geeksugar -- Geek is chic.

Daily Tech: TiVo Shows Off a Redesigned Search Feature

geeksugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:12:32 -0800

TiVo users everywhere will be happy to know that its trusty digital video recorder has just received a new search, which offers improved search results. It is expected to roll out in beta today. — Engadget
Without Steve Jobs, or huge product announcements, is Macworld 2009 really one of the worst Macworlds ever? — Wired
Expect the BlackBerry 8900 Curve to come to T-Mobile this February. — The Boy Genius Report
If you want to upgrade your current iTunes music and video library to be completely DRM free, expect to pay 30 cents per song and 60 cents per music video. — CrunchGear
This is kinda scary. A new study shows that most teenagers talk about sex and violence on MySpace. — Switched

Biggest Headlines of 2008: Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case

geeksugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:00:21 -0800

The Megan Meier MySpace case of 2008 was heartbreaking for the girl who was lost, and was also unique in that it challenged fairly new Internet conventions. When the 13-year-old Meier killed herself after being tormented by a group of people — chief among them, her friend's mother Lori Drew — enforcers were unsure that they'd be able to charge her with anything.

In May, Drew was indicted for her role, and finally, after claiming she never read MySpace's Terms of Use and could not be held accountable for them, last month she was found guilty of three misdemeanor counts — minor counts compared to the greater felony charge.

Source

Lindsay Lohan Rants About Facebook on MySpace

geeksugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:34:00 -0800

Although her MySpace account was hacked in the past, Lindsay Lohan is setting the record straight on her personal MySpace blog about her love for MySpace and her issues with Facebook.

"I signed onto Facebook with my new password because someone keeps hacking into my account, and when i typed my password and 'log in' name in, a red sentence came up saying, Account Disabled.
Your account has been disabled by an administrator. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page here. Wow! I was in shock. I clicked on the link that they told me to click on and then to another link that said: my account may of been disabled by mistake. Once I got to that it gave a note saying why it was disabled which stated the note saying that it was disabled because they believe that I was a fake of myself."

Needless to say, Ms. Lohan was not impressed and expressed her anger for Facebook calling her a fake of herself and disabling her account. The method to her madness? She's hoping that the Facebook peeps will undisable her account so she can get back to doing what else but Facebooking!

Do You Ever Read Websites' Terms of Use?

geeksugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:45:54 -0800

Lori Drew, the woman who made a fake MySpace profile to torment teenager Megan Meier, which led to the latter's suicide, is currently on trial for fraud. This was the only way to prosecute Drew for her involvement in Meier's suicide — accusing her of fraudulently creating a MySpace account. However, it already looks like the case could be thrown out, because she has testified that she never read MySpace's terms of use, nor did she agree to them.I personally cannot remember the last time I actually read a website's terms of use; I agree to them, sure, but it's rare that I actually read the fine print. Am I setting myself up for disaster? Maybe — it could depend on the outcome of this case. Tell me: Do you actually read the terms of use for every website that presents it to you?Source

Do You Ever Read Websites' Terms of Use?

Yes, I always read a website's terms of use.

No, I always gloss over the terms of use.

Something else. See my comment below!

geeksugar Chats With MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe

geeksugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:30:32 -0800

Just two months shy of geeking out with Samantha Ronson at the TechCrunch50/MySpace Party, I found myself at another fabulous MySpace party last night at the beautiful Old Mint building in San Francisco — hello?! Lionel Richie performed! This time, it was a MySpace 2.0 party celebrating MySpace Music and the latest partnership between Ashton Kutcher's production company, Katalyst Media, and MySpace. The second season of Kutcher's web series Blah Girls is expected to debut on MySpace early next year — in addition to all previous episodes from season one.

Last night PopSugar caught up with Ashton to chat about how his step-daughters played a role in creating his new web animation series Blah Girls, and I got the chance to talk with MySpace CEO about MySpace Music and what else we can expect from MySpace in the next year. Here's what he had to say:

On MySpace Music: "We've gotten a lot done in the last year. Obviously MySpace music is one of the biggest ventures that we've done. We have a new profile type that we're rolling out really soon where you can customize your profile and have any kind of background you want and that will be really cool. Complete redesign — and in addition to that we'll be adding nearly every mobile feature — a lot of exciting stuff."
On what the redesign will entail: "More music and then tons of videos and then more functionality around the music where you'll be able to take it with you."

Source

MySpace For BlackBerry Smartphones to Debut

geeksugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:02:23 -0700

Wait a minute, last time I checked it was all about Apple this week. But now after hearing that a mobile MySpace experience is launching on the BlackBerry, and finding out yesterday that TiVo is coming to the BlackBerry as well, I'm going to start calling it BlackBerry week as well! A date hasn't been set yet for the MySpace launch, but you can be notified as soon as it does by entering in your name and email addy here.

Overheard at the TechCrunch50 Party: Geekiest Pickup Lines

geeksugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:00:49 -0700

After I chatted up Samantha Ronson about what software she runs on her MacBook Pro at the TechCrunch50/MySpace party, I made my way around the Mezzanine — okay, I'll admit it. I was looking to see if LL was hiding somewhere in the crowd – and overheard some pretty interesting (and totally geeky) pickup lines.

The party was certainly a single girl's dream - with about 95 percent of the attendees being of the male persuasion - so although I'm not surprised that there was lots of flirting going on, I was totally amused by what I heard. I don't think you need a book to figure a geek out, but some of you guys out there may want to study up on how to successfully pick up girls! I have to admit though, it was kind of endearing to see them try. Check out some of my favorite pickup lines overheard that night when you

Geeking Out with Samantha Ronson at TechCrunch50/ MySpace Party

geeksugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:30:51 -0700

The big TechCrunch50 Conference kicked off yesterday at the San Francisco Design Center Concourse, with the best new tech startups launching their companies in front of the public — yes Ashton and Demi were there! And to celebrate the day one festivities was the big MySpace party last night at Mezzanine. I not only got to chat with Sean Parker, the cofounder of Napster, and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington — who said this year's turnout was much better than last year's — but I was able to catch up with the famous Samantha Ronson, who was DJing at the event, and ask her some geeky questions!

BlackBerry or iPhone Owner? "I actually have both."
Are you a Mac or PC Fan? "Mac all the way. PCs are just hard to figure out and not user friendly whatsoever."
What software do use on your laptop for spinning tunes? "Sonar by Cakewalk."

Source

Have You Ever Been Cyber Bullied?

geeksugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:45:31 -0700

As much as I love the Internet, I'm aware of what a dangerous place it can be since it seems that anonymity can bring out the worst in people. An example of this saddening fact is the story of a 13-year-old Missouri girl who committed suicide after being the victim of cyber bullying on MySpace. The case, which is being tried in a California federal court, has prompted Missouri Governor Matt Blunt to sign a bill that makes Internet harassment against the law. Previously, harassment laws stated communication had to be written (as in snail mail), or over the telephone. But Monday, the new law took effect includes harassment via text, email, and other electronic devices. I've never experienced virtual harassment myself, but I'm sure it's not uncommon. Have you ever been a victim of cyber bullying? Source

Have You Ever Been Cyber Bullied?

Yes, I've been harassed on the Internet before.

No, I've never been bullied on the Internet.

Something else. See my comment below.

Do You Use Facebook or MySpace?

geeksugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:30:29 -0700

The latest news from ComScore reveals that Facebook is beating MySpace worldwide for the first time. I've been trying to figure out why, necessarily, in terms of why people choose either site to social network.I myself have profiles on both sites, as I signed up for a MySpace page in 2003, and when Facebook started, when it was only accessible to those with school emails (which I didn't have anymore and was a little turned off by that requirement), I waited awhile, but eventually caved since I had friends on Facebook (which is why I still begrudgingly keep both profiles). What about you? Are you supporting Facebook or MySpace with your usage?

Do You Use Facebook or MySpace?

Facebook

MySpace

Both

Neither

Daily Tech: Digital Cam Captures Extraordinary Image

geeksugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:01:00 -0700

On Tuesday, Lori Mehmen from Iowa ran out her front door to see this. She quickly grabbed her digital camera before taking cover. — The New York Times
MySpace may still dominate Facebook in the US market, but because of Facebook's growth internationally, it has more visitors worldwide. — TechCrunch
Women with long nails are said to have some difficulty typing on the iPhone's touch screen and are hoping that Apple will soon offer a stylus so they don't have to cut off their nails! — Shiny Shiny
OK, so you have a ton of burning questions about the iPhone 3G. Have no fear, Gizmodo answers practically all of them. — Gizmodo
A new study indicates that gamers who spend more than 50 hours or more a week playing video games surprisingly don't have signs of shyness or low self-esteem, something the study was looking for. — Switched

Daily Tech: MySpace to Debut Its Facelift on Wednesday

geeksugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:02:30 -0700

After six months in the making, MySpace is ready to show off its new look to the public. — USA Today
A company called Nyko created a "Kama Nunchuck" that looks identical to the Wii's Nunchuck. Nintendo has decided to seek financial compensation for their copycat Wii accessory. — CrunchGear
Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, or Charlotte: Which one are you? Take this fun Sex and the City quiz to see which SATC character you are the most like! — Shiny Shiny
For long Summer road trips and getaways, Switched has put together 10 of the best portable games. — Switched
A Diet.com fitness expert puts the Wii Fit to the test to see if it's truly a good workout. — Kotaku

Source

Does Facebook Affect Your Feelings About Class Reunions?

geeksugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:00:17 -0700

I always thought I'd go to my ten year high school reunion. It was just something you do, and my high school friends and I all dreamily talked at graduation of meeting back up when we were grown-ups. But something happened. I have absolutely no desire to attend.The reason? MySpace. Facebook. The New York Times claims that the advent of these websites — which allowed us to stay connected, and updated us on what our old classmates were doing — has caused alumni magazines to suffer. Why read them when you can log on and confirm that the snobby cheerleader never made it out of your hometown and now works at a gas station? And furthermore, why go anywhere to be in the same room, when you can snoop on everyone from the comfort of your office chair?I already know who's married, who has kids, where they all work. Curiosity = satisfied. What about you?Source

Does Facebook Affect Your Feelings About Class Reunions?

Yes, I don't care about alumni magazines or class reunions because I already know what everyone's up to because of Facebook.

Nah, Facebook has just made me more excited to see my old classmates, not turned me off of it.

Something else. See my comment below!

MySpace Celebrity Launches

geeksugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:40:54 -0800

MySpace has augmented its little army of TV, music, and oh yeah, some sort of social network, with a new feature, MySpace Celebrity. So far, it's a lot of the gossip and photos and entertainment interviews you can already get on PopSugar and BuzzSugar and a thousand other sites, but there is some original content, like Celebrity Blogs, where you can learn that JESSICA ALBA TYPES IN ALL CAPS. It's kinda cool that all the celebrity profiles are in one area, because I really hope they keep out the 45 George Clooney impostors so I can be friends with the real deal.

Family Sues MySpace For Their Role in Teen's Suicide

geeksugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:06:49 -0800

When 15-year-old Kristin Helms committed suicide in 2006, she blamed Kiley Bowers, the 27-year-old man who traveled across state lines to meet her. Her parents blame MySpace — in fact, they're suing the Internet site for their role in the tragedy.

Though Helms and Bowers didn't meet on MySpace, they did use it to communicate, and Helms's parents called for the policing of sites for sexual predators last Summer. Now, they're taking MySpace on in court.

To learn more about this case as well as another MySpace tragedy,

Have You Ever Deleted Your MySpace Profile?

geeksugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:30:22 -0800

A recent article from CNET revealed that Facebook doesn't permanently delete profile content when users delete their profiles, which forced me to confront something about myself. I don't want to alarm you, but sometimes I have a love/hate relationship with my tech. On one hand, I love being as connected as possible with my iPhone, laptop, iPod, WiFi, Bluetooth. On the other hand, I sometimes yearn to shut it all out and be unreachable, be mysterious again. But I'd have to say the biggest conflict I have is with my social networking profiles. I have been able to get in contact with long-lost friends and classmates, but I am also wary of having personal information out in the open for people that I don't want to contact me or even know what I'm doing. In fact, I've come close to deleting my MySpace account many times, but I just can't do it. I can't be alone — have you ever had the same thought, or gone through with it and deleted a social network profile?

Have You Ever Deleted Your MySpace Profile?

Yes, I have deleted a profile.

No, I haven't deleted a profile, but I have considered it.

No, I haven't deleted a profile.

Something else. See my comment below.

Have You Ever Created a Fake MySpace Profile?

geeksugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:25:13 -0800

In the aftermath of the suicide of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old Missouri girl who was taunted by a fake MySpace profile named "Josh Evans," there was technically no way to charge her tormentor — the mother of a schoolmate — with any wrongdoing. However, a US attorney in Los Angeles (the home of MySpace) has begun issuing subpoenas in the case in the hopes of charging Lori Drew, the creator of the fake profile, with fraud. While this case is tragic and highly charged, this precedent could be pretty intense because I know many people have created fake MySpace accounts as harmless jokes, myself included. It makes me wonder if this is the right way to punish Lori Drew.I'm curious. . . . Have you ever created a fake MySpace or Facebook profile?Source

Have You Ever Created a Fake MySpace Profile?

Yes, as a joke.

No, never had a reason.

See my comment below!

Have You Ever Found a Lost Friend on the Internet?

geeksugar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:00:12 -0800

One of USA Today's blogs recently featured an article, "Find Lost Friends Using the Internet" that got me thinking about how Internet communities have reshaped communication and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances. When MySpace and Facebook first launched, all my friends told me the same thing: I love it because I got back in touch with so many people I thought I would never see or talk to again. That idea is perfectly understandable — millions of people started signing up for social-networking communities at once and reaching out to old childhood and college friends (and even even near strangers they had interacted with at one point or another). For example, my sister found the guy that works at the video store near her house on MySpace! It seems this phenomenon of reconnecting with past friends online is now a regular part of the digital landscape. Source

Have You Ever Found a Lost Friend on the Internet?

Yes — We totally reconnected online.

No — I've searched but haven't found anyone.

I found them, but didn't reach out to them or add them as a friend.

Something else. See my comment below.

Tech Moguls Top 'The Vanity Fair 100' List

geeksugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:00:34 -0700

Vanity Fair has put Rupert Murdoch, Steve Jobs and the Google twins at the very top of their 100 List for 2007, proving once again that geek is chic and powerful.

Printed in the October edition of Vanity Fair (you know the one with Nicole Kidman looking like an elegant, but saucy sailor on the cover?) the Top 100 List praises the four for their successes in the past year, notably Murdoch's acquisition of the The Wall Street Journal, Jobs's release of the iPhone and the Google twins' ever growing company.

Tech-Inspired Hotspots Around The Globe

geeksugar — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:00:13 -0700

If you're ever on a whirlwind cross-globe trek and you want to experience some familiarities of home, there are a few techie pit-stops that are guaranteed to feel like you're in a home away from home. First off, you can check out the Google couture shop in Turkey where I'm sure you can pick up some serious geek chic swag. From there you can work your way over to Sarajevo where you'll find Club Bill Gates, a local watering hole with the finest of ales. And last but not least, the MySpace Coffee Shop in Macedonia, "a place for friends" and a good cuppa joe. I just can't imagine why these spots didn't make the 15 Geekiest Vacations List.

Do Your Parents Have Online Profiles?

geeksugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:00:46 -0700

Yesterday the New York Times published a hilarious piece, "omg my mom joined facebook!!" written by a mother who (in a possible effort to seem hip and maybe even spy on her kids) joined Facebook, searched for her daughters and befriended all their friends. Of course, once she became friends with the teens she was allowed access to their steamy profiles as well as the site's infamous news feed, which keeps you up to date when people in your network become friends, break up, go work out and so on. Clearly aware of this, the woman's daughter did not befriend her and even went so far to tell her - via instant messenger of course - "You won’t get away with this. Everyone in the whole world thinks its super creepy when adults have Facebooks.”I am a firm believer that whoever wants to have an online presence or profile should do so no matter what your age, but I also think there should be a line drawn between being on a site like Facebook to spy on your kids or friends and being on there because you truly want to be a part of the community. This is not to say that parents can't get in on the joys of digital life and if I go by the teen girl's definition, I am probably considered one of those creepy adults online. I guess you just have to embrace it. I ran into an old friend the other day and asked about his dad, to which he said: "He's great. Check him out on Myspace, he just got back from vacation and uploaded some funny pictures." I thought about my mom's love for the Sugar Network and wasn't surprised one bit.

Do Your Parents Have Online Profiles?

Yes.

No.

I don't know.

Something else. See my comment below.

Carrie Underwood: The Latest Victim To Get Hacked

geeksugar — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:00:10 -0700

What is with myspace these days? It is seriously that easy to hack into? And do people care that much? First with Lindsay Lohan's account and now Carrie Underwood? What can a girl do to get a little privacy on the net?

According to TMZ Carrie's myspace account started sending out spam messages to her contacts about free ringtones. Then on her homepage it said "Hey, this is Carrie Underwood. OK here's the deal, I need EVERY SINGLE myspace friend to stop what he/she's doing and GO HERE RIGHT NOW and put your cell # in. You'll recieve every ringtone from every myspace artist (including MY favorites)... (sic)."

Right, like that message doesn't read spam all over it. Thankfully Underwood's account was less scandalous than Lohan's since it was minus the juicy PM's from Paris and Nicole. In the meantime, Carrie's camp has changed her password. Umm, I am sorry PR peeps but that isn't going to work. My advice to her would be to switch over to TeamSugar - it's way cooler anyway!

Image Source

Myspace Blocks Woman That Isn't A Sex Offender

geeksugar — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:03:35 -0700

How would you feel if you had difficulty logging into your MySpace account only to discover a note from MySpace in your inbox that says: "It has come to MySpace's attention that you are a registered sex offender in one or more jurisdictions."

This actually happened to a woman named Jessica Davis, who is not a registered sex offender but was blocked by the site. The block comes only a few weeks after the online community announced it would give up the names of known offenders to state authorities.

According to ABC News, Davis is not listed anywhere in the Department of Justice's National Sex Offender Public Registry and a criminal background search on Davis turned up zero results. Although the federal registry did find a sex offender named Jessica Davis (with a different middle name) in Utah, who is a registered sex offender. For more on this story,

Should MySpace Reveal Sex Offenders?

geeksugar — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:00:06 -0700

Earlier this week MySpace announced it is willing and prepared to work with state attorneys general who have asked for the identities of MySpace members who are known sex offenders. While MySpace made it clear that its cooperation will depend on whether the attorneys subpoena the names, the company also told the press it was “doing everything short of breaking the law to ensure that the information about these predators gets to the proper authorities.”Obviously there has been a lot of discussion on geeksugar and throughout the entire world about the type of information made available on sites like MySpace and whether or not youth know how to censor themselves online. What do you think? Is it fair for myspace to share its information only after receiving a subpoena?

Should MySpace Reveal Sex Offenders?

Yes.

No.

Something else. See my comment below.

Watch Hit TV Shows On MySpace

geeksugar — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:02:03 -0700

Networks like The CW and NBC are trying to tap into highly trafficked social networking sites like MySpace by offering video streams of popular TV shows. According Broadcasting & Cable, when The CW promoted America's Next Top Model on MySpace, their season-premiere ratings increased 36 percent among teens compared to its 2005 debut.

With over 61.5 unique visitors in January and even more in February, MySpace has become one of the best places for networks to showcase their goods.

MySpace also plans to launch a service where users can stream or 'host' shows on their MySpace page. As well, starting this summer NBC Universal and News Corp. will be launching a site with MySpace being their primary source for distributing TV and videos. Great - even more reasons to stay glued to my laptop!

Do You Chat Online With Celebs?

geeksugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:02:05 -0700

Back in the day (okay it was like six months ago) when I was a regular MySpace user, I became obsessed with searching the entire database for celebrities. Yes, this entailed weeding out the real guys from the fakes, but in all honesty you can add people like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and the infamous Jenna Fischer to your friends list. Apparently, these lesser known celebs aren't the only people getting in on the MySpace generation. According to EUX.TV actress Halle Berry says she really does chat with total strangers on the internet, very similar to the character she plays in her new movie "Perfect Stranger." Have you ever found yourself in a chat room with a celeb? Leave your answer below! And if you want to be my friend on MySpace, click geeksugar on MySpace! Source

Do You Chat Online With Celebs?

For sure! Although they could have been fakes.

No. Can't report chit-chatting with any celebs.

Something else. See my comment below!

New York Mag: Kids Say Everything On MySpace

geeksugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:00:06 -0700

New York Magazine shed some light on the ongoing controversy and misunderstanding between generations when it comes to revealing everything in cyberspace in its recent article Say Everything. It claims sites like MySpace, Flickr and Facebook have contributed to the "greatest generation gap since Rock and Roll."

As younger people reveal their private lives on the Internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited.

Not to join the chorus, but I have to agree. Not only do most 20-somethings and younger have accounts on TeamSugar, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr or Blogger, but many post saucy pictures and expose bits of their personalities and life they might otherwise not share. I don't think it's always a negative thing, I'm just not sure older generations will ever understand online expression and community sites. What do you think?

GeekSugar is on Myspace!

geeksugar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:08:28 -0700

That's right folks, I couldn't resist joining you any longer. If you are anything like Jim Halpert, from NBC's The Office, and spend way too many hours online, you really should find me on MySpace and be my friend!

Join Me On Myspace - Be My Friend!

geeksugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:08:12 -0800

Ladies and gentlemen, I have officially joined the Myspace generation so you can now find me on MySpace and be my friend!

Be My Friend On Myspace!

geeksugar — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:04:51 -0800

Ladies and gentlemen, I have officially joined the Myspace generation, and while I may not have hair as cute as Veronica Mars you can now find me on MySpace and be my friend!

I post announcements about the coolest stories on geeksugar, my favorite photos and videos and plenty of geek chic fun.

Geeksugar is on Myspace!

geeksugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:04:31 -0800

Ladies and gentlemen, I have officially joined the Myspace generation, and while I may not have hair as cute as Veronica Mars you can now find me on MySpace and be my friend!

See you there!