Episode 918

Pandigital 8" PanTouch Clear Digital Photo Frame
Dick forgot to mention during the show that the photo frame is Bluetooth- and WiFi-compatible which means that you need to buy a USB Bluetooth dongle (any brand) or a specific Pandigital USB WiFi adapter.  The model number of the photo frame is PAN8000DWPCF1.  Dick has also heard that Viewsonic is coming out with a photo frame with its own phone number.

A Flatulent Cat
The lyrics of Paul Minshall's Audible Theme continue to generate speculation.  George the Teacher from Ajax, Ontario, Canada thinks they are "I love my flatulent cat."

X10-Controlled Daughter
Sleep-deprived parent Dan Linda, from Bellevue, Nebraska, is a user of X10 (Episode 904) modules at his household.  He already uses an X10 module to turn off the bedtime music for his 3-year-old daughter.  He has added a night-light to her room, plugged into another X10 module and configured a computer to turn the light on in the morning, told his daughter to stay in bed until the light has come on.  So far it has worked.  Leo's solution is to turn off the internet at 11 pm.  It just takes the fun out of staying up.

Listen to this Episode
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-up
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch

Episode 917

Another HDD Enclosure
Back in Episode 67, Leo had a good tease at Dick over the CompUSA HDD Enclosure, only to regret that he didn't have one to back up that week's recordings, which were lost.  Dick is much kinder this time about Leo's MCE OptiBay, which is far more expensive as a bare hard drive bay, even for a Mac and a notebook.

Leo's Corsair SSD
Earlier in April Leo installed a Corsair 128GB solid-state drive (Corsair CMFSSD-128GBG1D) on his MacBook Pro.  Applications launched instantly.  The trade-off was a smaller hard drive capacity.  With the OptiBay Leo has now reinstalled the original 320GB hard drive into his notebook.

999
Dr Mark Sukoenig confesses that he is writing with "multiful" purposes.  The first one is to say that when he listens to the Daily Giz Wiz, he thinks of Dick and Leo as friends and finds himself with commentary to inject.  He hears their quips, and it's almost as if he had met them and visited their apartments, not once but twice.  The second purpose is to wish his older brother Alan a happy 68th birthday on 9 September, who lives 23 blocks away from Dick, and 5 blocks away from the original site of the Women's Hospital on Manhattan's 110th Street, where Leo (and Mark himself, see Episode 342 and Episode 64) was born.

A Multi-Million Dollar Idea
Dick has a bright spark all of a sudden.  Since Leo is still a wedding minister, he should get Citrix to produce a new program, GoToWedding.  People can get married and attend weddings without being there.  Leo thinks Jennifer might like the idea.

Screw-You Sticker
TWiT is going to have some vinyl stickers made.  The designer has given Leo a freebie, a sticker that says "Remember kids, Uncle Leo says ... Screw You!"

Listen to this Episode
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-up
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch

Episode 916

Joby Gorillagadgets
Joby is extending the idea of Gorillapod's flexible legs to other products, including today's Gorillatorch, and the Gorillamobile (a mobile device stand).

Gorillatorch
TWiT Team Lost the Battle
Last Monday, Leo and the TWiT Team went to the Junipero Serra Park for their lasertag .comwars, and came 6th out of 6 teams.  The event was organised by Ziggy who hired the equipment from SpecOps.

Geek Wedding
Sue McAllister (who custom-made polo shirts for Dick and Leo for Episode 900) wonders if Dick knows that he’s been working with a wedding minister.  On 5 April 2002, Leo officiated a wedding ceremony on Screen Savers, marrying Amber Thompson and Mike McKinnon.  It was a nice wedding, but was also one of the stunts of TechTV that Leo prefers not to be reminded of.

You can catch the wedding on Internet Archive and on YouTube.

Listen to this Episode
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-up
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch

Episode 915

Beeping Wallet
Dick’s SecuraCard Wallet dates back to 1991 and was made by a company called Koltov.  Dane Golden has found an even earlier one which appeared in an M.A. Bedol Catalogue, referred to in Popular Science as early as 1986.  There are still quite a number of references on the web to a “Beeping Wallet” market promotion much later in 1998, by a company called Kopel Inc, some of which referred to the wallet as the SecuraCard as well.  According to an LA Times article on the Beeping Wallet, there had been an earlier version which used a light sensor, and the inventor was David Kopel who started the design in 1990.  It's not clear whether all these versions had any connection with one another.

BeepingWallet.com is still on the web, but all models are out of stock.

Beeping Wallet
Murderous Goddess
It’s a good thing Jennifer doesn’t listen to the show.  If Dick and Leo are to be believed, she’s supposed to dress herself up as Gaia the earth goddess in pink leotard, have a drinking problem and murderous tendencies.

No Letters Today
Dick thinks he’s read a letter already, the double speed letter.  He did, yesterday.  But with his flights of fancy about his Petaluma experience, who needs a letter?

Listen to this Episode
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-up
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch

Episode 914

2 Facebook Pages for 2-Faced Leo
Leo has 2 pages on Facebook for his 2 different faces: LeoLaporte and lglaporte, one for his public face, the other for his more public face.

Dick and Leo at 2x Speed
Maria Romano thanks Leo for his tip of listening to audio on the iPhone at double speed.  She used to skip to the guts of the shows, but now she speed-listens to the Daily Giz Wiz and can catch up on old episodes she has missed.  One could take that as a compliment, and Dick and Leo wouldn't take it any other way!

From Speed Listening to Speed Reading
Dick once joined Bill Gaines in an Evelyn Wood money-back-guaranteed speed reading course and got their money back.  For a fuller discussion, listen to Episode 188.

Listen to this Episode
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-up
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch