Technology | Gadgets & Technology

Watch Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week Live Online

new york fashion week 2010 live streaming 300x223 Watch Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week Live Online It’s that time again — Fashion Week!

Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week returns to Livestream with live coverage from the Fall 2011 runway shows and presentations. Here is the schedule with links — all times listed are Eastern:

Friday, February 11th
Peter Som Show
Time: 11:00am

Costello Tagliapietra Show
Time: 3:00pm

Nicole Miller
Time: 6:00pm

Saturday, February 12th
Richard Chai Show
Time: 11:00am

Alexander Wang
Time: 5:00pm

Altuzarra Show
Time: 8:00pm

Sunday, February 13th
Preen Show
Time: 11:30am

Cushnie et Ochs
Time: 7:00pm

Monday, February 14th
Ohne Titel Show
Time: 12:00pm

Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet
Time: 5:00pm

Kevork Kiledjan Show
Time: 5:00pm

Tuesday, February 15th
RAD by Rad Hourani Show
Time: 10:30am

Diesel Black Gold
Time: 1:00pm

Sophie Theallet
Time: 5:00pm

Wednesday, February 16th
Oscar de la Renta
Time: 12:00pm

Jeremy Scott
Time: 1:00pm

The Blonds
Time: 7:00pm

Gloss Find: Digitwirl

digitwirl 300x226 Gloss Find: Digitwirl Yeah, we know a lot about tech and must-have gadgets here on GLOSS but when someone comes along with a great idea — we’re happy to share the scoop.

For a weekly dose of tech knowledge that’ll make your life better — seriously — head on over to digitwirl. Carley, a tech maven, shares her amazing finds and quick tips that make tech work for you. In just her first few Twirls (aka 3-minute videos packed with lots o’ info), we learned about Zingsale — a fab personal shopper / sale site, found out about a greeting card site that does all the work for us and got tips about customizing our iPads.

And, it all comes to our inbox weekly and with Carley’s girlfriend-in-the-know voice that we love.

Digitwirl – subscribe for free at digitwirl.com

Gloss Find: Sangean Table Top Radio

Once upon a time, I wanted a shiny, fancy, radio with lots of knobs and buttons.

sangean radio L 300x178 Gloss Find: Sangean Table Top Radio Now, I want to go back to what is comfortable and familiar.

Perhaps it’s part of aging?

The elegant Sangean Table Top Radio ($80) has great, clear, booming sound quality. But that’s not the end of it — we love that it has nostalgic rotary dials and an acoustically designed wooden cabinet balance a modern lighted analog display and an LED tuning marker. With a universal AUX-In jack for portable device connections, and a Record-Out jack for external routing, we can do everything we want.

But, it feels like home…and that’s pretty darn rad, too.

Major Week For Geeks: Changes Apple, Google, HP

steve jobs 300x218 Major Week For Geeks: Changes Apple, Google, HP With major announcements from Apple, Google and Hewlett-Packard, it was a pretty crazy week in Silicon Valley. But for those who missed the week-long emotional roller coaster, here’s a quick rundown.

Early this week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that he would take indefinite leave of absence to focus on his health, though he will continue to be involved in major strategic decisions, day-to-day operations will be left to the chief operating officer.

A day after Jobs announced his leave, Apple posted its highest first quarter results ever, with revenue surging 71% and earnings up 78%. Fueled by holiday shopping, a record 10 million iPod Touches, 7.3 million iPads and 16.2 million iPhones were sold in December quarter alone.

The demand for the iPhone is about to intensify, now that the Verizon iPhone is set to hit stores on February 10. Verizon is offering $200 gift cards to new customers who purchase their new iPhones at full price before Feb. 28. AT&T on the other hand, announced rate increases for their pricing plans (good grief).

Right on the heels of the Verizon iPhone announcement are rumors about the next generation — the iPhone 5 – which, according to reports, will be a “total rethink from a design point”.
Patents filed by Apple also suggest the phone will have apps for a mobile wallet and an NFC chip — the same technology the Android and Nexus S have now, as well as the Lala music streaming service and a voice-recognition software to rival Google’s voice search. Exact details are minimal but Engadget reports that sources say is on track for a summer launch, with the iPad 2 and Apple TV second generation in the works as well.

In another boardroom shake-up in Silicon Valley, Google made the surprising announcement that co-founder Larry Page will be stepping back into the role of CEO to help regain any ground the company may have lost to the competition, namely Facebook.

That same day, Hewlett-Packard named five new directors to its board, three of whom were women: Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, Patricia Russo, ex-CEO of Alcatel-Lucent and Dominique Senequier, CEO of Paris-based AXA Private Equity. According to analysts, the reconfigured board suggests that HP is gearing up for battle with its biggest tech rivals.

1 in 10 Women Hack Into Their Partner’s Online Accounts

All you need is love… and a poorly encrypted password.

Nearly half of women know their partner’s passwords for their email and Facebook accounts with one in ten admitting they snoop behind their partner’s back, according to a recent poll.

In the survey of 3,000 British women 18 to 45 who are in a relationship, researchers also found that 38 percent check their partner’s web browser history whenever they use his PC, while a third confess to peeking at his mobile phone.

The U.K. study also found that one in six women has gone as far as setting a “honeytrap” — sending messages to their partner from a fake online account or mobile number in an attempt to catch them.

Other interesting tidbits:

-28% said they questioned calls from an unknown number on their partner’s phone

-One in 20 have caught their husbands or boyfriends sexting — exchanging racy text messages or pictures — with members of the opposite sex.

-A fifth have argued with their partner over putting kisses on text messages to another woman

-Nine in 10 consider any form of ‘sexting’ to be disrespectful and not harmless fun, with eight in ten saying they would end the relationship.

- Most women would confront their partner if they found anything on their phone but 45% said they would keep the information to themselves and let things play out before saying anything

Do you keep digital tabs on your man? If so, has it ever backfired completely? Let us know in the comments section!

The First Robot Pop Star: Only Slightly Horrifying

Screen shot 2010 10 22 at 3.11.53 AM 300x210 The First Robot Pop Star: Only Slightly Horrifying Britney. Miley. The Spice Girls. Say what you want about manufactured pop stars — at least they didn’t creep me out like HRP-4C, the manufactured (literally) “divabot” developed at Japan’s Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

She sings! She dances! She has back-up dancers! Using special software that synthesizes notes with Yamaha’s Vocaloid program, HRP-4C can also mimic the head movements and facial features of singers of the more… human-y persuasion. According to Gizmodo, head of the Institute’s interactive media group, Masataka Goto, hopes that someday the robots will be used by the entertainment industry.

Oy… Sure, the song’s catchy and it’s funny that an actual robot uses less AutoTune than her human counterparts, but frankly, the gigantic man-hands, metal legs, and blank “I’m going to destroy you” facial expression ruin it for me. As Randy Jackson would say, “I’m just not feelin’ it, dawg.” Yet even with HRP-4C’s deeeeep dip into the uncanny valley, Ke$ha is still far more horrifying in comparison. Way to go, Robots!

Tech Makes Fashion “Too Easy” Says French Vogue Editor

wwd Tech Makes Fashion Too Easy Says French Vogue Editor Ever since fashion-hungry fans from all the over the world crashed Alexander McQueen’s website a few seasons ago to watch a livestream of his runway show, a growing number of designers have also caught on to the concept.

Earlier this month, we told you about the growing number of designers opting to stream their shows during New York Fashion Week but according to an interview with the New York Times, that’s precisely what bothers French Vogue Editor-In-Chief Carine Roitfeld about fashion today.

Roitfeld explained:

Sometimes I think, Why do I have to go to a show? Half an hour driving, half an hour waiting, seeing the show, then half an hour back. And when I get back, I see the show on the Internet. Sometimes it goes too quick sometimes. I like the idea of what Tom Ford did in New York. No one saw one outfit, except the 100 people who were guests. It was smart, because it makes envy. It’s too easy that Prada makes a collection and two hours later its on the Net and everyone can copy it. It’s too quick now, but I don’t think we can do anything about that. It’s just the time.

Tom Ford is my favorite fashion designer OF ALL TIME and what I love so much about him is that he never forgot that fashion is a business, too. (In 1999, Gucci was almost bankrupt but thanks to Ford’s immense talent and business savvy, Gucci Group had grown in value – nearly $6 billion – by the time he left five years later.) His last shows with Gucci and Yves St. Laurent were in 2004, but I’d find it hard to believe that Ford wouldn’t stream his shows online, had it been a feasible option then. Making a runway show available online doesn’t necessarily dilute the prestige or exclusivity of a brand. Look at Christian Louboutin — once a secret among the fashion elite, nearly every shoe-wearing woman in the world covets a pair of his to-die-for red-soled heels thanks to increased exposure from a celebrity following and “Sex and the City.” Are Louboutins any less envious?

What do you think? Sound off in the comments section – we want to hear from you!

via Mashable

Japanese Resort Caters To Men With Virtual Girlfriends

loveplus 300x171 Japanese Resort Caters To Men With Virtual Girlfriends I totally understand that the Internet has changed modern courtship in the real world but this is taking dating really out there. Virtual girlfriends are now enjoying the kind of real-life wooing (romantic dinners and weekend getaways) that’s typically reserved for um, non-virtual women, thanks to a summertime promotional campaign in Japan catering to nubile video game characters and the real men who love them.

But this virtual love has been sweeping Japanese men off their feet ever for years, in the form of a dating-simulation game called LovePlus. Described as a “communication game”, the latest version for Nintendo DS has players courting an array of high school girl characters while trying to maintain a steady relationship with one of them. Players can use a number of commands like holding hands or sending a flirty text. Basic voice recognition software allows players to fulfill their “boyfriend duties” — like saying “I love you” 100 times into the DS’ built-in microphone. Should all go well, players can go in for a kiss by literally, uh, kissing the screen on the console.

In LovePlus+, digital couples enjoy virtual “field trips” at resorts like Atami but game makers are taking it one step further by teaming up with the real city of Atami to attract players who want to re-enact their virtual romance in the real world. Japan hopes this unique campaign will help boost tourism and increase interest in the once-bustling beach town that’s seen a steady decline since the 1990s.

MORE on GLOSS: Bro, Pass the Midol – a Japanese Menstruation Simulator for Men

But it looks like the highly unusual plan has paid off. During the two month-long campaign (which ended in August), more than 2,000 men flocked to Atami to enjoy a real-life romantic getaway full of virtual lovin’. Fortunately for everyone involved, locals happily played along: hotels provided rooms for the ‘couples’ and restaurants offered Love Plus+ specials. The girl may not be real, but the weekend outing most certainly is and according to the Wall Street Journal, it can get expensive.

love plus atami 300x199 Japanese Resort Caters To Men With Virtual Girlfriends To add to the experience, digital lovers could also have their photos taken in 13 different “romantic” spots set up around town. An augmented reality iPhone app inserts virtual girlfriends into each snapshot and scans the 2D barcodes at each location that allowed players to see their sweethearts in different outfits. (A hotel even put barcodes in each room, so players could see their sweethearts wearing summer kimonos in a more ‘private’ setting.)

Think recreating a virtual weekend trip is odd? Last December, a guy actually married his LovePlus+ girlfriend in a ceremony officiated by an actual priest and of course, both real and virtual guests were in attendance. The reception included a DJ, toasts from friends and family, a slideshow presentation, and even a bridal bouquet.

“I love this character, not a machine,” the groom said, who understands “100 percent” that LovePlus+ is a game. The wedding, while not legally binding, was his way of expressing his devotion to virtual his love. And even though he knows a legal marriage to Nene will never be an option, he maintains that she is still better than a human girlfriend. “She doesn’t get angry if I’m late in replying to her. Well, she gets angry, but she forgives me quickly.” Playa, play on.

Japanese Resort Caters To Men With Virtual Girlfriends

The groom, known as Sal9000, tied the knot with Nene in a ceremony he streamed live online.

Is it just me or is this all a bit “Lars and the Real Girl” but without that crucial Ryan Gosling factor? What do you think about LovePlus+ and Atami’s unique campaign?

Photo: (Top Left) An augmented reality iPhone app, inserts users’ virtual lady into photos taken at more than a dozen “romantic” spots set up around the town of Atami. Credit: AOL

geek gloss logo1 Japanese Resort Caters To Men With Virtual Girlfriends geekGLOSS’ Jennifer Latkiewicz is an 10th Level Procrastinator who is always on the lookout for new, creative ways to waste time. Send your favorite websites, games, apps and other online or smartphone distractions to her via e-mail at geekgloss@mygloss.com or on Twitter at @gloss and @geekgloss! If your suggestion is featured, you’ll get a sweet prize!