Introducing navigation lights -- for the bathroom!

Thursday, June 10, 2010, Netcast 1109

Yes, it’s no joke. Well, it might bring laughs, but this gadget is so simple, it will “bowl” you over. (Sorry about that.) LavNav is the Lavatory Navigation Night Light. The less pleasant sounding name: Toilet Night Lights. Bathroom lights can be so blinding in the middle of the night when you flip on the switch. And they can  disturb your partner's sleep, especially in a small apartment. Sure you can use a nightlight, but non-LED nightlights waste electricity all night long. Worse, they occupy valuable electrical sockets and they don't put light where you need it. The LavNav solves those problems. A motion sensor turns it on when you approach in the dark, and turns it off after you leave. It shines a gentle light that is sufficient for you to do what you have to do. But wait there’s more!! The LavNav uses a RED or GREEN light to cleverly show the position of the seat. RED means the seat is up. Green means the seat is down. This can also end fights between male and females who share the same bathroom. I’ve used LavNav for a couple of days now and it works great. It uses two AA batteries, which you supply. To install them follow the “slide direction arrow” on the front of the LavNav. Pop off the cover and insert the batteries. There is no on/off switch; it’s all automatic. It installs to the toilet seat cover (in the open position, of course) in seconds. Just peel the backing off the attached adhesive tape and follow the two easy-to-understand photos on the package. Now you’re set to “go”. (Sorry again.) $19.95 

www.lavnav.com    

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1109

A lot of clock for a little bit of money.

Wednesday, June 9^th, 2010, Netcast 1108 

I just discovered a website called www.Dormco.com that specializes in gadgets for the dorm. One that really caught my attention is the Calming Blue Alarm Clock. It really does have a great blue glow when you press the button, but the light turns off after only about 3 seconds, so it’s not very calming. I can see why it turns off so quickly though, since the clock is battery operated only. (It runs on 3 AAA batteries which you supply.) This clock is small enough (about 5” high by 2.5” wide” to fit just about anywhere. Great for students living in dorm rooms that are not know for being large in size. This clock does have a lot of features, especially for the low price. You pick from a choice of 7 electronic musical theme wake up alarms and you can also set it for a nap without unsetting the alarm time. But wait, there’s more. It also shows the days of the week, the temperature and it does have a snooze alarm. And if you want, you can set so it plays a Birthday song on that special day – yours or someone elses. The website says other retailers charge $7.99 for this clock, while Dormco's price is a low $5.89. (You save $2.10) I also like that Dormco has a low shipping rate of just $2.95 for your entire order. Leo’s daughter Abby will be starting college in August, so Leo said he expects to stock up with many dorm goodies at this website.  

http://www.dormco.com/Calming_Blue_Alarm_Clock_p/dormco-t4467.htm 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1108

Here’s A Gotcha! You’re Going To Like!

Another Turn The Table Tuesday, Tuesday, June 8^th, Netcast 1107

Each of one this sport balls is a single cable Gotcha!This Turn The Table Tuesday Leo comes up with a gadget that solves one of life’s little pains! It’s something that annoys me several times a week. You know it too. It’s time to recharge my cell phone battery. I reach for the charger cable but it’s not there on my nightstand. As usual it slipped off and it’s on the floor, or worse yet, behind the nightstand. This frustrating situation presents itself a lot when you’re a gadget lover. Charging cables for MP3 players. PDA’s, gaming devices, etc. are always falling to the floor and hiding. It’s not only annoying, but stepping on one can render it useless, or might even make you trip. A gentleman named Steve Kwak decided to do something about this problem. And he did! After several weeks of making rudimentary prototypes and trying different ideas, Steve designed the first Cable Wait product called the Gotcha!  These devices, which come in many varieties, including wood grains, colors, even sport’s themes, prevent cables from falling on the floor. Just open it open, place your cable wire(s) safely inside and snap the magnetic lid back on. From now on, you know exactly where the end of the cable is! And the cable length is adjustable, even inside. There’s a Gotcha! for single and multiple cables.

    My favorite is the Gotcha! Glow. (It's shown at the right.) See those little openings next to each cable? This device uses a special sensor to know when you are near it, then it illuminates for you. You will be able to find your electronic devices in the dark quickly and easily with a nice white glow showing through each of those openings. The Gotcha! Glow holds up to three charger cables, making the organization of multiple devices real easy! Prices start under $9 and range up to $14.99 for the illuminated Gotcha! Glow. 

http://cablewait.com   

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1107

Here’s a gizmo that helps a flat screen TV be flat against the wall.

Monday, June 7^th, 2010, Netcast 1106 

It’s great that your brand new flat screen HDTV is just an inch or two thick. But then when you start to hook it up, you realize that the HDMI cable has to come directly out of the back panel. By nature most HDMI cables I’ve used have a large hub attached to a very stiff hard-to-bend cable. That means your super-thin HDTV has to stand a few extra inches away from the way because you can’t put bend the HDMI cable. A severe bend can damage in the input, the cable, or even create a short if the pins touch. Or the pins might not make proper contact and you have a picture or sound. That’s where the NextGenTwister 360 Degree HDMI Connector can be a big help. It plugs in between your HDMI cable and your flat screen TV. The Twister is an HDMI jack and plug, connected together with a 360-degree ball joint. This enables you to point the HDMI cable straight down, up, sideways, etc. with no strain on the cable. And it lets your flat screen TV rest closer to the wall. It’s a simple, inexpensive solution for under $20.

http://www.nextgen.us/SearchResults.asp?Cat=28   

Also this edition of the Daily Giz Wiz Leo & I talked about the new Verbatim Tuff-N-Tiny 16 GB flash drive. These are the tiniest flash drives I’ve ever seen. It’s from folks who used to make the 5¼ floppy discs that stored 360KB of info. Yes, that’s right, 360KB of info! That means this new 16 GB Tuff-N-Tiny flash drive holds the same amount of info as 44,444 360KB floppies! In addition to storage, it offers password security for Windows users and is enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost for Windows 7 and Vista users. And the price is only about $55. 00. (Floppies that could store that much info would be in the thousands of dollars range.) Here’s the whole story about Verbatim Tuff-N-Tiny from an earlier Daily Giz Wiz episode. Leo & I both use them.

http://gizwizbiz.squarespace.com/daily_giz_wiz_gadgets/2009/8/23/verbatims-new-tuff-n-tiny-usb-drive-is-well-tough-tiny.html 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1106

You’ve heard of the Swiss Army Knife? This is kind of a Swiss Army Office.

Friday, June 4^th, 2010,  Netcast 1105  

It was almost 25 years ago, back to 1986, when the Plus Company introduced something they called the FactoryPlus. It’s kind of a Swiss army knife office. About the size of the one of the bigger Swiss army knifes, this device contains everything you need if you’re doing some business traveling. It was especially good if you were going to be working a booth at a Trade Show. It has all the little goodies you might need, but usually forget to bring. Built into the FactoryPlus is: Scissors (and they work pretty well), a stapler, staple remover, a slide out magnifier, a hole puncher, carton opener, tape dispenser, and a pull out metal tape measure. It retailed for about $30. I remember using this device at the San Diego Comic Convention in 1992 and it really was useful. And from time to time it’s still useful in Dick’s Gadget Warehouse. 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1105