On this Turn The Table Tuesday Leo finds a new Bluetooth Headset he loves! The BlueAnt Q1

Tuesday, June 16^th, 2009, Netcast 852 TTTT

No, that's not Leo after Photoshop!The reason Leo is so excited about the BlueAnt Q1 is that it can understand a large range of voice commands. It uses advanced Voice Recognition software to allow the user to control the headset and many phone functions just by using their voice. That's right: talk to it and it will talk to you. If you want to hear a list of the available commands; click the BlueAnt button below and look for the "What Can I Say?" button. I don’t have this unit, so here’s more info provided by the company. The BlueAnt Q1 incorporates dual microphones and BlueAnt's superior Voice Isolation Technology - an advanced software solution that separates the user's voice from all other sounds resulting in outstanding call quality, no matter where you are. (Here’s something else Leo liked:) It supports true multipoint - connect two phones at the same time and answer the one that rings. You can pair it with up to 8 devices. Up to 4 hours talk time and 100 hours standby. The Dual Microphones and BlueAnt's Voice Isolation Technology ensure that you are always heard, even in the noisiest of environments. Custom internal wind-shields reduce wind noise to a whisper. The firmware is upgradeable via USB on your PC.

http://www.blueantwireless.com/q1/features.html

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw852

Another neat gadget from Clickfree. Clickfree DVD Transformer.

Monday, June 15^th, Netcast 851

The Clickfree DVD Transformer is an inexpensive, easy way to back up music, photos, files, etc. The device itself is a small, flash-based gizmo that connects to a PC's USB port. Just plug it in and it automatically searches the entire computer for documents, photos, music files, videos, etc. Once the search is complete and the content identified, you can decide which items you might want to back up. Or you can back up everything to DVD’s. Simply insert a blank disc into the computer's burner and Clickfree does the rest. If you need more than one blank DVD, Clickfree will tell you have many you’ll need for the backup you asked for.
At $39.99, it’s an economical way to quickly backup and save files. Coupled with all those recordable CDs and/or DVDs most our us have laying around it’s easy to burn the latest family photos to send off to mom, dad, the grandparents, etc. The Clickfree DVD Transformer will automatically backup data to optical discs of many popular formats, including CDR, CDRW, DVD+R, DVD-R and Dual Layer DVD. If you want you can backup multiple computers: There is absolutely no limit - just connect the Clickfree DVD Transformer to any computer and the Clickfree software will automatically start and search for digital content. The Transformer keeps a complete record of every computer and every backup disc created. The DVD Transformer comes complete with Clickfree's unique automatic "Smart Restore Technology” that is as easy to use as Clickfree backup. It allows the customer to effortlessly restore or share all files with any PC or Mac.

http://www.clickfree.com/products_transformer.php

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw851

Yesterday we talked about the smallest speaker Altec Lansing ever made. Today it's one of their biggest.

Friday, June 12^th, 2009, Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse Netcast 850

The massive 604, via our friends at mixonline.comIt’s the ALTEC LANSING 604 15” DUPLEX STUDIO MONITOR. The Altec 604 Duplex has had one heck of a long life! How many gadgets remained in production from 1943 to 1998! In 50's, 60’s and into the 1970's, it was said that more recording and broadcast studios used the Altec 604 more than all other monitor systems combined. I had the 604-C, but over the years the letters kept working their way down the alpabet. The last one made in 1998, was the 604-K. My family had a finished basement in a house they owned in Brooklyn, so I had the space for the two speaker cabinets. There were blonde wood, real wood of course, and each was 40" x 26" x18". Not big for a nightclub or theatre, but big for a home theatre which was a rare thing back then. It had a multi-cell horn in the middle of a 15" bass driver. And it used alnico V magnets, which had 2.5 times more energy than a ferrite magnet of comparable weight. The massive alnico magnets is one reason why the speaker was so sensitive: 105dB. Frequency response was 30Hz to 22kHz. (Okay, I found the last couple of pieces of info on the net!) I do remember the incredible sound, especially when I played stereo records engineered to show off stereo speakers. Since the houses on either side of my parent’s home didn’t have finished basements, no one used them, so I never got complaints about the sound! I recall they cost about $650 each, quite a fortune back in the early 1970's. Where are they today? I don’t know. My mother gave them away a year or two after I moved into Manhattan. When I asked where they were she told me a young man who did chores for the family always admired the speakers so she said: “You want them, take them!”

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw850

Probably the smallest speaker Altec Lansing ever made, the Altec Orbit

Thursday, June 11tth, 2009 Netcast 849 

The Altec iM-207 has been replaced by the Altec Orbit. (Model iM-237.) The Orbit is great for use in a hotel room, at the beach, on a boat, actually anywhere you want to listen to music from a portable player without wearing headphones. It’s also a way to share your music at a gathering or party. It’s not stereo, but the music sounds like it’s coming from a much larger sound system than the demure Orbit. Altec calls it 360 degree music. The iM237 Orbit has a glowing LED so you know when it’s powered on, a feature missing from the original version. It comes with a padded, zippered carrying case. The speaker cord is neatly concealed under the base where it winds around a channel where it’s neatly stored. The sound is excellent for its size. Anyone I played it for was quite surprised when I showed them what they were listening too. Most thought it was a much larger speaker. List price is $40, but I did a web search & found it for about $26 at J&R Music.

http://www.jr.com/altec-lansing/pe/ASN_IM237/

Company website: http://www.alteclansing.com/index.php?file=north_product_detail&iproduct_id=orbit_mp3

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw849

Leo loves magnets. I love LED’s. Here’s something for both of us!

Wednesday, June 10^th. 2009 Netcast 848

It’s about the size of a golf ball, but the resemblance ends there. The new Striker Magnetic LED Light is a powerful LED spotlight that can be used almost anywhere you need illumination. Using the 12 powerful rare earth (neodymium) magnets you can stick it to any steel surface with the LED facing where you need it. Or if there is no magnetic surface, just rest it on any surface and aim the light towards the workspace at almost any angle. The company says it’s perfect for automotive technicians, electricians, plumbers and do-it-yourselfers. A use I hadn’t thought of is to use the 12 magnets as a “pick up” tool for dropped screws, nails and hardware. It’s powered by three alkaline button cell batteries which are included. Retails for $6.99. The company says it will be at Home Depot stores soon. 

www.strikerhandtools.com.

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw848