GeekSugar

How To: Video Chat With Up to 10 of Your Friends at Once

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:33:21 -0800

Although iChat allows me to video conference with up to three people at the same time, sometimes I just want to have an iChat party with more of my friends or family. Same goes for those who work from home and need to video with other co-workers in a conference. And with SuperIM, you can now video chat with up to 10 people. Amazing!

All it takes is a free account with Paltalk and a quick download of SuperIM, and you're on your way to chatting with 10 of your buddies from around the world who have an Internet connection. But it's not just video, you can also text IM with Paltalk too. So if you're having a bad hair day, no one has to know.

How to Become a Vampire (No Real Blood Required)

GeekSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:05:00 -0700

Right around this time last year, I provided you with some easy instructions on how to
zombify your photos by using a website called Picnik. And with my new vampire obsession - thanks to Twilight and Vampire Diaries - I thought I'd show you a simple way to digitally transform yourself into a blood-sucking vampire, fangs and all.

Once again using Picnik's amazing effects, just navigate yourself to the left side of the page and click on the Halloween tab. At the very top you should see all of the vampire options to start transforming your face. Just upload a photo and click on the desired effect to get started. All Edward Cullen-inspired features are free to use, except the VampiraScope option is for premium members only. Take a good close look at those scary red eyes!

3 Ways to Get Your Weather Forecast Delivered Daily

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:45 -0700

Nothing ruins a good day like getting caught in the rain -or snow, or cold, or sweltering heat - when you least expect it, or when it conflicts with your morning run. Here are three ways to have the forecast delivered right to your phone or inbox, so you won't get caught unprepared again. Don't fret if the forecast calls for rain or snow! You can use one of these geeky umbrellas to stay dry.

View Slideshow ›

How to Shop For a New Cell Phone

GeekSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:13:00 -0700

I was pretty set on buying a new iPhone 3GS as soon as I could, but that doesn't mean I'm unfamiliar with the anxieties of choosing a phone. Remember when you had maybe three phone options to choose from? My first phone was a clunky Nokia with a changeable faceplate - my toughest decision was figuring out which color to choose! Obviously, your phone choices could be limited by your wireless carrier and contract obligations.

An article in the New York Times this week gives great cell phone purchasing advice. (Hint: their advice is to do the exact opposite of what my less-than-tech-savvy mom did last week: purchase a phone online sight-unseen because it was pink.)

To read a quick summary of their recommendations, read more.

Compare phones, plans, and companies online. Go beyond provider websites - try a site like GotReception to check coverage in your area and LetsTalk to enter your phone preferences and narrow your selection. The article also recommends visiting a review site like Cnet to check out reviews of any phone you choose.
Come up with a list of two or three models you're interested in and go check them out in person. The article suggests checking both big-box stores like Best Buy and individual carrier stores for best results. Take each phone for a trial run in the store. Do you like the keyboard? Is photo quality important?
After deciding which phone is for you, purchase it online. That way, you'll be able to compare a few different sites' prices and rebates.

How to Watch Hulu Videos on Your Nintendo Wii

GeekSugar — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:14:15 -0700

Since most of you are fans of the online video streaming site Hulu, you may be interested in knowing that it's possible to watch some of your favorite Hulu TV shows or movies on your television using your Wii. All you need is an Internet connection, a Wii (which just so happened to go on sale today!), a PC computer (sorry Mac-heads) and PlayOn (this video will show you how to download it for free). Overall, a pretty simple way to watch Hulu content on your TV!

How to Add and Share Info on Any Site

GeekSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:50:00 -0700

Did you spend hours online researching the perfect itinerary for an upcoming trip? Have advice for someone wanting to cure a bad cold? Now you can share your info with the world, plus benefit from other Googlers' knowledge. Sidewiki, a just-released Google Toolbar feature, is a program that allows you to contribute to any website. User-added info appears as a sidebar beside the page, as Google uses an algorithm to display the most relevant and helpful posts up top. And relevant blog posts referencing the site or page you're viewing are added to the list, too.

Once you download the tool, sites with Sidewiki entries are identified with a small speech bubble icon in the upper-left corner. You're able to add information to supplement the entire page, or comment on a specific phrase, quote, or sentence by highlighting the relevant words.

To download, visit google.com/sidewiki.

Have a great tip or trick to share? Join our Guide to All Things Geeky group and let the community know!

How to Access iTunes' New Genius Mixes

GeekSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:45:54 -0700

Have you had some time to play around with iTunes 9? Notable features include home sharing, improved syncing and a redesign of your iTunes library and the store. But my favorite new feature is the Genius Mixes.

If you're already familiar with how the amazing music suggestion tool iTunes Genius works you can instantly get in on the Genius Mixes fun. Just click on the genius tab on the left pane of your iTunes window and under the usual Genius heading you should see Genius Mixes. Once you click on it, iTunes will automatically search your library and find songs that sound groovy together and whip out anywhere from one to 12 music mixes for your listening pleasure. Talk about such an easy way to get the party started!

How-to Track Traffic on the Go With Your Cell

GeekSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:50:08 -0700

It isn't a pretty picture: you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic cursing out the cars in front of you for clogging up the road. Instead of yelling at your fellow commuters, whip out your fancy phone for easy access to mobile maps that will offer alternate routes, drive time projections and apps that will tell you how long it's really gonna be.

View Slideshow ›

How To: Skip Ads With a Standard Remote Control

GeekSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:31:50 -0700

Don't you just love TiVo? You can skip over commercials at lightning fast speeds, and pause and rewind live TV. It's a luxury I don't think I can live without. Even those of you with a regular, cable-company assigned DVR can perform all these great tricks, but I found a faster way to get through those annoying commercials - you can skip over commercials in 30 second increments with a simple hack and your standard remote.

Why would this be necessary? Oh, I don't know, because you can't wait a single second more to finish watching the latest episode of Gossip Girl, and the never-ending pain med and TUMS ads are out of control? Cause sometimes it seems that even though you're forwarding at four times the normal speed, it still seems to take forever to scrub through? Cause we're all impatient? You know what I mean. Check out the simple six-step hack I found on Wisebread to make your commercials disappear a little quicker when you read more.

Press the Cable button at the top of the remote.
Hold the Setup button until the Cable button flashes twice.
Enter 994 on the keypad. The Cable button will flash twice again.
Push the Setup button once.
Enter 00173.
Finally, push the button that you want to use as the 30-second skip; I chose the A button since I don't use it for anything else. The Cable button will flash twice.

To restore the original functionality to that key, follow the first steps described above, but after entering 994, push the remapped key twice. The Cable button will blink twice if your input has been accepted.

Fake the Shake: How to Turn Your Pics Into Polaroids Online

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:05:38 -0700

Polaroid cameras may have gone the way of the dinosaur, but 89 percent of GeekSugar readers claim they'd buy a Polaroid camera if it hit the assembly line again. Seeking immediate gratification? There are a handful of simple ways to turn your digital photos into Polaroid-inspired pics instantly while the company's former employees champion the "Impossible Project" to bring instant film back. Check them out and start turning your regular prints into Polaroids immediately.

Photos courtesy of Justin Timberlake.com

View Slideshow ›