The Giz Wiz, Week of February 26, 2012, Netcast 1405 - The 1st show of year eight!!

Let's start with a Giz Wiz Video of the Week!

Several people emailed me, asking if I could buy and try the Old Brooklyn Lantern. You’ve probably seen the ad on late-night TV. If you haven’t, it’s here:

https://www.oldebrooklynlantern.com/?gclid=CPvCmMKJ07UCFYdT4AodRRUAOg

The Giz Wiz bought one, on Amazon, and here's my own take on the Olde Brooklyn Lantern:

Giz Wiz Video: http://youtu.be/FYi4yqfrIo4

Now you don’t have buy it online because it’s available in stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond and Walmart. But read the reviews online before buying. It has a pretty low customer satisfaction rating. Here’s the copy for the Olde Brooklyn Lantern from Amazon where I bought mine:

Olde Brooklyn Lantern is the antique lantern with modern LED lights that last a lifetime! Now you can enjoy the soft light of an antique lantern without the danger of an open flame. The 9 ultra-bright LED light bulbs will last up to 100,000 hours and do not emit any heat so the Olde Brooklyn Lantern stays cool to the touch. With a built-in dimmer, you can control how much light you want. Crafted just like antique lanterns from genuine metal with a classic Brooklyn design, you'll be able to enjoy The Olde Brooklyn Lantern for many years to come. Don't keep a bunch of old flashlights in a drawer since they never work when you need them! The Olde Brooklyn Lantern has 12 ultra-bright LED bulbs that provide a brighter, longer lasting light that fills the whole room! Requires 2 D Batteries, not included. 

At least Amazon mentions it needs batteries. The TV commercial doesn’t. It tries to make it sound like magically you’ll get 100,000 hours of LED light. Also notice something strange in that Amazon copy about the LED lights? Up top it says 9 ultra-bright LED light bulbs…further down it’s 12 ultra-bright LED bulbs. In my video, it’s the 12 LED version I'm using. It’s $18.00 on Amazon, with free shipping for Prime members. But it’s only about $13 in stores and you don’t pay shipping and handling. I'm not sure if stores have the 9 or the 12 LED version.

http://www.amazon.com/Olde-Brooklyn-Lantern-6561-6/dp/B009ATM0UK

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1405

Let there be light and lots of ways to control it!

Satechi has been making clever accessories for the past few years that are attractively priced. Their Smart LED Desk Lamp is one of the newest. It’s multi-purpose device that offers many ways to brighten a room, while adding a USB charging device at the base of the lamp. (It’s in the back of the lamp, so it’s out of the way. Charging power is 5V/700 mAh.) There are four touch controls to toggle between four different brightness levels.  Here’s how Satechi describes the four lighting modes:

Reading Mode – Stimulates concentration and reduces eye strain with mid-range color temperatures (4300K-5300K)

Study Mode – Increases attention and concentration with high-range color temperatures (6000K-7000K)

Relaxation Mode – Promotes relaxation along with improved mood with low-range color temperatures (2500K-3300K)

Bedtime Mode – Encourages deep sleep with a comfortable soft light (2500K-3300K)

Within each of those modes you vary the light with the up/down touch arrows. The company says the Smart LED Desk Lamp has a lifespan of 40,000+ hours. The energy efficient lamp consumes only 1/8 of the power of an incandescent lamp and less than half of the power of a florescent lamp. That translates to only about 11 watts of power consumption!  Additionally, the timer function automatically turns off the lamp after an hour of inactivity to avoid unnecessary energy consumption. The Smart LED Desk Lamp is made of three joints able to adjust the LED panel up to 140 degrees and the frame up to 90 degrees to ensure it fits perfectly on any desk. It’s available in black and white. The product sample I received is black. It’s really sleek with it a high tech look, but it does gather fingerprints quickly. My guess is the white version may not show fingerprints as much. For this many features, the price is right too. Introductory price is $99.99 at Satechi.net and at Amazon.com There’s no mention of the price going to the suggested $150 retail.

www.satechi.net

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AY64H0E/?tag=twnene-20(TWiT gets credit for this sale, but the price is the same $99.99)

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1405

Viewer Video of the Week -- And how you can submit your video for the show.

You can get your own 'Viewer Video of the Week' segment going with an email to us. It can even be a short one like this one:

Hi Dick & Leo

Eight sensors in a single

gadget. 

Kind of interesting.

My video:

https://vimeo.com/60553395

Never miss the Giz Wiz. bobh

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1405 

We'd love to include your video in an upcoming Giz Wiz Show. Here's what we're looking for:

Your home made Videos -- two to three minutes long - (four maximum) in the any of the following categories:

I bought a piece of crap! Did you buy something you ended up hating? We won't get you a refund, but we might be able to give a platform to vent your disappointment. Remember, "family friendly" language applies.

I Invented This! Do you invent something? (Or did a friend or relative invent something.) We can't market it for you, but we can help get the word out. Show us what it is, and how it works. Even if it's a prototype, you can get our (and the audience) reactions.

My Gadget Warehouse! Okay, so you don't have a warehouse. It doesn't matter. Just tell us about your favorite old gadget(s). When and where you bought it, and why you're still hanging on to it. 

My favorite gadget of all time! Show us what it is, tell us what it does and why you love, or loved it! It can be something you just bought too.

Post them on YouTube and send our producer, Jason, the link! We'll do the rest. (Or possibly nothing, but that's unlikely.) Remember, videos should be just 2 to 3 minutes long, 4 MAX! Low production value is fine. Even welcomed! That way our stuff doesn't look bad by comparison. We've set the bar low. Don't trip over it.

All show submissions go to gizwiz@twit.tv

It's Leo's 'Crap I Got From Sky Mall' Time! But today's it's a bit different.

Leo’s gadget for this week’s show didn’t come from Sky Mall, but it’s the kind of thing they would sell. It’s the Ostrich Pillow, a Studio Banana Things product Leo saw on Kickstarter. With shipping, Leo paid about $90. This strange pillow seemed like a good idea in the photo - a way to take a nap in almost any kind of surroundings. But after waiting many months, and receiving his Ostrich Pillow, Leo found it really didn’t feel very comfortable to wear or to use. More over when I did a web search for the Ostrich Pillow I found dozens of fake copies. It seems while the Kickstarter project was gathering funding; someone just knocked the product off. It’s on Amazon for about $45, but even at that price it’s also getting quite a few negative reviews. Here’s the website for the original Ostrich Pillow -which also talks about the knockoffs:

http://www.studiobananathings.com/buy-ostrich-pillow/

Verdict: At the current price of $99 for the original version, Leo showed us that it really doesn’t work in a practical way. And you’ll also look really strange if you use your Ostrich Pillow in a public place. So, reluctantly, as as they say on Before You Buy --- don’t buy! If you own one and feel directly, send us a video for the show! Details on how to do that are elsewhere on this page. Thanks.

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1405

Vote now on what Leo should order next for his 'Crap From Sky Mall' segment on The Giz Wiz

Back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse! Remember GoBack?

Back in the good old days of frequent PC computer crashes I relied heavily on GoBack. GoBack was designed by Wild File and was shown at COMDEX in November 1998. It was released in December 1998. It changed hands a lot over the year started life as WildFile GoBack, then became Adaptec GoBack, then Roxio GoBack and then Norton GoBack. GoBack was a Microsoft Windows based disk utility, that monitored and recorded (up to 8.3GB) of disk changes. When the disk activity is idle, it tags these as safe checkpoints. GoBack then allowed the hard drive to be restored to any of the checkpoints. It did this by effectively undoing all changes made to the disk since the checkpoint point was created. GoBack replaced the MBR (Master Boot Record), and also replaced the partition table with a single partition. Because of this change to the partition table, this can cause problems when dual booting other operating systems on the same hard disk. Also Microsoft started incorporating restore programs of its own in various editions of Windows, so GoBack is no more. Well, if you must have a copy, they’re available on EBay.

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1405