Aerobie makes the jump from flying discs to making coffee on the fly!

Monday, February 15^th, 2010 Netcast 1026

Aerobie, yes the folks that make those fun-flying rings have found a way to make a good cup on the fly! There’s a picture of their AeroPress on the left. It may look a touch complicated, but using it is pretty simple. First you place the Aeropress on top of your favorite coffee mug. Then put a measured scoop of coffee into the brewing chamber and pour hot water into the grounds. (Here’s something to remember, pour the hot water slowly. The fist time I used the AeroPress the water went right thorugh and make a super-weak brew. Then I started looking at the instructions. Turns out that if you pour the water slowly, the grounds get wet and slow down the brewing process so you get a deeper, richer flavor. Now that you’ve learned how to pour the water, once it’s in the brewing chamber, use the included stirrer to mix the coffee and water for about 10 to 15 seconds. Then a few seconds later place the plunger on top of the brewing chamber and push down gently. What’s neat about this coffee maker is clean-up is quick and easy. Unlike that French Press machines with the springy-thingy on the bottom, which is difficult to clean, with this unit you just pop out the block of coffee grounds into the garbage. They refer to that block of coffee grounds as the “puck” because it does like a mini-version of one. You can make 1 to 4 cups of coffee or espresso (enough for 1 or 2 mugs). It uses a micro paper filter and I was pleased to find that they include 320 of them! And the company says if you don’t mind giving the filter a mini-rinse you can use each one 3 or 4 times. Best news is that if you buy another 320 along with the AeroPress it only adds a few dollars to the order. Now there are sorts of tips on how to brew the best coffee and a quick web search showed there are devoted fans across the world offering videos and ways to improve your coffee making techniques. It retails for $25 to $35, but our friends at ThinkGeek have it at the low end, $25.99. (No, we don’t get a commission, but they did provide a sample so we could play with it.) There’s also a video on using the Aerobie at their website here:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/8e3a/

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1026

One brand of TV in the late 1950’s came with something no other TV offered. It’s own “halo”!

Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse Friday, February 12^th, Netcast 1025

When I was a kid it was widely believed, at least by our parents, that you needed to have some sort of light on in the room where you watched TV. If you didn’t, because of the stark contract between the brightness of TV picture and the darkness of the room, you would ruin you eyesight. At least that was the theory. But in the late 1950’s Sylvania solved that “problem” with something they called "Halo Light". The black & white TV sets they sold had a fluorescent light behind a translucent frame that surrounded the picture tube. So the Halo Light took the place of having to have a lamp on in the room. Halo Light could be turned on and off, but why would you shut it off? You would “show it off”, not shut it off! Halo light made claims like: "You'll see the difference instantly! Pictures framed in exciting HALOLIGHT appear larger, sharper and clearer!"  Actually, I thought Halo light was really neat. Sure it was a gimmick, but even as a kid, I liked things like that. It was big for several years and then disappeared. But in 2004 Philips came up with "Ambilight", which was a similar idea. It worked differently; by projecting a glow of light on the wall directly behind the screen. Over the years Philips enhanced Ambilight so you could control the color, or have the TV project a color on the wall that matched the primary color on the screen at that moment. Ambilight is still available on the newest Philips flat screen TV’s:

http://www.consumer.philips.com/c/televisions/33092/cat/gb/

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1025

You talk, it types! And it’s fast and surprisingly accurate!

Thursday, February 11^th, 2010, Netcast 1024

When I got back from CES I had a stack of new product press releases. My normal plan is to type a brief description of each new gizmo into an “Interesting New Products” file on my computer. But it’s one of my least favorite things to do. I would read something on the press release, type it in, read more, type it in, etc. As I looked at the stack of press releases I wish I had a secretary. A light dawns! Wait a minute; I have speech-to-text software that I never tried. At a press event a while back a kind spokesperson at Nuance Software sent me a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 10. Fortunately I knew exactly where it was & I installed it. Setup took about 20 minutes. It detects and tests your hardware and you make some choices like where you were born, I guess to adjust for local accents. Then you read something from the screen into your microphone until the program tells you it’s finished with setup. Among the choices of things to read aloud are commands you use with Dragon. That’s the choice to make, because you’re multi-tasking. The program is tuning itself to how you speak, while at the same time, you’re learning some basic commands. There’s another option I didn’t use. You can also read some of your e-mail and word-processing docs so that Naturally Speaking can match your writing and dictation styles. My setup took about 20 minutes and then I just started dictating. I really was amazed at how accurate the text was. I’d say it got better than 90% of what I dictated perfectly. If you read something that the program mistypes – like GPS Padlock instead of GPS Maplock, it’s best if you manually correct the written text right away. If you do that, Naturally Speaking learns that new word and doesn’t type the wrong one again. It’s really smart. It turns out the Professional version Nuance sent me is the most expensive version. But it includes features that you and certainly me will never need, like automating complex workflow actions and other corporate chores. The basic version, which is probably all most folks need, list for $99.00. But I did a web search and it’s widely available for about $50. You can see all the various versions at the company’s website. There’s even an new iPhone version.

www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1024

A GPS unit can be a big help. This device could be a big help by not letting thieves steal your GPS!

Wednesday, February 10^th, 2010, Netcast 1023

These days almost every driver I know has a GPS unit. Many of them are built in, but many are portable units. GPS units become easier to use and more feature laden every year. But along with tech advances comes the attraction of thieves. That’s why I think the Maplock GPS anti-theft device is a good idea. It’s a two part locking system. There’s a stainless steel tether that attaches around the steering wheel. It’s connected to the Maplock device, which fits over your GPS unit and is locked with a key.  The Melbourne-based auto accessory company Who-Rae Australia developed this gizmo, which they say is the world’s first in-car GPS security device. It’s made to protect most portable GPS units with screen sizes between 3.5” & 5”. The bright colors of the Maplock are intended to deter thieves from breaking a window to gain entry. If thieves are roaming through a parking lot taking GPS units, I think they’d skip one that had this device in place and pick something easier. Why hassle cutting a wire and breaking a locking device when the cars all around probably have no locking device? GPS theft is not an isolated crime. According to the FBI, the number of thefts has increased by 700% in recent years. There are estimates that 2.6 million GPS units will be stolen over the next two years, so an under $50 anti-theft investment could really be worthwhile. It’s on pre-order right now and should be shipping in about a month.

www.gpsmaplock.com

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1023  

Forget the Teabag Penguin. On this Turn The Table Tuesday Leo gets an OWLE.

Turn The Table Tuesday, February 9^th, 2010, Netcast 1022

The OWLE is from a new company that makes Optical Widgets For Life Enhancement. Their first gadget is this device, which makes shooting video with the iPhone easier and more professional. I saw this device for the first time at the Wired Store, which was set up and open for just six weeks prior to the holidays. The guys who invented the OWLE were fans of the Daily Giz Wiz and offered me one to test. I don’t have an iPhone, but suggested Leo would love to give it test. (And that would mean a decent TTTT gizmo!) They sent one to Leo and he likes it a lot. The iPhone has a mic that's pointed towards the floor and Leo said the iPhone lens is not-too-wide. The OWLE iPhone Video/Rig solves these problems with a mini boom-mic and a wide-angle lens. You mount your iPhone inside the metal and silicone case of the OWLE and you’re ready to shoot enhanced iPhone video & sound. Shots are helped too with a shoe mount on the top for accessories like lights. Leo mounted his Litepanel LED array on hisBack view. OWLE to shoot some nice video. A flash will not work, since there is no way to sync it to the iPhone camera shutter. The device is made from a solid block of milled anodized aluminum. ThinkGeek, which is one of retailers, says it works with the iPhone 3G or 3GS but says that the 3G requires additional app to shoot video and the quality is poor. There are four screw mounts on the corners of the OWLE case so you can mount it to a tripod. It comes standard with 37mm lens threading, as well as a 0.45x Wide angle/macro combination lens, but you can add any other lenses with a 37mm mount. Cost is $129.95 which Leo considers on the high side, but you could do a web search to see if there were lower prices.

Company website: www.wantowle.com 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1022