Geek Girlfriends

I own an Ogio laptop backpack (the Metro) and love it so when I set out on a quest for a small, feminine, every day bag to tote my new laptop around, I put an Ogio bag at the top of on list. And I adore this one. It’s a cute wasabi green, has an uncomplicated design and allows me to leave my laptop in the bag to work. But it’s just a tad snug on my Gateway M series 15-inch laptop. Oh, it zips. But I don’t like to wear pants that are too tight and I’m not making my laptop do that either.

So I’m starting my back-to-school giveaway month (there are lots more giveaways coming!) off with this cute Ogio Brain Bucket bag. All you have to do is say something in the comments. I will use the magic number randomizer (The Randomater 9000) to choose a winner from all those who comment. And then this baby will be headed off to you. (U.S. only please.) And spread the word. If your sister, BFF, or husband wins it, maybe you’ll get it as a gift?

Tags: free, giveaway, laptop bag

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A while back one of my readers—Maureen—emailed me a question about charging her iPod when she was traveling without her laptop and I answered here on GeekGirlfriends. She was afraid it was a stupid question but the world of chargers, cables, wires, and the various methods for keeping our gadgets fed and happy is confusing, messy, and one of my pet peeves. I once read that Martha Stewart has an entire room—a large closet I think it was–devoted to charging her gadgets. I was instantly struck with Martha envy. But I’ll have to wait till one of my kids goes off to college to get one of those. I can see it now: “Mom! I’ve been gone 24 hours and you turned my room into a gadget charging emporium?!”

Well, in response to Maureen’s question, Melody posted a comment recommending the Belkin Dual USB Charger. This nifty device charges both a cell phone and an iPod so you can get away with just one charger for both of these essentials. Since Melody works for Belkin, she sent me the newer Belkin Rotating Dual Charger to try out. This unit charges an iPod and a cell phone and the plug rotates so it doesn’t hog the entire outlet while it’s at it. Nice.

Well it was Maureen who asked about chargers. So I’m sending this cute gizmo on to her.

Thanks Maureen! Your Dual Rotating Charger is on its way. Please let us know what you think of it.

I love to respond to technical questions here. So if you have one, feel free to post it in the comments. Maybe I can arrange to have the solution shipped directly to you as well? Sweet.

And stay tuned for some terrific gadget giveaways. I’ve got a laptop bag, a sweet MP3 player, a digital picture frame, and more coming up. And they will be easy to win. Like shooting ducks in a barrel (Though I would never do that.) So be sure and subscribe to my feed (by RSS or email) so you don’t miss out.

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When was the last time you went to the library? I know. Me too. I love to read so much that I my bookshelves are overflowing but I’m a busy blogger and writer so I use Bookswim and Amazonto get my fix. I also like to listen to audio books on my Sansa View while working out or cleaning. So I have had a subscription at Audible.com since they launched. My kids also love to listen to audio books. In fact, there is nothing that secures peace and quiet on a road trip like hooking both of them up to and MP3 and video player stocked up with audio books, TV Shows, and music. So we are now a 3 Sansa View family. (iPods don’t work with Napster to Go. I like Napster to Go. So there!)

But I like the idea of the library. I feel guilty about abandoning it. So I am happy to report that the local library is making a huge push to get back in the game. Our libraries have partnered with Overdrive.com to deliver free audio books straight to your digital device via the library’s Web site. You have to be a member but you don’t have to actually set foot in the library. Just download and install the software from Overdrive, search for your local library’s site, browse the catalog, enter your library card number, and check out up to four audio books at a time. Install and open the software before you go to the library catalog and start downloading and all will work swimmingly.

If you do want to go to the library and see this in action, look for a visit from the Digital Bookmobile. The schedule is here.

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I tend to think of the cell phones I pressed into my kids’ hands as a safety net. I like knowing I can reach my little ones whenever I want to. I know that if they are scared, lost, or just bored at camp they can call me and check in or ask for a ride home. My kids are tweens so I’m also thinking ahead to when they are teenagers and might get themselves in situations they want help getting out of. I might even stoop (okay I plan to stoop) to adding a GPS tracking service to their phone so I can check up on where they really are when they tell me they are going to the library. (I wasn’t born yesterday.) And I know that a kid with a cell phone—even if she is unable to dial it—is much easier to find than one who isn’t. What parent doesn’t like that idea?

But I’m working on an article for a major print publication on this topic and want viewpoints other than my own. Do you worry that it’s dangerous for your kids to constantly Twitter, Plurk, Friendfeed, or even just text message a group about their whereabouts? Are you concerned that they can access smut (albeit really small smut) from their phone? Are they addicted? Do they ignore anyone who isn’t texting them? Are they sharing video in some way that upsets you? What measures have you taken to deal with any of these problems? What’s worked? What hasn’t? Please share details in the comments.

Please note: If you are a PR professional and you have a service targeted at parents of kids with teens, bring it on. I want to hear from you, too.

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I love Thai cuisine. I love to go to Thai restaurants but I especially like to cook it at home. I even took an intense series of classes in cooking Thai food from the wonderful Kasma Loha-Unchit, author of It Rains Fishes and Dancing Shrimp. And, though this food may be very exotic for us Americans, some of it is so easy to make that it isn’t worth leaving the house to enjoy it. The trick is having the right ingredients on hand.

I have a great Asian market near my house but my favorite place to shop for ingredients is ImportFoods. Not only does this terrific online merchant carry everything you will ever need—and a lot of stuff you never knew you needed—but each item has a useful description so you will know how to use it when you get it home.

If you are just learning to cook this delicious, spicy, aromatic cuisine, this site is the best. You can look up the dishes you like, read all about how to make them, and even watch video of experts preparing those dishes. When you are reading a recipe that you think you are ready to tackle at home, just click the handy button at the top of the recipe to put all the necessary ingredients in your shopping cart.

Don’t forget that preparing Thai food sometimes requires some special equipment—a Wok, mortar and pestle, or rice steamer for instance. So be sure and check out the site’s cooking tools and dishes, too.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have a market nearby where you can purchase fresh ingredients like lemongrass, basil, Kaffir lime, and chilies, hit their fresh section. (For those of you who are already expert Thai chefs note that Importfoods carries Betel leaves for Miang Kham, which I’ve never seen anywhere else. You have to order a lot of them but it’s a great way to wow your party guests.) They ship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so you’ll have the goods by the weekend and it won’t linger in a post office warehouse getting limp.

Once you get into this, though, you will want to grow your own Kaffir lime because nothing compares to the fresh-picked leaves and it is very simple to grow this dwarf citrus in a pot in any locale. (Just bring it inside if you get a harsh winter.) It’s hard to find the plants in local nurseries though so I get mine from Four Winds Growers. This is a terrific grower and your healthy little plant arrives carefully packaged and ready to put into dirt.

I’m on a hunt for great online food merchants. So if you have any you like, please tell me about it in the comments.

Tags: cooking, fresh Thai ingredients, Thai food

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Did I mention my new laptop? Well, it is adorable and so, I believe, it deserves an adorable bag. Out of devotion to my new bit of technical bling I am embarking on an all out Bag Hunt here on Geekgirlfriends.com. I have requested lightweight, every day, laptop bags from some of my favorite purse and luggage designers—both small, cottage-industry designers and big manufacturers. And for the next few weeks, I’ll be featuring new bags as as I get them.

I found this bag, though, completely by accident while I was shopping for tea and wine at World Market last night. (That’s my 9-year-old daughter modeling it.) It fits my shiny red (approximately 15″ x 11″ — outside dimensions) Gateway M series laptop perfectly and has two outside pockets to stash small extras in. It’s constructed from pleasant-to-the-touch, quilted 100% cotton. I got the red floral but there were other colors, including a staid grey if you this is too loud for you.

This is not a bag for hauling the laptop, charger, extra work gear, and sundries on a cross-country trip. But it’s perfect for grabbing the laptop to take to a lunch meeting or to hang around waiting while a kid takes piano lessons. And at this price ($10.99) I see no reason not to own this little satchel as well as a more substantial bag for commuting or traveling.

These are not available on the World Market Web site but they had lots of them—and also some cute sleeves made from a similar fabric but with no handle—in the store. You can find stores near you here.

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Okay, I’m just making that up. But it suddenly seems likely. My evidence is purely circumstantial. In fact it’s worse than circumstantial. I can’t tweet. I got a screen that said “Twitter is Over Capacity: Too Many Tweets.” And…dum de dum dum…this happened at just the same time that everyone I want to talk to for an article on women who blog is on their way to BlogHer. (No! I am NOT going to BlogHer—much as I’d like to. I say that publicly in order to forestall having to answer the question anymore.)

That’s hardly scientific but it does make me wonder…You?

Now, if you are a woman who writes a blog, (even if you don’t have time to talk to me this weekend) please say so in the comments because I’m searching for such an animal for a major national publication. Tell me about your blog, why you write it, and what keeps you writing.

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I’m still going over proofs of my upcoming book How to Be a Geek Goddess. But you can read more about it here and here. And don’t be shy about clicking that pre-order button. You know you want to….

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Waiting in line is not my way. The (old) iPhone is not my way. (I like a phone to be a good phone FIRST.) And racing to get something the minute it comes out is not my way. On the other hand, I do like to get gadgets before they come out and review them here (and in the magazines I write for) so my readers can make an intelligent choice. But that’s not something Apple allows. (The company is notorious for not talking to or providing review units to the press.)

Still there is no doubt that folks love to love that iPhone. Today, though, it looks like love sucks.

My advice with all Apple launches (and Microsoft’s) is to wait. Wait till you can read what those geeks who get paid to live at the cutting edge think of it. Wait till the dust settles. Wait till the lines die down. Then, if you still want it, stroll in and get when you are good and ready.

In short: Word is that the 3G network is about what you’d expect and not as fast as the claims would have you believe. The new iPhone 3Gis actually a better phone the older iPhone. Other changes are pretty subtle.

If you got one, though, please let us all know if you like it.

Tags: iphone 3G

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I can’t even believe what a geek I am today. I’m so excited about a new bit of gear I’ve got in here. And no it’s not an iPhone. I know everyone else is lining up for the new iPhone and getting their geek street cred by wearing a phone they can’t even get service for. (Don’t even get me started there.) Not me. I’m excited about something so geeky I’m embarrassed to admit it. And I write this blog. Okay, here goes: It’s the Network USB Hub ($99.99) from Belkin. I told you this was embarrassing.

This little gizmo is a 4-inch-by-4-inch box you plug into your router. (See it sitting under the drawing of the router in this picture?) Then you plug USB things into it. That’s all. But it’s way cool. Everything you plug into it becomes available to all the computers on your Wi-Fi network.

My husband and I run a business here in our house and frequently want to share files when we collaborate on projects. So I plugged an external hard drive into the Network USB HUB and—right after we both installed the software—we could both access the files on that drive. Same with the printer. My kids have a computer in the family room but we don’t have a printer there and don’t have space for one. So I plugged my printer/scanner into the Network USB HUB and now they can print and scan using my all-in-one. And I can print, scan, and access files on that external hard drive from my sweet new shiny red laptop even when I’m out on the porch or up in my bedroom. I’ve tried a lot of other print-server devices and this one simply worked. Instantly. Even the scanner worked without any hassles.

Now I’m hunting around for more stuff I can add to my network. Maybe a music player? Camera?

Okay. I’ll stop now.

Tags: home networking, netwroking, print server, usb hub

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