10 posts tagged “best of”
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
Sansa View
MP3 Player/PMP
Link: Sandisk
Another PMP from SanDisk, 2.4" screen, 16GB (with SDHC support) and aggressively priced. The new Sansa View makes it easier to download media, including videos and podcasts. Supports video formats of MPEG-4, H.264, and WMV.
Holiday Arrangement
Leo thinks they are going to have a week of "Best of DGW", then a week of holiday, and they'll come back in the New Year after Dick has been to CES.
An Old Letter
A listener wrote in some time ago (after Episode 379, the CardioChek), making the observation that there was Leo on his live video feed, sitting in front of the mic for 3 hours doing nothing, and then there was Dick in his apartment opening packages, putting his fingers into devices, bleeding himself and checking his cholesterol.
Leo's Live Feed
Leo is recording this batch of shows "live" on video on ustream.tv, and 196 people are watching. You can try your luck in future to get the feed on twit.tv/live.
GizWizBiz USB Smart Button
Steve Miller, of Westerville, Ohio, a bit of a gadget hound himself (see Episodes 279, 376), is one of the 17 people who bought Dick's USB Smart Button, which has freed his hard drive of the space previously necessary for Dick's web address! Although he already had a Dysan vacuum, he still bought the Roomba (mentioned in Episode 451) which is excellent for going under the bed.
Listen to Episode 459
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-Up
Holiday Arrangement
Leo thinks they are going to have a week of "Best of DGW", then a week of holiday, and they'll come back in the New Year after Dick has been to CES.
An Old Letter
A listener wrote in some time ago (after Episode 379, the CardioChek), making the observation that there was Leo on his live video feed, sitting in front of the mic for 3 hours doing nothing, and then there was Dick in his apartment opening packages, putting his fingers into devices, bleeding himself and checking his cholesterol.
Leo's Live Feed
Leo is recording this batch of shows "live" on video on ustream.tv, and 196 people are watching. You can try your luck in future to get the feed on twit.tv/live.
GizWizBiz USB Smart Button
Steve Miller, of Westerville, Ohio, a bit of a gadget hound himself (see Episodes 279, 376), is one of the 17 people who bought Dick's USB Smart Button, which has freed his hard drive of the space previously necessary for Dick's web address! Although he already had a Dysan vacuum, he still bought the Roomba (mentioned in Episode 451) which is excellent for going under the bed.
Listen to Episode 459
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-Up
Samsung Yepp YP-P2
MP3 Player/PMP
New MP3 players from Samsung, the Yepp P2 Series are flash memory based players, bluetooth-enabled (for stereo sound), with a 3" Touch Screen (480 x 272 pixels). Built-in speakers and mic, FM radio, voice recording. Built-in support for "datacasts" (Samsung's word for podcasts). Available in black, white and red.
2.05" x 3.94" x 0.39". Windows only.
You can download music and movies from Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, Napster and CinemaNow.
Faithful Listener for Life ...
... who has been listening for the last 6 months (which must have felt like a lifetime), notes that the Spork (Episode 182) has been around for a long time, and he has been using plastic ones since 1989. But "Has he used a Titanium one?" asks Leo.
Listen to Episode 458
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-Up
You can download music and movies from Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, Napster and CinemaNow.
Faithful Listener for Life ...
... who has been listening for the last 6 months (which must have felt like a lifetime), notes that the Spork (Episode 182) has been around for a long time, and he has been using plastic ones since 1989. But "Has he used a Titanium one?" asks Leo.
Listen to Episode 458
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-Up
Sony Ericsson Walkman Phone W580i
Cellphone
Link: Sony Ericsson
Cellphones on DGW
Dick says he rarely does cellphones, and Leo says Dick never does. Apart from the Gadget Warehouse StarTAC (Episode 65), Dick has covered only 2 cellphones. Both were LG phones, "The V" (Episode 9) and "The enV" (Episode 219).
Holiday Arrangements
Leo is off to Egypt to see the Pyramids over Christmas. Dick and Leo will pre-record shows for the week of 17th December, and for the next 2 weeks, they will play the "Best Of" episodes prepared by George Wood. That would give a whole new meaning to "Jingle All The Way".
Archos 605 Wifi
Keith has previously written to Dick and Leo about the Archos 605 Wifi but writes in again to refer to another feature, a podcast management software called Archos Link. Dick and Leo think they have talked about the Archos 605 on the show, but they haven't, technically. The 605 is from Archos' Generation 5 series while the AV700 (Episode 64), 604 Wifi (Episode 218), 404 Camcorder (Episode 262), and 704 Wifi (Episode 297) are from older series.
Archos 704 Wifi
PMP
Link: Archos
Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday
Leo is not sure if he has done the Sanyo Xacti HD2 (which he has not), and so settles for another Archos PMP, after the AV700 and 604 Wifi reviewed by Dick, and the 404 Camcorder reviewed by Leo (Episodes 64, 218, 262). The 704 Wifi is a more recent model, 80GB, and does all the usual stuff, wth a bigger screen. Supports Microsoft's Play For Sure DRM, uses the Opera browser. The docking station is extra.
Saving it For TWiT
When Leo suggests doing the Sanyo Xacti HD2, Dick suggests he save it for TWiT, but Dick is not being competitive, or bitter.
A SpKnork Competitor?
The Spork trail goes on. Listener Ray has found a potential Spork/Knork competitor, the Nyfork, a fork with a roller-cutter (a roller-blade?) at the base of the handle to cut through pizzas and waffles.
Rerun, Showcase, Best of ...
Coming up in May, Leo will be off filming in Canada and the following week Dick will be going to the National Hardware Show. Leo may have to do some reruns. "Showcase, please!" says Dick. While Leo searches for the right word, get ready for the Best of DGW prepared by George Wood.
Mad Minutes
Leo is too busy at the moment to digitise the Mad Minutes. He might get Dane Golden to help him.
Listen to Episode 297
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Saving it For TWiT
When Leo suggests doing the Sanyo Xacti HD2, Dick suggests he save it for TWiT, but Dick is not being competitive, or bitter.
A SpKnork Competitor?
The Spork trail goes on. Listener Ray has found a potential Spork/Knork competitor, the Nyfork, a fork with a roller-cutter (a roller-blade?) at the base of the handle to cut through pizzas and waffles.
Rerun, Showcase, Best of ...
Coming up in May, Leo will be off filming in Canada and the following week Dick will be going to the National Hardware Show. Leo may have to do some reruns. "Showcase, please!" says Dick. While Leo searches for the right word, get ready for the Best of DGW prepared by George Wood.
Mad Minutes
Leo is too busy at the moment to digitise the Mad Minutes. He might get Dane Golden to help him.
Listen to Episode 297
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Aiwa CSD MR1
Portable Music Player with 6-Speaker Surround Sound
Link: Amazon
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
From 1999, this "portable" music player Aiwa CSD MR1 had 6 speakers, each with a lit circle which pulsated to the beat of the music. Sounds like Dick's kind of gadget. The sound was not great, though. Aiwa has now been bought by Sony.
PicooZ or PiccoZ?
Jared from Indiana found an article on Gizmodo which explains the different spellings of the PicooZ Helicopter (Episode 204). Leo warns listeners against confusion with the Daily Giz Woz. The one with the big watch (Episode 150).
iPhone Ringtone
Gizmodo has reproduced the ringtone from the iPhone which Steve Jobs showed off. Read the blog.
Listen to Episode 240
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Verbatim Store N Go USB HD Drive
External Hard Drive
Link: Verbatim
From Andy Marken who has donated numerous prizes to DGW, this Store N Go USB HD Drive has a 12GB capacity, in a case that measures just over 2" long, and the USB connector hides itself inside the case.
300th Episode
Andy Marken has generously agreed to donate prizes for the 300th Episode as well.
Leo on Regis
Despite his previous protestations (Episodes 160 and 190), Leo is going to be in New York to record Regis after all. He's going to take the Amtrak Red Eye, but Dick recommends the Acela. Dick and Leo are going to meet up.
DGW Marathon
Kelly G. Tedd, an American living in Hungary and travelling in Greece, had to catch up on DGW. He spent 40 hours doing it. Commiseration to Kelly. Kelly was much amused by Dick's eccentric way of watching the 4th July Fireworks (Episode 97) and the Key Buoy episode (Episode 149).
Listen to Episode 234
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Stanley FatMax FuBar / Black & Decker Auto-Wrench
Weapon of Mass Destruction / Automatically Adjustable Wrench
Link: Stanley Tools Black & Decker
Stanley FatMax FuBar
The word fubar is a euphemistic acronym for "F...ed Up Beyond All Recognition" (or similar variants), used in the military. Stanley Tools has adopted the word as the name of this tool as it can wreck almost anything beyond recognition.
Black & Decker Auto-Wrench
With the push a button this Black & Decker Auto-Wrench will adjust the width of the opening to any size up to 1¼ inches. Uses 2 AAA batteries.
Crooks Do Not Listen to the DGW
No criminals are allowed in the DGW Audience.
Boating
Dick owns 3 boats. Leo wants to get into boating and see the world in a boat. Dick recommends a trawler.
Ultimate Ears
Carl from beautiful Richmond, BC, recommends earphones from Ultimate Ears. Leo got his first pair of Ultimate Ears as a prize for Podcasting Person of the Year. He's just received the new 5Cs and he might review them. In due course, Leo will review the super.fi earphones (Episode 272).
Jingle Encore
One more thing. Carl likes the Festive Letters Jingle so much he wants to listen to it again. Leo obliges.
Listen to Episode 231
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
The word fubar is a euphemistic acronym for "F...ed Up Beyond All Recognition" (or similar variants), used in the military. Stanley Tools has adopted the word as the name of this tool as it can wreck almost anything beyond recognition.
Black & Decker Auto-Wrench
With the push a button this Black & Decker Auto-Wrench will adjust the width of the opening to any size up to 1¼ inches. Uses 2 AAA batteries.
Crooks Do Not Listen to the DGW
No criminals are allowed in the DGW Audience.
Boating
Dick owns 3 boats. Leo wants to get into boating and see the world in a boat. Dick recommends a trawler.
Carl from beautiful Richmond, BC, recommends earphones from Ultimate Ears. Leo got his first pair of Ultimate Ears as a prize for Podcasting Person of the Year. He's just received the new 5Cs and he might review them. In due course, Leo will review the super.fi earphones (Episode 272).
Jingle Encore
One more thing. Carl likes the Festive Letters Jingle so much he wants to listen to it again. Leo obliges.
Listen to Episode 231
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
StarTech CPNT410IR
4-to-1 Component AV Switch
Link: StarTech
Running out of Component inputs at the back of your TV? The StarTech Converge 4-to-1 AV Switch gives you a few more. Connect the box to a component input on your TV. At the back of the box are 4 component inputs to which you can connect 4 input devices. The remote control allows you to choose which input to use.
The Best of DGW
George Wood has prepared a "best of" episode for hoilidays, but unfortunately it arrived after Leo had left. Leo promises that it will be played.
Beach Experience
Even though Dick has owned many boats, he hates the beach. Leo was once in Nassau in the Bahamas with Sumi Das for an appearance on TechTV, but all they had was 17 minutes in which to run down to the beautiful beach, dip their toes in, and run back to get on with the journey ...
Dick in London
... and that reminds Dick that he was asked to go to London to promote the Snake Light for Black and Decker, and they had lined up 31 programmes for him, leaving him no time to see London.
[Update: For a more recent version of the Snake Light, see Episode 298, the LED Snake Light.]
Not For Sale
The Daily Giz Wiz is not for sale to companies that sell digital cables with gold-plated jacks, but long-term lease enquiries are welcome.
Microsoft Bob
Steve L from New Jersey points out that the product manager of Microsoft Bob (Episode 215) was one Melinda French, now Mrs Bill Gates.
The Social
Leo looks up the Merriam Webster Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary for the meaning of "social" (The Zune, Episode 202) as a noun. He tries to find the British Heritage Dictionary. Really. How about something from Oxford?
No Mad Minute
No Mad Minute yet. Leo has yet to sort out the tapes.
Listen to Episode 221
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Westclox NapMate
Nap Timer
Link: Westclox NapMate
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
These clocks on the left (from Dick's warehouse) have special nap/snooze buttons (15-minute intervals), like the Sleep button on your stereo or TV set, which have been discontinued. The deluxe version had 3 windows, a large window for actual time, two smaller windows for dual alarms --- and one of the two windows would show nap time. Nap time didn’t have to be in 15 minute periods in that model.
When recording the show, Dick called them the Timex nap timers. They were in fact Westclox nap timers. The Westclox NapMate still appears on the Westclox and eSalton websites, but it is no longer available.
In an interview by Chris from Leoville Town Square on 5 May 2006 (released on 6 May 2006) (audio at the blog entry for Episode 244), Dick corrected the brand of the nap timers, saying that it ought to be Westclox, and these nap timers were his favourite gadgets of all time !
Did you know?
When Dick heard that Westclox was going to discontinue the Nap Timer series, he bought up all 14 sets left in stock.
Dick goes to bed no earlier than 3am and gets up at 7am. No wonder he needs his nap!
Leo was a chess geek before he became a tech geek.
