Now you can Tweet your blood pressure if you want!

Leo Laporte likes to let his fans know everything about him. So now he tweets his blood pressure data! And you can too. Here’s some info from Withings, the manufacturer: Browse, zoom, get simple averages of all your blood pressure data in a single place. Access your stats on your iPhone, iPad or iPod, as well as on your private account, at home or in your office, on Mac or PC. Your data is safely backed up so you will never lose your history. Readings, dates and time of day. It is important to keep track of the time of day when the reading was taken. The Withings app provides tools for visualizing your morning and afternoon readings separately. Hence, you only compare what needs to be compared. Stay in sync with your doctor. It is recommended that you take your blood pressure measurements at home in a relaxed environment. We have made it incredibly easy to share your results with your doctor. Push a button in the Withings App to send a recap email and seek professional advice. And now back to Dick De. Leo took my blood pressure on the air. It worked quickly, and before Leo could stop the process, it Tweeted my blood as Leo’s. Turns out it wasn’t that far off from Leos. Under $130.0

www.withings.com

Fun with Flying LEDs!

Here’s a new ‘spin’ on the idea of using string to make colorful patterns. The new toy is called FyrFlyz and it’s a really simple, but fun device. There are 2 color LED lights attached to the middle of 2 strings. At the end of each string is a holding device with holes for your fingers. Hit the mini on/off switch to turn the LEDs on, and then twist and spin them to make awesome colorful patterns. To be really effective they really should be used in the dark, either indoors or out. (The instructions warn you to make sure you’re not near anything you can accidentally hit as you spin the LEDs.) The most fun is when you make large loops and let the strings twist. Then when you pull the strings apart, they spin really fast in the opposite direction making some really unique patterns. Sometimes if you’re not paying attention, the strings can get tangled in ways you don’t want, but it’s fairly easy to get them untangled. They are powered by 2 CR1620 button batteries, which are installed when you buy FyrFlyz. Since there are just two LEDs, battery life should be fairly decent. And the batteries are replaceable. There are three different FyrFlyz color combinations available -- so each person can create their own color coordinated flying designs. The company has dubbed the three models as Blue Angel: Multicolor and blue; Cyclone: Green and white; and Nytfyr: Red and white. I was using Nytfyr on this YouTube video. (Link below.) They’re recommended for kids 8 and up. That String Ray device from last week’s show cost about $80 and that was 26 years ago. FyrFlyz cost about $10 for each of the variations.

YouTube Link: http://youtu.be/0hbdcj3RecM?hd=1 

Company Link: www.fyrflyz.com  

See or hear this link: www.twit.tv/dgw1323

A New iPod/iPad Dock with Some Very Nice Features.

The Stem TimeCommand dock for iPhone, iPad and Ipod is one of the more unique iOS device docking stations. I didn’t quite understand why the Stem Innovations decided on circular design. But after hearing it, I think I know one of the reasons. Because the sound doesn’t come directly at you, but aims to your right and left, you really hear excellent stereo separation out of a device with a diameter of less than eight inches. You may not know the name Stem Innovations, but you probably know the name XtremeMac. Stem Innovations was started by the former CEO of XtremeMac, Gary Bart. There are other features that make the TimeCommand more than your basic iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone dock. There’s SafeWake, a back-up battery alarm that will sound at the preset time even if the power goes out. If there’s a power failure, instead of showing the time on a steady display, it will blinks every 10 seconds or so to alert you that there is no AC power to the unit. There’s also a 5-band graphic equalizer and bass enhancer to customize the sound. I was also surprised to find there was free Internet radio with about a dozen music style choices. Great if you get tired of the tunes on your iOS device. When I saw the large power plug had an AC outlet on the side I thought it was an AC pass through for another device. But it turns out that it’s designed as a place for you to plug in your bedroom lamp. Once plugged in, you have the ability to dim your light as you fall asleep and even ‘wake to light’ if you want. This feature is only for lamps with incandescent bulbs – and I assume for the new ‘clearly marked dimmable LED bulbs’. When setting up the unit for the first time, the digital clock doesn’t have to be set because it syncs with the clock time on your iPad/iPhone/iPod when it’s docked. But wait, there’s more! The Stem Connect App (free from iTunes) lets you control the brightness of your bed lamp, set alarm times and sounds, and set nap/snooze controls. The curved LED display is fully dimmable up and down, at the touch of a button on the unit itself. And something else unique is the pivoting dock connector, which can accommodate devices even if they’re in their protective case. TimeCommand is compatible with devices running iOS 4.2 and higher. Available from Apple Store at about $100.

http://tinyurl.com/476yozs

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1323

Another new feature-filled HD webcam from Logitech.

I’ve been using two different Logitech web cams over the past couple of years for my portion of the Daily & Weekly Daily Giz Wiz. I used the Logitech C910 for a long time and then switched to the Logitech C510. I liked the C510 because it added “swivel” to the cam. So on weeks where I had a guest in the studio it was easy to swivel the camera toward them for the intro. Now it looks like the C510 is going away and will be replaced with the new C615 HD webcam. Like the earlier model, it folds compactly for easy travel and it also swivels. That makes it perfect for video calling and HD recording on the go. This new version is at home on a PC or a Mac. In addition to the fold-and-go design, auto focus and the almost 360-degree swivel, Logitech has added a tripod socket. That’s kind of neat, because just a few weeks ago I checked the underside of my C510 to see if I could mount it off the laptop. There was no tripod socket on mine, but now the new one has it. (I wanted to try mounting it higher than the edge of my laptop for the WDGW. Logitech says their new HD Webcam C615 lets you make video calls in HD 720p on Skype, FaceTime for Mac, Logitech Vid HD and Windows Live Messenger, as well as video calls on Yahoo! Messenger, iChat, AOL Instant Messenger and other popular instant messaging applications. It also includes one-click HD video and photo upload to Facebook. The webcam comes with a 3-foot USB cable, but if want more flexibility, there’s a 3-foot USB extender in the box . There’s also a built-in mic, although for the WDGW, I use a separate Heil mic. If you want to take stills the capture software-enhanced 8-megapixel images offer something called Fluid Crystal Technology. The Logitech HD Webcam C615 is available in the U.S. now for a suggested retail price of $79.99. It’s about $75 on Amazon, but as it become more widely available, I suspect that price will drop more.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/webcam-communications/webcams/devices/hd-webcam-c615

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1323

Kids will love shooting their own 3D pictures!

DXG says: Capture and Share Pictures in 3D! In 3 Simple Steps! Shoot it! Print it! View it!

This is something kids will really love; their own 3D digital camera. The DXG-018 is a simple-to-use dual-lens camera that takes full-color side-by-side still pictures. The settings are very basic: Auto / Sunny / Cloudy / Tungsten / or Fluorescent. You compose your photos via the 1.44” LCD screen on the back of the camera. You shoot photos on an SD card, which is not included. It can handle SD cards up to SDHC 16GB. When you take a photo you’ll hear the shutter go off and a split second later, the second shutter click. After you take your photos you print them out on any printer using 4 X 6” photo paper. You fold the picture edges along the dotted line and they’re ready to view.  When you see them in the included viewers, they really in 3D! I was quite impressed, considering the price. The camera features a 1.44" LCD screen to frame your subject. It’s powered by two AAA batteries. The camera has auto shut-off after two minutes to save battery power. The kit includes the DXG-018 3D Camera, three 3D Viewers, 2 AAA batteries, a USB cable and the instruction manual. It’s available in various colors. MSRP Price is $69.95, but if you do a web search you can find it online for about $50.

Company website: http://www.dxgusa.com/products/dxg-3d/dxg-018p.html

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1322