The Giz Wiz, Week of April 23, 2013, Netcast 1413

Watch out pets! It’s the food police. No, actually it’s the WonderBowl Selective Feeder. Here’s how it works. Each bowl comes with it own coded tag. (You can set or change the code.) Your pet wears a special tag that was packed with the Selective Feeder Bowl. When your pet walks to the bowl, a sensor raises the closed clear lid to reveal food or water. The lid closes again when your pet walks away. Use it so your dog doesn’t eat your cat’s food, or vice-versa. Also the food should stay fresher and freer since it’s covered when not needed. Have more than one pet? Each tag is keyed to open only one bow, so the infrared sensors help keep animals from eating out of one another's bowls. There’s a removable stainless steel bowl inside the feeder for easy filling washing. $89.99. You can buy additional tags for $10.95 and there’s also an optional AC adapter.

http://www.petwonderbowl.com/

There's a demo video on the company website here: http://www.petwonderbowl.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=4400012382

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Now you can know if your dog's been barking while you're away.

It's the Bark & Activity Counter.  How much barking and running around does your dog do when you’re away from home? This diagnostic tool can distinguish between abnormal or inappropriate behavior and normal barking. Worn around the dog's collar and can store up to 3,000 sessions (99 minutes each). After each session, the unit is connected to a computer detailed charts are provided, showing the time of day and the duration of each barking occurrence. Be aware that the dog wearing the unit should not be in close proximity of other dogs during sessions as it can interfere with results. And it’s not for use with dogs under 10 lbs, recommended for indoor use only. $71.00.

http://www.petsafe.net/products/bark-control/ultrasonic-deterrents/bark-activity-counter

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MORE PET GADGETS AS SEEN ON WORLD NEWS NOW: http://gizwizbiz.squarespace.com/world-news-now-abc/

Viewer Video of the week! My (New) Favorite Gadget!

Video submissions for The Giz Wiz, always start with an email like this one:

My new favorite gadget!

Quick review of the Adafruit "Flowing Effect iOS Dock Data+Charging Cable - Black w/Aqua EL"

Completely pointless.

Everyone who sees it wants it.

Sounds like something for the GizWiz!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlxWaX54Dkk

I forgot to mention in the video:

• $15 for the iOS version
• They have regular USB and Lightning Connector versions

More info iOS version: http://adafruit.com/products/1236

"Great Artists Ship"  Lon Koenig 

---- Lon is right. I love this cable. I got the micro USB version to charge my Galaxy 3. Everyone who visits Gizneyland loves it too! The movement slows down as your phone nears full charge. When the moving light goes out, your phone is charged. So it's fun to watch, and very useful. $14.95.

Micro USB version: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1233

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1413

++++

We'd love to include your video in an upcoming Giz Wiz Show. Here's what we're looking for:

Your home made Videos -- two to three minutes long - (four maximum) in the any of the following categories:

I bought a piece of crap! Did you buy something you ended up hating? We won't get you a refund, but we might be able to give a platform to vent your disappointment. Remember, "family friendly" language applies.

I Invented This! Do you invent something? (Or did a friend or relative invent something.) We can't market it for you, but we can help get the word out. Show us what it is, and how it works. Even if it's a prototype, you can get our (and the audience) reactions.

My Gadget Warehouse! Okay, so you don't have a warehouse. It doesn't matter. Just tell us about your favorite old gadget(s). When and where you bought it, and why you're still hanging on to it. 

My favorite gadget of all time! Show us what it is, tell us what it does and why you love, or loved it! It can be something you just bought too.

Post them on YouTube and send our producer, Jason, the link! We'll do the rest. (Or possibly nothing, but that's unlikely.) Remember, videos should be just 2 to 3 minutes long, 4 MAX! Low production value is fine. Even welcomed! That way our stuff doesn't look bad by comparison. We've set the bar low. Don't trip over it.

NEW! NEW! NEW! If we select and show your video on The Giz Wiz you will now be awarded with some sort of prize. It's Leo's way to get rid of all the "crap from Sky Mall" he's collected. So there's one more (so-so) reason to send in your video!

All show submissions go to gizwiz@twit.tv

We're coming to the end of Leo's Crap from Sky Mall!

Strangely, another week has gone by and still nothing new delivered from Sky Mall. But even stranger is that Leo ordered an Erector set from Amazon, and it didn’t arrive either, even though it was on Amazon Prime! But, no matter, Leo gave us a mini-review of his Pebble Watch. First here’s a bit of info from the company website:

Customize Your Perfect Watch. It's as Easy as Downloading an App. Pebble is the first watch built for the 21st century. It's infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watch faces and useful internet-connected apps. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. While designing Pebble, we strove to create a minimalist yet fashionable product that seamlessly blends into everyday life.

And Leo’s take: A lot of the features mentioned on the Kickstarter page did not end up being incorporated into the final product. (By the way, the company raised more than $10 million!) Although Leo waited more than six months, they still were unable to deliver a red Pebble Watch, and suggested he take a black one. Leo said his black Pebble Watch is okay, but not amazing. Once paired to your smart phone via Bluetooth, it does alert you to incoming calls, emails and messages. And you can change tunes when you’re listening to music via your smart phone. You can also download and send various watch faces to the Pebble. Battery life seems good since it was day three and the Pebble watch was still working fine. Bottom line: At $150 you can get a better watch than the Pebble, but perhaps software updates will make it more versatile in the future.

http://getpebble.com/

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1413

Instead of Sky Mall Leo will now be buying crap from all sorts of fun websites. If you have a suggestion, you can send it to me at dick@gizwiz.biz. Thanks.

Back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse for the Toshiba Underwater Scuba Flashlight.

I loved this Toshiba Waterproof Halogen Flashlight when I first saw it, probably 20 to 25 years ago. It was ideal for boating. Waterproof, rugged and very bright. I bought 3 of them. They were expensive for the time, probably about $35 to $40 each. I have no printed specs on the Toshiba Waterproof Halogen Flashlight, but I found this info on the Toshiba (Model K-138) on the web:

*Can withstand water pressure even at a 50m depth for group activities.

*Body made from impact-resistant ABS - resin and cap made from impact resistant polycarbonate resin.

*Safety design with a battery case that prevents the inverse installation of

batteries. *"D" size batteries x 4 (not included). Approx. 4 hours continuous operating time.

With strap and spare miniature bulb. A halogen bulb of high luminance and efficiency is used and the intensity of approximately 4000 lx has been achieved at a distance of 2m with a 4.8V rating. Since Halogen gas is enclosed in the bulb, the intensity of illumination is constant until the last stage of bulb life.

And now back to me. I’ve tried to throw these flashlights out several times, but I just can’t seem to do it. They are so rugged and well engineered. There’s even storage in the end cap with a spare Halogen bulb. I would put one of them in a box of warehouse crap that I sell, but they’re too big for that. They’re almost 14” long! If you search the web, I bet you can probably still find one for sale.

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1413