Most everyone loves bagels, but very few people look forward to cutting them open.

Daily Giz Wiz, Monday, November 1^st, 2010, Netcast 1211 

Now slicing a bagel is child’s play – actually, make that adult’s play with the Bagel Guillotine. It’s real easy to use. I can’t even remember if there were instructions in the box because there’s not much you can do wrong. Just position the bagel in the acrylic holder, place the blade handle unit over the cradle and push down with a rapid motion. Done. The blade has a sharp, pointed end that’s protected by the plastic shell, but you still need to use caution not to stick up fingers up into the unit where they don't belong. I don’t who did the testing, but the Spoon Sisters website said the Bagel Guillotine has actually been clocked at 24 bagels sliced per minute. It requires so little force to use; it won the American Society on Aging Silver Award as recognition for its ease of use. So it’s good even for people who might have trouble slicing a bagel by traditional methods. And sometimes it's scary to see people trying to slice bagels by standing them on end or lying them flat on the counter with their hand on top as they weird a sharp knife. I sliced a few bagels with this gizmo and I agree, it’s a breeze. The blade is non-stick coated high-carbon stainless steel for easy slicing. And the company says it's top-shelf dishwasher safe. Silver & black color combo looks high tech too. Price: $24.95  

http://tinyurl.com/3732ql7 

Hear or See this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1211

From Dick’s Gadget Warehouse: An electronic typewriter that could double as a printer. Amazing!

Daily Giz Wiz, Friday, October 29^th, 2010, Netcast 1210

For this Gadget Warehouse Friday, I bring back memories of my Olivetti Praxis Electronic Typewriter. This was a state-of-the-art daisywheel typewriter that had a parallel interface. That meant I could use it as a typewriter, but when I switched over to using a computer, my investment wouldn’t be a waste. When I ordered the machine from Gary Oppenheimer, he advised me to pay the additional $150 for the parallel port option. That meant my $600 electronic typewriter wouldn’t go to the warehouse when I got my first computer. The Praxis was one of the first memory typewriters that had automatic memory correction. That of course required a special “correction ribbon” cartridge. But if you made a mistake you could just hold down the backspace key and the machine would go back and remember all the characters to be removed. It also had interchangeable daisywheels for different fonts. There were two other great features that helped me write questions for the Match Game. Typing on those 3” X 5” yellow Match Game cards required special margins, and this machine could remember 3 different margins and tab settings. Then it had seven memory keys that could be programmed for frequently typed phrases. I had mine set up for the questions I wrote most: “Dumb Donald was so dumb that”, “Weird Willie was so weird that” and of course, “Dumb Dora was so dumb that”. Recently when I asked Gary about the Praxis he told me he probably had the invoice for it somewhere in his basement. Basement? Gary lives on a boat! He said he probably sold it to me sometime between 1982 and 1985. 

Gary Oppenheimer has done something really wonderful using the power of the Internet. He started a organization that helps put people who grow more food than they can use, in touch with people who need food. He’s been featured as a CNN Hero. Check out the great work Gary does here: www.AmpleHarvest.org. 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1210

A clever speaker that comes with a “cardboard” enclosure!

Daily Giz Wiz, Thursday, October 28^th, 2010, Netcast 1209

The Vibe is a speaker like no other. It’s about the size of a triangular shaped hockey puck. It looks nothing like what it is - a small speaker, or as the manufacturer Tunebug calls it, a sound generator. It weighs a mere 5.3 ounces, which is good, because you most likely will want to pack it when you travel. Why? Because the Vibe uses something called SurfaceSound technology to turn small objects into big sounds. Basically it turns anything you place it on, into a fairly decent sounding speaker! You can even use the cardboard storage box that comes with it as the speaker. Any device you have that has a headphone jack, like your iPod, iPhone, laptop, netbook, MP3 player can now offer really decent sound any place you go. Connect any one of those devices to the Vibe using included 1/8”cable and then set the Vibe on a flat surface. Turn it on and listen as the Vibe turns that surface into a larger, louder sounding speaker. It’s pretty neat. You charge the Vibe’s internal rechargeable battery via a USB-to-mini-plug cable, also included. The company says you’ll get about five hours of play time on a full charge.  The best sound from the Vibe comes when you place it on a hollow surface, such as a box. That's why the Vibe comes with a small box, called a Sound Base. In my testing, sound quality and volume varied wildly depending on the surface on which I put the Vibe, but empty boxes do work best! (You adjust the volume level using your iPod, iPhone, or other connected device's volume control.) A tissue box worked really well, so if you travel, you’d most likely have one already there in the hotel bathroom. At a party, I played some music with my MP3 player and placed the Vibe on a round table. As folks walked around it sounded like the entire table was playing! Everyone was really impressed. This certainly wouldn’t be your prime listening speaker (it’s mono) but it’s ideal for the office, hotel room, or any place you need decent sound without carrying a ton of equipment. List price is $69.99, but I did a web search and saw it for as low as $55.

http://www.tunebug.com/tunebug-vibe.php

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1209

The Giz Wiz find you can a ton of stuff with the iPod Touch.

Daily Giz Wiz, Wednesday, October 27^th, 2010, Netcast 1208.   

On the Daily Giz Wiz Leo reported on the high-end iPhone 4 and the lower end Nano Touch Screen. So for this episode of the Daily Giz Wiz, I picked the iPod Touch 4^th Gen, sort of at the middle of the new apple gizmo range. I have to say that I’m loving this sophisticated gadget. I had no idea it was so versatile. It has the brightest screen of all the iPods so far, with a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels. It has an ambient-light sensor to adjust the brightness of the display depending on the environment, but I found I like it better with it turned off. I didn’t realize you can add screen after screen of apps, lots of them free. It’s WiFi enabled, so at any hot spot you can get and send emails, download apps, watch Netflix even use Skype to make phone calls. Most screens lets you switch between vertical and horizontal (landscape) view which is great, especially if you want to use the virtual keyboard. It has two built in cameras, one facing forward and one on the back. That lets you use the built in Face Time feature to do Skype-type video calls to other iPod Touch 4G’s via WiFi. (And to the new MAC computers.) Face Time works great! For still photos shot indoors, the images are decent, but you wouldn’t want to use this to shoot a friend’s wedding. (And there’s no flash.) Outdoor pictures are better. Video is way better because the Touch can shoot 720p video with sound of course. For games and most apps, a three-axis sensor detects which way you’re holding your Touch and turns the display the proper way. Other features include voice control of music playback, Google Maps, Voice Memos, Nike + iPod, ibooks, iTunes, Safari, even TWiT! But wait, there’s more! The Touch even has Bluetooth! It’s pretty close to being an iPhone with needing a service contract. Outside of not being able to make phone calls away from WiFi, it compares favorably with the iPhone4. The 8GB version is $229, 32GB $299 and 64GB $399.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/

Hear of SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1208

Leo does a “What’s In The Box?” for this week’s Turn The Table Tuesday.

Turn The Table Tuesday, Tuesday October 26^th, 2010, Netcast 1207

Rather than resort to the dreaded 2 X 4 as his Turn the Table Tuesday pick, Leo instead decided to open a box with unknown contents. It turned out to be the Streamer II. This is a high-performance music interface that allows a computer and a home entertainment system to work together. At first Leo didn’t quite understand what the device did, and I don’t anyone in the chatroom quite got it either. I was lost too. So for the description here I relied on the Amazon description: The Music Streamer II provides a completely isolated path between the computer and audio system. No more audio contamination by the computer; your music will always sound its best. There are no external power supplies to worry about because the Music Streamer II derives its power from the USB buss while completely regenerating power for all its internal circuitry using a sophisticated set of proprietary circuits (Did you get all that?) Operation is simple, just plug the Music Streamer II into any USB port on your computer and the Music Streamer II will install itself and be ready in a matter of moments. Connect the other end into any analog input and you are ready to stream high quality computer based music. The device provides full support for applications such as iTunes and Windows Media Player direct to your home entertainment system, with a level of quality never before possible. You can also use the Music Streamer II to listen to internet radio or other music subscription services such as Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Spotify and many more in high quality through your Home Entertainment System, Television or Stereo system. --- While trying to figure out exactly what this unit did, TWiT studio engineer JammerB, an audiophile, came in and assured Leo that this device is perfect for people who really want to listen to “pure” distortion-free music! Price is $149.00 

http://tinyurl.com/3yktj7a

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1207