The Giz Wiz, Week of August 27, 2013, Netcast 1431

The Giz Wiz Video of the Week.

Gee, it’s windy out? How windy is it? Now you’ll be able to tell exactly with the Vaavud, a wireless wind meter that connects to many smartphones. There’s no electronics involved, but the company says it’s been tested and calibrated in a wind tunnel at The Technical University of Denmark. Who needs this? Well, besides people who just love gadgets, it offers wind-dependent outdoor enthusiasts like kite surfers, golfers, Para gliders, sailors, model plane flyers, etc. the information needed to best plan their day of adventure. And soon, you'll be able to share this information online, and check out live wind readings from other users on an interactive map. When you get the wind info from the weather bureau, the information is probably taken many miles from where you’ll actually be. With the Vaavud, you can share the  wind speed exactly where you are. It can measure wind speeds up to 25 miters per second, which if I did the calculations right, is about 56 miles per hour. It’s resistant to water, sand, and dirt. Surprising, the rugged design contains no electronics. Vaavud connects to your phone wirelessly via its two small magnets in the rotor. The phones built-in magnetic field sensor detects when they rotate, and converts the rotations to wind speeds. (It uses algorithms normally used for sound processing.) To use the device, just download the free app, and insert the Vaavud in the headphone jack of your device. Since there’s no electrical connection, you can actually hold the Vaavud away from your device and still see the wind reading on the screen. It’s compatible with most iOS devices (not iPods!), and the Samsung Galaxy SII, SIII and SIV. Visit the company website for more compatable devices.  I got to play with one for a bit and you can it working in the YouTube Video below.  The Vaavud, which was a very successful Kickstarter project, retails for $49.99.

www.bitemyapple.co

Giz Wiz Vaavud Video: http://youtu.be/5l0cjs8Yrsk

Vaavud Company website: http://www.versaudio.com/vers1q.html

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431   (Goes live late 8/27/13)

Like the sound of a speaker enclosed in a wood cabinet? Read on.

Some people feel the natural acoustic properties of a speaker enclosed in a wood cabinet sounds best. So do the people who produce the Vers Sound Systems. They build a line of speakers in three different woods. I got to try the Vers 1Q Sound System. Wrapped in a 3" handcrafted bamboo cube, the little 1Q Bluetooth sound system does produces warm, natural sound. The integrated Bluetooth v2.1 makes wireless hook-up any smart phone, laptop or tablet device. It took just a few seconds to pair to my Galaxy S3. (Of course the device itself must be Bluetooth equipped.) The 1Q is small, just 3" X 3" X 3" (76 mm X 76 mm X 76 mm) and it can fit in the palm of your hand. The speaker weighs 8 oz. It does deliver enough rich sound for the bedroom, kitchen, office, hotel room, etc. Once fully charged you should get an estimated 10+ hours of battery life. If you want stereo plug in a second 1Q and it will is ready to play. Plug two 1Q's together and they will automatically switch from mono to left & right stereo. If you have a device with Bluetooth there’s a 3.5mm Aux Input. The available woods are walnut, beech and bamboo. I like Vers Audio’s regard for the use of wood.  Since the beginning they have replaced all of the wood they use in production in a 100 to 1 in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the US forest service. They also set up a 1:1 tree planting option at check out - you plant a tree and we'll plant one too! More details are at the company website. The Vers 1Q Sound System is $119.99.

http://www.versaudio.com/vers1Q.html

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431   (Goes live late 8/27/13)

A viewer's video - and how you can submit yours -- and win crap!

This week’s Viewer Video is in our “My Favorite Gadget” category. Michael sent us a link to his YouTube Video where he shows us a really unique, very old, but still working, music box.  Here’s a peep inside the music box and the link to the video under it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISaYosoCzt8 

Michael    flyinactor91.com

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431

(Goes live late 8/27/13)

Leo's Crap! (But sometimes it's good. Occassionally, very good!)

Jeff Needles is back to college, but he left a supply of crap for Leo to demo on the Giz Wiz. Today’s selection was not one of the most inspired. But I’ll let you judge for yourself. From Amazon, here’s the description of this week’s “Leo’s Pick” for The Giz Wiz: Like & Dislike Self-Inking Stamps. If you're not busy poking your mates on Facebook then you are probably 'liking' and disliking' comments on forums and You Tube. Our Like & Dislike Self Inking Stamps will not only pay homage to internet profiles, but offer a simple way of okaying ideas and documents at work! Ideal office gifts, these rubber stamps come in a set of 2 and feature the classic thumbs up or thumbs down symbol with 'Like' on one and 'Dislike' on the other. Looking for novelty office stationery to make the workplace more tolerable and your job more fun? These rubber stamps should take the edge off things! $12.60 for the pair. ------ Leo said they’d come in handy to approve or disapprove program ideas that crossed his desk. From the demo I saw, they work best if you stamp them on white paper, not dark colored backgrounds. And well, the price is right, $12.60. Although they’re not on Amazon Prime, the listing does say ‘free shipping’ if purchased from StampsXpress. So what do you think? Like or Dislike?  

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431   (Goes live late 8/27/13)

Dick's Gadget Warehouse

It’s not a gadget, but still very interesting. It’s my December 1984 “Buyer's Guide” copy of Antic Magazine. I saved it because of the buying guide. It’s amazing to go back almost 30 years to see the antiquated technology at sky-high prices. I’ll tell you a few of them, but first here’s a mini history of Antic via Wikipedia: Antic was the name of a home computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit computer line (Atari 400/800 and compatibles). It took its name from the ANTIC chip, which produced the Atari line's graphics. The first issue was published in April 1982. While it began as a bimonthly magazine, within a year it had gone monthly. The last issue was in June–July 1990. All told, 88 issues were published. A "Best of" book was also published. And now back to me. I was so excited when I bought the Hayes Smartmodem 1200! Aluminum case, blinking LED’s, wow. Listed at $699 in the Buyers Guide, I paid “only” about $450! I also bought the Indus GT Atari-compatible drive, listed in the guide for $499.99. I believe I paid about $350. Back then printers ran $300 to $700, but you also could add $100 for a printer interface and another $100 for a printer buffer. That was so you didn’t have to wait a l-o-n-g time for big documents to print! I also paid more than $50 a printer cable! Amazing stuff from almost 30 years ago is such a curiosity today.

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431 (Goes live late 8/27/13)