NorthGeek

Google loves sponsoring talent for YouTube videos

I posted recently about the amazing Ninja Unboxing video that Google sponsored. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should! Check this one out, too – another Google-sponsored video, quite impressive:

What is ChatRoulette good for? Piano improv, of course!

This guy, who many on the ‘net think is Ben Folds, is great. He created his own YouTube channel, so I’m hoping he’ll continue to add great “Chat Improv Videos” – like this one:

Google’s Nexus One phone released AGAIN (and this time it counts)

For those who have been waiting for the next big Android phone (with a Snapdragon processor, for example…) to hit AT&T and Rogers up here in the Great White North, wait no more. Google has announced a version of their somewhat underachieving Nexus One phone that will rock the 3G bands of AT&T and Rogers. Available now and shipping lightning fast, we at NorthGeek are quite excited. So excited, in fact, that we’ve included this awesome Ninja Unboxing video. Sweet stuff:

The Screw Up – great Last.fm web commercial

Is this what dating was like in 1961?

Layar: Augmented reality on your mobile

Have a look at a new “life browsing” experience, available now! Check out layar.com.

Google Streetview goes Snowview for Vancouver 2010

You’ve seen the streets around Vancouver and Whistler, and have been able to get up-close and personal with the various Olympic venues. But thanks to some really cool dudes and an awesomely high-tech snowmobile, now you can experience the snowy trails of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Check this out!

Miss NorthGeek 2010 – Win a new phone courtesy of NorthGeek and Sony Ericsson Canada!

It’s true! You could win this brand new, PINK, Fido-branded Sony Ericsson T715 phone. Win it for yourself or that special someone in your life – a perfect gift for this coming Valentine’s Day!

Miss NorthGeek 2010 is awarded to the most tech-savvy, geekiest (in the coolest way possible), awesomest femenita in the NorthGeekosphere. To win it, you can either nominate yourself, or nominate the Geekette in your life. She will win the T715 phone, the glory, and the respect of kajillions of adoring fans.

All you have to do, is tweet your story (be sure to include #NorthGeek) or comment in this post, with your best tech-enabled (so that means it could be a text message, an email, or some social media form of communication) romantic story. Maybe you asked someone out on a date by SMS, or perhaps you wrote a song, recorded it, and posted it to YouTube? Whatever it is, let us know, and you could be our lucky winner! Remember, the story has to involve the person you’re nominating as Miss NorthGeek 2010!

We’ll be announcing the winner – selected by an esteemed panel of NorthGeek judges and industry experts – on Valentine’s Day – February 14th 2010, at 12:00pm PST.

Good luck, internet lovers!!

Some info on the handset:
– 3G high-speed experience
– Quad-band phone
– 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder
– Integrated Facebook application
– MP3 player
– External memory expandable(MicroSD)
– Bluetooth® technology
– Handsfree speaker
– Picture and Video Messaging (MMS)
– Flight mode, calendar, to-do list, calculator, unit converter
– World clock, alarm and note pad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Zedmo secures substantial investment from local business

(digg this story!)

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – February 4th 2009
John Stapleton, Business Tech, AP

“Thursday was a huge, huge day for us” exclaimed Noah Bloom, co-founder of Zedmo, a Vancouver-based startup developing the universe’s greatest location-based mobile social community.

“I was just going about my day as I normally would – checking my email, browsing the news stories on my America Online portal, and updating my eHarmony profile, when I received a phone call from an angel, who claimed his name was Mike” continues Bloom. “I didn’t believe Mike for a second, so I quickly looked around the room of 2010 cohort enemies – uh, I mean companies – to see who could be playing this evil trick on me. Anthony was sitting in his chair not on the phone, Jamie was busy tweeting his next publishable masterpiece, Mack was under his desk wearing a hood, and Team Romania was hard at work shining their Google pens. Daniel, my co-founder, was busy complaining about his recent ski accident, so it surely wasn’t him pranking me.”

What happened next, forever changed the face of Zedmo. A struggling startup duo of Bloom and Daniel Wolfe, who dropped everything to join the 2010 Bootup Labs Cohort, were, until yesterday, surviving off leftover sandwiches found in dumps around the city, and the occasional “fresh” peanut butter and tuna sandwich.

“Being a startup is very tough,” says Wolfe. “It’s not like in the movies where you can rub a lamp and a naked woman comes out of it. It’s tougher than that.”

As you can tell by now, the Associated Press mandates us writers to write our stories in such a way that the reader needs to read all the way to the end of a story to find out what the story is actually about. But, because I know my audience is fairly small, I will cut to the chase here.

Nester’s, a top-notch grocer (according to some, but not all… ANTHONY NICALO…) located just steps from the Bootup Labs office in one direction, and steps from Zedmo’s underground home lair in the other, has made a significant investment in Zedmo. Without acquiring any equity in Zedmo, Nester’s has injected $5,200 worth of groceries into the startup. Terms of the deal are still a bit shady, but a spokesperson for Nesters, Mr. Michael Grocerman, has told the Associated Press that, “…the orange juice cannot be diluted.”

So, how did Daniel Wolfe ever score such a great co-founder, with the ability to close investments so early in the game? We asked, and he explained.

“I have what’s called a silver tongue. That’s it.”

And you thought the Olympics were the biggest story out of Vancouver.

When asked what Zedmo plans to do with this influx of food, they were quick to point us in the direction of their appointed PR agency, for reasons of secrecy and not giving too much away to the competition:

“First, they supplied the 2010 Cohort with Odwalla juices, so as not to cause any unfriendly conflict or envy around the office. Further to this, Zedmo hopes to build on this investment by purchasing fancy foods and supplies, such as turkey, cheese and crackers, and non-generic cling wrap. No further comments, my clients are very tired from the celebrations last night.”

Although this recent investment has placed Zedmo founders Noah and Daniel in the spotlight among “everybody who’s anybody” from the Valley up to Vancouver, the dynamic duo promises to remain down to earth, although sources tell the AP that Daniel was spotted drinking Tropicana orange juice, while Noah was seen washing his hands with a bar of Lever 2000 – for all his 2,000 body parts (including hands).

For more information on Zedmo and their location-based mobile application, please contact info@zedmo.com

PLEASE NOTE: Zedmo is still accepting further investment, so don’t be shy.

Bud Light makes excellent commercials!

NorthGeek is very excited about Google’s Navigation

This is something that just makes you think, “well, duh” – it had to happen, and finally, it has. Now shipping with all Android 2.0 phones (‘all’ being the Moto Droid for now, at least) is the new Google Maps Navigation which is an internet-enabled, voice prompting GPS navigation app that takes full advantage of all of Google Maps and Google Local’s network features, from business contact info to street view. Have a look:

I’m quite excited for more Android 2.0 phones to come out, especially a GSM one. My only question now: what to do with my Blackberry Bold?