The Weekly Daily Giz Wiz, Week of December 19th, 2011, Netcast 1345

It’s from Energizer, but it’s not a flashlight and it doesn’t use batteries.

A while back the folks at Energizer told me they were expanding from their core battery business into new areas. One of the areas is their new Edge Collection Accent Lights. They light, but they don’t use batteries. And they’re very techie. To turn the light on or off, plug it into an AC outlet and touch the base of the light panels. You also touch the base of the light panels and hold your finger there to continuously to dim or brighten the light to the desired level. I think it’s a great looking accent light. A series of LEDs project light through the clear panels, which makes them look as if they were lit from within. So you get a unique lighting effect that's also very energy efficient. The LEDs will most likely you’re your lifetime. The larger Edge Collection Accent Light has a light output of 400 lumens, while the smaller accent light has an output of 300 lumens. Yet they use less than 10 watts of power. The Energizer Edge Collection Accent Lights are available in two sizes. The taller of the two lights sits on a modern black metal base. As Energizer puts it: These lights quickly and easily create a welcoming mood to any room, whether spending the evening relaxing at home or hosting a dinner party with friends. On Amazon I saw the small Edge Light for $52, and the larger one for $62. One place that sells them is here: (I have not shopped at this e-tailor)

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Household-Lighting-Profile-HFELPAC/dp/B005GXKZ60/ref=pd_cp_hi_1

Energizer Website Info: http://www.energizer.com/lighting-products/household/edge-collection/Pages/edgesmall-accent-light.aspx

See or hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1345

This link usually goes live on Sunday afternoon, the day after we record the Netcast.

Video of the week - A TV Remote that's hard to misplace.

You know how easy it is to lose the remote and how hard it is to find it! What if the remote was easy to find and easy to keep where you won’t lose it? That’s the idea behind Brookstone Pillow Remote Control. How can you lose this remote in between the cushions, when it IS a cushion! Built into to this pillow is a 6-in-1 universal remote control! Although the ads say: “fast, easy set-up with pre-programmed automatic code searching”, I found it was a bit of a chore. Most reviews on Amazon also say it takes some doing to program the Pillow Remote Control correctly. All the built in keys do ‘click’ when you push on them to perform a function. So you don’t accidentally hit a button and go into an unwanted mode, a power-saving auto shutoff feature shuts off remote functions after 60 seconds of inactivity. You have to remember to hit the “activate” key for 3 seconds to bring the pillow back to life. Power is supplied by 2 AAA batteries which are not included. The instruction tells you to push the battery case switch to off if you’re not going to use the pillow for an extended period. I did that, and it erased all the codes. I’m not sure why they ask you to do that when the pillow has auto-shut-off built in. Even though the 6-in-1 Pillow Remote is from Brookstone, you don’t have to order it from them. I got mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $39.99. It’s also available on Amazon.com 

http://www.amazon.com/BRK-Pillow-Remote-Control/dp/B0045FCLFS

Giz Wiz Remote Control Pillow Video: http://youtu.be/U8Oz0Dlv_YE

See or hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1345

This link usually goes live on Sunday afternoon, the day after we record the Netcast.

Two new ways to handle iPads & E-Readers.

The folks who make CellHandle have a new product called E-Handle. It’s designed to hold e-readers with one hand, and the technology is similar to their first product. There’s a large loop that goes around your fingers and attaches to your e-reader via a Velcro disc. When I met them at a trade show I said: “Wouldn’t this be an easy thing for someone to make at home?” They said you would think so, but they had spent more than a year and a ton of money to come with a special military grade Velcro and heavy-duty fastener. Installation is easy. First, attached the Velcro square to your e-reader, or iPad. The hand loop that you put over your fingers has a pivoting plastic base, which gives your device a full 360 degrees of rotation. Landscape or Portrait, just give it a little spin. The very first time you use it, you may think, will this Velcro hold? I’m not sure of the weight limit on the new E-Handle, but the CellHandle can hold up to eight pounds! $24.99.

www.e-handle.com

And now here’s something that’s a great help when using your iPad in bed or on the sofa.

It’s called WedgePad. The WedgePad is an iPad ‘bean-bag’ stand, sloped at a 30° degree angle to minimize wrist discomfort while optimizing your viewing angle. It can also be positioned to stand at a 45° degree angle, which is ideal for watching movies on your iPad. The WedgePad beanbag design conforms to almost any surface. The folks who hand make them have a sense of humor too. From their website: “With technology only matched by the iPad itself, your device will be firmly secured to the WedgePad with the latest in elastic technology. And because of its soft bean bag underbelly that conforms to your body, you can shake like a Polaroid picture and the WedgePad will stay in place. One of the many attributes that makes WedgePad the best ipad stand and case is its weight. Weighing in at about 5 ozs, it's no heavier than a pair of tube socks or something else that weighs about 5 ozs. (Actually, it’s only 2.9 ounces according to MyWeigh Scale.) More from their website: “Designed for comfort and stability, you can rest the WedgePad against your body for hours with no discomfort. Your social life might suffer after prolonged iPad use, but at least you'll have more twitter followers and facebook friends.” $27 in white and black, or the new all-black version.

http://wedgepad.com/wedgepad-ipad-lap-stand

See or hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1345

This link usually goes live on Sunday afternoon, the day after we record the Netcast.

And now it's time for Leo's Turn The Table Turkey!

Atari Arcade Games come back yet again!

If you played video games in the 1970s and 80s, you’re familiar with the name Atari. They had some of the most popular video games of the day, including Pac Man! They never vanished completely, coming back from time to time with a new product. They’re back again with the Atari Arcade-Duo Controller for iPad. I saw this device at a trade show and the company offered me to send me one. Not having an iPad, I had the unit sent to Leo and he picked it for this week’s TTTT. Leo showed us how easy it is to plug your iPad into the Atari Controller to create your own mini-arcade. It’s still easy to find most of the successful Atari games in various apps from free to 99 cents per game to $9.99 for the entire collection. Once you download some Atari games, you can play them directly on your iPad. Now, you don’t need this device to play, but Leo showed us how the Atari Arcade-Duo Controller for iPad makes it a lot more fun. It includes all the main buttons, laid out the way they were on controllers from the 80s and 70s. This is not the first device to bring classic games back to life. Think Geek has the iCade which makes your iPad looks even more like an old fashioned arcade game, but the Atari Arcade-Duo takes up a lot less space and costs $60 vs. $100 for the iCade. Leo said $60 might be a tad on the high side and it wouldn’t appeal to kids as much as it will appeal to those old enough to have played all those 8-bit Atari arcade games. So for nostalgia buffs, it will most likely be worth the money. 

http://discoverybaygames.com/appcessories/atari-arcade-duo-powered-joystick

Leo plugs the PlugBug!

Leo also quickly got in a mention for the PlugBug. The PlugBug is made exclusively for all MacBook Power Adapters, including current and previous models. Snap PlugBug onto your MacBook Power Adapter and you now have the first ever device that lets you charge your MacBook + iPad or iPhone simultaneously, from one wall outlet. All the info and a video on the product is at the company website:

http://twelvesouth.com/products/plugbug/

See or hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1345

This link usually goes live on Sunday afternoon, the day after we record the Netcast.

Back To Dick's Gadget Warehouse!

This is a slightly different gadget warehouse find, but a fascinating one. When someone told me about a new book called Mail Order Mysteries I thought someone had stolen my idea of exposing all those mail order rip-offs of the past. Well, it’s the exact same idea, except in a totally different area. This fun volume is all about crappy merchandise that was advertised in comic books up to 50 years ago. Yep, if you’re old enough, you can remember those fantastic ads that offered authentic laser-gun plans, x-ray specs, and even a 7-foot- submarine big enough for two kids to get into! Wow. I wanted that! You would read all those exaggerated claims, and envision amazing things that could be yours. Then you’d clip that tiny coupon, send your hard-earned cash away and wait --- and wait. It was often weeks and weeks until the package came. You’d open it and find – a major disappointment! Mail Order Mysteries –Real Stuff From Old Comic Book Ads – written by Kirk Demarais, finally reveals what you got when you bought a pair of X-Ray specs. They were eyewear stuff with bird feathers. For real! The feather’s vanes diffracted the light, creating the appearance of two offset images. The image could be ‘interpreted’ as the bones in your hand. Pretty disappointing, eh, but great fun to know the secret after all these years! Mail-Order Mysteries reveals the amazing truths (and agonizing exaggerations) about other actual products marketed to kids in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s – including 100 Toy Soldiers in a Footlocker, Hercules Wrist Band, Hypno-Coin, Life-Size Monsters, Mystic Smoke, Sea Monkeys, Soil From Dracula’s Castle, U-Control Ghost, Ventrilo Voice Thrower and many, many more! Each page contains the actual ad – what the kid expected to get in the mail – and what finally arrived. It’s a fun, memory-provoking book!  I bought my copy at the link below for $13.57, and got it in two days with Amazon Prime. I signed up for the free one month trial on the same day I bought the book: 

http://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Mysteries-Real-Stuff-Comic/dp/160887026X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

See or hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1345

This link usually goes live on Sunday afternoon, the day after we record the Netcast.