GeekSugar

Geek Tip: Shop the Google Store For Google-Branded Swag

GeekSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:30:39 PDT

Who knew? Google has been hiding an online store full of Google-stamped accessories and I, the online shopping maven, didn't even realize.

Some stuff makes perfect sense - mugs, cell phone holders, mouse pads, but other stuff is more curious (lava lamps? Huh?). It's more novelty store full of the Google label than anything, but I appreciate it just the same.

I'll probably pick out a few things for myself, so I'll think of them every time I stock up.

The Wannabe Google Store

GeekSugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:00:50 PST

We all know that the popularity of Google spans world-wide, but why would someone take their obsession to the next level and actually use the Google logo on their storefront exterior? The folks at Engadget outed this textile shop, which is situated in Istanbul Turkey, and is not affiliated with Google whatsoever. It does not sell anything Google related. So what's up with it? Does the store owner honestly think that passersbys will fall for this marketing hoax? I'm sure there will be a Google store someday, which will probably look more like a pimped out Apple store than a tiny hole-in-the-wall boutique. What do you think?

Easy Ways to Get More From Your Food Budget

LearnVest — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:15:48 PDT

Go the extra mile with your food budget with these tips from LearnVest.

For years, many people - my husband, mom, sister and even my son - told me to stop wasting so much food.

Throwing away half a piece of chicken here or a handful of grapes there never seemed like such a big deal to me. If I was full or no longer in the mood for that particular food, then I had no problem tossing it.

That is, until I experienced a bad case of sticker shock during a recent trip to the supermarket. The cost of bread, eggs, fish - basically everything I was purchasing - had increased. And, according to the USDA, we can expect prices to rise even higher this year.

As I forked over my money and left with only a handful of bags, I realized just how important it is for me to pay more attention to what I spend on food . . . and to confront how much of it I shove down the garbage disposal.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one with wasteful ways. In 2010, 33 million tons of food was thrown away, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Obviously, wasted food means wasted money, but figuring out how to make your grocery budget go further can be a challenge.

To keep more food in your fridge (and more money in your pocket), try these expert tips.

1. Ward Against Freezer Burn

Those large bags or packages of frozen veggies or meat come in handy when you have a large family, but "each time you open a bag of frozen food, air gets in and will cause freezer burn within two to three weeks," says consumer saving expert Andrea Woroch. Freezer burn will dry out the meat and make it less tasty. Woroch suggests going small.

Read on for more.

Google Drive and 4 Other Cloud Storage Solutions

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:48:01 PDT

After years of speculation about a storage product, Google announced today its cloud storage solution - Google Drive. In an effort to seamlessly blend use for those already entrenched in Google Docs, documents are automatically built into Drive so that files can be collaborated on in real time. Users can give feedback on anything shared, including PDFs or video files, not just Google Docs; all users are then notified of the latest comment.

Drive can be installed on both Mac and PC platforms and a Drive app is available now for Android phones and tablets. We're hoping the iOS app is on its way. The cloud industry standard of a free 5GB of storage is the basic Drive account, with paid upgrades of 25GB for $2.50 per month, 100GB for $5 per month, or a huge 1TB for $50 per month. Any upgrade to a paid account includes the storage in your Gmail account boosting to 25GB.

Of course, Google Drive is only the latest product for cloud storage needs. Here are four more solutions for storing budget files or photos from your around-the-world vacation.

Dropbox - Arguably the leader in cloud storage, Dropbox has won customers with the user-friendly ability to sync files across multiples devices and act as a hosting tool for large media like hi-res images when sending them through email isn't an option.
iCloud - Stores 5GB of anything and everything for free for all iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac users. It has some limits and only stores media purchased through iTunes, but for Apple devotees it's an effortless option.

Discover two more cloud solutions after the break.

Who Says a 3-Year-Old Can't Use a Pacifier?

BabyCenter — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:03:29 PDT

Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Andrea Updike about toddlers using pacifiers.

I have a confession to make. My 3-year-old uses a pacifier when he sleeps. Also? I have no intention of taking it away.

We’ve all seen the pictures of Suri Cruise with her pacifier/bottle/high heels and made our judgments. We all think we will do things a certain way before we have kids. And we all find our own system that works that is somewhere between total control and total anarchy. Today? I am standing up for sleep. And for our family, that means the paci stays.

Related: What's Up With Big Babies?

My son sleeps. He sleeps well. He sleeps with a paci. Last year, we decided to drop the paci. We ceremoniously said good-bye, and he even (quite bravely) threw it in the garbage all by himself. That night he went right to sleep without a second thought. I was victorious. I was proud. I even blogged about it.

I was arrogant.

Not two days later, he stopped napping. Like, as in completely. He went from three-hour naps to nonstop chatter. I turned to Google to find out if he was ready to drop the nap. Post after post appeared saying that children dropped naps about the same time they dropped pacifiers. I knew the paci would be back.

Thankfully, I am really good at eating my words.

I marched myself right out to the store and purchased not one, but two new pacifiers. We named them "bedtime pacis" and told Oscar that they had to live in his bed. He gladly accepted those terms and is back to nice, long afternoon naps!

Of course, I worried that I would ruin his teeth forever, but my pediatrician gave me the OK, saying that he isn’t really sucking on it in his sleep, so it doesn’t cause the issues that might take place if he had it during waking hours. And that was all I needed to hear about that.

My name is Andrea Updyke, and I am proud of my pacifier-using 3-year-old.

When did your child drop the paci?

More great reads from BabyCenter:
Eight teacher appreciation gifts you can make
The 10 commandments of dance moms
Celebrate Earth Day with a neighborhood party
Twenty Cinco de Mayo ideas to get your fiesta on
Six warning signs of bogus parenting advice

Source: Flickr User KitchenDesigner

Dollar Store DIY Projects and Other Savvy Hits of the Week!

Emily Co — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:15:11 PDT

Cool DIY projects made from dollar store items
How to save money on Fido
Just what exactly is the Buffett Rule all about?
Secrets to saving even more on your favorite indulgences
Nine ways to use vodka as a cleaning agent
Reap the rewards of wedding expenses by smartly charging these credit cards
A Google recruiter reveals the type of email that catches his eye
Announcing your engagement at work? Five things you should consider
Find out what the best jobs in 2012 are
Get your medicine cabinet in order with these tips

Daily Tech: The Folks at Work on Your Phone

GeekSugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:21:55 PDT

The people inside your iPhones - BuzzFeed FWD
Pinterest is now the third most popular social network - Geekosystem
The 5 stupidest technology questions ever Googled - Cracked
Get retro with Donny and Marie's Star Wars parody - GeekTyrant
Insane spark art should be everywhere - Dvice
Even luddites come around to technology - Newser
Draw Something outranks the most addictive mobile game in the App Store - Tecca
Large Hadron Collider restarts stronger than ever - SlashGear

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Set Up a Cloud Service

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:30:01 PDT

Sick of toting around thumb drives full of files or emailing yourself attachments so you can continue working on a project on a different computer? All that is a thing of the past in the cloud.

What is the cloud? The cloud is a service that stores your documents, files, music, and photos on secure third-party servers, allowing you to access them from any computer, anywhere, anytime with proper log-in credentials or a software download. Popular cloud services such as Google (Docs, Calendar, Tasks), Dropbox, Box, and Mozy specialize in storing your documents and files, while services like Flickr and Amazon can store your photos and digital downloads so you don't have to take up space on your hard drive and portable devices.

Moving your important documents to a cloud service helps keep you running at 100 percent, especially when it comes to business, since you can download and upload documents for your teams to access from any computer. No sharing of thumb drives or sending of email attachments necessary.

Keep up with all of our Spring cleaning tech tips here or on our 31 Days of Spring Cleaning Pinterest board!

The New iPad Goes on Sale Tomorrow at 8 a.m.: Camping Tips to Keep You In Line

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:29:29 PDT

The new iPad with the fancy high definition Retina display goes on sale tomorrow, and if you didn't get your preorder in, you'll have to battle the crowds if you want a new tablet on day one. But standing outside for hours (or overnight, if you must) isn't an easy task. Should you go for it? Prepare and keep yourself entertained, hydrated, and safe with these iPad line camping tips.

Do some recon - Scope out your local Apple store, AT&T retailer, or other launch-day location and use Google Maps to pick out a prime spot, preferably with shade and/or overhead coverage.
Know when to arrive - Apple stores will open at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 16, while AT&T and Verizon stores have also been known to open doors early to greet tired Apple fanatics.
Bring some reading material - Load up your ereader with some books you've been meaning to tackle - you'll be in line for a while!
Keep your gadgets charged - With all these gadgets you're toting along, you're going to need some juice. Obviously, you'll be far from an outlet, unless you post it up in Starbucks while someone saves your spot. Keep your gadgets charged with a solar charger by day, so you can power them through the night.

Get the rest of our tips after the break.

Google Play: Syncing and Storing Your Music, Movies, and EBooks in the Cloud

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:04:47 PST

Google introduced Google Play today, which wirelessly syncs and stores all of your music, movies, apps, and ebooks that you buy from the Android market, Google Music, and the Google eBookstore across numerous devices. Google Play will make it insanely simple to streamline your media experience. For example, you can start a book on your Android tablet and pick up where you left off via your phone, or start a movie on your Chromebook and watch it later on your Internet-connected TV. If you download a song from Google Music, it will be instantly available across all of your devices, without storage or membership fees.

There will be some changes you need to know about though - as of today, the Android Market, Google Music, and Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play, changing their app names to the Google Play Store, Google Play Music, Google Play Books, and Google Play Movies, but you can access all of these in one place online through the Google Play website. You'll still have access to your purchased apps and media, store up to 20,000 songs for free, and be able to log in with your Google account. You can even pay for your purchases through Google Wallet.

Check out Google's cool demo video of the service and tell us what you think of the new Google media ecosystem after the break.