| Growing up Geek: Natali Morris Jul 2nd 2012, 17:00 Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have CNBC technology contributer, Natali Morris.  These days I spend more of my time raising geeks than growing up as one. I gave birth to my daughter just seven weeks ago, so there is little time to geek out, but the force is still there. Temporarily dormant. I am a TV journalist who specializes in geek, as a technology contributor to CNBC. I got an early start in television. I was Miss Fremont 1984. Maybe you recognize me from the parade float with Sylvester and Tweety Bird? No? Odd. That's me on the left with my younger sister on the children's show Romper Room in 1984. Question: When we talk about my geeky childhood, do we mean that I had special geeky talents? Because I'm not sure I was a geek as much as I was a nerd. I was a rule follower. An overachiever. I always got the best grades in my science classes, had my term papers written weeks in advance, and always kept my textbooks covered with brown bag paper the way school policy required. I also had braces and headgear. And bangs. So what do you think? Geek or nerd? Or idiot? Actually no, I didn't always follow the rules. I used to cheat on the Nintendo Power Pad by pounding on the pressure sensors with my hands instead of my feet when I was feeling lazy. I used the code to get 30 extra lives on Contra. Although is it really cheating if it is built into the game? But I digress. Continue reading Growing up Geek: Natali Morris Growing up Geek: Natali Morris originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Made in America: could your next phone be homegrown? Jul 2nd 2012, 16:15  "Made in America." For some reason, my parents -- and the parents of many of my peers -- take great pride in seeing that phrase. I've seen people buy inferior products just because the label on the back proclaimed that it was thrown together in one of our 50 great states instead of across some imaginary line in "another country." Part of me wonders if people actually check to see if said claims are legitimate. As a business graduate, I fully understand the importance of producing goods within one's borders. There's a delicate balance that needs to be struck between imports and exports, and a huge part of a nation's economic growth hinges on how well that balance is executed. I suspect the generation before mine remembers a very different America than the one I've grown up in -- one where smokestacks outnumbered high-rise buildings, and one where jobs requiring steel-toe shoes were more lauded than those requiring a fancy degree and "knowing the right guy." Manufacturing was the backbone of America through some really, really trying times, and there's some sense of national pride that comes along with images of swinging hammers and climbing ladders. "We built this country," as they say. Continue reading Made in America: could your next phone be homegrown? Made in America: could your next phone be homegrown? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Jelly Bean's Sound Search feature now available root-free on ICS Jul 2nd 2012, 15:47  Did you know you can get a little squirt of Jelly Bean flavor in your Ice Cream Sandwich right now? It's nothing mega -- just a non-root APK for Google Sound Search, the new in-house rival to Shazam and SoundHound, courtesy of user "asdfzz" over at XDA. The widget, which is also known as "Google Ears," currently works in the familiar manner, analyzing a track via remote servers and bringing up the result within Google Play, but in the future -- according to Mobile Phones Fan -- it may go the same way as voice dictation on the Nexus 7 and do all processing locally for the sake of speed. Of course, if you're up for flashing a whole ROM, then Jelly Bean can already be had in its entirety. Jelly Bean's Sound Search feature now available root-free on ICS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Mobile Phones Fan |  XDA Developers Forum | Email this | Comments | | Google launches Mobile App Analytics along with Analytics App for Android, creates endless loop Jul 2nd 2012, 15:21  Google has given a boost to those who obsess over the minutia of their sites (and apps) with two new analytics offerings dedicated to the mobile side of things. App vendors will be able to see potential buyers stampeding to their wares (or not) with Mobile App Analytics, showing user info like traffic, geography and the model of device used. It will also provide engagement and business reports, telling developers how their apps are being used and letting them check if their monetary dreams are matching cold reality. Mountain view also released The Google Analytics App, letting on-the-go users have a truncated version of the full Analytics site, with features like real-time monitoring and the Dashboard, at their tactile fingertips. That app is now at the Play store, and the new App Analytics feature is in beta to approved developers. There's no word as to when, or if, the App Analytics will be in the Analytics App, but in any case, you can check the source to get either. Google launches Mobile App Analytics along with Analytics App for Android, creates endless loop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Android Police | Google Analytics Blog (1), (2) | Email this | Comments | |
