I can’t play the guitar – but I can play this one – sort of!

Wednesday, August 18^h, Netcast 1158 

Paper Jamz from WowWee were a big hit at Toy Fair earlier this year and WowWee expects them to be a big hit for the holiday season. Paper Jamz are almost paper-thin musical instruments that provide kids with the thrill of being a rock star. What makes these guitars really unique; besides the fact they’re only about 1” thick, is that they’re string-less! Huh? Then how do you play them if they’re string-less? Turns out the printed design on guitar is touch-sensitive. Just strum or tap the circuit-embedded paper to get all the sounds a professional musician. Well, sort of the sounds of a professional musician. I managed to make it sound really awful. But in demo mode, you can play one of three actual rock hits. Here’s the scoop: There are six guitars and six drums sets to choose from. Each one offers 3 different songs. There’s also a cardboard amplifier so your kids can form their own rock band, hopefully in the basement or out in the garage. There are three play modes for the guitars and drums: Perfect Play lets you play perfect guitar to the three hits embedded in the guitar. Rhythm mode lets you control the guitar rhythm for each song. And Freestyle lets you play real chords or drum beats. WowWee says you can create your own songs – just like real instruments. And for the drums … well, you just bang away in time with the music. But wait, there’s more!! There’s also a karaoke function that allows players to mute the vocals, drums or backing tracks to really hear themselves “go off”! The instruments and amp are all battery-powered. Each guitar is $24.95 or under, while the drum set and amp each sell for $14.95. WowWee says the Paper Jamz are suitable for 8-12 year olds. But adults will play with them too. For a while anyway. 

http://www.paperjamz.com/ 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1158

Tom Merritt goes back to his “gadget shelf in the closet” for a blast from the past.

Tuesday, August 17^th, Netcast 1157 

Like Leo a few weeks ago, Tom asked if it was alright to trample all over the sacred hallowed ground that is Dick’s Gadget Warehouse! Yes he wanted to do a gadget from his past too. Unfortunately being 3,000 miles away, even with a high def webcam, he couldn’t see me gritting my teeth as I said: “Sure, Tom, what a great idea!” Actually if I had known about Tom’s pick, the Fundimensions Sound Gizmo when it came out, I would have had one too. The Sound Gizmo is a handheld sound effects generator. One with pretty limited possibilities, especially by today’s standards, but still fun. The controls include: Sound Activation: Constant or Fade. The Sound Selector slider offers 9 Primary sounds: Jet Plane, Phaser, Explosion, Gunshot, Train, Tone, Motor, Siren, and Helicopter. Then, the idea is that you can make them into more sound effects by using the Sound Variables knobs. They include: Pitch, Speed and Volume. Tom give us a demo and some of them were hard to identify. It was no digital age when the Sound Gizmo was made.  It’s not been for sale for many years but if you must have one, maybe Tom will part with his. I know I’m pretty much willing to part with any prior Dick’s Gadget Warehouse Friday gizmos. 

SEE or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1157

When we recorded this week's shows Leo was off to drop his daughter Abby off at college, so the talented and beautiful Tom Merritt cohosts.

It’s a laptop cooler --- but wait, there’s more!

Monday, August 16^th, Netcast 1156 

The Cables Unlimited Super Laptop Cooler adds some extra features you normally don’t find. There are 3 USB 2.0 ports, but other coolers have those. But this cooler also adds a Card Reader. It has two 1600rpm fans, which for the most part are very quiet. For some reason every once in a while you can suddenly hear them, but they get quiet again if you unplug and restart them. In addition to the fans, the special aluminum should help dissipate heat. The Plug & Play built-in multi-card reader/writer support most popular flash card formats, including compact flash. Perfect for power laptop users who require advanced functionality while cooling their laptop. The dimensions - 3.94" x 12.91" x 0.79" – make it small enough to take on a trip. It weighs 1.3 pounds. In some of the reviews people say you only gain one USB port because you need two ports to connect and power the laptop cooler. You actually just need one. One of the two cables supplied lets you piggyback one of the connection cables so you only need to use one of the USB ports on the cooler. Prices are all over the price. I found it on a one-day close out at www.buy.com for just $10, but it normally sells for about $30 to $35, so do a web search to see the current lowest price.

www.cablesunlimited.com

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1156

Tool kits for your wallet!

Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse, August 13^th, 2010, Netcast 1155 

Tool Logic began in early 1994. Their idea was to combine the useful functions of a Swiss army type knife into a convenient credit card shape that would fit into a wallet. One of their first products was the original Credit Card Companion. It was a useful set of tools in a slim credit card shape. Tool Logic moved into producing an entire line of compact multi-tools, including Tool Lite, Tool Lite Deluxe, and Golf Tool. In Dick’s Gadget Warehouse I found the Tool Logic Wine Companion. Shaped like a credit card and just 3/8" (9mm) thick it features: A precision ground corkscrew, Foil Cutter, Serrated Knife, Can/Bottle Opener, Fork and a Cocktail Stirrer. Turns out Tool Logic is still very much in business. They now make the Ice Series Credit Card Multi-Tools. Instead of the non-see-through black case like my Wine Companion, they have translucent frames with your choice of red, blue or purple accents. There’s no more Wine Companions being produced but if do a web search there are a couple of websites that still have it in stock for about $15. 

This website still offers The Wine Companion (as of 8/1/10) $14 + $7 S&H

http://www.southerntackle.com/proddetail.asp?prod=WC1B

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1155

A dummy that can be very useful.

Thursday, August 12^th, 2010 Netcast 1154 

Security cameras have come down in price over the years, but I bet you never saw one that sold for less than $30. Dormco, a popular website that sells everything for campus life, offers one. It’s their Dummy Camera with Zoom Lens & Motion Detector to help you deter robbery, theft, vandalism, etc. without the high cost of a real security camera. With this Dummy Camera even the most sophisticated criminals on campus or off will think the premises are guarded by a high-tech surveillance system and (probably) go in search of an easier target. Dormco says their dummy cameras look real because they are actual surveillance camera shells without the expensive electronics inside. They do look amazingly real, although real close-up you discover they're made of quality plastic. They feature a fake wireless antenna and zoom lens, but they also have a real motion detector with a range of approximately 10 feet. If someone walks by the camera, it will detect the motion and then start to rotate back and forth while a red LED light flashes for about 15 seconds. It has a fully adjustable mounting bracket that will let you adjust the camera direction. Requires 3 AA batteries that are not included. Dimensions of the camera (not including the mounting bracket) are 6 1/4 inches x 2 3/8 inches x 2 inches. The camera can be installed quickly and easily using the included mounting screws. $28.38 

http://www.dormco.com/Dummy_Camera_with_Zoom_Lens_Motion_Detector_p/dormco-dc.htm 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1154