We received a press release today advertising a new book: How to Be a Geek Goddess, by Christina Tynan-Wood, published by well-known computing press O'Reilly. Here's the blurb:

"Men and women rarely think alike, and when it comes to technology, their differing wants and needs are often glaringly apparent. If we are to believe the stereotypes, men are obsessed with acronyms and the size of their hard drives. On the other hand, women use technology to get things done as they struggle to work, shop, email, raise children, and host perfect dinner parties, all at the same time."

It's not entirely clear from the rest of the release whether the book is designed to break apart these stereotypes or simply reinforce them. It does say that "Women are working, raising kids, taking care of parents, and running businesses as well as homes." But then, well, aren't at least some men doing all that stuff too?

A quote on the website says that the book

"proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christina Tynan-Wood totally 'gets' where men and women divide in terms of technology"

But where, if at all, do men and women divide when it comes to technology? Here at Computeractive all the staff, gender regardless, do their best to avoid acroynms at all times and I honestly cannot remember the last time I heard anybody, whether encumbered with a Y chromosone or not, compare the size of their hard disk. The quote above seems to suggest that while women need computers "to get things done", men don't - maybe we're supposed to sit around playing Windows Solitaire all day rather than doing anything remotely productive. After all, according to that other well-worn stereotype, men can't multitask (says the guy with eight browser tabs, two IM windows, two email clients and a desktop publishing package running).

So here's the question: is there really a gender divide in terms of technology, and if so, where? Does your gender really have any effect whatsoever on the way you use a PC, or is the idea that having no Y chromosone makes you a different type of computer user simply, well, patronising? Let us know in the comments.