It's Our Annual 'Best Of' Show! Week of December 25th, 2012 Show 1396

This is the show where fans of the Giz Wiz pick their very favorite moments from all of the 2012 episodes.

That usually comes to about 3 minutes of video. Then the editors spend days finding 'the least worst' of The Giz Wiz to flush out the show. "Flush" is the operative word!

The staff isn't working Christmas Day - or even Christmas week, but we all hope you enjoy "The Best Of The Giz Wiz."

And Happy Holidays!

This show could ruin your holidays. But you can listen after the holidays!

www.twit.tv/giz1396

The Giz Wiz for the Week of December 18, 2012. Show 1395

A gadget that gives a whole new meaning to "Writer's Block"

From Quirky, it’s the Pen Zen, a gadget invented by an average person like you. Pen Zen is a cleverly designed storage unit for pens, pencils, highlighters, and other office supplies. Pen Zen’s sleek form and functional supply holders make it easy to master the art of organization. You can position your Pen Zen horizontally with the items extending out of the top, or stand it upright with the items extending out of the ends. Choose the arrangement that suits you best! But wait, there’s more! Hidden magnets below the bamboo surface hold paper clips and other small magnetic items. How clever is that? The thing I like about the Pen Zen are the rubber extrusions inside that act as magic fingers to hold your items in place. They don’t fall over, fall out, or bunch up. The bamboo exterior makes for an appealing addition to your desktop décor, instead of looking like something from the supply closet. And as the folks at Quirky say: With Pen Zen, your desk clutter can finally find inner peace. Dimensions:

7.25in x 2.5in x 2.0in. $19.99.

http://www.quirky.com/products/27

If you think you have an idea for a good invention, or think you can improve someone else’s invention Quirky is a great place to start. Read all the ways to get involved at www.quirky.com

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1395

Giz Wiz Video of the Week - a gadget to help you usher in the New Year!

I had a complete disco with fogs machines, bubble machines and even an infinity floor back when I had my 50’ houseboat. Now my disco is much more modest. It consists of the Visual Effects MBK-6 Mirrored Disco Ball Party Light Kit. Instead of spending thousands of dollars, this kit features a 6-inch mirror ball, and a battery operated motor with 18 multi-colored LED lights. The disco ball motor includes a built-in loop so you can hang it up in under a minute. There’s a lighting effects switch that allows you to have the LED lights blink randomly or be sound activated so they flash to the beat of your music. I did find the music has to be rather loud for the mic built into the Disco Ball Party Kit to react, but at a party, it probably will be. No AC is required. Everything runs on 3 AA Batteries, sold separately. You should note this is home use, not designed to illuminate large spaces like a gym, ballroom, etc. And of course the darker the room, the better the effect. The price is really good for this fun gadget. The site below sells the Visual Effects MBK-6 kit for under $20, but I have not shopped here. It was out of stock at Amazon when I wrote this on 12/18/12.

http://www.123dj.com/l_mirrorballs.html

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1395

Turn your iPod Touch into an iPhone. (Well, sort of)

The FreedomPop Rocket is a $99 4G hotspot sleeve for the iPod Touch (3^rd & 4^th generation). It comes with free data and uses the Clearwire wireless network. You have to check to see if 4G coverage is available in the area if you’re thinking of buying a FreedomPop Rocket Sleeve. In one of their commercials I watched, you see people streaming video, downloading photos, making video calls – while the announcing saying: “free- free- free”. Yes, 500MB is free, but after you use that, Freedom Pop sells you more at about $10 per GB. It’s an okay price, but it’s not free. On the plus side, the Rocket Sleeve allows up to eight devices to connect to the 4G sleeve. Of course that means your free 500MBs of data would be used up really, really fast. Like Dropbox, you can earn bonuses each time you get someone to sign up. "The company gives you an extra 10 MB for each friend you get to use the service, but only up to a total of up to 1 GB of free data. You can also earn free data by signing up for various ad offers. Or you can just buy more data with one of many paid plans. They range from $17.99 per month for 2GB of data up to $59.99 for 10GB, with plenty of stops in between. There’s no contract, so you can stop anytime. Set up is really easy. Once you click your iPod Touch into the Freedom Sleeve Rocket, you can make calls via Skype, or VoIP services like Line2. If you get a Google Voice phone number, you can receive calls via an app on your iPod Touch. Although Clearwire isn’t everywhere, it is available in NYC. I found my Rocket Sleeve worked fine outdoors and near windows indoors, but it’s not nearly as good as my Verizon wireless service. If you own an iPod Touch 3^rd or 4^th Generation and want to add phone service and the ability to get on the web away from WiFi, this could be a good choice for you. It gives a faux smart phone for occasional use, without a contract or a large monthly bill. But this isn’t a good substitute for an actual smart phone because it’s not terribly convenient to use. Even though they work together, your iPod Touch and FreedomPop Rocket Sleeve are not actually connected. They lock securely together, but each has it own on/off switch and each has to be charged with a different cable. And according to the company depending on the signal strength in your area, give your device 3-4 minutes to find a signal from bootup. So this is not for the business person in a hurry. Perhaps it would work for a young student who wouldn’t mind those slight hassles. You don’t have to connect your iPod Touch and Rocket Sleeve together, since the sleeve makes its own hotspot. If you’re carrying the iPod Touch with you, clicking them together makes the most sense. If you’re outdoors, checking the two tiny LED lights which tell you the charging and connection status of your Rocket Sleeve are near impossible to see. Of course the best signal strength is outdoors. In my apartment, I could get a signal closer to the windows. Deep in my apartment there was spotty or no signal. I would say this is definitely a “try” once you have checked to see if you’re in a 4G Clearwire wireless area. The company is planning on moving to the Sprint 4G Network later in 2013. So the coverage area will be greatly enhanced, but I'm not sure the Freedompop will continue to work. Perhaps you'll have to exchange it for a different one to work on the new network. $99.00 You can check the coverage area at the company website:

www.freedompop.com

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Leo's "Crap From The Sky Mall Catalog!"

This week gadget from the Sky Mall catalog is the The Dry Eye Relief Kit. That's what fans of the show voted on for Leo to buy and try. You can vote on Leo’s next Sky Mall item to buy below. First, here’s the description from the Sky Mall catalog:

Recommended by ophthalmologists, these are the goggles that soothe dry, puff y eyes. The included reusable gel packs can be warmed in a microwave or frozen and placed inside the goggles to stimulate tear production and the release of beneficial oils, or to reduce swelling and puffiness from allergies or lack of sleep. The goggles' foam-lined eye cups adjustable strap ensures a comfortable fit. Also includes foam inserts that can be soaked in water and used during sleep. 7-1/4" W x 2-3/4" H. (8 oz.)  $49.95.

Leo’s take on these? At first Leo said you can pretty much get the same effect by rubbing your palms together until they’re warm and then placing the warm part of your palms over your eyes. But after a few minutes, he thought the Dry Eye Relief Kit was soothing and that he probably would be using them. So it’s not a rush out and buy them recommendation, but they’re not a piece of crap, either! So the choice is now up to you.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=204257682&c=

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/giz1395

And now it's time to vote on the next Sky Mall piece of crap for Leo to buy!