I was surprised to read that the percentage of Computer Science degrees earned by women is down from 20% in 1991: Women in computing. Not.

I enjoyed the article: When you don’t want to be Facebook friends. It covers many awkward situations, like friend requests from people that are not your friends or high school memories coming to find you. There are even some groundrules for etiquette and how to handle these situations.

What my male colleagues could learn from me is a fun read, but it’s a two-way street. Earlier in the month, The Next Women posted: What I learnt from my male colleagues.

Qik is a site that lets you share live video from your phone. Regeneration.org recently used Qik to share video of their road trip across the country. How might you use it? Here are a few ideas.

I will start with my favorite hobby — shopping! It could be used to take someone virtually shopping with you. Instead of taking pictures of each outfit, you could video all of them and then ask for feedback. I might also use it if the grandparents can not make it to a soccer game. I know they would still feel they are a part of the event if they could watch some of the game live. Best part of all, using my cell phone to take the video would be super easy and non-intrusive.

Let us know if you have used Qik and give us your thoughts.

About six months ago, Your Blog was launched as a place for people to help one another use personal technology in new and sometimes novel ways.

As stated in the blog’s inaugural post, we wanted to provide a conversation platform for things like photography, gaming, music, film, fashion, social media – and all things computer related – and afford Dell additional opportunities to listen and learn.

Fast forwarding to later this month, we will migrate the content of Your Blog. Some of it – like details of new Dell products – will wind up on Direct2Dell, our primary corporate blog. Most Your Blog content will move to and provide the foundation for several new blogs. Based on our recent move to a new, more integrated community site, we feel the time is right to take Your Blog’s major categories and spin them off as new blogs that focus specifically on gaming, digital entertainment (i.e. music, photography, events, etc.) — and what has come to be known as the Cyber Sisterhood.

We hope this approach will generate better content and conversation, and more of each. Please stay tuned.

That’s the title of a great read by Tracy Mayor in Computerworld. The publication took on a project to remove some unwanted Internet mentions and found that “erasing your tracks online takes time, perseverance and more than a little luck.”

Lifehacker also has a nicely done feature on Managing Your Reputation Online.

Here’s to hoping you’ll never have to apply such knowledge ….

The Domestic Diva did a great review on the Step ‘n Shine: Wireless Night Lighting System and even shares some ideas for using in a house with small children. I’m adding it to my wish list!

A list of 13 Inspiring Entrepreneurial Women in Technology is an enjoyable read with a brief history about each of the women listed.

Is technology spawning new dating disasters? covers the Blurry ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of digital decorum on dates. Boy have times changed since I was last dating!

I’ll admit it, I’m a geek. Heck, I’m a geek’s geek. I’ve played at LAN parties that have lasted 18 hours, bought games on opening night, worked at a Renaissance Festival or three, and I’ve missed more than my share of meals for an online fleet battle or guild raid. With last night’s midnight launch of the long-awaited expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, thousands of people geekier than me congregated in stores everywhere for the obligatory launch parties. Eric Franklin at CNet’s Crave wrote about his experiences at the official Blizzard launch party in San Francisco, comparing the event to a miniature Blizzcon.

The geeks were out in style, and Eric has posted a pile of pictures to prove it. I’ve never seen a 3-block long line of geeks, and so I wanted to repost that picture here for posterity:

I’ll admit it. I played WoW in open beta, and quit after leveling a Shadow Elf Priestess to 27, as it wasn’t really my cup of tea. I am a fanatic about other titles, so I can understand what would make a geek stand in line for hours to get into an event like this.

What I can’t understand though, is this:

That lovely young woman with the large pointy ears and meticulously assembled costume admitted to Eric that she once had played WoW for 28 hours straight. I think she deserves special mention on this blog as a contender for the title of Geek of the Year. Wait, we don’t have that title. Girl, I think you may have inspired me to make it!

The connected device that made the “netbook” market more interesting is now available online in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Following a successful introduction in Japan, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 debuts here starting at $549 in your choice of white or black, and a 40GB, 60GB or 80GB hard drive (available configurations vary by country).

For the OS-minded shopper, the Mini 12 currently comes with Windows Vista Home Basic, but expect Ubuntu and Windows XP versions by the end of the year.

With a starting weight of only 2.72 lbs. and only 0.92 in. thick, current standard features on the Inspiron Mini 12 include a built-in webcam, 1GB of RAM, built-in Bluetooth and 802.11b/g wireless, a sharp 12.1‑inch WXGA display and an ample keyboard.

As I mentioned in a previous post, netbook purists continue to be intrigued by the Mini 12, with even diehard Apple fanboys conceding that the new Inspiron Mini 12 could give potential MacBook Air shoppers at least $500 worth of reasons to reconsider.

The hottest topic of conversation around this incarnation of the Inspiron Mini seems to be that at 12 inches, it challenges the arbitrary borders of netbook-dom, with Shane McGlaun at Ars Technica drawing an analogy to Baby Huey (cute, lovable, kid-friendly – I’ll buy that much).

Technical, taxonomical distinctions between netbooks and laptops notwithstanding, the secret behind the Mini 12’s unique appeal is very simple: Affordable, portable, comfortable keyboard, easy to use for casual connectivity, great curb appeal. When you look at it that way, how you categorize it doesn’t compute.

Check it out on our Flickr page.

With the game release season in full swing, there are enough new games being released every day to make my head spin. So many new toys are being released, just begging to be tried. From Warhammer Online to Fallout 3, as well as the imminent release of the Wrath of the Lich King, there are a lot of great choices for the avid gamer. But in the midst of the release frenzy, I am called back to the game I love the most, EVE-Online.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the fast action, no frills PvP you find in Warhammer Online, but despite how easy it is to jump right in to combat with other players in that game, the lack of personal consequences found in WAR’s PvP leaves a void that EVE-Online fills perfectly. Right now, EVE-Online is updating to its latest expansion, Quantum Rise. The servers will be down until tomorrow, so I’ve got plenty of time to miss it.

To get an idea about why I love the PvP in EVE so much, check out EVE Online PvP Masterclass, a series of articles on Massively written by Brendan Drain in Ireland. The articles provide a wonderful overview of the PvP depth offered by EVE, and is a wonderful read. It really boils down to this: in EVE, you can choose any style of PvP you like, from small gang or solo to massive fleets, and there is something in EVE to cater to you. What’s more, there are actual consequences to your decisions, so forethought and quick thinking are rewarded, while poor planning is punished severely.

The latest free expansion includes the controversial speed rebalancing (explained in this article, also by Drain), so it is likely that many EVE players are going to have to rethink their ship fits to compete. The list of changes is truly impressive. For those interested, you can find the patch notes here. For those who aren’t interested, maybe this will get your juices flowing:

CCP’s trailers never fail to send chills down my spine. For those of you who don’t play: yes, that’s pretty much what the game really looks like.

That’s right … Today we’re taking the covers off the new Dell Dock, with an improved look and more functionality. What’s better? It’s now available for those with XP, too. A Dell Dock? Huh? What’s that? The Dell Dock automatically sorts installed software applications into user-friendly categories that can be accessed by a simple task bar, leaving the desktop free of clutter. And, it helps you locate and open a program by simple task language like “e-mail & chat,” “security,” “view photos,” “play music,” etc. Like before, the task bar is customizable. Don’t like the location? Anchor it somewhere else…Hate the color green? Change it to blue…Don’t like the icons? Choose your favorite picture instead. It’s all about personalization and making your experience fun.

Yeah yeah yeah…So, what’s new?

· Observe a new behavior called “swing” that is available on all versions of the Dock as an alternative to the glowing effect (See image 1)

· If you have a touch monitor, it’s now optimized to give you a great touch-by-finger experience

· Now move the Dock to any side of the screen (top, bottom, left or right - See image 2)

· We added a “glass” transparent setting to better blend in with your customized desktop background

· See a new “browse” feature to replace Dock icons with your favorite photo. I’ll have to track down an Inspector Harry Callahan (a.k.a. Dirty Harry) photo for my security icon!

If you’re ordering a new system, it will begin pre-installing on machines today. For those with existing Dell consumer machines that meet system requirements, take a few minutes and download it.

Send us screen shots of your desktop once you’ve had the chance to personalize it. Maybe we can update the blog with some of your photos.

Go DOWNLOAD now!

Image 1

Image 2

The usual ferment of speculation about the holiday retail landscape is in full swing, and Dell has a great story to tell with the up-tempo rhythm of award-winning new consumer products Dell has achieved this year continuing through this holiday season. Consider just a few of the recent and upcoming launches:

· We’ve updated the Studio 15 (starting at $599) and Studio 17 (starting at $749) laptops – both inside and out. We’ve added Centrino 2, plus a few other cool features like a gestures touch pad that enables circular scrolling and zoom and RGB LED display (Studio 17 only).

· And, from a personalization perspective tomorrow we will expand out Art House series options from Mike Ming to include three unique (PRODUCT) RED artwork (additional $75) choices from three very cool artists. Each purchase of a Studio laptop with the (PRODUCT) RED artwork donates $20 to the Global Fund and is connected directly to saving lives in the fight to eliminate AIDS in Africa.

· Speaking of (PRODUCT) RED, we just updated our XPS One – adding a 24-inch full HD display and a special 65W Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 quad core processor, and a new color –Pure White (which is actually (PRODUCT) RED).

· One of the “hottest” products available today is the very cool Studio Hybrid, Dell’s greenest consumer PC. It’s small (80% smaller than typical desktop minitower) and uses up to 70% less energy. Since its small size allows for it to be put in more visible locations, you can also personalize it with color or bamboo or leather sleeves.

· The Inspiron 13 is truly an unsung hero in our product portfolio. While it comes in one color, that Pacific Blue is a serious head turner. More importantly – where else can you get a sleek, sexy thin and light that weighing around 4.5 lbs with starting price of $649? This is a student’s dream machine.

· Inspiron Mini 9 ($starting at $349) and Mini 12: Certainly the Mini 9 has been well received – both the XP and the Dell-customized Ubuntu versions. The Mini 12, announced on Oct. 26, will be available on dell.com very, very soon.

· Traveling to the other end of the product spectrum – gaming – we recently announced that the Alienware Aurora desktop is available in 200 Best Buy stores and on bestbuy.com. We’ve also launched our first quad core gaming laptop – the Alienware M17.

· Next week we will expand our desktop portfolio with four systems based on the new Core i7 architecture. Three of the four systems will target gamers who tend to appreciate the latest and greatest performance technology. The fourth system is unique – it is NOT targeted toward gamers but instead should appeal to the more advanced digital divas (or those who aspire to be such), and given it’s sub-$1,000 starting price point, it should be on the list of those who are looking to purchase a PC that will be relevant for the foreseeable future.

As far as speculation about Zing goes, the interest in Dell’s digital entertainment strategy is encouraging, but there is significant confusion and misinformation in the blogosphere and in press reports about it. As we said a few months ago, our strategy focuses on content offerings and delivery platforms that mix Zing software, remote access and pre-configured media bundles across all of our devices, including licensing agreements with entertainment distributors. It has never been about a music player.

Dell’s approach extends personalization beyond the box and into delivering exceptional content and experiences. The innovative Music & Movies bundles we launched a few weeks ago are clear and promising examples of what’s happening at Dell in digital entertainment. We’re very proud of our emerging role as a change agent, so stay tuned as we continue to generate new ideas and new approaches to personalization.