World's Fastest Keyboard? Cherry says "yes".

If you’re a fast typist you may often find that your keyboard can’t keep up with you. If that’s the case you’ll want to know about the new Cherry MX Board 6.0. Beautiful red backlighting illuminates every key. A few keys you use often, like the Windows key or the FN key, can be changed to blue backlighting if you like. This is a high-end keyboard with an all aluminum frame & nylon wrapped USB cable. If you like, you can rest your hands on the rubber cushioned wrist rest that’s included in the box. (But note the magnetic warning about putting media close to it.) And if you like the clickity-clack of mechanical keys, the MX Board 6.0 will definitely please you. There are also media keys and keys to adjust the backlighting from zero to 100 in one percentage increments. The new ultra-tech Cherry MX6.0 desktop office keyboard lists for $220. I assume when it’s fully in the marketplace discounts will be available. It was released mid-May 2015. There are more details and a video at the company website: 

http://www.cherrycorp.com/ 

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/Oh3pf7u-rSs  

It's like having a professional bartender at your side.

Perfect Drink does just that, it makes a perfect drink. The company also makes Perfect Bake, but at this press event they were demonstrating Perfect Drink. They call it a revolution in home bartending, and it sure is easy to use. Perfect Drink's smart scale and free app lets you choose from hundreds of drink recipes, and you can add your own if you like. Pick a drink you want to make and just follow real-time pouring instructions on your tablet, smart phone, etc. As you pour each ingredient watch as a virtual glass fills on your smart phone or tablet. When the amount is right, the bar lights up and dings! That way you know exactly how much to pour and when to stop. Choose any serving size from a single serving to a party pitcher. Perfect Drink compensates for over-pouring by re-adjusting the amount of the other ingredients automatically to fix your drink. You can even let Perfect Drink know what you've got on hand and it will generate a list of drinks you can make and show you how. Works with Apple iOS 6.0 or higher, Android OS 4.1 or higher, Includes scale, accurate to 1 gram, stainless steel shaker, 3.5mm connection cable and stand for your iPad, Smartphone, etc. Retail $49.99, but it’s only about $42.00 at the Amazon link below. There is a Bluetooth wireless version coming around October, 2015 and it lists for $99.99.  

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/jkHLk8vBM-4

Company websites: http://www.perfectdrinkapp.com/ and http://www.perfectbakeapp.com/ 

A Bot I'd Like To Have In My Kitchen!

I attended a press event called The Inspired Home (http://www.theinspiredhome.com/) as presented by the International Housewares Association. I found three very interesting gadgets there for this week’s Giz Wiz.

Don’t just make pancakes. Create them! Introducing PancakeBot* - The coolest addition to your kitchen. *Batter not included 

I was pleased to discover the PancakeBot - The world's first pancake printer! It was a Kickstarter project and evidentially people were very interested in this idea. The creators were looking for $50,000, but 2,074 backers pledged $460,584 to help bring this project to life. Here's info from their Kickstarter page: The PancakeBot allows you to “print” out pancakes into just about any design you can imagine. It's easy, REALLY fun, and you don’t need an art degree (or a culinary one) to do it! Designed to inspire, entertain, and bring out the creativity in both young and old at home, the PancakeBot is also a product with commercial durability to help your brand make a lasting impression and draw in more customers. From the whimsical dream of Miguel Valenzuela to make a pancake machine out of LEGO for his two daughters, the PancakeBot has evolved into a complete patent pending product capable of creating pancakes like never before. Our included user-friendly software allows you to design your own pancake by tracing any image right on your computer.  From your favorite piece of art or character, a child's drawing, a product image or your company or team logo, the software creates the file and the PancakeBot does the rest. As the artist, you control what lines are drawn first, which in turn lets you determine the shading of the pancake. Once you have traced the image, the files can be stored on an SD card allowing you to print the designs you have created at anytime without having to ever re-trace the image. The PancakeBot uses a patent pending batter dispensing system to "print" the batter onto the included griddle. By using a combination of compressed air and a vacuum, the PancakeBot controls where the batter is dispensed. Onboard controls let you fine-tune the dispensing of the batter as it glides over the griddle. Suggested retail price mentioned at the show was $299.00. 

Here’s how it all began: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aux0ZQJVBk 

A later prototype in action: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1853707494/pancakebot-the-worlds-first-pancake-printer/description  

http://www.pancakebot.com/

Have an older car without Bluetooth? Update it for under $50.

You can add Bluetooth to older cars with the Kinivo Bluetooth Car Kit with Multipoint. (Model BTC-455) It does need to use an “audio in” jack, which most cars have since 2006 or so. With the Kinivo Bluetooth Car Kit in place, you just plug in the audio jack, and the power plug to the cigarette lighter socket. Then you’ll be able to take calls hands free, stream music, and listen to navigation instructions over the car’s speakers. Once paired it will automatically sync to your mobile devices the next time. You can connect and simultaneously sync up to two devices to your car’s stereo system via multi-point Bluetooth 4.0 technology. (But on Amazon, someone said it syncs up to four devices.) It also offers control over audio tracks, including play, pause, previous song and next song. Finally, the 12 volt hook-up offer an additional USB charging port for one of your devices. Under $50 on Amazon. (If you're positive you’ll only be using one Bluetooth device, you can buy the older model 450 which is about $10 to $15 cheaper.)

Website: http://www.kinivo.com/

Everybody loves flashlights. Here are 3 new ones.

Every year there are many new flashlights introduced to the marketplace, but these three from Panther Vision off some different features. The Panther Vision LED FLASHLIGHTS have a flat design that means you can carry them comfortably in a shirt or pants pocket. And when you put them down, they won’t roll away. Built of aircraft aluminum and polymer they're shock proof to 3 Meters, which means they can dropped from about nine feet and still work fine. They feature a sealed high/low switch and O-ring sealed plugs over the battery compartments. That means they're waterproof to 1 Meter, or about three feet. And yes, that's waterproof, not just water resistant like many others. The CREE high performance LEDs offer some of the brightest hand-held LED technology in the marketplace. Each model also has a built-in heat sink to dissipate heat from the super-bright Cree LED bulbs. And finally, the quad battery configuration offer excellent battery life: up to 5 hours on high and about 10 hours on low. That's a lot of time when you consider you use flashlights in very short sessions. The three models are the PV-210, 210 Lumens for $49.99 Pv-600, 600 Lumens/$59.99 /and the super-bright PV-1000, 1000 Lumens $79.99.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/5bBDe3Qw7YY

http://www.panthervision.com/flashlights.html