Freak Out Your Inner Geek

I had a bit of a geek girl dream day yesterday. In the afternoon I was lucky enough to go and visit with new Twitter friends at their lovely house on the Gold Coast. Not only is their house absolutely beautiful, but it's a true geek girl haven with the most exquisite mini theatre and all the gaming bizzo you could dream of. I'm not a gamer, but sitting on the floor of their theatre room watching a group of gals playing Beatles Rock Band, was so much fun. Made especially fun by the fantastic company.

However tonight's blog post is going to be about the total orgasmo-fest that is the Apple Store at Robina. That's what we did in the morning - made a special trip to the Robina shopping centre just for the Apple Store. It did not disappoint.

It looks great, right from when you walk up to the front door. A big glass front with no displays in the windows. The store IS the display. And simply the Apple logo in white above the door. Just like their products, you know straight away what you're getting and what's in there.

Once we went inside, there were lots of "squeeeee" noises because they have several tables with iPhones just laid out on them for you to play with. Some are loaded up with apps, some are showcasing particular features, others are just there for you to tinker. Some goon had left his email open on the one I went to, and I had the overwhelming desire to send him an email on it, but I did the good karma thing and deleted it from the iPhone.

Even though I already have an iPhone, I still tinkered and played with the ones there. Mostly because I got a taste of some of the apps I don't have. And they'd set them up to do things I haven't learnt to do yet.

While we were there, they had a class for people in the Snow Leopard operating system. A very personable young man was taking a group of about 8 people through the operating system, in what seemed like a clear, concise way. I wouldn't mind having a go at one of those sessions myself.

I am planning to buy an iMac in a month or so when my PC lease runs out, so I decided to see if I could get someone to talk to me about it. It didn't take long for someone to acknowledge me, and he asked if I would like some help. When I said yes, he said "I'm just with someone right now, but I'll get someone for you while I'm at it." He kept with his customers but acknowledged me every time he came past and found me someone within about 10 minutes. The guy who came to talk to me was friendly without being pushy, helped me with my questions about leasing/finance/full purchase and then asked me what I would mostly like to use my computer for. And gave me a demo of iPhoto, which is pretty bloody impressive.

I also had a look at all of the MacBooks, all laid out on the table and up and running for customers to tinker with. Perused the walls full of accessories for all your Apple goodies. Watched a huge mofo television with Apple TV hooked up to it. Gazed at the very attractive but also friendly staff. And plotted and planned for when I can get my very own iMac.

If you're of the geeky pursuasion, even if you're only dipping your toe in the pool of geekdom, make your way to the nearest Apple store to you. Not only are they absolutely gorgeous, impressive products but you are encouraged to tinker and play by the very friendly staff. You will have lots of fun (and be planning your own iPhone/iMac/MacBook purchase in the very near future!)

iPhone, uPhone we all Phone

After the heat of last night's blog post, I wanted to settle things down just a little bit tonight so that I can think about some stuff before I get back into the big meaty topics.  I blog at night after a long day at work, so I do need a wee brain rest from time to time.

So tonight, I want to talk about my shiny new iPhone, which is only two weeks old.  I am in love.  I know, I know, it's just a gadget, but OMG it's revolutionising my entire life!  Oh alright, maybe not that much but I am finding that it is streamlining a LOT of things for me.

It has an excellent diary/calendar function.  I just pop in the details of stuff right then and there, when I hear about it, I can set reminders and I can see it all per week or per month, whatever suits.  No more forgetting when I've booked to be somewhere and I can put in people's birthdays and such too.

I have access to the internet wherever I am (pretty much anyway) with the iPhone.  Need an answer to a question?  Google it or use Wikipedia.  Need to know how much money in my bank account?  Netbanking.  Want directions?  Google maps, and the iPhone has a built in GPS, so it can find ME.  Need news?  ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)  have an app, as do a lot of other news agencies.  Looking for a restaurant or cafe?  Urbanspoon will help you find one using GPS and a tool to choose your type of food, location and cost.  See something in a shop you  might like to buy?  Use Amazon (or many other apps) to get a price comparison.  Hear a song somewhere that you want to buy, or can't work out the title/artist?  Shazam listens to it and gives you the details, plus links to it on YouTube and iTunes.  And these are just some of the useful applications you can have with your internet access.

I also love having a camera on me wherever I go, without having to lug a regular one around.  Sure, the images are not super high quality and there is no flash, but you can get plenty of happy snaps and there are lots of applications you can add to give you cool effects and filters on your photos.  You can post them online immediately, email them to friends, use them as avatars for the people in your address book.

And finally, I love having my music on the very same device.  All sorted nicely, playlists and album details, videos and catalogued.  Lovely!

Wanna hear something freaky?  I was just laying on  my bed faffing about with Google Earth on the iPhone, and it pinpointed not only my exact building, but which part of that building I was in!!  It has GPS in it, and it showed an aerial shot of my building, with a dot over that part of the house.  WOW!  Love this!

So all in all, I'm rather in love with my nifty little gadget, and all the things it can do for me.  Call me a nerd, but technology gives me happies!

Ada Lovelace Day

Today, for those of you who don't know already, is Ada Lovelace Day.  Who was Ada Lovelace you ask?  Well, she is credited with being the first female programmer.  And in honour of her birth, I have taken a pledge to blog about women in technology today.

As a woman in technology myself, I know it's not an easy career path to travel.  Long a male dominated profession, we ladies who have chosen to work in technology face a lot of challenges in our every day working lives.  From the challenges of actually obtaining employment in technological careers, through to having to endure being dismissed as "lightweights" by our male colleagues, or spoken to as though we wouldn't understand.

Quite often we're told we're not "technological enough" because we choose the so called softer side of technology to work in.  Those of us who choose to work in roles that deal with people and communication are dismissed as not really working in technology.  Yet with technology permeating so much of our lives now, women (and the men who also choose) are needed to work in communications and the people side of things.  We're the ones that get people adopting and accepting technology.  We're the ones who understand why when people don't pick up technology.

I love working in and with technology.  It fascinates me, challenges me and is always changing, growing and surprising me.  Sometimes I do get frustrated with the environment others create, but I am never bored.  And most of the time, it's FUN!

Are you a woman in technology?  Do you work with/know women in technology?  Tell me your story about women and technology.