Tag Archives: GrowingUpGeek

Growing up Geek: Philip Berne

Posted on by

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today we have Philip Berne, who is currently Samsung's Marketing Manager for Technical Media and a regular contributor for Slashgear.

DNP Growing up Geek Philip Berne

When I was in high school, I wanted to be a writer. My fallback plan was to get a degree in Psychology and become a therapist. If you were to time travel back to my high school days (which were not even 20 years ago) and tell me what I'd be doing today, I'd probably say something like:

"Are you crazy? That's not even a real job. And what the heck is a smartphone, anyway?"

I was a phone and gadget reviewer until I recently took a job with Samsung. Now I'm still reviewing phones -- I just review them a few months before anyone else. If you love phones and mobile tech as I do, it is certainly a dream job. I know how lucky I am. I wouldn't be here unless I had grown up geek. But in fact it wasn't luck that got me here (unless I mean luck of birth).

Growing up geek, in my case, meant growing up spoiled. I'm afraid to admit it, but I certainly had a spoiled childhood, especially when it came to toys and electronics. Let's go through my bona fides.

Continue reading Growing up Geek: Philip Berne

Filed under:

Growing up Geek: Philip Berne originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Growing up Geek: Natali Morris

Posted on by

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have CNBC technology contributor, Natali Morris.

Growing up Geek Natali Morris

These days I spend more of my time raising geeks than growing up as one. I gave birth to my daughter just seven weeks ago, so there is little time to geek out, but the force is still there. Temporarily dormant. I am a TV journalist who specializes in geek, as a technology contributor to CNBC. I got an early start in television. I was Miss Fremont 1984. Maybe you recognize me from the parade float with Sylvester and Tweety Bird? No? Odd.

That's me on the left with my younger sister on the children's show Romper Room in 1984. Question: When we talk about my geeky childhood, do we mean that I had special geeky talents? Because I'm not sure I was a geek as much as I was a nerd. I was a rule follower. An overachiever. I always got the best grades in my science classes, had my term papers written weeks in advance, and always kept my textbooks covered with brown bag paper the way school policy required. I also had braces and headgear. And bangs. So what do you think? Geek or nerd? Or idiot?

Actually no, I didn't always follow the rules. I used to cheat on the Nintendo Power Pad by pounding on the pressure sensors with my hands instead of my feet when I was feeling lazy. I used the code to get 30 extra lives on Contra. Although is it really cheating if it is built into the game? But I digress.

Continue reading Growing up Geek: Natali Morris

Growing up Geek: Natali Morris originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Growing Up Geek: Alexis Santos

Posted on by

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our new editor, Alexis Santos.

Growing Up Geek: Alexis Santos

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something emblazoned with an all too familiar logo while driving along a county road seven months ago. Though my mind could have been playing tricks on me, I doubled back and pulled over to confirm what I had seen. There, in the brush, was what I had suspected: a slightly faded Nintendo Entertainment System box. Upon further inspection, the packaging was unscathed and complete with its original foam inserts, plastic bags, twisty ties and K-Mart price sticker. Having rescued the nigh mint condition box, I rushed home to place it atop my entertainment center. There was no doubt I was a geek before that moment, but it became clear that following my geeky impulses could have interesting results.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Alexis Santos

Growing Up Geek: Alexis Santos originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Growing Up Geek: Jon Fingas

Posted on by

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our new editor, Jon Fingas.

Image

You might say I started early. Some of my first memories of technology -- or of anything, really -- were of mashing the keyboards on Compaq PC clones at my dad's workplace when I was three. Little did I know that I'd started on a path towards technology that would lead me towards mashing the keyboards for a career that would land me here at Engadget.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Jon Fingas

Growing Up Geek: Jon Fingas originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Growing Up Geek: Sarah Silbert

Posted on by

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our new reviews editor, Sarah Silbert.

Image

I'm not your textbook-case geek. On that authoritative dork-geek-nerd venn diagram, I sit undeniably closer to the nerd quadrant. I mean, a childhood defined by penning mini-zines, banging on the piano and filming countless movies in my garage hardly earned me a reputation as a precocious little techie. Sure, I liked computers and math -- and I, er, may have graphed the distribution of my Halloween candy once or twice, just for fun -- but my entryway into gadgets and geekdom was an overactive imagination.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Sarah Silbert

Growing Up Geek: Sarah Silbert originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments