This is my CES 2012 headquarters.

There are 3 laptops (one with Ustream running cnet & TWIT live streaming, iPad with the CES app running and my iMac where I’m reading posts and blogging.)

Are you following the CES 2012 news?

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Wordless Wednesday; CES 2012 Style originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

The Samsung CES 2012 booth.

Samsung CES 2012 booth

Samsung CES 2012 Press Conference

I LOVED the Samsung CES 2012 press conference. It got me really excited about all their new products (and sad that I can not see them in person) Because it was such a spectacular s show and it’s on YouTube, so I’m including a link to the full press conference. Here is a 10 minute recap that includes the highlights.

Here is my recap of the Samsung CES 2012 technology that will enhance your life.

Samsung is Pushing Boundaries

• In November, Samsung sold an average of 2 TVs per second.
• Make consumers life Simpler, Smarter & More Enjoyable (Sound like my tag line, “Technology to Enhance Your Life”)
• Samsung has a wide array of devices that connect and the TV is the hub of this ecosystem.
• Smart Interaction – Samsung TV will be able to Listen, See & Do without touching a remote control.
• Smart Content – Share photos, notes, memories from TV and personal devices. Access educational & health content. TV that understands your needs.
• Smart Evolution – TV is future-proofed. Smart TV will get smarter every year and you won’t need to buy a new one every year. Make your TV new every year. Faster, better, more content.

Samsung Future-Proof

This is cool. You know how you buy a TV and you are so excited, you get it home and then you see a commercial on that very TV with all the new TVs that are coming out (which of course drops the price of the TV you just bought.) TVs were a product you would buy and expect to own for many years. It was a major piece of furniture and we’ve got away from that. Well, Samsung is bringing that idea back with future-proof TVs. Watch the video to see how it works.

Content, Service & Connectivity is basis for their cross-platform devices.

Samsung CES 2012 Press Conference

ES8000 LED Smart TV

• Beautiful, powerful LED TV
• Dual-core processor is faster and can multi-task. Can have 2 apps open at once
• Smart hub is one screen for apps & content.
• Slim bezel & matching U-Shaped stand
• Large as 75 ” with an integrated camera for video conferencing and motion control.

This Samsung TV will look beautiful in any family room!

Smart Content

• Purchase your content for one device and watch it on all devices (love this!)
• More premium content available.
• More 3D devices available and Samsung helping to offer more 3D content
• Angry Birds available on Samsung large screens & Angry Birds animated on-demand channel

Samsung Family Story

• Upload photos, videos & memos direct from devices to the TV
• workout videos, sync to wireless scale & sync to app on smart phone
• Kids – recommends content for kids and parents can track what kids are watching
• Each family member can log into their profile with facial recognition

This is exciting. This fulfills many of my tech needs. I workout at home and I’m always looking for new ways to find workouts and track my progress. My kids are also always looking for new shows and I love that parents can track what the kids are watching.

Samsung 55″ Super OLED 3D TV

Best of Innovations 2012 CES

Connectivity

• Sharing without wires is what is important now
• Connectivity is easier with Samsung’s allshare play
• You can Capture moments, wirelessly uploads to PC or TV and can be access on the Smart TV at Grandpa’s house.

Samsung SMART Camera & Camcorder

• Remote viewfinder app & control camera from your smart phone
• Link camera to phone or tablet
• Auto backup uploads photos to your PC automatically
• E-mail pictures straight from the camera

Samsung CES 2012 Camera

I’m curious about the Samsung cameras. I have never used one. Anyone have a Samsung camera? What are your thoughts?

Smart Appliances

• Connected washer & control washer from anywhere with allshare control apps
• First smart refrigerator with apps

Galaxy Note

• 4G version LTE AT&T
• 5.4 HD Super AMOLED screen
• S Pen is more than a stylus with 256 levels of pressure sensitivity. Writes just like pen & paper.
• Calendar, S Memo, Secure

This looks like so much fun!! There really is a Samsung tablet in just about any size you wish.

Galaxy Tab 7.7

• Can be transformed into a remote for all your devices
• LTE on Verizon
• Super AMOLED Plus display
• Integrated infrared technology

Notebook Series 9

• Weighs 2.5 lbs and is 1/2 inch thick
• Single shell aluminum body that resists fingerprints
• SuperBright Plus screen
• Auto Backlit keyboard
• Boots up 9,8 seconds and wakes in 1.4 seconds
• Battery lasts up to 10 hours
• 15 inch Max Screen technology

I’ve been drooling over this Ultrabook all week. It looks gorgeous.

Series 9 Monitor

• Built in calibration engine
• More than 1 Billion colors
• Edge to edge tempered glass
• All connections in the base of the display

Very sleek-looking Samsung monitor. This would definitely enhance an office!

Series 5 UltraBook

• 14″ Super Bright
• DVD Drive

Samsung CES 2012 – Notebook Series 5

That is all the really cool technology from Samsung. Remember, to use technology to enhance your life.

Let’s Talk About Samsung CES 2012!

Which of these products are you the most excited about? I can’t wait to get my hands on any of it.

 Be sure to check out all of my CES 2012 coverage.

Photos are press pictures.

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Samsung CES 2012; Pushing Boundaries originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

2011 Accomplishments

Yeah, yeah, I know…I should look at what I have accomplished. Ok…I did run my Half Marathon.

Medal for running my first half marathon.

2012 Resolutions?

As you may know, I hate resolutions, prefer intentions. This year, I’ve decided to wrap up my intentions into a nice big package, Project Balance (#ProjectBalance.) And with everything I do, this involves a lot of technology! I have to keep up my Tech Mom title after all.

Living With Chronic Pain

In December of 2010, I had pancreatic surgery which ended over 10 years of chronic pain. I thought for sure that 2011 would be my year! No pain! Lots of gain. Well, gain I did! 30 pounds to be exact. It was a much tougher year than I thought it would be. Turns out that when you have over 10 years of pain, you get used to it. Those doctor appointments, tests and hospital visite I detested so much became my normal. Your whole life shifts to accomodate your pain.

Finding My New Normal

When I was pain-free, I didn’t know what normal was anymore, my normal. I felt like something was missing and I tried to fill that void with food I guess. It took me a while to figure that out. So, now I need to figure out what my new normal is.

Project Balance is my way of finding my new normal.

Project Balance Tech Style

Project Balance will be a year-long project with a different focus on a life area each month. Everything I do has a tech angle to it, so you will see how I use technology to enhance my life every day. This year I will use technology to balance my life.

Here is a sample of how I will present the different focus areas each month.

• Apps, gadgets, web tools and software
• Project 365 picture ideas
• Digital Scrapbook pages
• Quotes & motivational stories
• Suggestions of ebooks to read
• Blogs to follow
• Personal stories
• …And much more!

If you would like to follow me on the journey, I would love the company. I don’t have the answers. I’m going to be fumbling my way through this journey. I’m thinking of this as a year-long research project, making changes in my life as I go.

Project Balance Begins

On January 1, 2012, Project Balance begins with Organization and Setting Goals. I”ll be using the hashtag #ProjectBalance. My One Word for the year is Balance, of course!

Let’s Talk About Project Balance!

Will you join me? Do you set New Year’s Resolutions every year? Do you keep your resolutions? 

Images 2 & 3 from Microsoft Images.

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2011 Over; 2012 Project Balance Tech Style Begins originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Into_Now App

This is what the Into_Now app on the iPad looks like when it is listening to your TV.

And Into_Now on the iPhone…

And this is what you get when the Into_Now app listens and finds the show you are listening to.

You can also find shows that are on now if you are looking for something to watch on TV.

You can connect with your friends and when you check into a show you will know whether your friends have watched that show before or if they are watching it now. The checking in part is similar to Get Glue, but I love that the Into_Now app listens for the show rather than me having to find it.

Here is what you see on the iPad. There is more space, so you can see more.

Testing Into_Now

I have tested both the iPad and iPhone Into_Now app extensively trying to trip it up. I have never had the app tell me it was the wrong show. If there are commercials on, the app will tell you it thinks there may be commercials on. If the sound is too soft or there is a lot of other noise in the room, then the Into_Now app will have a hard time listening. But when it can hear well, it finds the show almost every time. There was only once that it wasn’t finding the show and I can’t remember what show it was.

How Into_Now Works

I checked on the Into_Now website to find out how it find the shows by listening. It uses something called SoundPrint, which is their own patented indexing technology

With SoundPrint, IntoNow can identify what’s being watched, down to the individual episode, within seconds.

- Into_Now website

It just amazes me what technology can do.

Follow Into_Now on Facebook & Twitter.

Let’s Talk About The Into_Now app!

Did you download Into_Now? Do you use check-in apps when you are watching TV?

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Into_Now App Knows What You Are Watching By Listening; Daily Geek Find originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

I have flown out to San Francisco several times, but I guess I never had a window seat because I don’t ever remember seeing this view. It was such a gorgeous view.

Photo taken with my Olympus PEN E-PM1 from the PEN READY Project.

I arrived at the Hotel Sofitel with a few hours to spare and I decided to rest. I was still recovering from my 3 weeks of pneumonia.

That evening we met in the hotel lounge for some appetizers, drinks and to catch up. Getting together with a small group of tech mom bloggers is so much fun. It was great catching up with everyone and the desserts were yummy!!

Small Cheesecakes

Chocolate covered strawberries.

PlayStation Family

The next morning we headed over to the PlayStation Headquarters where we met with several of PlayStation’s employees and got a super secret tour. The sign outside the conference room welcoming the PlayStation Family.

Eighteen tech bloggers who are also Moms make up the PlayStation Family Group (#PSFamily). Sixteen of us were able to make the trip out to San Francisco.

Meeting Jack Tretton

In the past 4 years, I have attended many brand summits and I can only remember one other time where the CEO of the company came in to talk with us. As a brand ambassador, I realize the importance of what I do, but when the CEO takes time out of his schedule to talk to us personally, then we know that the company values what we do. That was really exciting! I love learning about the history of a tech company, why they do what they do, future plans, their vision and how the products go from idea to being in my home.

Here is Jack Tretton, President & CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment talking with us about PlayStation’s story and where we fit into the picture. This was a conversation where he listened as much as he talked.

PS Vita In Person!

One of the highlights for me was getting to see, hold and try the new PS Vita. I will do a whole post on the PS Vita, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of it. The touchpad on the back is AWESOME. I wasn’t sure about it, but after trying it out, I love it. PlayStation has some awesome features that tie the PS Vita into your entire Sony Entertainment system.

PS Vita will be out in the US in February

Isn’t it beautiful?

We also learned a lot about all that the PlayStation has available on the PS3 in terms of entertainment. You could spend weeks on it and never do the same thing twice I think. Don’t worry…I will have lots of future posts covering many of the different features.

Here is a picture of the #PSFamily group with Jack Tretton.

Super Secret Tour

After lunch, we had a super secret tour of the audio department at PlayStation. I could tell you all about it, but then I’d have to kill you! But seriously…I’ll just say it was AWESOME! I will have a post in a few days with some of the highlights that I can share. I never realized all that went into a game and in particular the audio of a game.

Playing at PlayStation!

A trip to the PlayStation headquarters would not be complete without some game time. Since I was getting over pneumonia and was having a hard time breathing, I left the playing to the others while I watched!

Kris & Amy playing Everybody Dance

A Little Cha Cha Cha!

We ended the day with a little Cha Cha Cha (not Slide), but Cuban food.

This was the private room in the basement where we ate. The decor was so interesting.

I took the red-eye home straight from dinner. The event was very interesting and I loved catching up with everyone and learning about PlayStation.

Disclosure: Playstation covered my expenses for the trip to the headquarters. All opinions are 100% my own.

Let’s Talk About PlayStation Family!

Is there anything you would like to know more about PlayStation? Anything you would like me to write about? Let me know!

Related articles

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Meeting The PlayStation Family; See PS Vita originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

New Balance Sports Earbuds

As you can see in the picture below. The New Balance Sports Earbuds have both the earbuds and earhooks. The earhooks pull off if you do not want to use them. The earbuds plug into the heart rate monitor and pedometer. The large button on the monitor is where you put your thumb to test your heart rate. The monitor then plugs into your iPod or MP3 player. The New Balance unit also comes with 2 other sizes of in-ear cushions. I didn’t find the earbuds very comfortable, so I was glad that I could swap the earbuds out for my own. (It has taken me 3 years to find a pair I like. It seems I have very small ears which is why most don’t work for me.)

Heart Rate Monitor

My favorite part is the heart rate monitor. I have never monitored my heart rate during a run. I had to stop and walk while testing my heart rate or it wouldn’t read anything. It is interesting to see the heart rate graph after I upload all my information to the Heart Pal software.

Audio Feedback Helpful

Another really helpful feature is the audio feedback. I was getting my calories burned, steps taken and heart rate announced via voice-over while I was running and listening to music.

The New Balance Sports Earbuds comes with the Heartpal Data Graphing software for Windows (download the Mac version.) It was easy to install and my information uploaded quickly and without any problems. Since I’ve only run 6 times in the last 2 weeks, there isn’t a lot of data there. I’m anxious to see patterns after using it for a few more months.

As you can see in the picture above, I clipped the heart rate monitor to my t-shirt on the opposite side of the wires for the earbuds. That kept the wires from getting tangled.

In the end, the information that I’m getting from the heart rate monitor outweighs any problems I had with the cords. I did find it very interesting to see how many steps I took while I was running and comparing it to previous runs. The more I use it, the more useful all the data will become.

The New Balance 2-in-1 sports earbuds/earhooks retail for $99.99 and are available at the New Balance Audio website.

Let’s Talk About the New Balance Sport Earbuds!

What information do you track when you are running? Do you upload somewhere to see the changes?

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New Balance Sports Earbuds With Pedometer & Heart Rate Monitor originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Future of Technology Thoughts

What are your thoughts on the future of technology? Obviously I’m a geek since that’s what I write about so for me, all these things that work automatically and are built into mirrors, walls and appliances is really cool. I would love to talk on the video phone that is built into my countertop.

But what intrigues me the most is how everything works together. The call started on the phone and moved to the counter. If there is anything that would hold us back in technology, I do believe it’s that. I would like to see more standard, but I know that takes time.

Heck, we had VHS and beta and now we have DVDs. I realize standardization takes time.

Fingerprints and Glare

And my big concern? Cleaning all that glass. Can you imagine having so much glass that everyone is touching all the time? I hope the future of technology includes glass that is resistant to fingerprints.

And what about the glare? I’m not putting a screen cover on my fridge like I do on my iPhone?

I would like to be able to answer my email while I’m brushing my teeth without having to bring my laptop into the bathroom. Don’t laugh! I know you have too!!

I do know that glass can be made to be really tough, even Gorilla tough while still being beautiful.

Let’s Talk About the Future of Technology!

What are your thoughts on the video? How about using glass for everything? What is your vision of the future of technology?

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Future of Technology; A Day Made of Glass by Corning originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

I work real hard to keep up with all the things I need to do (or that I need someone else to do.) You can share your tasks also with Wunderlist.

Wunderlist will sync with my iPhone and iPad and I get an email each morning with the current tasks. I can also send a task as an email.

Wunderlist is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android and it is FREE! You can always access your tasks from any web browser too.

Let’s Talk About Wunderlist, My Task Management Tool!

What task management tool do you use?

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Daily Geek Find; Wunderlist Task Management Tool originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

This picture is here just because i love it!

There are 3 things I’m passionate about…technology, fitness and digital scrapbooking. Now it’s very hard to create a blog and talk about all 3 extensively. But what I figured out is that even my fitness and scrapbooking passions have a tech spin. I’m a digital scrapbooker (definitely a tech kinda thing.) Even fitness is done with technology. I run with my Nike+… I use the Wii & Kinect to fill in the off days. I track my workouts and food on my iPhone. So, what is my niche? Technology that enhances our lives. I like to call it Lifestyle Technology. So, it’s official. My Niche is Lifestyle Technology.

How Will My Blog Change?

• You are going to see more of what I love about technology and how it can and does enhance our daily lives. You will see less of me posting about stuff that doesn’t fit into that niche.

• You will see more ads. Yes, I have to pay the bills too. But my ads will be for products that I use and love, so view them as an extension of my blog. Another way for me to endorse the products I love and make a few bucks too!

• You will see another theme change. I’m not happy with the one that is currently here. It isn’t flexible enough for me to change things around. I’m going to use Unspoken (love that name). I bought the theme and uploaded it. Now I just have to make the change.

• You will see more about how I am working on living a much healthier life using technology. It’s how I make it all fun.

• You will see more about digital scrapbooking. It will be interweaved in my posts. Instead of telling you all about my latest run, I may create a scrapbook page and show you. I miss digital scrapbooking and this is my way of getting it back into my life.

• You will continue to see things that don’t fit into any of those 3 categories IF, and ONLY IF, it is something that I want you to know about. If I find an awesome online clothing store that sells casual clothes that fit and look awesome, you bet I’m going to blog about it. Because I want you to know about it.

• You will see more of me running on the beach… Oh wait. This isn’t my wish list. This is the list of things you will DEFINITELY see. Dang! A girl can hope!

• You will see more video and rumor has it, maybe even a weekly podcast.

• You will see a new community so we can all keep up with the constantly changing, ever growing world of (lifestyle) technology.

• You will see a Daily Geek Find just about every day. I have a life (sort of) so I might skip a day or two, but I will try to bring you a new gadget, tool, app or software each day. If you find something cool, let me know about it. Use #DailyGeekFind and Tweet it to me. (@ScrappinMichele)

All of the change will be for the good. You will see more of what you love about me and my blog and less of the stuff we don’t like. (In other words, no more blogging for a free box of cereal or a cheap t-shirt.)

Getting To Know You!

I would also like to get to know you better. So, if you have a few moments, please fill out my survey.

Please feel free to let me know in the comments or email me (michele@scrapsofmygeeklife.com) and tell me what you love, like and don’t like about my blog. I can’t guarantee I’ll change it just for you, but I might take it into consideration.

OMG!! I Know What My Niche Is And It Only Took 4 Years To Figure It Out originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

My favorite circulars for gadgets are Best Buy, Target & SEARS. They really know how to create a sales ad that makes me want gadgets I never thought I wanted or needed. They make it fun to search for a Daily Geek Find.

Best Buy Daily Geek Find

1. Dell AMD Athlon Laptop – Best Buy

This is a great deal on a laptop. I’m sure this Daily Geek Find will go fast.

2. DYNEX Portable DVD Player – Best Buy

If you are planning a trip this summer and bringing kids. This Daily Geek Find is a MUST. At this price, the DYNEX Portable DVD player is a steal too. All 4 of my kids have portable DVD players and this has saved us from hours of whining in planes and cars.

3. Casio Camcorder – Best Buy

This Casio TRYX camcorder looks really cool. I do not know anything about the quality of the video it takes, but this would make vlogging a lot easier if I could see the video as I’m recording. This Daily Geek Find won the 2011 CES Award for Design.

4. HP All-in-One TouchSmart with AMD Anthon Chip – Best Buy

This HP All-in-One computer gets me really excited. I really want an All-in-One PC with a Touchscreen. This is an awesome price too, but my birthday isn’t until August. Now a touchscreen PC with the new AMD Fusion chip would be really awesome. (The HP 610 version has a quad-core processor for a few more dollars)

5. JBL Speaker Docking Station for iPad/iPhone/iPod – Best Buy

This JBL Speaker Docking Station a really cool Daily Geek Find that I probably don’t need, but really want. I watch old episodes of shows on YouTube or Hulu or Netflix while I’m working. Right now I’m watching all the episodes of Charmed. I’m in season 5 (and why didn’t anyone tell me this show was so good when it was on.) This would make that “sound” better!

Target Daily Geek Find

6. Nintendo DS Lego Games – Target

The Nintendo DS Lego games are so much fun and are on sale at Target now. The Pirates of the Caribbean is the newest game. I bought myself a Nintendo 3DS recently and playing these games on the 3DS is even more fun, but those games aren’t on sale now.

SEARS Daily Geek Find

7. Kodak Playsport Camcorder – SEARS

I have this Kodak Playsport camcorder, but I wanted to include it in the Daily Geek Find Sunday sales because this is a really good price. This camcorder is waterproof too so it’s really good for the pool, beach and vacations. I’ve been really happy with the video this camcorder delivers too. (Of course, Kodak just came out with a new version of the Playsport. They keep making their camcorders better.)

8. Nintendo 3DS – SEARS

Not really on sale, but you do get a free carrying bag for the Nintendo 3DS when you purchase it at SEARS. It really is a lot of fun to play the games in 3D and I love that I don’t need 3D glasses.

Let’s Talk About Daily Geek Find, Sunday Edition!

Did you see anything interesting in the sales today? Do you own any of these geeky products? How do you like today’s Daily Geek Find?

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8 Gadgets – Daily Geek Find Sunday Sales Style originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.