GeekSugar

Two More Free Mobile Me Months: Are You Still on Board?

GeekSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:30:25 -0700

MobileMe has had its issues from the get go: crashing computers, lost emails, and system outages, which has left a bad taste in even the most steadfast of Apple fans' mouths. But in an attempt to turn things around, Apple announced yesterday that they are tacking on another 60-days of free service in addition to the 30-day free trial issued on July 15:

To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60-day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of.

Despite the ups and downs MobileMe has experienced, will you be standing by the service now that you get another 60-days for free?

Do You Use MobileMe?

GeekSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:00:02 -0700

Not everyone in tech can admit they made a mistake, but here we go: MobileMe, that other Apple product released recently, has been pretty plagued since it launched. Reports of crashing computers, lost email, and the service being constantly down have perturbed even the most loyal Macheads.

Steve Jobs has stepped up to the plate to acknowledge all this static, saying that MobileMe was "not up to Apple's standards," that it was perhaps launched too early, and that they should have released one feature at a time, rather than all at once.

As a MobileMe user, I was grandfathered in by .Mac, and aside from being a little frustrated with the transition, I love my 20GB of iDisk space, unbeatable web albums, and syncing across all devices - for me, it's back up to "Apple's standards," if you will.

In the meantime, tell me: How many of you use MobileMe?

Daily Tech: Somebody Pulls an Uh-Oh at Apple, Ships Mobile Me to the Wrong People

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:07:09 -0700

Oopsies! Apple accidentally shipped Mobile Me to some .Mac customers. Someone is SO getting fired. - Engadget
Google Talk has just launched for the iPhone. Rejoice! - Lifehacker
Switched announces their 10 Most Stubborn People in Tech. Our man Steve tops the list. - Switched
Some awesome judge in Delaware delivered his decision with a World of Warcraft metaphor. - Kotaku
Google has added voice search to Google Maps for the BlackBerry. - CrunchGear

Is Apple's MobileMe As Great As I Think It Is?

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:15:26 -0700

After hearing all the in's and out's of Apple's new iPhone 2.0 software and the iPhone 3G (on sale July 11), something that really grabbed my attention - other than the built-in GPS and amazing apps - was MobileMe, a service that allows you to sync all your photos, email, calendar, contacts from your Mac (iCal, iDisk, Address Book and Mail) or PC (Microsoft Outlook) to your iPhone over the air. With MobileMe, as soon as you move an event on your computer's calendar, or add a contact, it will appear on your iPhone in about ten seconds and vice versa.

Similar to .Mac, MobileMe will cost $99-a-year, with 20GB of included iDisk space, and will have a 60-day free trial so you can check it out before dropping the $99. Until I get my hands on MobileMe, I won't know if it's going to make my life that much easier, but I'm definitely liking what I'm hearing.

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MobileMe

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:11:17 -0700

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Ask a Geek Girl: What's With Carbonite and Should I Sign Up?

GeekSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:05:32 -0700

Dear GeekSugar,
My mom called me the other day freaking out about a Carbonite commercial, saying I should back up my photos before disaster strikes. I've actually seen the commercials late at night (I have to admit, I find them pretty funny), but can't really wrap my mind around why the service is. I have thousands of photos stored on my laptop and do worry it will quit on me one day and I will be left without copies. Should I use this service? Thanks for your help.
- A Fellow Geeky Gal

Dear Fellow Geeky Gal,
I pleased to hear I'm not the only person who is endlessly entertained by late-night cable commercials! You ask a great question because I've been seeing the company name everywhere. Carbonite is a web service that claims to "automatically and securely back up the irreplaceable contents of your computer" for the yearly cost of about $55. It works for PC and Mac users, but has slightly different set up depending on your system. To find out if I think you - and other readers like you - need it, read more.

Before you sign up, I'd suggest perusing the Carbonite website and looking at the demos to see if it fits your lifestyle. Everyone's backup needs are unique. I like to be selective about which files I backup (I only save the most important stuff like pictures, a small number of documents, and music I can't live without), so I don't need the "automatic" program to do it for me. Given you seem most concerned with backing up your photos, I think you should investigate a photo-hosting service before you back up your entire computer and then come up with a plan for backing up your important files. I adore Flickr ($25 a year) for its networking, geotagging, and general photo fun, but also use Picasa for its free simplicity. If you want to back up more documents, check out my guide to backing up data for a peek at a few devices that may be more cost effective for you. You might also check out MobileMe, a service that allows you to sync all your photos, email, calendar, contacts from your Mac (iCal, iDisk, Address Book, and Mail) or PC (Microsoft Outlook) to your iPhone over the air (it costs about $100 a year).

Cheers to planning to back up your data, not matter which route you pick! Anyone who has ever lost their hard drive or even a few files can tell you it's a devastating experience.

Even the geekiest of us have technical breakdowns. There's no question too easy or too techie, so join our Ask a Geek Girl Group and share your concerns and quandaries. Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

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:

A Whole New World: My Fave Things About the iPhone 3.0 OS

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:56:05 -0700

Since downloading the iPhone's new 3.0 OS, I've had a chance to try out pretty much everything and decide what I love and what I like (so far, nothing to hate).

I will say this: the copious changes are like having a whole new iPhone - I definitely felt like I had a new device, the experience is so different. What do I like the most? To see my favorites, just read more.

Spotlight: I have to say, Spotlight is definitely my favorite thing to have on the iPhone, as simple as it is. It's probably because I keep swiping my main screen to the right and accidentally going into the search, so that does take some getting used to. I'm still impressed, though, that Spotlight searches everything: apps, contacts, songs, and video. I like it best for apps since I've downloaded so many and they're not organized in any fashion at all.
Email Search: Sense a trend? I'm a simple girl. Having gotten used to Google and Gmail, I simply need to be able to search efficiently and get extremely frustrated when I can't. But the new search changes all that - before, if you wanted to use Gmail's great search function, you had to sign in to your account from Safari, which was such a hassle, I just wouldn't use search unless it was an emergency. Now that the mail app has search, I can finally hunt for stuff in my mail without going anywhere. But beware: this is not Gmail search. You can't search your chat records like you can in Gmail, but you do have access to your entire inbox. And it's pretty freakin' fast.
Find My iPhone: The one feature I hope I never have to use! Since I have MobileMe, I get to use Find My iPhone and tested out pushing a message on my phone. Take that, would-be thieves!
MMS: Not having the multimedia messaging functionality was the one thing that drove me nuts. It wasn't even that I loved being able to receive MMS, but getting a message saying I had one and could check it only online with some crazy username and password just meant that I never ever saw those videos or photos. I'm still looking forward to it though - soon, please, AT&T?
Copy/Paste: Sure, I'm psyched to get copy/paste, but it's not an everyday feature that I need like search. But still, knowing I can cut, copy, and paste is certainly comforting.

Of course, there are a ton more new features - an improved camera, Voice Memos, a landscape keyboard, but the above features have already made a big difference for me. What's your favorite thing about OS 3.0?

Salma Sports a "What The Frak?!" Shirt on 30 Rock

GeekSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:45:02 -0700

Actress Salma Hayek has had quite the week in geekland! Not only did her MobileMe email account get hacked into (sorry, nothing scandalous to report), but she also appeared on 30 Rock wearing a Battlestar Galactica- inspired "What The Frak?!" shirt. And she didn't just wear the shirt, her character Elisa even makes a reference to it!

To check out the clip from the show and to find out where you can get your own "What The Frak?" tee, just read more.

Although it's not the exact shirt Salma was wearing, you can get a "WTF?!" tee from Think Geek for $18.

Wedding Tip: Have Your Guests Upload Photos to One Place

GeekSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:06:26 -0700

I used to think that having disposable cameras at each table at a wedding reception was such a fabulously brilliant idea.

But now the quality of the disposable film cameras is too shoddy for any possible framers, plus the kind of people who are going to take photos will have already brought their own cameras. To further drive a stake in the heart of this old trend, last year the majority of you voted that you no longer loved it.

That's not to say you don't want more photos taken than your pro photog will take - just make it easy on your guests to upload them all to one place! Call it the 2009 version of disposable cameras on tables. Instead of cameras on tables, you just place cards with a URL or email address for your guests, and leave it to them to upload after the event.

To see how to make this wedding idea come together, just read more.

First, decide which photo-sharing website you want to use. It may be easiest to use the site you're already using for photo sharing - MobileMe, Flickr, and Picasa provide you with an email address or URL to give out (see my instructions on how to do it in Picasa). But also consider newer site iRave - it also gives you both a URL or email address, and it has settings that let you approve photos before they're up, preventing any pic leaks of champagne-induced embarrassments. Make sure that whichever site you use has plenty of storage space for the photos.

Once you've settled on the service, you need the cards so people know where to send photos. This seller from Etsy makes a wedding photo-sharing kit for $25, but this is also a simple DIY.

Design and print out your message onto business card-size paper (or just cut printed sheets to that size), then place in a festive box or display on each table.

If you're really into the design of your invites, you can inquire with your invitation vendor about printing up these cards with your invite design.