Did you drop a screw or a key in a hard to reach place? Here's your solution to getting it back!

Here’s an easy way to end the aggravation of dropped screws, nail, paper clips and other small metal items. If you ever dropped a key down a sewer this could be a big help. It’s the Telescoping Magnetic Pick-Up Tool. It extends from about 7.5 inches to 32 inches and features a powerful magnetic tip and a bright built-in LED light to help you find objects even in poorly lit areas. Down on my boat this will be ideal to pick up metal object that fall into the bilge. The company says the magnet has a 6 pound capacity. I tested it up to about 3 pounds. The LED light has an on/off twist switch. It’s metal with soft grip handle. For some bizarre reason it has a pocket clip. I can’t image how or why you’d wear this in a shirt pocket. It’s powered by three AG13 button cell batteries, which are included.

There a video of The Giz Wiz testing it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiJhVKuuRXQ

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1307

Make your own 'crank' calls - by generating your own power.

Eton often teams up with the American Red Cross to produce useful safety devices. One of their newest products is the Axis self-powered Weather radio and “safety hub”. (Model Safety starts with being able to power this device from three different power sources. You can use 3 AAA batteries, AC power, or hand power. The person powered (meaning you!) aluminum crank charges the internal rechargeable NiMH battery. The NiMH battery is included. (But it’s not connected, so do that first if you get this radio.) The AC adapter is optional. I guess Eton figured you’ll mostly be carrying this device in the great outdoors, miles away from power. The Axis contains a digital AM and FM tuner with bright red LED readout. For emergencies, all seven NOAA weather band channels are available. The radio can alert you to oncoming storms. The company says you’ll get 15 minutes of radio or light power for every 90 seconds of hand cranking. But wait, there’s more! There’s a built in white LED flashlight and a red flashing LED light for emergencies. And this is really great for emergencies: a USB port that can provide power for charging many cell phones! Connectors on the Axis have rubber gaskets and plugs so you won’t have to worry about moisture out in the elements. On a camping trip you can listen to the tuner with your headphone via the built in 3.5 mm headphone jack. You can also listen to your own MP3 tunes via the Aux-In jack. To help improve radio reception in the wild, there’s an adjustable telescoping antenna. With the built in battery and 3 AAA batteries installed, the Axis weighs one pound six ounces according to my MyWeigh postage scale. Height: 6.38 inches Length: 6.63 inches Width: 2.13 inches Suggested retail is $69.95. Amazon and Brookstone should have it by the time you read this.

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1308

A 'cool' Bluetooth gadget you may not know about!

iGrill is Bluetooth enabled. Why? Let's say you're cooking meat for company. It's a drag trying to entertain when you have to keep excusing yourself to check on how the grilling is going. With the iGrill you can check how things are cooking via your iPhone or iPad Touch using Bluetooth! The company says their device is the first Bluetooth and App enabled grilling device on the market today. It consists of the iGrill Thermometer with Projection Display and Probe, and the iGrill App for iPod, iPhone, & iPad. It tells you the status of food via long range Bluetooth up to 200 feet away! The unit ships with one probe, but you can add a second one if you want to monitor two different kinds of meat as they cook. Available in white and now also in black. In addition, skins will be available in a variety of colors and styles to express your individual mood. Available through Apple Stores & iGrill Site for $99.99. An additional probe is $19.99. You can order them as a set for $114.99.

www.igrillinc.com

See or hear a Netcast on this gadget: www.twit.tv/dgw1283

Like to own a boat, but have no place to dock it?

The EzyBoat is like a clamshell flip phone, it folds in half! It’s hinged at the center, and when it’s folded it actually becomes its own trailer with room inside for all your gear, including the engine. But wait, there’s more! The trailer for your boat is built into the bottom. When you want to launch the boat, unhitch it from your car, unlock the boat halves and unfold them. The backbone of the trailer doubles as a reinforcement to prevent the boat from folding when in use. The company says it can cruise at about 14 mph with a 20hp outboard. Top speed is about 23 to 24 mph. It's rated for outboards up to 25 HP, but it can run with outboards as small as 2.5 HP. The EzyBoat is not designed for big, open water or waves, but it’s great for lakes and exploring inland waterways. Another advantage of this boat is that a small car can tow it. Because your trailer travels with you, you can launch the boat from the beach or a boat ramp. Once the boat floats, you do something most boaters will never do: retract the trailer wheels up into the hull. (The hardware and handle to do this are built in.) If you don’t want an outboard, you also have your choice of sail (the company offers a complete optional sailing kit), or for a great workout, you can just row, row, row your boat. When your trip is over just re-folded your EzyBoat and head for home. Even though the company says you can exit the water at a different spot from where you started, you still have to have someone come meet you with the tow vehicle. The price in the US should be in $12 to $13,000 range w/o an outboard engine or sail kit.

www.ezyboat.com

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1296

Small laptops are great, but their small sound isn’t.

When you get a small laptop, you won’t get big, decent sound. There’s really no way around that because tiny laptop cases have no room for decent speakers. The way around it is of course is to just add optional speakers. That’s okay desktop use, but not for the road. Enter the folks at Edifier. They have an easy solution to getting decent sound in a tiny package. It’s their Sound To Go micro speaker system. Well maybe it’s a touch bigger than micro at 10 ½ inches wide, 1 ½” inches high and 1 ¾” deep. It’s USB powered and has a 3.5mm auxiliary input port for listening to music from non-computer device like your MP3 player. Sound To Go has no power source of it’s own, so even if you use to play your MP3 tunes it either has to be plugged into an operating USB port, or as I’ve used it – via one of the those AC/USB adapters you plug into an outlet. If you’re using with your computer, the single USB connection provides both power and the audio. It’s just plug-and-play, the software loads automatically. There’s only one button on the speaker and that’s to control the volume. It takes a few tries to get used to. You hold the button steady to reduce the volume, and press quickly and let go to raise the volume. Inside the high tech aluminum case are two 1-1/4-inch mid range drivers, two 1-1/4inch tweeters and a single 3 x 1-1/4-inch oval subwoofer. It also has a built-in amplifier, which can provide very decent volume. The single blue LED light signals when the device has power. The wedge shaped design fits perfectly at the hinge of an open laptop and looks good too. With five speakers, the sound quality is really good, especially for its size. Compared to your laptop’s built in speakers, you’ll really be impressed with the improvement. It comes with two cables and a travel bag. It’s about $50 at the Apple Store and online. 

http://www.edifier-international.com/products/edifier-image/sound-go