Oh, What's in a Name? Ep. 2 UPDATE

Hello faithful web friends!

As a follow up to the last podcast, Episode 2, in which we discussed USB Card Readers (the video for which I will link to again and embed below), I wanted to give you all some examples of hubs/readers that you can purchase online from reputable sources. I also wanted to clarify some of the nomenclature that I used when describing the device itself.

Now, I knew in my little geek brain that when I created the last podcast that the word HUB actually technically describes a USB port that allows you to plug in many USB devices (cameras, printers, card readers, etc.) into your computer via one USB plug in in the back. A HUB is also generally a dictionary term for the main center for any sort of activity. I always refer to my card reader as a HUB, because I think I cross purposes in my brain when thinking about its function. For those of you who are curious, here is a picture and a link to what an actual, technical USB hub is:

USB HUB INFO

Now, here is a link to the type of hub, or USB Card Reader, that I so highly praised in my last podcast:

I actually have this exact reader for my other camera that has an xD card, and though it does have a cord, it doesn't need an external power source and works just like the reader I showed you in the podcast. San Disk is a great company for these types of products.

There are also multi card readers, which are great if, like me, you have a ton of different cameras and memory card types. These multi card readers are totally affordable, and have lots of slots for your different kinds of memory cards on one nifty little device. Here's a link to one from Staples: MULTI CARD READER

So I just had to clarify for all of you that the more correct term for the device that I hope you will all run out and buy is a USB Card Reader, which I mentioned in the video. But c'mon, how can you make a cute title like "Hubba, Hubba, Hubba" out of "USB Card Reader?!" You can't, is the answer. :) I just had to get that off my chest.

Ok fellow geeks and geeks-in-training...that's all for now! To email me your questions, or even video questions for a chance to be featured in a future podcast, email me at geek.girl@earthlink.net.

To check out my YouTube Channel, click HERE.
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And make sure to subscribe to my videos on iTunes...they are FREE and the quality on iTunes is way better than on YouTube. Plus, you can take me with you on your iPod. :)

Oh, and here's the episode again, just in case you missed it!



Ok peeps, Happy Friday, and keep those questions and comments coming!!

Cheers,

Geek Girl

Episode 2: Hubba, Hubba, Hubba!

Hello Web-People! Episode 2 is here, and if you take and download digital pictures to your computer, then this one is a must-see!

In this episode, I talk about the importance, benefits and inner-workings (without getting too technical!) of USB hubs, or card readers. These nifty little devices allow you to -- get this -- download pics from your camera to any computer without using software, or your camera, or even a cable!

To check out the Quicktime version of the Podcast online, Click on the image below:


Or, you can check out the YouTube version right here on this page:

The next episode is going to be really exciting! I'm going to talk about all of my favorite new gadgets, and even have a few of them to show all of my faithful Geek Girl fans. So, if you have a gadget you'd like me to talk about and feature, send me an email to geek.girl@earthlink.net, or leave a comment in the COMMENT section below. You can even send me a video message to my email, and you just might be featured in my next podcast! I'd love to showcase some of my fans on this podcast. Oh, and don't forget that you can go to iTunes and subscribe to this podcast, all for the low price of FREE!!

OK people, until next time,
Cheers!

Geek Girl

Episode 1: PodWhat?

Hello cyber-friends and fellow Geeks!

Guess what this is a picture of-just guess! C'mon....



Ok, give up?

It's a screen-grab of the title animation in the first episode of the long-awaited Geek Girl Podcast!

And naturally, the very first episode is about...what else? PODCASTS! There are so many people who think that a Podcast refers to just one specific type of media file for an iPod, and there are people who just plain have no idea what they are. Either way, it's ok, because I've chosen to focus the entire first episode on defining Podcasts and showing you what goes into them. To see the Episode 1: PodWhat? click below:

PodWhat?

or, you can click here to see the embedded YouTube version:



The feed is also available on iTunes in the Music Store.

Let the fun begin!

Remember to send me all of your feedback and questions to geek.girl@earthlink.net.
I'm looking for video questions as well (and pics, if you want). As long as you don't clog up my email with huge files. :)

Keep checking back for more soon, and send me your ideas for future "Blogger's Choice" podcasts!

Cheers,

GeekGirl

TRENDING: Apple TV and Absence Makes the Heart...

...grow fonder.

A part of my job at the TV show I work on is to keep ahead of the proverbial digital curve. I read all sorts of geek magazines, newsletters, and websites, and a few times a year I attend national conferences on digital entertainment technology and gadgetry. (I know, it sounds totally dorky, but hey, what do you expect?) Basically, I have to keep an eye out for the future. This is what I call TRENDING, and it will be a recurring feature here on this blog. Whenever I have something to tell you all that I think is going to be the next big thing, the wave of the future, the next hot new type of gadget, etc., I will post a blog alerting you to the fad so that you can be as up-to-date as I am (or at least try to be!). And now, I present to you, the first installment of:




Today I want to talk about something that I've known about for a while, and now it is really hitting the mainstream, though I think that it will take a while for people to actually start using it and having a use for it. The TREND that I am talking about is watching content from your computer on your television set, and vice-versa.

This type of entertainment takes on all sorts of forms, such as Internet Television, or IPTV, Slingboxing and AppleTV. The most common type of content on the web seems to be User-Generated content, or sites such as YouTube or MySpace, where people can upload videos and share, comment on them and search them. My theory, from observing the evolution of entertainment in the last few years that began with Reality Television, is that people like to see candid, real moments from normal people, and thus User-Generated content has recently been king. (a close second are original web-exclusive, bite-sized bits of entertainment, but we'll save that for another entry because it deserves one all it's own).

With the growth of people viewing video on the internet, and the demand to share it, mobile phone video providers and portable media-players such as iPods have grown much more robust in their ability to view and share content.

And then, a funny thing happened. People started wanting, naturally, to be able to have the content that they have recorded on their TiVo's or DVR's somehow transferred onto such mobile devices. Since they were already paying for their cable and TiVo subscriptions, they had already payed for that episode of Lost that they just payed for AGAIN on iTunes or Amazon or Google Video in order to be able to watch it on their laptops and media players.

Enter Slingboxing.



Sling Media is a company that created a trapezoid-shaped box that could virtually transmit the content you recorded from your TV to any wireless-enabled device (including your computer). Now, not only could people download their fave TV shows from iTunes if they missed them, they could record them at home and bypass having to pay for them again at all. Though this is somewhat of a band-aid for the problem for the time being, it works.

And then, another funny thing happened. Content from the internet became REALLY popular. People still watch their network dramas and comedies, but they value short-form entertainment almost, if not equally, as much. So now, not only do people want to watch their TV content on-the-go, they wanted to bring the content they found on-the-go (whether it be movies, music, or pictures) back into their living rooms and onto their TV's.

Enter AppleTV, which just released today. AppleTV takes everything from your computer in terms of media, and it beams it back to your TV. And it's wireless. The best of both worlds.


Ok, so maybe you are not running out to buy one. I'm not either. That's why we're talking stuff that's AHEAD OF THE CURVE. I personally think (and I don't think that I am in the minority) that the future will consist of one box in your living rooms that is going to control everything - your TV, Internet, lighting, phone, doorbell, alarm, etc. A fully-integrated system and only one, neat little box with only a few cables. Say goodbye to the jungle of wires behind your entertainment center and computer station. Well, not quite yet, but it's coming.

Cheers!

Geek Girl


Thanks for all of your questions!! If you have questions, email me at geek.girl@earthlink.net
Check out my podcast on iTunes - GeekGirl
Season Premiere Episode coming up!

It's HERE!

FINALLY...the introductory podcast is up! It should also be in the iTunes directory shortly as well, so right now you will have to view it via switchpod. I am still working on the permanent background, so i just did this one in my office at home. Bear with me as this thing evolves. :) To get the feed, click on the still below:




You might have to let the whole video load first depending how fast/slow your computer is. Also, here is the link where you can subscribe to the feed via iTunes (you have to click on the "Subscribe in iTunes" link on the right-hand side of the page, and the video will download automatically into your iTunes): FEED

(You can also get the video there if for any reason the photo link above doesn't work).

Ok, bloggers, NOW I need your feedback! Let me know your thoughts, ideas, questions, suggestions, etc. by posting a COMMENT below, or by emailing me at geek.girl@earthlink.net

Cheers!

Geek Girl

Isn't It Ironic, and Mercury is in Retrograde-WHAT TO DO!

I feel like i'm telling the teacher why my homework is late for some reason. :) i find it simply hilarious that my internet at home (both cable modem and then the airport) have been down since Sunday. I am FINALLY back up, and have received some emails with questions from you guys, and I will be answering them tonight. Thanks for sending them in, keep 'em coming!

In other, yet still related news, someone just told me about this astrological event that is happening right now, and i think it explains why mine, and other peoples' lives, at the moment seem to be in turmoil, especially when it comes to electronics and computers. I have never heard of this before, but apparently it happens 3 times a year. And just to preface this, I'm not an astrology nut or anything...I do believe in the power of the universe, and that things need to be physically and energetically lined up in order for the outcome that you are looking for to become a reality, but I've never read star charts or anything like that. That being said, apparently, when the planet Mercury is in retrograde, (as it is now until March 7th), what you are supposed to do is hold off on major decisions, purchases, contracts, etc., and you are supposed to back up all of your data and systems in the event of a meltdown. This is also supposed to be a time where you re-think your decisions, re-check projects, and make sure that you are listening to your gut instinct on things, and not make rash decisions. For more info on Mercury in Retrograde, click HERE

Lastly, to get off the Hippie Chick kick, I will resume procuction on the Podcast and respond to your questions tonight.

Until then, Cheers!

Geek Girl

A "Heroes" Aside

Ok, so I know that I wasn't going to blog this weekend because I'm working on the Podcast, but I just caught up on the latest episode of Heroes (which I'm officially and unexpectedly obsessed with) and I just HAD to say something. (By the way, if you haven't watched the last episode, this might be somewhat of a SPOILER for you, so don't read any further!!) I was just thinking that if I could be a hero, I would want the same power the latest new Hero had...the power to connect to the internet and satellites just using her brain and without a computer. How cool is that? I realized that when I was thinking about it today, that it was quite possibly the GEEKIEST power one could have, so sharing my little thought would somehow be appropriate here. LOL.

Anyhow, Happy Saturday, Bloggers. Here's a fun picture I took using the "PhotoBooth" feature on my Mac (the desktop, not the laptop) with the iSight camera that is built into the monitor/CPU unit. There are lots of fun effects you can set it to, but being an official art collector and geek as well, I'm quite partial to the Warhol-esque filter:

Cheers!

Geek Girl

Got a question? Email me at geek.girl@earthlink.net