Myself Belts is a low-tech gadget that a lot of people will really like!

Daily Giz Wiz, Monday, October 18^th, 2010 Netcast 1201 

Kids Myself BeltsAt a recent press event I met Talia Goldfarb, co-owner of Myself Belts. She runs the company with her sister, Danielle. Myself Belts are a great invention for tots who are determined to be independent. The sister’s invention is a one handed belt that helps children and adults become more independent when they dress. It looks like a regular belt, but the secret is that it locks easily and quickly on the side with hidden Velcro. Talia says this belt is perfect for a potty training toddler, for school uniforms, kids with special needs, etc. But now there’s a whole new market. She’s discovered it’s a big help for adults with hand-dexterity difficulties. The men’s belts have what looks like a regular buckle, but it’s actually a non-working one. So even a person with limited dexterity and easily close the belt by pushing the Velcro together at the side. There are over 20 different styles of Myself Belts for kids, and traditional black or brown real leather belts for adults. The kids belts starts at about $15 and it’s about $25 for the adult belts. 

www.myselfbelts.com 

See or HEAR this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1201

We did it! Daily Giz Wiz #1200! (We’re not stopping there!)

Friday, October 15^th, 2010, Netcast 1200! Recorded “live” at TWiT Cottage! 

I had help from DGW fan Bill Houlton for this Gadget Warehouse Friday. I was excited when I read Bill’s email:

“Here’s a great gadget for your special Gadget Warehouse Friday.  I received it in early 2002, and it was absolutely free.  It’s the Audible Otis, and as I am sure Leo will remember, this was Audible’s proprietary player they gave away with a 12-month two-book subscription. The player was optimized to play Audible books. It came with a whopping 64 megs of memory with a slot for another 64 meg card—but I couldn’t afford the extra memory, and besides, who would ever need more than 64 meg? This was back in the days of dialup, and even getting a book in format three meant starting the download before I went to bed and hoping by morning it would be done. You then used USB 1 to transfer the book onto the Otis, which took another five or ten minutes, and you were ready to go, with buttons to move ahead, backwards, and chapter by chapter. Audible has always held a special place in my heart. I am blind, and before Audible I relied on the Library of Congress’s Talking Book program for most of my reading. Trouble was, by the time they got a book recorded and produced on tape the book was a year to 18 months old.  But now, with Audible, I could read books that were new and current, and on topics rarely covered by Talking Books, like computer science and stock trading. BTW: After listening to Audible books for about three days I went looking for the stock.  It was less than fifty cents a share back then, so  I bought as much as I could afford.  Sold it a few years later for 20 times what I paid for it.  So I guess you can say, in every way, Audible been berry, berry good to me. Your Faithful Listener, BillHolton

Thanks Bill, for a perfect gadget to talk about with Leo there in person in the cottage.

And thanks to all the Daily Giz Wiz fans who listen faithfully, send great emails, write great Giz Wiz themes, run amazing Giz Wiz fan-sites and make doing the show such a joy. And a special thanks to Leo Laporte, an amazing guy with boundless energy! I just love working/clowning with him on the DGW! I hope we’ll be doing it for years to come.

Hear or SEE Daily Giz Wiz Netcast 1200! www.twit.tv/dgw1200

Bose introduces a new product category they’ve never made before.

Thursday, October 14^th, 2010 Netcast 1199. Another Netcast recorded live when I was at TWiT cottage working our way to Daily Giz Wiz #1200!  

I was invited to Bose Mountain for the unveiling of a new product. All the great Bose PR people would tell me was: “It's something we have never produced before.” Well, that let out new headphones or speakers. I went for the demo. It seemed to a new surround-sound system, which sounded great, but they've made surround sound systems before. Even though the sound seemed to come from the sides and behind us, it turned out all the cloth covered speakers we saw, didn’t exist. Not even the subwoofer on the floor was real. But what we weren't expecting to hear was that out ALL the sounds, including the surround sound, were coming from within the 46” LCD TV! Yes, it's the VideoWave TV from Bose, their first complete TV system. The VideoWave consists of four pieces – the 46-inch 1080p LCD TV, a separate console connected by a proprietary Bose cable, an iPod dock, and a remote control. The TV weighs over 100 pounds because of all the goodies inside! There are 16 speakers, six subwoofers, and a lot of brand-new technology that sends high-frequency sound from the set to every corner of the room. You also get Bose AdaptIQ technology that adapts the sound to the acoustics of your living room. But wait, there’s more! The remote is incredibly simple, just like the remote that might have come with your very first TV. It has Power, Input, Channel Up/Down Volume Up/Down, Mute, and Back. But it also has a touch pad.  When you put your finger on the touch pad, the picture on the screen shrinks, and around it appears a rectangle menu with just the controls for the device you’re using. It can control up to five devices connected to the VideoWave system. All in all it’s amazing product. As you might expect, it’s not inexpensive. Before you guess the price you should know it includes “white glove” delivery and setup of all your components in your home. Only what’s your guess? It’s $5,349 and you won’t find it at any of the big box stores, just Bose retail outlets. The VideoWave will be available beginning October 14, which is today -assuming you're reading this on October 14th!

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/videowave/index.jsp

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1199

What a great idea. Take a netbook-sized computer & make a full featured laptop.

Wednesday, October 13^th, 2010  Netcast 1198  Another Netcast recorded live when The Giz Wiz was at TWiT Cottage. 

The newest addition to Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T series adds theultra mobile Core i7-680UM processor running at 1.46GHz. The Intel Core i7 processor is designed to scale up to 2.53Ghz when needed. Up until now the TimelineX has been available with ultra mobile Core i3 and i5 processors priced at $600 and $700 respectively. Here are more specs for the newest machine that share a 11.6″ 1366 x 768 display. This model has 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HDD, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.3MP webcam, HDMI, VGA, and 3 USB 2.0 ports. But wait, there’s more! Dolby Sound Room, Windows 7 Home Premium and it weighs in at just about 3 pounds. I took this on my trip to TWiT cottage and I love it. Since my Continental flight had Direct TV, I didn’t get to check out the battery life, but Acer says expect 8 hours! The case features a flat matt black pebble design so you don’t have to worry about fingerprints. Suggested retail is $899.99. It just entered the market place, so I expect once it’s in the supply chain, that price will be discounted. As I write this on October 10^th, it’s only available on pre-order.) If you need a netbook-sized computer without a wimpy processor, this is one to check out. Don’t be surprised if Leo gets one soon. He was very impressed with it. It’s Aspire TimelineX model 1830T-68U118. 

http://www.acer.com/timelinex/en-us/  

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1198  

Leo shows off The Mophie Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 4

Leo shows off The Mophie Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 4

Turn The Table Tuesday, Tuesday, October 12th, 2010, Netcast 1197 Recorded Live while The Giz Wiz was visiting TWiT Cottage.

Leo bought another new gadget for his iPhone 4. Mophie says this is the best of seven generations of their famous Juice Pack line. The juice pack air for iPhone 4 combines a rechargeable external battery power concealed inside a protective form-fitting case. Leo showed us that even in the hard-shell case, his iPhone 4 still had an low profile look. Mophie expects the juice pack air for iPhone 4 to double the available power. That means a full charged case gives users up to an additional 6 hours on 3G, up to 12 hours on 2G of Talk Time; up to an additional 36 hours of audio playback and up to an additional 9 hours of video playback. It’s contains a lithium polymer battery that packs an incredible amount of juice in a small form factor, namely 1500 mAh. But wait, there’s more. It features built in overcharge, short circuit and temperature protection. And there’s still more! The case design acts as a virtual speaker box, redirecting sound from the bottom of the iPhone 4 to the front. Leo gave us a little demo and it did sound richer in the Mophie Juice Pack. An integrated LED status indicator tells you how much “juice” is left and also displays how much time remains during the charging process. The design includes a new, soft touch, rubberized finish and silver band that mirrors the iPhone itself. Cost is about $80.

http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-battery-case-p/1145_jpaxp4.htm 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1197