Motorola QuickWord
Pager Message Input Keyboard
Link: VideoStation
For the final podcast of the year, Dick covers The Motorola QuickWord, which was a device that connected to a landline telephone and opened up to reveal a keyboard for inputting a text message to a pager number.
Beepwear Watch
Dick used to use the QuickWord in conjunction with his Beepwear Watch (first mentioned in Episode 20) which had its own telephone number. When Dick has to leave his hound dog in the Debartolo Manor, the dog-sitter could send Dick a message to his Beepwear Watch.
Florence, Joy, Sally, Maria, Elizabeth and Tiffany
They are the Giz Wiz Festive Letters Jingle Singers.
DGW at 1.3x
A listener Gerard had to catch up 13 DGWs in a row and he played them in Windows Media Player at 1.3 times speed.
Self-Cleaning Litter Box
Gerard also recommends the Littermaid Self-Cleaning Litter Box, but Leo remains sceptical.
A Prayer for James Kim
Dick asks everyone to say a prayer for James Kim, Tech Editor at CNET, formerly at TechTV, and his family.
Listen to Episode 220
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LG enV
Cellphone
Link: LG
Carried by Verizon, this cellphone is a follow-up to the V (Episode 9). LG's EnV has Evdo, qwerty keyboard, bluetooth, 2 MP camera, micro-SD card slot, multimedia files player.
Leo's Stretch Limo
Leo has a stretch limo complete with driver, Butter Wizard (Episode 216) and toaster, and when he's in it, he talks like a toff, and his Scottish accent doesn't work.
Coffee Syringe
Spadge, a coffee syringe from Canada recommends the AeroPress from Aerobie, the company that makes frisbee discs.
Giant Cheques
Leo has received giant cheques from Visa and T-Mobile. He's going to the bank now and then straight off to Mexico, beyond the jurisdiction. Dick will be here after the holidays, but we're not sure about Leo.
Listen to Episode 219
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Archos 604 Wifi
PMP
Link: Archos
The Archos 604 Wifi PMP plays music and video, surfs the net, record programmes with the optional DVR Station, take video by connecting it to your camera or camcorder with the travel adapter, or with the optional helmet cam.
It's got Touchscreen controls.
With the Wifi, you can surf the web.
Best Wishes from the Giz Wiz
Dick has registered a website for delivering his holiday message to the audience, but he never manages to get the URL right in the podcast. It's best holiday wishes from dick debartolo mad's maddest writer and the giz wiz dot com. Click here to see his message. An alternative website is whatthehellisthenameofthatwebsite.
Schmodcast
Leo gets a little flak again for not using the word "netcast" consistently, from a listener who prefers the word "schmodcast".
Listen to Episode 218
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Optimus Mini Three Keyboard
OLED 3-Key Keyboard
Link: Think Geek
Optimus has promised for a long time the keyboard where every key has an individual OLED display. That has yet to come but a mini 3-key version has come out. Essentially a USB device with 3 hot keys for your favourite applications. It reminds Leo of the Griffin PowerMate, the power knob, also available on ThinkGeek.
Science On The Inside
In response to the WEC (Episode 183), listener Bob has written in about his hi-tech patent-pending Wired Power Sender.
Listen to Episode 217
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Butter Wizard
Temperature-Controlled Butter Dish
Link: Butter Wizard
The Butter Wizard is an AC/battery-operated butter dish from Angus Walker from the UK, with temperature control to get your butter at your favourite consistency.
Christmas Break
Leo is going to Mexico this Christmas (according to him, his first Christmas away from home), and DGW will break for 2 weeks after this week. After the New Year, Dick will be at CES and Leo will go to MacWorld Expo.
Mad Minutes
No Mad Minutes last week because Leo found a lot of duplications. He will have to sort them out.
Catchup
Touting for Heinz sponsorship, Leo calls the break the Catchup Break, for listeners to catch up with past episodes - making virtue out of necessity.
20 episodes in a row
Coupon Code for Scott-E-Vest
Scott Jordan has given a coupon code TWiT for DGW listeners for his products, 20% off.
Listen to Episode 216
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Microsoft Bob
User-Friendly Computer Interface
Link: Wikipedia
Released in 1995, Microsoft Bob was intended to provide a user-friendly interface to computers. One of Microsoft's more notable failures.
Dick thinks that along with the Audrey (Episode 120), Microsoft belongs to the "I didn't want it" classification in the Gadget Warehouse catalogue.
However, Dick and Leo are sure that someone will write in to say how much he loved Microsoft Bob.
Mail Order Rip-Offs
There
is a market for everything. Dick showed, in the Mail Order Rip-Offs
feature on Regis, a set of 3 designer mirrors on a mail order catalogue
(pictured in a living room), which turned out to be a miniature set.
People wrote in to ask where they could get them.
Welcome to the Social
A 23-year-old listener writes, in response to Leo's request in Episode 202, about the meaning of "the social" in the Zune Slogan. He has absolutely no idea what Microsoft means.
Party Effects
Elaine King from Bloomington, Illinois write in to tell Leo to get a grip on his party sound effects, and the word "Netcast".
Napoleon Dynamite
Leo accidentally plays a sound clip, "What the heck are you guys doin'? Tryin' to ruin my life? Make me look like a friggin' idiot?" It's the voice of actor Jon Heder in the film Napoleon Dynamite. Another "ghost" sound clip after Episode 170.
Listen to Episode 215
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Sanyo Xacti C40
MPEG-4 Camcorder
Link: Sanyo
A low end version of Sanyo's line of flash memory camcorders. The Xacti C40 records MPEG-4 video at 640 x 480 pixels and 30 fps, with stereo sound, on to SD cards. 4-MP stills. TV-Out. A 2GB card can record up to 120 minutes of High Quality video.
Watch Dick's video introduction of the C40 here.
Absolutely Mad !
Every issue of Mad for the first 53 years (more than 600 issues) is now available on DVD. There was also a CD-ROM version called Totally Mad.
Dee Long
Dee Long, of Klaatu fame, has made a 3D animated music video of Mad Magazine. Click here to watch.
70-year-old gadget-elder D. Fairchild from Tampa Bay writes in about his past conquests. His first memorable gadget was a crystal set radio which he built himself. At the age of 19, he was made a guided missile computer instructor, and his second memorable gadget was the Corporal Missile in 1955!
Listen to Episode 214
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Sonic Impact V55
Portable AV System/iPod Accessory
Link: Amazon
Connect your iPod to Sonic Impact's V55 and you can watch your video on a bigger screen, or just listen to your music.
Gnip Gnop
Patrick from Atlanta, Georgia explains the name of the previous listener Gnip Gnop (Episode 184). Over 30 years old, Gnip Gnop is a board game, with "Ping Pong" spelt backwards, even though it has little to do with Ping Pong.
Mad Minute
Leo must have run out of Mad Minutes.
Shure Push-To-Hear Control
Headset Control
Link: Shure
Leo learned about this gadget from buddy Steve Gibson of GRC of Security Now!, ShieldsUp and SpinRite fame.
The AAA-battery-operated Shure PTH (Push-To-Hear) Control sits between your mp3 player and your favourite noise-isolating/cancelling earphones. Push the control to gradually lower the sound level of your music and its built-in microphone enables you to hear external sounds without having to remove your earphones. Works with all standard earphones.
Steve swears about it ...
Leo is often quick to correct Dick's English. Today he says Steve swears about the PTH, and Steve swears for it. I think the preposition he's looking for is "by".
At least it's not a nail
Dick is underwhelmed by the PTH. Leo gets ratty and says "At least it's not a nail!" - the Hurriquake in Episode 193. Dick says this is the day the chemistry falls apart.
Blankety Blank
A listener from Ireland has found the Match Game "Dimples" clip (Episodes 101, 189) on YouTube. The British version of Match Game was called Blankety Blank, under licence from Goodson and Todman Productions.
Mad Minute
Leo promises to play a Mad Minute, but none are forthcoming.
Candle Impressions Flameless Candles
Battery-Operated "Candles"
Link: Candle Impressions
Authentic-looking battery-operated scented wax candles with flickering lights from Candle Impressions. Some even with timer functions. No more worries about smoke and fire. Can be used indoors or outdoors, and very decorative. Dick and Leo saw the first version of these Flameless Candles together at a show, which Leo referred to back in Episode 9. Leo and his wife Jennifer love these candles.
Another gadget delivery by Fedex while recording the show. It's from LifeGear, a 6-in-1 personal safety device, which is in due course covered in Episode 249.
The First Noel ...
For once, Leo has a letter to forward to Dick. Happy Birthday to 9-year-old Noel, fan of DGW, Debian Linux user, singer of the GizWiz gravy jingle, and chanter of the gravy slogan. And to Leo's sister Eva, too.
Mad Minute
No Mad Minute today.
Listen to Episode 211
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