GeekSugar

6 Geeky Umbrellas to Keep Your Head Dry

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:05:13 -0700

It was only a matter of time before the rain arrived, and boy is it here this week in SF! Keeping dry in the Winter can sometimes be an impossible task when there's a heavy windstorm accompanying the downpour, but at least you can attempt to keep the rain out of your hair with these totally geeky-but-cool umbrellas.

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Holiday Leftovers: A Fun-Filled (and Geeky) Christmas

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:00:06 -0800

Did you get everything you wanted under the tree this morning? If so, congrats! If not, don't forget you can blow off some steam (and burn up that gift card you "unwrapped" from your mom) online for some serious retail therapy . . . even today. So before the family dinner begins, take a look at some fun and geeky ways to spruce up your holiday with ambiance, great photos, and even connect with your family through video games - anything is possible!

Spend Your Gift Cards	Set The Mood	Play a Game
Pose With The Family	Take Drool-Worthy Pics	Capture the Twinkling Lights

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How-To: Make a Last-Minute Dinner Party Playlist

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:00:26 -0800

OK, you've got an hour to get the turkey out of the oven, mash the potatoes, prep the stuffing, not to mention setting the table for the people who are coming over for dinner. OMG the people! You need a party playlist asap!

When you're making a big important meal, the last thing you want to stress over is the dinner music. So you put off making the perfect playlist until now. Big deal - as long as you know some great last-minute ways to do it for you!

My current favorite music generator is iTunes Genius. Far better than iTunes's Party Shuffle, all you have to do is select one song whose tone you want for the party, and voila, 20 songs whose tone fits the party.

Not into iTunes? Plug in your laptop speakers and head over to Pandora or Last FM, both of which will provide you with "stations" that are exactly what you're looking for. Focus on that juicy turkey instead, and people will coo over that and your impeccable taste in music.

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Are You Impressed by iTunes Genius?

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:00:29 -0700

At last week's Let's Rock event, a little thing Steve announced was overshadowed by stuff like new iPods and a fix-all iPhone update: Genius! Part of the iTunes 8 update, Genius is a fun new feature for iTunes and iPods, which, I admit, didn't impress me at all when I was first hearing about it.

How silly I was! A week later, I'm obsessed with Genius. Why? Getting suggestions of music to buy is OK, but I really took the perk of having automatically-made playlists for granted. As someone who listens to my whole library on random at work and with the iPod on my iPhone, Genius brilliantly puts together stuff that sounds great together and somehow matches my mood. How does it know, based on one song, exactly what I want to hear next? I guess that's why they call it "genius."
Seriously, sometimes I get so blasé about new technology and gadgets, wanting to see bigger faster and stronger all the time that when something comes along that's so simple, I forget how much little things can make a difference.

So tell me, are you impressed by the little Genius like I am? Or is it just another thing that makes you go 'hmmm'?

Download Of The Day: Songbird

GeekSugar — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:05:35 -0800

Songbird is the latest chic desktop web player that will scan your hard drive, taking your personal and web music libraries and combining them into one user-friendly audio player zone. Once all your MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC, WMA, and other files are organized, you can start creating personal playlists and rock the night away. Built off the Mozilla engine, Songbird can run on Mac OS X, Linux and Windows.

Download Songbird from Songbirdnest.com.

Geek Tip: Using iPod's On-the-Go Feature

GeekSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 11:04:32 -0700

If you're like me and have hundreds of songs on your iPod that don't belong to any particular playlist, pay close attention to this geek tip.

You can create a playlist on the fly with your iPod's On-the-Go feature. All you have to do is highlight a song and press the center "select" button until the name flashes, which indicates that it has been added to the "On-the-Go" playlist.

You can also do this when a song is playing - just hold the center button until it flashes and it will be added. Access all your "On-the-Go" songs from the main Playlists menu. I know some of you have been using this feature for years, but for those of you who haven't you better get on the go.

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Should You Really Not Share Your iPod Playlist?

GeekSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:33:11 -0700

A study from the University of Cambridge focused on how we judge one another based on the contents of our iPods and came to the startling conclusion: Don't share your playlist with anyone!

Dr. Jason Rentfrow, who led the study, says that "we get a very strong impression about someone when we ask them what music they like," and that revealing what you listen to can “reinforce stereotypes and, potentially, social prejudices” about you.

Well, duh. Don't we always judge people on their preferences in movie, music, TV, and books? Isn't that why things we like but view as lowbrow are called "guilty pleasures"?

I must admit that sharing your playlist with someone is an intimate thing, but I don't know that shielding everyone from your musical opinions is the answer to not being judged - I say go forth and share.

Have you ever been afraid to share your playlist with anyone?

Give Your Phone the Props It Deserves With a Sleek Stand

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:47:23 -0700

I'm all about making my own iPhone or cell stand out of random objects, but if you want more of a traditional (read: new) and purposeful item, check out the sleek Philippi Mobile Phone Panel ($26).

This handy chrome desk accessory props up your cell so you can watch TV shows, make for easy viewing of your Twilight clock, or keep an obsessive eye out for any signs of a ring. It also works as a stand for your iPod or MP3 player so you can rock your tunes upright to quickly and easily check the titles of songs, or flip through your playlists.

Spice Up Your iTunes Playlists with Tangerine!

GeekSugar — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:45:58 -0800

Created by the PortionFactory, Tangerine! is an amazing iTunes software that allows you to easily create playlists of upbeat music, or playlists for relaxing tunes without sifting through your entire library. It works by analyzing the beats per minute and the beat intensity of all of your music.

Essentially, Tangerine! allows you to create great workout or nap-time playlists without wasting time that you could be spending actually working out, or napping.

For more about Tangerine!, just read more

Tangerine! will load and save playlists to iTunes, it will get the album art from iTunes and it will even export the beat per minute counts to iTunes. If you're working on a Core Duo iMac, it can analyze up to 3000 songs in 20 minutes. Download Tangerine! from the Potion Factory for $24.99. Tangerine! requires Mac OS X 10.4.

Lesson Learned: Don't Run a Marathon With an iPod

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:16:34 -0700

I can't make it more than a few miles without some driving tunes in my ear, so running a 25 mile race sans iPod would be out of the question. Thankfully, I'm not looking to win a marathon anytime soon, but if I was, I'd know that running with an iPod is a dangerous move if I want to take home the gold. Take for example, the winner of the recent Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon winner, Jennifer Goebel, who was disqualified after being photographed during the race with an iPod in her pocket.

The racer says she only listened to her playlist during the latter part of the race (you know, when you hit the proverbial "wall"), and although the rules of the marathon state that the judges have a choice to ignore the "no iPod rule" of the traditional race, this group took her medal and sent her packing. It's true - most marathon races do have a ban on MP3 players during the race, but if the judges don't have to acknowledge it, why would they?

Do you run marathons? If so, have you strapped on your MP3 player for the race?