The Giz Wiz, Week of January 22, 2014, Netcast 1452

eflow - A new high end electric bike can 'pedal' for you, or just assist you.

Judging by many reviews online, the eflow E3 Nitro electric bike has a lot going for it. e-flow is a new higher-end brand from Currie Tech. One of the novel designs is a removable battery pack located in the seat tube for easy recharging. It’s also centrally located to balance the weight. When you park your bike, a quick disconnect lets you slide out the battery and the attached seat so you can bring into the office, coffee shop, etc. to pretend theft. They offer their premium li-ion power pack in 2 capacity sizes to fit more budgets and to match the distance you need to travel. Here are more details on the eflow E3 Nitro electric bike from the company website: “A 500W premium direct drive rear hub motor coupled with a cassette for the utmost in flexibility in 20 possible gearing combinations cushioned by an on-road suspension fork design and fast rolling Maxxis tires. The exclusive eFlow user control console enables the rider to choose either torque-sensing pedal assist mode, or power-on-demand mode, intuitively from a removable LCD that detaches with a simple twist to become an operator key. With normal bike computer functionality like speed and distance traveled, the control console also displays battery state of charge, selected power levels and regenerative braking condition.” And now back to me. This premium brand bike starts at about $3500 with the eflow E3 Nitro & Flight bikes and goes up from there. All the models are shown here:

http://www.currietech.com/eflowebikes/  

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How about a new car for $6800!

For less than twice the price of the eflow E3 Nitro bike above, you can have a new car, the Elio! It’s not your traditional automobile, but a new way of getting around in the near future, 2015. Created by Paul Elio and his team, this three-wheel vehicle is designed to get 84 miles to the gallon on the highway, and 49 mpg in the city. That means the Elio could go up to 672 miles, or thereabouts, with its 8-gallon tank. Your mileage may vary, but you get the idea, economy! The Elio is a two seater, with the passenger sitting behind the driver. Paul said that his Elio auto will be built at a former GM Shreveport, LA plant, with a sale date beginning in 2015. Under the hood is an inline, 3 cylinder, .9 liter, 55 HP, fuel-injected, SOHC gas-powered, liquid-cooled, automotive engine. A 5-speed manual shift is a standard, with an automatic available as an option. Another bonus of an inexpensive car, the Elio has a 5 star safety rating, so insurance should be cheaper. Paul said you can put a deposit on the $6800 Elio at his company’s website. I checked the site and it seems that as of mid-January 2014, almost 7600 people have done that. And that’s for a car that would be available until next year. 

www.eliomotors.com

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1452

Myris - as in "my iris" - a new way to secure your computer.

myris (as in ‘my iris’) is a way to sign onto websites without a user name or password. And the company, Eye Lock, says only DNA is more accurate! myrisuses video of your irises to verify your identity. Since no two irises are alike, the company says chances of a false match are less than one in two trillion. That’s more than the population of earth. In fact, that’s more than the population of 315 earths. (The population of earth is 7.1 billion+). Setting it up is as easy as using a mirror. myris looks at more than 240 points on each iris and generates a unique 2048-bit digital signature. To authenticate your ID, it needs to match up with your actual eyes. Photos, video recordings or other fakes won’t work. It’s powered through the USB connection, so no batteries are needed. And up to five people can have individually protected accounts. Secure communication and military grade encryption with AES 256. myris (yep, they use a small ‘m”, is compatible with Windows 7 & 8, Mac OS and Chrome OS. Price is said to be under $300 and it should be available in the next few months.

More info: http://www.eyelock.com/

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1452

Chad's Crap! Or it could be something good. (Maybe.)

OMG! OMGChad shows something I've waited a long time to see! A real, working Tethercell.

First, here's my original report from CES 2013: Left: Normal AA Right: TethercellI met the creators of the Tethercell at CES 2013, and I think they have a great idea! One of the most popular batteries ever made to power devices is the AA. It powers many things, but we have almost no power over our AA batteries. That’s where Tethercell comes in. It will let you turn AA-battery-powered devices on and off remotely, put the toys and games “off” for periods of time that you set, turn on battery operated devices in other rooms from afar, and even make it so that only you can control the remote control! Here’s info from the company website on how easy it is (or will be) to setup a Tethercell. First, remove a single AA-battery from whichever device you choose. Next, make sure that Tethercell already has a AAA battery installed within it, then replace the removed AA battery with Tethercell. No matter how many AA batteries are required to run the device, you only need one Tethercell. After the Tethercell is snug in the battery compartment, turn on the device, fire up the Tetherboard app after downloading it free from the App store and you're ready to connect from any iOS or Android device that is Bluetooth Smart compatible. Now you can be alerted when battery power is low and know when it's time to replace your Tethercell's battery. Currently supported iOS devices: iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3, the newest iPod Touch, and the iPad mini. Android Devices to be supported in the near future: Samsung Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, the HTC One X+ and the Droid DNA. These should out about mid-summer. Price estimated to be about $20 at 1^st, dropping to about half that once production is in full swing.

Then I added this update December, 2013: UPDATE: It’s going to be 2014 in a few hours as I write this, and there is no sign of the Tethercell shipping yet. You can pre-order them at the company website, but the price is steep: $35.00 plus $12.00 shipping! There is no shipping date indicated, except to say your card won’t be charged until the Tethercell is shipped.

But then on this week's show Chad's crap turns out to be something great -- a working Tethercell! Chad showed us how the AAA battery fits inside the AA-sized Tethercell. He also showed us the app which he said works rather poorly. It kept losing its Bluetooth connection with the battery, and when finding it again, treating it as a new Tethercell. But for the few times it did work properly, it was great. Chad put the Tethercell in a flashlight with the other required regular AA batteries. He left the flashlight in the on position. Then via the app Chad could turn the flashlight on and off. I'd like one to use with my battery operated mirrored ball. I have to use a ladder to get there and turn it on and off. With a Tethercell, my Android phone could be the remote control for my disco ball! A Tethercall is expensive though for right now. $35, plus $12 shipping.

http://www.tethercell.com/

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1452

Dick's Gadget Warehouse - Another Viewer's Video & How to Submit Yours.

Dick & Chad, 

Here is my Gadget Warehouse submission.  My dad got me this RadioShack Realistic Chronosette-237 for my birthday back around 1984 while in junior high. It replaced my MacGyvered system that included a radio alarm clock that I recorded on a separate tape deck, triggered by a mechanical timer. 

Now, instead of CBS Radio's Comedy Hour late at night before school, I listen to the GizWiz for my laughs. 

God bless, Roy A. Alderman 

http://youtu.be/FrueoKpnoII

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1452 

                                +++++++++++++++++

We’d love to include your video in an upcoming Giz Wiz Show.  

Here’s what we’re looking: Your home shoot video – 2 to 3 minutes long, in 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! Did 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. No professionally made videos please. It makes us look even worse than we are.

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! Low production value is fine, but we should be able to hear you and see you! If we select and show your video on The Giz Wiz, you will be rewarded with some sort of prize. Like an autographed MAD magazine and maybe even some piece of crap. So that's one more (so-so) reason to send in your video! 

All show submissions go to gizwiz@twit.tv