CuteGeek » News

Work-it, Walk it Girlfriend.

Sylwia — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:19:29 +0000

Happy New Year Cutegeeks!

Some of you may believe in new year resolutions, because it gives you an opportunity, or the illusion of starting fresh. Many folks make resolutions to loose some extra pounds, or something to a similar effect. If you’re one of those people, don’t do it for the pounds, to it for your quality of life, energy, and to live longer!

Watch this video from Lifehacker: A Half-Hour Walk Can Make a Big Difference, Even If It’s Your Only Activity

The video was made by a doctor who is passionate about preventive care. His main point is, go on a walk, get up and move for 30 minutes. Why? Because out of everything else you can do for your health, mild activity shows the most improvement for everything from diabetes, dimensia, and decreases bone fractures (because you’re making your muscles stronger which make your bones stronger).

He also mentions how even if your activity doesn’t cause you to loose weight, exercising regardless will boost your life expectancy!

So go on, get some comfy shoes on and “walk like an eqyptiaaaaaan”.

SHPE-NYC STEM Toy Drive

Radiris Diaz — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:08:51 +0000

How About That For Some Acronyms!

Let me try that again…The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, New York City Chapter, is holding a Toy Drive next Friday Dec 9th, focused on toys that encourage learning of the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It makes sense. We have a very apparent gap in what are future decides to pursue as careers and what better way to address the gap than by getting to the source itself, our future, in a language they speak and enjoy, toys.

I am a member of this organization and while I am not an engineer, I sure am Hispanic and I’m finally a professional =) you don’t have to be though. The reason i joined this organization is because of the hard work and effort that they put into their chapter events to make us, more marketable and knowledgeable, through their professional development events. What I also admire is their commitment to the community, as seen with this event.

Last year was my first time attending their holiday spectacular-which is just that-and as soon as I left, I told myself I would go the following year.

It was held in Con Edison’s building, had a menu to literally drool over, with the longest cookie assortment ever, while providing a plethora of speakers, ranging from college scholarship winners, to super big dogs (aka executives) at companies also making their footprint known in our communities and global worlds. Last years event also had a toy drive, and hearing the principal of the charter school that received it was both heart warming and just invigorating because the 5 minutes it took to buy the $25 vetch laptop in RadioShack couldn’t compare to the goosebumps I felt reading the thank you notes from some of the students.

I encourage you all to join professional organizations, because they can help you meet other professionals, find your next job, contribute and be an active member in your greater community, and pursue a passion that may not necessarily be aligned with your day job.

Back to the Toy Drive – when I read it was a STEM drive, I thought holy moly, how can I find a cool $25 gift, because when I thought of the requirement of it being a STEM toy, my mind starting over-thinking/heating/processing (at the same time) because automatically my brain envisioned it would be some crazy complex scientific chemistry set that would just entertain a child for maybe 5 minutes, until he put juice in his flask or something…but then I clicked on their suggested gift list – yes they got one…and thought wow, these toys are fun!

I am excited to go to the holiday party, which is open to everyone, members and non-members, next Friday evening (RSVP here if interested). I haven’t quite decided on my toy, but I may go with Kikkeland’s Rainbow Maker because its my favorite thing I received this year – solar panel, screws, crystals, light = BAM = rainbows in my room. That qualifies as a STEM toy .

For more information or questions about the event, go to their site or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy holidays! See ya’ll there!

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Facebook Ecstatic to Have Gowalla User Data

Radiris Diaz — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:53:31 +0000

It’s confirmed! Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg just confirmed the acquisition of Gowalla. Facebook tweeted, “We’ve acquired Gowalla. I’m ecstatic and can’t wait to have access to thousands of users’ location data.”

I am not a Gowalla user, in fact I have no idea what Gowalla was until I just googled it, but knowing that Facebook just settled a privacy lawsuit their comment by their CEO makes me wonder if they are really concerned about protecting our privacy or is our information simply a money making tool for them.

Why so ecstatic Mark?

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When phones become teething toys

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:04:02 +0000

While we all want the children in our lives to eat apples – preferibly an apple a day, to keep the doctor away…having them chew away at our apple products just isn’t what we had in mind.

My 5 month old god-daughter – aka Julianne – the iPhone 4Slobber – is an avid lover of all apple products – her favorite being her mommy and daddy’s iPhone. While this picture is extremely cute, and we are all patiently awaiting the arrival of her adorable teeth, having to speak into a drooled phone just isn’t cool.

Being the tech collector that I am, I was able to donate an old flip phone to the cause, but like many of us know, today’s babies are smart. They are so smart they want ‘smart’ phones – so I’m sorry Fisher Price – you just won’t cut it with my precious Julianne because she knows her divalicious mommy will not sport a highlighter yellow colored device. Right Glo?

Don’t worry, I found a solution on Amazon.com!

Did you know they sell ‘dummy’ phones (please don’t get offended) that look just like the real thing – so real they are marked as display phones? They are even sold as toys for children, so why not spend $75 on the replacement phone that you will after get from all the water damage the drool causes…just buy a display phone!

In less than 24 hours – thanks to my free 2 day shipping, our precious Julie will be chewing on her own BlackBerry Curve, for only $14.99.

I also purchased her a Palm Centro – because I rock two phones, so why shouldn’t she.

Anyway – for any parents or folks with children who love to put everything in their mouth – here is your solution.

BlackBerry or Palm, you choose. ($14.99 and $9.99 respectively)

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Holy Moly – AblePlanet Noise-Canceling Headphones for only $69!

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:42:44 +0000

Okay – so I am almost freaking out – but not in a bad way, in a really good way, because I’m so freaking excited!!! Thanks to GroupOn - this deal is on!

AblePlanet makes just as good, if not better, headphones than Bose – yea – I said it. Their stars on the front are also cuter so yea…if you need the cute factor, forget bose and go with AblePlanet. The sound quality compares to no other and they are very comfortable to wear – even for long periods of time. I own these headphones and while I’d be pretty pissed if I purchased them at full-price, I didn’t, they were a gift :)

These headphones are amazing. I’ve owned them for over 2 years but always used them on the road. They make zoning out – more real, especially if you’re commute to work is done on a plane.

There are 2 days left to purchase these!!! Jump on it!! They are worth over $250! Oh and there is free shipping…this is an awesome gift option…i’m just saying…

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HTC Vivid the Porn Phone?

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:34:00 +0000

According to TMZ, the people who paid Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton for their sex tapes, is threatening to sue HTC over the name of one of their newest smart phones pictured left, the “HTC VIVID”.

Vivid (the porn company) claims that users may get confused and think that they are behind the phone. Vivid has given HTC until Monday to change the name of their smart phone to something else, or they will sue.

I wonder what HTC will do, I think it will be pretty hard for them to change the name of a device that is already on the Market and available from at&t wireless.
What porn company makes cell phones anyway? Well besides Playboy.

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All We Want For the Holidays is a Phone Call

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:08:47 +0000

That according to a study conducted by research firm Toluna on behalf of VTech. manufacture of cordless landline phones. Some of which are REALLY COOL like the LS6245 and the LS6375-03.

According to the survey, we are feeling the effects of the economy with more than half of those who participated in the survey saying they “wished they had more money for presents”. The survey also found that a lot of us including myself although I did not participate in the survey would love to have a phone call from Friend and Family during the holidays. Please note the emphasis on FRIENDS and FAMILY.

The survey found we really don’t want calls form our co-workers during the holidays or people we really don’t get a long with, so before you pick up the phone think about it first if we aren’t related or good friends maybe you shouldn’t dial the number.

Now off to call my mami!

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Polaroid Making a Comback?

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:13:21 +0000

Maybe I am misinformed, but didn’t Polaroid exit the instant picture business and started to focus purely on printing pictures? I remember seeing and hearing that back in 2008. But I suspect someone at Polaroid didn’t get the memo because today at CES Unveiled Michael Reyes from HardwareGeeks.com spotted what he described to me as a dinosaur with a LCD screen.

The Polaroid Z340 is an instant 14.0 megapixel digital camera with a 2.7” LCD screen. It instantly prints out 3×4 full color images and unlike the polaroid film of old you don’t have to wait for the picture to develop it comes out developed!

What’s also so cool about the Z340 it doesn’t use INK to print your images. I’m confused too but it’s technology called ZINK (Zero Ink Printing).

The Z340 is available now, for more info visit Poloaroid.com.

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Firmware Update for GoFlex Satellite

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:05:37 +0000

GoFlex Satellite owners there is a new firmware update for your wireless hard drive.

The new firmware is version 1.2.0.012 and it has a host of new features. My favorite being the ability to add music to a photo slide show. You also can now view your music’s album art.

This is the first update of the firmware since it was released in July. Wendy Wick had a chance to review it and she loved it. Check out her review here.

You can download the firmware and also see instructions on how to update the device here.

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MAINGEAR to offer Intel Core i7 2700k Overclocked

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:01:00 +0000

MAINGEAR today informed the world that they will have the the new Intel Core i7 2700k in their Shift and F131 desktops.

The i7 2700K is a quad-core (4 core) processor with a clock speed of 3.5GHz and 3.9GHz Turbo boost. MAINGEAR is also overclock the 2700K Intel processor to 5GHZ which will make it SUPER fast, think of all the multi-tasking I can do!!!

The price of the F131 and Shift with the 2700k is $1228 and $1985. I in no way can afford one, at least not right now but would love to have one. For more info click here.

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Own a Blackberry Free Apps Coming your Way

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:21:49 +0000

Due to that huge service outage last week, Research in Motion (RIM) has said it will give blackberry users free premium apps valued up to $100. The Free premium apps will be available starting October 19th and will remain free for 4 weeks. RIM has also said enterprise customers will get one free month of Technical Support.

Tens of millions of Blackberry customers world wide were left with out email for up to a day,

So if you have a Blackberry check the App World starting Wednesday for those free Premium Apps!

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TeleNav GPS Navigator 7.1 for Sprint Android Devices

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today at CTIA TeleNav announced GPS Navigator 7.1 for Sprint Android smartphones.

The new GPS Navigator is designed to help people who are always on-the-go like me, who always need to know where they are at and where they need to be.

Navigator 7.1 has a new home screen, called “My Dashboard” which gives quick access to all the things they need to know, yes like your current location and real time traffic. I love my Sprint Navigator even more now!

Navigator 7.1 also features improved map options real time traffic and turn by turn navigation. You can now also change your little car icon!

There is now also a widget for Navigator, something it lacked and something I welcome since I will now have even quicker access to my beloved GPS!

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Norton 360 v6 Free Public Beta

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:33:38 +0000

Today Symantec announced a free beta for Norton 360 version 6. The free beta will allow those who accept the beta agreement to download and use the full version of the software during the beta period.

So think of it as free AV for a month or so! Norton 360 features some new cool features such as Norton Identity Safe in the cloud, which will keep your passwords on a remote server in the cloud so that you can have access to them from any PC, Norton Management a new web management which allows you to remotely control some of Norton’s feature (sounds pretty cool), along with other changes that just went over my head. My favorite feature is the metered bandwidth. My friend who lives in Canada would love this feature as their ISP limits the amount of bandwidth they can use. (Pictured below)

Norton 360 v6 is available for download for free at http://us.norton.com/beta

ScandalousDirt.com

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:23:36 +0000

Kelsey Grammer has been in the news a lot lately, and well some of it’s been good and some of its been bad, but today he is in the news because of a new website that has just launched ScandalousDirt.com.

So what does ScandalousDirt.com and Kelsey Grammer have in common? Well the website is part of his new TV show which is set to premiere on Starz on October 21st called BOSS. The show is about the inner workings of Chicago politics and we all know how corrupt Chicago politics can be and Kelsey Grammer plays Mayor Kane.

The Scandalous Dirt website while part of the new TV show is also a real time political aggregator with news and polls about current real life events, but at the same time it will feature live tweets from the BOSS TV show, essentially blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

I’ve checked out the site and it’s pretty cool, and it helped me brush up on some of the garbage going on in our real life politics.

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WD Launches WD TV Live Wi-Fi with Spotify

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today WD announced the newest WD TV Live which features everyone’s favorite new music program Spotify. Spotify premium users will be able to listen to music on their WD TV Live devices in what I think is a gorgeous user interface. Michael from HardwareGeeks.com got to check it out a few weeks back and showed me some pictures.

The new WD TV Live will also feature 1 TB of storage and Wi-Fi making it not only a device that brings content to your television but a device that will store your content as well.

Along with Spotify, users of the newest WD TV Live which features a new UI will have access too NetFlix, Hulu Plus, Blockbuster, CinemaNow, Pandora, Youtube, Facebook and more.

Michael from HardwareGeeks.com also informed me that current WD TV Live owners will not be able to get Spotify in an Update hopefully WD changes their mind on that.

The new WD TV Live is available starting today at the WD Store, for $99.99.

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RIP Steve Jobs

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:42:30 +0000

The Associated Press is reporting that Steve Jobs has died. The man was a genius we all can admit that, he brought us the iPod, the iPhone and Mac.

He was a force to be reckoned with as he brought us products that made his competitions knees buckle.

Steve Jobs you will be missed! Rest in Peace

http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/

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October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:46:38 +0000

One of the biggest threats we face today as internet and smartphone users is the theft of our identity. Our identity can easily be stolen if we are tricked into entering private information into a fake bank website for example, or if we lose our mobile phones.

We all know how to protect ourselves online, we are wary of the websites we visit, we use security software and other tools to make sure we are safe from website to website. But we don’t do much about our mobile phones. Sure there are fine my phone features if you have an iPhone or Windows Phone but what about an Android based device? Like a android powered tablet or smartphone.

According to a NPD Groups study on Emergency Technology Trends in Mobile Security, nearly 40% of us are aware of the threats out there, however 82 percent of us use no security products on our mobile phones and 25% of us have no idea where to find such software.

We have partnered with MyLookOut.com to give away 5 pro subscriptions of their Lookout Mobile app a $39 value each to 5 of our visitors, to help you protect yourself on your mobile device.

The Lookout mobile software will help you locate your phone if stolen, it backs up your data and so much more. So click the Market Icon on your android powered device and download it. There is also a pro version which we are giving subscriptions away for which will run you $39.Read down below for info on how to win your subscription.

I had a demo of the software a few weeks ago at an event here in NYC and it ROCKED! I downloaded it onto my phone as soon as I got home!

The MyLookOut.com blog is also sharing 5 tips with you on how to protect yourself.

Steps to Protect Your Smartphone:

1. Set a password. A password is the first line of defense so only you can access the important data on your phone.

2. Download the software updates for your phone. It is important to stay up-to-date with the software on your phone and apps. They can include patches to security flaws that can put your information at risk.

3. Download a security app. Just like your PC, you should download security software like Lookout Mobile Security to stop malware, spyware and malicious apps. With the right app, you can also locate a lost or stolen phone and back up your data.

4. Use discretion when downloading apps. One of the most exciting things to do with a new smartphone is explore all the great applications you can download onto it. But, as you explore, make sure to only download apps from sites you trust, check the app’s rating, and read the reviews to make sure the app is widely used and respected.

5. On public Wi-Fi, limit email, social networking and only window shop. Public Wi-Fi networks are everywhere, but security for these networks is not. Be careful what you do on public Wi-Fi networks, and in particular, use extra caution when shopping and mobile banking unless you’re confident you have a secure connection.

To find regularly updated information about mobile threats visit http://blog.mylookout.com/.

Now if you want to win a Subscription to the Pro Version of MyLookOut, comment to this post with what measures you take to protect your self.

Good luck and even if you don’t win the free version works great as well!

Just an FYI contest ends on Halloween!

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Toshiba Thrive 7

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:40:22 +0000

Today Toshiba announced an Android powered tablet with a 7” screen available in December. The Thrive 7 will have a similar look and feel as the 10” Thrive, although it will not have a full size USB, HDMI or SD port, only mini for HDMI and USB and micro SD.

We had a chance to play with one earlier today and I must admit, I think it would make a great eBook reader for those of us who are on the NY City subway system often. The NVIDIA Tegra chip makes it great for gaming as well.

Pricing not available yet but it will be sub $400. There will also be an optional dock available.

Here are some images of the Thrive 7.

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VITAband – the future of medical bracelets

Sylwia — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:48:12 +0000

VITAband – The future for medical ID bracelets.

As an extreme sports enthusiast, (or so I claim to be ;-)), I’m really excited about the VITAband. The VITAband is essentially a new-age medical ID bracelet. How? Well each bracelet comes with an imprinted personal identification number (VITAnumber). So, should anything happen to you a first-responder can call the VITAband number to access your personal information.

On the VITA website you can set up your profile to include medications, allergies, and emergency contacts. But wait, theres MORE…the VITAband also features Visa payWave (contact-less payment). It’s a prepaid card so you don’t have to worry about someone running off with your fortune.

The VITAband is great for anyone into hiking, cycling, running (marathon training..whoa!) and lastly climbing (or you can wear it because it’s sweet).

I recently took up climbing as a hobby, it’s a sport where safety is utmost important. Having been out-door sport climbing a handful of times (its so scary but REALLY fun too!), makes me really appreciate what the VITAband folks are doing.

This brings me to the reason why the VITAband is so awesome. It’s because you can have your information on you at all times — JUSTINCASE! But at the same time it doesn’t get in the way of your activity. In other words, you won’t have to complain about not having a place to put your license in your cycling shorts.

Way-to-go VITAband!

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Sony Video Unlimited Headed to PS3

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Sony today has announced PlayStation 3 users can download the Video Unlimited app starting October 11th, which will allow them to discover video and related content in a whole new cool and sexy way.

I checked out a video of the Video Unlimited app and I will be honest I now want a PS3! Check out the video over at http://blog.us.playstation.com

Users can download a Preview of the App starting today, from the PlayStation Store. For more information visit: www.VUPreview.com.

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Favorite Website of the Week: DoctorOz.Sharecare.com (Transformation Nation)

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:58:51 +0000

Have you heard of Transformation Nation – or Dr.Oz’s goal of transforming all Americans from 7 different aspects of our lives?

Well if you haven’t, I urge you to go check out his website because this is a big deal and if you are the winner of this transformation nation project, you can win a million bucks!!

Dr.Oz is known for many things – in my eyes he is the Oprah of health. Anything that comes out of his mouth is taken with very high regard, and he instantly makes skeptics his followers. I’ve been watching and listening to his advice for years and am very excited to be a part of this program.

Check out DoctorOz.Sharecare.com for more details and be sure to tell your friends.

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Carnegie Mellon University Set to Receive Record-Breaking Gift of $265 Million

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:37:50 +0000

Wow – William S. Dietrich II, a Pittsburgh native, is going to donate $265 MILLION just because…he loves it. Now how would you show your love?

Makes me feel like going back for Carnival each year, and donating to CMARC just isn’t enough…hmmm…

Now those that are not familiar with Carnegie Mellon – here’s a quick scoop:

Located in Pittsburgh, PA
Known for their drama program, business school, emphasis on the sciences and technology and also psychology (not to say that the other programs are not superb)
Has Intel, Google, Apple and Microsoft living under one roof
Is one of the first university’s to have wireless
Created the first smiley
Some famous alumni – Josh Groban (Singer who got discovered before graduating), Ted Danson (Actor), Judith Light (Actress), Gela Nash-Taylor (co-creator and co-founder of Juicy Couture), Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture), Aron Ralston (127 Hours), Judith Resnik (Astronaut), Andy Warhol (The Artist – Duh!), etc…

The gift will be used across disciplines, facilitating the fusion of right/left-brain thinking, amongst its undergraduate and graduate students, across the seven schools and colleges, merging technology, innovation. creativity and of course, sprinkled with all sorts of global initiatives because that is just how Carnegie Mellon works.

With this gift, the school of Humanities and Social Sciences will also be named in honor of Bill Dietrich’s mother – Marianna Brown Dietrich. The school will now be the Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

I am honored to be an alum and look forward to reading more about this gift, and how others are giving back.

To learn more, check out the following links:

The gift

The Little Brag Book of Big Ideas

More on Carnegie Mellon, taken from their website:

Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 11,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled "Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University," which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.

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Celebrate timeless beauty with the Limited Edition HP 12c

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:28:19 +0000

Celebrating 30 years of greatness usually occurs in a club, or in a tropical destination with all of your closest friends – at least in my world, but in HP’s world it’s held in a very intimate setting, with folks passionate in a plethora of things. That’s how my Tuesday evening began. Actually, it began after I greeted HP’s lovely Laura Harich, and then spotted a fellow CMU alum, whose father was also in attendance, who also loved CMU…great times! I love running into my fellow Tartans everywhere I go – especially when its at a technology event, or simply an event that brings working brains together.

Back to the topic at hand – in a dimly lit backroom, hidden in a steakhouse in the financial district, I was introduced to HP’s masterpiece – the HP 12c. I didn’t tell a soul in the room that I had never heard about the 12c, but now, shoot, I can talk to you all for at least an hour about it.

As I tried to avoid the HP 12c guru (Gene Wright), because I had no idea what question to ask to make it seem like I knew what I was talking about, he found the best seat in the house – next to me. We spoke for too short of a time and by the end of it all I could tell him was wow – HP must be paying you the big bucks…until he told me he doesn’t even work for them! I was blown away to hear so many great things about this calculator from someone who simply loved the product and knew almost everything there was to know about it.

I’ll give you the scoop – paraphrased of course.

HP’s 12c is the bomb.com because:

It hasn’t changed since 1981

(Here’s the proof)

It calculated well then, and calculates even quicker today.

Its form factor exudes the ‘I belong on your desk’ vibe that calculator users (in this case lots of finance folks and engineers)

It’s not intimidating, despite being a scientific calculator, and its display is very clear, no matter from what angle you’re looking at it

Requires a new way of thinking about calculators because it stacks numbers instead of calculates them separated so instead of putting 1+2+3 you would put 1 2 3 and then +…weird, but hey, once you go 12c, you don’t go back!

Original batteries lasted over 20 years in some cases (crazyyyy)

And the best thing I heard about it, was that if reality calculated something for you and gave you X, and the HP 12c calculated it at Y – you need to double check reality…(this sounded a lot better coming from Gene, especially when he used the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as a reference).

Congratulations – way to show us how to make something work on its first attempt…we don’t see that too often anymore, and sometimes we need reminders.

Happy 30^th Anniversary!!! Be sure to get the Limited Edition 12c for all the geeks in your life. And if you want to learn more about the history, why it rocks and why it’ll remain a timeless beauty – check out HP’s take on the 12c…

The best part of the night, although I’ve listed so many already is that they had a giveaway…and I won…ironic thing about the contest is that I was recording it and then realized I had won…I’ll post that video as soon as I can Thank’s HP!!

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Sexy new Mouse from Microsoft

Ashley Giordano — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:21:44 +0000

Microsoft today announced it’s stylish and dear we say sexy new Touch Mouse artist edition. It’s a laser engraved mouse that is quite stunning in my opinion.

New York based artist Deanne Cheuk, was inspired by the motion of our fingers and items such as circuit boards, and as you can see from the image to the right it’s a gorgeous design. I can’t wait to rub my fingers over it and find out what it feels like. Looks to me like it would feel nice!

But the Touch Mouse Artist edition isn’t just about having a great mouse, it also features multitouch technology which allows you to make gestures on the mouses surface and the ability to you se 1, 2 or 3 fingers. Clicking, swiping, pinching flicking and snapping have never been sexier!

Microsoft has put together a video showing how the mouse was designed, enjoy!

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Free Starbucks Coffee! (Well, it used to be)

Sylwia — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:57:29 +0000

Have you heard about “Jonathan’s Card”? A gentleman was doing a social/technological experiment and it involved Starbucks coffee.

He made his Starbucks card available on his website, and yes you guessed it, he made it available to ANYONE. He even had a twitter account open that was updated with the card’s balance. One of the things that GOOD reports is how many people not only used the card, but actually contributed and donated to it’s balance! (People can be so sweet!) I am sorry to report, but as of this past Friday, the card has been shut down by Starbucks (see Jonathan’s note on his website). Is this the future of how we will make payments at stores, not only Starbucks. No more plastic? Can you imagine?

Would you use an app on your phone to pay for your coffee? Another question, would you be concerned about the security around having your credit card so readily available?

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Tom’s is Giving Back One-for-One from Head to Toe, from Shoes to Sunglasses

Wendy Wick — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:00:46 +0000

Tom’s One-for-One movement is well known. Buy a pair of shoes and Tom’s gives a pair of shoes to a person in need somewhere in the world. This business model has been so successful that Tom’s has expanded its model into saving sight. For each pair of Tom’s eyeglasses purchased, somewhere in the world (Tibet, Nepal and Cambodia with plans to expand…) someone receives the eye exam, eye glasses, medication or surgery they need to restore vision. That’s visionary (pun intended)! By protecting our eyes from the sun with Tom’s sunglasses, we prevent damage to our eyes and restore vision to someone else in the world. Want to know more? Check out the story at Tom’s website, watch the video and shop!

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Netflix Pricing Just Got Nasty…

Wendy Wick — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:22:48 +0000

You have all heard me rave about how much I adore and depend on my Netflix streaming. The ability to stream Netflix is one of the first things I look for in my Smart Devices (iPhones, Android Phones, Windows Phones, Nintendo Wii, Boxee Box) because we stream our children’s videos and we love documentaries! I just got an e-mail from Netflix thanking me for my business and advising me that they are almost doubling what they charge me for my current service….a hug and a slap in the face and I am not sure if I want to turn the other cheek…

Effective September 1, Netflix is separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans and charging $7.99 a month for each…almost double what I currently pay for both. I haven’t even been a customer for 6 months…boy do I feel like I got the bait-and-switch!

Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming) for $7.99 a month

And it only goes up from there! I would say ‘so what’ and just cancel the DVDs BUT Netflix withholds a few seasons and a few episodes of major series as ‘available on DVD only’ which means if I just stream, I don’t get the whole story. If anyone has suggestions for streaming services similar to Netflix, where I can get my ‘Law & Order’ fix on-demand, on any smart device, please post a comment and let me know…with this kind of price hike, I really want to know what my options are.

If you are a current Netflix customer and are not thrilled with your media costs nearly doubling, you can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the plan changes page in your Netflix account or by calling Netflix at1-888-357-1516.

follow me on Twitter @wendyevelynwick and CuteGeek @cutegeek

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Samsung Delivers Ultra-Everything with Series 9 Laptops

Wendy Wick — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:44:45 +0000

Today, Samsung announced an expanded Series 9 laptop line that is scheduled to arrive on store shelves in time for the August back-to-school shopping season. The expanded line of sophisticated, ultra-sleek, ultra-thin and lightweight models all come with solid state drives, backlit kepyborads, SuperBright displays and Windows 7, and are available with five different Intel Core processor and storage configurations designed to meet your needs and budgets.

Samsung has packed the three new 13.3-inch models with powerful performance enhancements, creating a more dynamic experience without breaking your back or your purse. The new 13.3-inch models are still less than 3 pounds and less than 2/3 inch thin. Samsung brings two 11-inch versions for those looking for an even more compact mobile computing solution.The new Series 9 laptops retain the sleek, breakthrough duralumin design, which is twice as strong as aluminum. This design choice, coupled with rugged solid state drives (SSD) for storage, makes the Series 9 an attractive option for frequent travelers and coffeeshop-computers looking for an ultra lightweight solution that can withstand the road-warrior, compute-on-the-go lifestyle.
The entire Series 9 line features a bright backlit keyboard for added productivity in dark environments. Offering twice the brightness of traditional laptop screens, the Series 9 laptops’ HD LED SuperBright displays make them easy to see both indoors and out and the 7 hours of battery life will keep you working all day, anywhere.

Centered on product enjoyment and seamless operation, all models are equipped with Samsung’s FastStart technology, which readies the Series 9 for use in as little as 3 seconds. The Series 9 models also feature chargeable USB 3.0 connections which can conveniently charge a cell phone or MP3 player, even while the laptop is off.

The new line of Samsung Series 9 will be launching over the next four weeks at major electronics retailers and online. Pricing for the new models will range from $1,049 to $2,049. Many retailers are offering a promotion where if you purchase a new Windows 7 laptop, you get a free (yes, FREE!) Xbox…and Samsung’s Series 9 is one of them!

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Win an iPad for You, LeapPad for Kids…

Wendy Wick — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:55:05 +0000

Parents…you say you want an iPad? Well Leapfrog wants to give you one….and give your kids a LeapPad too. Just go to the Leapfrog Facebook page and follow the easy instructions by July 15^th.

Tell Leapfrog about your tech-toddler travesties and the three best stories will win. Did your son flush your phone because you said ‘it was dead’ when the battery drained? Did your daughter try to share her breakfast with grandma via a Face Time conversation by placing your new iPhone 4 in her Cheerios? Or do you have a heart wrenching ‘shattered screen’ story of comforting your child from the ‘oops it broke, mommy’ after the slip of your new tablet onto the kitchen floor.

Share your technology tales-of-woe. Laugh, cry and commiserate with other parents who have been there with you…you have nothing to lose and an iPad and LeapPad to win!

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IBM… 100 Years Young

Wendy Wick — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 03:23:26 +0000

Last Thursday, June 19th IBM celebrated it’s 100th anniversary…100 years of solving difficult problems and reinventing itself, it’s workforce and the society’s concept of a ‘workforce’ to tackle mankind’s next most immediate hurdle. For a quick and powerful trip through the last century of progress as seen through the eyes of IBM’s innovations and social contributions, watch the IBM Centennial Film: 100 X 100 – A century of achievements that have changed the world, check out the latest news on the IBM Centennial at ibm.com, or learn what it means to be building a ‘smarter planet.’

IBM has grown old by ‘staying young’ and thinking big, broad and beyond tomorrow. Sam Palmisano, IBM Chairman, President and CEO sums it up in his opening letter to the 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report, “To achieve long-term success, you have to manage for the long-term.” IBM is 100 years young and applying technology, creativity and innovation to challenges real and eventual, across all walks of life in over 170 countries. Happy Birthday, IBM!

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Toshiba’s Got Bang for Your Back-to-School Buck$

Wendy Wick — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:18:24 +0000

Toshiba wants to get you back-to-school with a variety of new, fast and sleek Satellite Series notebooks coming out this month. My personal favorite is the Satellite P700 Series notebooks which are ideal for multi-tasking students and young professionals looking for a trendy but sturdy, high-performance notebook for on-the-go social-networking, hyper-caffeinated internet-surfing, movies, music and to serve as the ‘hub’ for all of their ‘smart’ devices.

The Satellite P700 features:

Toshiba’s textured Fusion X2 shell which resists fingerprints and smudging.
14, 15.6- and 17.3 inch HD LED backlit screens
harman/kardon speakers with sound enhancements from Dolby and Waves Audio
raised tile keyboards
HDMI port and USB 3.0 port for faster data transfers
2^nd-generation Intel and AMD A-Series processors
Storage options up to 750GB
Optional features include: Intel Wireless Display, 4G WiMAX and a Blu-ray disc player

The Satellite P700 Series features USB Sleep & Charge and Sleep & Music, allowing users to charge and/or play music from their ‘smart devices’ while the laptop is powered down. Pricing starts at $629 with availability starting June 19.

If the P700 is more machine than you need and more than you want to spend, then check out the equally stylish Satellite L700 Series, which offers robust features, great performance and a sleek design available in a multitude of colors (Brushed Aluminum Blue, Graphite, Silver, White, Red and Brown), with displays ranging in size from 13.3 inches to 17.3 inches. Pricing starts at $449.

If you are looking for a dependable basic “no-bells-and-whistles” laptop, then check out the Satellite C600 Series, a very affordable, easy-to-use PC for basic productivity at home, office or around town. Basic features include DVD SuperMulti drive and standard keyboard with 10-keypad. Pricing starts at $379.

Thanks to HP – Lebron James is bringing more than just talent…

Radiris Diaz — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:45:17 +0000

…to Miami and a bunch of other major cities that is.

On March 2nd, the Lebron James Family Foundation & HP announced they would contribute to the intelligence of our nation’s future by providing them with the technology to help them achieve success. 1,000 computers will be donated to 59 Boys & Girls Clubs across America – Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Connecticut and of course, Akron, OH – his hometown & the location of my last project.

This isn’t the first time Lebron invests in education, last year he blessed after-school programs in Akron with 1,000 HP computers. Stories like this are what really make me smile – seeing someone literally not forget about the ‘little people’ even after he’s made it big.

“Our goal is to empower young people and having access to state-of-the-art computers and technology ensures that children will have the tools they need to achieve success”, said Lebron, and I agree with him 110%. Students will be able to do their homework on the PCs, learn about tech, develop the skills they need to compete, and prepare for the world of work.

“We’re delighted that our technology will help Boys & Girls Clubs members pursue their passions and learn necessary skills that will allow them to succeed in a more connected and collaborative world,” said Satjiv Chahil, advisor, Global Market Development, Personal Systems Group, HP.

(I should’ve posted this sooner – but I forgot…better late than never and today is the perfect day!)

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A Shoe that Gives is a Shoe Worth Giving…

Wendy Wick — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 17:55:08 +0000

Many of you may not know this about me, but in the late ‘90’s, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in two Panamanian villages, Pedernal and Embera Drua, and experienced life without bathrooms, without walls, without shoes. For many, there is nothing to adapt to, this is life as they know it. Shoes are a luxury and are often a barrier to receiving education. Lack of shoes exposes children to injury, soil-born illnesses and parasites that enter the body through skin.

I used to travel home and collect my younger sister’s outgrown shoes to bring back to the village. I could do that since I had access to 1) a little girl’s outgrown wardrobe and 2) village children who needed and wanted my sister’s gently warn shoes. I still want to help but can’t fly as often and I know of countless others who would love to help but also don’t frequent rural villages in developing nations….and then there is that ever-looming concern that “what difference can one person really make”…Yesterday, Moraima Avalos, a sweet and savvy, socially-conscious 17 year-old NYC high school student gave me the answer: Tom’s Shoes. For every pair of shoes Tom sells, they give a new pair of shoes to a child in need, one for one. Tom’s even publishes an annual giving report so customers can really understand the breath of the impact their purchase has.

The shoes are stylish, washable, comfortable, affordable and for each pair you and your loved ones wear through, you are ensuring that somewhere, possibly a place you don’t even know exists, a child is getting a pair of new shoes personally sized and placed on his foot (no exaggeration!) because you choose Tom’s for your beach shoes or playground shoes. That feels good for me, does good for other’s and espouses the values I want to teach my children. What a win-win with no effort on my part.

If you want to truly understand Tom’s inspiration, watch this short video and if you want to experience shoelessness, then sign up for 2012’s One Day without Shoes. Imagine that if your family all wore them, then an entire family somewhere would have shoes. if a hospital’s staff decided to wear Tom’s shoes, or if a school that requires uniforms decided to recommend Tom’s shoes, then an entire village of children would have shoes. It is inspirational…and actionable. Thank you Moraima!

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Blockbuster Rewards Good Grades with Free Movies

Wendy Wick — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:32:33 +0000

Getting good grades is its own reward but Blockbuster is sweetening the deal for American youth by rewarding students who work hard with a little ‘down time’ through their “Good Grades, Free Rental” program. Children in kindergarten through 12th grade who earn a B average or better on their report cards can head to participating Blockbuster stores nationwide to receive a free, one-day, non-new release movie rental. Qualifying students are eligible each grading period for one free non-new release Blockbuster movie rental in DVD format.

Blockbuster store across the country. The report card must be from the 2011 school year, show a B average grade (Satisfactory, 2.7 or 80% grade) or better, be signed by a parent or legal guardian and be presented within 30 days of issuance of the report card. Rentals must be made by an authorized renter on the Blockbuster account of the student’s parent or legal guardian. For more details, check out Blockbuster’s FAQ’s at Blockbuster.com.

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Sprint and Motorola Announce the Photon 4G…Take a Sneak-Peek…

Wendy Wick — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:40:29 +0000

Motorola’s Sanjay Jha and Sprint’s Dan Hesse got together with NYC techies to unveil the Photon 4G, one of several Motorola Android phones coming to Sprint. The Photon 4G is as fast as ‘smart’ gets at the moment with a dual core processor and 4G speeds, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB for storage. The Photon is sleekly designed with rounded corners, a textured back for comfortable hand grip, a phenomenal display resolution and a kickstand around back so it stands on it’s own. It has everything you’d expect: Gingerbread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 8 megapixel HD video front-facing camera and a few things that you wouldn’t expect but will be thrilled with like International GSM capabilities and 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices. The talk was heavy on specs but sparse on availability and pricing so the best I can tell you is to watch for it this summer…and it is worth watching for….

While you wait, check out this video of the Photon in action…

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I’m The Girl with the Hot-Spot!

Wendy Wick — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:47:28 +0000

Since getting my Android Infuse last month, I noticed that I tend to use the phone rather than my tablet for quick and dirty web-searching and had to ask myself why. I have gotten addicted to Android’s 4G speedy returns and was frustrated with the 3G on my iPad 2. In the hectic haze of a typical multi-tasking, micro-device-at-my-fingertips day, I need dependable, flexible and fast WiFi at home and on-the-go, and these days I need it to support laptops, tablets and multiple smart phones. I also realized that I dread the looming warning e-mails that I am approaching my cellular data plan limits. Who needs that stress?

I spent some time considering my options and decided to leap into a newer 4G service called Clear. For $45 per month I can create your my own personal portable 4G hot-spot anywhere and connect up to eight simultaneous wi-fi enabled devices. This is “super fast take-it-with-you internet” for on-the-move professionals with a pocketful of wi-fi enabled gadgets. The way I see it, this service may pay for itself if it lowers my exorbitant monthly Starbucks tab by freeing me from the enticement of free wi-fi.

Clear is offering a web special right now where you get their new Rover Puck for $25 with carrying case, free activation, one month free and free shipping (usually next day) with a two year service agreement. They offer the same low price for month-to-month verses contract but the only the contract comes with the freebies and discounted modem.

It only took me minutes to sign up for the web special over the phone and I am one day away from my own personal hot-spot! It should work right out of the box with registration and it will be password protected so no one can steal my wi-fi but I can offer to share it! I will be the girl at the park getting work done on a breezy day, or the mom at the playground on a video conference or the friend at the waterfront café chatting on FaceTime with family in South America while she waits for you. More to come on where my new hot-spot will take me…

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Getting on the iCloud…but Not Just Yet…

Wendy Wick — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:58:43 +0000

Having recently “i-ified” my life, I am still smarting from the frustrations of duplicate photos/movies (yes, I copied them twice…sometimes thrice), multiple iTunes accounts / Apple Ids and utter confusion around what content I purchased and where it has gone off to. Worse yet, having once wiped-out my device (and um…with the help of Apple Support…overwrote my back-up with factory settings!), I live in constant fear of data loss. It can sometimes be quite a burden to be so ‘smart’…

Apple to the rescue with iCloud, a (obviously!) cloud-based content service that will store and stream all of your music and media content, not just your iTunes purchases to up to 10 devices automatically, and best of all wirelessly! No more tangles of USB 2.0 cables! Your content will automatically be available on all your Apple portable devices and computers, both Mac and Windows.

Before you get too giddy, iCloud and the Apple iOS 5 operating system for the iPhone / iPod Touch are months away from my hungering hands and won’t be available until the fall. In the meanwhile, Apple has provided a “purchases” tab under the store which shows all of your purchases on all devices synced with your current iTunes. Apple support tells me that it will actually show all content purchased on my current computer and any devices I sync to it using iTunes but I have not tested the multiple iTunes account content just yet. So, we can at least install anything we purchased on our iPad onto our iPhone or iPod with ease.

iOS 5 will offer a lot of new features, photo editing in the camera app, tabbed Web browsing, managing my To-Do lists with reminders, unlimited Wi-Fi texting for iPad and iPod Touch, Twitter integration and a host of others. We will be able to seamlessly upload photos when taken, tunes when purchased or documents as created without running for cables to sync, or texting/e-mailing to share to another device. Your calendar entries will be up-to-date and your contacts will be current on all of your devices…Nirvana!

iCloud and iOS 5 will make iOS devices provide a more seamless and personalized media experience for the individual but it may create complexities and possibly additional cost for families that associate multiple member’s devices with one master iTunes account. All content on associated with an Apple ID (pictures, documents, pdfs as well as music and videos) is game for automatic synchronization. This isn’t so much of a problem for laptops that have profiles but iPads do not and they are often shared among family members so security and content-appropriateness is a concern. It will be great for iPhones and iPods which tend to be single person user but I am concerned about what content and apps may suddenly become available on my iPad, and to my children when I intended it for myself. I am going to believe, for now until I can test-drive the iCloud myself, that Apple has already thought out family-sharing on the iCloud and the ability to manage and secure device-specific content. In fact, I bet they are filming the on-line tutorials even as I type…

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Majesco Entertainment set to change traditional NBA Games

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:44:44 +0000

I love basketball and as we approach Game 4 and start mentally preparing for the Heat to win tonight (let the hating begin) – there’s also a cool idea to start mentally prepare for. Gaming – in the world of physical motion.

Last year, at E3, Microsoft turned ‘us’ into the remotes of our gaming consoles – we’ve done yoga, danced, ran in Olympic games, etc – but imagine how this new concept of gaming, which is changing up and infiltrating all of our experiences, would change playing a simple game like basketball.

Forget NBA Live, the game I think my brother lived for each year it was released, and picture yourself physically getting into the game, with more than just your fingertips. This game is set to be different, and in a world where different is the goal, and being unique and all that other good stuff, it is pretty exciting to just think about the possibilities. Imagine watching yourself play in the game.

Majesco has partnered with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and have committed to releasing a new game that utilizes motion-based gaming technology in the Spring of 2012.

Majesco makes casual and family oriented games (console and digital) and have over 20 yrs of operating history. They are headquartered in Edison, NJ and have an international office in Bristol, UK. They are known for Cooking Mama, TETRIS Party Deluxe and Zumba Fitness (which I would love to try out on my Wii).

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AT&T Is Giving Me FREE Mobile-to-Mobile Minutes…Want Some?

Wendy Wick — Mon, 30 May 2011 20:53:10 +0000

AT&T recently launched a nice enhancement to their individual and FamilyTalk Calling Plans for people with Unlimited Text Messaging. If you have or want to sign-up for unlimited text messaging, you now get unlimited calling to any (yes, ANY) mobile number on any network in the US (and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) at no extra charge. Yes, free mobile-to-mobile calling, regardless of the network your friends and family are on!

If you are like me, always on-the-go chatting with friends and colleagues who are also on-the-go, then free mobile-to-mobile calling offers huge savings on monthly minute consumption. Only catch…you have to ask for it, so call up AT&T or stop in a store and they can upgrade your account in seconds…and so you can start banking your mobile-to-mobile minutes into your rollover minutes.

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If “He’s Just Not that Into You”, TiVO can help

Zenia Duran — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:08:42 +0000

I am a sucker for relationships and love, it is in the crab in me, so you could imagine the excitement when I received the opportunity to read about TiVO’s new campaign: TURN ON THE LOVE

The TiVO Premiere is the “world’s first Smart DVR” that can stream music, movies, shows and web videos, in addition to recording your favorite TV shows, and even suggesting what you should be recording based on what you have been already.

How can this heat up your love life?

TiVO conducted a survey, asking TiVo, cable DVR and non-TiVo and non-DVR users questions about the quantity and quality of time they spend with their honeys, and what they found out is that TiVO is the new Doctor of Love. To read more about the survey: TiVo Date Night In Sweepstakes – TiVo

According to the survey, 86% of TiVo users spend at least one hour a night plus weekends snuggles up next to their significant others opposed to just 75% of non-TiVo users. TiVO users even admitted that bringing the TiVO box has heated up the home, even in the bed. It could be due to more nights staying in, which I must add that staying in means less money being spent, and in a recession that can lead to less time fighting and more time for romance, with TiVO.

TiVO linked up with Greg Bernhardt, relationship expert, comedian and author of He’s Just Not Into You (the self-help book the movie was based on), to offer the dos and don’ts of using technology to improve the love meter. He offers: “With any relationship, you each have your own favorites when it comes to music, television or movie preferences. If your significant other loves “Grey’s Anatomy” and you can’t miss a Lakers game, TiVo helps you find a middle ground to build a collection of both your favorites. This way no one misses what they want to watch and both parties are happy.”

TiVO is celebrating Turn on the Love by hosting the TiVO Date Night Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive a prize pack that consists of a TiVo Premiere DVR; one year of free TiVo service; one TiVo wireless G network adapter; flowers from 1-800-Flowers.com delivered to the winner’s significant other valued at $100; and a $100 gift certificate to Restaurant.com for the couple’s romantic dinner. Those interested in improving their relationship with TiVo Premiere can enter for a chance to win at facebook.com/tivo.

HURRY!! Sweepstakes ends May 31, 2011 but if you want, you can just get it on your own. Check out TiVO’s website TiVo product information – TiVo

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Microsoft Studio Series: Artist Edition Wireless Mice – new designs

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:08:06 +0000

Last night I attended a Microsoft event where they showcased 5 new premier, international artists they partnered with to make the wireless mouse even more attractive. These artists created these six beautiful pieces of art and Microsoft transformed them to be on your desktop, or at your fingertips, on their cute wireless mouses. The five artists are Kirra Jamison (Australia), Matt Moore (Maine), Linn Olofsdotter (Sweden), Mike Perry (Brooklyn) and Jonny Wan (UK).

I fell in love with their Australian artist because her use of watercolors and pencil, as described by Microsoft’s Young Soo Kim (an Industrial Design Manager). It reminded me of my childhood, and my many attempts of being a painter with my watercolors.

My second favorite was Matt Moore’s unique designs – he had a very colorful painting, that just llowed me to daydream into another land. Jonny Wan’s was quite interesting to look at because he was all about symmetry, repetition, while including cultural facial expressions, so imagine a hieroglypic-looking masterpiece, and thats as close as you come. Linn Olofsdotter’s art was Wendy’s favorite because she said it reminded her of her scuba diving pictures, where you would see some blue, and then coral with such vibrant colors – in Linn’s case, instead of coral there were exquisite flowers. Last but not least was Brooklyn’s own Mike Perry – Mr.Doodles as I called him, who created such cool artwork, that I wasn’t surprised when I saw the clients he’s worked with – Apple, Target, Mac, etc.

Artists attended the event as well and Zenia and Wendy each got their own personalized mice! I’ll let them show you their images.

(Oh, before I forget, Sony Vaio’s clutch-like laptop was there making a special experience – I fell a little deeper than what most call LOVE – it’s beautiful!!!!!)

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Sleeping with your laptop?

Sylwia — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:54:05 +0000

If you’ve noticed that you haven’t been sleeping that great, I hate to tell you, but it might be due to your laptop (or iPad, phone, or any electronic with artificial light). The National Sleep Foundation has performed studies that link sleepless nights to the usage of electronics before bed.

“Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night suppresses release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, enhances alertness and shifts circadian rhythms to a later hour, making it more difficult to fall asleep.” (Huffington Post)

No, I’m not saying that we have to give up our gadgets, but merely reminding you to leave some time to yourself at the end of the day. Sleep is very important for not only mental health but also for physical health! So at the end of the night take some time and sip some tea, read a book, or my favorite STRETCH!

Here’s a video to help you unwind (and get yourself away from your beloved gadget, even if its only for a few minutes).

5 Moves for a better night’s sleep

Update!
To see if you’re getting quality sleep, take the quiz from Women’s Health Magazine.

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Firefox/Mozilla: Focus Keyboard Add-on

Sylwia — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:01:56 +0000

I’m sure you have been hearing all the buzz about Firefox 4.0. Well, if you’re a fan of the browser and shortcuts, I recommend you check out the Focus Keyboard Add-on. What is it? It allows you to use your browser with less keystrokes and mouse movements. Just one of it’s many features is the ctrl-v function (yes, also known as “paste”) and whatever you have on your “clip-board” will automatically paste into the address bar, without having to physically click on the address bar. It also allows you to select your preferences so you can use as many or as few of the shortcuts as you want. OOoo it’s magic, you knOOooow!

Anyways, enough singing from me, check out and download the Focus Keyboard add-on here.

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Machine vs Man

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:46:46 +0000

As a proud IBMer – the things that this company continues to do, never ceases to amaze me. This week I received an email with the following…while many of you are probably aware of this cool event that happened – many aren”t…

“The landmark event with the potential to re-shape the future of computing will be broadcast nationwide on February 14, 15, and 16. The Watson system, developed by computer scientists at IBM Research, will challenge human champions in the game of Jeopardy! Win, lose or draw, the IBM team has advanced the state of analytics, optimized systems, and the field of Question-Answer technology in a way that promises to transform industries.

To support this event, please consider watching the NOVA special on PBS: The Smartest Machine on Earth! We highly recommend this as an excellent learning event. Please check the viewing times on the PBS website. In some areas, it is already on the air. In others, it’s beginning on February 9th. It will usually be scheduled to repeat several times in each area:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/smartest-machine-on-earth.html

Another fabulous site for information on Watson is http://ibm.com/watson. The countdown begins to the Watson Jeopardy matches on February 14…”

Now Watson, for those of you who don’t already know is about 6 ft tall and about the size of a room. It should be very interesting to see how it competes for the millions, and how it compares to the human mind. Be sure to check it out.

(oh wait – another fun fact is that Carnegie Mellon students/faculty are yet again part of this historic event. As a very proud alum – if anyone reading this has any questions about CMU or if you’re interested in Computer Science/Robotics/Business/etc (they’re great in everything) do not hesitate to contact me @ radirisd@cutegeek.com. I’d love to answer any questions or to connect you to someone at the university)

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Starbucks’ New Beverage Size: Trenta

Sylwia — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:32:59 +0000

WHAT THE HECK STARBUCKS?!

Starbucks is introducing the Trenta which is a whopping 31oz and will only be available for their iced beverages.

According to the National Post, Starbucks claims that the “unsweetened drinks in the new size will have fewer than 90 calories and that sweetened versions will have less than 230 calories.” I am having some trouble believing the above statement considering that their Venti Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino with whipped cream comes in at about 520 Calories.

I’m not your mother, so I won’t tell you to not drink something that takes up more space than the physical size of your stomach (not to mention it would probably help you attain a wicked caffeine addiction). I just want you to be informed.

Think before you drink! — A message from your friendly neighborhood fitgeek.

(yea, yea, yeah I’m corny)

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Brilliant Women in Technology: Meet Hailey Bright

Radiris Diaz — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:01:39 +0000

Happy New Year Cute Geeks! Meet our first brilliant woman of 2011 – Hailey Bright!!

Meet our
-Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

I grew up in Tennessee and I’m a total Southern girl. I love fried food, boating on the lake, and playing cards on a Sunday afternoon. I love dance, art, and running. I grew up playing old school video games like Mario and Duck Hunt. My brother and I spent hours playing Mario when it first came out. We were totally obsessed!

-How did you get started in technology, or at your current position?

Growing up I was always interested in tech and computer stuff. I’m like the go-to girl that all of my friends call when they have tech questions or their computer breaks down. Then, 3 years ago I started hosting Coin-Op TV Live (www.coin-op.tv), an internet tv show about video games and tech. Since then I have been hosting a lot of different shows on video games and tech. Currently I am hosting a monthly tech series for Toshiba on their latest tech gadgets hitting the market. It’s a ton of fun getting paid to geek out all day!!

-Describe a “normal” day in your life.

A normal day in my life usually starts with a diet coke for breakfast and on a fun day I might add in a candy bar. I love snickers! Then, I usually head to filming or auditions. Except right now, I am producing and starring in a new web series called “Supremium” (@SupremiumShow on Twitter), so I have been working with my producing partner Robert Welkner on that. In the evening, I typically meet up with friends for dinner, dancing, or video gaming! My latest obsession lately has been walking to Redbox and grabbing a flick to watch!

-What’s your favorite aspect of working in technology?

I love cutting edge stuff, and working in tech. I always like to get a first-hand look at new gadgets before they hit the market.

-What have been some of your challenges you faced, and how did you tackle or overcome them?

The biggest challenge I faced when moving to LA was staying true to myself, because there are a lot of people telling you to do a lot of things in this city. I told myself that I would not “sell out” or be someone I wasn’t just to get a role or a part. Knowing myself and sticking to my gut instinct has helped me to become the woman I am today.

-Have you ever felt like you needed to hide your femininity or that fact that you were a female?

No, being a strong woman can get you very far in the world.

-What advice do you have for females interested in getting into your field?

Just do it! You will never be more young, single, and beautiful than you are today! Always pursue your dreams, so you don’t have to look back later on in life and say “What if…?”

-What’s one gadget you can’t live without?

I definitely can’t live without my iPhone!! I’m always updating twitter, texting, or downloading new apps! I love iPhone apps! Especially, my Flixster, Urban Daddy, and Redbox apps! And, the Sonic the Hedgehog game on the iPhone is sick!

-Do you have a personal ‘mantra’ or certain words you live by?

“Live, Laugh, Love”…Sums up my life in just a few words.

-And lastly, what drives you?

My drive is made up of 3 things: God, Family, and Friends. These things keep me going every single day!

Links:
www.twitter.com/haileybright
www.haileybright.com
www.coin-op.tv

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I need a new phone! ASAP – need recommendations…

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:46:03 +0000

Last night I played Angry Birds for the first time – on my friend’s amazing Samsung Galaxy (thx Jamel) and since then my life hasn’t been the same. I now see what my app-less life is and it sucks.

Angry Birds was so cool – and also addicting, that today Mashable posted that its coming out on other platforms – aka real gaming platforms – who would’ve imagined that.

Should I wait for a Windows Phone 7 on Sprint – or should I just jump on an Android…

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A Solution for Loud Typers

Sylwia — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:07:48 +0000

I may have chuckled a little when I saw this. Primarily because loud typing used to be a very big complaint of mine. I tend to work in close proximity to my co-workers, usually sans cubicle walls. I mean, 15 people in a conference room that should fit 10-12. It’s funny how the sound tends to amplify if you are having a slightly bad day. Now a days, I embrace it. I type soooooo loud! Take that suckers!

For those of you who have not yet embraced the musical clicking of those around you don’t fret, there is a solution.

THANKO Keyboard Cover

This can be yours for approximately $35 USD.

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The AOC e2237Fwh: A Monitor with Style

Cristina Cordova — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:11:38 +0000

While the AOC e2237Fwh doesn’t have the best name, it’s certainly a pretty alternative to most of the monitors on the market today. The front of the monitor has a clear plastic border and on the whole, the monitor is remarkably thin. It’s held up by a circular foot stand that had me worried about stability at first. It’s a pretty small stand for a 22” monitor, but it held up and never toppled over.

As for the picture, the monitor did have the slight blue-green tint common with many monitors these days, but it wasn’t too noticeable. I used the eco settings so that the brightness of the screen adjusted to my office and home settings in the morning at night. I used the monitor with both DVI and VGA cables and they worked equally well. The monitor has a great resolution at 1920×1080 Full HD, which was the same resolution I had on my current 24” monitor.

The super slim profile with the design twists of the clear plastic border and circular foot stand got a lot of compliments and the price is not too shabby either at $199.99 on Amazon.

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The Girl Effect – Invest in a Girl, Change the World

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:14:15 +0000

Came across this video on FB (thx Nelson) & checked out GirlEffect.Org…there is so much we can do, by simply helping a young girl realize her true potential. Growing up in poverty is tough – I am living proof you can survive though, w/o having to marry young, bare children against your will, and without having to sell your body. Watch the video – it’s powerful and then go to the website and see how you can help. CuteGeek.com was established in part to invest in other girls and to change their world by exposing them to the wonderful world of technology – now how will YOU invest in a girl?

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Changing The Way We Shop: Mobile Phone Based Payment System

Sylwia — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:27:54 +0000

What is Isis? It’s what Discover, Barclaycard, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are calling their mobile phone-based payment system. If you’re sick of lugging around credit and debit cards, cash, coupons, tickets, reward cards and all the like, then keep on reading!

Isis will use near-field technology communication (NTC) and cell phones to revolutionize the payment process. Remember those Speedway wands that you could wave in front of the Speedway horse at the pump? Then when it lit up (because it was linked to your credit card), it meant you could pump your gas? Well, that’s what it is, except in this case it’s your cellphone and not a wand, and it could hold (what sounds like) all of your information for every single account you have.

My initial concern would be, what if I loose my cellphone? What if my “cousin” wanted to use my new “wallet”? As with every new system, I’m sure that it will be encrypted with high security to protect our precious information.

I think this will catch on quickly, but I’m a little hesitant. How likely are you to transition? Personally, I think I would initially start with reward accounts only. Then begin including credit cards slowly from there…or maybe I’m paranoid.

Facebook, the Gmail Killer?

Sylwia — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:39:15 +0000

Whether we can admit it or not, Facebook plays a part in many of our lives (for some more than others).

I’m sure you’ve all heard that Facebook is releasing Project Titan today and many are calling it the “gmail killer”. This new capability combines SMS, IM, email, and Facebook messages. It will be released slowly over the next few months and users will be able to set up “@facebook.com” accounts if they want (but not required).

Will you trade in your @gmail.com account for the facebook’s new messaging system?

FREE WiFi!

Sylwia — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:54:58 +0000

…for travelers during the Holiday Season courtesy of Google Chrome. For those of you traveling on Delta, AirTran or Virgin America during the Holidays (November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011) don’t forget your laptop or WiFi enabled gadget! The three airlines combined have over 700 planes that are equipped with Gogo® Inflight Internet (their entire domestic fleet). WOW!

What a great way to help make stressful Holiday travel a little more enjoyable!

Business Wire

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Google Gives Company-Wide Raise!

Sylwia — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:15:04 +0000

At first I was hesitant to comment about this because I wasn’t sure if it was true. I recommend you read the article and pass your own judgement.

Let’s face it, Google seems to be taking over the world! Can you remember when we didn’t HAVE Google? Now, I can hardly imagine living without it. I’m not sure if you’re like me, but I use it for everything. Even when I don’t think I’m Googling…I’m Googling! I use the map application on my phone everyday, I use gmail, I google anything I don’t know, use the translate function, the reader for RSS feeds, I can literally go on forever! Don’t forget about the reviews that are conveniently displayed when you’re looking for a restaurant or hairdresser. Who provides you with all these functions and many many many more? Google! They even have one of the top selling cell phones on the market!

It’s hard to believe that any company (especially in this economy) would give every single person a 10% pay increase and a $1000 bonus. I guess if anyone can do it, Google definitely can! *cheers*

Enough cheer-leading from this gal, head over to Business Insider to read the article.

Oh just admit it already, you can’t help but love Google!

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3D – The Next Thing for iPhone/iPod

Sylwia — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 01:53:28 +0000

Hasbro Inc. is designing 3D binoculars that will be compatible with the iPhone and iPod. These little puppies will be dubbed as “My3D” and will open a 3D (Appley) universe! iPhone and iPod users will be able to use the Apple store for My 3D apps and movies. I wonder how fast app-makers will begin releasing 3D games and how extravagant they will get. Personally, I’d be curious to see how good the quality would be.

As someone that travels for work, I can imagine myself strapping these beauties on right before the plane took off, then putting on some sort of suspense or thriller movie and twitching at every 3D detail that ‘flew’ into my face. This might discourage others to talk to me while traveling, or perhaps it would encourage them to strike up a conversation about your new sexy-specs! This could really be an interesting addition to one’s everyday repertoire.

Available in Spring 2011, will you be getting a pair? Or are you among those that think 3D is just another fad?

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Web Wednesday: Best Sites for Cheap Flights + Other Travel Deals

Radiris Diaz — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:01:46 +0000

I’m not sure who told me about Kayak.com but whoever did has saved me, and I’m sure everyone else they’ve told – lots of money. This site, unlike many others, compiles various airlines, and allows you to customize everything from traveling to different airports, what time you arrive, the number of non-stops you prefer, etc. It uses other websites (the traditional travel ones – Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com and also airline websites) to give you the most competitive prices available.

This is the best website to use for buying flights. Although I’ve never used it to book a hotel, or a car, you can also use this site for those services. Bing.com is Microsoft’s way of telling us-we’re bigger and badder than Kayak because we can predict the future (farecast predicator) – Ooooohhhh! Ahhhh!

Bing has all the features Kayak has + the added benefit of letting you know, visually, the price patterns of a specific search that you’ve just entered. Kayak shows you on their main page, how the prices vary from date to date, so if you’re flexible it helps a lot. Going to Bing.com allows you to choose what you want to do – but if you click here you’ll get to go straight into journey of finding a cheap flight.

(FYI – I like to think I am a travel expert…I do it too often and have a lot of experience so if you EVER have questions – feel free to email me at radirisd@cutegeek.com – I’ll help answer any questions – especially if you don’t want to ask Google)

Tons of Discounts – Courtesy of InStyle’s Nov 2010 Issue

Radiris Diaz — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:36:35 +0000

I am probably one of the few girls that can proudly admit that I have NO fashion sense. I go for comfortable (obvious reasons), black (classy, sophisticated – never goes out of style and is flattering) and inexpensive items – that’s usually what I shop for. The end…oh wait, then there’s heels. I love them and they can be anything – stilettos, platforms, etc… but only because I love to tower over the men around me –its a power trip (you get more money for the same role – so yea, you should look up to me, its only fair).

Anyway – while I don’t often buy ‘style’ magazines because I rather look at ‘myself’ in Latina magazine, or read Oprah’s wonderful uplifting magazine of greatness and motivating stories – I did buy InStyle and oh my God – I am soooo thankful! Here are a bunch of coupons that InStyle.com included – since it’s the season to start (or continue) spending, I figured I’d help you all out a bit and share…enjoy!

Fashion:
• Bodenusa.com - 20% off select items
code: st20
• Castorandpollustore.com – 20%s off select items
code: instyle10
• Forwardforward.com – 20% off select items
code: instyle20
• Greenwithgalmour.com – 20% off
code: instyle20
• Modcloth.com – 15% off
code: instylewebguide
• Shopcerulean.comm – 20%
code: instyle
• Shopconfederacy.com – Free shipping
code: instyle
• Shopin.com – 20% off
code: lninstyle
• Shop.moxsie.com – 15% off
code: instyle15
• Shopruche.com – 20% off
code: instyle20

Vintage:
• Designersocial.com – 20% odd
code: ds4is
• Lulus.com – 20% off
code: instyle
• Relicny.com – 20% off
code: instyle11

Activewear
• Titlenine.com – $4.95 flat-rate shipping
code: INSTYLE

Lingerie
• Pantybypost.com – 20% off
code: instyle20

Maternity
• Isabellaoliver.com – 20% off maternity
code: instyle20

Denim
• Denintherapy.com – 20% off
code: instyle10
• Indidenim.com – 15% off
code: instyle2010
• Reverse-reverse.com – 20% off
code: instyle20 (log on to reverse-reverse.com/instyle)

Shoes
• Habitatshoes.com – 20% off all Coclico women’s shoes
code: instyle20
• Heels.com – 15% off
code: instyle15
• Scarpasa.com – 20% off
code: instyle20

Jewelry
• 1154lill.com – 20% off
code: insnov
• Alexandani.com – 20% off select items
code: instyle
• Ecosciousmarket.com – 20% off
code: instyle20
• Emersonmade.com – 20% off
code: eminstyle
• Gargyle.com – free tote with every order
code: gargyletote
• Givingtreejewelry.com – 20% off
code: instyle20
• Satyarai.com – 20% off
code: instylenov

Beauty
• Birchbox.com – sign up for a one-month membership and get 100 points ($10) toward a full-size product. Birchbox.com/instyle
• Bluemercury.com – get six free samples with every order
code: 6samples
• Tobi.com – 20% off
code: tobi20instyle

Fragrance
• Fragrancenet.com – 15% off
code: instyle
• Indiescents.com – 15% off and free shopping on orders of $75 or more
code: instyle
• Theposhpeasant.com – 15% off
code: instyle

Hair
• Folica.com – 15% off and free shopping on orders more than $50
code: instyle15
• Rickysnyc.com – 15% off all beauty products
code: instyle15
• Sleekhair.com – free shipping through 12/31/10 (exclusions apply)
code: sleek_style

Organic &Natural
• Beautorium.com – 20% off (restrictions apply)
code: instyle
• Skincarebyalana.com – 20% off
code: instyle20
• Upurea.com – 20% off, plus a free gift
code: instyle20

Home
• 2jane.com - 20% off
code: instyle20
• 2modern.com – 10% off
code: instyle10
• Abchome.com – 15% off select items
code: in888style
• Edenhome.com – 20% off through 12/31/10
code: instyle20
• Gardenhousedecor.net – 20% off
code: instyle
• Joannehudson.com – 20% off Polka Dot dinnerware
code: instyle
• Laylagrayce.com – 20% off select items
code: instyle
• Lazyusanausa.com – 20% off
code: LAZY20
• Pure-habitat.com – 20% off and free shopping on orders of $100 or more
code: instyle2010
• Threepotatofourshop.com – free gift with purchase
code: instyle3p4
• Ugallery.com - 20% off
code: instyle20

Entertaining
• Beau-coup.com – 15% off purchases of $99 or more
code: instyle15
• Froghollow.com – 15% off
code: instyle15
• Layercakeshop.com – 20% off
code: sweetinstyle02
• Merimeri.com – 20% off
code: instmm
• Minted.com – 15% off most items
code: instyle15
• Pannadolce.com – 20% off
code: instyle
• Plumparty.com – 20% off
code: instyle10

Gifts
• Incrediblebundles.com – 20% off
code: instyle
• Mollaspace.com – 20% off
code: is1001
• Nimli.com – 20% off
code: instyle20
• Papertrailrhinebeck.com – 20% off Jack and Lulu 2011 desk calendar
code: jl2011
• Reformschoolrules.com – 20% off
code: instyle
• Taigon.com – free two-day shopping through 12/1/10
code: instyle2010

Kids
Clothing
• Alexandalexa.com – free express shipping through 12/25/10
code: styleship
• Forestandzoe.com – 20% off through 12/31/10
code: instyle20
• Littlelunalu.com – 15% off and a free gift on orders of $100 or more
code: instyle15
• Modernmoppet.com – 20% off select items through 11/30/10
code: instyle
• Polarnopyretusa.com – 20% off non-sale items
code: stylepop
• Tadashop.com – free shopping for select items with URL: tadashop.com/instyle

Home Goods & Toys
• Dwellstudio.com – 10% off select items
code: instyle
• Gifthero.com – 20% off through 11/30/10
code: instyle20
• Magiccabin.com – free shipping on orders over $50 or more
code: instyle
• Modernseed.com – 15% off select items
code: instyle15
• Rikshawdesign.com – free shipping on orders of $100 or more
code: instyle

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HP Helps Designers Push Limits of Innovation on Lifetime Television’s Hit Series “Project Runway”

Olga Polanco — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:37:54 +0000

Hp announced another merging into fashion with the release of their HP TouchSmart tm2 and HP TouchSmart PC on Project Runway which premiered on July 29, 2010. The new Touch Smart tm2 allows designers to move from the traditional way of design to a new way of design.

The tm2 allows for designers to rotate its screen allowing them to turn the TouchSmart tm2 into a digital sketchpad, giving designers freedom to create what they envision. Its not the first time HP makes an appearance on project runway, in the 7th season designers were able to try HP’s savvy technology in the ” HP and Intel design challenge” giving them and opportunity to break their design mold and step it up a notch.

The winning designer of season eight will receive a $50,000 prize package from HP and Intel to create, design and run his or her own business.

As a designer I am happy that HP has always been Fashion Forward and has put an end to the never ending search for design programs, first unveiling the HP Mini Vivienne Tam notebook on the catwalk of Tam’s 2008 fashion show at New York’s Fashion Week in Bryant Park, the world’s first “digital clutch” together with the release of stylish spring 2010 collection of computers which appeared in Sex and the City 2 and its worldwide campaign “PC is Personal Again” with the stylish Sarah Jessica Parker. Hp mixes technology, fashion and Simplicity all into one, making it’s products the “IT” item this year as Tim Gunn says ” Hp is going to make it work “.

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Celebrating The World Cup In Style

Radiris Diaz — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:33:51 +0000

We will all soon be engulfed in the happenings of the international sporting event known to some as the World Cup – bring your jerseys out everyone!!! If you’re interested in showing your true love for the sport, in good company, with some great tunes – Speakal.com has just launched an amazing product to do just that!

Check out MiSoccer – literally – it’s your soccer that’ll rock your iPod/world

It’s design offers equal sound distribution so you can place this bad boy in the center of any room, because it will quickly grab their attention.

The iPod dock is guaranteed to deliver the best sounds, while providing the extra umph your soccer party needs. It also comes with a multi-function remote that controls its volume, bass and treble. Its 3.5mm Aux input jack connects to your TV, gaming consoles or other music sources. It is available in black, red or blue at Speakal.com for only $119.99.

This would be a great gift for any Dad’s or Mom’s that love soccer.

Soccer isn’t as huge in the US as abroad, but as a Latina – I can totally see how one would boast about having this in their home.

GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

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The Elle Portable Light Project

Olga Polanco — Sat, 29 May 2010 20:04:03 +0000

I was reading my monthly fashion magazines and came upon this lovely info on Elle: a messenger bag outfitted with a small, flexible solar panel, a HBLED light, a rechargeable battery pack, and a USB port. Called the Flap Bag, (short for “Flexible Light and Power”) it was the brainchild of the brilliant architect Sheila Kennedy, who directs the Portable Light Project, a non-profit initiative that provides solar textile kits to empower the world’s poorest people who do not have access to electricity.

Kennedy’s team works with nongovernmental organizations, providing training to women so they can integrate the technology into local textile materials using commonly available materials and their sewing and weaving skills. The results are surprising: a culturally diverse range of blankets, bags, and clothing that generate clean, sustainable energy and light, while supporting local economies.”

I think it’s an awesome idea and a great way to be fashionable and at the same time conscious about our planet.

Please visit www.portablelight.org or http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/Portable-Light-Project for more information on the bags.

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Cute new Mice from Microsoft Hardware

Ashley Giordano — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:01:26 +0000

I got an email today about some cute new wireless mice from Microsoft Hardware and I thought I would show them to you.

The Mice are the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 and although not new the colorful designs are new. The new designs are Wave, Folk and Geode with my favorite being the Folk.

The Mice are now available at Best Buy for $29.95 along with other colors that were previously available.

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Review: NOVOPHONE Retro Handset

Nina Pena — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:04:51 +0000

I was asked to review this retro Novophone Retro Handset for cutegeek and I at first laughed at the image. Imagine walking down the streets of San Francisco with this phone plugged into your cell phone. How many strange looks would you get? I decided the best way to test this out would be to take it to my friend Jeff’s BBQ and have all my iPhone pals try it out…and per the pictures they got a kick out of it.

Though it is a tad clunky (time to bust out the big purses ladies) it is a novelty and a great conversation piece. The Novophone Retro Handset is designed to have clearer sounding calls plus reduce exposure to direct cell phone radiation.

It also includes an Answer/End and there are a multitude of adapters available. The Novophone Retro Handset comes in Red Black and Blue and retails for around $27.95 (you can buy it here).

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Review: Favorite Facebook Game App- Platinum Life

Nina Pena — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:38:48 +0000

When my friends and family started playing farm town on Facebook I made fun of them (sorry guys!). I already own a dog and had a garden in Texas. There is no need for me to have a virtual farm nagging me about harvesting and animals. I vowed I would NEVER play one of the Facebook games till I had a demo for Platinum life in Beta. It’s a hip hop game on Facebook that let’s you battle it out as either a DJ, Rapper or Singer. I haven’t been to hip hop class in a while so Platinum Life in Beta seemed to fill the void.

You can dress up your character, battle friends or other players, and play different venues. I decided to be a rapper because I secretly think I should have been a rapper in my younger life (my fake name was Fast Forward). I think there are still a few glitches because I dressed my character up and it didn’t take…still though the game is addictive if you have nothing to do besides look for a job:-). The only thing that annoys me is the “juice level.”

Me: “Dang it I need more juice…”

Marco: “What the heck is juice…”

Me: (Unresponsive and annoyed)

Marco: “What is this juice you talk about?”

I looked over at him in a heated moment of frustration (plus in the middle of critical stages in the game) and in my head I thought:

“I invited you to play this game and you still haven’t accepted my invite! I am not telling you what juice is and furthermore your farm town sucks! HAHA!”

I didn’t say this out loud though I am guessing he will be reading this shortly. Opps!

Anyhow juice is how you get more playing time and points. I think the more time you accrue the more points you get. I have no idea how to get more juice (besides purchasing it…um NO!). All I know is I am at level 13, though I think you can go all the way to level 40…I mean I have a social life so I hope I don’t get that high…Then again I have only been playing it a week and up to level 13. If your into testing out a beta version of Platinum Life and want to live out your inner hip hop side check it out. Just try and battle me…

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Review: Pogo Stylus for your iPhone

Nina Pena — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:57:40 +0000

When I found out I would be getting a new review for cutegeek I wrote on my Facebook that I was getting a Pogo Stylus for iPhones. My cousin then commented on my status…

Cousin: I miss my Pogoball…

My reply: Man I wish someone would send me that to review…with a counter of how long I could go…genius!

Cousin: counters…geez, you’re SO digital!

I know my cousin was probably being sarcastic but he made a good point. Every day I am always thinking of technology and how I can make something not digital into a digital product. Is there a flower pot that has a digital reminder so you don’t kill you plants? If not I should patent this! OR is there a waterproof blue tooth headset that you can use in the shower/ swimming/ rain for those times when you are on eternal hold or boring conference calls and need to multi-task yet not say a word?

Back to the review of the Pogo Stylus…

I again hung out with Aziz with Cabana Networks to test out the Pogo Stylus on his iPhone. I unboxed it and snapped on the clip that holds the stylus on the iPhone. It was pretty easy to put on and seems like it would not scratch the iPhone. I also tried it on his iPad and just starting writing my name in cursive…Ten times better looking then when I used my finger. When I got home I tested the Pogo Stylus on my HP TouchSmart and it worked so much better than using my finger which looks like a 4 year old child wrote it.

The tip’s material gives it the ability to function with iPhone’s multi-touch display. The tip glides over the surface of the display to give it the ability to sketch, draw characters, and slide to unlock. Its intent is to function like fingertip so that it moves easily through the touch interface.

Another great thing about the tip is it’s meant to keep the screen’s glass surface scratch and smudge-free. The stylus is made of a lightweight aluminum alloy with an anodized finish in four different colors (black, gunmetal, silver, or hot pink).

All in all I liked the Pogo Stylus and will continue to use it on my HP TouchSmart to write sticky notes even though it’s made for the iPhone. The one thing I recommend for this product is an adjustable clip for other touch technology devices. It retails for $14.95 and you can purchase it here!

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Review: iSkin solo FX Pink Special Edition and Green Case for iPhones.

Nina Pena — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:14:30 +0000

I think I am the last person on the planet that doesn’t have an iPhone and I have no idea what I am waiting for…Oh I know a day job:-). I asked all my iPhone friends if I could test the iSkin solo SE/ solo FX out on theirs and my friend Aziz from Cabana Networks kindly volunteered. Aziz also has an iPad so stay tuned for a review on the iPad and the accessories that I have been receiving.

The iSkin solo SE /solo FX is made from a material that looks and protects like a hard case however it feels like a soft case. The material was created to be heat and cold resistant, features shock and impact qualities, and cleans with ease (per the website). I quickly unboxed it and put it on his iPhone. Seemed easy enough and you can access all the ports which is great as some of the one’s I have seen you have to adjust the phone and case to access them. I also liked the look of the case and the brilliance of the colors.

I then asked Aziz what he thought and he actually doesn’t use a case because unlike myself he isn’t hard on consumer goods. Plus unlike some of us women who just throw it in their purse items like this can sometimes catch while in a dude’s pockets due to the material. This made me wonder if women use cases more then men due to the pocket factor.

The iSkin solo SE /solo FX fits the iPhone 3G/3GS models with a pretty light weight and thin casing. It also comes with a screen protector which is something I should be using as I am constantly scratching my phone screen. The solo FX/ solo SE is made with Microban® antimicrobial protection to help with stain and odor causing bacteria on your iPhone.

The solo FX retails for $32.99 (comes in Lush, Vive, Sunset, Breeze, or Passion) and the solo FX SE from $34.99 (comes in Ice, Cosmo, or Onyx).

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Review: Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Chicbuds Earbuds

Nina Pena — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:02:25 +0000

I have yet to find Inner Earbuds that actually fit my freakishly small ear canals. I was skeptical when I got the Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Inner Ear Retractable Earphones by chicBuds because I thought “Great more ear buds that won’t fit.” I loved the design though, on the retractable device it had the words Faith, Hope and Love…all things women should live by. (I have Faith the economy with get better, Hope that I get a day job soon and Love cutegeek . On the earbuds themselves they had I huge crystal covering the entire outside on each side. Who needs earrings when you have these little guys I asked myself!

I then unboxed the Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Inner Ear Retractable Earphones and found 3 different silicon tip pads in different sizes of course. I tried the first two and (sad face) I was starting to get really bummed I couldn’t test these out like all the previous ones from before. Then I tested the last ones which seemed to be the smallest silicon tip pads I have ever seen! I quickly fit them on the buds and put the earbuds in my ear. EUREKA! They actually fit! Do you realize how happy I was?! The entire year while blogging for cutegeek I thought my ears were deformed! Talk about clearing up that complex!

I had to test them out on my run immediately so I left my condo and started walking to my running location. The entire walk I had a huge smile on my face! Yay they fit, there is nothing wrong with my ears I kept thinking! The bass was LOUD, in fact much louder then the Swarvoski chicbuds I tested. I can bump my Black Eyed Peas full blast to cancel all the sirens from the city…What a glorious day! I began my run which is pretty hard as it’s all hill work and jumping jacks. Not only did the Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Inner Ear Retractable Earphones by chicBuds stay in the entire 45mins but unlike others I have tested my ears did not feel all wet and sweaty (I know that is gross but it’s true).

When I got home I emailed the folks at chicbuds about my experience and they told me that the Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Inner Ear Retractable Earphones were the only ones on the market to date that are extra small. What luck! I got the only ones in the world that fit my ears! I do have to say that the retractable device still did bounce but the fact that they cleared up on earbud complex canceled that out. I wonder how many other girls have this issue? If you do you should get the Fauvette Faith, Hope and Love Inner Ear Retractable Earphones!

Below are the product specs and they retail for 19.99 (what a deal).

Compatible with:
iPods, iPhones, MP3 Player, Walkmen, Computers, Airplane Connectors… Basically any listening device!

Available in 2 Designs:

Faith Hope Love
Chic Love Pink

Item Includes:
3 Silicon Tip Sizes

Specifications:
3.5mm Jack

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Review: iLuv iSP100

Nina Pena — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:26:12 +0000

When we go on road trips we always say “Damn I wish we had a portable radio!” Of course we always try Pandora on the cell phone but it’s never loud enough and if your on the beach you get bad reception. Well I found my portable solution and in a nice Pink color to match my shuffle in the iLuv iSP100.

The iSP100 comes with a nice black carrying case as well for your portable experience and is compatible with any device that has a 3.5mm jack. When you turn it on (after you put in the AAA which are not included FYI) there is a blue light indicator showing its on. I plugged in my shuffle and tested them out. Don’t be fooled on how small it is as the sound quality is FABULOUS!

I then took the iSP100 out to my roof top deck to see just how loud there were outside and in the noisy city of San Francisco. I turned them all the way up and hit play. They weren’t joking when they told me it had 360 degree sound from each speaker. that’s loud..I had to turn it down when I took it outdoors in fear of getting in trouble.

The the iSP100 retails for 34.99 and you can purchase it here. Below are the product specs for all you cutegeekers out there and a picture of me relaxing on the deck with the iSP100 from iLuv.

· Ideal for iPod, iPhone and any other MP3 players

· Powerful built-in speakers allow you to hear your music with depth and clarity

· Unique design brings 360 degree sound from each speaker

· Surprisingly loud high quality stereo sound

· Operates with three “AAA” batteries (Batteries not included)

· Power indicator light

· Compatible with any audio devices with 3.5mm jack

· Protective carrying pouch included

· Audio output: 1.8W_RMS x 2: 3.6W_RMS / 7.2W_PEAK @ 1% THD

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Review: Chicbuds Retractable White Earbuds with Pink Swarvoski Crystals!

Nina Pena — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:40:52 +0000

One day my un-boss/editor emailed me and said your going to get a box from a company called chicbuds. By now I realize I am the audio review cutegeek guru because I tend to keep getting speakers, ear buds, or headphones lately. So in a couple days my concierge emails me saying there is a package for me. I love mystery packages!! I ran down stairs and opened the box in the elevator like a kid on Christmas. Whoa! Pink Swarvoski ear buds and 4 more other fun products to test out from chicbuds. I got 3 different earbuds to test but my favorite ones were the ones with Swarvoski pink crystals in white that matched my shuffle (stay tuned for the other 2 earbud reviews as they are a different earbud styles). Initially I was thinking great I know these will fall off in a matter of days because we all know I am harsh on consumer goods. However like a girly geek I love Swarvoski and use to go window shopping there…when I had a day job that is.

What I liked about these chicbuds besides the Swarovoski crystals was that they fit my ears so I didn’t have to any earbud trauma like I do the silicon padded ones. Also being the feisty cancer that I am I will throw a fit when my wires get tangled. They come with a 3.5 mm jack so perfect for your iPhone, Smart phone, MP3 players and PCs. They also come with a retractable feature that eliminates (my) tangle drama. The crystals come in Blueberry, Grape, Watermelon, Sour Apple and Marshmallow and the headsets either come in white or black, perfect for every girls personalization.

As you can see in the picture (after I un-boxed them) the crystals are on the earbuds themselves and also on the retractable device. I have to be honest I kind of messed up at first and just pulled one side of the cords. Duh Nina, next time read the instructions (though I think its hilarious I had to read instructions for earbuds). Once I figured out to use them I was on my way to walk around the city.

I walk out my condo to torrential rain and wind…(dang it) but this is a good test to see if the Swarovski rhinestones holds up to water and earbuds hold up to the wind. I am happy to report after walking 2 hours in the rain they held up to the Nina challenge. I would like to point out it is rare for products to hold up to my consumer needs so great job chicbuds!

One thing I need to communicate to our readers is that the chicbuds sound quality is great however it’s just not the loud bass I am used to (though I have been told I listen to my earbuds way to loud). Also if you’re a runner like I pretend to be the retractable device bounces just a tad (not enough to detour me from wearing them but enough for me to notice). To be fair though I know I looked cute running with them and a few folks commented and checked them out…haha free publicity for the chicbuds. The chicbuds retail for $39.00 & recommend these for all my fashionista girls out. If you want to look good on the go and hate tangles like I do get the chicbuds! Readers can buy them here and stay tuned for further reviews from chicbuds.

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Review: Callpod a Chargepod for your portable devices!!

Nina Pena — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:49:46 +0000

I am one of the worst people when it comes to charging my consumer devices. I am dumb founded each time my devices run out of batteries as if they are all the energizer bunny that keeps going…and going…and going… I think the reason this always happens to me is due to the fact I have so many different plugs for so many different electronics.

Alas the nice people at Callpod sent me the Chargepod which charges up to six different devices with one outlet you can plug into either your car via an input charge power or an input AC electrical power outlet. I unboxed it in my car because I thought it would be more fun!

I unboxed Chargepod and enclosed were 3 adaptors and they plus sent me two separate ones to try out well. Also with the set you get a free coupon to send in for an extra adaptor. NICE!

Normally while in my car I run out of battery life so I definitely wanted to test the Chargepod in my car first. I tried my devices I had like my Motorola Endeaver HX1, PSP, HP Glisten, shuffle, and my Webbie (which didn’t indicate if it will charge but I was curious). The plug fit but unfortunately my Webbie is on the dying front so I can’t confirm or deny if it actually worked however the rest of the devices were fully charged.

I then tested it using the AC jack at home and plugged it into my PSP, The Motorola Endeavor HX1, HP Glisten, and my Canon Power Shot. Though it doesn’t indicate it can charge a digital camera it completely worked for my Canon Power Shot! Unfortunately I didn’t have an iPhone to test this out on, only my lil’ shuffle, but regardless this Chargepod is amazing. We love taking road trips and this Chargepod is perfect for all your road trippers out there! I am curious to see how this works flying and may do another review once I fly again. If you have several devices and always on the go I suggest to get the CallPod Chargepod. IT ROCKS!

See their website Demo video here and the specs below. It retails for around 39.95 and you can buy it here! This may now be my new best friend of gadgets to date…besides my Joby.

Electrical

Input AC Power
10V – 240V Frequency 50 – 60 Hz

Input Charge Power
6V DC – 3 Amps

Output Charge Power
6 Ports with charging capabilities of 500mA each

LED Indicator
Green/Red Power LED + 6 Blue Connector LEDs

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Review: SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones

Nina Pena — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:49:50 +0000

I had the opportunity to review the Shure SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones. I am not a DJ though I believe I have great music taste:-). See the unboxing here. I do however have a turn table and enjoy listening to my orginal vinyl (recently found “Thiller” in the dollar bin). I put on the Shure SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones and WOW! The best sound I have had so far for head phones! The Shure SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones were so great in sound quality I couldn’t even turn them up full blast for sake of my hearing.

We have heavy doors in our building and the headphones clearly canceled out all the “booms” I hear every hour on the hour it seems!

I learned at Macworld that these Shure SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones were designed to last. For DJ’s and headphone users the 3m (10ft) coiled detachable cable is ideal as that is more replacable then the entire headphones since users tend to pull on them or catch on something. Furthermore the Shure SRH750DJ Professional DJ Headphones came with replaceable pads and an awesome case to carry them around. They also have an adjustable and collapsible headband with 90-degree swivel ear cups for one-ear placement. How could you not want these sweet headphones?! They retail for around 149.99 and you can purchase them from your local guitar center here. Below are the product specs.

High impedance and maximized power handling for DJ mixers

Enhanced frequency response tuned to deliver high-output bass with extended highs

Closed-back, circumaural design rests comfortably over the ears and reduces background noise

Adjustable, collapsible headband with 90-degree swivel ear cups for comfort and easy one-ear placement

Legendary Shure quality to withstand the rigors of everyday use

Bayonet Clip securely locks cable into ear cup

Replaceable ear cup pads ensure long product life

3m (10ft) coiled detachable cable provides plenty of length and easy storage

Carrying bag protects headphones when on the go or not in use

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Review: I love my new Joby Gorillapod

Nina Pena — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:48:39 +0000

As you all know I take a ton of pictures and video’s for cutegeek. I had seen the Joby Gorillapod before and was jealous of the owner; it is one of my favorite products right now! I received a cute pink one to test out and quickly began playing around with it.

What is so cool about the Joby Gorillapod you may ask? Well its has flexible and wrappable legs that you can attach to almost any surface for your digital camera or mini video camera. Though I love my huge tripod at home it is quite bulky to take on the go. The Joby Gorillapod has a quick release clip so you can easily take off the camera and also has a lock for that feature as well so your camera will not fall off. The Joby Gorillapod comes in 7 different colors for your creative and personalized pleasure.

I put the Joby Gorillapod to the test; first by attaching it to my refrigerator doors with my Sony webbie since I normally do my unboxing video’s in my living room (my kitchen overlooks the living room). My webbie is pretty heavy and it stayed attached with no problems.

I then tested the Joby Gorillapod out on my family. I have to admit I am lucky to have friends and family that let me test things out on them. We took a road trip to the Jelly Belly factory and to Napa and while my husband was driving I set up the Joby Gorillapod and took a picture of us in motion.

I then let my nieces take some pictures with the Joby Gorillapod on the table. Aren’t they cutie pies?

The joints are designed to bend 360 degrees which means you can connect this bad boy in all types of environments and terrain. It retails for the low price of 21.95 and you can purchase it here!

Of course in true Nina fashion I took a cutegeeky picture of me with the Joby Gorillapod on my head! I love my Joby!!!

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Review: Hyperkin Baseball Bat

Nina Pena — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:51:00 +0000

When I got this Hyperkin Baseball bat set in the mail I got flashbacks of how bad I was as a child playing softball. Fortunately with my Wii Sports I rock at it and there are no balls flying towards my face (I have received a black eye from playing Lacrosse in college).

The Wii Baseball Bat with Sound Plus lets you feel and hear every swing of your baseball bat as though you were hitting home runs at AT&T ballpark (Go Giants!). The Hyperkin Wii Baseball bat is made from a soft foam material so you won’t kill your TV if you loose your grip or in excitement throw your bat down running imaginary bases (I so would do that)! Below is me testing it out; I have to admit I almost felt like a baseball pro plus the sound made it believable.

Also this is made for all ages so it’s great for the entire family. It retails for around 24.99 and I believe it’s a great accessory for your Wii…so get it cutegeekers! Below are the product specs…

Internal Sound Plus™

Soft foam material is safe, durable and fun

Compatible with Wii Motion Plus

Includes two baseball bats and two handles

White color

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Review: ScanSnap S1300 by Fujitsu

Nina Pena — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:09:05 +0000

I recently received the ScanSnap S1300 and did the unboxing video here! I had a funny visual moment when I read that it was portable. I had a vision of someone walking around with a Netbook and the ScanSnap S1300 in downtown San Francisco on Market street computing and scanning. I do realize that is not what it’s meant for though my mental visual made me laugh! The ScanSnap S1300 is made for business people on the go who need a quick scanner, portable users (I bet this could even work on a plane though I didn’t get to fly and test it) or for those who have a small work space and need a scanner. What I found intriguing when I did the unboxing is that you can power it via USB for the ultimate portable experience. Nice! I loved that it was very light in weight and realized why its made for folks on the go.

I quickly downloaded the ScanSnap S1300 software for the product which by no means took long at all and started scanning. I kind of put it to the test by scanning a very thick card board flyer and it worked! I scanned my cutegeek business card as well and though it was slanted going in it scanned straight.

With the ScanSnap S1300 software you can Scan to ScansSnap Organizer, to Cardminder, to a folder, to email, to print, to word, to Excel, to Power Point, or to Word. The ScanSnap S1300 can convert scanned data into searchable PDF files AND users can use a colored highlighter on a black & white document to create searchable keywords. Sweet! I always need a search feature. Also this works with PCs and Macs.

Here is a screenshot of the instructions that I scanned with the ScanSnap S1300 like a big geek! You can tell the scan turned out great.

I plan to have a MindTouch demo so I can also test out how their software works with the ScanSnap S1300. This is part one of the ScanSnap S1300 review so stay tuned cutegeekers! Below are the product specs and it retails around $295.00…

General Technical Specifications
Scanner Type		ADF (Automatic Document Feeder). Duplex color scanning
Scanning Modes		Color / Grayscale / Monochrome / Automatic Detection
Image Sensor		CIS (Color Image Sensor) X 2
Light Source		3 color LED (Red / Green / Blue)
Optical Resolution		600 dpi x 600 dpi
Scanning Speed⁽¹⁾ (A4 portrait / AC adapter)	Auto Mode⁽⁵⁾	Simplex or Duplex: 4 pages per minute
	Normal mode	Color 150 dpi, Grayscale 300 dpi: 8 pages per minute / 16 images per minute
	Better mode	Color 200 dpi, Grayscale 400 dpi: 6 pages per minute / 12 images per minute
	Best mode	Color 300 dpi, Grayscale 600 dpi: 4 pages per minute / 8 images per minute
	Excellent mode	Color 600 dpi, Grayscale 1,200 dpi: 0.5 pages per minute / 1 image per minute
Scanning Speed⁽¹⁾ (A4 portrait / USB bus power)⁽²⁾	Auto mode	Simplex of Duplex: 2 pages per minute
	Normal mode	Color 150 dpi, Grayscale 300 dpi: 4 pages per minute / 8 images per minute
	Better mode	Color 200 dpi, Grayscale 400 dpi: 3 pages per minute / 6 images per minute
	Best mode	Color 300 dpi, Grayscale 600 dpi: 2 pages per minute / 4 image per minute
	Excellent mode	Color 600 dpi, Grayscale 1,200 dpi: 0.5 pages per minute / 1 image per minute
Scanning Range		A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Business card, Post card, Letter, Legal and Custom sizes. Max: 8.5 X 14.17 in. (216 X 360mm), Min: 2 X 2 in. (50.8 X 50.8mm), Automatically recognizes document type by paper length.
Paper Weight (Thickness)		17 to 28 lb. (64 to 104.7 g/m²)
Paper Chute Capacity		Maximum 10 sheets (A4 size at 20 lb. or 80 g/m²)
Interface		USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 Compatible)
Driver⁽³⁾		ScanSnap specific driver (TWAIN/ISIS® not supported) ⁽³⁾
Included Items		USB cable, USB bus power cable, AC adapter, AC cable, Getting started guide and Setup DVD-ROM
Power Requirement	AC Adapter	AC 100V to 240V, 50 / 60 Hz
Power Requirement	USB Bus Power	5V / 1A (0.5A X 2 Port)
Power Consumption		Operating: 9W or less Sleep mode: Less than 5W
Operation Environment	Temperature	41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C)
Operation Environment	Relative humidity	20 to 80% (non-condensing)
Dimensions (W x D x H)⁽⁴⁾		11.18 in. x 3.90 in. x 3.03 in. (284mm x 99mm x 77mm)
Device Weight		3.08 lb. (1.4kg) without power adapter
Environmental Compliance		ENERGY STAR® Compliant / RoHS
Limited Warranty		1 year Limited Warranty. For full details, visit the warranties page or call (800) 626-4686.
Service Options		In-warranty Upgrade: Advance Exchange. Post-Warranty: Advance Exchange Plus, Depot Plus, ScanAid Kit, Cleaning and Consumable Kit. For full details on all service programs, visit www.ImagingService.com
Part Number		PA03603-B005

1: Scanning speeds may vary due to the system environment used.
2: Requires simultaneous connection to two active powered USB ports on computer.
3: TWAIN or ISIS® applications cannot be used directly.
4: When hopper is closed.
5: Documents measuring approximately 5.8 inches (148mm) in length or less are scanned in “Best mode” while other documents are scanned in “Better mode”

System Requirements for PC

Compatible Operating Systems		Windows® 7	Windows® Vista™	Windows® XP	Windows® 2000 Professional
Interface/Applications⁽¹⁾	ScanSnap Manager V5.1	Supported	Supported	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported⁽⁴⁾
	ScanSnap Organizer V4.1⁽²⁾	Supported	Supported	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported⁽⁴⁾
	CardMinder™ V4.1	Supported	Supported	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported⁽⁴⁾
	ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap 4.1	Supported	Supported	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported⁽⁴⁾
	Scan to SharePoint 3.3.5	Supported	Supported	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported⁽⁴⁾
Hardware Requirements	CPU⁽⁵⁾	Intel Pentium® 4 @ 1.8GHz or higher (Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.2GHz or higher recommended)
	Memory Capacity⁽⁵⁾	64 Bit: 2GB or more 32 Bit: 1GB or more	512MB or more (1GB recommended)
	Display	800 x 600 pixels or more, HIgh color (16-bit) or more
	Disk Capacity	2197MB free hard disc space for installation
	DVD ROM Drive	Required for installation
	USB Port⁽⁵⁾	USB 2.0 / USB 1.1

1: These applications only support Microsoft Windows®
2: Windows® Desktop Search (WDS) can be used with Windows® 7, Windows Vista™ or Windows® XP. Adobe® Acrobat® 7.0 or later (not included) is required in order to use the Adobe® Acrobat® search feature. Windows Vista™ users must apply the Adobe® Acrobat® update for Windows Vista™ before using the search feature.
3: Service Pack 2 or later required.
4: Service Pack 4 or later required.
5: Scanning speeds may drop if recommended CPU, memory capacity and USB 1.1 requirements are not met.

System Requirements for Mac

Compatible Operating Systems		Mac OS X v10.6	Mac OS X v10.5	Mac OS X v10.4
Interface / Applications⁽¹⁾	ScanSnap Manager V3.1	Supported	Supported	Supported
	Cardiris™ 3.6 for ScanSnap	Supported⁽³⁾	Supported	Supported
	ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap 4.1	Supported	Supported	Supported
Hardware Requirements	CPU⁽²⁾	Intel® Core™ Duo @ 1.83GHz or higher (Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.4GHz or higher recommended)	Intel® Core™ Duo @ 1.83GHz or higher (Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.4GHz or higher recommended) Power PC G5 1.6GHz or higher
	Memory Capacity⁽²⁾	1GB or more	512MB or more (1GB recommended)
	Display	1024 x 768 pixels or more
	Disk Capacity	1320MB free hard disc space for installation
	DVD ROM Drive	Required for installation
	USB Port⁽²⁾	USB 2.0 / USB 1.1

1: These applications only support Microsoft Windows®
2: Windows® Desktop Search (WDS) can be used with Windows® 7, Windows Vista™ or Windows® XP. Adobe® Acrobat® 7.0 or later (not included) is required in order to use the Adobe® Acrobat® search feature. Windows Vista™ users must apply the Adobe® Acrobat® update for Windows Vista™ before using the search feature.
3: Service Pack 2 or later required.

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Review: Hyperkin Golf Set for Wii

Nina Pena — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:49:57 +0000

While sitting at home wondering what my day will bring I got the Hyperkin Golf set product in the mail (I think my UPS man comes to my condo more that anyone else!). When I got them initially I was excited because the Golf set was in pink! I love my Wii because it makes me feel like I can actually play golf, baseball or bowl.

I have to be honest I was a bit out of it when doing the unboxing and couldn’t figure out how to attach my Wii control to the clubs. I finally figured it out. Check out my goofy unboxing here! Once I connected them I put on my Wii and tried them out. THEY WERE AWESOME! I loved that I could hear them hit the golf ball and how it felt like I was actually using a club. I also tried it on Wii Fit to practice my Wii swing and it was just as easy and fun to use (plus I got a work out). This is one of my favorite accessories for my Wii so far…until I try the bat that Hyperkin also sent (stay tuned for that review). I think the soft safe foam design is also perfect for kids (just don’t let your dog get a hold of it, HA). Below are the product specs and pricing.

Product Highlights:
·         Built-in Internal Sound Device
·         Accurately simulates the sounds of a baseball bat, tennis ball or golf ball being struck
·         Motion Plus compatible
·         Patent pending technology
·         Soft, durable and safe foam design
·         Available in White, Blue and Pink
·         Available: Now
·         Suggested Retail: $19.99- 24.99

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Review: Macbook Case from Applesac / Colcasac

Nina Pena — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:50:34 +0000

When I first got in the Applesac/ Colcasac in the mail I was confused on why would someone need a sleeve like this till I did my research and then I understood. It is made to be a functional sleeve that is created from premium heavy natural fibers (burlap) and 100% polyester sherpa fleece. Its’ surface is meant to handle the rugged world while its’ inside provides a scratch-free protection for your Apple’s surface. It fits snugly around your MacBook and suppose to act as a theft deterrent since no one associates burlap with a portable. Interesting…but correct as I would never think of the burlap sleeve / case as having a notebook in it.

I busted out the package and fitted my Macbook in the Applesac/ Colcasac. Easy enough and as the product said it did fit great. The front pocket is made for your power cords or any other wires you may need. They also sent a cover for your iPhone in the same material.

It retails for 34.95 and is a new way of carrying your Macbook or PC.

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Review: DOG-E-MINDER

Nina Pena — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:51:10 +0000

Ever wonder who took the dog out or when is the last time we fed the dog? That actually happens allot in our household since we live in the city and have to walk the dog! Dog-e-minder sent me their product to check out for my dog, Chloe the cutegeek Chihuahua. Dog-e-minder is an easy 3 button device that reminds you of when your dog needs to be walked, fed, or needs medication. When I first received the device I took out the battery to reset the Dog-e-minder. As soon as I put the battery back in I was rockin’ and rollin’ (and what not!). This product is ideal especially when there are two people in charge of taking the dog out or feeding them.

Once it turned on I used the 3 buttons to put in the date, time, her name and my phone number. It was pretty simple to use and program. I then put it on Chloe’s collar and once I fed her I held down the button for 3 seconds and bazinga it was programmed! Chloe didn’t even notice it was on though I think she did realize she got more attention with the Dog-e-minder on. The Dog-e-minder comes in Pink, Red, Blue or Black and retails for $19.95 (plus 3.95 for shipping and handling)

Flava’ Flav! Teehee Chloe showing off her Dog-e-minder!

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iPad is coming on April 3…Pre-order or reserve yours today!

Nina Pena — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:28:35 +0000

The big day is coming for all you apple lovers out there. I just received an email that you can pre-order your iPad here and get free shipping on the iPad from the Apple Online Store OR reserve your iPad here and pick it up at your favorite Apple Retail Store. I am interested to go to the Apple store here in San Francisco and check out the iPad.

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Product Review: Tunebug Vibe

Nina Pena — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:18:54 +0000

Ever had a moment when you want your friends to hear a song you have on your shuffle and oh snap you don’t have speakers with you?! Fear not my fellow music lovers! I recently got the Tune Bug Vibe and instantly fell in love with it’s sleek design! I love any technology or kitchen appliances with brushed metal and the Tunebug Vibe has a nice small brushed metal housing case.

When I unboxed the Tunebug Vibe I was pleasantly surprised; it came with a USB charging cord! NICE! I love when you can charge your devices with USB and not have to deal with AAA or AA batteries!

After I charged and plugged it into my shuffle I tried it on different surfaces around my condo (like a huge geek). I noticed that with the larger wooden surfaces the sound was much louder than my kitchen’s marble surface. I believe just like the larger speakers with the wooden casing it just sounds better acoustically on wood surfaces. Even though the Tunebug Vibe is tiny the sound boast the quality of a larger speaker. Per my picture below you can see the speaker is definitely small (yet powerful!).

I tried it with my shuffle, my HP Glisten Smart Phone, and 3 different Notebooks one of course being a Macbook. At first I had trouble with my Macbook (I am not going to lie) however after going into the sound menu on my Macbook it worked perfectly fine. If you looking for a small yet stylish speaker for your portable devices the Tunebug Vibe is made for you!

Below are the specs and more information about the Tunebug Vibe…

Specifications:

Size And Weight
Dimensions: 2.3”x1” (58.5mm x 25.4mm)
Weight: 5.3oz. (150g)
Connectivity: 3.5mm audio jack
Power And Battery
Battery type: LiPoly (450mAH)
Playtime (5 hours)
Charging cable (USB to 3.5mm)

Includes:

Tunebug Vibe
USB charging cable
Sound Base/case
3.5mm audio cable

Price: $69.99
Website: www.tunebug.com

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LADY GAGA MAKES HER DEBUT ON ROCK BAND WITH A FOUR PACK

Nina Pena — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:53:01 +0000

Just when I almost got Lady Gaga’s Poker face out of my head I open my email box this AM to this Press Release from MTV and Harmonix! Well crap I thought now I will never get Poker Face out of my head! Of course I am the Rockband junkie for cutegeek and will have to get this plus I love that they will have Eric Cartman’s version from South Park! Classic! Check out the Full Press Release here! The songs will be “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Monster” and “Poker Face.”

Cambridge, Mass. – March 9, 2009 – Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a four pack of songs from pop sensation Lady Gaga, as well as a special Lady Gaga cover byCOMEDY CENTRAL’s South Park’s own Eric Cartman will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

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Nina’s favorite website of the week: www.shapeways.com

Nina Pena — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:38:18 +0000

I received an email about trying out the www.shapeways.com website. I didn’t know what to expect as I had never heard Shapeways before. With Shapeways you can upload a 3D image you created, download their software, create it and within 10-14 business days you will receive your printed 3D product. They also have models that you can purchase as well if you don’t have a 3D image. Eventually I created a 3D cutegeek rubber stamp and an stylist with my initials (the minimum purchase is $25.00). I have yet to receive my products as I just created them but I am anxious to get them in the mail! And the best part…wait for it…free shipping!

I have been receiving continuous updates and looking forward to giving you all part deux of what I should receive. Stay tuned cutegeekers!

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Product Review: Phone Leather from the Bone Collection

Nina Pena — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:56:31 +0000

Bone Collections sent me their Phone Leather 3GS Case for the iPhone recently. Have you ever been the last person on the planet to adapt to a gadget (which is rare for me)?! Admittedly I do not have an iPhone as I prefer to click actual buttons…crazy I know but I have shaky hands and it would take my friends days to decode my texts using an iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I think the iPhone is an AMAZING product and endorse it to everyone plus the applications are phenomenal.

Fortunately I knew someone who owned one; my great pal Mel. She invited me over to make calzones with her (yes this cutegeek can also cook); I realized this is the perfect time to test this iPhone Leather 3GS case out. She currently owns a hard case which after she took it off realized it was scratching her brand new iPhone. I opened up the box for the Phone Leather 3GS case and since it’s a simple silicon case we slipped it on in no time.

I asked her what she thought and her first test was if you could access the 3.5mm audio jack since with her hard case she has to mess with it until it finally plugs in (that would annoy me BTW). With the Bone Leather Case it was indeed easier for her to access it. She then tested the button functionality and how the case affects her usability of the iPhone functions. They worked great…She only had one complaint and it was not a big deal but the volume switch was harder to access then with her current hard case (volume buttons worked great I might add).

All and all she liked the product and thought the leather was awesome. I also think this product is much easier to use then a hard case and more stylish for your iPhone. Also I love that this product is 100% Bio-degradable!!! Cheers to you Bone!

Below are the product specs to the Phone Leather Case for your 3GS and a picture of our yummy calzones!

Protect your iPhone 3GS away from dust
Supreme genuine leather – classical fashion
Leather texture for an exquisite feel
Includes a free screen protector
Washable silicone (Excluding the leather part)
100% Bio-degradable

Dimension
Size: 66x119x15 mm
Net Weight: 25.5 g

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Nexon America Offering One Million Dollars For Great Computer Game Ideas

Nina Pena — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:10:03 +0000

It’s time to put on your creative thinking hats on and start thinking about a video game concept for Nexon. Check out the press release below and good luck cutegeeks!

Nexon America today has launched “The Nexon iNitiative,” an ambitious new program that will provide up to $1 million to support the next generation of game developers. The most original, unique and promising independent gaming projects will be sponsored, co-developed and later published through Nexon’s global distribution network which services games in more than 71 countries.

The Nexon iNitiative is now accepting game ideas through its dedicated Web site: http://initiative.nexon.net.

Game developers selected by The Nexon iNitiative program will earn a share of the $1 million to support the game’s development as well as a chance at a Nexon publishing contract. The Nexon iNitiative finalists will be selected and contacted by June, 2010.

“Nexon is all about great games and The Nexon iNitiative is about finding the next generation of great game developers,” said Won Il Sue, Nexon America’s vice president of business development. “It doesn’t matter who you are, if you’ve got a great idea, we want to hear from you. We’re ready to fund, develop and publish the best of the best through our massive worldwide network. We know that there are a lot of developers out there, both professional and amateur, who feel frustrated at the barriers to getting a truly unique and innovative game developed and published. The Nexon
iNitiative is the place they can turn to with those great ideas that will sweep those barriers aside.”

The Nexon iNitiative is looking for potential PC-based games that have broad appeal and encourage community and social interaction. Flash, client-based games or ports from other platforms are welcome. Games with strong online elements will get serious consideration, but no good idea will be turned away.

The Nexon iNitiative Website (http://initiative.nexon.net) is now open and will begin taking game submissions immediately. Members of the Nexon America business development staff will be available at the Game Developer’s Conference in conference room 220 on March 10, 11 and 12 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information about The Nexon iNitiative, go to: http://initiative.nexon.net.

HP Reveals the New Vivienne Tam Today!

Nina Pena — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:01:25 +0000

Today I woke up with some great news for all you fashionista’s and butterfly lovers out there. HP announced today at New York’s Spring Fashion week the new HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition. Below is the press release and don’t forget ladies to reserve your HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition!!!

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 4, 2010 – HP and world-renowned designer Vivienne Tam today announced availability of the latest in “digital clutch” chic – the HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition – that made its runway design debut at New York Fashion Week as part of Tam’s spring 2010 collection. Fashion-forward women around the globe can reserve theirs now at www.hp.com/viviennetam.

Combining Tam’s stunning “Butterfly Lovers” design with premium PC technology, the HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition is poised to become the next “must-have” accessory. Starting at 2.6 pounds and less than 1-inch thin, it easily fits into purses or bags.

“As a fashion designer I have always found inspiration in bringing contrasting worlds together,” said world-renowned designer Vivienne Tam. “I use computers in every aspect of my life so it seemed natural to marry fashion and technology. Together with HP, we created this movement of fashionable tech accessories with the second edition digital clutch.”

HP has been at the forefront of fusing fashion and technology since unveiling the HP Mini Vivienne Tam “digital clutch” netbook on the catwalk of Tam’s 2008 fashion show at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park. Models walked down the runway in that show with the peony-adorned computer in hand, a first on an American runway.

Reflecting Tam’s spring 2010 collection, the notebook design is inspired by the classic Chinese love story, “Butterfly Lovers.” Integrated directly into the laptop’s lid using HP Imprint technology, the design is as durable as it is stunning. The HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition also comes with a “butterfly lovers” desktop theme that includes an animated butterfly start menu, custom Vivienne Tam icons and three wallpapers to coordinate with the design.

Coordinated accessories further complement the Vivienne Tam Mini, including a matching micro-fiber suede sleeve and optional butterfly-lovers wireless mouse or Monster-branded in-ear headphones.

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News: My Adventure on the Plastiki

Nina Pena — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:37:31 +0000

I went to the Plastiki press event in Sausalito last Friday. I was truly intrigued by their initiative to sail a boat made with recycled plastic bottles and how they would power their technology so we could track them on their journey to Sydney using HP products. The room was jam packed with media internationally plus local San Francisco press. Mayor Gavin Newsom walked on stage and introduced the crew lead by David de Rothschild’s vision.

Below is a picture of the crew and the mayor of San Francisco getting recognized for their ecological/ environmental efforts.

Though we talk mostly about technology on cutegeek I wanted to highlight some ecological information learned from the press conference. As you all may know 72% of our planet is water but did you know that there is a Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is twice the size of Texas in our ocean (and approximately 1000 miles off the California coast). That is the size of almost a continent! Seriously?! Furthermore approximately 80% of the rubbish found in the ocean is plastic. My jaw dropped as I had no idea why we had done this to our planet (note: I recycle daily and since living in San Francisco I do not buy bottled water). Also for all those San Francisco tax payers, you should know that after not buying plastic bags and bottles over the past year we saved tax payers close to 1 million dollars.

At the press event I attended, adventure Ecology founder/ environmentalist David de Rothschild unvelied the Plastiki. It’s a 60ft catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and srPET: a fully recyclable material (quoted from the press kit). The crew is awaiting anxiously for their window of opportunity (due to poor weather in the Bay area) to embark on an adventure taking them 11,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney. They will also post daily (as long as they get signals) their adventure on the high seas on their website and also using their twitter plus other social media. Below is a picture of the crew taking a quick photo op with 2 kids (that will not be on the Plastiki). I also have a youtube of the Plastiki here; the sound quality is not so great due to the high winds and rain (you gotta love San Francisco winters).

I realize I need to elaborate on what HP technology the crew will be using while on their voyage to Sidney (San Francisco’s sister city). The crew members will be using the HP Elitebook 2530p, HP Probook 5310m, HP Pocket and Personal Drive, and HP Ipaq 910c business messenger. My first question is how they will be able to post especially in areas when their is no coverage. They are using satellite technology from Fleetbroadband by Inmarsat which apparently is the first maritime communications service to provide broadband data and voice (through a compact antenna on a global basis). From what I understand they will be using solar panels and the windmill to keep the systems powered.

I actually had the chance to get on the Plastiki while in the bay. At first I thought I was pretty cool to experience this till several developments happened…It was raining (and hard), winds were high and I had to first take a zodiac (a little inflatable boat with a motor) out to the boat just to get onboard. What the heck did I sign myself up for?! While I sang to myself the Gilligan’s island “A three hour tour,” I was wondering seriously my life insurance should have been up’d. I was freaking out; besides the rain the winds were high and let’s face it I had some girly flats that slipped all over the place. When we got to the boat I stood there in amazement but also scared (probably should’ve considered the weather…if I had known it was going to rain cats and dogs).

On the Plastiki I feared for my life as I am not so great on small boats (my jetski and I never got along). I actually started to look for an Ark and animals lining up 2 by 2 as the rain picked up. After getting onboard I had a nice gentleman (that realized I am no sailor) help me and let me grab on to him for dear life (lucky guy since he must have been 20 years older then I). When I first got on the boat I had the chance (again shaking in fear) to check out the 2 bikes onboard that they will use to power the boat through the pacific if there are low winds.

I had the opportunity to check out the cabin and I had my first question…um where is the bathroom for the crew? Since I was freaking out due to the weather I didn’t ask much but I am still curious where is the bathroom for the crew? Per my photo’s there are (obviously) limited beds and cabin space which makes me assume that they will be taking shifts to make this expedition happen. They had a nice mini navigation/technology desk with the HP notebooks and the kitchen though small was admiral as I know on this boat they have small storage. Below are some pictures from the cabin. For anyone who was on the Plastiki with me and also the crew thank you for dealing with a sea sick cutegeek. I admire the crew because after being on the boat in a storm their journey and passion is AMAZING (plus BOLD).

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Review: Taipan Sleeve for 15″ Macbooks by booq

Nina Pena — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:45:32 +0000

When I had booq send me their Taipan sleeve I thought how the heck will I make this interesting…The Taipan by booq is simply a sleeve so what could I do to get our fans interested? Just descibe it and post as many pictures as possible was my easy solution. I believe sleeves are important because us ladies tend to throw our technology in our totes and purses. I go through a notebook every 6 months to a year due to my wreckless behavior so this made me realize that I need a sleeve to keep my PC longer.

When I first got the Taipan sleeve from booq I realized I did not own a 15 inch but never fear I have a 13 inch Macbook I could use. I got my little Macbook out and walked around my condo with the sleeve like a huge geek! To be fair I have to test it out so I can be truthful to my readers. Unfortunately I couldn’t do the tote test b/c my LV is in the purse hospital:-(.

Below are the products specs.

Durable 3mm neoprene offers a cushioned “skin” for your PC/ Mac

High-performance YKK zipper with two zipper pulls

Non-scratch interior soft lining

Contrasting interior fabric and accent stitching

Jersey trim provides a barrier between the zipper and the interior of the sleeve

No handles – slips easily into your favorite bag and protects your laptop against scratches

Limited 5-year Warranty

Retails for $29.95

To purchase the Taipan sleeve from booq; click HERE!

NOTE: This what not to use the sleeve as. Chloe the cutegeek Chihuahua is always getting into my products and videos.

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Review: CS40 Headphones

Nina Pena — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:19:06 +0000

When I got the request to pick up some iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s at Macworld to check to them out for cutegeek; I was excited. As you may know I punctured my ear drum by a random q-tip incident a couple weeks ago therefore I am now fascinated with the iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s headphones. Though I love my JBL ear buds I realized it may be time to make the big switch to headphones. When I first put them on I thought to myself that these earphones feel like giant marshmallows or pillows on my ears. I realized I look like a huge geek walking down the block but then again I am a cutegeek. I also realized that people with headphones similar to mine give each other the eye contact high five in the city.

I decided to first try them on a plane trip out of SFO. Nothing says “do not bug me at an airport” like a set of headphones and after being on a flight with a crying baby I was lucky I got these iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s headphones. The sound almost canceled out the 2 babies in my row plus the sound quality is amazing. I have to be careful though because my ear is still ringing so even though my marsh mellow headphones have all the power to drown them out I had to keep it in the low.

Another ingenious thought (because I have so many…ha!); instead of ear buds the iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s headphone set clearly states I cannot hear you while walking my dog DT San Fran (laugh if you will but I get annoyed by folks who think I can hear them when I clearly am listening to my shuffle and walking Chloe the cutegeek Chihuahua). The iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s headphone come in 5 colors: Pink, Bold Blue, Black, White (which is what I got), and red. They are light in weight and ultra portable as per my pixs below! They fold up pretty small which was impressive since I am use to tiny ear buds. My shuffle and I now have a mad love affair with the iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s and also my HP Ipaq Glisten has a 3.5mm audio jack so I use them as well (I have some music on my phone).

I have only had the iFrogz Ear Pollution CS40′s for about 2 weeks but so far they remain durable, portable, comfortable and stylish with the color personalization! They retail for 39.99 and can be used with any device with a 3.5 mm audio jack…Let’s hope the hold up to the Nina challenge!

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My Interview with MindTouch CEO Aaron Fulkerson

Nina Pena — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:30:16 +0000

I had the opportunity to interview the CEO of MindTouch Aaron Fulkerson via telephone. I was intrigued with the new MindTouch Cloud software since I watched a demo at Macworld and also interested to chat with him. His bio was pretty impressive as he started his first business when he was 9! When I first got on the phone Aaron jokingly stated that he had a hard stop due to his hip hop class. HA HA! Though a busy CEO he still had time to check out my bio which immediately gave him cutegeek points. MindTouch is an open source alternative to Microsoft SharePoint that was created in 2005 by Aaron and business partner Steve Bjorg. As Aaron explained some of MindTouch‘s clients include major companies like Microsoft, Intuit, U.S. Army, Mozilla, Intel, U.S Department of Defense, BP and Harvard (plus several more).

The main focus of my interview was the MindTouch Cloud technology especially since I had a Scansnap from Fujitsu on the way (stay tuned for my review). Through a new partnership with Fujitsu, MindTouch Cloud is a low cost solution to scan files to a secure and searchable Cloud platform. Aaron said the MindTouch Cloud solution is 1/10 the cost of it’s competitors. I realize for some of my readers you are asking me so what is this? Per their website you can share, collaborate and access your scanned files from anywhere (if you have permissions). In Nina lingo you can scan an item (ie: receipts, documents, or brochures) to your MindTouch email, edit it and make it searchable on your home network/ PC.

MindTouch Cloud has made it feasible to have scanned documents edited and shared throughout the enterprise. The demo at Macworld also showed me how you can simply highlight text on the document (yes with an actual highlighter) and be able to search your home network/ PC with just the text that was highlighted. The MindTouch Cloud was created in the for the small business mindset while their original MindTouch software is made for larger business’s. Plus get this if you purchase a MindTouch Cloud licence they are going to provide a FREE ScanSnap Sheet-Fed Scanner. Register here! Below is a screen shot of the ScanSnap menu for MindTouch Cloud.

If you are still confused about what MindTouch Cloud is and how it can make your life or business easier below is just some general information about the software per their press release.

To be fair I had some questions the PR firm gave me but I also had some of my own after seeing the demo at Macworld. One of my first questions was how easy was this product to use for the average women consumer in which Aaron replied, ” My mom uses it, it’s just as easy as a Wiki but with the capabilities of a Enterprise platform.” Interesting…I now need to meet his mother because I am pretty sure my mom doesn’t even know what Wiki is; she has yet to figure out the art of the facebook (sorry Mom!). For those who do not know what a Wiki is; per Wikipedia a wiki (pronounced /ˈwɪki/ WIK-ee) is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. They also currently have a MindTouch demo to download on their website.

I then asked Aaron (this is the PR question) are more everyday people using MindTouch Cloud computing-based applications today than ever before? Aaron’s response was pretty straight forward as he stated that Cloud has taken off in small businesses and individual users especially since its so easy to use (again also because it’s an inexpensive solution compared to similiar products on the market). He also stated that this is a perfect solution for small businesses as more and more companies are operating under “lite” IT budgets.

After interviewing Aaron I was not only impressed with MindTouch Cloud and fabulous personality (you guys hiring for an admin in the Bay area? LOL!) but I can’t wait to try out his product! I want to see how easy is it to use and try searching for documents. Stay tuned for my review of the Fujitsu Scansnap S1300.

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Lensbaby turns 6 & giving away presents…

Nina Pena — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:23:57 +0000

Lensbaby’s 6th Birthday is TODAY, February 22nd and to celebrate they are giving away numerous photo gifts supplied by their pals in the photo industry.

Per Lensbaby’s website below are the requirements/ qualifications. Here is a link to the entire Lensbaby press release and GOOD LUCK cutegeekers!

The Grand Prize will be a Lensbaby Composer plus all 6 Optic Swap Optics – one for each year of our life. In addition, lucky participants will get fabulous photo gifts donated by our friends including ACD Systems, Bay Photo Lab, Datacolor, Digital Photo Academy, Focal Press, Hoodman, Joby, Kubota Image Tools, Lenspen, Plywerk, Nasty Clamps, New Skin Media, RadioPopper, SmugMug, Tamrac, and Trek-Tech.

There are 7 ways to enter, and you get one raffle ticket for each way you enter giving you many chances to score a birthday present. Enter now through March 5th. We’ll announce winners in mid March.
The seven ways to win:

Retweet our Birthday tweet,
Follow SeeInANewWay on Twitter,
Become a fan of our Facebook page,
Sign up for our newsletter,
Join the Lensbaby Studio Forum,
Become a contact of our Flickr page,
Or visit our booth #1133 at PMA.

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MacWorld Recap- Part II

Nina Pena — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:53:44 +0000

By mid-day I realized I should have ate; dumn mistake and should have known that from previous E3′s and CES’s. Admittedly I was a tad grumpy however I was not ready for this. At every show as a women blogger some dude is going to either think we don’t know our products (women make up over 60% of household decision making) or they are just sexest. I ran into one of those booths that will remain un-named. It’s sad that women in technology still get treated this way.

After that bad taste in my mouth I decided I should visit a fun booth; ie Hard Candy…Surely these folks would be sweeter; I mean the word candy is in the product name! When I walked up to Hard Candy Cases I got a big smile on my face; the booth was ran by all women at the time! Their product line was bold but durable; everything a women now-a-days needs! These cases do not scratch and if they by chance do it’s an easy buff out. They also had cases for the iPad and showcased a new all rubber case for Macbooks which felt kind cool. I am looking forward to checking out Hard Candy’s Cases and how these will work with my Macbook.

My next meeting was with Iqua; a Finnish communications company that specializes in bluetooth headsets and portable speaker phones plus some are solar powered. How cool is that? How many times have you lost a call because you forgot to charge your bluetooth? One my favorites from this booth was the Iqua 603 Sun which was not only light in weight plus solar powered but the price point was impressive. Iqua took being “Green” to the next level as they also showcased several other solared powered products as well.

As I started walking around looking for other booths I wanted to check out I saw the Blue booth; USB powered microphones with studio quality. I know…WHAT?! Truth be told I use to be a singer as a kid and in my house in Texas I had a music room. If it’s not obvious I love music! I checked out the Yeti and talk about a beautiful microphone; I have to test it out…How can something that looks so good perform so well with a USB?!

I then got a demo of the Mikey; a microphone for your iPhone. Every time I go to a concert and attempt to record just one song of proof that I was indeed there it turns out like crap. Blue’s Mikey attaches easily as a plug and play unit to your iPhone and the sound quality is amazing.

Another booth that had allot of attention to a point that I could not get a personal demo was Macspeech. Part of me wonders; have we truly gotten to a point where our society is so lazy we cannot even type? Apparently with Macspeech you can use your voice to input text; rather than clicking your mouse and just speak commands. Interesting…I actually want to test this out and possibly after a glass of wine at night to see if the slur impacts the text (for the art of testing products right?).

While constantly on my feet at Macworld (at which now hurt), I HAD to stop by the Monster booth. I love Dr. Dre the branding of Beat’sand now they had Lady Gaga earbuds; who would pass up that demo?! I tried out Dr. Dre’s Beats Spin headphone at the beginning (after all the first Rap song I learned in entirety was “It’s like Dis and like Dat.”). First off the headphones come with a brief pause button on the headphones and the cable can disconnect from the headphones. At this point I learned why you need to have a cable that can disconnect to your headphones. Apparently most people will brake a perfectly great pair of headphones by clumsy mistakes, like the cable catches. I learned it is much easier to replace the cable since it’s inexpensive versus buying all new headphones.

I then checked out the Lady Gaga Heartbeats earbuds (which I am testing in the first picture); I have to say she did a good job on the design. I loved that she did not want pink instead a bold red hue. Lady Gaga you’re so right; there are enough products out there that are pink for women but bold colors and styles not so much. The design of these Heartbeatsare versitle (like her audience) and strong!

After Monster I went to the Mophie Booth where I found my one of my favorite products; the Mophie Marketplace. The Mophie Marketplace is a magnetic strip reader for your iPhone 3G and 3GS. At first I thought whoa I am in trouble if I get one of those and secondly how does this product work (or does it really work)? I waited my turn for a demo and sure enough this product works and it’s a winner. This is a HUGE score for small business owners; not even my corner store (which annoys me) takes credit cards. Mophie Marketplace was one of the most impressive gadgets for your iPhone.

On my Macworld booth trajectory I found another booth for headphones from Shure. I think I have a small problem with head gear; or maybe just headphones. We recently got a turn table (stay tuned for a review) and am fascinated with headphones (even though it’s just one turn table and I have a whole 5 records plus its not really for true DJs…just the inner DJ in the Nina). I loved these Shure headphones and yes I did blast them to the MAX! I should be getting a pair of these to test out my inner DJ and will be posting a review shortly as well:-).

My next stop was something I typically would not stop by however my curiosity got the best of me. It was the Trik/Eleven booth and apparently Eleven says its wireless technology is better than the bluetooth solution for music. I am interested to test out this technology though to be fair I have no idea how they created this alternative solution from bluetooth.

My last stop was at the Telltale gaming booth which creates games for Mac users. I do have a Macbook but I rarely use it as I still can’t let go of my Dell (solely b/c it has all my photo’s/ videos and NOT because it’s the best). After playing Tales from Monkey Island I realized it is time to maybe put all my videos/ pictures on a WD portable HD and bust out my Macbook. The PR manager (Chris) I met was probably one of the most enthusiastic person I met; he truly believed and loved his product (are you guys hiring?!). I probably sat in this booth the longest playing Tales from Monkey Island; the game truly captivates you and you do not want to end the game. Tales from Monkey Island was almost like a gaming soap opera; it’s the only way I can describe it. I actually got a free test drive but apparently I messed it up while trying to download it. Sigh! I am hooked now though…

Well this finally wraps up my Macworld experience! I hope you enjoyed my recap and try out some of these new and innovative products!

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Nina’s Favorite Website of the Week- www.eventbrite.com

Nina Pena — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:49:44 +0000

I love event planning! As part of my small business and social commitee duties for my building I plan meetings and events. I wanted a website that I could create an easy URL that folks could remember off the flyers in my elevators for our building social events (not some random numbers/ letters that no one could ever recall). I found this website recently called www.eventbrite.com. Unlike evite on this website you get a URL that is personalized, sell tickets for your event (if you want), and upload all the important event information/pictures for your guest. It’s pretty simple to use as you just put in all the important information for your event and what type of URL address you want. As a user you also can create a color scheme, post to various social medias, create headers and footers, and truly personalize it to your event. Below is a Mock up event I created for you all to see how easy and simple it is to use plus the URL to check out my fake event :-) http://cutegeek.eventbrite.com/

It’s the best way to have a short time URL for your event and/ or sell tickets to your events. So everyone check out my simple mock up and let me know what you think!

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MacWorld Recap- Part I

Nina Pena — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:05:26 +0000

This year was my first year at Macworld as a cutegeek blogger and of course Apple didn’t even have a booth…however that didn’t stop the masses to attend the show. When I first told my friends I was going I got the immediate question; “Why are you going since Apple won’t be there?” Another friend sarcastically said “What is MacWorld without Apple…just World?” I had no idea what to expect after all my pals banter…What was MacWorld without Apple? And where is Mr. Job’s?

My questions were answered as soon as I walked into the masses…Software, Games, and Accessories!

Anytime you walk into these shows it’s sensory overload. Each booth trying to be louder or more hip to the competing booths. What was I thinking trying to accomplish 6 meetings plus 10 booth visits in one day?! As I walked into the Moscone Convention Center I saw the long lines and thought “Damn I am so smooth for registering early and picking up my badge early,” and breezed on past all those suckers.

My first meeting was with Atlona Technologies where I met with Marketing Manager, Joshua (don’t we look great in this photo?).

Atlona is a Silicon Valley company that provides solutions typically missing in most AV systems and their product line consists of switchers, cabling, extenders, converters, and spliters/amplifyers. The product I checked out and thought was the coolest was the HDAiR which is based on UWB technology that allows users to extend high resolution content up to 30ft away. The HDAir acts as an external video card, which allows you to connect to VGA or HDMI monitors and HD TVs. The HDAir also has dual video (HDMI and VGA) and dual Audio (HDMI-Audio and 1/4″ mini stereo) outputs. I hope to test this out in the near future though sadly my condo is not 30 feet wide/long.

Next I saw this AWESOME booth by efilliate/Bone which specilizes in an assortment of Mac accessories that I thought were perfect for Mac users and females. The item that caught my eye was the Bone collection flash drives that were encased in a soft one-piece removable water-resistant silicone shell shaped like either cute animals, doggy bones, mammals, or I believe dinosaurs. What I found interesting is that even though they were a fashionable USB key/ flash drive they remain durable per the PR manager. Apparently you do not have to worry about these breaking regardless of how frequently they are used. Aren’t they so cute?!

After that I went to iFrogz to pick up some CS40s head phones to test out for cutegeek (stay tuned for a review). iFrogz specializes in Apple iPod™, MP3 player, and digital media accessories. I use to be an earbuds girl till I accidentially punctured my ear drum so I was ready to embrace trying out some headphones. I loved that all the styles came in different colors plus a cord that I have yet to tangle…yet that is. I also tested out some other iFrogz styles of headphones at the booth and decided I liked the DJ Style headphones the best (the inner hip hop girl in me).

My next stop was Western Digital where I met a female executive who knew her stuff about external portable storage and backing up your Macs/ PCs. I just love it when I run into fellow female geeks (stay tuned for a Brilliant Women of Technology interview). She explained all the external portable storage products after which I decided I liked the bold blue Passport Elite the best. The Passport Elite is a ultra-portable drive and features automatic, continuous backup, an illuminated capacity gauge, and a USB dock. You can also get cases for these so they remain shock proof but not in as many colors. I also thought the Passport Essential was awesome with 1 TB of storage; while I have no idea if I could find a TB worth of files having the option is nice.

She next showed me the WD TV Live HD Media Player that allows you to connect to sites like YouTube, Flickr, Live365 or stream content from your home network which you can then view on the HD TV. The WD TV Live HD Media Player also has full-HD 1080p video playback and navigation, can play a variety of file formats, access media files on your home network, and its WiFi ready. I was intrigued by this product and hope to test it out in the near future.

Two products that caught my eye especially after working from home was made from Fujitsu. They had 2 scanners they demo’d for me one portable (ScanSnap s1300) and one for your desktop (ScanSnap S1500M). I have been under the belief a scanner is a scanner; anytime you make a copy of anything their is always room for error (hence why I will never be cloned). HOWEVER these little scanners from Fujitsu actually may have solved one of my biggest pet peeves of scanning; the crocked scan. As I watched the demo I was amazed; you can put the page or receipts in the scanner at any direction and it auto formats it to the correct page setup (landscape or portrait) and makes it completely straight.

The most amusing part of the show was of course the Q&A with Kevin Smith; he was hilarious BUT I think some of the questions were even more outragious. For an hour he got hit on by 2 gay guys and this girl asked for a hug (see youtube here)…Strangely not much was said about technology besides the fact that anyone can now make/edit films due to the vast array of inexpensive recording technology and social media. Unfortunately I had to leave early to make it to my next meeting but when I was walking out I noticed the room was jam packed!

After laughing my ass off at Kevin Smith’s Q&A I had a meeting with HP. I know most people are wondering…HUH? HP at MacWorld but indeed their printing and imaging department was in full effect and showcasing some new printers along with 6 new HP applications that you can use on your iphone. I met with another female executive who I also hope to interview for Brilliant Women in Technology.

The printer that stood out to me was for the Officejet 4500 Wireless AIO and priced inexpensively (in this economy we all need it). It can print anything from broshures to pictures plus it scans and fax plus it prints borderless. I am anxious to test this out as I have reviewed a few HP printers and have never been disapointed.

Well this wraps up the first part of my day so stay tuned for Macworld Recap- Part 2 and also more product reviews from cutegeek!

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Review: I am cheating on my PS3 with my new Wii

Nina Pena — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:55:09 +0000

I am quite the loyal gal; in fact it took me years to bow down to HP products after bleeding the Dell blue for so long. My first gaming system back in the 80′s was the first Nintendo (yeah I saved the princess in Mario brother’s, ran my ass off on Track and Field, and vastly improved my shooting aim from Duck hunt).

I had played Wii Sports a year ago plus again at my cousins place recently and for the first time ever I got over 150 on bowling (now I am up to 200), kicked booty on virtual tennis and can box anyone out of my virtual boxing ring. After realizing I rock at the game I made it a goal to get it at some point. After 1.5 years of owning a PS3 I got a Wii as a second gaming console. It has become quite the addiction.

In fact I got a the Wii console (retail around 199.00) with the Wii sports, Wii Play and Wii fit plus.

I know…I know…a little late to be posting about a Wii but I realize that some folks are like me and just owned one but itched for another gaming console.

As most of you know the Wii console comes with the Wii console, one Wii Remote Controller, One Nun-chuck, Wii Sports, Sensor Bar, Standard Composite Cable, and Power Cord. We also bought the second nun-chuck where is the fun in playing by yourself?

Wii fit plus comes packaged with the Wii Balance Board accessory. You can choose for several different types of work outs for instance yoga, aerobic, strength, balance games, and training. Within those categories you can choose from a variety of different work outs like Kung Fu, skateboarding, running (my favorite), hula hoop and many more. At first I tried to trick it and half way do the work outs. It truly can tell when you aren’t doing it right or not going as fast. For 45mins of Wii fit plus I burned a little over 200 calories so I am not sure this will be daily thing but if I ever don’t want to leave my condo (usually because its raining) but need a work out this game is for me. The retail is is around 99.00.

Lastly we also got Wii Play which has a shooting gallery and Mii-matching game, billiards, air hockey, tank battles, table tennis rally, Mii poses and a cow-riding race. One has to wonder if you ever need to leave this house. I haven’t played much with Wii Play as I got bored pretty quickly. I’ll just stick with my Wii sports and Wii fit plus.

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Motorola DEVOUR- Verizon’s first phone with MOTOBLUR

Nina Pena — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:36:49 +0000

Calling all social media junkies looking for a easier way to stay connected and a new phone! Today Motorola and Verizon introduced the Motorola DEVOUR, Verizon’s first phone with MOTOBLUR to be release in March 2010. MOTOBLUR is Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service that is designed to make phones more social media smart and personal with a customizable home screen. See Press Release here and below are the product specs. Needless to say after previously reviewing one of Moto’s phones, the Rival, I am interested and hope Motorola sends me the Devour to review.

Key features:

Touch-sensitive navigation pad
3.1” capacitive touch screen
Pre-loaded applications such as Gmail, Google Talk™, YouTube™, Google Search™ and Google Maps™ with Google Maps Navigation.
Android Market™ gives users access to more than 20,000 applications.
Happenings Widget – MOTOBLUR automatically pushes status updates, wall posts and photo updates from popular social networking sites to the Happenings Widget on the home screen. Customers can flick through the latest updates and fire back responses using the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard.
Universal Inbox – MOTOBLUR gathers texts, social network messages and e-mails into one home screen widget for quick response.
Back-Up and Security – Contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations, e-mail and social network messages are backed up automatically on the secure MOTOBLUR portal. The portal also allows customers to use the phone’s fully integrated aGPS to help locate the phone if misplaced. Remote wipe easily clears information from a lost device.
8 GB microSD™ card pre-installed
Bluetooth® profiles supported: A2DP, HID, HSP, HFP, AVRCP and GAP

Cross your fingers I get to test this product and let you cutegeek fans know more about this product!

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Review: The Motorola Endeavor HX1

Nina Pena — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:20:01 +0000

Motorola recently sent me a sample of the Motorola Endeavor HX1 bluetooth headset to test out. I have never been one of “those” people that walk around all day with their bluetooth in their ears regardless if they are on the phone or not. I secretly believe these people either think they are (A) important or (B) cool. Let me just inform you that if you are indeed that person you are neither.

UNLESS you have a Motorola Endeavor HX1 that is.

That’s right I have now become that annoying person in the line at the grocery store or that person eating alone but chatting on the phone with her little headset in. I do however take it off when I am not on the phone. I may be a tech geek but I do draw the line when it comes to fashion.

What is the Endeavor beside a really cool name and bluetooth headset? First off it has Crystal Talk which cancels out everyday noise. How many times is your blue tooth cutting out or not loud enough for you to carry a conversation. If this is you my friend you will be VERY impressed with the Endeavor. At first I thought the whole in ear headset was a bit intrusive (we all know my small ear canal issue after my AKG ear buds review) however after using it I disagree with myself (is that possible?) because it makes for a crystal clear conversation.

I have used it in the car with my windows down, on the BART, walking the dog (not the dance move), while cleaning and cooking the condo. The sound quality and noise cancelation are AMAZING! Be still my heart Motorola you have made a product I hope I never end up breaking. Another cool feature is that it can hook up to numerous devices at once with the EasyPair function. When I was pairing the Motorola Rival and My IPAQ together with the Endeavor I got a voice prompt in my ear saying:

“Connected to Phone one…”

“Connected to Phone two…”

“Battery life high…”

Damn I thought to myself…this little guy is so smart! Immediately I went around trying to find other things to hook it up to (yes I know I am a huge nerd). Secondly I wondered can get Snoop Dogg’s voice on it instead!

The Endeavor is by far my favorite toy to bust out and brag about at social gatherings (in total geek fashion). Frankly its so small that every time I use it people do not realize I am on the phone. Remember in Zoolander the itty bity phone Ben Stiller used? I swear the Endeavor is smaller and cooler plus well powered with 7 hours of battery life. Below are the specs and though the price point is a bit high I think its worth the purchase especially for those that commute to work and want to be on the phone as well.

Motorola Endeavor HX1
Talk Time	Up to 7 hours²
Standby Time	Up to 240 hours²
Bluetooth Version	Bluetooth V.2.1 w/EDR
Weight	13g
Dimensions	L(1.85in) x W(0.71in) x H(0.47in)
Features	Audio: Superior performance with the stealth mode which activates true bone conduction technology and CrystalTalk™ dual mic noise cancellation Usability: Voice prompts with advanced Multipoint, EasyPair™ Design: Unique “activation button” for the stealth mode Ergonomics: New ear interface with sensor

Motorola Endeavor HX1 is available at the Moto store for 159.99 and Sprint for $129.99. Also a lovely tid bit about this device; the technology is actually used by miltary forces. Bravo Motorola!

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Review:Beatles Rockband- The BEST family game!!!

Nina Pena — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:50:13 +0000

The great people at Harmonix and MTV games recently sent me the Beatles Rockband game (instruments sold separately) to test out (THANKS GUYS!!) for my CES/Holidays round up of products to review. When I first found out that they were sending me Beatles Rockband I was overjoyed and jumping around my condo like a kid in a candy store.

I played it twice at E3 but frankly I wanted to play all the songs and see how I would progress in the game as I became better. I kept wondering what cool things could I unlock with my mad Rockband skills. I also recently hooked up my microphone stand next to my drums (Phil Colins style) so I could sing and play. One would think I am taking Beatles Rockband to another level by doing this but actually I saw on the Beatles Rockband Stage at E3 and have been dying to get to a level where I could sing and play at the same time.

This game is truly for all ages especially those who love the Beatles (which I do) and believe it can be a great bonding experience between grandparents, parents and kids. If your into Rockband like I obviously am it’s the perfect gift. I actually have visions of parents waiting till their kids are asleep to play the game themselves; like my parents did.

The introduction to the game was phenomenal and quite a visual trip! At first we did a couple rounds of the quick play as our typical Rockband band. The neat thing about this game is that you can harmonize with up to 3 singers, play 2 different guitars (bass and electric), and of course the drums. This gave this game a whole new aspect; more challenging and engaging more people to participate in the game all at once. See the screen shot below of what it would look like if you played the game.

We had some friends over fo my pal Mel’s birthday and we all had a chance to play Beatles Rockband as a real band (instead of the puny band of just my husband and I). First we got all the girls together to see how well we could do and show the boys whats up! I have to admit Mel, Lauren, Colleen and I rocked it and all had a chance to try different instruments. Check us out!

We then let the boys join; I guess that is fair right? Everyone had a blast; I have to be honest Rockband can get old at parties but not the Beatles! One of my guy pals, Jeff, decided to really play the game instead of quick play and went through the “story” portion. What was neat about that portion is if you do well you win video clips and photo’s of the Beatles. That made me a tad fanatical and had to play all the chapters of the story which sadly meant I had completed the game. For those that make it to the end of the game there is a nice surprise that I will not spoil; just realize you have to go through all the ending credits (and there is allot)!

So gather up all your gift cards from the holidays and get Beatles Rockband. This by far is one of my favorite games currently and believe its definately a 5 star experience…if only I had the special drum set. Stay tuned for a seperate post of all our youtubes of playing Beatles Rockband (be warned there is hours and hours of videos).

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Review: Motorola Rival Purple A455

Nina Pena — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:32 +0000

I got notice from Motorola that they would be sending me a new Motorola Rival A455 purple phone to test out (and give back after two weeks). Once I heard that I would be getting this phone, I went to Verizon to see what goodies would be delivered to me in a matter of days. My initial thoughts were that the silver and black Motorola Rival A455 phone was a tad manly, and curious on how I would adapt to the keyboard (only b/c I am use to mine).

Once I received the Motorola Rival A455 in the mail I noticed I received the cool purple color and I have to admit, I am a huge fan of color personalization.

First I had to locate the power and this is when I fall on the sword for being an idiot. It took me a while to realize what button to turn it on with (my IPAQ 910 has its own power switch). I literally pressed every button and almost had to bust out the instruction manual (what kind of tech geek am I?). See my dorky unboxing here!

Once I turned it on it was smooth sailing. A few features I already noticed about the phone were that when you slide it closed from the keyboard the screen locks automatically. My phone locks after 5mins, and frankly I do not know how many times my purse has called someone or even when it’s locked the buttons still make noise. One day I was walking to the elevator and I had this annoying beeping following me; go figure it was my IPAQ 910.

Another feature is even though it’s a slider phone, the screen is also a touch screen and it’s not like your typically touch as the screen feels like glass; not gooey like my current phone. What I also love about the Motorola Rival A455 is the backlit QWERTY keyboard which turned different colors when switched from numbers to letters.

First thing I tested was texting; figuring out what the ease of use was. Like most smart phones you can send a normal text, IMs, video text, and voice text. I also tried the voice texting to check the quality; though the feature is great the sound quality was OK. Ease of use check! I believe this phone is easy for teenagers as well as those just branching into the world of texting, tweeting and emailing.

Next I tested the recording option with the 2MP camera. My great pal Stefanie invited me to a Paramore concert (I have to admit I did not know who they were at first) so I took some video’s of me getting ready and our walking adventure to the music venue! I then sent them to my husband to test out the feature. I have to be honest I got mixed reviews; he said they were OK and that they were too shakey (which I am pretty sure its because my hands are a tad shakey). The sound however was amazing and crystal clear plus the cool thing about the video’s is you can also stream them.

Next on my phone journey with the Motorola Rival A455 was the Media center which includes Music and tones, Pictures and videos, Games, Mobile Web, Browse and Download, and Extras as option for you to choose from. I tried the music first and it already had 3 downloaded songs; I loved it and again thought the sound quality was amazing. The phone’s music player can also connect to V Cast from Rhapsody so you can download content plus you can use 3.5mm earbuds/ headset with it.

See me with the Motorola Rival A455 and my JBL reference 250 headset that also has a mic that can switch in between music and phone.

I had already checked out my videos so I moved on to games and to my extreme surprise it had Pac Man on it. I was overjoyed and spent an hour trying to get to next levels. Each time I would get killed the phone vibrated. I am not sure why that was so fun for me but it was! I am not 100% sure if each phone comes with the game but if it doesn’t get it!

After a couple days I received a Motorola Bluetooth Endeavor HX1 and paired it with the Motorola Rival A455 with no problems; in fact it was very simple to do. Stay tuned for my review on the Motorola Bluetooth Endeavor Hx1.

I think the Motorola Rival A455 is a great phone for those serious texters (you know who you are!) and not a bad value at 79.99 from the Verizon store. Below are the tech specs for all you cutegeeks! Enjoy!

Motorola Rival™ A455
Talk and Standby Time	Up to 320 min./510 hrs²
Bands/Modes	CDMA 800/1900, CDMA 1X/EV-DO Release 0
Weight	4.4 oz
Dimensions	20. x 3.8 x .71 inches
Browser	WAP
Battery	940.00 mAh
Connectivity	Bluetooth +EDR³, 3.5mm, USB 2.0 FS
Display	2.2” 176×220 65K
Messaging	MMS, SMS , EMS, IM, Email, WAP browser¹
Audio	AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, MIDI, MP3, WMA
Video	Capture/Playback/Streaming¹, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV
Camera	2 megapixel, 7x Digital Zoom, Fixed Focus
Memory	130MB end user; up to 8GB expandable
Form Factor	QWERTY Slider
Navigation	GPS/VZ Navigator¹

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Review: The Olive Opus 4 Hi-Fi Music Server

Nina Pena — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:39:57 +0000

As all you cutegeek fans know we are giving away this cool product named the Olive Opus 4 Hi-FI Music Server. I received a Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server eval unit so I could let you all know what you may have a chance to win. See my youtube unboxing here.

The set up for the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server was pretty simple; plug in AC adaptor, connect your speakers and screw in antenna for wireless connection. As soon as I turned it on I played with the touch screen. I just love touch screens and think every product should have one! I also loved that the color LCD touch screen was just large enough (4.3″ wide aspect ratio and 480 x 272 pixels) to navigate through all the functions (plus I am blind as a bat so it was a nice display).

Once powered up and you set up your wireless connection you have 4 options to choose from: Music Library, Music Sources, Internet Radio, and Settings (besides inserting a CD and listening to it directly). Automatically I had access to several internetstations. Unfortunately I have a slow wireless connection in my condo (internet service shall remain nameless for I do not want it to get worse, LOL) so I was not able to get ALL the channels. However, it was a great selection of channels especially my fav…hip hop (Def Jams was my favorite channel to date)!

I then tested out connecting to several PCs in my home wirelessly and was able to access all of them. It was nice to access music from the different technology devices in my condo using The Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server. Next I inserted a CD and once it was inserted the CD’s artist and album name appeared on the screen (John Legend because he is awesome) along with playing and importing options. I chose to import the CD to see how long it took and how it worked. With a quick click my CD started to import and also had a cool import status option so you can see how long it will take. See picture below.

After importing the CD was complete I had to test it out (also a great reason to play my man John Legend extra loud). It was pretty simple from the main screen you just select music library and the album you want to listen to and SHAZZAM the music began. The sound quality was amazing; they weren’t joking about comparing it to Hi Fi sound.

If I had more time to play with this server I would have a dowload party to test out how many of my CD’s I could store on the hard drive. However that may have taken months for me! All in all the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server is a neat product and I am excited one of our fans will win it! Don’t forget to apply for the contest so you too can win this cool product! Below is a list from the Olive website of the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server Specs. Enjoy fans and good luck with the contest!

Custom-built in the USA			The Olive 4 Hi-Fi Server is designed and custom-built in San Francisco, expressing the innovative energy of the Silicon Valley and the music passion of the Bay Area. Each Olive 4 is built to order, guaranteeing you the latest in technology at the best price possible. And it gives us the opportunity to quickly respond to the many special requests that our customers have. After all, each Olive 4 becomes as unique as your taste in music.
State of the art technology platform & high-speed processor.			Ample processing power for multi-tasking Simultaneous recording of and listening to CDs Flawless encoding and decoding of lossless audio format Fast management and access to extensive music libraries
Color LCD		4.3″ wide aspect ratio, high resolution touchscreen (480 x 272 pixels)	Superior color and image quality See more of your music information and browse by album artwork Color-coded touchscreen navigation lets you find your music fast
Hard Drive		Ultra-quiet 500 GB, 1TB and 2TB drives, cushioned in 8 layers of noise cancelling padding.	Holds almost 6,000 CDs in original CD sound quality
Design		Energy-efficient design and heavy-gauge, heat dissipating aluminum enclosure.	Passive cooling without noisy fan Ultra-quiet operations. Be the only one whistling to your music.
CD mechanism		Panasonic CD-R/RW	High fidelity CD audio playback
Networking	Wired	Gigabit Ethernet	Fast bandwidth for seamless multi-room audio streaming
	Wireless	54 Mbit/s (802.11g)	Fast bandwidth for seamless multi-room audio streaming
	Encryption	WEP + WPA, 64- and 128-bit	Ultimate security
Audio Outputs	Analog	1x RCA	Wide variety of high-quality audio outputs to connect to your stereo system
	Digital	1x digital output S/P DIF optical Toslink, 1x digital output S/P DIF coaxial cinch
Audio Formats		WAV, FLAC, MP3 (128 and 320 kbit/s), AAC (128 kbit/s).	Bit rate: 16bits, 20bit, 24bits, Sampling Frequency: 10kHz up to 96kHz (Playback above 16bit only through digital outputs.)
Other Ports		1x USB 1.1/2.0	Backup your music library to an external hard drive
Color		Silver or Black	Fits perfectly into your stereo system
Measurements		Width 17.13″ Height 3.35″ Depth 11.42″ Weight 13.2 lb
Box also includes			1x user manual, Olive remote control w/ battery, WiFi-antenna, CD with recovery software and power cord

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The Olive Opus 4 Hi-Fi Music Server Giveaway

Nina Pena — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:06:48 +0000

It’s time for our official CuteGeek.com fans to win* an amazing stereo product from Olive. Thanks to Olive we are giving away the Olive Opus 4 Hi-Fi Music Server for the Thanksgiving season. It is valued at $1,499 and the Olive Opus 4 Digital Hi-Fi Music Server provides ultimate sound quality compared to MP3s PLUS contains storage capacity for up to 1500 CDs (Who has that many CDS?!). The Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server is the perfect product for music lovers or for someone interested in giving their special CuteGeek in their life a great gift for the holidays.

CuteGeek fans NOW is your chance to win The Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the CuteGeek staff is wondering what our fans are thankful for.

Can you show us?

What are you thankful for?

Why?

BE CREATIVE! Let your personality, camera and editing skills take over! We will judge all contestants based on creativity and your tech geek personality. The Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server is a unique product and we will base our decision on the most creative video (& feel free to sprinkle some humor – we appreciate a good laugh!)! The video needs to be at least 20 seconds and no more than 60 seconds. The format should be in either WMV or MOV/ MP4 format. Email Giveaways@CuteGeek.com with the video, or a link to it.

The deadline to submit your video to win the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server is 11/23/09 11:59 PM Eastern.

CuteGeek.com staff will review all submissions and will announce the winner on Thanksgiving Day after dinner. We will announce the winner on the website and also on our YouTube Channel– showing the winning video.

Check out a cheesy demo of my thankful (and geeky) rendition here.

Let the games (or contest) begin!

Click here for the un-boxing of the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server on CuteGeek’s YouTube Channel! Below is a little more product information on the Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server.

Are you tired of the hassle and clutter of CDs? The Olive Opus 4 Hi Fi Music Server is designed from fine-grade aluminum and has a hard drive that delivers noiseless performance. The Olive Opus 4 Hi-Fi Music Server also integrates with computers and existing stereo systems providing an easy way to import music. Its large color display makes it easier for people to find the music they want.

Select By Genre:
- Select Music Library, then Genre
- Choose a Genre and then continue using the touchscreen until youʼve selected (highlighted)
a specific piece of music
- Either touch the screen, push the Select button (In the center of the Navigation Buttons) or
push the Play button under the CD slot to start playback; Note that the playback screen has
different color schemes and music metadata for the different genres
- Go ʻfast backʼ to the main menu by holding the back arrow button for 2-3 seconds

Select By Full-Color Album Artwork:
- From the Music Library menu, select Album Artwork
- Touch the album art to the left or right of the larger album in the center to move forwards or
backwards through the albums
- Select and start playback of an album by touching it when it is in the center of the screen
Find a Specific Artist and Shuffle All Albums:
- Select Artist from the Music Library menu; ideally one with multiple albums
- When you have the artist name highlighted, push the Play button (under the CD slot) to
playback all songs (on all albums) from that artist
- Touch the shuffle icon on the touchscreen to play all songs from that artist in random order

Select an Album or Track using Search:
- Select Album Name or Tracks from the Music Library menu and then select Search
- Using the touchscreen, type in several letters from any album name or track and touch
Search; Find your selection in the search results and touch it to play
- While the album is playing, push the Select button (center of the Navigation Buttons) to see
the pop-up screen which allows you to add the current track to a playlist, rate it or delete it
from your library

Record a CD:
- While playing any music, insert a CD into the CD slot and touch Import from the pop-up
screen; CD will pop out automatically in about 5 minutes – Just keep enjoying your music!

*Contest Guidelines: Please note if you are immediately related to any of the CuteGeek bloggerettes (siblings, parents or spouses) we can not accept your video out of fairness to our audience. You can only win one product from the site every 6 months, so keep that in mind when signing up for our giveaways. We also ask for no explicit videos – use your judgment. The winner will be chosen through a CuteGeek group vote and is not solely based on one person’s opinion.

Thanks for your participation & good luck fans!

-Cutegeek Staff

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Review: AKG’s K321 (the earbud saga continues)

Nina Pena — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:18:28 +0000

As I continued to miss my Roxy JBL earbuds (in a lovely shade of pink) I had the opportunity to test out the AKG K321 earbuds. Again I am not a fan of silicon ear pads but I had to give them a try just to make sure I was not judging based on one or two experiences. I received the sky blue color in the nice sleek black box and a cool black pouch (with no zippers…YAY!). I hate dealing with putting small devices in cases with zippers (I have shaky hands) so this was a nice bonus. Nice call AKG!

Here are the specifications and they retail for $79.95.

Frequency range (Hz-kHz)	13-22.5
Input impedance (ohms)	16
Sensitivity (dB SPL/V)	121
Color	Cloud White or Sky Blue
Headphones weight without cable (g)	4
Max. input power (mW)	19
99.99% oxygen-free cable (length in m)	1,0

I have to admit they look cute on (yes that geek in the picture with the thumbs up is me in my lobby).

The sound quality was amazing (the bass was great) and I had to keep them at a lower volume as they cancel noise out well. However…there will always be a time when us ladies do not mesh well with a product. I truly wanted them to work but…I again (just like my initial review of the AKG K340) had the issue of them staying in my ears. Are my ears freakishly small? They are not inexpensive and face it I tend to love things of high quality and personalization (the sky blue is a cute color). I tried super hard to make these fit but it just got to a point where I literally threw a fit and took them off. Fidgeting to me is just so unattractive and why do I want to deal with adjusting ear buds every block of my daily errands?! Again they fit my husband perfectly fine; which is making me even more annoyed (this is becoming an earbud trend). I think I just need my Roxy/ JBL’s back (or ear surgery)!

I tested the AKG K321′s dancing to my hip hop, walking Chloe (the cutegeek wonder dog), and at the Bart station (which BTW has been taken over by Windows 7 ads). Each time I had to re-adjust them. I loved the color, sound quality, and the carrying pouch but now I may have to seek therapy for my small ear canal syndrome. Sigh! The earbud saga continues…

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