The Latest from Techie Diva's Guide to Gadgets

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 03:23 PM PDT

I love, love, love Christian Siriano. He’s just so talented and fun to watch. Well, LG gave us the opportunity to meet him during Fashion Week and chat with him backstage after he unveiled his Egyptian-inspired 2009 Fall collection. It was just so amazing. I’ve never been to an actual fashion show, much less sit across Tori Spelling, who by the way was all about using her camera phone to videotape the entire show for her hubby.

We also spotted a few celebs in the front row, like Nina Garcia, Miss J, and Marc Indelicato from “Ugly Betty.” Overall, it was a night to remember. But back to our point, we managed to sneak in a few geeky questions during our interview to test just how tech savvy Siriano is, and let me tell you, he loves to Twitter. He also debuted a fab garment for the Lotus as part of his new “Divas and Designers” (love the name!) partnership with LG. The LG-Siriano partnership also includes a nationwide program that allows budding designers and stylists to create and submit their own “mood boards” online through www.lglotus.com. Siriano will select one board, and the winner will spend a day with him in his New York City design studio — all expenses paid. While in New York, the winner will work with Siriano to co-create an accessory — influenced by the winning mood board — that will be presented to the winner at the designer’s show in September 2009. Isn’t that great? Anyway, check the video below:

Web 2.0 Startup Competition

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 02:25 PM PDT

Eliane from Ubergizmo tipped me off to this awesome opportunity for women entrepreneurs. It seems this is actually a great time to start a company, according to VCs who say Disney, HP, and Microsoft got their start during very tough times. Who knew?

Women 2.0’s goal is to encourage entrepreneurial women by helping them launch their startups. The Women 2.0 Pitch 2009 Compeition is open to early-stage ventures around the world, from high growth business ventures in web 2.0 to mobile and biotech, consumer clean tech to consumer hardware. Applying companies must be in beta-stage and have not received significant funding. Teams with at least ONE FEMALE in the founding team are invited to compete for a chance to win one-on-one meeting with Sequoia Capital, three months of office space, PR startegy, and a bunch of other stuff to get you started.

Five startups will be chose to pitch live on Pitch Night, May 7th 2009. Check out the requirements on how to apply, and take your first step towards your new career.

Please pass this along to your lady friends and other ambitious acquaintances you may have.

Microsoft releases Arc Mouse

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 01:51 PM PDT

I’m not a huge fan of fancy mice unless they help people avoid carpal tunnel. Crunchgear says Microsoft will be releasing the Arc Mouse later this month in three beautiful colors: Eggplant, Frost, Deep Olive, and Marine. You could probably guess which one is which. What’s special about this mouse is that it is light, and compact. Here’s what Crunchgear’s editors say about it:

As you can see, the Arc Mouse is so called because it makes a little arc, only coming into contact at the front and back. I think this reduces friction in general, and it saves weight as well, but it also increases the pressure on the two points of contact it does have. This means it requires a light touch, but no major modification of my mousing style was required to use it.

You’ll soon be able to find this great mouse for about $50. Check out CG’s review for a more indepth look at this curious mouse.

Vatican claims washing machines liberated women

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 06:37 AM PDT

Some things are better left unsaid. Reuters has a disturbing report that comes from a ridiculous editorial printed this past weekend in the l’Osservatore Romano, the semi-official Vatican paper. In this report published to purportedly celebrate this past International Women’s Day, the question “What in the 20th century did more to liberate Western women?” was posed. Much to our surprise, the author of the lengthy article , who happens to be a woman, claims that the washing machine was the ultimate liberator.

“The debate is heated. Some say the pill, some say abortion rights and some the right to work outside the home. Some, however, dare to go further: the washing machine,” it says.

The article titled “The Washing Machine and the Liberation of Women - Put in the Detergent, Close the Lid and Relax” attempts to justify its stance by going through the history of washing machines starting with those designed in the 1700s all the way to modern laundromats.

But the again, what do you expect the Vatican to say? Never in a hundred years would they admit that something so “heinous” as the the pill, abortion rights, or the right to work outside the home would have contributed to women’s lib.

I know, you guys are probably as outraged as I am and your probably don’t want to read my rant, so I’ll let you sound off in the comments. What do you think about this idiotic claim?

Barbra Walters explains Twitter

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 05:33 AM PDT

It’s official folks, Hollywood has taken over Twitter! Yes, our favorite social networking tool has gone mainstream thanks to the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Lance Armstrong, Diddy, Jimmy Fallon, Jane Fonda, and now Barbara Walters who says “I’m so with it” before she attempts to explain to her co-hosts what Twitter is. Apparently, after the show aired last week, Twitter was severely down for some time as viewers tweeted about the brief mention. Let’s hope Oprah waits a while before jumping on the Twitter bandwagon.

Watch more AOL Living videos on AOL Video

Jane Fonda on Twitter:

Facebook Art

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 05:04 AM PDT

We absolutely love originality so we gotta give props to Brooklyn-based artist Matt Held who has created a Facebook following simply by painting portraits of Facebook members. To be considered you have to join his group and add him as a friend. His goal is build a large collection of 200 paintings from profile pics on the popular social network. He thinks it will take him two years to complete his collection, and at this rate it might take him longer since he already has more than 3k followers. I’ve added him as a friend, so now I might have to take a really intersting photo to be considered. Check out his Q&A blogpost if you are interested in having your portrait done by him.