GeekSugar

Lindsay Lohan Is a Fan of Apple but Not Its Warranty

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:45:29 -0800

Although Lindsay Lohan has run the gauntlet of cell phones, she's become a BlackBerry convert and sticks with Apple for her computer needs. Lindsay recently lamented on Twitter about how her MacBook took a beating during her recent travels and ended up with a cracked screen. I know how expensive replacing screens can be, and unfortunately the star had to learn the hard way that accidental breakage isn't covered on Apple's warranty or by their protection plans.

Besides Lindsay's cracked screen, what else isn't covered through warranty or an APP? Find out when you read more.

Even if you have paid extra for an AppleCare Protection Plan, these items are excluded from your coverage:

Installation of noncovered equipment or software
Damage caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse, unauthorized modification, extreme environment (like temps and humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress, fluctuation or surges, lightning, static electricity, fire, and even . . . acts of God
Problems caused by a third-party or non Apple-branded device
Lost or stolen equipment
Cosmetic damage to your device, including scratches, dents, and broken plastic on ports
Batteries, except in respect to battery coverage under APP for iPod, or unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials and workmanship
Preventative maintenance
Defects caused by normal wear and tear

Do You Insure Your Gadgets?

GeekSugar — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:06:47 -0700

It's not a secret that I splurge on my gadgets and then treasure them. I would not want anything to happen to them, and before I had an iPhone, I insured every cell phone I've ever had.

Now that AT&T doesn't insure iPhones, I haven't stepped up to the plate yet to figure out how I'll insure my baby, but there's always Apple Care, as well as third-party insurers like Square Trade.

I am a worry-wart, though, about all the electronics I've saved and shelled out for, and would not only hate to have a broken gadget on my hand, but it's such an expense too! I know all this talk of insurance is pretty unsexy, but it's a big consideration for anything you spend your hard-earned cash on. Do you insure yours?

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X Prize: Super-Efficient Car Edition

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:00:46 -0700

Not only is the X Prize Foundation responsible for huge nerd-fests like the recent Google Lunar Rover competition (and the subsequent super geeky Lunar Legacy Project), but now the foundation has named Progressive Insurance as the host for the fourth installment of the engineering extravaganza. The X Prize draws not only big time car manufacturers, but unknown engineers as well, with their goal this time to build a super-efficient car. The prize? A cool $10 million big ones.

Cars built for the competition will participate in a cross country race, being scored on speed, fuel efficiency, and distance. The cool part is that the vehicles are not only crazy efficient, but have consumers in mind as well - made to buy, not only to be displayed in a showroom. One of my favorite cars is participating, to see what it is, read more
Already, there are over 60 teams ready to play hardball for the prize, including one of my fave green car makers, Tesla Motors. I'm pretty stoked to see what comes out of this X Prize throwdown, especially since one of the competitors, Zero Pollution Motors has entered the hot rod pictured above that runs on – wait for it – air! I know, I'm "blown" away too.

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Tech News Roundup - LG Prada Phones Get Free Insurance

GeekSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:01:19 -0700

All LG Prada Phones Get Free Insurance - Gizmodo
Clean up your homepage with the Compound gadget - Lifehacker
Create your own Big Brother star, or annoy your friends - Shiny Shiny
A peek at what a PSP phone might look like - Crave
Keep Your Privates Private - Techie Diva
S-Series: Phone from the future - Gadget Candy

Geek Tip: Use BlueRetriever to Get Your Lost Mobile Back

GeekSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:04:44 -0700

I was smitten by Apple's new Find My iPhone service when it was announced at this year's WWDC, but let's get real - not everyone wants (or can) subscribe to MobileMe. So for all of you who fall into this category, there's BlueRetriever.

BlueRetriver is like an insurance policy, which gives you a way to get back your lost cell without having to do much more than sign up for a free account and downloading the BlueRetriever wallpaper. Why wallpaper you ask? Well, BlueRetriever relies on good Samaritans - the wallpaper you download has a big and obvious "Return For Reward" message displayed on your home screen (a reward in which you set up beforehand), and a code to enter on BlueRetriever.com. Whoever finds your phone enters the code online, and alerts you via email that your precious mobile was found. Once your mobile is back in your hands, your good Samaritan receives an e-card for the predetermined reward amount.

Simple, easy, and way cheaper than a monthly MobileMe subscription. To see which phones are currently supported by BlueRetriever, just read more.

Apple:

iPhone
iPhone 3G / 3GS
iPod Touch

Blackberry:

Curve
Storm
Bold
Pearl

Palm:

Google:

Geek Tip: Keep Your Gadget Boxes . . . Just in Case

GeekSugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:33:20 -0700

This tip is kind of hard for me to write because I'm very big on recycling any cardboard box that comes through my door and can't be used as storage (when you live in a small place and love buying new gadgets, they tend to pile up).

But when TeamSugar member lydiat had her house broken into recently, she benefited from having held on to the boxes her gadgets came in.

The officer helping lydiat was able to get the serial number for each item from the boxes, making it so if the gadgets are recovered, they'll be able to tell which are hers from the numbers. Of course, if you're short on space, you could also just cut the numbers off the boxes.

Sadly, even though lydiat has employed additional super-geeky ways to find her old gadgets, none have shown up yet.

Oh, and a lesson lydiat and I both learned from this debacle: get renter's insurance immediately.

Key 2 Safe Driving Turns Off Your Phone While You Drive

GeekSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:33:40 -0700

Text messaging or talking on your cell phone while driving is a nasty habit, dangerous and illegal. It's hard to break habits sometimes though, but you don't have to rely on willpower alone.

The service Key 2 Safe Driving stops you from even being able to talk or text while driving. They configure your car key to connect with the service over Bluetooth or RFID, so every time your key goes into the ignition and turns on the engine, your cell phone becomes inactive, except for dialing 911.

You can configure it to let you talk with a hands-free device if you're an adult, and not at all if it's for a teen. This is a good solution if you find it hard to break the communication cycle while you're driving, or if you're in charge of someone who can't get the no-texting, no-talking message either. Best of all, Key 2 Safe Driving suggests that you may be able to parlay your usage of their service into an insurance discount.

Interested? It's not quite out yet, but you can place a pre-order now.

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Sergey Brin's Wife Shows Off Baby Bump and Talks About Her Invention of the Year

GeekSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:03:11 -0800

I was just in the midst of catching up on my daily dose of Oprah on Friday, when who should appear on her Friday Live! episode, but Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Alongside her 23andMe co-founder Linda Avey, Wojcicki talked about her Retail DNA Test Kit, which was named Time's 2008 Invention of the Year. For only $399 (a price drop from $1000), you can now purchase one of these kits that are easy to use (you spit in a tube and send it back), and it will be shipped off to a lab where 600,000 genetic markers are read. Once the results are in, you will be notified by email and then you can log in to view your very own genome.

During the show, Oprah asked Anne if she was six months along in her pregnancy, to which she replied - "I'm nine!". She also explained that after testing her and Sergey's genetics, they realized that her unborn son has a 50 percent change of inheriting a high risk for Parkinson's disease.

I Iooked at Sergey's profile and I looked at me, and we saw that the child has a 50 percent (chance of being) lactose intolerant. Because of Sergey, the child has a very, very unlikely chance of having blue eyes.

Very exciting stuff indeed -personal DNA testing, baby Brin on the way. As much as I would love to know my entire genetic makeup, I can't help but wonder what the moral implications will be. Even though on May 1, President George W. Bush signed a bill that makes it illegal for health insurers and employers to deny coverage due to a potential genetic condition, I can't help but wonder if and when this could change.

Images Courtesy of Oprah.com

Daily Tech: The RAZR V3 Is the Top Selling Cell In the U.S

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:19:56 -0700

This kinda surprised me. Motorola's RAZR V3 is still the top-selling handset in the United States. It was launched 2.5 years ago, and has just sold its 50 millionth unit. - Engadget
Apple is said to be announcing some new laptops next week that will range in price, with one rumored to cost only $800. - MacRumors
An insurance company has revealed that one in ten minor traffic accidents are caused by pedestrians wearing headphones. - Switched
The Tokyo Game Show has officially kicked off in Chiba, Japan, and here are the first impressions so far. - CrunchGear
The sophisticated, $469 Lenovo S10 laptop is said to be the best new notebook of 2008. - Wired

Would You Let Google Manage Your Health?

GeekSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:35:18 -0800

Just when I thought Google was already all things to all people, they go and do this: Google Health. Google Chief Exec Eric Schmidt is currently at a health care conference to announce Google Health, an online management system that would store all your pertinent health information online.

Obviously, it'll face certain privacy concerns, but it would keep all the information that is a royal pain for you to get to now: Doctors in your area covered by your insurance (every health insurance website I've been to is totally confusing), and your records, such as whether you were immunized for something in the past (try getting that info without a fax machine and a warrant).

Google Health is supposed to be available to you later this year if you have a Google account, and I for one am totally excited. I think the privacy issues will bring up questions, but it's not impossible to govern. What do you think? Will you give your health to Google?

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