The Geek Pub » Gadgets http://www.thegeekpub.com Drink Beer and Geek Out Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:49:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Sent from my iPhone?? http://www.thegeekpub.com/972/sent-from-my-iphone/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/972/sent-from-my-iphone/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:02:16 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=972 Does your phone still show “Sent from my xyz device”? Does it bother you that other people want you to know what device they are using? Do you find it pretentious?

I was recently amazed to find out that seeing “Sent from my iPhone” actually annoyed people! Comments I have found by searching Google range from a slight annoyance to outright hatred for the owner of the phone!

Why is this bothersome?  It appears that people who are annoyed by this simple little message feel like you are trying to show them up.  They feel that by leaving that little message that you are bragging that you have something they don’t.

My first question is: This is 2010.  Anyone can own a smartphone, just get one for almost free on your next upgrade renewal with your carrier.  Why exactly don’t YOU have a smartphone?

It also turns out that some feel this simple message is not relevant to the conversation and therefore is comment SPAM.

Why “Sent from my iPhone” is a GOOD idea

When I get an email from someone that says “sry runn l8t b there in 1 min”, I am not surprised to see “Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from my BB Bold” below it.  It tells me they were on a mobile device!  It tells me why they used misspelled words, and lousy punctuation (in other words SMS Language).  I personally find this to be valuable information and far from SPAM or bragging in text.

When I know that an email is being sent from a mobile phone, I find short and to the point emails to be perfectly fine, rather than blunt.  I also find it helpful because I know responding to my email was important enough that you took the time to do it from your mobile device, rather than waiting for your return to an office or home computer to respond.

What do you guys think?

Update: Put together a quick how to remove “Sent from my iPhone”.

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/972/sent-from-my-iphone/feed/ 4 The Most Useless Machine Ever http://www.thegeekpub.com/197/the-most-useless-machine-ever/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/197/the-most-useless-machine-ever/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:21:23 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=197 Every once in a great while, something truly amazing… something truly astonishing… something that changes the world.   Introducing the most useless machine in the world.

Th Most Useless Machine Ever from TheGeekPub on Vimeo.

Something TRULY amazing.

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/197/the-most-useless-machine-ever/feed/ 4 Wall Outlet with USB Jacks http://www.thegeekpub.com/193/wall-outlet-with-usb-jacks/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/193/wall-outlet-with-usb-jacks/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:39:33 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=193 From the “Why didn’t I think of that department” I give you the first Wall Outlet with USB jacks for charging your devices.

Link to Manufacturer

The $10 ‘TruePower UCS Power Outlet With Built-in USB Ports’ not only has a terrible name, but will also be shipping early this year. It makes the perfect receptacle for all your USB gadgetry, and a terrible Valentine’s gift for a lady-friend. But on the up side, they do still come with two standard AC plugs for jamming forks and knives into. Bet I can hold on to one longer than you! You set the bar.

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/193/wall-outlet-with-usb-jacks/feed/ 1 Keystick Keyboard turns into, well, a stick! http://www.thegeekpub.com/173/keystick-keyboard-turns-into-well-a-stick/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/173/keystick-keyboard-turns-into-well-a-stick/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:16:45 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=173 Ever wish you had a fullsize keyboard that folded up, but wasn’t rubber or bendable plastic?  Well, if you’re like me – this is just what you’ve been looking for!  The Keystick keyboard is a fullsize (minus numberpad) keyboard that folds up into a small “stick” when not in use, or when you need to transport it.  Think about it as a 7 rulers (you know the measuring kind?) that slide on top of each other.

keystick-1

You can find more information here.

keystick-2

keystick-3

keystick-4

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/173/keystick-keyboard-turns-into-well-a-stick/feed/ 1 Compressed Air Powered “Better Moustrap” is cool! http://www.thegeekpub.com/144/compressed-air-powered-better-moustrap-is-cool/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/144/compressed-air-powered-better-moustrap-is-cool/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:45:26 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=144 I love it when killer robot technology is used on innocent inanimate objects.  Jake Easton is one evil bastard – and – I LOVE HIM!

I introduce to you the compressed air powered “better mousetrap”.  I might suggest that you remove any wanted pets from your home before deploying this Terminator themed evil machine – or not…

Just remember when SkyNET builds these to kill us, by putting sexy girls in a much larger trap, that it was Jake’s fault, not mine.

better_mousetrap1

better_mousetrap2

better_mousetrap3

YouTube Video:

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/144/compressed-air-powered-better-moustrap-is-cool/feed/ 2 GEEKTIP: Use iPhone Wallcharger to Power other Devices! http://www.thegeekpub.com/139/geektip-use-iphone-wallcharger-to-power-other-devices/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/139/geektip-use-iphone-wallcharger-to-power-other-devices/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:30:02 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=139 GeekPub reader Jim sends in this tip: If you need to power USB devices, but don’t want to or simply can’t access your computer – use you’re iPhone’s USB charger to power the device!


iphone-USB-charger

“I routinely need to power my USB computer speakers to play songs from my iPod.  I really hate running my entire PC just to power the speakers.  So I plug the speakers into my iPhone’s wall charger to power them.  It works great, it’s efficient, and it is just too cool!”

Well, my fellow geeks, now you know how to power those damn USB humping dogs too! ;-)

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/139/geektip-use-iphone-wallcharger-to-power-other-devices/feed/ 1 Obama first president to have digital portrait http://www.thegeekpub.com/64/obama-first-president-to-have-digital-portrait/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/64/obama-first-president-to-have-digital-portrait/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:39:36 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=64 Barack Obama’s election to US president has already brought a string of firsts, and on Wednesday there came another. The official presidential portrait was shot on a digital camera for the first time.

The picture was taken by the White House’s new official photographer, Pete Souza, and issued by The Office of the President Elect through its Web site. It was taken on Tuesday evening at 5:38 p.m. using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, according to the metadata embedded in the image file.

]]> http://www.thegeekpub.com/64/obama-first-president-to-have-digital-portrait/feed/ 0 Review – The Stick® Line Sharing Device http://www.thegeekpub.com/119/review-the-stick-line-sharing-device/ http://www.thegeekpub.com/119/review-the-stick-line-sharing-device/#comments Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:52:44 +0000 The Big Geek http://www.thegeekpub.com/?p=119 The Stick® from Multi-Link is an advanced line sharing device for your home, small office, or even your corporate PBX under the right conditions. The Multi-Link Stick allows you to share two voice lines, a fax line and a modem line with a single telephone line from the phone company.

The_Stick The Stick acts as an auto-router listening for CNG Fax tones (the noises your fax machine makes when it is dialing out), touch tones and pulse tones to route an incoming call to the correct device.

This technology allows a small office or home office to send and receive faxes, connect with modems, and make and receive voice calls all on a single phone. The best part is that it is invisible to both the originator and the receiver of the call. This makes it an ideal solution for saving money as the Stick which costs as little as $85USD (one time cost) can offset the recurring cost of a $50 a month telephone or dedicated fax line. In the world of small business, every penny adds up.

multilink_stickThe Stick works on a standard POTS (plain old telephone service) by listening for ring voltage and automatically answers the incoming call. After answering the line, the Stick listens for CNG and/or touch tones (DTMF). During this listening period (which is about 5 seconds) the caller hears a standard ringing sound (bell spec). Once the CNG tones are heard the call will be routed to the fax port, or after the timeout defaulted to the voice line 1 port. Outbound calls are routed on a first come, first served basis, and protected by a “barge -in” feature. The Stick is easily programmed by touch tones using a standard keypad on any telephone. The Stick is fully compatible with Caller-ID services and DSL services. And the best part is, if you aren’t technically savvy, just call their free technical support, they will program it for you, right over the phone.

This is one product your home office shouldn’t be without. We tested The Stick with Vonage VoIP services and Linksys PAP2 and found them to be compatible with no issues at all.

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