Happy Geek Web

5 mid-summer gadgets you want

2013-07-07T16:46:00.000-04:00

It has always been a goal of ours to try to find cool and awesome stuff for you, so you don't have to go through the drudgery of finding them for yourself. Today we'd like to present you with our top 5 gadget selection for the mid-summer. We've scoured the web and consulted with the tech gods to get this info, so we hope you enjoy and make good use of it.

The rational behind our selection is that (most) people need no more than one of each item in each category of items listed below. We researched the top 5 of each item in each category to see what the general internet sentiment was, and here are our results:

1. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

Photo credit: www.thenewstribe.com

From the photo you can see that the Galaxy S4 mini is significantly smaller than its predecessor. It offers the same experience as the Galaxy S4, with the added value of being able to fit comfortably in your palm and in your pocket. It's a little slower though (1.7GHz dualcore processor), with less RAM, and one rear facing camera. BUT it does have a microSD slot to add 64GB.

This is great if you want a good phone at a bargain price...and if you're not planning to turn your next phone into a gaming machine. GET IT HERE

2. Razer Blade 14" and Razer Blade 17.3"

Photo credit: www.endgadget.com

Quick Specs:

Quadcore 2.2GHz Core i7 processor
8GB DDR3L Ram
GeForce GTX 765M graphics card

This is the worlds thinnest gaming laptop (see here for full specs specs), and looks nothing like a gaming laptop. Its matted, black aluminum body makes it look at first glance like an ultra book, which I understand is what several people use if for anyway.

Bottom line, if you need an A-rate ultra-book, consider the Razer Blade 14". And if you need sensibly sized gaming machine, well, consider the Razer Blade 17". GET TEHM HERE

Here's some additional reading on the Razer Blade.

3. Apple ipad

Photo credit: www.apple.com

Everybody knows the ipad so we choose not to talk too much about it. It's a beautiful, well built machine and we don't believe there is yet a tablet out there that offers it any real competition. We don't believe size matters, so get what feels good in your purse or backpack! GET IT HERE

4. Xbox One

Photo credit: news.xbox.com

Earlier this year Xbox revealed its new console, Xbox One, to much fan fare. Since then millions of people have been waiting with bated breath for a clue as to when the new box will go on sale.

Amazon.com claims the new boxes go on sale on November 27th, so you can mark your calenders for the day you go sit outside the store only to be told Xbox One sold out. Or you could just pre-order it here now and be playing COD: Ghosts on November 27th! GET IT HERE

5. Philips HTL 5120 Sound Bar

Photo credit: www.gdgt.com

Now, what would a good movie or game be without good sound quality? Crap, that's what. And that's why we figured we'd make this sleek little sound bar our last item for our gadgets-you-want list.

This Bluetooth connected Sound Bar contains Philips' Double Bass technology. It has been engineered to optimize sound performance depending on its position in a room. It would make an amazing addition to any living room. GET IT HERE

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Replacing iPhone 4 screen

2013-07-03T12:01:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: You attempt the following at your own risk. I am not a licensed technician of any sort, just an individual who researched this problem.

A friend of mine recently managed to crack his iphone screen by dropping it face-down on a rock while we were biking. Needless to say, he was pretty upset. He had jail broken the iphone and voided the warranty, so he couldn't go to the apple store, and professional repair services cost a fortune... well, much more than it would cost to repair it yourself.

So we begun the fun process of finding resources to help us fix his phone. It was a long and tedious process, but in the end we succeeded in replacing his screen successfully. Here are the resources we used, and I hope you find them useful. I would suggest you watch each video completely before beginning the disassembly.

PARTS AND TOOLS

set of tools for removing screws and prying off the screen:

Replacement screen and digitizer:

VIDEO GUIDES

Thanks to ThatSnazzyiphoneGuy and imore.com for their help.

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Google eying Hulu

2011-08-22T14:50:00.003-04:00

Hulu's apparently accepting initial acquisition bids starting Wednesday, and wouldn't you know it, Google's sniffing all around it. To be fair, Yahoo, Microsoft and Amazon (amongst a few others) are also interested, but it's always more fun to lead with Google since they seem to be getting their rather big hands into everything these days. According to the WSJ, bids could range from $500 million to $2 billion....but what do they know, right? They obviously haven't heard about this looming double dip recession thing.

So, someone wants to buy Hulu. But why? The owners of Hulu (Fox, NBC, ABC etc.) are busily trying to restrict their content as much as possible in order to make money off subscriptions, instead of charging more for advertising. Honestly, I can't see many people deciding to pay for Hulu, since we all got used to watching it for free.Then there's the issue of Netflix as a competitor. IF Hulu were free, it would be easier to undermine Netflix, but I'm really not sure how any potential buyer of Hulu hopes to handle Netflix. Yes, anyone reading this might have a different opinion, so please share your point of view in the comments section below.

Now, IF Google ends up scoring Hulu, it's my hope that they get rid of Hulu Plus, and increase whatever they charge for advertising. Maybe they can also come up with some kind of advertising profit sharing deal with the networks too, thus allowing them to release their programing for viewing on Hulu sooner than the current 8-10 day period. OR maybe they could just replace their current content providers; I wouldn't mind watching some HBO and Showtime on Hulu :).

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Stargate Baby!

2011-08-19T11:36:00.000-04:00

Who brought you the internets? DARPA! Who brought you GPS? DARPA! Who brought you chicken and waffles?... Um, I'm not sure; but who now wants to bring you Prometheus? DARPA! Well, not really Prometheus, but that's where it's headed.

DARPA, the agency that develops ground breaking technology for use by the US military is looking to award a $500,000 grant to some lucky organization this November. Their charge? Take the lead in research into interstellar travel.

Honestly, I think they're already way ahead into this "Starship" program than they're letting on; the government is pretty good at keeping awesome secrets. But we'll see. Read more on this DARPA initiative here ... .

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Gamescom game trailers (as seen on IGN)

2011-08-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of game trailers featured at Gamescom; found them on the IGN website. Enjoy!

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Photovine, by Google

2011-08-18T06:00:00.004-04:00

Photovine is Google's latest foray into the social media world. It is a social photo sharing application, that lets people snap and share photos instantly, and group them thematically in "vines"; I would equate "vines" to twitter's hashtags. Anyway,the service which apparently was invitiation only just last month is now available for download. HALT! Before you all go running off to download it, you should know that this app is ONLY for the iphone.

Why would Google go and do something as crazy as that? Well, I read somewhere that this app may have been developed by a social media acqusition of google's, Slide. They probably started developing this thing before Google bought them last year. SO there you have it folks, yet another something to mold our ever looming hive society!

Check out the video below for a nice little demo on how this Photovine works:

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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded; PS3 & Xbox 360 release

2011-08-17T12:00:00.008-04:00

Ooooooh look out fans! Activision and Eurocom are coming out with a version of the former Wii exclusive GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, for the PS3 and Xbox360 platforms. What does that mean for you? Well..., nothing yet, as there is no official or unofficial release date that I know off. HOWEVER, if Mommy's purse is your bank account, I'd start treating Mommy nice if I were you! Below is a still image of the game from the IGN web site; click on it to see more images:

GolderEye 007: Reloaded screen shot

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Hidden: theft tracking software for your Mac

2011-08-17T10:44:00.008-04:00

Hidden is a "tracking app" exclusively for Apple computers. It basically activates the Lappy's camera when it's stolen, and takes photos of the would be thief, their surroundings, and their activities on your computer, which can be viewed in real time, I believe. And best of all, this app is only $15 a year!

Check out the video below (may take a second to show) to see the app in action.... and the dumbest amateur rapper alive. I wonder what his jail buddies are going to say about his method of building street cred.

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Mass Effect 3: It's coming...

2011-08-16T14:52:00.006-04:00

Are you a fan of the Mass Effect games? Yeah me too. I didn't get much play time of the sequel... I was still enjoying MW2 and by the time I was ready to try Mass Effect 2, Black Ops was here.

Anyway, since you're a fan of Mass Effect, I think you're going to enjoy this:

Been thinking about scoring a PS3?

2011-08-16T14:00:00.002-04:00

Like me, you've probably been thinking about getting a PS3 too, because an Xbox 360 and and Wii just don't waste enough of your time. Great news then! Our pal Jack Tretton just announced (at the Gamescom video game conference) a price cut in both the 160GB and 320GB consoles of the PS3; they're now $249 and $299 respectively. You can read more about it here on the officicial PS blog

So what are you waiting for?! GO GET ONE!

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Next: Google Plane--- Coming in 2016

2011-08-16T12:12:00.009-04:00

For most people, Google has been synonymous with search, search engines, and the internet for as long as it's been around; ask any "hip" 50-something using the yahoo! search engine what they're doing, and even they'll likely tell you they're "Googling".

Over the last few years however, Google has looked more and more like it's nickname: "The Search Engine that Does Everything". Products like Google Maps, Gmail, and Docs, and acquisitions like Picasa, Blogger, and youtube, have made Google into some kind of internet hybrid creature, built up like Voltron!

And now they went and bought Motorola :). Next they'll be buying planes, and Google Airlines will be flying out of LAX and JFK!

This is now the Google Xoom :)

Not that there's anything wrong with Google growing in all directions at once (i.e. Social networking, Phone hardware, routers and modems, television etc.), as long as they can handle it... but what does this mean for us, the little consumers? Probably we'll get more quality products that connect us better... but we'll also have so much of our information tied into Google that Facebook will look like child's play.

Update:

I found this great video featuring Darth Stever Jobs, talking about the Google Motorola merger. Enjoy!

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Fixing the Samsung Impression Touch Screen/ Digitizer Issue

2011-08-15T13:20:00.009-04:00

Disclaimer: You attempt the following at your own risk. I am not a licensed technician of any sort, just an individual who researched and fixed his own phone. The instructions below are the ones that worked for me, and there's no guarantee that they'll work for you. Thank you.

The most common reason why the Impression's touch screen stops working is that the the digitizer is screwed up. The way to fix this is to switch it out for a new one. A new digitizer costs no more than $10.
See here for other samsung impression parts

Tools and equipment you'll need:

Small Jewelers Phillips screw driver
Small flat screw driver or box cutters (use as a "prying tool")
Small needle nose pliers (I only needed it once. You could do without it)
A new digitizer to replace the old one
See here for other samsung impression parts

Optional Prep:

Have a pen and note pad handy to write down anything you do in your own words so you don't forget/ get confused
Have a way to organize your screws because some of them are different sizes
You may want to work on a white surface as all the screws are black

Note:

The orientation of the phone is ear-speaker = up.

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

Steps (photos to follow soon):

Turn off your phone and remove the back cover. Remove the battery, SIM card, and memory card (if you have one).
Remove the 6 screws along the edges of the back of the phone, then carefully pry off the back cover. It's on pretty tight, so don't be afraid to wiggle your "prying tool" around a little.
Gently unclip the the antenna wire from the bottom right of circuit board.
Carefully pry, or gently lift (using the needle nose pliers) the round, silver looking thing (speaker?). Be careful not to tear the wire.
Unclip the flex ribbon from the bottom left of the circuit board. You can use your prying tool.
Slowly wiggle the black speaker on the top left free. Be careful not to rip or detach the wires.
Now, carefully and slowly wiggle the board, and "fold" it to the right.
Underneath the board, you'll find another flex ribbobn clipped to it. Unclip it, and the board will be free.
Remove the 6 screws from the silver part (metal) of the phone, and one from the antenna on the bottom right (black plastic part). REMEMBER TO KEEP TRACK OF WHICH SCREW IS FOR THE ANTENNA.
Pry the antenna up, and remove the two screws underneath it.
Remove the the silver frame, being very careful not to damage the flex cable in the middle right of the phone.
Remove the key pad.
Remove the 1 screw holding the flex cable down, and the 2 screws holding the key pad frame to the phone sliding mechanism.
Remove the keypad frame from the sliding mechanism, and again, be careful with the flex cable.
Remove 5 screws from the slide mechanism (If one of the screws is obscured underneath the meal chassis of the mechanism, just slide it away.)
Remove the front housing of the phone by prying gently around the edges. Be careful not to insert your prying tool too deep.
If you're having trouble separating the front housing from the sliding section, check to see if you can slide the metal chassis to the other side, thus creating an opening you can feed the flex cable through.
Unclasp the small flex ribbon on the right hand side behind the LCD screen-- that's the digitizer flex ribbon-- and slide it out.
Remove the screw at the top left of the speaker and unclasp and slide out the flex ribbon on the left behind the LCD screen.
Remove the speaker and ribbon carefully.
Unclasp the buttons' flex wire on the bottom right, and remove the buttons and LCD screen.
Heat the front of the phone slightly (hair drier, steam...) to loosen adhesive, and carefully remove digitizer.
Feed the new digitizer flex ribbon through the access hole, and carefully secure the digitizer to adhesive.
Clean inside of digitizer to remove any fingerprints, dust, grease etc.
Assemble in reverse order.

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

Resources/ References:

Thanks to the following references, without which I'd have spent another $200 getting a new phone:

Get a digitizer here!
bkroo45 - Amazing video on the process
julieannjohn - Another amazing video of the process
See here for samsung impression parts

UPDATE

I took over 30 photos to illustrate the disassembly of the phone. Click here to see them.

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Samsung Impression ( Phone Model SGH-A877)

2011-08-15T10:56:00.004-04:00

See here for samsung impression parts

I've had a Samsung Impression phone for about a year-- I bought it refurbished. It's worked fine until now, when the touch screen or digitizer suddenly stopped working (I guess you get what you pay for) which led me to do a lot of research on how to fix it. I hope to save you the trouble of doing the same, by posting as much as I can on how to go about fixing this problem in my next two blog posts. Before we get into the touch screen fix however, let me pitch the Impression to those looking to get one :).

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

The Samsung Impression is a pretty nice phone to have. Yes, it's a little dated (2009, I think), but if you're like me and don't particularly care about the current trend (iphone-mania) as long as you have a nice looking phone that works well, then consider this phone.

Pros

It has a great touch screen (when the touch screen isn't broken)
Semi-easy and VERY inexpensive to replace the touch screen/ digitizer yourself
It has a very roomy keyboard
Awesome call quality, and has never dropped a call (had it for a year)
Great for multi-media purposes
Smaller than an iphone

and Cons:

IF the touch screen "dies", your phone becomes virtually useless, unless you know people's number off hand
Proprietary headset/ charger jack
Camera doesn't have a flash

Touch Screen/ Digitizer FAIL

See here for samsung impression parts

So, back to the original reason I decided to write this-- my Samsung Impression touch screen stopped working. Let me offer two pieces of advice to anyone who is having this problem:

DO NOT press on, bend, or flex the screen to try to get it to work, unless of course you plan on buying a new phone. Doing any of the above could damage much more than just the touch screen and make it more expensive OR impossible to fix.
IF you're not afraid to take electronics apart (and/or if your warranty period is over), try fixing this phone yourself rather than sending it off to some repairman. They'll probably charge you over a $100 when the digitizer only costs less than $10.

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

Check out my next blog post for instructions on how to take apart the Impression, how to change the digitizer, and some photos and links to Youtube resources that can help too!

UPDATE

I took over 30 photos to illustrate the disassembly of the phone. Click here to see them.

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How to make your blogger links open in a new window

2011-08-12T12:02:00.010-04:00

I recently experimented with the Blogger "Link List" widget and realized that, it creates links that open in the same window as your blog (i.e. your blog is closed and the link page opens in it's place), unlike the "Blog List" widget.

I found a great blog (which I've linked to below) that gives you all the info on changing your Link List and Label List widgets so they can open in new windows. Below is a snippet of the info you'll find there to change your template HTML to allow links in your Link list to open in a new window:

Tips for new bloggers

If you're new to blogging and messing with HTML, this might seem a little intimidating; it's not. Just follow these instructions on how to make your Links List open in a new window and you'll do just fine. Also, ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR TEMPLATE CODE BEFORE YOU EDIT IT! Good Luck.

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Facebook to be destroyed Nov. 5?

2011-08-11T12:34:00.001-04:00

Ha!
Just in case you haven't heard, the hacktivist group Anonymous has declared war on facebook. The statement they released looks, feels, and reads like something out of a movie I can't wait to watch :).

Not that I condone intentional destruction of property or anything like that, but I don't think it would hurt the world (doped up to our eyeballs on facebook!) to be unplugged... even if it's for a few weeks while Facebook and Anonymous battle it out 21st century style. And I really wonder what the withdrawal symptoms of facebook look like.

This should cause some people several weeks of sleepless nights.

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Maybe this does make a difference after all

2011-03-25T15:35:00.000-04:00

Up until this morning, I had decided to abandon this blog because I wasn't sure anyone was reading it, and honestly, I didn't have a particular direction I was taking it in... think "summer teeth" (What? You don't get it? Sucks to be you!). Well, I was all over the place with this darn blog! Then someone left me a comment thanking me for posting about the Bedford Report, Bedford Financial = pump and dump schemers! and it suddenly all made sense to me: I had to keep posting on all the huge FAILS (and not NOT-SO-FAILS) I encountered in my life, be it in stock trading, buying electronics, deciding between utility providers (PSE&G, your days are numbered!) etc. SO, I'm back, and I'll be posting some more stuff soon.

Thanks for reading, and please feel at ease to make any suggestions about what you want me to blog about.
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Bedford Report, Bedford Financial = pump and dump schemers!

2010-09-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

I recently signed up to receive a newsletter from the bedfordreport.com/Bedford Financial. Today, I received this pre-market update from them (see below):

The problem with this e-mail is that it's all lies. I checked the FDA web site, and it turns out that this "UV 400" product has been flagged as "fraudulent product" and has been "Uncleared for marketing" by the FDA. Please see the links below, and don't be suckered into this scheme!!

1. http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm212414.htm
2. http://google2.fda.gov/search?q=uv+400&x=0&y=0&client=FDAgov&site=FDAgov&lr=&proxystylesheet=FDAgov&output=xml_no_dtd&getfields=*

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It's all about that perception

2010-06-09T14:59:00.006-04:00

The Point: Good ideas should be shared.

Today while reading one of the blogs I follow, http://www.scottmonty.com, I came across this very interesting video by Rory Sutherland:

The truth is before this, I had no idea who Rory Sutherland was, but I now think I'm going to find out more about him and his ideas. I urge you to spend the necessary time to listen to his ideas; I assure you you wont regret it.

His main points are (as summarized by Scott Monty on his blog post, http://www.scottmonty.com/2010/06/on-perception.html):

All value is subjective
Persuasion is better than compulsion
Create intangible value to replace material value - particularly when we can place a far higher value on things that already exist rather than creating new things
Change the interface to change the behavior
"We are perishing for want of wonder, not want of wonders" -- G.K. Chesterton

Also, like Scott Monty, I would encourage everyone to explore the TED Talks web site if they're not already familiar with it. The ideas expressed at this forum are really worth spreading.
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Night at the office...

2010-06-04T14:51:00.009-04:00

Point: This is just a fun run down of the last couple of hours before the Central Park Challenge (CPC)... and other stuff.

Over the last almost-5 years, I have come to realize that few of my family, and even fewer of my friends (those who DO NOT work at YAI, because I have like, 5000 friends at YAI who kinda HAVE to know what I do as a requirement of their jobs. Kinda.) know what I really do for a living. And I don't think they really care to know... I know I could give a rats a$$ about the daily drudgery of their professional lives.

But I think you are a little curious about what I do, so I'll tell you. I am a Senior Fundraiser, Marketer (web & print), Event Planner, AV Consultant and Social Media Nerd for the YAI Network. Otherwise known as a Senior Development Associate.

After graduation from college, I started as an intern with the organization, and quickly became a fixture in the development department, as part of the three person team responsible for planning the organizations largest annual fundraiser. This fundraiser, called the Central Park Challenge is really just a VERY large party in Central Park with a guest list of over 10,000. The really remarkable thing about this event however is that though it's over in about 4 hours after it begins in Central Park, it actually takes a little over 8 months to plan and host every year!

I have occasionally toyed with the idea of keeping photo and video documentation of every week for the 8 months during which we plan the event, so I can one day share the wonder of creating this event with everyone... but that's nuts. Instead, I'm just going to tell you what the last few hours before the Central Park Challenge are like. This year, the CPC was held on Saturday, June 5.

At 5pm on Friday June 4, we (the three person team responsible for the organizing of this event, along with our web master and intern) said goodbye to the rest of the 200+ employees on the organization. As you can tell from my team mate's face, this was not the most exciting point in work history for her; she knew it all went down hill from there on.

At 5:30 pm, I documented how far along we were on our fundraising. I was rooting for us to hit our goal before we went to the park the next morning. Note, at this point, we were just prepping for the long night ahead. Just in case you can't make it out, we were at 99% or our goal of $1.5M. The exact amount was $1,495,919.27.

At 6pm, we shut down all online registration.-- you wont believe how many people decide that it's a great idea to wait till the last minute to register! And then the madness began: when they couldn't register online anymore, everyone and their grandmothers began an assault on our telephone lines and e-mails! It was insane! We couldn't respond to e-mails fast enough or hang up fast enough before another call or e-mail came through again. Somehow, we managed to survive that bit of the night.

Then 9:43pm hit and we were in the full swing of preparing registration lists, finalizing maps, updating blog and facebook posts, and tweeting. You probably won't believe this, but the bit about creating lists, year after year, has proven to be the piece that drives us up the wall. And every year we express that "up the wall" sentiment in different ways. This year, a few our us had our artistic tendencies awakened and we created this sometime between 10:30 and 11:16pm:
No babies were...ummm... injured in the creation of this work of art.

At about 12:30am on June 5, I realized I had to make it back to Jersey City, get a little sleep, and be up in time to get to the park by 6:45am. Lol. Yeah, that didn't happen. But that's another story for another time. I did leave the office at about 12:30am though since I live in another state. To my understanding, everyone else donated another 2 hours of sleep before they headed home that night/morning.

The thing about all this is, it happens almost the same way every year. And though we don't particularly look forward to it, it kinda signals the final countdown to the close of every year.
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Today in social media

2010-05-28T09:46:00.015-04:00

The Point: There is a lot of Junk parading as social media tools these days. Some last, like twitter, and become useful. Others just... die. Like Swurl. Don't get lost in all the chaos, pick your medium of communication and stick with it.

(Image source: http://communitywealth.com)

The title of this posting might lead you to believe I know, or even care about what the new rage in social media is today.

I don't.

Well, maybe I care a little bit because I don't like to feel too old. But anyway, I digress. It was during a conversation with a beautiful young lady about breaking into the world of communications, that I stumbled into how truly daunting, and confusing the world of Internets 2.0 could be. I (and others who have had the pleasure of meeting me) would agree that I am a fairly intelligent and technologically savvy person. So when even I begin to mentally flail and sputter while trying to explain how to go about implementing a social media campaign, I believe it's time for people to get serious.

The problem is that there are so many gimmicks and fads out there (think Swurl), and many more being created each day, which instantly seem to act like geek flypaper! And of course, if all the geeks (I sometimes count myself amongst those ranks) are on new platform XYZ, and you hope to communicate with us, then of course you're gonna have to follow us right? Not necessarily, but this constant influx of short lived fads tends to complicate the landscape and make it a pain for any would-be born-again geek to join the ranks of their forefathers.

My suggestions? Spend some time trying to figure out what exactly your goals are for implementing a social media campaign. Try to identify your target audience, and get an idea of what messages you hope to be sending them. Figure out what the best medium of communication would be to send those messages (not everything is twitter appropriate). And remember that you don't HAVE to do EVERYTHING! Granted, having a Facebook page is almost a no-brainer, especially since (it is rumored that) Facebook has plans to take over the world. It's also not a bad idea to have a youtube channel if you have videos that people may want to see. Besides those two, I don't believe I would rank any other social media tool as an "almost-necessity" ("almost" because not everyone has something sensible to say via youtube!)

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Me, events, and networking

2010-05-26T11:42:00.012-04:00

The Point: I like people, I like helping them, and I have an event planning background... why the heck haven't I organized some professional networking sessions already?!

I find it helpful and reassuring to constantly think about what I'm good at/for-- you know, as a way of validating my existence. I've been doing this for a little over 15 years. So far the verdict is that I deserve the space and air I consume on this planet.

It was during one of these, rather self-absorbed sessions, that I realized that my skill at event planning could, and should be put to use outside the confines of my office. Don't get me wrong, I've organized a few parties in my day, and they were NICE, but what I'm really thinking about is something more along the lines of a fun professional networking shindig. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been done, and I've been to some of them, and they either degenerated into an overcrowded drinkfest, or the participants were so shy (and the drab corporate atmosphere didn't help either) that they never really made good, strong connections.

My idea is simple, and has probably been done before, but I'll do it again anyway! And you're more than welcome to borrow it too:

Starting with close friends and friends of friends, invite a limited and diverse (or be industry specific-- your call) number of people to a networking event. In this day and age of Layoff Peek-a-boo (get it-- now you have a job, now you don't? Get it?!)most people would be more than happy to join you for a little networking action.

Find a nice little bar and talk to the manager to give you the place on some Wednesday or Thursday evening, and promise him 30 - 50 people (make sure you deliver). Don't forget to request discounts on drinks and food etc. Most people would be happy to oblige since they generally don't get a whole lot of people patronizing their establishments during the weekdays.

Get to the place a little early, decorate a little bit and wait for your guests to arrive. And take the lead to introduce people. Encourage others to do the same, and you'll be surprised how well it works, especially since this group are already acquainted to one or more people on the room.

That's it. That's my idea.

NOW NOTE: These are by no means hard or fast rules and I will NOT be held responsible for a flopping event. All I'm doing here is offering some quick tips that have been helpful to me in organizing past events. If you really want to do this, do a little bit more research. Start by Googling "How to organize a bar event", and go from there.
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On and on we go...

2010-05-26T09:34:00.007-04:00

I started reading a blog post this morning. After two paragraphs and no sign of a central idea to this book-length post, I jumped to another blog post. And yet again, it was apparent that I was expected to read the entire tome of a blog post to discover what this blogger was talking about. No clue in the title of the post (I tried to do the same), and no clue after two miles of quick scanning (approximately 4 paragraphs down). What's up with that?!

I understand that a blogger by definition has to be some shade of egotist, and thus will sometimes tend to love the sound of his/her keystrokes a little too much. That is however no excuse to put innocent readers who just seek information, through the headache of having to deal with your long-windedness (kinda like this, no?)

The point is (finally!), can we as bloggers begin to summarize our e-speeches in the first paragraph, before cutting loose with all the long sentences and big words. Or just bold the main points of your prose (Like I just did!) so it's easily identified by readers, like myself, with the attention span of a sledgehammer.

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BarCamp Diaspora '09 draws closer

2009-07-17T13:31:00.002-04:00

Registration for BarCamp Diaspora is still free! If you're not sure what a BarCamp is, here's a definition to help you out:

"A BarCamp is simply an ‘unconference’ - an ad-hoc gathering of people with the simple desire to share and learn in an open environment. Unlike a conference, at a barcamp everyone is both a speaker and a participant. The content is provided by all attendees based on their interests." - http://www.barcampghana.org/

BarCamp Diaspora '09, a follow up to barcamp Ghana '08, is the fist event of it's kind in the US, bringing together innovative minds to exchange ideas on doing business in Ghana. If you're interested in business and/or technology in Ghana, are an entrepreneur or just want to sit and share some ideas with fellow thinkers, BarCamp Diaspora '09 is the place to be!

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Google Chrome OS in the works

2009-07-08T10:48:00.001-04:00

Google's at it again, and this time it's the endgame-- they're officially taking over the world! O.k, so i'm exaggerating a little bit (I actually really do love google and all it's innovations), but think about it: for so long, the only thing that most regular PC users (minus my geek roommates :)) have knew were the Windows and Mac OS's, so with the advent of the Google Chrome OS, we could be in for some interesting times.

Effects on Microsft you ask? I did an arbitrary search of the number of people using the google browser, google docs and the the google chrome browser. And you could guess the results: MANY! That said, could you imagine what could potentially happen to Microsoft's user base given all the bugs that the recent Vista OS came with? Also, since Google's OS is Linux based and open source, some expect it to be free (monitization would come from corporate use with all the additional bells and whistles. Ref: Gmail for corporations), which would be another HUGE blow to Microsoft whose OS's run the gamut anywhere from $75 to $300.

The Google Chrome OS should be available in it's bare-bones form mid-2010. I can't wait to see how all this plays out!

Here are some other places to read more about Google Chrome OS:

Google announces Chrome OS
Does the world need another operating system
5 questions (and answers) about Google Chrome OS

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My Samsung T240HD 24" widescreen HDTV CAN be mounted!

2009-07-06T14:01:00.000-04:00

Not two days ago, I finally received my long awaited, much anticipated Samsung T240HD 24" widescreen HDTV. If you don't know anything about this piece of equipment, google it! Also, up until Friday, it was going for $299 at B&H, and if that's still the case, you should get one!

For a long time, I had wanted an external monitor to hook up my lap top too; I had also wanted a little flat panel TV for my room. So I decided to look into getting a hybrid and the top contender turned out to be the T240HD. Before I went out and got this thing, I researched every aspect of a TV/monitor hybrid you could imagine: internal speakers, component jacks, analogue, input, digital inputs, contrast ratio, viewing angle-- the list goes on for a while. And I compared the dell ultra sharp 2408WFP, the dell G2410, the V7 D24W33 and a few others. For each category I researched, and for each monitor/tv I looked at, the Samsung T240HD came out as number one, or a very close second, plus it cost a lot less than all of them, which made it (to me) a no brainer to get! Then I got it into my head that I wanted to mount it... and the problems began.

I consider myself a better than average web sleuth, so I was quite surprised when I couldn't seem to find any concensus on the web about whether or not the T240 HD could be mounted. To make matters worse, neither B&H nor Samsung (yes, I contacted samsung) staff members could tell me for a fact whether or not this thing could be mounted. The reviews on CNET, Amazon and other sites for this product didn't offer much help either-- non made mention of being able to mount it-- and some even went as far as saying it couldn't be mounted.

So, because I went through all this crap and finally (after about a month) figured out that this thing could indeed be mounted, I wanted to create a posting to help all who might want to mount their T240HD. I will take some photos later on and post them here, so check back later.

To mount you T240 HD you'll need:

- a Samsung WMB2400T - mounting kit (get it here: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?edc=1534561&enkwrd=ALLPROD%3aWMB2400T+)

This kit acts as an adapter to enable you use a vesa 100 compliant mount with your T240HD HOWEVER, HOWEVER, HOWEVER this kit alone CAN be used to mount your T240HD-- that's what I've done, and it works PERFECTLY! NOTE: No where on the net will you find a less expensive deal. Also, though they don't have a photo of the mount on the web site, (I haven't figured out why yet) CDW is trustworthy and you'll have your mount in less than a week.

That's it. Seriously, that's all you need. The kit comes with screws and screw anchors. I'd suggest you get stronger screws and anchors so you're not woken up at 2am by your TV crashing to the ground :) -- what can I say, I'm a skeptic when it comes to those cheap low grade screws that accompany equipment.

So, that's it! Happy mounting. Remember to check back for some photos, or better still sign up to receive RSS or e-mail updates! Have a great week.

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Happy Geek Web

5 mid-summer gadgets you want

1. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

2. Razer Blade 14" and Razer Blade 17.3"

3. Apple ipad

4. Xbox One

5. Philips HTL 5120 Sound Bar

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Replacing iPhone 4 screen

PARTS AND TOOLS

VIDEO GUIDES

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Google eying Hulu

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Stargate Baby!

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Gamescom game trailers (as seen on IGN)

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Photovine, by Google

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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded; PS3 & Xbox 360 release

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Hidden: theft tracking software for your Mac

Mass Effect 3: It's coming...

Been thinking about scoring a PS3?

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Next: Google Plane--- Coming in 2016

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Fixing the Samsung Impression Touch Screen/ Digitizer Issue

UPDATE I took over 30 photos to illustrate the disassembly of the phone. Click here to see them.

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Samsung Impression ( Phone Model SGH-A877)

How to make your blogger links open in a new window

I recently experimented with the Blogger "Link List" widget and realized that, it creates links that open in the same window as your blog (i.e. your blog is closed and the link page opens in it's place), unlike the "Blog List" widget.

I found a great blog (which I've linked to below) that gives you all the info on changing your Link List and Label List widgets so they can open in new windows. Below is a snippet of the info you'll find there to change your template HTML to allow links in your Link list to open in a new window:

If you're new to blogging and messing with HTML, this might seem a little intimidating; it's not. Just follow these instructions on how to make your Links List open in a new window and you'll do just fine. Also, ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR TEMPLATE CODE BEFORE YOU EDIT IT! Good Luck.

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Facebook to be destroyed Nov. 5?

Ha! Just in case you haven't heard, the hacktivist group Anonymous has declared war on facebook. The statement they released looks, feels, and reads like something out of a movie I can't wait to watch :).

This should cause some people several weeks of sleepless nights.

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Maybe this does make a difference after all

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Bedford Report, Bedford Financial = pump and dump schemers!

It's all about that perception

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Night at the office...

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Today in social media

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Me, events, and networking

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On and on we go...

BarCamp Diaspora '09 draws closer

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Google Chrome OS in the works

My Samsung T240HD 24" widescreen HDTV CAN be mounted!

UPDATE

I took over 30 photos to illustrate the disassembly of the phone. Click here to see them.

Ha!
Just in case you haven't heard, the hacktivist group Anonymous has declared war on facebook. The statement they released looks, feels, and reads like something out of a movie I can't wait to watch :).