Remember when you started college and you got a bunch of cool new stuff? Everything was shiny and new and you were off on a great adventure. A lot has changed since then. Now you’re all disillusioned by jerky professors and “real world” problems. Oh, and your laptop is an antique.

Many of you are thisclose to the end of your college days [weep], which means it’s time to upgrade your shiz for the next phase of your life. But what do you need? And which products are the best?

Look no further; I’m here for your graduating shopping needs. I can’t teach you how to survive out there – because I’m a few credits away from that awful place – but I can help you with that graduation wish list to hand off to the parentals.

Please hold your applause until the end. Read More »

My computer is being hit pretty much nonstop with crazy spy and malware. I know this because I get an alert every time something pops up and tries to take Lucy down. (Lucy, as we have discussed before, is my computer’s name.)

The constant alerts are pretty annoying, but they are a great reminder of why it’s important to have virus protection on your machine. You wouldn’t do the horizontal mambo without protecting yourself, so why leave your computer vulnerable to attack?

Now, before a bunch of people hop on and start lecturing us all to buy a Mac, let me say this: Yes, we get it, they have no issues with viruses. However we’ve already invested in our PC’s and I for one am sticking by it.

Moving on!

There are a variety of free and pay for use products out there to protect your computer. They run the gamut from just basic virus protection to spyware protection to super duper top secret protection. Chances are you aren’t hiding military secrets on your laptop but you still need something to protect your credit card info or SS#. Also, you don’t want a bunch of annoying viruses slowing your little buddy down. So you have to make sure you have something. Read More »

Someone heard my prayers.

Does dressing alike improve a relationship?

Mark McGwire’s brother plans to spill family secrets.

Welcome to twacne: the twenty-something skincare problem.

Want to score a 160 on the LSAT?

John Travolta has been targeted in a $20 million extortion plot.

Obama orders an end to Gitmo.

No instant messaging in the white house?!?

Chief executive of Merrill Lynch, John A. Thain, resigns from Bank of America.

The six layer makeup technique.

Remembering Heath Ledger, a year later.

Beanie Babies are back. Presidential (daughter) style.

[Like a magpie, you gravitate towards things that are shiny: cell phones, TVs, anything that allows you to play Rock Band. But just because you love ‘em doesn’t mean you know much about ‘em. That’s where we come in.

Every week we will be highlighting the best, coolest and shiniest in technology. Consider us your personal Geek Squad. And let us tell ya; with CC on your side, geek has never looked so chic.]

So thanks to some clever advertising by Apple, Mac vs. PC has become a sort of pop culture reference point now. Right up there with “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Anyway, the real question is: what’s all the fuss?

Some people are partial to Macs. Others, like myself, (and any other sane person) enjoy their PC’s.

During the early days of the war there was a huge difference in the two products, but now they’re pretty comparable as far as features and software goes. At this point it’s pretty much a matter of personal preference.

The real difference in them isn’t what they do or what they have; anything that a Mac has a PC has, and vice versa. The difference is who makes it. Everything in the Mac is made by Apple. Everything in a PC is not made by one company. On one hand, having many companies contribute to the computer is beneficial as it allows you to replace parts as they break down or need to be upgraded easily and cheaply. On the other hand, your parts are made easily and cheaply, and therefore need to be replaced more often. Read More »

There is much to be said for Emily Post. She wrote the book (literally) on manners and standardized etiquette customs for the general public. I adore her books full of old fashioned advice, and while some of it is still relevant, much of it is dated. I constantly wonder what kind of place our society would be if Emily were still around to impose properness upon us all.

Unfortunately, she is not–as evidenced by many of my college classmates.

We’ve all seen those people in class: the ones who act like they’re too important to be there, don’t care what the professor has to say, rudely answer their phones and are generally a disturbance to those of us trying to learn. If you are an incoming freshman you probably haven’t witnessed such obvious rudeness, and you most certainly do not want to become one of said rude people. So, read on, my pretties, and enter the world of higher education with grace, manners and –ahem–class (haha…)

Don’t Be Cell-fish.

Gone are the days when your cell phone was contraband (absurd, I know). Instead of focusing on your under-desk texting (ala your dinosaur of an AP Chem teacher), your professor will most likely be concentrating on imparting you with knowledge during your class sessions. So this means you can feel free to text, Blackberry message, IM away with your cell held at –gasp–eye level, right?! Wrong! Your professor has assumed (rightfully, I hope) that you are a respectful and mature person who is attending (and paying for) their class to learn something useful from him or her. Do not prove them wrong by blatantly expressing that you have better things to do. Read More »

I know you’re reading this on your computer right now.

I’m not trying to be a creepy stalker. But, I mean, really; I don’t know a single student – or person, really – on my campus or even enrolled in my school who doesn’t have their own computer. Whether it’s a chunky tank of a desktop or a sleek and sexy notebook, everyone at school has their own computer. It’s not even a luxury anymore; yes, libraries all have computers for your use, but who really solely depends on the library for computer use? No one I know.

Trouble is – and this is the trouble now-a-days with everything – computers are EXPENSIVE. Even the proverbial cost of an arm and a leg will probably only get you a second-hand Dell off of craigslist. Mind you, I’m not knocking the second-hand craigslist computer; I’m typing this up on one of them right now. But if you’re looking for a new compy that can keep up with you, you can expect to be in the hole about $700. Right?

Ladies (and that one gent), let me introduce you to a new friend of mine: computer shows. Read More »

By now, we’re all heard about that Facebook group “30 Reasons Girls Should Call It A Night”.

Officially started by two women, “30 Reasons” is all about showcasing (mostly) girls in all shades of wasted-ness. Half-naked, droopy-eyed, and generally looking ridiculous, most of the pictures of these crunked-out chicks are posted by the girls themselves.

Everyone from CNN to The Today Show has weighed in on this stupid group, and while I could care less about drunk people showing the world (and possible employers) how wasted they can get, I’ve always wondered where all the drunk guys are at.

When guys get blasted, they act just as stupid, get just as naked, and most certainly document their exploits just as well as the ladies. Read More »

Has real life dating gotten you down? Is it just too hard to interact with other singles, or even your spouse, in reality?

Have you ever wished there was a “Massively Multi-Player Online Erotic Game” where you could pretend to be smoking hot and have lots of cyber sex?

Then let me introduce you to Erotasy Island.

Much more than just your average cleverly named role playing game, Erotasy Island dubs itself a “romantic virtual vacation spot” where players can amuse themselves with activities such as strolling though “a lush jungle garden” or dining “in an amazing volcano view restaurant” all without having to step foot outside their house.

For a monthly fee, users (sadly for all those love-deprived Mac users out there, it seems only PC computers are compatable) can “interact” with people all over the world, most likely creating and maintaining a scantily clad Greek-ish avatar and doing all the things online they only dream of doing in the real world (that is, if you dream of “dancing in a disco”…which most of us haven’t done since 1975).

Not being up on the latest role-playing information, I have no real idea how all of this virtual fantasy stuff works—but I can imagine, and my imaginings are very, very boring. Read More »

Hey, remember those days when you took a computer class to help you learn how to navigate the Internet and use that thing called Microsoft Word? And then there were those advanced classes (my middle school class called it Careers…ahah) that taught you how to use Excel. The best part of it all was that our woodshop class was called Technology.

I mean, did anyone else learn to use a computer on one of those really old Macs? You know the kind with the ACTUALLY FLOPPY disks that supported the original version of Oregon Trail? And they were that cream color with the black screen and blinking green cursor and the multi colored apple?

Can a sister get an Amen or am I just getting really old??

Sadly, the nostalgia days are over. I’m pretty sure that in today’s age, babies pop out of the womb typing on a keyboard and surfing the World Wide Web (Remember when you learned that that was what the www stood for?? Sigh.)

And since we’re all totally fucked up these days and kids no longer push each other on the playground but instead use their tiny little fingers to do the dirty work, schools now feel the need to implement cyber safety and ethics lessons into the US Curriculum. And this shit is funny!

Below, the guidelines that the National Cyber Security Alliance outlined in this article, called the ‘C3 Principles’ of Cyber ethics, safety and security: Read More »

C-YA! Wilkes University in Pennsylvania has ditched all the “c://nonsense” in favor of a kinder, gentler computing experience. According to a recent article in Macworld, “switching from PC to MAC will save the Pennsylvania liberal arts college more than $150,000 while letting students and faculty continue to run Windows applications.”

“Rather than take bids from the usual PC suspects – Dell and HP – as well as Apple, Wilkes decided to go all-Apple because the new Intel-based models and the Boot Camp dual-boot software – would let the school reduce the number of machines campus-wide. “This is an aggressive technology refresh,” Byers said.”

I commend ye’ Wilkes for making the move- A small, but crucial step in MAC’s quest for total world dominance. Go get em’.

Read the Article.