20 posts tagged “apple”
Hottips All-In-One Charger
Cellphone Charger
Link: hottips-eco
From CES 2009, this All-In-One Charger from Hottips is designed for charging your cellphone, with a car charger, an AC wall charger, a removable USB cord, and even an emergency charger for connecting to a 9V battery. You can order the hot tip for your own model of cellphone, available for the major brands such as Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, LG and Sony Ericsson. There is even a charger for iPods and iPhones.
Surviving CES and MacWorld
Dick survived a less crowded but still very busy CES, and Leo fooled them again with his keynote at MacWorld Expo.
Lose It!
Kathleen sends her best wishes to Dick for his downsizing of the Gadget Warehouse, and for Leo's downsizing, she recommends an iPhone app called Lose It. It uses the same database for creating nutrition labels for food packaging. Dick doesn't need it, as he exercises for 20 minutes a day, walks a lot and goes to the gym.
Listen to Episode 743
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Dick survived a less crowded but still very busy CES, and Leo fooled them again with his keynote at MacWorld Expo.
Lose It!
Kathleen sends her best wishes to Dick for his downsizing of the Gadget Warehouse, and for Leo's downsizing, she recommends an iPhone app called Lose It. It uses the same database for creating nutrition labels for food packaging. Dick doesn't need it, as he exercises for 20 minutes a day, walks a lot and goes to the gym.
Listen to Episode 743
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
T-Mobile G1
Smartphone
Link: T-Mobile G1
As hinted at in Episode 673 and last week, Dick and Leo finally talk about T-Mobile's G1. Made by HTC, the G1 is the first phone featuring Google's open-source smartphone operating system Android.
It has bluetooth, wifi, GPS (though not turn-by-turn), 512 MB built-in memory, although it has an microSD card slot and comes with a 1GB card; a back-lit qwerty keyboard (which is revealed by sliding out the screen) and a replaceable battery; a 3.2MP camera, but like the iPhone, it does not shoot video, and like the iPhone it does not support Flash on the internet. Unlike the iPhone, it supports voice dialling and "cut and paste".
Physically, it weighs just under 6 ounces. At the bottom is a panel of buttons: a big Menu button, underneath which at the centre is a trackball (for navigation and as a select button). To the left of the trackball are the "Call/Send" button and the "Home" button; to the right of the trackball are the "Back" and "Hangup/Power" buttons.
On the left hand side of the phone is a Volume toggle, and on the right hand side the camera button. For the earphones, unfortunately it's a microUSB connection and you'll need an adapter for your 3.5mm jack earphones.
The display is 3.2 inches at 480 x 320 resolution, with a capacitive touch-screen. It does not support multi-touch, but does support long presses (through which you get a context menu including "cut and paste"). It has an accelerometer and is supposed to adjust itself to Portrait/Landscape mode, at least when the qwerty keyboard is open.
Since Android is open-source, many applications are expected to come out supporting the platform, and will not be filtered as in the case of the iPhone. You can access the apps from the Android "Market", and Google will tell you in relation to each app what types of access the app may have on the phone - such as communications, your location and your personal information.
The phone comes with the standard Google apps, such as Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, and like the iPhone, offers a mobile version of YouTube. If you don't use Gmail, there is another mail application. Unfortunately, this other mail app cannot open attachments (which Gmail can by HTML conversion), nor save them. The IM app supports major instant messengers such as AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo and of course Google Talk. Like Google's desktop browser the Chrome, the Android browser is WebKit-based. Another app that comes with the phone is AmazonMP3, with access to Amazon's DRM-free mp3 downloads - which only works with Wifi, and not 3G or Edge. The phone also has its own music player software.
At the moment, the phone is available in T-Mobile stores only in cities which has T-Mobile's 3G coverage.
Favourite Episodes
In Episode 679, Dick and Leo were asked if they had a list of their 20 favourite/funniest episodes. Ludwik Trammer of gizwizsearch can answer for them. Search queries on his site show which episodes are most frequently accessed - 182 Titanium Spork, 465 Electron Echo Piano, 462 MP4 Watch, and of course 282 Toothpick Bird.
Ludwik also tells us that the accumulative length of all the DGW shows now exceeds 7 days.
One More Thing
Ludwik is going to introduce a new feature on his site. In fact it is already operational. Just go to his site and see if you can spot the difference. Otherwise, just wait for an announcement through Dick and Leo in tomorrow's recording session, or in next week's episodes.
Video Podcasts To Wait
The last time Leo talked about video podcasts (with hopes of getting DGW on video) was Episode 671. Unfortunately, with the economic downturn, Leo has decided to be a little more prudent, and maybe putting that on hold, although he may still put out a weekly "best of" video podcast.
Second Longest Episode
At 31:03, today's show is the second longest episode, just 12 seconds short of Episode 634, the Lexmark X9575 Professional.
Listen to Episode 686
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
It has bluetooth, wifi, GPS (though not turn-by-turn), 512 MB built-in memory, although it has an microSD card slot and comes with a 1GB card; a back-lit qwerty keyboard (which is revealed by sliding out the screen) and a replaceable battery; a 3.2MP camera, but like the iPhone, it does not shoot video, and like the iPhone it does not support Flash on the internet. Unlike the iPhone, it supports voice dialling and "cut and paste".
Physically, it weighs just under 6 ounces. At the bottom is a panel of buttons: a big Menu button, underneath which at the centre is a trackball (for navigation and as a select button). To the left of the trackball are the "Call/Send" button and the "Home" button; to the right of the trackball are the "Back" and "Hangup/Power" buttons.
On the left hand side of the phone is a Volume toggle, and on the right hand side the camera button. For the earphones, unfortunately it's a microUSB connection and you'll need an adapter for your 3.5mm jack earphones.
The display is 3.2 inches at 480 x 320 resolution, with a capacitive touch-screen. It does not support multi-touch, but does support long presses (through which you get a context menu including "cut and paste"). It has an accelerometer and is supposed to adjust itself to Portrait/Landscape mode, at least when the qwerty keyboard is open.
Since Android is open-source, many applications are expected to come out supporting the platform, and will not be filtered as in the case of the iPhone. You can access the apps from the Android "Market", and Google will tell you in relation to each app what types of access the app may have on the phone - such as communications, your location and your personal information.
The phone comes with the standard Google apps, such as Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, and like the iPhone, offers a mobile version of YouTube. If you don't use Gmail, there is another mail application. Unfortunately, this other mail app cannot open attachments (which Gmail can by HTML conversion), nor save them. The IM app supports major instant messengers such as AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo and of course Google Talk. Like Google's desktop browser the Chrome, the Android browser is WebKit-based. Another app that comes with the phone is AmazonMP3, with access to Amazon's DRM-free mp3 downloads - which only works with Wifi, and not 3G or Edge. The phone also has its own music player software.
At the moment, the phone is available in T-Mobile stores only in cities which has T-Mobile's 3G coverage.
Favourite Episodes
In Episode 679, Dick and Leo were asked if they had a list of their 20 favourite/funniest episodes. Ludwik Trammer of gizwizsearch can answer for them. Search queries on his site show which episodes are most frequently accessed - 182 Titanium Spork, 465 Electron Echo Piano, 462 MP4 Watch, and of course 282 Toothpick Bird.
Ludwik also tells us that the accumulative length of all the DGW shows now exceeds 7 days.
One More Thing
Ludwik is going to introduce a new feature on his site. In fact it is already operational. Just go to his site and see if you can spot the difference. Otherwise, just wait for an announcement through Dick and Leo in tomorrow's recording session, or in next week's episodes.
Video Podcasts To Wait
The last time Leo talked about video podcasts (with hopes of getting DGW on video) was Episode 671. Unfortunately, with the economic downturn, Leo has decided to be a little more prudent, and maybe putting that on hold, although he may still put out a weekly "best of" video podcast.
Second Longest Episode
At 31:03, today's show is the second longest episode, just 12 seconds short of Episode 634, the Lexmark X9575 Professional.
Listen to Episode 686
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
CC Witness
MP3 Player with AM/FM Radio and Recorder
Link: C Crane
Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday
The iPods have no built-in radios. Many other MP3 Players support FM, but one that supports AM Radio is rare. There used to be the Pogo Radio Your Way, which Leo and Ron Rosberg talked about on The Tech Guy (but never on DGW), but it was discontinued after Apple threatened proceedings because Apple claimed it looked too much like an iPod.
Now Bob Crane (who also sells LED lights, see Episode 277, and the Kill A Watt, mentioned in Episode 553), who is a radio lover, has made the CC Witness audio player. It plays mp3 and wma files, and has an AM/FM radio, with presets, and you can record radio programmes with it. A built-in microphone enables voice recording as well. 2GB capacity with an SD card slot. USB interface. A docking kit with the player is also available.
If you wonder why Bob Crane's website or company is called C Crane (as Dick did back in Episode 277), it's because his name is Robert C. Crane.
Online Shopping
Richard Wilson ordered online a Sony Bravia TV, but it never came. Fortunately he ordered it using his Visa, and he was credited with the defrauded amount. Safe and secure. Just like the commercial.
Listen to Episode 642
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
If you wonder why Bob Crane's website or company is called C Crane (as Dick did back in Episode 277), it's because his name is Robert C. Crane.
Online Shopping
Richard Wilson ordered online a Sony Bravia TV, but it never came. Fortunately he ordered it using his Visa, and he was credited with the defrauded amount. Safe and secure. Just like the commercial.
Listen to Episode 642
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
iPhone 3G
Smartphone
Link: Apple
Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday
No one except Leo believed that he would be able to hold off buying the new iPhone 3G for long, and true to form, by Saturday he had got himself a white-back 16GB iPhone 3G. The main new hardware features includes 3G and GPS, and improved speakers. There is no 3G coverage in Petaluma for Leo, and there are no turn-by-turn directions for the GPS. According to Leo, what makes the new iPhone is the version 2 software, and the new App Store.
Leo talks about some of the new apps, including the iPhone app from Omnifocus, the Enigmo game, Aqua Forest, location-based Loopt, a New York Times app, Pandora, and AOL Radio.
But still no voice dialing, and no cut and paste.
TWiTLive Viewership
Since Leo's coverage of the iPhone 3G launch, viewership of TWiTLive has gone up about 30%.
DGW in Order
Opher Banarie finally figures out how to listen to his DGW in the correct order (earliest first) on his new iPod (see Episode 609). From the Main Menu, select Podcasts, scroll to DGW, and just press the centre button. Other listeners have also written in with the same tip, including Sue Watkins and Jacob.
Listen to Episode 617
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Leo talks about some of the new apps, including the iPhone app from Omnifocus, the Enigmo game, Aqua Forest, location-based Loopt, a New York Times app, Pandora, and AOL Radio.
But still no voice dialing, and no cut and paste.
TWiTLive Viewership
Since Leo's coverage of the iPhone 3G launch, viewership of TWiTLive has gone up about 30%.
DGW in Order
Opher Banarie finally figures out how to listen to his DGW in the correct order (earliest first) on his new iPod (see Episode 609). From the Main Menu, select Podcasts, scroll to DGW, and just press the centre button. Other listeners have also written in with the same tip, including Sue Watkins and Jacob.
Listen to Episode 617
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Mother Nature's Monitor
FM Transmitter for Sounds of Nature
Link: SmartHmePro
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
At least 10 years old, Mother Nature's Monitor is a monitor for your birds. You hang the device under the bird feeder in your backyard, and it will transmit the birdsong (or just the sounds of nature) via an FM transmitter to your stereo.
A Euphemism for Leo's Gadgets
Stan Young writes in to say that Leo's gadgets are often referred to as crap. He prefers to call them cool, radical awsome products.
A Bizarre Pitch Letter
Dick also writes for the Powerboat Magazine. A PR company has a brilliant idea for an article in the Powerboat Magazine for Dick. He should write about their product - Nuts. Leo has received a piece of software (a Photoshop plugin) for review, and every 3 days, he gets a letter from the PR people asking him if he's reviewed it yet.
WTHII June '08
Courtesy of listener Adrian, the June 2008 WTHII gadget is not a spork tine adjustment tool, nor a gold hole maker for hamsters, but a Candle Carver.
Match Game on TBS
Leo asks Dick again about the new Match Game on TBS (previously discussed in Episode 605). It's probably going to be too adult for Dick. When you get such infantile humour on DGW, who needs adult?
The PalmPilot
Early PDA
Link: US Robotics Press Release
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
On this Friday 13th, Dick and Leo are not afraid to talk, and talk they did. The original Palm was the Palm Pilot 1000, with a higher model called Pilot 5000, released in March 1996. In March 1997, the Palm Pilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional were launched. Later the word "Pilot" was dropped from Palm's devices after Pilot Pen's trademark lawsuit.
Palm Computing was originally a division of US Robotics and then it became part of 3Com. Among Palm's early developers was Donna Dubinsky, Leo's classmate at Yale.
The screen was monochrome, not backlit, with a serial port. Among Palm's features were Graffitti (which was the subject of an extended patent lawsuit by Xerox) and Graffitti 2, handwriitng recognition software, and its synchronisation features.
Although there had been PDAs before the Palm, such as the Psion and Apple's Newton, it was the Palm which really put PDAs on the map.
Palm is not in such great shape these days, just as Hayes (Episode 245) which had the modem market cornered lost its way. Dick thinks that if there are still listeners using the Okidata dot matrix printer (Epiosde 280), there may well be people still using the Pilot 1000.
Triskaidekaphobia
More obscure words from Leo. A triskaidekaphobe is someone who is afraid of the number 13. A fear of Friday 13th specifically is paraskavedekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia. Fear of the number 4 (which sounds like "death" in some Asian countries), is tetraphobia.
When Bill Gaines was looking for offices for Mad, he insisted on the 13th floor, just as a lark.
Margot ...
Virgilio from Toronto, Canada fills in the blank for the last name of the female sidekick of The Shadow, an old time radio show (Episode 579, Audible section). It's Margot Lane. Leo goes on to play "The Shadow" from Internet Archives.
A Prediction-Come-True for Year 2000
Dick and Leo laughed at the prediction in Weekend Magazine (Episode 580) that by the year 2000, people would be travelling at 1,000 mph at pennies per mile. Paul Vladuchick (we can call him Vladdy) flew from San Diego to Baltimore at 600 mph for about 10 cents per mile. Close.
Listen to Episode 590
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Palm Computing was originally a division of US Robotics and then it became part of 3Com. Among Palm's early developers was Donna Dubinsky, Leo's classmate at Yale.
The screen was monochrome, not backlit, with a serial port. Among Palm's features were Graffitti (which was the subject of an extended patent lawsuit by Xerox) and Graffitti 2, handwriitng recognition software, and its synchronisation features.
Although there had been PDAs before the Palm, such as the Psion and Apple's Newton, it was the Palm which really put PDAs on the map.
Palm is not in such great shape these days, just as Hayes (Episode 245) which had the modem market cornered lost its way. Dick thinks that if there are still listeners using the Okidata dot matrix printer (Epiosde 280), there may well be people still using the Pilot 1000.
Triskaidekaphobia
More obscure words from Leo. A triskaidekaphobe is someone who is afraid of the number 13. A fear of Friday 13th specifically is paraskavedekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia. Fear of the number 4 (which sounds like "death" in some Asian countries), is tetraphobia.
When Bill Gaines was looking for offices for Mad, he insisted on the 13th floor, just as a lark.
Margot ...
Virgilio from Toronto, Canada fills in the blank for the last name of the female sidekick of The Shadow, an old time radio show (Episode 579, Audible section). It's Margot Lane. Leo goes on to play "The Shadow" from Internet Archives.
A Prediction-Come-True for Year 2000
Dick and Leo laughed at the prediction in Weekend Magazine (Episode 580) that by the year 2000, people would be travelling at 1,000 mph at pennies per mile. Paul Vladuchick (we can call him Vladdy) flew from San Diego to Baltimore at 600 mph for about 10 cents per mile. Close.
Listen to Episode 590
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
HYmini
Hand-held Windmill Generator/Portable Charger
Link: HYmini
The HYmini is not a fan, but a windmill which converts wind power into electrical engery and stores it in the internal rechargeable battery. The wind has to be at least 9 mph. When the wind is fast enough, a green LED lights up to indicate that electrical energy is being generated. You can also charge the battery using conventional AC power (adaptor included), or using the computer via USB.
You can also charge the battery via USB by buying a solar panel using solar energy, called the miniSOLAR. There is also a bicycle attachment to harness the wind power, and an arm-band for people who jog.
You can use the HYmini to charge your 5V portable devices. It also doubles up as a flashlight.
Sit Up!
Leo is back on his GopherSport Anti-Burst Fitness Ball (Episode 322), while Dick is slumped on his chair in a comfortably bad posture.
VCR Plus
Sharon from PoCo (Port Coquitlam) in BC, Canada loves the VCR Plus episode (Episode 560). She tells Dick that TV guides in Vancouver still print the VCR Plus codes. Her parents have been using the codes for 7 years. Jim Nelson also writes in to say that he still uses the codes.
Regis
Leo thinks Regis is great and does his work without anyone knowing it. For a photo of Regis in his office, go to Leo's Flickr.
It's A Gas
Dick and Leo mentioned the Mad recording "It's A Gas" yesterday, and again today. A listener James Baldwin has found the recording on YouTube and emailed Dick the link. Dick has embedded it on his home page, or listen to it here.
Listen to Episode 568
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
You can use the HYmini to charge your 5V portable devices. It also doubles up as a flashlight.
Sit Up!
Leo is back on his GopherSport Anti-Burst Fitness Ball (Episode 322), while Dick is slumped on his chair in a comfortably bad posture.
VCR Plus
Sharon from PoCo (Port Coquitlam) in BC, Canada loves the VCR Plus episode (Episode 560). She tells Dick that TV guides in Vancouver still print the VCR Plus codes. Her parents have been using the codes for 7 years. Jim Nelson also writes in to say that he still uses the codes.
Regis
Leo thinks Regis is great and does his work without anyone knowing it. For a photo of Regis in his office, go to Leo's Flickr.
It's A Gas
Dick and Leo mentioned the Mad recording "It's A Gas" yesterday, and again today. A listener James Baldwin has found the recording on YouTube and emailed Dick the link. Dick has embedded it on his home page, or listen to it here.
Listen to Episode 568
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Phone-Mate Just In Case Beeper
Touch-Tone Generator
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
Dating all the way to 1982, Dick could not then go boating without this gadget, Phone-Mate's Just In Case Beeper. Although most telephones had tone dialing by then, there was still the odd payphone which was still a rotary phone using pulse dialling. Dick would put this beeper at the mouthpiece and punch the numbers to generate the touch tones required to access his answering machine.
Area Codes
A bit of trivia from Leo. When area codes were first assigned (in 1947), bigger cities in the States got lower numbers (212 for Manhattan, 213 for LA), whereas smaller towns got the larger numbers (including zeros) - which in the days of pulse dialling, took longer to dial.
RailModeller
Caleb writes in to recommend a railroad modelling layout design software, called the RailModeller. Mac only.
Listen to Episode 540
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
iPod 10GB (2nd Gen)
MP3 Player
Link: EveryiPod Engadget iPod Cemetry
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
Dick was reminded of the iPod 10GB by a recent re-airing on ABC of an old clip in which Dick showed it on World News Now with Liz Cho.
From Dick's description, this is a second generation model. Introduced on 21 March 2002, it had 10GB hard drive capacity, 10 hours battery life and was firewire only. New to the 2nd Gen was a wired remote, the Touch Wheel (the 1st Gen wheel was a mechanical scroll wheel that actually rotated), calendar and artist search. It was also the first iPod that supported Windows.
Human, Technology, and Canine Time Scales
Dick and Leo talk about different time scales for humans, technology and even dogs, which sets Leo off on an Ethel Merman impression of "Those Were The Days", although Dick thinks it's more like Al Jolson, which should go straight to the Gadget Warehouse. They have previously talked about the different time scales in Episode 120, in which they invented the "gadget year".
iPod Vending Machine
Dick remembers seeing an iPod vending machine in Las Vegas. Dick first told the story in Episode 77, to Leo and Amber MacArthur (the only guest to have appeared on DGW).
HP35
The HP35 (Episode 415) has generated a lot of emails from listeners, including Graham MacDonald from Australia who has bought 6 of them, a graduate from Drexel University at Philadelphia who was a freshman in 1972 when the HP35 came out, and an Air Force recruit who spent one month's salary on an HP35 programmable calculator and later joined HP itself.
Listen to Episode 420
Read Dick's Write-Up
Go to TWiT
From Dick's description, this is a second generation model. Introduced on 21 March 2002, it had 10GB hard drive capacity, 10 hours battery life and was firewire only. New to the 2nd Gen was a wired remote, the Touch Wheel (the 1st Gen wheel was a mechanical scroll wheel that actually rotated), calendar and artist search. It was also the first iPod that supported Windows.
Human, Technology, and Canine Time Scales
Dick and Leo talk about different time scales for humans, technology and even dogs, which sets Leo off on an Ethel Merman impression of "Those Were The Days", although Dick thinks it's more like Al Jolson, which should go straight to the Gadget Warehouse. They have previously talked about the different time scales in Episode 120, in which they invented the "gadget year".
iPod Vending Machine
Dick remembers seeing an iPod vending machine in Las Vegas. Dick first told the story in Episode 77, to Leo and Amber MacArthur (the only guest to have appeared on DGW).
HP35
The HP35 (Episode 415) has generated a lot of emails from listeners, including Graham MacDonald from Australia who has bought 6 of them, a graduate from Drexel University at Philadelphia who was a freshman in 1972 when the HP35 came out, and an Air Force recruit who spent one month's salary on an HP35 programmable calculator and later joined HP itself.
Listen to Episode 420
Read Dick's Write-Up
Go to TWiT
MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Headphones
Bleutooth Stereo Headphones
Link: Motorola
Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday
Music playback, volume control and call-answering can be done via touch-sensitive controls next to the earpieces.
Wait-For-Dick Jingle ...
... or perhaps a Wait-For-Leo-To-Play-The-Jingle Jingle would have been more appropriate. Dick has to answer the door for a UPS/Fedex delivery. This is the moment we've been waiting for since Episode 346, when Paul Minshall made the Wait-For-Dick Jingle, only to have Leo spoil it for us. Dane Golden has obviously declined to edit out the long wait, to let us have a fly-on-the-wall experience. At least Leo redeems himself by giving us a a good farce.
Dyson Airblade
Dave Gross from Blackpool, England writes in about a hand dryer that blows out air at a phenomenal speed which Dick mentioned in passing in an earlier episode. On a recent trip to the Eden Project in Cornwall, Dave saw one of those in the men's room. It's the Dyson Airblade. For a picture of and a link to the Airblade, see Episode 394.
A Men's Room Story
Dick has a story to tell about an NBC man with an umbrella.
Listen to Episode 417
Read Dick's Write-Up
Go to TWiT
