Geekulous

Using Technology to Help the Blind

Josie S. — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:15:00 +0000

Have you ever seen the show “Covert Affairs”? Well if you haven’t it’s quaint little show about a group of CIA agents running around the world solving crimes and engaging in various levels of espionage. One of the main characters in the series is blind. When we’re first introduced to him we don’t think he’s blind because he’s nimbly maneuvering down corridors and throughout rooms without any hesitation. We’re then quickly introduced to his cool piece of technology, a great little device (created by the great people at the CIA of course) that essentially uses a laser grid to provide the guy feedback about his surroundings. Why am I telling you all this? Well it looks like designer Wu Guanghao brought something similar to life. The Wonder Stick is, for lack of a better description, a stick with a light on the end of it. The light is a sensor taking in information about the users surroundings and providing audio feedback about obstacles. The inclusion of a detachable handle that doubles as a text scanner/reader make this a doubly awesome device. A detachable earpiece allows the user to receive feedback without drawing an unnecessary amount of attention to them. From the looks of it this is just a concept currently but if it does become a reality I’m pretty sure there may be some sight impaired geeks out there excited to get their hands on one.

Top iPad Apps for the Blogger on the Go

Josie S. — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:16:20 +0000

I’ve only had the iPad for a few days but in those past few days I’ve managed to download a massive number of apps. In the next few weeks I’ll be giving you a run down of my favorites. This post is going to focus on the apps I plan to use for my blogging needs. Here’s a rundown of some of my favorite blogging apps so far:

Blogsy: ($4.99) This app is the perfect app for mobile bloggers like myself. With drag and drop capabilities, quick access to media sites such as Flickr, Picasa and YouTube and compatability with all major blogging platforms, Blogsy provides the best app for the blogger on the go.

Flipboard: (Free) Frequently hailed as the best magazine/feed reader app on the market, Flipboard keeps you up to date with your Twitter, Facebook and Google Reader feeds. Pulling from your most frequented social networking sites, Flipboard creates a personalized magazine helping you stay on top of everything important to you.

Instapaper: ($4.99) Instapaper is a must-have app for people who like to consume lots of information. One thing I love about Instapaper is the universality of the app. It works within many apps (including Flipboard) and is, as of now, the only iPad app that is upgraded to take advantage of the new Retina Display. The ability to tag articles and sort them as desired is also a plus for bloggers who like to bookmark articles to reference for later articles.

Tweetings: ($2.99) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Tweetings is the best Twitter app out there. The sleek user interface and inline media set this app apart from the others. I’ve been told that Tweetbot is the best app but, for me, and frankly for others who are trying to maintain a full time job and a website, the ability to schedule tweets is crucial and a feature that is missing from Tweetbot.

Quicklytics: ($1.99) Anyone who’s run a website knows how important it is to be informed about how many people are visiting your site, how they are getting to your site and what they’re doing once they get there. The webmaster’s usual go to site is Google Analytics to stay on top of such information. Quicklytics gives you access to all of the information on Google Analytics in a beautifully formatted app specifically for the iPad. View graphs, keep track of goals and much more with Quicklytics.

As of now those are my go to apps, as I work with my iPad more I’m sure I will discover more apps and as I discover them I will share them with you. Have I left any out? What are your favorite apps for the iPad? Let us know in the comments!

What the Heck is Pinterest?

Josie S. — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:29:24 +0000

For those of you who haven’t heard, the interwebs are abuzz with a fun new site. Pinterest has become the go-to site to save anything and everything you find on the web. While it was created in 2008 the site has recently seen an tremendous increase in popularity. With the site you can create virtual pinboards of anything you find on the web. You can check out others’ pinboards and “repin” items to your board. Planning a trip to Europe (lucky!) create a board that is dedicated to planning your trip, you can pin sites with good airfare rates, hotel websites, pictures of must visit tourist attractions and more. Love to cook? Create a board with all of your favorite recipes, subscribe to other foodies and repin items from their board to yours.

As with any new social networking site, there is a multitude of new terms you must learn. So now that I’ve explained the basic premise of the site here are some terms you’ll need to know to to get started:

Board: the place you put all of your pinned items, the best way to think about it is as a virtual corkboard, you can have as many boards as you want, one for a vacation or event you’re planning, another for awesome recipes you find and another for favorite articles.

Pin: an image representing a website or article on your pinboard, attached to each image or “pin” is a link to the original site/article, simply click on it to go to the source.

Comment: When you pin something you have the opportunity to add any comments your like to your pin, your comments show up on the pin so if someone else pins the same thing your comment will be visible to them. Just like with Twitter, you can mention other Pinterest users in your comments.

RePin: Find something you like on someone else’s board you like? Simply click the “repin” button and you can repin it to one of your boards (think retweeting)

Follower/Following: Same thing as Twitter, you can follow people you like and people can follow you.

Like: similar to the Facebook “Like” button, you can “like” pins without having to put them on your board. Any pins you like will show up on a separate page.

Overall, Pinterest is a fun new site and great way to save and share your favorite things from the web. One caveat though, right now you have to be invited to join Pinterest. Lucky for you we here at Geekulous have gotten our hands on some, leave a comment and we’ll send you an invite to the newest social networking site.

Do you use Pinterest? What do you think of the new site? Let us know in the comments.

What’s So Cool About the New iPad?

Josie S. — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:31:05 +0000

Well it’s been a long day for tech bloggers and Apple geeks everywhere. After a night of restless sleep we woke up and were introduced to the new addition to the Apple family, the “New iPad“. We’ve had rumors flying at breakneck speeds the past few days about what we were going to see in the new iPad. So were the rumors true? Read on to find out:

Retina Display

Well, duh…This has probably been the most expected new feature. The tech community seemed to come to a consensus fairly quickly that the display was going to be better than 1080p. With information and photo “leaks” it was all but certain that the iPad was going to have the Retina Display. From what I’ve seen the display is gorgeous.

New Camera

They brought the iPhone 4S camera to the iPad with a few less megapixels (the new iPad is 5MP and the 4S is 8MP).

Dictation

Contrary to popular belief, Siri was not included in this version of the iPad. They did, however, give us dictation which basically allows you to dictate texts, documents, emails, etc.

4G LTE

Ok lots of letters here but basically 4G is a faster version of mobile internet. Which means when you’re away from a WiFi hotspot you can get “WiFi-like” speeds on your cellular data network.

Quad Core

Apple included a new chipset to support the new retina display. What does this mean for you? A faster iPad. You can open and run apps faster and you’re going to get better battery life (again to support the new retina display).

Availability

So when can you get this beauty? Well you can preorder now, as of 9:00 pm PST you’re still able to preorder for a delivery date of March 16th. Also just a warning there are a lot of people trying to get on the site still so things might be on the slow side, be patient and you’ll get through.

What do you think of the new iPad? Love it? Hate it? Let us know in the comments.

Resources for Live iPad 3 Announcement Coverage

Josie S. — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:57:32 +0000

Today is the day! In less than 5 hours Apple will be holding a media event in San Francisco, presumably to announce the iPad 3 (or iPad HD depending on what you read). If you’re like me you’ll be stuck at work while the announcements are being made. Here are some ways you can get live updates on the event as it happens.

Twitter
* @macrumorslive
* @macgasm

Websites
* TheVerge
* Time.com
* The Unofficial Apple Weblog
* Gdgt
* Macgasm

Did we miss some? Share them in the comments.

Why Tweetings is the best Twitter app for iPhone

Josie S. — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:52:00 +0000

I’m always on the search for the best Twitter app. As we all know, Twitter is a pretty popular social network. It is especially crucial for people trying to build their online presence and promote themselves, their business or their product. Running Geekulous while working a full time job requires me to tweet on the run. For the past year I have relied on HootSuite to meet all my Twitter needs but have never really liked the user interface (UI). I’ve always kept my eye out for the next great Twitter app for my iPhone. Being a website editor and perpetual tech evangelist I have a list of things I need my go-to Twitter app to have:

1) the ability to schedule tweets

2) the ability to silence my stream during certain hours

3) a sleek and intuitive user interface

Not too much to ask right? Well it wasn’t until recently that I found an iPhone app that had ALL of those features and more, enter Tweetings. I’m able to easily schedule my tweets (it gives you the option to schedule them within a 15 minute interval, fine by me but for others who may want to schedule a tweet to the exact minute this feature could be a problem). I can silence my stream easily and even set the time so that my stream stays quiet for the hours I wish. The user interface is smooth and sleek, it’s very minimalistic but, for anyone who’s into customizing there are plenty of themes you can use and even create to make the interface exactly to your liking. Other great features in this app include:

1) In-line photos - you get a great little preview of the photo posted in a tweet, you tap on it and it immediately brings up the full photo.

2) Night mode – this app is so smart you it knows when it’s night time! It will automatically switch to “night mode” (darker background and text) at night which makes reading those late night tweets so much easier.

3) Link Preview – tap on a tweet with a link in it and you’re shown the tweet with a preview of the link in the bottom half of the window, tap on it and it brings to to the link at full screen.

4) Facebook Integration – if you’re like me you like to have everything in one place, you can enter your Facebook info and get your friends posts showing up in your timeline as well.

Since I don’t have my iPad 3 yet I can only imagine how beautiful this app would look on the larger screen. Right now it’s available for both the iPhone ($2.99) and iPad ($2.99) in the App Store. Important note: there is a Tweetings desktop app ($2.99) for Mac but as of this posting only has a rating of 2.5 stars out of 31 reviews, seems a little buggy right now so I would wait to get it until they fix the bugs, when they do it’s going to be great!

Have you tried Tweetings? What’s your favorite Twitter app for the iPhone? Let us know in the comments!

iPad 3 – Rumor Mill Rumblings

Josie S. — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:06:26 +0000

Earlier today my Twitter feed blew up with the announcement of Apple’s upcoming event. If you haven’t heard yet, Apple will be holding a media event on March 7th in San Francisco, presumably to announce the much anticipated iPad 3. At the risk of repeating what’s already been said I figured I’d provide you guys with a list of my favorite articles about the impending event.

Apple to Unveil iPad 3 Next Week (Updated)

iPad 3 Everything We Think We Know (Updated)

Confirmed iPad 3 has a 2048×1536 Retina Display

Apple Invite Sparks iPad 3 Frenzy on Twitter

Find the Clues in Apple’s iPad Invite (Open Thread)

iPad Measures in at 9.5mm Thick, 0.8mm Thicker than iPad 2

Part Numbers Suggest Imminent Availability of iPad 3 and New Apple TV

iPad 3: Who Will Buy One and Why? (Infographic)

Of course MacRumors.com (one of my favorite sites) has a countdown at the top of their home page if you’re interested in knowing, down to the minute, how much longer you have to wait to see the new offering from Apple.

And for those who really want to geek out and see a more than thorough evaluation and speculation based on Apple’s invitation alone check this out:

This is the iPad 3 Hiding in Plain Sight

What do you think will be announced on March 7th? What upgrades are you expecting to see in the new iPad? Let us know in the comments.

TooManyTabs for Chrome Review

Josie S. — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:24:47 +0000

So here I am again, trying to revive Geekulous. While I was looking for ideas for the site I realized I was getting super distracted by, well, everything. It seems to me that once I get started on the internet I just can’t stop. As I’m typing this I have 28 tabs open in Chrome. It’s so easy to get lost on the internet, I see one awesome article in Reeder, while reading that article I’m usually tempted with plenty of links to other related and equally interesting articles to read. While perusing the initial article I’ll sit there and ‘Right-click’ ‘Open in New Tab’ so I can read more when I’m done. Then, as most sites do now, I get a nice little pop up when I get close to the bottom of the page with suggestions on other articles I can read. Before I know it 2 hours have passed and I have more tabs open than I can possibly handle. So where am I going with this? Well I’ve found a nifty little Chrome add-on that has helped me tame the ‘Too Many Tabs’ beast. What’s it called you ask? Well, TooManyTabs for Chrome of course! This simple little add-on helps to organize all of your tabs. It quietly sits with your other extensions next to the address bar of your browser and whispers the number of tabs you have open across all windows. Click on the icon and you’re presented with a visual layout and preview of all of the tabs you have open. If you have tabs you don’t need open at the moment but want to save to view later you can “suspend” them in TooManyTabs. You can also search for a specific tab within the extension. Lots of neat little features are making this a fast favorite Chrome extension. Check out more info on it at TooManyTabs for Chrome.

Updates Updates Updates

Josie S. — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:34:21 +0000

This week has been one dedicated to revamping the user interface of some of the most popular and prominent websites around. Of course, gaining the most buzz (pardon the pun) is Google+, Google’s answer to Facebook. With people clamoring to get in and actually purchasing invites that are supposed to be free, Google’s social network brings to it the simplicity and ease of use common to all Google products. Along with a brand new interface we were showered with updates from WordPress, Blogger and, while not an interface update per se, Facebook – announcing their new features including, video and group chat. Add to that the recent annoucement of Apple releasing Lion next week and it seems we’ve all of the sudden been ushered into a complete internet update. Considering how drastically we have changed the we use the internet on a daily basis it seems fitting that an overall update would be warranted. For fun, here are some pictures of websites from back in the day.

Google circa 1999

YouTube circa 2005

Twitter circa 2006

WordPress circa 2006

Blogger circa 1999

Facebook circa 2004

Google+ Invites

Josie S. — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 03:57:01 +0000

What better way to revive Geekulous than with a review of a shiny new social networking site? Ok, after lots of cyber stalking and obsessive email checking and page refreshing I’m finally a member of Google+. I’m ready to pay forward all the generosity complete strangers bestowed on me. I’m giving out invitations, all I ask is that you follow me on Twitter (@geekfab). Let me know in the comments once you’ve finished that. Also, to protect you from spam bots please do not put your email in the comments, I will get your email from the form you fill out to post a comment. One more thing, patience is key, I know how to invite using the loophole but Google is backed up big time. It took me more than 24 hours to get my invitation and get access to the registration page so please be patient when waiting for the email. I will respond (in the comments) to everyone I send an invite to so you know when it’s been sent. Good luck and happy exploring!

Update: I just got on Google+ and started playing around with it. Keep an eye out for a full review within the next couple of days.