GeekSugar

Geek Tip: Use Google Earth to Track the Weather

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:00:02 -0800

If you're a Google Earth nut like I am you may have noticed a new weather folder in the layers panel, which allows you to keep up on weather patterns in your area and across the world.

The Google Earth blog reports that the weather folder contains three sublayers (clouds, radar, and conditions, and forecasts) and one information link that gives you some background information on the data being displayed.

The clouds layer depicts a global satellite mosaic of clouds created on an hourly basis so you can log on any time to check out cloud movement in your area. Getting dressed in the morning just got easier.

Bookswim = Netflix For Books

GeekSugar — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:00:00 -0700

Last week I discovered Swaptree, a community that allows you to trade books, music, DVDs and video games. This week, I'm obsessed with Bookswim, which is a book specific borrowing program that can best be described as a Netflix for books.

The company features plans for about $20 (there are no late fees) or a 5-At-A-Time Plan for $23.99 (they claim that's their most popular plan but honestly, who has time to read 5 books a month?!). They have a selection of more than 150,000 books including new releases, bestsellers and classics and an easy queue to showcase and store upcoming titles. Just like Netflix, you get free shipping both ways and you can opt to purchase titles you love at a discount. read more

While the selection is smaller than other web stores like Amazon, the idea that you can rent and share books is really exciting and certainly cost effective. The site is new and has received a great deal of attention in the last few weeks, so you may experience technical difficulties on the site from time to time.

GeekSugar’s Submit Your Cool Captures to Win a CanvasPop Print Contest

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:23:17 -0800

GeekSugar’s Submit Your Cool Captures to Win a CanvasPop Print Contest

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. The GeekSugar’s Submit Your Cool Captures to Win a CanvasPop Print Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Sugar Publishing, Inc. (owner and operator of geeksugar.com), having an address of 111 Sutter Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104 (“Sponsor”).

ELIGIBILITY:
Open only to permanent legal U.S. residents physically residing in the fifty (50) United States of America and the District of Columbia. Employees of Sponsor and its respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies and any other entity involved in the development or administration of this Contest, and their immediate family members or household members are not eligible to participate in or win the Contest. All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winners may be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and complete relevant tax forms as a condition to the delivery of the applicable prize. Void where prohibited by law. All applicable federal, state and local laws apply.

HOW TO ENTER:
No purchase is necessary to participate in the Contest. To enter, you must log into your profile at geeksugar.com or any PopSugar Network site (or register for a profile at http://www.onsugar.com/user/register), then join the Cool Capture group and share your image, the model of camera used to take the photo, and a short description about the image (see also detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups ) between 12:00am PDT on Monday, November 23, 2009 and 11:59pm PST on Sunday, December 6, 2009 (the “Entry Period”). Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means are void. Normal time, toll, connection and usage rates, if any, charged by your Internet service provider will apply. All entries become the property of the Sponsor.
By registering and entering your photo(s), you will be agreeing that your registration and any other information collected in connection with the Contest may be used by Sponsor in accordance with Sugar Publishing, Inc.’s Privacy Policy and may be shared with Sponsor’s affiliated business entities, and that you automatically opt-in to receive email, text messages or other communications from Sponsor. You may subsequently opt-out of the receipt of such email or communications by following the directions in the email, communications or by contacting Sponsor directly.
All registrations must include entrant's valid email address. The email address provided by online entrants will be the identity of the entrant and, if selected for a prize, the identity of the winner. We expressly reserve the right to disqualify any entries that we believe in good faith are generated by an automated program or via scripts. By participating, all entrants agree to abide by these Official Contest Rules.
SELECTION:
GeekSugar editors will select their top ten (10) entries from the photos submitted to the Cool Capture group as described on the entry page between between 12:00am PDT on Monday, November 23, 2009 and 11:59pm PST on Sunday, December 6, 2009 (the “Entry Period”). The top ten (10) entries will then be posted for PopSugar community members to vote on their favorite photo. The photo with the most votes during the voting period will be the winner. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered. The Contest will be conducted under the supervision of the Sponsor. The decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest. The winners will be notified by email and/or by private message through the winner’s PopSugar community account; Sponsor reserves the right to determine the method of notification. Winners must claim their prize within three (3) business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Contest winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three (3) business days will be considered such Contest winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. Sponsor reserves the right to ship prizes directly to the email and/or mailing address provided by winners during their entry to the Contest. Each entry submitted in response to the Contest and in accordance with the rules will constitute an official entry. All entrants agree to abide by these Official Contest Rules. All entries become the property of the Sponsor.

PRIZES:
At the end of the Entry Period, there will be one (1) Grand Prize winner who will be awarded the grand prize of up to one (1) CanvasPop print of their choice, including all prints less then or equal in value to the 36x54,1.5” gallery wrap print (retail value: $329). Decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding with respect to all matters related to the Contest. All prizes will be awarded. In no event shall the Sponsor be obligated to award more prizes than the number of prizes stated in these Official Contest Rules. All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize. To receive a complete list of winners or a copy of the Official Contest Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Prize Fulfillment, Sugar Inc., 111 Sutter Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. Specify winner's list or rules on your request.
Please allow 6-8 weeks for prize delivery.

SELECTION:
The winning entry will be determjned by user voting after a selection of 10 final entries is made by our editors. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered. The Contest will be conducted under the supervision of the Sponsor. The decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest. The winners will be notified by email and/or by private message through the winner’s teamsugar.com account; Sponsor reserves the right to determine the method of notification. Winners must claim their prize within three (3) business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Contest winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three (3) business days will be considered such Contest winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected based on the final user vote ranking. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected based on the final user vote ranking. Sponsor reserves the right to ship prizes directly to the email and/or mailing address provided by winners during their entry to the Contest. Each entry submitted in response to the Contest and in accordance with the rules will constitute an official entry. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be void. All entrants agree to abide by these Official Contest Rules. All entries become the property of the Sponsor.

GENERAL CONDITIONS AND RELEASES:
An entrant or winner may be disqualified from the Contest if he or she fails to comply with each provision of these Official Contest Rules, as determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Participation in the Contest is at entrant’s own risk. Sponsor shall not be liable for 1) failed, returned or misdirected notifications based on inaccurate information provided by the winner on the contest entry form, 2) entries and responses to winner notifications which are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, postage-due, misdirected, damaged or otherwise not received by the intended recipient in whole or in part or for computer or technical error of any kind, 3) any electronic miscommunications or failures, technical hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit an entrant's ability to participate in the Contest, 4) any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions or other failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human, mechanical or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from downloading any part of this Contest or 5) any warranty of fitness or merchantability of any prize or the function or operation thereof, which shall be the sole responsibility of the manufacturer of the prize. Sponsor does not make any, and hereby disclaim any and all, representations or warranties of any kind regarding any prize. Unless prohibited by applicable law, your entry constitutes your permission to use your name, photograph, likeness, voice, address (city and state) and testimonials in all media, in perpetuity, in any manner Sponsor deems appropriate for publicity purposes without any further compensation to such entrant. By entering or accepting a prize in the Contest, winners agree to be bound by these Official Contest Rules and to conform to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. When applicable, the winner (or, if the winner is a minor, the winner's parent or legal guardian) may be required to execute and return to Sponsor within ten (10) business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. Winner may be required to furnish proof of identity, address and birth date in order to receive a prize.
By entering, an entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated entities, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and representatives from any damage, injury, death, loss, claim, action, demand, or other liability (collectively, “Claims”) that may arise from their acceptance, possession and/or use of any prize or their participation in this promotion, or from any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded, regardless of whether such Claims, or knowledge of the facts constituting such Claims, exist at the time of entry or arise at any time thereafter. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Sponsor reserves the right to modify these Official Contest Rules in any way or at any time. Sponsor reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this Contest should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond their control corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. In the event of cancellation or suspension, Sugar shall promptly post a notice on the Contest entry page to such effect. This Contest shall be governed by California law. By participating in this contest, entrants agree that California courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to this Contest and that venue shall be only in San Francisco, California.

Do You Use Social Media to Contact Companies?

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:44:18 -0800

I just finished reading an article about a US couple who, because of visa problems, nearly missed their Russian honeymoon. They thought they'd done their research; online travel agency Expedia assured the couple that they didn't need visas to travel to St. Petersburg. It turned out, though, they did. After sharing their experience and anger in real time via Twitter and their blog, Expedia reached out to the couple, reimbursing the cost of their trip, the additional expenses they incurred, and offering a huge credit toward their next trip.

More companies are using social media to respond immediately to problems and interact closely with customers. In fact, some of Sugar staffers used the service to get in touch with JetBlue during a severely delayed flight.

While I agree it's a great way to interact with a company, I can't decide if this will increase their responses or just create a new forum for more people to complain. What do you think?

DirecTV Customers: Set Your DVR With Your iPhone

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:29 -0800

I'm not sure how I lived without a DVR - though I've only had it for a few years, it's a convenience that I don't think I can live without! I've already told you how to program your TiVo online, and now DirecTV subscribers can set their DVRs on the go. The DirecTV iPhone App for iPhone allows you to access and edit your account and recording schedule.

Sign into the free application using your DirecTV account to access and change your preset recordings and schedule new recordings from your phone. You can also customize the application to include only channels you receive within its listed shows. Even if you're not a DirecTV customer, you can use the app to search current shows by channel, title, or date and time, plus read episode information and summaries.

Similar to TiVo's disclaimer that the service isn't guaranteed to be error-free, the app does include a warning that "in rare instances, scheduled recordings may not be recognized," so if you're recording something super important, it's best to program that from home.

Nine Geeky Tools to Make Your Life Easier

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0700

This week, I heard the sad news that one of my favorite online tools, Kwiry, would be discontinuing its service. Before freaking out, I realized that there's already a number of tools and applications that can help keep me organized and on top of my to do lists. Click through my slideshow to see nine helpful tools which are guaranteed to simplify your life. And in case you missed it, check out 10 gadgets that will make your life easier and three helpful photo sites to make your life easier also.

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Daily Tech: Google Calendar Gets Hiding and Snooze Features

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:15:52 -0700

Google Calendar has just implemented a handy snooze button for notifications you want to disappear momentarily - Lifehacker
Check out an in-depth review of the Apple iMac - Gizmodo
Carve your very own 3D pumpkin using a game called Pumpkin Chop on Xbox Live Indie Games - Kotaku
A database marketing firm says that Facebook accounts for 25 percent of US online pageviews - The Silicon Alley Insider
A university in Australia has introduced a mandatory Twitter course for its journalism students - Switched
Wal-Mart is expected to roll out tech-support services by the beginning of the holidays - CrunchGear

15 Low Tech but Lovely Geek Cards

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:50:27 -0700

When was the last time you received a piece of snail mail that wasn't a bill, invite or subscription? As we've become more and more dependent on our portables and inboxes, our mailboxes have become less and less personal. While there are some pretty sweet online postcard services, print cards can be treasured forever - or at least they can't be deleted. Next time you plan to send correspondence to a nerdy friend consider a more personalized pen pal message on one of these design-friendly and decidedly geeky cards.

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Jessica Simpson Might Jump Into the Online Dating Pool

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:54:58 -0700

It hasn't really been Jessica Simpson's year. We all felt for her after her surprise breakup with Tony Romo, then her dog Daisy was snatched up by a coyote! Despite the drama, Jessica is hopeful that she'll find love again, and this time may even let her fingers do the talking online.

While at a QVC red carpet event last night, Jessica said that she isn't afraid of looking for love through the Internet, and may consider the method in the future. Although most of you aren't really keen on the idea of online dating, there's a large number of people who are finding long-lasting relationships through popular Internet sites. If Jessica is taking her love search online, we have some suggestions for her! Find out what they are when you read more.

Feast on Some Skycandy: Skype's new online speed dating service allows you to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time, which is perfect for Jess who's schedule is packed and is always on the go.
Twitter Me This: Jess is already a fan of Twitter, so using it to get a date should be super easy for the star.
A Word From the Wise: Just because the guys you'll be meeting online say they're legit doesn't mean they always will be. Be on the lookout for phony profiles and keep your eyes and ears open for any weirdness once you do meet your dates in person.

Daily Tech: Google to Launch an Online Bookstore

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:20 -0700

Google to launch an online service that will let readers buy electronic versions of books and read them on cell phones, laptops, and possibly e-book devices. - AP
BlackBerry Storm 2 announced. Here are 5 reasons why it's better. - PC Mag
How WiFi direct could be the death of Bluetooth - PC World
Parenting with Google Wave - Wired
What's wrong with buying speakers online - Crave
How do you define a digital home? - Unplggd
Gamer Mom takes a look at the art of video games - Green Pixels
It's giveaway and game time on GeekSugar! Be sure to log in and play our Best Video Game Ever bracket! - GeekSugar