Weekly Daily Giz Wiz – Week of May 28, 2012, Netcast 1366

First Alert "Hidden In Plain Sight" Safes. Coming in August, 2012.

Looking for a clever way to hide money, jewelry, etc. First Alert's new “Hidden-in-plain-sight” safes discretely hide your valuables in what looks like common household products or containers. When stored alongside other household items, these safes blend in with their surroundings and divert the attention of thieves away from your precious valuables.

First Alert is debuting two new models at this year’s National Hardware Show – the Quickie Brand All-Purpose Cleaner Safe, which mimics a common household bathroom cleaner, and a Ball Brand Fresh Preserving Jar Safe, which looks like a candle or jar of jam. People who saw these Jar safes loved them. They said they look so ordinary, no one would think they would hold valuables. These two safes will retail for under $15.00

Also coming in August is the First Alert "Hidden In Plain Sight" White Board Safe.

The white board comes with a marker, and two magnetic clips. Use the white board to write lists or messages, and to hang up coupons, recipes, etc. Sitting on a kitchen or office shelf, it will look just like what it is, a white board message center. But remove the white board and you'll find a First Alert safe behind it! Two keys for the lock are provided. This is great for larger items like important papers, wills, etc. This is also coming to stores in August, and it will retail for under $50. They'll be available at Amazon.com and major stores. First Alert website;

http://www.firstalert.com/

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Video of the week - A Cart You Can Wear To The Store!

At the National Hardware Show dbest products  (yep, they use small letters for their name) introduced their latest collapsible rolling carts. Called the Smart Cart, it's a rolling cart that easily folds to fit in your trunk, closet or anywhere else. Unfold it use to haul just about anything; groceries, books, files, laundry, sports gear, etc. The Smart Cart has a ergonomically designed, extendable handle that allows you to pull more weight with less effort. It has a non-slip rubber grip to provide comfort, especially important when pulling heavy loads. (The company says the Smart Cart can haul up to 110 lbs.) It's made with a durable, flexible and water proof material. And it folds to just 2”, so when you don't need it, simply fold it up and store it. It’s available in 3 colors, black, red and blue. $29.99. There’s a larger Smart Cart too, at a larger price, $49.99. They should also be available at many major retailers in the USA, UK, Japan, and Canada.

http://yhst-55459441411814.stores.yahoo.net/smartcartblack.html

Giz Wiz Video from the Hardware show: http://youtu.be/pF3XJQTQEDA

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This link usually goes live Sunday, the day after we record this show.

Update on August 15, 2012 by The Giz Wiz

As much as I loved the Smart Cart, I can't continue to recommend it. After using it about 4 times, one of wheels fell off. After examining it carefully it seems the steel shank of the wheel heats up quickly and causes the plastic wheel holder to melt! Since the larger Smart Cart is advertised as holding up to 140 pounds, I weighed the contents that were in the the Smart Cart when the wheel fell off. It weighed just 38 pounds. I told the company about the problem and they replaced the cart. But the new Smart Cart broke on it's very first trip. I hope they can come up with a new wheel design because the cart is otherwise a great idea! I have asked them to keep me posted.  

See through walls --- without having X-Ray vision.

The folks at Franklin Sensors say that conventional stud finders can become confused because they are only able to “see” the wall in one position at a time. A small irregularity at one position can cause a slight error, or a big error. But their ProSensor 710 is much less vulnerable to construction irregularities because it is able to “see” the wall in multiple locations at one time. It uses readings from several points on the wall to determine what is behind the surface of the wall. That’s why they say their ProSensor 710 is the most accurate stud finder on the market. It can identify the width of hidden objects. It illuminates all the LEDs that are in front of a hidden object, so notice how many LEDs are illuminated and you know the width. Conventional electronic stud finders require the user to slide the finder back and forth across the wall until the finder “learns” the wall. For some finders it may take multiple swipes until the finder becomes tuned into the wall and can detect accurately. Also, some conventional electronic finders don’t work well unless the finder was initiated at least 3” away from a stud. This means is that if you place the finder on the wall over a stud, and press the button, you’ll have great difficulty detecting the stud, unless you reinitiate the sequence from an alternative location. The ProSensor 710 doesn’t have these problems. Place it on the wall in any location, press the button, and you will instantly see the location of any hidden objects. It instantly self-tunes to the wall, without sliding, and it instantly shows the location of any hidden objects. $49.99.

More info visuals: http://www.franklinsensors.com/

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Leo’s Turn The Table Turkey – or Turn The Table Treasure?

Leo’s pick for this week the brand new Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover. It’s a treasure, not a turkey. Leo showed us how it acts as a super-thin beautifully designed screen cover for the iPad 2 and iPad 3rd generation. Since the aluminum exterior of the keyboard cover matches the iPad, it looks like you’re carrying a high tech compact netbook. But this is more than a cover. There’s a built-in Bluetooth wireless keyboard. And it features a magnetic hinge that serves a dual purpose. The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover snaps on and off like most magnetic covers, but once it’s off, lay it on your table or desk. You’ll find the narrow groove back of the keyboard is magnetic too and can be used to lock your iPad in place. It works best in landscape orientation, but Leo showed us it could still hold his iPad in the vertical position, but it’s not as secure. Another neat feature is that the iPad knows when its paired to a Bluetooth keyboard and it doesn’t allow the virtual keyboard to pop up. That means you’ll have a lot more screen real estate when typing with this keyboard. Leo likes this a lot and he says the ‘price is right’, at $99.99. It just started shipping and my guess is that the price will drop once it’s in wide distribution. Beware that several websites are offering this keyboard at $119.99, $20 above the suggested retail price. They do that when a product is first introduced and in short supply. But on Amazon is under $100.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/tablet-accessories/keyboards/devices/ultrathin-keyboard-cover  

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1366

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And now, back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse to re-visit TV Remote Buddy.

At the Hardware Show 3 years I found out about Remote Buddy. You’ve probably muttered a few hard words more than once when the TV remote you were just using, vanishes! Back in 2009, Stuckon Tools felt they had the perfect solution. Remote Buddy has four pockets to hold four remote controls and, if you want, there's also a place for your drink. But this device has a nice twist. If you misplace one of the four remotes, push the color button from the empty pocket and your remote beeps so you can find it quickly. Just stick the color-coded receiver to the back of the remote and Remote Buddy keeps track of it up to about 30 feet. It ships with a drink holder that can be clipped to the right or the left side of the Remote Buddy. It also includes 5 batteries; one for the main console and one for each of the remotes. Under $60.

UPDATE: It's 3 years later, and although you can find Remote Buddy on the web, the Shopping Cart at the Snapon Tools website has said: "shopping cart" unavailable for a week now. Also, although it's 3 years old, it's still listed under 'new products'. I did use it for a few months, but the design needs a bit of work. The pockets are too shallow for today's bigger remotes and they fall out real easy. And t was hard to find a place to stick the remote sensor without blocking the battery compartment, or having it interfer with the Remote Buddy pocket. Retail is $59.95, but it can found for a lot less online, even today.

 http://www.firststreetonline.com/Home+Solutions/Cleaning+Organizing/Remote+Buddy.axd?cid=477

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1366

This link usually goes live Sunday, the day after we record this show.

Hear the original Netcast from June, 2009: www.twit.tv/dgw844