All the shows I'm on are listed on the menu bars on the left. Run your mouse over them to bring up more choices. Sometimes the menu bar itself is what you want to click. Play around. You might find interesting stuff you weren't looking for.
Toy Fair 2009! For the spot that aired on World News Now, click on the guy with the pogo stick. For videos of more fun toys we recorded at the Javits Convention Center, click on the pic of the Giz Wiz looking through the binoculars.
Click the pic to see the extra toys we shot at Toy Fair!
My dog Fairway loves the snow!
Found this old magazine from 1967. My hair was on the top back then. It was shot on the set of The Match Game.
DickDe as Yogi the Bear picks out the real Bill Hanna on To Tell The Truth!
Ludwick has created a new search tool for the Daily Giz Wiz. It's on the left. Ludwik said: "It uses Google as a backend, so it has a really good index and algorithm. It searches all pages within your site, and in addition, includes relevant result from other Giz Wiz sources - twit.tv/dgw, insidedgw.vox.com and gizwizsearch.com. (It doesn't search Dick's Gadget Warehouse, not yet anyway!)
"See" The Daily Giz Wiz - You can watch Leo and me (Leo & I?) record the Daily GizWiz. We do it most Tuesdays at 4PM EST. You can see (and hear us) at WWW.TWITLIVE.TV
----- IMPORTANT! Some Netcasts may not be online yet. They are usually available starting around midnight of the indicated date... But these are the gizmos and gadgets we'll be taking about, even if the show is not up yet uploaded to the Net.
NEWEST SHOWS ARE AT THE TOP!
Daily Giz Wiz, Week of March 9th, 2009
Monday, March 9th, 2009 Netcast #781
This is my first TAD Gear device, so I gathered background on this new spork from the company itself. The Gen2 TAD Gear Folding Titanium Spork is hand crafted in the world famous knife capital of Japan, Seki City. This new version features a more robust Ti alloy which is less prone to bending and not as soft as CP Ti. (You knew that, right?) The addition of the new combo bottle cap lifter and can opener tool increases function and versatility. This little gizmo is perfect for your next picnic, long train ride, backpacking trip, anytime you need a handy eating utensil. The folding design allows this spork to be carried with you in your pack, travel bag, survival kits, glove box, and with the secure pocket clip, even your pocket. The company says their TAD Gear Folding Ti Sporks have been very popular with our troops abroad and can be often found clipped on to a soldier's plate carrier and MOLLE vests while they are in the field. The TAD Gear staff all carry one in their packs or pocket and are used just about every week as their eating tool of choice! I must admit it sure it carefully engineered & great for use aboard a boat too! $33.95
Turn The Table Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 Netcast #782
Leo comes up with a cordless screwdriver that charges in 90 second!
Leo came up with a pretty neat gizmo this week. A cordless screwdriver, but not one you've heard about before. The FlashCell Cordless Screwdriver charges in just 90 seconds! Yes, 90 seconds! It's the first capacitor-powered cordless tool either of us has seen, but Leo actually owns his. When he reached for it when we were recording The Daily Giz Wiz to give a little demonstration, the drill had no power. And that turned out to be perfect, because we were able to watch Leo recharge it. We saw the power gauge go from zero to full in about 90 seconds! Yes 90 seconds! Now this device doesn't use any batteries at all, it's powered by a capacitor. The folks at Team Products International, who produce the FlashCell, tell us that the drill runs for about half as long as an equivalent cordless screwdriver with a rechargeable battery - but that's still plenty for almost any job you have. But, and this is great, the company also estimates that the capacitor can handle over 500,000 full-charge cycles. And if you're really impatient, you don't need wait the full 90 seconds before you start screwing again. So far this is the only capacitor-powered tool the company has on market, but more on the way! Leo said the driver was a little on the big side, and that he would prefer one with a pistol-grip. And that seems to be the next capacitor powered tool this innovative company will release. $79.95
Here's a new way to enjoy your video media player in flight.
With so many media players in circulation, now you can pick your own movie to watch during a flight. But where to put your media player with its tiny screen so you can see it clearly without holding it, is a problem. You try to prop it up on the snack tray, but it usually slips down rather quickly. That's where iFlyz can help. It part goose-neck lamp and part clip. The clip end hooks on to the snack tray whether it's in the open or closed position. The suction cup end grab your media player. I tried it on the Sansa View and it worked fine. The Sansa View has a sort of rubbery back, and holding it wasn't a problem. It can hold your media player on the edge of desk, restaurant table or counter, and places like that. I don't have an iPhone or iTouch but iFlyz says it's iPhone compatible. $29.95.
This unique alarm clock uses advanced speech recognition technology that lets you easily set the time and alarm via voice commands. You start each command with “Hello Moshi” to let the clock know you’re talking to it. It can respond to queries such as "What time is it?" with vocalized answers. Moshi recognizes 10 spoken commands, including "Set alarm," "Set time," "Check alarm," "What is the date?," "Alarm sound" (buzzer, chime, or bell), "Stop" (snooze for 5 minutes), and "Temperature" (current room temperature). All functions are controlled either by your voice or with a touch of the activation panel, allowing you to quickly set up and operate the clock without tedious and confusing button pressing. The backlit LCD shows the time and date in 2"high numerals for optimal visibility day or night. The clock also has a voice-activated function that let you fall sleep with the soothing sounds of the ocean, chirping birds, or a babbling brook. The nightlight function lets the clock light up & cycle through a variety of colors. I found it a bit distracting when trying to sleep, but others like it. And the “fall asleep” sounds turn off after 5 minutes, which I think it a bit short. Moshi obeyed all my commands on the first try, except time. It must be my Brooklyn accent, but after 2 or 3 tries, it set itself properly. Powered by AC adapter or three AAA batteries. In the battery mode, voice activation is turned off, but you set it via the buttons at the back of the clock. $49.95. Click the click below for a demo:
Watch the Voice Interactive Alarm Clock in action.
Friday, March 13th, 2009, Netcast 785 Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse.
It’s a pretty good guess, you never knew about this Polaroid Product.
It’s late 1997 and Polaroid announces PopShots, a one-time use instant camera. This was a rather bulky looking, disposable Polaroid camera! It came preloaded with a 10-exposure pack for making rather small photos that were approximately 2.5 in x 4.4 in. And since this camera was one big piece of plastic you didn’t want to just throw out. It came with a large pre-paid envelope so you could send the camera back to Polaroid for recycling. Polaroid said: “PopShots was for people on the go! PopShots allows you to experience the excitement of instant photography - anytime, anywhere. You can get instant pictures at the spur of the moment. It's the perfect portable camera for those who want to share their pictures instantly! Polaroid PopShots is the world's first one-time use instant camera. It combines the convenience of popular single-use "conventional" cameras with all the advantages of instant photography.” But at about $20, it came to about two bucks per picture! When I did a web search on the camera I found someone who purchased a PopShots in the original sealed bag for $190! Another person paid $200.00. Hey, I have a PopShots still in a sealed bag! If you’re interested, just make an offer!
The Rubik's Cube, which Techno Source said was the #1 best-selling game ever, (Almost 350 million of the original Cube have been sold so far.) has gone high touch with “touch” technology. The new Rubik’s TouchCube has some amazing touches. For example it remembers every single move you made from the very first one when you start each game. You can “undue” each step all the way back to the first one! A big difference with this new version is that the manual turning had been replaced with a swipe of the finger. There’s touch sensor technology on all six sides, but a motion-detecting accelerometer lets only the side facing up be the “active” one. Otherwise as you touched the sides, the cubes you would make movements you didn’t want to make. It mimics the movements of the original 3x3 Cube except for the color changing as you wipe a finger across three squares. If you need help the TouchCube has a built-in “next move” solver,or it can totally solve the entire puzzle. When you’re done playing at any given time, the Cube remembers your place, so can resume play anytime. And if you love that iconic Rubik’s Cube "click" sound when you turn the cube, you can still have it. Or can choose a modern sound effect. When you’re not playing it, Rubik’s TouchCube can be a fun desk accessory. It puts on a light show while it recharges in its display stand. It’s coming in Fall and the company says it’s appropriate for children ages 8 and up. The retails price is also high tech, $149.99. But I’m sure that will drop fast once they get into wide circulation.
It's another Turn The Table Tuesday and Leo looks under his desk and finds the Pinnacle PCTV HD mini Stick.
Leo wanted a way to watch some TV on his MAC computer so he installed the Pinnacle PCTV HD mini Stick. This is the new MAC version that picks up analog TV (for a bit longer) and HDTV. This real tiny mini Stick is an ultra-compact, USB-powered TV tuner that’s the perfect match for super-slim laptops. The integrated signal booster improves reception sensitivity even if the signal isn’t strong. The easy-to-use TVCenter Pro software lets you watch, TimeShift and record TV. You can enjoy TV in full-screen mode or in a scalable window while using other applications. The PCTV HD mini Stick comes with a mini remote control and high-gain telescopic antenna. The antenna base is magnetic so you can easily place it on the car or RV roof. On the road you can use it to record the game, grab your favorite sitcom episodes or catch the late-night thriller. And it has full PVR capabilities to timeShift, record and program all your favorite shows. There's even one-click recording to hard disk or DVD.
More from Toy Fair. This tiime it's two new brain games!
Both toys employ EEG, or electroencephalogram, technology and with both, you wear a sort of wireless helmet with contacts that touch your forehead. This is a real technology as you can see by this quote: "The fact that you can use EEG, that you can modulate it, that you can control it — it's well known, it's true," says Dr. Ronald Emerson, a neurology professor at Columbia University. So the first brain game I saw was Uncle Milton Force Trainer. As Leo pointed out: "Uncle Milton doesn't sound very doctor-like!" This device has a headset you wear and it is supposed to translate the intensity of your brainwaves into moving a ball move upwards inside a foot high plastic tube. The more you relax your mind the more the ball will rise. Not you’re not exactly floating the ball with your brain waves. The ball is actually pushed into the air by a mini fan that starts when the Force Trainer detects a certain amount of brainwaves from the player. When the executive producer of World News Now, Jake Whitman, put a camera on me and said he wasn't going to turn it off until I made the ball rise, I thought I'd never be able to do it, but after about a minute, I did! That was a relief.
The second brain game is the Mattel Mind Flex Brain Game.
This headpiece has two wires that clips to your ears. Nothing too dorky about that! The object of this game is also to get a ball to move upwards, but they've added a second level of play. Once you have it in the air you have to keep it a specific level so you can navigate it through an obstacle course! The more you concentrate, the higher the ball floats on a cushion of blowing air. The more you relax your thinking, the ball stops floating. By the way, the instructions at Mattel were actually the opposite of what they said to Uncle Milton. To use Force Trainer you were told to relax & clear your mind. With Mind Flex I was told to concentrate hard on making the ball move. But I was able to move the ball in both games. Both will be available this Fall. Mind Flex should be under $80. And the Force Trainer will be about $100.
OOMA, A way to get free unlimited calls in the US with no monthly or yearly fees! The OOMA uses your Internet connection for VoIP calls. And it can do a lot. It receives calls, has caller-ID, call-waiting, and voice mail at no extra charge. Call in the US are free; there's a pay as you go for low-cost international calls. You can hear your voice mail and customize settings in the ooma Lounge. You can also try ooma's enhanced calling features with a free trial of ooma Premier. That includes a free second phone line, real-time message screening, one-touch Do Not Disturb and Send to Voice mail, a second personal number with private voice mail, and more. You can use your own phone number and your own phone, but you route it through the OOMA unit. Actually you get two units, a main unit about the size of a digital answering machine and a small "Scout" unit for the bedroom or den. The units are good looking and easy to hook it. After you connect everything up you'll know you're using OOMA and not your local phone carrier when you pick the phone and hear the special musical dial tone. There's a light at the back of the OOMA that glows blue to let you know your Internet and computer connections are okay. If it flashes red, something is not working correctly. One thing to remember is that if your Internet connection fails you'll get no dial tone. It doesn't automatically reconnect to your landline, assuming you have one. All in all you can save money with OOMA if you make a lot of calls in the US. When it first came out it was somewhere in the $350 to $450 range. Now, you can find it for under $200! Be sure to read about how 911 calls are handled if you're considering buying one.
Friday, March 6th, 2009, Netcast 780 LineMinder - The Talking Telephone Screening Device. LineMinder was a way to avoid telemarketers, wrong numbers, obscene and harassing incoming calls. Hook-up was simple. Just take the phone from the back of your phone and hook to this device, and then another phone line from LineMinder to your phone. You could set to "off" if your phone to ring normally, or set to the "password" mode. This is how you screened your calls. Anyone you had not given a security code too will hear not be able to get your phone to ring. Of course this meant you would only get calls from people you remembered to give your security to. So if a friend boss at work called to say the office was closed today, and hadn't given them the code, they wouldn't get to talk to you. But it was a way to limit your phone calls ONLY to those you wanted to talk to. The retail was $89.95. I couldn't find any word of LineMinder on Google, so I guess not many were sold. It's also possible they only sent sample units to members of the press, and it never made it into customer sales at all!
For all the other Daily Giz Wiz episodes, run your mouse over the menu bars top left. You can go back and find info on gadgets and gizmos Leo & I talked for the last 24 months! Any questions: dick@gizwiz.biz
After a 3 month hiatus, they're back! The World Famous Giz Wiz LED Logo Hat! (Well at least they're famous in the US and Canada.)
Year End Special! An extra pair of CR2032 Lithium Batteries will be included with every LED hat ordered between now and March 1st, 2009! The manufacturer says this new hat offers up to 30 hours of burn time on the included batteries. With an extra set of batteries you can double that to 60 hours! (Your burn time may vary.)
Perfect for doing any job where you wish you had someone to hold a flashlight.
Changing fuses in the dark. / Working under the sink. / Working under the hood of your car, or even under your car! / Hooking up cables behind your computer, HDTV, or under your desk. / Perfect when walking the dog at night. / Finding stuff in the closet. / I've gotten many emails saying the LED hat was almost a lifesaver when a storm knocked out the power.
It features the Giz Wiz two color embroidered designer logo! / A on/off switch is built right into the brim! / The battery holder is built into the liner so it's easy to change batteries! / And there's an easy-to-adjust-to-size Velcro strap!
Cost? $22.99. Shipping is $5.99 and it goes Priority Mail!
IMPORTANT!!!! Here's the bad news on postage to Canada. It's gone up again! Priority Mail to Canada is now $16.10. That's what I pay, I don't make any money on postage. It requires a customs form and the package has to be delivered in person to the post office on the same day as the date on the label. The only good news is that it's the same price to mail one hat or two hats. So you if live in Canada and have a friend who wants to order one, you can at least share the shipping cost. PayPal isn't set up to apply the proper postage to Canada, so if you order one or two hats, I'll send you PayPal invoice for the difference in postage. I wish it was cheaper, but unfortunately it's not.
