Here’s a door chime that can play your favorite tune if you want!

Daily Giz Wiz, Monday, October 25^th, 2010, Netcast 1206

Honeywell has Introduced My Chime, a real easy-to-use, and customizable door chime. It comes with seven (7) tunes pre-loaded into the chime memory, or you can add one of the four (4) pre-recorded sound card themes from Honeywell. Those include Holiday, Sports, Christmas, and Halloween themed cards (each sold separately). On this episode of the Daily Giz Wiz I play several of the Halloween card sounds. They’d be great fun if you were having a party. You can set the My Chime to repeat the same sound each time, or let it cycle through all the various “scary sounds”. You can also purchase a software and USB card package (RCA2200) for unlimited sound possibilities. Choose the song or sounds you want to hear and download them onto the USB card. The easy to use software allows you to edit your song or sound to the exact 20 second or less clip that will play when someone pushes the My Chime doorbell button. (The software converts MIDI, .WAV, and .MP3 sound files to chimes tunes.) Create your own chime to reflect your own style – yes, you can even have it play the Daily Giz Wiz theme, or all of them! It has a 150-ft operating range. I put the chime receiver in Dennis Wunderlin’s apartment on the second floor above Gizneyland Studio. Then I went through 3 doors – one metal and two heavy glass door -- to test the range. Pushing on the transmitter I was able to sound the chime inside Dennis’ apartment. There are various wireless models from Honeywell and they start at about $20. The one I tested sells for $49.94 and comes with one sound card. Additional sound cards are about $6 to $8. Do a web search to find the lowest price, of course!

http://tinyurl.com/2u47egg

 Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1206

Some Fifteen Years Ago A Talking Picture Frame Was Pretty Unique.

Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse, Friday, October 22^nd, 2010, Netcast 1205

I showed the amazing “Talking Picture” picture frame back when I was on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. I don’t remember the exact date, but since Kathie Lee left the show in 2000, it was at least ten years ago, probably more like fifteen-plus years ago. It was from a company called Talking Pictures, Malibu, California. This was the first talking picture I knew of. It came from Brookstone or Hammacher Schlemmer. It was about $50. You could (and still can, because it works fine) record ten seconds of audio by pushing a small red record button at the back of the frame. The “play” on/off switch was at the very bottom of the frame and you activated it by tilting the picture forward a touch. You could re-record the message any time you wanted. The brushed aluminum frame with gold trim made it look rather elegant. Because it had a rather large speaker compartment in the back, the sound was pretty decent. (Compare that to a talking picture of today where all the eletronics can fit into the frame.) And those pictures in the frame? They’re also from Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. They were shot during “Wedding Week” on the show. I played the groom for various brides during the week. Strangely, I’m still paying alimony!

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1205

Here’s a cute teddy bear that’s also a great learning tool.

Thursday, October 21^st, 2010, Netcast 1204

CPR Teddy is a cuddly bear that can actually help someone save a life!  Although they were invented to help parents and grandparents practice and learn CPR and choking rescue skills at home, what we’ve found is that kids LOVE to play with these adorable bears---and they are learning life-saving skills at the same time! All of the bears have been safety tested for children of all ages. The prerecorded instruction begins when you squeeze the bear’s paw. There is instruction for infant or for child --- depending on a baby or child emergency. Each paw is labeled for easy identification. As you practice, check the light in CPR Teddy’s bow tie. It will light up green if you’re using the right amount of pressure, ore red for too much pressure. It’s a fun learning tool. There’s a bonus training DVD with every CPR Teddy ordered. The Infant and Child CPR & Choking Rescue Training DVD is designed for parents, grandparents, babysitters and other non-medical professionals who care for children. The information provided is based on the newest Guidelines published by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. The DVD provides instruction on Infant (0 to 1 year of age) and Child (1 to 8 years of age) CPR, Choking Rescue, and First Aid. It also provides tips for Childproofing Your Home & Car. Viewers of the DVD are continually urged to use CPR Teddy to practice these skills as they are watching the DVD. Research shows that you are more likely to remember your skills over time if you can practice those skills as you are learning them. CPR Teddy is $79.95. There’s a small version too which can read about at the company website. I did a web search & see CPR Teddy is available for $59.95 on Amazon.

www.cprteddy.com

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1204

An alarm clock with a ton of features – especially if you have a hearing loss.

Wednesday, October 20^th, 2010, Netcast 1203

The Amplicom TCL 200 Talking Digital Alarm Clock has features for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as those with low vision. It's a handy dual alarm clock with a bright flashing LED lights and pillow/bed vibrator that wakes you to a loud signal, vibration or both. It can also be used to connect to your telephone. Once connected it can be used as a ring amplifier/signaler so calls aren't missed. At the push a button on the top of the clock,  it announces the time and alarm time in your choice of 5 languages. There are adjustable volume and tone controls so the hard of hearing can tune it to the frequencies they hear best. And they can choose from five different alarms patterns. If you have trouble waking to an alarm, there’s a wireless bed shaker with a 300 feet range. I don’t think you’ll feel it through a thick mattress, so it’s probably better to put the shaker under a pillow. Still think you need more help waking up? There are also two bright flashing LED’s! The clock has large easy-to-use controls and an easy-to-read illuminated digital clock face. (Auto dimmer too, if you want.)  But wait, there’s more! The Snooze button can be set for a 5 or 15 minute delay and there are dual alarm settings. Set alarms for waking up daily, weekdays only, or weekends only. And finally, it comes with rechargeable batteries that hold your settings during a power blackout. (The rechargeable batteries are charged by the clock and are included in the price.) List price is $129.95, but I did a web search and found for $99.95. (I haven’t shopped at this website.)

http://www.4alarmclocks.com/tcl200dialcl.html

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1203

Take this camera and stick it! --- In your ear!

TTTT Tuesday, October 19^th, 2010, Netcast 1202

Thanks for all the Happy Birthday greetings! Yep, today’s the day. I was hoping to hit 10,000 Twitter followers by my birthday. I’m close, but not quite there. If you want to follow me, thanks! www.twitter.com/thegizwiz

Today’s Turn The Table Tuesday gadget was suggested by a fan of the Daily Giz Wiz. He was sure that when Leo heard there was a Bluetooth camera he could wear in his ear - one that was shooting video all the time -- it would be a sale. And he was right. Leo ordered the Looxcie Wearable Camcorder before I got to the end of reading the email. (I have to find that email too, so I can give the sender credit!) Looxcie is always on, continuously videoing – there's no record button. When you experience something you want to share, just click the Instant Clip button to save a clip of the last thirty seconds. The object is that you’ll never miss an important moment because you recorded it instead of wishing you could find your camera. Set up is easy. Place the camera in your ear. It comes with an assortment of earbuds for perfect fit. Then use your Bluetooth enabled smartphone as the Looxcie viewfinder to make sure your Looxcie is level and pointing where you look. Once Looxcie is lined up with your sight, put your smartphone away and join the action. The company says: “It's impossible to predict when something memorable will happen. But everyone knows when it has. We call these Looxcie moments: those unexpected events you want to capture and share right away. With one click, Looxcie lets you save instant clips of the last thirty seconds of your life.” And it’s so easy to share! Before you go to an event or participate in an activity, you can set up Auto-Share recipients using the Looxcie App on your smartphone. Then you can share your experiences on the fly with the press of a button – Looxcie automatically sends a thirty-second video clip to your recipients in real time. You can stay in the action with Looxcie. But wait there’s more! It’s also a Bluetooth headset for your phone. It has Active Noise Cancellation to eliminate ambient noise so people can hear you clearly, no matter where you are. It optimizes sound for video while you're videoing and for calls while you're on a call. And the cost? $199.99.

http://looxcie.com 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1202