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Are You More Technologically Savvy Than Your Man?

DearSugar — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Feeling Second Best Bianca wrote in yesterday complaining that her boyfriend's admiration for technology is ruining their relationship, but a new study says that it's girls that actually have the edge in new technologies, not the boys!

According to the findings, 94 percent of girls had laptops at home while only 88 percent of boys did, and 50 percent of the children turned to their mothers for tech help versus 22 percent who turned to their fathers. Study coauthor Professor Karen Pine feels as though, "Mothers are taking the lead" and that they're "also the most experienced and capable computer and Internet users.” So when it comes to your relationship, tell me, are you actually more technologically savvy than your man?

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Failure Is the New Success

GiggleSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Nice try, guys. But I ain't buying it.

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Do Tell: Are Your Cats Computer Obsessed?

PetSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:30:59 -0700

I couldn't stop laughing looking through these cute videos that laurengrand sent to me! It really made me think that maybe kitties are secretly tech-savvy?! There are plenty of suggestions to keep them off the keys or away from the cords, have you ever needed to deter your cats from computer's technology? Hey, maybe they don't call it a mouse for nothing!

Before and After: A Floating Home

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:00:01 -0700

Architect Vladimir Plotkin recently showcased his design for a floating residence at Archstoyanie, an architecture festival in the small village of Nicola-Lenivets, located in Kaluga, Russia. Plotkin explained that the raft and house portions are meant to be separate, with the raft platform used for sunbathing, barbecuing, and socializing during the day. After the resident has had her fill of fun, she can then retreat to the elevated house portion of the structure to rest and sleep off the fun and sun. Here's what the floating home looked like in a computer rendering:

To see it in real life, read more.

And here it is floating down the river at the festival. Would you want to make a Summer escape on this raft?

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Weird Funiture: Mac II Couch

CasaSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:44:24 -0700

Here's a creative upcycling solution for outdated computer equipment. This couch is constructed from 20 Macintosh II computer. The Mac II couch is fastened together with drywall screws, and is sturdy and, according to at least one tester, more comfortable than this looks. If you happen to pass by the Mac Store in Maryland Heights, Missouri, stop in and check it out for yourself. (Thanks for the link, GiggleSugar!)

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Computer Dork is LOL

GiggleSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Geekboy thinks he's gonna teach us a lesson or two about text message abbreviations and how to avoid the all too painful "typing finger." The only problem is that he's using the abbreviations all wrong, and by wrong I mean WRONG. Perhaps someone (maybe his ex-internet girlfriend?) should tell him that "I'm GAY" does not mean "I'm going after yoga."

Why People Misbehave Online

DearSugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:30:00 -0800

It's happened to us or it's happened because of us, and it's called "flaming". That's when a person says something in an email to another person that wouldn't be said quite the same way in a face-to-face interaction. Whether the email is angry, surly, embarrassing or lewd, researchers have another name for what makes us do it: "online disinhibition effect".

Click here to read more

Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of the Emotional Intelligence, published an essay in last week's New York Times offering some clues from the field of social neuroscience about why we can't seem to curb our impulses while online. He sites a 2004 study that suggests several factors contribute to 'flaming':

. . . the anonymity of a Web pseudonym; invisibility to others; the time lag between sending an e-mail message and getting feedback; the exaggerated sense of self from being alone; and the lack of any online authority figure. Dr. Suler notes that disinhibition can be either benign - when a shy person feels free to open up online - or toxic, as in flaming.

But the really interesting stuff has to do with the brain. Turns out, we're wired to keep ourselves -- for the most part -- from upsetting other people or throwing a wrench into an interaction. The hitch? Tactful social responses depend to a large extent on the circuitry between the orbitofrontal cortex (empathy center) and the amygdala (emotional center; impulses), and for that circuitry to operate well, we need to read each other's subtle emotional cues; in other words, it's a guidance system that depends on face-to-face interaction, tone of voice, or the gleam in an eye.

Goleman thinks the integration of video might give us and our brains more of the social cues we need to manage our flaming impulses. Let's hope. Do the read the article if you have a second; very interesting stuff, and it's definitely helped me stop and think about these experiences differently, which in turn helps me check my own impulses a bit!

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Petticoat 5: The Computer for Women

GiggleSugar — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:02:00 -0800

I know this is supposed to be a joke, but I want one of these! The (pink) Petticoat 5 Computer for Women is loaded with features that suit the fairer sex, like a space bar that doubles as an emery board, a perfume spritzer that deploys when you hit the "s" key, and if that wasn't enough, it comes bundled with lipstick color chart software. If only Hello Kitty decals were on it, I would say, "how much?" Thanks to liron for sending this!

Why Does This Scare Me?

GiggleSugar — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 04:00:00 -0800

Darn! I was really hoping to win a computer for my doll house.

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Maker Faire: Vintage Geek Computer Collection

GeekSugar — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:00:10 -0700

The bright and shiny exhibits at this year's Maker Faire were fine and dandy, but one of the sights I was most excited to see was the exhibit of vintage, "oh so clunky, I can't believe people thought that was innovative" computers.

Hidden in a dark corner of the San Mateo Fairgrounds, was a selection of marvelously vintage geek computers (and an Atari) that have gained cult geek status for being the first/best/most hilarious/exciting of their kind.

The lineup included an old school IBM, Commodore "Super Pet," which was made in the early 80's and can actually be connected to a cassette player, early Apple computer and Atari 800, which was released in 1979 and designed to look like an old computer.

To check out more vintage geek computers from Maker Faire, read more

View 7 Photos ›

Interested in Vintage Computers? Check out the overwhelming selection at Vintage-computer.com.