PopSugar

Shirtless Tony and Bikini Eva Know the Way to St. Tropez

PopSugar — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:30:00 -0700

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker took their romantic tour of Europe to the waters of St. Tropez for some yachting fun earlier this week. On Monday the couple cozied up behind their computers before slipping into their swimsuits and riding jet skis yesterday. Eva showed off her bronzed bikini bod when she wasn't lounging on deck by Tony's side. Seems like a sweet way to kick off a Summer vacation, but can you guess if they're among our celebrities who love a good boat outing?

Lots more of the happy couple soaking up the sun, playing cards and more if you read more.

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Spore Review: Not Just a Game In a Box

GeekSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:02:18 -0700

During my interview with Ocean Quigley, Art Director for Spore, I mentioned to him that I hated calling this a game, cause it's much more like a tool for creativity. And after playing Spore every spare moment I could muster for three days straight, I can attest to that statement as being true. It's more than a game (although some will say it's not really a "game" at all), it's a lesson in evolution and a brand new way to watch something you've created come to life.

Spore is split up into five stages - Cell, Creature, Tribal, Civilization, and Space – evolving you from a tiny cell trying to make it in the muck pool, to a space cowboy who travels to other planets in his space ship. Along the way, you are able to evolve by adding new parts, molding, and upgrading your creature as you make your way up the food chain. It's really quite exciting to see something that you've made go from swimming in a tide pool, to walking on land and making friends (and enemies)!

To see my thoughts on the rest of the stages and check out some pics from the game, just read more.

The Cell stage is by far the shortest, your only task being to eat so you can gain enough DNA points to evolve to land. An interesting aspect you learn right away is that all of your choices from this point forward will affect your species' evolution, right down to the choice of being an herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore. I loved playing around in this stage, and kinda wish it would have went on longer!

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If I had to pick one stage to be my favorite, it would have to be the Creature stage! This is where all the magic happens. You get to mold, shape, and upgrade your creature, and I'll warn you now – you might spend longer on designing your creature than you did playing in the Cell stage altogether! Since there are other species in this level to interact with, you can either make friends with neighboring groups, or attempt to destroy them - either choice earns you DNA points so that you can evolve to be a more powerful creature. Eventually, you can add other allies to your pack and travel with them, which is pretty helpful when you do need to take on another species to the death!

The Tribal stage, although engaging, was probably my least favorite. I'm not the biggest fan of real-time strategy games, and this was like a simple version of one. Your creature has evolved, made fire, and can now build huts, hunt and gather food, and communicate with a language. To earn DNA points, your tribe gathers food to support your growing population. Again, you can either make friends with your neighboring tribes by playing instruments, or crush them into oblivion. Customization takes a nose dive in this stage, but you can dress your tribe members, and upgrade your huts.

The Civilization stage brings a grander sense of scale, where you can build cities (this is where all those hours you've invested in playing The Sims will come in handy), and attempt to dominate the planet. You generate a stream of income by collecting spice, so you can purchase more materials to build more buildings, and acquire more soldiers to conquer more land. Additionally, you can build factories and entertainment complexes so that your unhappy workers can unwind at the theater afterwards!

The Space stage was another favorite of mine. You build space ships, vehicles, mold planets, travel to other galaxies and either help a fledgling species, or dominate them. You can even abduct other life forms and transport them to other planets! This is by far the largest stage, and the longest one to complete. What makes this stage cool though, is that it's pretty open ended so you can go where you want, and do just about anything. Designing my space ship was for sure the toughest part - it had to be awesome!

Overall, Spore inspired me, not because of its complex design, cool art, or thought provoking gameplay (I was always worried about what the consequence will be if I exterminate a neighboring species – I'm too nice, I know.), but the fact that this will change the way games are made from here on out. Spore will require other games to have more customization, since it's pretty endless here. Besides, over three million creatures have been made with the Creature Creator, and no two are alike! I loved playing Spore, but I realize it won't be for everyone. There's not a constant stream of action, and there is a whole science class aspect to it, but it really is very fun to play. If you don't have a Mac or PC, you can also get the DS version ($30) of the game! Spore is available this Sunday, September 7 for $50 online or in stores, and guess what, it's worth every penny!

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Missing Tycoon? I'm on the Case!

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:00:26 -0700

I got a surprise visit the other day from a detective and a street cop. Needless to say, it kinda freaked everyone out having an intimidating looking guy flash his badge and ask for me by name! But thankfully, they weren't here to toss me in the slammer, they were here to recruit me to play a new mystery game called Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir. And as I'm sure you've guessed by now, they didn't have to twist my arm too hard to get me to jump on board!

If you liked Professor Layton and the Curious Village, then you'll probably like MillionHeir, since the game has a similar feel. In MillionHeir, you've been brought in to help find out who has snatched up a missing wealthy tycoon. You'll go from location to location looking for clues, and use your stylus as a microscope to get a better look around. To add to the excitement, you'll only have a certain amount of time to search and check clues off your list, kinda like a word search, but with objects. To learn more about the game and to see some pics from it, just read more.

It's a fun game that's easy to pick up, and the best part is you can spend 30 seconds or 30 minutes looking for clues, and the game will save right where you leave off – no restarting from the beginning. For the $20 price, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir is worth having in your game collection as an entertaining go-to game for travel, or whenever you have some spare time on your hands! You can buy MCF:M today online or in stores.

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Get Your Game On: Video Game Release Roundup

GeekSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:00:25 -0700

Tis the season for great new video games and with the recent revelation that active gaming can actually aid those of us who are working on our fitness - I am guessing more and more of you are going to consider picking up the Wiimote, controller or joystick and getting in on the hardcore gamer action going on out there. In case you haven't been in the loop lately (as in the whole spring), an entire army of great games have been released for every console. Can't find anyone to join you? Remind them that 1 hour of PS3/Xbox on the couch burns 204 calories. Which means all you have to do is sit your bootie on the couch and not pick up the Cheetos. Ready, set, game!

**New Video Game Releases (Spring/Summer 2007)**
Why You'll Love It	Console/Price	Release Date
Cooking Mama: Cook Off - Love cooking, but hate the mess? Slice, dice, mash, chop and stir your ingredients to make the perfect meal with your Wii remote.	Nintendo DS and Wii, $19.99 or $49.99	Out now. Purchase it online.
Super Paper Mario - It's a classic! By holding the Wii sideways, you can run to the right and left, smashing blocks, collecting coins, bopping goombas and koopa troopas and avoiding bullet bills and hammer brothers.	Wii, $49.99	Out now. Purchase it online
Guitar Hero - You sweat as the rumbles of an anxious crowd rattle the stage. This is your big moment. You'll be rocking out all day and night.	Xbox 360, also available for Playstation. $89.99	Out now. Purchase it online.
Dance Dance Revolution Universe - It's the bestselling video game in the music game category for a reason. It will make you sweat - and it's fun. In fact it's so great, PE teachers are using it in schools. One hour of playing burns 900 calories. Need I say more?	Xbox 360, $49.99 or $79.99 with pad	Out now. Buy it online from Konami
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Swords, swashbuckling and Captain Jack Sparrow. It's the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series.	Xbox 360, $59.99	Out now. Get it online.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - Each Fantastic Four character has special powers and you can combine them all for powerful combos. Who doesn't want to be Jessica Alba?	Playstation 3, $59.99	Out now. Order it online.

Reader Profile: macgirl Shares Her Geekiness

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:00:17 -0700

When it comes to loyal and engaged geeksugar readers, macgirl is right up there with the best of them. An Apple Systems Engineer, macgirl is, well, quite frankly a mac geek. She's also married to a geek and as she puts it "immersed in technology." The founder of our popular Mac group on TeamSugar, she recently shared her iPhone unboxing and even reported from the iPhone queue at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, Ca.

When she's not working, she's playing video games, creating art, spending time with her son and watching movies. And reading geeksugar of course! In an effort to get to know her better, I asked macgirl to share a little more about herself. read more

Geeksugar: It seems like you were one of geeksugar's first avid readers. How did you learn about the site and when did you start reading?
Macgirl: I had a friend turn me onto popsugar.com and I started obsessing about celebrities' lives. One day I saw the announcement that geeksugar.com was coming soon and I knew that I would be loading that page daily.

Geeksugar: I already know the answer to this, but for the sake of readers who may not know you, do you consider yourself to be a geek?
Macgirl: Oh yes, I'm a total geek. I don't think geek is quite the dirty word it used to be. I'm just really into technology and surround myself with others like me.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Macgirl: This is embarrassing... Probably twelve or more? Keep in mind at least 9 of that is mostly work related (I've been known to sneak a peek at a sugar site during the work day).

Geeksugar: Name your top 5 favorite websites.
Macgirl: Just 5? That's hardly nice. To be totally honest I start my morning off with TMZ.com. It is so smutty and horrible but I can't break the habit. Others that I visit everyday: engadget.com, geeksugar.com, macnn.com, popsugar.com, apple.com/discussions, popgadget.net, postsecret.com (I visit this on Sundays).

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Macgirl: How far are we going back? My parents bought an Apple IIe that I would type in page after page of code to try and get something to move across the screen. My dad worked with some guys that would send him home with stacks of these "programs." You make one typo in a hundred lines of code and you quickly tire of this game. The first computer I purchased with my own money was a beige Power Macintosh 9600 with a giant 20" Sony CRT Monitor (two weeks later Apple released the first G3).

Geeksugar: Top 3 gadgets you couldn't live without.
Macgirl: My iPhone, MacBook Pro and Tivo!!

Geeksugar: You knew you were a geek when...
Macgirl: When I got up at 3 am to sit on the cold concrete in San Francisco to see Steve Jobs give a live keynote at 9 am. Do you know how cold it is in SF in January??

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Macgirl: Confession of the day: I don't use RSS I've tried, I really have. There's just something I enjoy about the whole page with all of its pictures. I guess I'm afraid I'll miss something due to a non-exciting headline.

Geeksugar: What are some non-geeky things you do in your spare time?
Macgirl: Spending time with my 8 year old son. Playing board games is about as non-geeky as it gets. He reminds the family how important it is to put the computer down and focus on our time together. He is however, brilliant on his MacBook. He is savvier than most of my clients. We also like to travel, before my husband I hadn't really been out of the US. He's taken me to so many great places. It's really neat to watch movies and be like "we've been there!"

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Macgirl: My husband has to be number one. He's my partner in geek crime. Other than that I tend to admire people who really know their stuff and are passionate about it.

Geeksugar: So your name gives you away, but PC or Mac?
Macgirl: Mac, but I'll let you in on a little secret... Raised PC (well after the Apple IIe but that hardly counts). My parents to this day still only operate on PC. In college I actually had my first graphics classes on Windows 95. I didn't go Mac until I interned at an Ad agency. I had this tiny all in one Mac Classic (or something close) I taught myself Quark on it. I took to the Mac so well that I moved from intern to full time production artist in a year or so. I think they moved me up to a Quadra.

Geeksugar: You started a Mac group on TeamSugar. Can you tell us about it?
Macgirl: I've been working as an Apple technician for 7 years now. I have soaked up a ton of knowledge in that time. What I really wanted was to be able to help people with their Mac questions/problems and share the info I come across on a daily basis. Our group is almost to 100 members, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. The thing I find with Mac people is that they often suffer in silence. They are starting to come around and really posting some great things.

Geeksugar: Anything else about yourself?
Macgirl: I love video games! We have a Wii, a couple Nintendo DS', Game Cube, SNES and two Xbox 360s that we play via system link. For those of you who don't know what that means- I'm upstairs on one TV while my husband is downstairs on another we have little headsets where we can talk "You open, I'll frag and clear honey." I guess I've sealed that whole is she or isn't she a geek question.

Geeky Girl We Love: Jean Aw of Notcot

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:01:13 -0700

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is Women's History Month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet.

Jean Aw is the co-founder of Notcot and Notcot.org, a network of informative and collaborative websites that doubles as a design consultancy. It's tagged as a "visual filtration of ideas+aesthetics+amusement," which translates to a beautiful mix of all the things Jean and the community love. At 24, the designer, trendspotter and entrepreneur has already made a mark in the blog world and seems to be leading the pack with an innovative, creative site that celebrates design, imagery and curation. I dare you not to fall in love with it - or her for that matter. For the full interview read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself.
Jean: I'm a 24-year-old design addict + UX Designer + shopaholic + tech connoisseur + design writer + world traveler + internet junkie. Born and raised in Los Angeles, it remains my homebase... even when I wander off to Milan for over a year, I always touch down here between moves. NOTCOT.com launched in 2005, when I returned from my adventures in Italy (working on my Masters degree), landed in San Diego jet lagged, and driving my friend crazy... his solution? Make me learn CSS - through playing with movable type - and when I had no content, I simply posted things I found myself IM-ing to friends anyhow. It became great as my own design resource, but then others started reading it, and it's taken on a life of its own and is still growing and evolving.

Geeksugar: It seems like everyone is talking about your site these days - can you tell us a little back story about how you got it started?
Jean: The first major evolution in 2006 was the launch of NOTCOT.org, a community-based bulletin board of sorts for the visually oriented (but aren't we all really?). It reads like the picturebook to others blog rolls, delicious, digg, etc. Second priority to making imagery the main focus, was to make it ridiculously intuitive and easy to post, such that the non-bloggers among us finding great content wouldn't have an excuse not to. All you need is a great image, a link, and a quick caption. Built from scratch, we are constantly adding new features, trying new things, and its been a thrill to see the design inspiration people are finding... Our latest endeavor has been Tastespotting.com which is NOTCOT.org - for food, because designers need to eat too! (But prepare to drool, those food bloggers are serious - and have you seen how amazing some kitchen gadgets are?)

Geeksugar: Notcot is unique because you are able to showcase other sites, but maintain a clean style. How do you describe your style and goals for the site in terms of design?
Jean: Clean and Simple. I like to let the images speak for themselves. We've taken this approach on every aspect of the sites, from visual design to the user experience in submitting new pictures on NOTCOT.org and Tastespotting. On NOTCOT.com the design approach is more like a roman scroll with one main section, which we've complemented with hand-drawn doodle-styled tags hanging from strings (as various birds fly by or land on them) to help break the 90 degree angles so common on the web. These tags have served as a unique way to showcase art and ads in a more unique fashion.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Jean: I can't even imagine... if we count by the amount I sleep, and go out each day... wait does accessing the internet on my Blackberry Pearl count? If so, I'd have to guess I'm up there with those men... I don't consider myself a full time blogger, but the time not spent on the sites probably goes to real world researching for the sites and managing the business sides of things (with quite a bit of UX consulting work mixed in).

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Jean: Apple IIgs - my little sister and I used to play Carmen San Diego and mini golf on it and also used to print many a "masterpiece" from Paintshop on the painfully loud and slow dot matrix printer.

Geeksugar: What are you most proud of ?
Jean: The international community of aesthetically driven creative that has formed around the sites... I used to HATE creative blocks, and I haven't really had one since I launched NOTCOT.org. At any given moment someone finds something new and inspiring, or even just clicking to a random page, there is always SOMETHING to catch your eye, distract you, send you back to wanting to make something. I've come to see NOTCOT.org as our collective space to fight creative blocks everywhere!

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite post from the site?
Jean: My favorite thing about NOTCOT is that everything I love doing I can now call work. Travelling, shopping, finding great designers and artists to obsess over... As for favorite posts, my current favorite post is the Miss Van opening I just went to last night, she's been a long time favorite of mine since her street art days, so it was absolutely incredible to see them in person and selling out lightning fast. To be fair, all the posts are my favorites, since I take an inspiration based angle, unless I LOVE it, it doesn't end up on NOTCOT.com... and as for community based NOTCOT.org and Tastespotting.com there is something incredible about watching all of the incredible finds people come up with, makes it hard not to love all the posts.

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Jean: I'm a Firefox tabs kinda girl - "open all in tabs" is my best friend. The designer in me loves context, so I often feel the need to read posts in their natural form on their sites! So, 0!

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Jean:These are such hard questions! So after some brain racking here are some random guys i came up with...

James Bond (fictional is ok right?) ~ no one has ever had hotter cars or gadgets
Tyler Brule - as founder of Wallpaper and now Monocle, I can't imagine he doesn't have quite the geek stash of designer gadgets
Ze Frank - anyone who vlogs that frequently MUST have quite the slew of gadgetry
Jeph Jacques - the brilliant man behind Questionable Content. from the comic, I assume has at least has a roomba and ipod... if not some crazy anthroPC's bent on world domination
Jonathan Harris - genius behind We Feel Fine, Yahoo Time Capsule and justcurio.us. He has a brilliant ability to blend art and the dynamic nature of the web beautifully

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Jean: That's oddly difficult - tapped some geek boys minds to help me out on this one, and we ended up having more fun with the sexy movie girlie geeks...

Angelina Jolie in Hackers, Mr and Mrs. Smith, Tomb Raider, and Gone in 60 Seconds
Nikita from La Femme Nikita
Charlize Theron in the Italian Job - That digi safe cracking is pretty hardcore.

Geeksugar: Is there one particular blogger you really look up to?
Jean: Regina from We Make Money Not Art. Her blog back in 2004 got me through my i-Design grad program in Milan. Her daily doses of tech meets art inspiration were that extra boost I needed to keep on top on the most innovative and playful projects internationally, and perhaps she's even part of how I ended up starting NOTCOT as a source of design inspiration...

Justin's "In Love" with Jessica Biel!

PopSugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 14:50:07 -0700

JT and Jessica were seen enjoying each other's company recently in the UK watching Manchester United win the title! Unfortunately this photographer didn't seem to know who Jessica was and cut her face off in the picture! The power couple seems to be getting more serious. A source for People says, "She's the coolest chick ever. He wants to be with her all the time. He's ready to be serious." This comes as kind of a surprise seeing as JT just got out of a 3 year relationship with Cameron and seemed to want to play the field. But I guess if JT and Jess have been seeing each other off and on since the Golden Globes, that's five months already. Hopefully we'll get some more pics of them soon by a photographer who actually will get her in the shot!

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This Week On Geeksugar - Wifi Rabbit Rules The Radio!

GeekSugar — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:00:58 -0700

Are you bored with your old stereo? Fed up with the overwhelmingly confusing plethora of ugly looking internet radio stations? Ever thought about using a wifi rabbit instead?
Can you guess what celebrity we spotted waiting for an important call and showing off her BlackBerry 8700? Hint: She recently just returned from a romantic rendezvous.
My friend refuses to buy a digital camera and I decided it's finally time for me to help her out. Got any suggestions? Help me find her the perfect camera in time for her birthday party next week.
Microsoft has announced it will extend its online gaming service for its Xbox consoles to all those gamers who use Windows PCs to play games over the Internet. News that is sure to please gamers like singer Natasha Bedingfield and fabulous geeky gamer girls like Ingrid Diaz of Play Girlz.

Haven't you always wanted to have the same cell phone as Bond man Daniel Craig? The Cyber-shot camera phone took center screen in Casino Royale and stole my heart.
If you're sick and tired of being part of the vanilla masses, you probably need the adorable Emotibud Earbud Set. They're colorful, fun and well, the cutest headphones ever!

Rumor has it that the American game developer and distributor Electronic Arts is attempting to create a Harry Potter game which will utilize the new Wii-Mic. Basically the Wii remote will double as a magic wand so users can use the mic in conjunction with gestures to cast spells.
This photo of a young Israeli schoolgirl proudly displaying a Leonardo DiCaprio sticker on her cell phone as she waits outside Leo's main squeeze Bar Refaeli's house, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Hollywood heartthrob made my day. Do I blame her? Not one bit.

K-Fed Might Make Millions

PopSugar — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 09:57:45 -0700

K-Fed was spotted partying in Vegas without Britney over the weekend. He left Brit at home to play mom to the 2 little SPFs, but I'm guessing K-Fed isn't too worried about Britney being pissed he's out while she's taking care of the kids. Apparently he will get $10 million if the two ever split up, millions more than ever reported. Page Six reports:

"Britney was leaving Kevin but then got pregnant again," said a frustrated family friend. "He would have gotten $10 million." Federline left his wife and sons at home last weekend to party with friends and random women at Tao in Las Vegas where, according to online reports, his bodyguard slammed a camera into the face of a photographer who tried to take his picture."

More pics of K-Fed partying the night away, not looking like he's missing his family too much so read more

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