fred & Friends' Delete Button Flyswatter. While not as fun as the bug zapping tennis racket, it's more clever, though, ahem, PetSugar, neither of them are very humane to those poor flies.

They say it works on Windows and Macs (snort) and it comes in charcoal or ivory. You know, to match your keyboard!

Daily Tech: Amazon Hits the Streets

GeekSugar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:02:18 PST

King of online retail, Amazon, is planning a brick-and-mortar store - Newser
5 ways to avoid Facebook fraud - Tecca
Air traffic may finally switch to GPS technology - SlashGear
The concept designs for a zero gravity rollercoaster includes vomit vacuums - Dvice
Deleted Facebook photos still online three years later - Ars Technica
Untouched for 15 million years, Russian scientists breached a lake under Antarctica after 20 years of work - Geekosystem

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight's star-crossed lovers Edward and Bella (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) tie the knot in this installment, but their idyllic honeymoon is interrupted when they discover that vampires can, in fact, impregnate humans. Bella is willing to do anything to protect the life of her baby, Edward will do anything to save Bella, and Jacob tries to keep his wolfpack at bay. The movie goes quickly from cheesily romantic to surprisingly graphic, but the film is very loyal to the book. DVD extras include a six-part making-of documentary, a wedding video, a Jacob featurette, and a commentary track with the director.

25%

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) reunite for this holiday-themed sequel, the third part in their drug-fueled comedy series. This time, the guys have grown apart (Harold is now a husband in the suburbs while Kumar is a slacker in the city), but Christmas Eve hijinks force them to work together and grow close again. The boys - and Neil Patrick Harris - are as raunchy as ever, but this installment is as funny as the original, and festive to boot. DVD extras include deleted scenes.

69%

See one more new release after the jump.

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:05:19 PST

Drive

Ryan Gosling plays the strong, silent type in this action-packed thriller about a stunt driver who moonlights driving getaway cars for thieves. He's thrown for a loop when he falls for his next-door neighbor (Carey Mulligan), and agrees to help her husband with a robbery that goes horribly awry. The film is engaging, impossibly stylish, and boasts a killer soundtrack, as well as top-notch performances from Gosling and Albert Brooks. DVD extras include featurettes.

93%

In Time

This futuristic flick takes us to a world where time is currency, and once you hit 25, you need your minutes to stay alive. Unfortunately, the rich keep getting richer and the poor, like Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), are fighting for survival. Will becomes a target when he's gifted an eyebrow-raising number of minutes, and sets out on a moral crusade against the elite to help himself and others who are in his situation. Though the idea of the film is promising, the dialogue and convoluted plot don't live up to expectations. DVD extras include deleted scenes and extended scenes.

37%

One more release when you

read more. The Big Year Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson head up this comedy about three very different men competing for a bird-watching title known as a "big year." Through their scheming and scrambling to outdo each other, they each learn something about friendship and how their obsession with birding is affecting their personal lives and relationships. Though the film has old-fashioned, innocuous comedy, it's also slow and forgettable. 39%

9 Quick Tips For Better iPhoneongraphy

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:20:39 PST

After sitting in on the photography session at Macworld, I'm even more committed to following through on my New Year's resolution to take better photos. This includes iPhoneography. If you've become obsessed with capturing images on your mobile phone, here are nine quick tips from Stephanie Roberts to maximize your shooting style, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Discover your go-to shooting app and keep it within thumb reach on your home screen.
Get comfortable shooting with one hand.
Play with lighting and exposure effects by tapping on different areas of the screen.
If the image is well composed, don't delete it! You can work wonders with apps!
Capture different patterns and textures and consider using them as layers in various apps.
Few apps meet all your creative needs. Use multiple apps to create your own personal style.
Back up your photos often and keep your apps up to date!
Go to "Settings" to adjust photo app settings for maximum image quality on capture and save.
Keep a charger or battery pack handy. Taking photos and editing in multiple apps is taxing on the battery.

Source: Instagram user KristyKorcz

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.

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:05:03 PST

50/50

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in this film as a 27-year-old man who finds himself diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. As he struggles with his mortality, his best friend (Seth Rogen) helps him to face the reality of his situation, which is where many of the film's laughs come from. With a powerful performance by Gordon-Levitt, the movie is a huge success, especially considering that it manages to find so much humor in a subject that's rarely portrayed as funny. DVD extras include deleted scenes, featurettes and a commentary track with Rogen and director Jonathan Levine.

93%

Real Steel

Hugh Jackman plays a dad and former boxer in this futuristic action flick about boxing robots. When his estranged son shows up and wants to help assemble a robot to fight in the ring, father and son bond. While there are some exciting sequences, the family-friendly flick is also pretty predictable and cheesy. Extras on the DVD include a blooper real and two featurettes.

59%

See one more new release after the jump.

Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal, Heading For Facebook Next?

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:15:58 PST

Internet hacktivist group Anonymous blocked traffic from CBS.com and deleted all of its files last night during Operation Global Blackout, a hackathon that began shortly after file-sharing site MegaUpload was shut down, and has its sights set on Facebook as its next target. In a YouTube video released this morning, the group (or an affiliate group) asks users to help take down the world's biggest social network at 12 a.m. on January 28th.

Your Facebook profile most likely holds tons of your most precious photos and videos, and like your computer, you should back up all that data just in case. Here, I'll tell you how to download all of your Facebook content - from wall posts to photo galleries - for safe keeping.

Download Your Data From Facebook
You can download a copy of all of your Facebook data right on the social network. Just head to Account > Account Settings > Download a Copy of Your Facebook Data (this link will be in the bottom left-hand corner of the Account Settings window). Included in the download is your contact info, photos, videos, notes, and wall posts as well as chat conversations, friend lists, events, and comments made on your wall posts. If you do choose to back up your Facebook data (it's recommended!), then be sure to keep it in a safe place, like a password-protected file on an external hard drive.

Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan Talk About the Future of How I Met Your Mother

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:40:47 PST

CBS focused on its current shows during the Winter TCA, bringing out comedy How I Met Your Mother, which is currently in its seventh season. Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan were the only actors present today, but they had plenty to say, along with series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. They talked about what's next for Marshall and Lily and their new little family, Robin's recent revelation, and the perennial question about when we'll meet the mother.

Though no one gave us anything concrete about the mother, Bays insisted, "we know what the end game of the series is." Segel piped up to say that he was "so relieved when I found out there was an actual plan," and then joked about it, implying that it might be the apocalypse before we find out: "We have to see if the Mayans are right! It might be Dec. 21, 2012."
Bays and Thomas answered the question of whether Marshall and Lily are really moving permanently to their suburban home by saying that we're all about to find out. Thomas said that we're "going to see them deal with that" in the next few episodes.
Fans weren't the only ones irritated with the show faking us out with Robin's kids. Hannigan recounted, "You should have seen us at the table read. I was like, season pass delete!" But she said she was angry because she cared so much.
On the show's evolution, Thomas mentioned that they couldn't have done storylines like Marshall losing his dad in season one or two. For his part on that arc, Segel said that "it was a real honor" to be given the chance to play out Marshall's grief, and echoed that "it's a real honor when people ask the best of you."

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

Moneyball

Brad Pitt takes on the role of Oakland A's manager Billy Beane in this big-screen adaptation of Michael Lewis's book by the same name. The film follows Beane as he uses unorthodox methods in an attempt to put together a winning 2002 team on a small budget. The film is a delight, thanks to an all-star cast and a smart script by Aaron Sorkin. Pitt turns in a charismatic performance, and Jonah Hill really shines as the straight-laced whiz kid who inspires Beane to look at baseball stats in a new light. DVD extras include bloopers, deleted scenes, and featurettes (including commentary from the real Billy Beane and some MLB players).

95%

What's Your Number?

Anna Faris leads this romantic comedy as a woman who decides to track down her former lovers when a magazine article suggests she's had too many sexual partners to ever settle down. Chris Evans plays her charming, womanizing neighbor who helps her with her quest. The film is chock-full of rom-com clichés, but Faris and Evans make a cute onscreen pair, and there are tons of fun celebrity cameos. The DVD includes some deleted scenes.

24%

One more new release when you

read more. Killer Elite Jason Statham stars as a former British special ops agent who is pulled back into action when his mentor (Robert De Niro) is taken prisoner by a band of assassins. His hunt to take down their leader (Clive Owen) takes him on a dangerous chase around the world. Bonus features include a bunch of deleted scenes. 25%