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Log In to Win Geek-Chic Beach Gadgets and Accessories on geeksugar!

GeekSugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:00:47 -0700

Before Summer is completely over - and I have to embrace Fall - I thought it'd be fun to give away a few of my favorite beach-friendly gadgets to one of our readers! There's a ton of great stuff in this giveaway including a waterproof camera, a solar bag, a portable speaker, waterproof gadget cases, a speaker pillow, and a waterproof speaker case for your iPod - and it could all be yours! And even if you don't think you'll be making it back to the beach this year, these products are also perfect for trips and taking poolside. . . hello hotels!

To enter, You must log in and take the quiz below - I will ask you one question about each product in the giveaway. Your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by completing the quiz once you are logged in. You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member and log in before you take the quiz. If you're not already a member, just register here for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored.

The contest is open to US residents only and ends on Sept. 24, 2008, at 5 p.m. PDT. For Official Rules, click here.

Take the quiz

Fun Summer Geek Reads

GeekSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:45:26 -0700

To me, Summer is not only about throwing parties, taking trips and getting out your waterproof beach gear, it's also about winding down . . . and by winding down, I mean losing yourself in a good book. They are geeky, witty, and full of flair - here are some of my favorite Summer beach reads for all the geeky gals out there.

View Slideshow ›

A Summer Survival Guide For Geeks

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:33:10 -0700

Just in case you've missed some of our sizzling Summer coverage, here are my favorite post picks, which are guaranteed to get any geek prepped for some warm weather fun.

Tech Travel Tips	Fun Summer Geek Reads	Gadgets For the Beach
Wacky Waterproof Gadgets	Geeky Essentials For International Travel	Nine iPhone Applications For Summer

Macgirl Explores Her New iPhone

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:00:19 -0700

The lines, media frenzy and general geekiness surrounding last Friday's iPhone launch were nothing less of awe-inspiring. I can honestly say I have never seen 1,000 people ogling a single gadget with such curiosity, adoration and desire. While I spent the day reporting from the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco, I asked any of you who were participating in the madness to share your stories as well. And, while not all of you were able to take the day off work to get your hands on the iPhone, geeksugar reader and resident Mac expert, macgirl was quick to share details of her whole day - from the line at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, Ca to her unboxing. Her photos compare the iPhone to her Treo and offer those of you that haven't had a chance to see it in person a brilliant sneak peek at the phone. She reports: "First let me start out by saying it is way neater than I could have ever imagined. The fact that you couldn't play with it ahead of time made it even better. I felt like Jack in Nightmare Before Christmas 'what's this??!??'" I couldn't agree more.

To check out more additional pictures from macgirl's unboxing, read more

View 13 Photos ›

Check out macgirl's "first thoughts" about the phone in her blog on TeamSugar!

Of course, if you waited in line don't forget share your photos in the Geeky Things I Love group. To learn how to share, see list below.

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 Geeky Things I Love
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this post was "museum, Lego")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you love the download, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the Geeky Things I Love and start sharing your photos. They might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Love 2.0: Heather Champ and Derek Powazek

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:00:40 -0800

If we’re to believe pop culture, a Beauty and a Geek can fall in love in six episodes, teach each other to dress and balance their checkbooks and combine to make the perfect pair. It may not be that easy in the real world, but there are plenty of beautifully geeky couples that continue to inspire us with their innovative ideas and contributions to the technology and resources we use everyday. As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other in a wonderful way.

Heather Champ is the Community Manager at flickr and co-founder of JPG Magazine. Her husband, Derek Powazek is the founder and CCO of 8020 Publishing and Editor-in-Chief of JPG Magazine. A life-long camera junkie, Heather never leaves home without a camera, hoping to capture the small moments that catch her eye. Derek was an early blogger - even though he never liked calling it that. He also used to run fray.com, the original digital storytelling magazine, which Heather calls a “wonderful gift to the web in a time when self-publishing wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today.” What geeky things do these two love about each other and life? read more

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about yourselves!
Derek: I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1995 with a degree in Photojournalism. When every paper I talked to said they just weren't hiring photographers anymore, I fell into the web. I never really realized it would become my life, but here I am. Of course, now I'm running a photo magazine, so I guess I've come full circle. I invented the magazine I wanted to work for 10 years ago.
Heather: I built a home page in August of '94 while working at Princeton and immediately fell in love with life online. I developed websites professionally for 10 years and then joined Flickr as Community Manager in 2005.

Geeksugar: What’s the geekiest thing about yourself?
Derek: The other day I was on the subway going to work, listening to a NPR podcast on my iPod and checking my email and surfing the web on my Hiptop, and I thought, when did it become the future?
Heather: I've geotagged over 3,000 of my photos on Flickr. I became absolutely obsessed with adding the geo location information a few weeks before we launched the photos on Flickr. Given that I shoot mostly film, I find myself making mental notes of where I am when I'm out and about.

Geeksugar: How about the geekiest thing about your significant other?
Derek: Heather's pretty oldschool. She loves her Polaroid SX-70 and shoots mostly film. But come between her and her Treo and there'll be trouble. She's also the only person I know who can actually watch the low budget Saturday movies on the Sci Fi channel.
Heather: He gave me a dual tuner DirecTV TiVo a couple of year's ago for Valentine's Day. Given that our viewing preferences fall into two buckets ("hand drawn", ie cartoons: him, accents and/or costume drama: me), a dual tuner device is a must.

Geeksugar: How and when did you two meet?
Derek: We met at SXSW in 2000, which I guess is pretty geeky, too. That was the same year Kottke and Meg met, and a few other couples, too. Love was in the air.

Geeksugar: What are your top three favorite gadgets:
Derek: Number one has to be the gadget I use most, which is my 15" Powerbook. I still have the pre-Intel version, which I'm sticking to until CS3 comes out. But it's just a marvelous machine. Two is Danger Hiptop, aka T-Mobile Sidekick I've had every version of this device, and each gets better. I love the flip-out display, qwerty keyboard, and mobile email, web, and chat. I wish the hardware design was better, but I guess the iPhone will be here soon enough. Three is the Apple iPod (video, 30gig). I know, so pedestrian. But it's a nearly perfect device. I love that I can use the click wheel through it's case. And the videos and games are a nice addition for boring Muni rides. I do wish the batter lasted longer, though.
Heather: My Treo 680 (red), Sony DSC-T5 (the wet suit accessory is most excellent for the beach and rafting) and our dual tuner DirecTV TiVo (a Valentine's Day present a few years ago).

What about the top three luxury gadgets you really want?
Derek: The Leica M8. It's the digital version of the M6 I mentioned earlier, and it's expensive as hell, but I'd love to give it a whirl. If they could finally make a digital Leica as sweet as the film Rangefinders, it'd be a dream come true. Does a car count as a luxury gadget? If so, bring on my Mini Cooper. Silver and black with moon roof, please. A stylish car that you can actually park in San Francisco. Bliss. Also a big ass HDTV. When I picked up a plasma display last year, the actual HD models were just too pricey.
Heather: Leica M8, Slingbox, Sony GPS tracker (oh, and a more current version of my point and shoot to go with it), that set of 128 tea mugs designed by Onkar Singh Kular - "Each of the 128 tea mugs is a Pantone shade of brown, which allows people to pick out the mug that matches the way they take their tea. Depending on which one they pick, the host with the most can judge how much milk to put in." And a My5 Power Plate (very weird jiggly, anti-fat thing).

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a…
Derek: Commodore 64. I was bootlegging video games on 5" floppies in grade school. Yeah, I was THAT cool.
Heather: Mac Iici with a whopping 8 MB of ram, baby!

Geeksugar: What are your favorite websites?
Derek: Heather's site, of course! Daring Fireball is a must-read and Ze Frank has
put a smile on my face nearly every day since he started the show. And, of course, the flickr addiction must be fed daily.
Heather: Flickr.com (natch), jpgmag.com, cuteoverload.com, mightygoods.com, dooce.com to name a few.

Geeksugar: What is your Valentine's Day plan?
Derek: I'm not saying! Surprise is the spice of life.
Heather: I don't know. We alternate and last year I made the plans: we went to EOS, a lovely restaurant in Cole Valley where we had our wedding reception. Derek's on deck this year. No pressure. Nope. None at all.

Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home?
Derek: We both do! We had dinner with a couple of friends not long ago, and she said something about not being able to buy a camera because he wouldn't let her. Heather and I just looked blankly at them. If I ever came between Heather and a camera, well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.
Heather: We both follow our bliss when it comes to gadgets. Derek definitely plots out the big ticket items while I gift him gaming devices for Hanukkah.

Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home?
Derek: Judging solely by who cusses the most when the airport network goes out, it'd have to be me.
Heather: Derek. Period. I once almost had a nervous breakdown when presented with a TiVo green screen of death while he was away at a conference.

Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone?
Derek: Are you kidding? I may buy two: one to use and one to keep pristine in its box to save for future generations to admire. "This was the moment, children, when computers went mobile," we'll say. And they'll respond in some sort of future kid lingo that we cannot begin to imagine now.
Heather: Will my super secret de-coder ring be taken away if I say no? I'm a big fan of a qwerty keyboard and a die hard Treo fan.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek”?
Derek: Amen! To me, "geek" just means "someone who's just a little too into something." I was a guitar geek before becoming a camera geek before becoming a web geek before graduating to being a coffee geek. I can't wait to see what I geek out on next. It's better than being a nerd, anyway.
Heather: That they're misguided.

Geeksugar: What has been your partner’s greatest contribution to the tech/blog?
Derek: As a prominent woman in tech, Heather's been a real inspiration to a lot of girls out there. She's also inspired a lot of people to pick up their cameras again. I know she inspires me to want to be a better photographer.
Heather: If you've seen the Blogger "B", then you've seen Derek's work, but I think that Fray (fray.com) was a wonderful gift to the web in a time when self-publishing wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today.

Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day?
Derek: Pretty much all of them.
Heather: Too many.

Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day?
Derek: Same. We try to get out of the house and away from the computers on the weekends. But, otherwise, the net is just part of the fabric of our lives. It's never far away.
Heather: Too many.

Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit?
Derek: I think I've already done it: After 10 years, I just recently killed my blog. It was one of my new years resolutions: There's enough pressure already, don't put more on yourself. It was stressing me out whenever the top post got more than a couple days old. I decided to just take it down until I have the time to enjoy it again.
Heather: I think I'm a great multi-tasker, though Derek would disagree. Less SMSing while out and about together would be greeted with enthusiasm.

Are you the “Beauty or the “Geek” in the relationship?
Derek: Oh please tell me I'm the geek.
Heather: While Derek's wardrobe is far more beautiful than mine, I would crown him alpha geek at Casa Chawazek.

Want to know more about Heather? Check out HChamp.com. For more about Derek, check out Powazek.com.

I Can't Say It Wasn't Fun...

GeekSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:29:00 -0700

For those of you who are decidedly anti-iPhone and had to suffer through the parodies, strategies and general chatter, I sincerely apologize for the pain you must have endured this past week. For those of you who battled the lines, camped out and sat patiently at your desk until you could order online- congrats! The iPhone has officially been released on both coasts and while I was unable to catch New York's Greg Packer get his, I was able to catch the San Francisco campers getting theirs. It was madness, insanity and utter chaos, and we loved every minute of it. Minutes before the final hour, the Apple staff was lead into the building, where they roared with iPhone chants and a proper countdown. And as the clock struck 6 pm, those first in line - including our friends Jerry, David and Dale - all ran into the store to get their long awaited treasures. It was a glorious moment indeed.

To check out more images from the iPhone release front lines read more

View 17 Photos ›

Want more? You can check out macgirl's photos from the line at Fashion Island Apple store in Newport Beach, Ca. I must say, the queue there looks a lot more civilized than the one in San Francisco. Of course, if you waited in line don't forget to share your photos in the Geeky Things I Love group. To learn how to share, see the list below.

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 Geeky Things I Love
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this post was "museum, Lego")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you love the download, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the Geeky Things I Love and start sharing your photos. They might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Gadgets That Help You Chill Out, Stave Off Wedding Stress

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:00:28 -0700

Now that you're working out and pumping those muscles with games in preparation for your wedding that burn you feel in your shoulders may not just be the result of some power lifting, but stress.

And as I'm sure you know, between your workout regime, long hours at the office, and dealing with your mother-in-law to be's seating chart (that you didn't ask her for), you may be wanting to head for the hills! Thankfully, gadgets are not only good for playing games and calculating tip percentages, they can also be good for relieving stress.

Let some of these gadgets help you chill out and relax so you don't have a major breakdown (or a breakout) on your wedding day! Check out all my stress relieving gadget suggestions when you read more.

Not only does Wii Fit incorporate relaxing yoga in its many workout options, but your DS allows you to take your new yoga instructor with you where ever you go with Let's Yoga DS. Helping beginners and experts alike flow through the stretching and relaxing poses really does bring your stress level to a minimum. Now all you have to do is hang onto that feeling when you're done!

My favorite part about a mani/pedi is the calf massage! Now you can have that soothing feeling at home with the Legs Beautification Leg Massager. May I suggest you have this with you while getting your hair and makeup done pre-wedding just to make sure you are totally blissful when you walk down the aisle?!

What's more relaxing than spending a few stolen moments gazing out at the ocean? If you aren't lucky enough to live near the beach bring the essence of the beach to your home with this geeky Umine Home Projection Lamp. Project moving water on your wall or ceiling, while the sounds of seagulls, waves, and bubbles help you to forget how far over budget your reception has become.

A classic gadget to help you massage away the stress of your bridesmaids nit picking over their dresses, the Mini Massager is small enough to toss in your purse before the big day, or on your way to meet the new in laws, while the USB Massager is perfect for those long menu organization sessions in front of your computer.

My love for bubble wrap extends beyond mere fun. Have you ever noticed how calming it is to pop those little bubbles? The Bubble Wrap Keychain can take you to that calm place where ever you are. I may not be able to say the same for the person sitting next to you on the bus, but hey, it's your wedding you're stressing about - you can do what you want!

Be sure to see more wedding coverage on I Do Sugar.

Source

Reader Profile: macgirl Shares Her Geekiness

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:00:17 -0700

When it comes to loyal and engaged geeksugar readers, macgirl is right up there with the best of them. An Apple Systems Engineer, macgirl is, well, quite frankly a mac geek. She's also married to a geek and as she puts it "immersed in technology." The founder of our popular Mac group on TeamSugar, she recently shared her iPhone unboxing and even reported from the iPhone queue at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, Ca.

When she's not working, she's playing video games, creating art, spending time with her son and watching movies. And reading geeksugar of course! In an effort to get to know her better, I asked macgirl to share a little more about herself. read more

Geeksugar: It seems like you were one of geeksugar's first avid readers. How did you learn about the site and when did you start reading?
Macgirl: I had a friend turn me onto popsugar.com and I started obsessing about celebrities' lives. One day I saw the announcement that geeksugar.com was coming soon and I knew that I would be loading that page daily.

Geeksugar: I already know the answer to this, but for the sake of readers who may not know you, do you consider yourself to be a geek?
Macgirl: Oh yes, I'm a total geek. I don't think geek is quite the dirty word it used to be. I'm just really into technology and surround myself with others like me.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Macgirl: This is embarrassing... Probably twelve or more? Keep in mind at least 9 of that is mostly work related (I've been known to sneak a peek at a sugar site during the work day).

Geeksugar: Name your top 5 favorite websites.
Macgirl: Just 5? That's hardly nice. To be totally honest I start my morning off with TMZ.com. It is so smutty and horrible but I can't break the habit. Others that I visit everyday: engadget.com, geeksugar.com, macnn.com, popsugar.com, apple.com/discussions, popgadget.net, postsecret.com (I visit this on Sundays).

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Macgirl: How far are we going back? My parents bought an Apple IIe that I would type in page after page of code to try and get something to move across the screen. My dad worked with some guys that would send him home with stacks of these "programs." You make one typo in a hundred lines of code and you quickly tire of this game. The first computer I purchased with my own money was a beige Power Macintosh 9600 with a giant 20" Sony CRT Monitor (two weeks later Apple released the first G3).

Geeksugar: Top 3 gadgets you couldn't live without.
Macgirl: My iPhone, MacBook Pro and Tivo!!

Geeksugar: You knew you were a geek when...
Macgirl: When I got up at 3 am to sit on the cold concrete in San Francisco to see Steve Jobs give a live keynote at 9 am. Do you know how cold it is in SF in January??

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Macgirl: Confession of the day: I don't use RSS I've tried, I really have. There's just something I enjoy about the whole page with all of its pictures. I guess I'm afraid I'll miss something due to a non-exciting headline.

Geeksugar: What are some non-geeky things you do in your spare time?
Macgirl: Spending time with my 8 year old son. Playing board games is about as non-geeky as it gets. He reminds the family how important it is to put the computer down and focus on our time together. He is however, brilliant on his MacBook. He is savvier than most of my clients. We also like to travel, before my husband I hadn't really been out of the US. He's taken me to so many great places. It's really neat to watch movies and be like "we've been there!"

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Macgirl: My husband has to be number one. He's my partner in geek crime. Other than that I tend to admire people who really know their stuff and are passionate about it.

Geeksugar: So your name gives you away, but PC or Mac?
Macgirl: Mac, but I'll let you in on a little secret... Raised PC (well after the Apple IIe but that hardly counts). My parents to this day still only operate on PC. In college I actually had my first graphics classes on Windows 95. I didn't go Mac until I interned at an Ad agency. I had this tiny all in one Mac Classic (or something close) I taught myself Quark on it. I took to the Mac so well that I moved from intern to full time production artist in a year or so. I think they moved me up to a Quadra.

Geeksugar: You started a Mac group on TeamSugar. Can you tell us about it?
Macgirl: I've been working as an Apple technician for 7 years now. I have soaked up a ton of knowledge in that time. What I really wanted was to be able to help people with their Mac questions/problems and share the info I come across on a daily basis. Our group is almost to 100 members, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. The thing I find with Mac people is that they often suffer in silence. They are starting to come around and really posting some great things.

Geeksugar: Anything else about yourself?
Macgirl: I love video games! We have a Wii, a couple Nintendo DS', Game Cube, SNES and two Xbox 360s that we play via system link. For those of you who don't know what that means- I'm upstairs on one TV while my husband is downstairs on another we have little headsets where we can talk "You open, I'll frag and clear honey." I guess I've sealed that whole is she or isn't she a geek question.

Office Slang: S-Z

GeekSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:00:05 -0700

Fear not my fine friends, my series on Office Slang you should introduce to your vocabulary is not finished yet! If your office life has been boring at best I suggest using a little geeky lingo to loosen up your co-workers and create a fun working atmosphere. My favorite slang on this week's list is "Stress Puppy," as in a person who thrives on being stressed-out and whiny. You can use it like this: "I really wish Jessica wasn't such a stress puppy when it comes to getting her work done, I'd ask her to take the day off with us and go to the beach. Then again, if we did invite her, she'd talk abut work all day anyway."

For the rest of my Office Slang breakdown, read more

Stress Puppy - A person who thrives on being stressed-out and whiny.

Swiped Out - An ATM or credit card that has been used so much its magnetic strip is worn away. For example: "I almost swiped out my credit card this weekend by using it in my new purse with the magnetic closure."

Tourists - The type of people that take training classes or continuing education classes just to get a little vacation from their jobs. For example: “There were only a few serious people in the class; the rest were just tourists.”

Uninstalled - Euphemism for being fired. For example: "I can't take another week off. I might come back and find I've been uninstalled."

World Wide Wait - The real meaning of WWW. For example: "I've been sitting around on the World Wide Wait all day just waiting for that e-mail to arrive."

Xerox Subsidy - Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one’s workplace. For example: The management has made it very clear that they are monitoring any Xerox Subsidy that's going on.

For more geeky words visit the official Office Slang website.

Source

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!