Known as MAD's Maddest Writer, co-host of The Giz Wiz with OMGchad at www.GizWiz.TV, The Giz Wiz on ABC's World News Now, and on Tech Guy Labs with Leo Laporte on www.TWiT.TV.
The Split Leo was at a neighbour's party to welcome in the New Year, and while he was still stone cold sober, attempted a split. He succeeded, and that was the problem. Now he can't drive the Mustang. Here's a picture of Leo just before the incident.
Leo about to do a split Another Audible Suggestion Chad Masters, aka blue green yoshi, recommends an Audible pick, Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein.
Mama Laporte Mama Laporte is no stranger to TWiTLive. She has appeared on it before by doing an audition for Leo (advertising for brain toniq) - see photo in Episode 633, and recently appeared on This Week In Tech Episode 225.
Mama Laporte can more than hold her own. For one thing, she actually has the gadget ready to show on the air, unlike her son most of the time. She's effervescent and irrepressible once she gets on air; loves the camera and has quite a turn of phrase, regaling us with stories about the Collyer Brothers (see Episode 245), Fibber McGee and James Stewart - we know where Leo got his talking genes from.
Before the recording of this show starts, Dick, Leo and Mama Laporte have a little chat. Video courtesy of Team ODTV at odtv.me:
Mary's Gadget Closet Mama Laporte has a closet full of useless gadgets - from Leo. That should be quite a match for Dick's Gadget Warehouse.
Men From UNCLE Opher Banarie heard Dick and Leo talk about The Man From Uncle the other day, and has some interesting trivia to share. Some time ago, he bought the complete series on DVD and saw in one of the episodes guest appearances by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. A couple of months later, Shatner was on a book tour of his autobiography and was at a local radio talk show. Opher called in and asked Shatner about that episode. Apparently they never got to meet at that time and it wasn't until the casting process for Star Trek that they first met.
TV Hat Back in Episode 982, a listener wrote in about the TV Hat. At CES 2010, the TV Hat is one of the exhibitors, and Dick manages to get hold of one to try it out. The idea is that you would put your own PMP or iPod inside the hat, wear the hat (with black-out cloths provided) and look at the video through what is essentially a Fresnel lens. It comes with a neck protector too so that you don’t get whiplashed by the weight of the PMP at the front of the hat. Leo is pictured above wearing the TV Hat. No, it’s not a burqa.
Leo in a TV Hat The ORB Another gadget which has caught the attention of quite a few tech journalists including Dick and Leo themselves is the ORB. Developed by Hybra Advance Technology, it is a ring that you can put on your finger which shows the Caller ID when your phone rings, sends out a text message if you’re not free to answer it, and for the coup de grace, opens up into an earpiece as a bluetooth headset. It’s just won a CES 2010 Best of Innovation award in the wireless handsets accessories category. Leo thinks he can do with some bling, while the ORB reminds Dick of the Bluevoice Bluetooth Watch in Episode 176.
The ORB - Caller ID and Bluetooth Headset
MyVolume, Go Bare Other gadgets Dick and Leo talk about include Case-Mate’s Go Barescreen protectors for iPhones and iPod Touches.
Case-Mate's Go Bare There’s also a new TV volume regulator (see Episode 804 for an old version). SRS has been putting their TruVolume technology into TV sets, but this time, it has a stand-alone dongle that will do the job, called the MyVolume Adaptor. See the video below by TechVi.
A Letter from Mama Laporte ? “Dear Dick and Leo,
Congratulations on Daily Giz Wiz Episode 1000. I haven’t missed one. They are completely amazing. Dick, don’t read this part on the air, but I think my son completely overshadows you …”
CONGRATS !!! It seems to have taken forever - and it has taken forever - but the Daily Giz Wiz has finally reached Episode 1000 !! Congratulations to Dick and Leo.
Dressed for the Occasion For the landmark Episode 1000, Dick is ready and swiftly puts on his tuxedo t-shirt, and downs a glass of champagne. Leo is, as ever, never ready, and scours his computers for a special sound effect.
Dress Rehearsal Leo feels this is a crappy show, and even the chatroom has to agree, but Dick is more positive - let's take it as a dress rehearsal for the live show at CES.
Episode 1000 Tweets and Out-Takes Dick has invited tweets from listeners for suggestions of what Dick and Leo should do for Episode 1000. Dick reads some of the tweets, and Leo plays some old out-takes edited from previous recordings. Really? This show has out-takes?
DGW Live at CES Dick and Leo will do a show today live at CES, and the latest information is that it will be Episode 1001, where they will find new gadgets from the show to talk about.
The stage is set for CESMeanwhile, Leo (wearing a neck-tie) did an interview with Ford CEO Alan Mulally (in a turtleneck top), and covered the Digital Experience, with Dr Kiki. Both events are already available as downloads (audio or video), thanks to Tony Wang and Erik Lanigan burning the midnight oil to do the editing. Leo has also covered the Showstoppers event, which is being replayed on TWiTLive. Don't miss it, if only to see Leo's outfit. Don't forget to catch Dick too at the event. The segment is called When Larry Met Fred.
When Larry Met Fred - at the Showstoppers eventDon't forget either, to check out tidbits from TWiT's CES coverage on twitlive.posterous.com.
Tiny MP3 Players Think Geek's Micro Sport Japanese MP3 Player Dick and Leo have covered many MP3 Players before, but perhaps the closest (apart from the more recent iPod Shuffles) in size to today's Micro Sport MP3 Player was the elegantly designed MobiBLU DAH-1500i (which despite its size managed to have an OLED display), in Episode 17.
MobiBLU DAH-1500i - see Episode 17 The Dyslexic Pineapple Upside Down Cake Apart from GizWizBiz Caps and other goodies, you can now get, from Dick's website, Dick's recipe for his very special Pineapple Upside Down Cake, which Leo calls the dyslexic version of the recipe. Of course, here on Dick's site you can also get links to the right gadgets, to avoid the sort of mistake Leo made about his La Crosse charger.
Before Kevin Selle began pondering about the weather … Late in the evening on that fateful day, 19 February 2006, Kevin Selle was not applying his brains to the wintry weather. No, not yet. Instead, he was pondering about this upcoming internet-delivered programme to be called the Daily Giz Wiz podcast, which was to be aired the following day.
He wondered if this show could reach Episode 1000. Probably not. But with the credentials of its two fantastic hosts Dick DeBartolo and Leo Laporte, the show promised to be a no-fooling-around, cutting-edge, serious-as-can-be and peerless look into the future of technology. It would be the type of tech journalism that would finally let him into the world of wonderful gadgetry such as a dispenser of toothpicks maybe, or, with any luck, even such life-saving, world-changing materials as … titanium?
Kevin even briefly indulged in the hope that there might be the odd jingle, but he managed to check himself before he let his imagination get the better of himself.
And then, “Would they take a letter from a listener?” Kevin wondered, but realised immediately that the hosts would be far too busy and important to be trifled with riff-raffs like himself.
Yet Kevin’s thoughts moved on, to the possibility of occasionally revisiting the hallowed history of technology. But that would require a compulsive hoarder who would have needed nothing less than a warehouse to store the accumulation of gadgets over the years, if anyone were to remain marginally sane and not live like the Collyer Brothers. Surely that’s not possible.
It all seemed too much to ask for, but Kevin had the prescience to dare to dream (and a very agile tongue that has stayed firmly in his cheek). His every prayer has been answered by 999 episodes of the Daily Giz Wiz. And so may it be.
January 13, 2010 
Leo about to do a split
