Barnes & Noble does a good job with their new wireless nook ebook reader.

Turn The Table Tuesday, Tuesday, May 11^th, 2010 Netcast 1087 

Leo likes his new nook ereader a lot. It looks different from the similar sized Kindle because it features dual displays, one of which is a color screen. (Both the nook & the Kindle use the same 6-inch E Ink Vizplex grayscale display.) The nook adds a 3.5-inch color capacitive touch screen. There are other pluses to the new B&N entry. While they both have integrated ATT 3G wireless, the nook adds WiFi. When you’re in a B&N store you get free wireless access, and probably a chance for them to send you messages as you roam the shelves. (I believe you can even preview books on the nook while in the store, but you’ll find that out for sure when you listen to the Podcast. (link below.) The nook charges via a microUSB port, but Leo didn’t have it long enough to judge battery life. There’s a built in speaker, headphone jack and microSD card slot for adding more memory. (You get 2GB of onboard memory). Even though the nook uses the same sort of E Ink panel as the Kindle Leo said the touch screen allows for faster navigation. And another thing he likes is that the nook offers periodicals, which can be downloaded automatically via the wireless connection. (I assume that’s after you subscribe!) You can play music on the nook, but only in the MP3 format. And you can view most photo formats too. A neat feature called LendME is a way to lend ebooks between friends and family. BUT the person you lend your ebook to doesn’t need to own a nook! They can use Barnes & Noble’s free eReader app. Leo thinks the nook is an easy winner over the Kindle with its dual screens, WiFi, touch screen and ability to get daily content delivered via WiFi. At $259, it’s the same price as the Kindle.  

http://bn.com/nook  

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1087

Tired of Long, Boring Meetings? Bring TIM!

Monday May 10^th, 2010, Netcast 1086

This is a very different kind of clock. You bring it to meetings, not to watch the time, but to watch how much that time costs a company! TIM stands for Time is Money. Brutally long business meetings are not only boring, but they’re expensive. The Bring TIM! Clock can give you the power to break the cycle. It prominently displays the total cost of everyone's time that ticks by. When people understand the cost, the discussion becomes brief, topical, and productive. To use Bring TIM you take the best guess (unless you know exactly) how much each person makes per hour. You enter that into the clock. It can be set in $5 increments from $5 to $995. Next you enter the number of people in the meeting, any number from 1 to 99 people. Then as the meeting goes on you can see the total cost of having all those people discussing things. It’s probably a lot higher than anyone would have guessed! The inventor, Brad Johnson says: “The inspiration in developing Bring TIM! came from working at a company that regularly held 4 hour weekly staff meetings. (Yes - that’s right - 4 hour staff meetings!!!) At the end of each meeting, I walked away wondering what did that accomplish? It became my personal quest to make sure no one endures that type of torture in the workplace! The Bring TIM! office clock is designed to keep your business meetings on track. Everyone will appreciate that this lighthearted device might actually keep your meetings more focused, effective, and shorter in duration. So the next time you want a shorter, more effective business meeting...Bring TIM! - The ultimate Office Clock & Meeting Cost Calculator!”  $24.99  

www.bringTIM.com 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1086

Read the specs on the Visor Prism PDA from just ten years ago. And learn 'Disney inside secrets".

Back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse Friday! May 7th, 2010. Netcast 1085  

DGW fan Mike Meyering stopped by the Gizneyland Studio to watch Leo & I record 5 episodes the Daily Giz Wiz. And he brought a gift for Dick’s Gadget Warehouse. It was Mike’s own Visor Prism from Handspring. It was quite the high tech gadget when it first came out in the year 2000. Check out these amazing specs!  Memory: 8 MB of onboard memory  / Speed: 33 Mhz / OS Palm OS 3.5.2.H / Screen: 160 X 160 mega-pixel 16 bit color screen / What made this PDA unique was the ability to buy a module to make it into a cell phone – another to turn it into a mini-digital camera – the MiniJam to made it an MP3 player. It came with a charging station, which was also used for using Hot Sync. For writing onscreen notes it was best if you learned Graffiti - learning how to print letters in a way the Visor software could easily read. But wait there’s more! You could also buy a cable which allowed you to attach the visor to the data port of a cell phone and use it as a modem. With that configuration Mike could get on the web any time he wanted wirelessly. So no need the buy modem module! Mike sent me this email: I found the original receipt (I keep way to much too), on 12/27/2000 I purchased 2 Visor Prisms for $449.99 each and a serial docking station (my laptop didn’t even have USB on it yet) for a grand total of $1,082.96 including tax. Kind of makes the iPad, which does a hell of a lot more, an absolute steal! In fact the iPad doesn’t seem so expensive now.

Also, here is the link to the Disney site that I was telling you about. The site was started by a group of people that had applied for the Disney Mom's Panel and are interested in spreading tips and ideas that make planning for a Disney trip easier. Not only am I a member I’m the site developer and webmaster. www.disneydreamdepot.com   ..................We're all involved in this project out of a sheer passion for spreading the Disney magic and none of us make any money on it. Each Thursday at 9 pm Est. we hold a live Q&A via tinychat on our site at http://disneydreamdepot.ning.com/page/dream-depot-live or http://tinychat.com/disneydreamdepo
During the chat we have two hosts that take answer questions from the chat room live over the “air”. Its a lot of fun and we have a great time talking Disney.

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1085

iGo Green Power help You Go Green!

Thursday, May 6^th, 2010, Netcast 1084 

New from the folks at iGo is their iGo Green Power Tower Surge Protector. Most new "green" power strips help save electricity by shutting off printers and monitors after you switch off your computer. But the Power Tower takes the concept a step further. It monitors how many amps your gadgets are drawing from its outlets and acts like a faucet, shutting off power when the load drops sharply — like when your cell phone completes a charge. The Tower then checks back periodically to see if the attached item wants more juice, turning the outlet back on as needed. Result: If you leave your phone plugged in, it'll stay charged without wasting electrons between charges. I like this feature a lot. It would drive me crazy to see my cell phone lit up brightly with FULLY CHARGED on its screen. When I charged my phone using the iGo Power Tower, the power to charger shutoff once the phone was charged. There are also two standard +5V USB ports for charging iPods and other USB-charging cell phones at the base of the tower. Another nice touch is the AC plug that rotates 360 degrees to avoid cable kinks or wall-wart collisions. If you need power quickly, a push on one button reactivates all eight outlets, even if they've entered "green mode."  There are four “always on” plugs for devices that use a clock or timer, and four Green outlets that automatically cuts juice to devices when they're in standby mode. Be sure to read the instruction booklet to learn about the tower’s Learning Mode. MSPR is $79.99, but I did a web search and found it for under $55.

http://www.amazon.com/iGo-PM000110004-8-Outlet-Green-Protector/dp/B003G42E0Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1272064179&sr=8-1-fkmr2   

Company website: http://www.igo.com/Other-Power/Power-Smart-Tower-with-iGo-Greenr-Technology/invt/pm000110004

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1084

Could your baby’s first words be: “Turn down that music, I’m trying to sleep!”

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 Netcast 1083

Many people believe you can jumpstart your baby's “smarts” by letting them listen to music while they’re still in the womb. If you want to try that theory out on your unborn child, Ritmo offers a complete audio system that can delivery safe sound to prenatal listeners and their moms. Anything you can play on your mp3 player can be played for your baby. And that’s because this system uses your mp3 player, or another other music device with a headphone jack. It enables mom and baby to share the same sensory and emotional experience. Ritmo says that research has demonstrated that reactive listening begins at 16 weeks. Moreover, scientists have found that babies exposed to music in-utero displayed advanced intelligence, coordination, and learning abilities.  (Most likely does not include listening to the Daily Giz Wiz!) They've also found that listening to soothing music calms the baby. The main component of the Ritmo system is a lightweight, woven Spandex belt. It’s adjustable so you can wear it relaxing, at work, or working out. Two convenient side pockets hold the Ritmo Audio Controller and your personal MP3 player for a completely hands-free sound experience. Specially engineered speakers minimize sound leakage to the youngest listeners. Plug your MP3 into Ritmo’s Micro Audio Controller and set the level of surround sound you enjoy; Ritmo takes care of the baby’s safe listening, continuously adjusting the volume to optimal fetal levels. Two separate stereo speaker sets deliver your chosen sound to baby in an optimally balanced way no matter where your baby is situated in your womb. Speakers & electronics are removable so the belt can be washed. Ritmo says the internal battery will last approximately 5 hours after it’s fully charged. Under $100.

 http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/b723

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1083