Lifestyle

By Best Buy Lifestyle

07 Jun: Take a Moment to Rewind on National VCR Day

Rewinding spools, chewed up tape, hoping your favorite television show recorded. If you’re feeling a little nostalgic, that’s A-OK because June 7 is National VCR Day.

The video cassette recorder (VCR) was a fixture in many American homes in the 1980s and ‘90s.

It made its debut at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in 1970 and would eventually give previous home-viewing technology a run for its money.

In 1983, the year Sound of Music became Best Buy, we started selling the tech that transformed the in-home entertainment industry.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

02 Jun: A Top Sports Photographer’s Tips for Great Action Shots

The summer sports season is kicking into high gear, and many proud parents will pull out their camera gear in hopes of capturing their child’s big hit or game-winning goal. Unfortunately, many will just end up with a bunch of blurry images.

So we turned to veteran sports photographer Nick Didlick for some advice on shooting youth sports. The Vancouver, B.C.-based pro has covered 10 Olympics, five Super Bowls, seven Stanley Cup Finals and various other high-profile sporting events over the past 40 years.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

25 May: 13 Signs You Might Be a Geek

Crazy about comic books? Smitten with sci-fi? Ga-ga for gadgets? Then today, Geek Pride Day, might just be for you.

It’s a celebration for people who are really, really into a hobby or intellectual pursuit. And it’s a big day for Best Buy’s Geek Squad (kind of like Pi Day).

“If you’re passionate about something and really live it, you’re probably a geek in it,” said Andy Bork, commander of Geek Squad Cultural Systems and Operations. “And you should be proud of that.”

By Best Buy Lifestyle

23 May: Fitness Tracker Tips from the Fittest City in America

Duluth, Minnesota, is fit as a fiddle.

That’s according to Fitbit, which recently named Duluth the fittest city in America, based on metrics from Fitbit’s more than 10 million U.S. users. Researchers analyzed details including duration of sleep per night, daily steps and resting heart rate.

The city of about 86,000 people, about 150 miles northeast of Minneapolis, sits on Lake Superior and is surrounded by nature. This is one of the reasons Blue Shirt Adam Bersell, a health and fitness wearables expert at the Duluth Best Buy store, isn’t surprised by the ranking.

By John Vomhof Jr. Lifestyle

12 May: Boardrooms and Ballfields: Best Buy CFO Corie Barry Talks Motherhood

Corie Barry is the chief financial officer at Best Buy, a nearly $40 billion company. She also holds the title of mom.

She and her husband, Marty, have a 10-year-old son, Parker; a 7-year-old daughter, Jackson; a pit bull named Baxter, and two cats, Pickles and Chips.

Corie spends her days overseeing critical areas of a Fortune 100 company. She spends her nights going to youth baseball games, jumping on the trampoline and helping her kids with homework.

How does she balance it all?

By Katie Huggins Lifestyle

04 May: What’s The Big Deal with May the Fourth Anyway?

May the Fourth: A day when you’re reminded by all your family, friends and colleagues just how much they love Star Wars.

Never having seen a single film in the franchise, I’ve also never owned a lightsaber nor attempted a Chewbacca call. So, I’ve never quite understood the cultural importance of May the Fourth.

So I turned to a Geek Squad Agent and Star Wars aficionado to find out just what this series means to its loyal following.

Star Wars has a storyline that has continued through the decades

“Star Wars was the first big sci-fi movie to take the world by storm in the ‘70s, and it’s been a phenomenon ever since,” said Agent Adam Silkey.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

03 May: Here’s What You Need to Know About Passwords

Let’s face it — we’ve all got a ton of passwords to remember. And many of us tweak and repeat our beloved go-to password to avoid the dreaded ‘I forgot my password’ hassle. (You know the one.)

But password safety can be the key to keeping our data safe and secure.

So we’re cracking the code on password protection. Here’s Louisville-based Geek Squad Agent Kate Burroughs’ sage advice on how to keep your private info private.

Use a passPhrase, and not a passWord

Cybercriminals use many tools to crack passwords, including lists of common passwords, programs specifically designed to uncover algorithms, mathematics and more.

By John Vomhof Jr. Lifestyle

28 Apr: Tabletop Gaming: Low Tech, Lots of Fun

Geek Squad Agent Fey Grimm loves to get together with her friends for a night of gaming.

But there’s no TV, no console and no controllers. Instead, they play something decidedly more low-tech: tabletop games.

These board games involve more strategy than their childhood counterparts. Think Settlers of Catan, Pandemic and Ticket to Ride. They’re gaining popularity, and now tech-focused Best Buy even sells some of them.

We chatted with Agent Grimm to learn more about these games and why she loves them.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

28 Apr: Tips for Taking the Graduation Pictures You Want

There are a few defining moments in a person’s life, and graduation is one of them.

It’s a time for ceremony, celebrating accomplishments and dreaming about the future. It’s also a perfect time to break out your camera to capture the special moments.

Photos provide lasting memories, so we asked Philip Wright — a Sony expert from Best Buy Store 450 in Portland, Oregon — to share tips on how to capture great graduation day shots. The big three moments you don’t want to miss?

By Best Buy Lifestyle

26 Apr: Get the Most Out of Your Appliances With These Maintenance Dos and Don’ts

Maintaining household appliances can be a chore, but avoiding or delaying basic upkeep can cause major headaches.

Geek Squad’s appliance repair Agents frequently encounter costly situations that could have been avoided with routine cleaning and maintenance.

To help you keep your appliances looking, working and smelling like new, we’ve gathered some tips and tricks from Agent Dustin Williams.

From the kitchen to the laundry room, here’s how you can maintain some of the most commonly used household appliances.

Dishwashers

“With most appliances, prevention is the best care,” Dustin said.

By Best Buy Geek Squad Lifestyle

17 Apr: Magazine Dishes on Geek Squad Agent’s Cooking Skills

Norman Walker was drenched in sweat by the time the Thanksgiving meal was served. He had done 40 laps up and down the stairs that day. He wasn’t trying to burn calories — he was trying to save dinner.

The 12-year-old’s mother was sick and unable to leave her bed. So, she directed Norman through it all.

“I did the turkey, the stuffing, the green bean casserole. And I kept running to her room on the second floor to make sure I was doing it right,” he said.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

13 Apr: 3 Things to Know When Replacing Your Appliances

You can’t wait for your fancy new refrigerator with ice and water dispensers to arrive. But when it finally does, the crew can’t hook it up because there’s no water line nearby.

Oops. Looks like you might have overlooked a small detail. But that small detail can have a big impact on your plans — and possibly even your pocketbook. Do you call a plumber? Send the fridge back? Plug it in but not use all the features?

To avoid situations like this, you need to do some homework before you remodel your kitchen or simply upgrade your appliances.

1 … 27 28 29 … 31