An easy winner for the worst gadget of the year!

You don't have to bother reading the description unless you want to. Both my Perfect Switches stopped working in the first month. They really are crap. Crap, in the real sense of the word!

Now that Leo has spent some $1.2 million on the incredible new Brick TWiT House, I’ve been doing a little upgrading at Gizneyland. Artist Dennis Wunderland started by making a neat new illuminated Giz Wiz logo-sign guests will see when they enter the studio. There was only one problem after installing it. The sign doesn’t have an on/off switch. Online I received an ad fort he Handy Trends Perfect Switch, a device to wirelessly control any light inside or outside. (I woldn't use this device outside!) The ad said that Perfect Switch works up to 33 feet and is easy to install. I ordered two of them on sale for $5 each. Installation is really easy. Just plug the remote receiver into an outlet and plug the lamp into the receiver. There’s a slight hassle with the wireless transmitter, which is shipped without a battery. We’re accustomed to gadgets that come without batteries, but this device uses a button 2032 battery, which you probably don’t have lying around. (I happen to have them because the Giz Wiz Biz LED hat uses them.) Once I put the battery in, I found a few shortcomings you should be aware of.

The range I could get with my Perfect Switch was about 10 to 12 feet, not the advertised 33 feet. AND it only works if there’s clear line of sight between the transmitter and switch. Perfect Switch won’t work under a table or behind the couch, probably two places you would want to use it. I wanted to put the switch right next to the front door of the studio so I could turn the sign on as I entered, but I ended up putting it just a few feet from the remote sensor. It still lets me turns the sign on and off easily, but not in a convenient place. Also in the reviews online I read that most of the Pefect Switch units use the same code. One person said when they pushed the switched everything went on. (He's kind of lucky that the range he got was that good!) The switch was still on sale at the link below on 8/25/11 when I wrote this. It’s also on Amazon.com for $9.95.

http://tinyurl.com/3zovm3u

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1329

A Power Strip That Lets You Use All The Outlets!

Do you have a lot of electronic devices with those big transformer plugs? You know the deal. You buy a power strip and find you can only use half the outlets because those big power adapter plugs ends up covering 2 or 3 other outlets. Pivot Power comes to the rescue with an easy solution: a flexible power strip that can bend and flex so you can find the most convenient angle to handle those monster transformer plugs. Because there’s a hinge between every outlet on the strip, you have a lot of flexibility of which way to face the plug. Currently it’s available in white and an black. The six foot  heavy duty cord has a flat plug at the end so it takes up less room at the outlet you plug it in. I like the fact that there's a glowing blue ring that lights when there's power in the strip, so you can tell at a glance that's it has power. There’s 672 Joules of surge protection built-in too. $29.99. This is a product from Quirky, the place where people with inventions can get help to market them and share in the profits. The young man who came up with the Pivot Power idea made hundreds of thousands of dollars so far from his invention! It's available online and at stores. I saw it at Bath, Bed & Beyond too.

 www.quirky.com

 See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1318

Lava Watch....It Glows Only When You Need To Know The Time.

I buy a lot of crap on the Internet, but the Lava Red LED Watch turned out to be a really neat gizmo. Some websites say it’s the Samurai Japanese inspired faceless watch that looks like a bracelet but tells time like a watch. And they’re right. When the LED digits aren’t lit, there’s no hint of a watch. It supposed to be fashion friendly for men and women. It’s a very big and wide bracelet, so I don’t think it would look good on a woman’s wrist. The first time you push the button on the side of the Lava Watch you see the time digits. The second push brings up the red LED date display. The third push brings up the seconds display. But all these displays stay lit for only a few seconds. This is save battery life. One website says there is a way to keep the watch dispslay on all the time, but that would kill the battery really quick and I don’t think the watch can do that. List price is said to be anywhere from $50 to $200, but you can find it for about $10 or $11 if you do a web search for “lava watch”. The place below has it at $6.99 plus shipping and handling. I have not bought anything here. Mine came from 1 Sale A Day, but they don’t have it online anymore.

Here's my video of the week on the Lava Watch: http://youtu.be/1zqsjf7tc1g

 See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1316

You've heard of an undershirt, but how about a Thundershirt?

Fairway models her Thundershirt outside the Gizneyland Studio. The wet sidewalk shows we just had a rainstorm.At a Pet Show a gentlemen asked if I knew about ThunderShirt.  I didn't, and was willing to listen, especially when he said he was great for dogs who got upset during thunder storms. ThunderShirt is designed to apply gentle pressure on a dog’s torso which offers a calming effect. It sure worked great on my dog a few days before I showed this product on the air. NYC had several loud thunder storms with pounding rain. Instead of hiding in the bathroom, my 10 year old dog (Fairway) stayed in the living room! And during one storm she actually ate her dinner while wearing her ThunderShirt. The company says that the Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. Based on surveys completed by over two thousand customers, over 80% of dogs show significant improvement in symptoms when using Thundershirt. It should fit snugly, so check out the correct size for your dog on their website. $36.

www.thundershirt.com

See or hear this episode: www.twit.tv/dgw1311

Some of Leo's Picks as his favorite gadgets of 2011 - Like Jambox!

The review below is actually mine. After I reviewed Leo was so interested in it, he asked to borrow for a trip. He fell in love with it, and is stilling using it.

Jawbone, the company that makes many different Bluetooth headsets has introduced their first product that isn't a headset. However it still involves sound and Bluetooth technology. It’s a small, high tech stereo speaker that connects to your phone, computer, PDA, etc. via Bluetooth. You can use it as a Bluetooth speakerphone or a way your tunes for everyone in the room. It's called Jambox, and Jawbone has jammed a lot of features into a little box. (But I assume the name refers to ‘jamming’, as in music!) The Jambox is small - 5.9″ by 2.2″ by 1.6″ - so it’s not pocket-sized unless you wear a Scottevest jacket! It comes in four ”copy-writer inspired colors” - Blue Wave, Black Diamond, Grey Hex and Red Dot. Once the internal battery is fully charged, the company says you should get up to eight hours of operation. Inside the enclosure are two powerful acoustic drivers and a moving passive-wall bass radiator for very decent sound considering its size. Jawbone claims that the JAMBOX is the only speaker in the world that gets smarter with time. It can be updated with apps, software and new features at the Jawbone online platform, MyTALK. Audio alerts include battery life, caller ID, call functions and more. JAMBOX can also be personalized with voice and language options. Leo expressed an interest in hearing this unit in person, so when he made a whirlwind trip to NY I brought it along when we met for dinner. He liked it a lot and it’s going to be part of the gear he takes on his three week foreign trip. The price is upscale too, $199.99. As it gets into the marketplace, I assume some discounting will be available. 

http://www.jawbone.com/product-jambox-overview 

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/dgw1347  (Usually goes live Sunday afternoon, after our Sat recording.)

Original Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1274