The Geek Squad Blog

“New Dork” Pays Homage to Geeks Everywhere

Music video “New Dork” spoofs Jay-Z’s single “New York”

Geek Squad Chief Inspector Robert Stephens always said “The Geek shall inherit the Earth.” After watching this video, I’d say Geeks are closer than ever to fulfilling that vision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exmwSxv7XJI

Tips to Save Your Cell Phone this St. Patrick’s Day

There's nothing that can ruin your holiday cheer like losing your cell phone to water damage. Fortunately, even if you drop your mobile in your Guinness this St. Patrick's Day, Geek Squad has some tips to help save that phone. No lucky four leaf clovers required!

Geek Squad 2MM: Wired for Travel

Geek Squad Agents John Eric and Joel offer tips on how to stay connected while traveling.

Stay Connected with Your Long Distance Love on Valentine’s Day

Geek Squad Agent Albert Diaz explains how to set up a Skype dinner for couples in long distance relationships this Valentine's Day.

For more information about the dinner Geek Squad is hosting for long distance couples on February 12th, click here.

Geek Squad wants to Help Long Distance Couples Stay Connected

Geek Squad is looking to connect 6 bi-coastal long distance loves this Valentine's Day.

Anyone who has been in a long-distance relationship before knows how spending special days alone (birthdays, Christmas, etc) can suck.

This is especially true for that day for lovers everywhere- Valentine’s Day.

As a former member of the long-distance club (my wife is from Toronto, I’m from Minneapolis), I can attest to the incredible strain thousands of miles can put on a relationship. You have to work at it really hard, and be really committed to each other, in order to succeed – and sometimes you have to get really creative in your approach to connecting.

For us, we used Skype, an internet video conferencing platform, to stay connected to each other. Every night we’d chat online, “face to face” — something that really helped us cement our bond and keep it strong despite the distance between us.

As a recently married man, I am very happy the long-distance chapter in our lives is over. So when I heard about our Geek Squad Valentine’s Day contest, I wanted to tell you all about it.

This Valentine’s Day, Geek Squad is doing something special for long-distance lovers: arranging a romantic dinner for two — via Skype.

On February 12, we’ll host dinners for six lucky couples at the BLT Steak restaurant in Los Angeles and BLT Steak restaurant in New York. Romance will be in the air as Geek Squad Agents connect each of the couples via Skype at their dinner tables , enabling them to spend a romantic, candlelit dinner together (virtually, at least). And to sweeten the pot, we are throwing in a free netbook worth $350 plus a $150 Geek Squad gift card to help them stay connected past Valentine’s Day.

We’ve partnered with Sheknows.com and ChipChick.com to pick couples who fit the bill. To enter, one of you needs to be in LA, the other in New York City.

Deadline to enter is February 8th, 2010. Do you and your special someone fit the bill? Head to the sites listed below and make your case for why you are deserving of this special treat!

• Enter at SheKnows.com

• Enter at ChipChick.com

Geek Squad 2MM: Living Tech Cheap

Geek Squad Agents William Phillips and Ryan Luering offer ways to cuts costs through the use of technology.

Living Room Convergence

One thing that struck me as I walked through the displays of gadgets and gizmos at the International Consumer Electronics Show was how CES 2010 had made good on a word that was often used in the last decade, but hadn't seen much mention recently: "convergence".

The idea of living room convergence, where multiple technologies come together in the comfort of one room, used to be an often mentioned dream of technology innovators who wanted to accomplish the tasks performed by TVs, VCRs, computers, telephones and more via a single box that could live on a shelf in your house.

The use of the term died out at CES over the years, but recently we’ve begun to see the dream become reality. Last year saw the rise of Netflix streaming movies coming via the Internet to XBox 360s, PS3 and Internet-enabled Blu-ray players. This year, it arrives in the form of HDTVs with built-in app stores that can run games, get weather updates or stream movies directly from multiple network sources.

One of the apps that I saw that I think will make a huge change over time was the Skype app on a few Panasonic and LG HDTVs shown at CES. The technology that allows video conferencing using a webcam and Internet connection isn’t new, but the ease at which it can be performed with an app built into the TV will make adoption and use explode. Could Skype-enabled HDTVs kill home telephone lines more so than mobile phones have?

Another example of convergence is the ease at which Blue Label 2.0 laptops from Toshiba, Dell and Sony can connect wirelessly to an HDTV using Intel’s new Wireless Display technology. A Netgear HDMI wireless receiver connects to the HDMI port on your TV, and setup consists of a clicks on the laptop. Computing from the couch will be easier than ever.

So what’s the future of convergence? Well, check out the video predictions of the Geek Squad Chief Inspector for our guess. Hint: It may involve bionic eyes.

Geek Squad 2MM: Protect Your Computer Against Malware

Geek Squad Agents Mohammad Shahabuddin and Juan Campos discuss ways to protect your computer against malware.

Transmission from CES: Best Buy’s Blue Label 2.0

Looking for a laptop, but confused by the herculean task of balancing all the latest features you want in a laptop that won't break the bank? Fear not, Citizen, because Best Buy joined with Toshiba, Sony and Dell at this week's CES 2010 to announce their Best Buy Blue Label 2.0 family of laptops.

When Best Buy created the original Blue Label line of laptops with our partners in the computer industry, the goal was to create a family of laptops from a range of manufacturers that all had features our customers told us were the most important to them at the time.

Power

These laptops come ready to go for both work and play, with their new Intel i5 processors that were designed to provide plenty of performance in a small package, while still keeping in mind the energy needs of a portable PC. These machines are ready to multi-task, with their 4GB of system memory, and have plenty of space with their 500GB hard drive to keep all the music, movies, photos and programs you need for life on the go.

Protection

Best Buy won’t leave you hanging when you leave the door with your new Blue Label laptop, as each comes with a 2-year manufacturer’s limited warranty to help keep that hardware working. Your software is also protected from malicious software with twelve months of installed antivirus protection included. Even setup is a breeze, with thirty days of support from the professional Agents at Geek Squad also included.

Connectivity

Probably the most striking thing about the new Blue Label laptop family is the inclusion of Intel’s Wireless Display technology. What this does is allow you to cut the cables, and easily stream the display output from your laptop to an HDMI-capable TV using a wireless receiver supplied by Netgear.

With all the video content available through your computer in this broadband-enabled world, it’s a very compelling feature. Imagine easily sending that video out to your big screen TV across the room with just the press of a button, while your laptop is within arm’s reach from the couch.

Exclusively at Best Buy

The Blue Label family of laptops will be available exclusively through Best Buy starting January 17th, but if you’re in Las Vegas for the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, you can catch a sneak peek now.

Transmission from CES: What’s Up With Netbooks?

It's always interesting to see how a product category handles the progression from being the hot new technology at previous Consumer Electronic Shows, to being a more accepted, if not mature, member of computer society.

With 2010, we see netbooks take a few different paths toward maintaining their dominance of the portable computing market.

More Portable

Battery life is always a concern for those users that are always on the go, and netbook manufacturers are looking to help out with devices built from the ground up to use as little power as possible and wring out as much as 11 to 14 hours of run time from a single charge. Less time connected to a wall outlet means less time stuck in one place.

The other portability development we’re seeing is even thinner netbooks, designed to be slim enough that keeping one with you at all times becomes a serious possibility.

More Performance

For some netbook users, it’s entirely acceptable to sacrifice some portability and battery life in exchange for more powerful, on-the-go, netbook performance. More powerful processors, with multiple cores, are being combined with improved video cards to make it possible to play hi-definition videos with fewer issues, or even take in some (still light) 3D gaming.

While not every netbook user needs a more powerful netbook, these beefed up devices will help make more processor-orientated tasks, such as quick edits of SD video, something of a possibility for when you absolutely need to get them done on the go.

More Choice

The wealth of different options becoming available will really help the product category become more mature, and help bring about more choices to fit the specific needs that potential buyers need for their highly portable digital life.