Google circa 1999

YouTube circa 2005

Twitter circa 2006

WordPress circa 2006

Blogger circa 1999

Facebook circa 2004

What better way to revive Geekulous than with a review of a shiny new social networking site?  Ok, after lots of cyber stalking and obsessive email checking and page refreshing I’m finally a member of Google+.  I’m ready to pay forward all the generosity complete strangers bestowed on me.  I’m giving out invitations, all I ask is that you follow me on Twitter (@geekfab).  Let me know in the comments once you’ve finished that.  Also, to protect you from spam bots please do not put your email in the comments, I will get your email from the form you fill out to post a comment.  One more thing, patience is key, I know how to invite using the loophole but Google is backed up big time.   It took me more than 24 hours to get my invitation and get access to the registration page so please be patient when waiting for the email.  I will respond (in the comments) to everyone I send an invite to so you know when it’s been sent.  Good luck and happy exploring!

Update: I just got on Google+ and started playing around with it.  Keep an eye out for a full review within the next couple of days.

I know I’ve been posting some really cool conceptual items for the pieces of fabulous, but this week I’m going to come back down to earth and feature something that you can actually go out and buy right now.  This week’s piece of fabulous is – the iPhone 4 Bumper.  I was inspired to write about this wonderful overpriced piece of plastic when I dropped my iPhone 4 for the first time today.  Having heard about the reception issues the day before, on launch day I picked up a Bumper with my new iPhone 4.  Since then the Bumper has hardly left the phone’s side, save for a couple of times I took it off to show people the beauty of the design of the phone itself.  Now the only time I take the bumper off is when I’m in the car and I want to put my phone in my TomTom car kit.  While it’s a pain to pop it on and off, I’ve gotten into the habit of taking off and putting on the Bumper whenever I get in and out of my car.  Well I was in a hurry today and decided to skip putting the bumper back on when i got out of my car to run some errands.  I was walking back to my car when I decided to whip out my phone to look something up, I guess I whipped it out too fast and, in slow motion, the phone began to slip from my fingers, it bobbled around in my hands as I tried to get a grip on it but alas, it dropped to the cement (causing a surprising sound of plastic hitting the ground – I was expecting a glass or metal-on-cement sound). After getting over my initial shock I picked up the phone and inspected it carefully.  The damage was much less than I was expecting, the only areas that were scuffed where the edges of the hard plastic on the back corners of the phone.  ”Hmm”, I thought, “right about where my bumper would have been”.  And that, my friends is how the iPhone 4 Bumper became the Piece of Fabulous for the week.  Yes, it’s overpriced but it provides the most crucial protection – to the sides and corners of the phone.  Add in the fact that it mitigates the antenna issues and you have yourself a fabulous case.  If you recently bought an iPhone 4 and don’t have a Bumper, don’t forget to order by September 30th and you’ll get it for free – thanks Steve!

Do you have an Bumper?  What do you think about it?  What’s your favorite case? Let us know in the comments.

This week’s featured app is brought to you by the developers at LightPillar.  The Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock is by and large the best alarm clock app out there for both the iPhone and the iPad.  Recently I did some redecorating in my room, which allowed me to clear my laptop off of my nightstand.  With all that empty space I figured it would be the perfect spot for my shiny new iPad which wasn’t getting nearly as much use as I had originally anticipated.  I also decided to have my iPhone (which was my alarm clock) next to my laptop at night to allow it to charge and sync.  With my old alarm clock on the other side of the room I figured I would investigate alarm clock apps for my iPad.  I came across the Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock and it was love at first site.  Read on to hear why…

Simple Layout

I love the simplicity of the layout of this clock, you can view it in landscape or portrait mode and can, to an extent, adjust the font and layout of the clock itself.  While the display is simple there are many options and configurations to allow for full customization.  The display is divided into three sections and with different viewing options for each line you can customize your clock to show as much or as little detail as you like.  For example, at the very top of the screen you can set your clock to display the time for your next alarm and the amount of time left until that alarm goes off.  Need to know what time it is in another time zone?  You can set that bar to show the time in whatever time zone you choose.  If you prefer a more simple display you can keep the top part of the display blank.  The middle section is the actual clock, you can adjust how the time is displayed by scrolling trhough the preset designs.  The bottom section is dedicated to showing the date in whichever format you prefer.

Night Mode

I prefer to have my bedside clocks lit all night so I can turn over and get the time at a glance, but one thing I’ve always hated about the traditional digital clocks is the bright light it casts in the room.  Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock has a night mode to prevent just that.  You can adjust the brightness in night mode and it’s activated with one tap of the screen.

Speaking Clock

Well with a name like “Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock” you would expect the clock to speak right?  Well not only does this app speak but you can also adjust how and when it speaks to you.  One of my favorite settings is ‘tap to speak’ where all you have to do is tap anywhere on the screen and a nice male computer voice tells you the time.  You can even set how he tells you the time i.e., “the time is 10:30 pm” or “the time is half past ten”.  So now I don’t even have to open my eyes when I need to know the time, I just tap and I hear it.  You can also set the clock to speak at hourly, quarterly and half hourly intervals, it can speak the time when your alarm goes off and you can silence the “speak time” option when the clock is in night mode to prevent unwanted wake ups.  One thing I would ask the developers though is that there is an option of a female voice.

Wake Up Test

Probably one of my favorite features of this app is the “wake up test”.  The wake up test feature requires you to follow a set of simple instructions to turn off the alarm.  How many times have you found yourself accidentally turning off your alarm in your sleep?  I’ve done that far too many times to count.  The wake up test actually requires me to wake up by requiring me to tap numbers in various spots on the screen in order to dismiss my alarm.  While I can easily go back to sleep  after passing the test that requirement wakes me up just enough to prevent me from falling back into a deep sleep.

The Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock has a plethora of features, far too many to discuss here, if you would like to see a full list of features check out their site (which includes a link to a pdf users guide).  I have to thank LightPillar for creating such a great app, I look forward to more apps from them soon.

Do you use Touch LCD?  What’s your experience?  Do you love/hate it?  Let us know in the comments.

This week’s piece of fabulous is brought to you by Heininger Automotive.  The CommuteMate Instacloth is a small, pill sized (about the size of an Altoids mint) compact piece of cloth that, when wet, expands to a 9″ x 9″ cloth perfect for cleaning up minor spills.  These micro-cleaning devices are perfect for people on the go, throw them in your purse, your emergency kit or your car and you’ll be ready for any spill.  These are advertised to be used in your car to clean up any spills on the road but it can be used for so many other purposes, how many times have you spilled coffee in your cubicle?  I’ve found myself needing to clean up quickly after a spill many times (this could be purely due to my lack of coordination).  The fact that these are are so compact makes them the ideal accessory for traveling, camping, your car, your office, or an emergency kit.  You can find these nifty cloths on Amazon for $9 for a pack of 32 however I’ve heard that you can find very similar products for much cheaper so shop around if you don’t want to shell out the $9.

Have you used these?  What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

iOS4

So, why do I love this thing so much?  Well for all of you who say it’s just a big iPhone lacking the phone capabilites I would have to agree with you, but that’s exactly what I wanted.  So many times throughout the day I’ve found myself looking at my iPhone’s small screen trying to stay up to date on all the goings on in the tech world.  The iPad makes it so much easier, it’s so easy on the eyes, the screen is beautiful and the apps that are being created and updated specifically for the device are, in a word, stunning.  The iPad has not left my side since I brought it home from the Apple store.  As new apps are added I’ll be sure to review them and any other accessories I get for my new toy.  So that’s my take on the device stay tuned for a iPad App of the Week article coming soon.  What about you?  Do you have/like/love/hate the iPad?  Let us know in the comments.