71 posts tagged “mad”
NJOY NPRO Starter Kit
Electronic Cigarette Substitute
Link: NJOY
At CES, Dick saw someone apparently smoking a cigarette and wondered why. It turned out it was not a cigarette, but some kind of cigarette substitute or alternative. You screw a fully charged battery to an atomiser, then at the other end, insert an NJOY cartridge. You can start enjoying the cartridge.
Each cartridge consists of water, propylene glycol, a scent, and nicotine. It gives the flavour of smoking to the smoker but without the smell of tobacco, as the "smoke" that comes out is an odourless mist. One NPRO cartridge is the approximate equivalent of half a pack of cigarettes.
As the cartridge contains nicotine, it is not a smoking-cessation device, but just a cigarette alternative.
A New "Voice" for Dick
Dick has started using the new microphone (Heil PR-40 Studio Microphone) that Leo sent him. "We can't improve the quality, so we improve the sound," says Dick.
Each cartridge consists of water, propylene glycol, a scent, and nicotine. It gives the flavour of smoking to the smoker but without the smell of tobacco, as the "smoke" that comes out is an odourless mist. One NPRO cartridge is the approximate equivalent of half a pack of cigarettes.
As the cartridge contains nicotine, it is not a smoking-cessation device, but just a cigarette alternative.
A New "Voice" for Dick
Dick has started using the new microphone (Heil PR-40 Studio Microphone) that Leo sent him. "We can't improve the quality, so we improve the sound," says Dick.
Changes at Mad
Sadly, Mad has decided to publish the magazine quarterly, instead of monthly. Circulation and ad revenue are down, and Time Warner has had to let 800 employees go. You can read about the news on Dick's website. When people heard the news, the most frequent inquiry was "What's going to happen to the What The Heck Is It game?" Dick's income is going to drop a bit, but he may start doing the Daily Giz Wiz twice a day, or have lunch with Madoff.
A Leo Jingle
Geoff Smith has done a Leo Jingle (La, la, la, Leo, Laporte), and a "Insert Name Here" Jingle for MacBreak Weekly, which Leo plays on this show.
The Hi Phone
There are scams around selling people the Hi Phone, probably made by Tangerine.
Presidential Ties
President Obama is the first president to have his portrait taken by a digital camera. The EXIF data of the photo shows that it was taken on a Canon EOS 5D-Mark II, on 13th January, the day Leo did his TTTT gadget of the day - the Canon EOS 5D-Mark II (Episode 742). "Does Leo have ties to the President?" asks Nick from Columbus, Ohio. Leo has heard rumours that the new administration may be appointing Dick as the new Gadget Tsar. Dick says they haven't got round to it yet. They've been too busy putting off the Digital TV transition.
Listen to Episode 754
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
Leapster 2
Educational Hand-Held Gaming Console for Children
Link: Leapfrog
This is version 2 of Leapster from Leapfrog, for children 4 to 8. A learning system (or handheld gaming console) for children, with learning games. Now it can be connected to the TV as well. Parents can also check the progress of the child online.
Tug Boat Races
Dick was off boating over the Labor Day Weekend, and witnessed some tug boat racing, while Leo and Jennifer helped Abby pack before her trip to France.
A New Hat for Leo
Leo got a freebie from Cat of Let's Knit Together.
New Parking Meters
Another Festive Letters Jingle is played in the heat of September, while Leo sips his tomato and basil hot soup. Yowan Pearson from Montreal was listening to Episode 616 (Parking Meter Alarm) in which Dick and Leo talked about the price of parking. In downtown Montreal, most of the parking is 3 or 4 dollars an hour. Parking meters are now replaced by an electronic parking booth - no need for coins, but you cannot add time to your previous payment.
Listen to Episode 651
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Tug Boat Races
Dick was off boating over the Labor Day Weekend, and witnessed some tug boat racing, while Leo and Jennifer helped Abby pack before her trip to France.
A New Hat for Leo
Leo got a freebie from Cat of Let's Knit Together.
New Parking Meters
Another Festive Letters Jingle is played in the heat of September, while Leo sips his tomato and basil hot soup. Yowan Pearson from Montreal was listening to Episode 616 (Parking Meter Alarm) in which Dick and Leo talked about the price of parking. In downtown Montreal, most of the parking is 3 or 4 dollars an hour. Parking meters are now replaced by an electronic parking booth - no need for coins, but you cannot add time to your previous payment.
Listen to Episode 651
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Swann Communications Flashlight DVR
Flashlight/Camcorder Combo
Link: Swann Communications
Swann Communications' Flashlight DVR is a flashlight which can also take videos/snapshots. It's a heavy duty flashlight, with 3 levels of brightness, and the infrared sensors provide night vision up to 13 feet. But you can also turn it into a camcorder for taking videos (640 x 480 MPEG-4), or a camera for taking snapshots. 128MB built-in memory, but has a card slot for mini-SD, up to 2GB. USB-enabled.
Off To France
Leo's daughter Abby is off to France today. Leo and Jennifer are going to be a bit teary.
MST3K
Doug from Stanhope, New Jersey, knows Dick loves doing movie satire in Mad, and writes in about the old TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which did running commentaries on bad movies. The creators of the show now produce just the audio running commentary soundtrack which you can download from their website, and play it at the same time as the movie. It's at RiffTrax.
Listen to Episode 648
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Off To France
Leo's daughter Abby is off to France today. Leo and Jennifer are going to be a bit teary.
MST3K
Doug from Stanhope, New Jersey, knows Dick loves doing movie satire in Mad, and writes in about the old TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which did running commentaries on bad movies. The creators of the show now produce just the audio running commentary soundtrack which you can download from their website, and play it at the same time as the movie. It's at RiffTrax.
Listen to Episode 648
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Opteka 0.43x HD² Fisheye Converter Lens
Converter Lens for Panasonic HDC-SD5 Camcorder
Link: Opteka
Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday
A converter lens for for selected models of Panasonic camcorders from Opteka. Because of the small sizes of the CCDs, modern digital camcorders generally have long focal lengths, great at the telephoto end but poor at the wide-angle end. This Fisheye Lens screws on to the camcorder's lens thread and has a conversion factor of 0.43x for the focal length of the built-in lens. so that the wide-angle end of Leo's Panasonic HDC-SD5 camcorder can be converted from 42.9mm (135mm film equivalent) to about 18.5mm, which Leo's son, Henry, uses to shoot skate-boarding videos. The same lens is made for different brands and models of cameras and camcorders, such as Sony and Canon. Make sure you get the right one.
Interestingly enough, the sample photo and video on the Opteka site are both taken of skate-boarding scenes, obviously the in-thing to do for skate-boarders.
Interestingly enough, the sample photo and video on the Opteka site are both taken of skate-boarding scenes, obviously the in-thing to do for skate-boarders.
A Letter for Leo
How about N, says Dan from Tampa who has decided to help Leo out with his lack of letters.
IND
M A D
Bruce from the chatroom asks what the "IND" in small print next to the letter in M in some Mad Magazines meant. Not MAD MIND, but just a reference to "Independent News Distribution".
Ebert and Roeper
Dick received a number of emails about the show At The Movies with Ebert and Roeper going off the air because they couldn't agree with the producers on the show's format. Years ago Dick met Siskel and Ebert and it became a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society.
Listen to Episode 632
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
How about N, says Dan from Tampa who has decided to help Leo out with his lack of letters.
IND
M A D
Bruce from the chatroom asks what the "IND" in small print next to the letter in M in some Mad Magazines meant. Not MAD MIND, but just a reference to "Independent News Distribution".
Ebert and Roeper
Dick received a number of emails about the show At The Movies with Ebert and Roeper going off the air because they couldn't agree with the producers on the show's format. Years ago Dick met Siskel and Ebert and it became a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society.
Listen to Episode 632
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Digital Day Counter
Food Hygiene
Link: HowManyDaysAgo
Dick and Leo go all yada-yada today and almost forget to talk about the gadget. DaysAgo's Digital Day Counter is just that. It keeps track of the number of days that have elapsed since you started the counter going by pressing the button. You can put it on jars and bottles in the fridge, or other things you can think of. 3 different models offer different ways of attachment: magnetic, suction and elastic band.
iPhone 3G Launch
At the time of recording, Leo had yet to do his 24-hour iPhone 3G launch coverage. Leo predicts that he will be dragged out of the TWiT Cottage kicking and screaming in a nervous breakdown. He wasn't, but some may well think that he should have been. As Dick says, when he joined the TWiT network, he took Leo out of his shell, but now he's gone out of his mind.
This Way To The Egress
Because of the need for perfect audio and video conditions, all egresses of the TWiT Cottage have to be covered in dark fabrics. That reminds Leo of a quotation of P T Barnham's, "This way to the egress."
Fireworks No More?
After Dick and Leo talked about Dick's eccentric way of watching the 4th of July Fireworks (Episode 605), Mike Gunn (from Episode 315) wrote to make the observation that Dick won't be able to carry on his old way much longer, as portable TVs don't support digital TV, yet. Dick suggests that the Grucci family should start doing water-level fireworks.
Leo's First Job ...
... was at McDonald's. He worked his way up from the cash counter, to milk shakes upstairs, to French Fries, and then to the grill.
Curly Fries and a Medium Coffee
Dick went into Burger King and asked for Curly Fries. No such thing. Leo went into Starbucks and asked for a Medium-size coffee. No such thing. It's Spiral Fries and Americano Grande.
Dueling Narrators
Audible's new sponsorship of the Daily Giz Wiz starts again today. Support Dick, go to www.audible.com/gizwiz and subscribe. You can also select versions of the same book by dueling narrators.
Someone Made A Video
In Episode 606, Dick said someone had made a video with all the jingles back-to-back and a selection of pictures of past gadgets. That someone wrote to Dick, "That someone would be me." Signed InsideDGW.
You can watch the video at the blog post for Episode 600, or follow this link: snipurl.com/600video.
The video is 3 minutes 54 seconds long, although that's not the length of all the jingles and themes combined. Only an extract of the Spork Commercial was used, and the video was made before Dan Lueders's Thursday Theme and Disclaimer were aired.
Listen to Episode 611
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
iPhone 3G Launch
At the time of recording, Leo had yet to do his 24-hour iPhone 3G launch coverage. Leo predicts that he will be dragged out of the TWiT Cottage kicking and screaming in a nervous breakdown. He wasn't, but some may well think that he should have been. As Dick says, when he joined the TWiT network, he took Leo out of his shell, but now he's gone out of his mind.
This Way To The Egress
Because of the need for perfect audio and video conditions, all egresses of the TWiT Cottage have to be covered in dark fabrics. That reminds Leo of a quotation of P T Barnham's, "This way to the egress."
Fireworks No More?
After Dick and Leo talked about Dick's eccentric way of watching the 4th of July Fireworks (Episode 605), Mike Gunn (from Episode 315) wrote to make the observation that Dick won't be able to carry on his old way much longer, as portable TVs don't support digital TV, yet. Dick suggests that the Grucci family should start doing water-level fireworks.
Leo's First Job ...
... was at McDonald's. He worked his way up from the cash counter, to milk shakes upstairs, to French Fries, and then to the grill.
Curly Fries and a Medium Coffee
Dick went into Burger King and asked for Curly Fries. No such thing. Leo went into Starbucks and asked for a Medium-size coffee. No such thing. It's Spiral Fries and Americano Grande.
Dueling Narrators
Audible's new sponsorship of the Daily Giz Wiz starts again today. Support Dick, go to www.audible.com/gizwiz and subscribe. You can also select versions of the same book by dueling narrators.
Someone Made A Video
In Episode 606, Dick said someone had made a video with all the jingles back-to-back and a selection of pictures of past gadgets. That someone wrote to Dick, "That someone would be me." Signed InsideDGW.
You can watch the video at the blog post for Episode 600, or follow this link: snipurl.com/600video.
The video is 3 minutes 54 seconds long, although that's not the length of all the jingles and themes combined. Only an extract of the Spork Commercial was used, and the video was made before Dan Lueders's Thursday Theme and Disclaimer were aired.
Listen to Episode 611
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Pinnacle Video Transfer
Video Recorder/Digitisation Device
Link: Pinnacle
Note that the quality selections for good, better and best for different storage devices (e.g. iPod, PSP and USB hard/flash drive) are different, up to 720 x 480 (NTSC) or 720 x 576 (PAL/SECAM) 1.5Mbps video and 192 kbps stereo audio.
The Neuros OSD (Episode 546) has more capabilities (including playback and video out), but is more expensive.
Jogging to DGW
Tim Harbst has been listening since Episode 33, and he jogs to DGW during lunch-time. He has spent quite a bit of money buying up gadgets, including a Sansa MP3 player, a Sanyo camcorder, a Capresso coffee-maker (Episode 113), a SmartShopper (Episode 424), a GizWizBiz Cap and a set of Match Game Cards for his children last Christmas. And if Dick will read out his letter, he will fall over in shock during his run.
Coming Up: Thursday Theme
Watch out for tomorrow's episode, when Leo will play the new Thursday Theme by Dan Lueders.
WTHII June '08
Leo still can't figure out the WTHII gadget for June 2008, which Dick will reveal next week. The photo of this gadget was a contribution by a listener, presumably after Dick's open invitation in Episode 553.
Special Offer on GizWizBiz Caps
Remember the special offer expires on 7 July 2008. Check out Dick's site for details.
Plane Clean Air Filter
Health and Hygiene/Travel Accessories
Link: PlaneCleanAir
Today's gadget is the WTHII mystery gadget for May 2008. It's not a CD washer, a flying saucer or a suction cup for the ceiling, as Leo guessed. It is the Plane Clean Air Filter. You attach it to the air nozzle above you on the aeroplane and you get your own personal air filter.
It claims to remove 99.5% of the all airborne bacteria, viruses and allergens, which are also blocked off by the air stream. For the price, you get air filters for 10 flights and you can buy refills.
Dick's Boat on Law And Order
As previously reported, Dick's boat will appear in an episode of Law And Order: Criminal Intent sometime in June, all covered in a big top. Read about it on Dick's website. Its previous film appearance, on Pride and Glory starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, has yet to be seen on the big screen, as the film has been put off to a 2009 release date.
Watch DGW Live
Leo reminds everyone that you can watch the recording sessions of DGW, and Dick's clutter, every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Pacific time.
Don't forget either that Dick is joining Leo at the TWiTLive Studio on 20 June 2008.
Dash Express
Dick dashed into Robert Currie, President of Dash Express (Episode 572) and got a ride from him, and more. Robert Currie explained in more details how the Dash Express works in collating its sources of traffic information. Leo did too but why would Dick listen to him?
Amazon has a Father's Day special offer for the Dash Express. $100 off.
Still Connected
Wally H's Connectix Quickcam (Episode 580) is still connected, which he uses as a networked security camera.
Mad Minute
No Mad Minute again today. Has Leo run out?
Listen to Episode 586
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
IBM Microdrive
Data Storage
Link: IBM Press Release
Dick's Gadget Warehouse
Released in 1999, the IBM Microdrive fit into a Compact Flash Type II card slot, but was actually a hard drive, the world's smallest hard drive. When first released, IBM offered 2 capacities, 170MB and 340MB, which in those days were massive for portable storage of that size. IBM's recommended retail price for the 340MB Microdrive kit, including a PC card adapter and a field case, was $499.
Stop the Jokes
Norwegian Stian Kristiansen is recovering from a hernia operation and begs Dick and Leo to stop the funny business. And no Mad Magazine please.
Listen to Episode 570
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Stop the Jokes
Norwegian Stian Kristiansen is recovering from a hernia operation and begs Dick and Leo to stop the funny business. And no Mad Magazine please.
Listen to Episode 570
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Neuros OSD Media Centre
Video Recorder/Converter
Link: Neuros
It makes use of the analogue hole to transfer the input video into digital form, on to your choice of external storage (such as a USB hdd, flash drive, memory cards or NAS). Hook up the Neuros OSD between your video source and the TV (using RCA jacks), connect your storage to the Neuros OSD, and start recording into MPEG4. You have a choice of 2 resolutions: 320x240 at 30fps for playback on portable devices, and 640x480 at 30fps for playback on TV and PC.
It is also a very capable playback device for audio, video and still photo, supporting many media formats, including mpeg4, mov, wmv, flv, avi (including Dvix and Xvid), mp3, ogg vorbis, wma, flac, jpg, bmp and gif. You can choose your playback source from an USB-connected storage, or any memory card in the built-in card reader (supporting most major memory cards), or from any networked source via the ethernet port (such as your NAS or even the internet).
Its firmware is upgradable, and the software includes built-in automatic software update capability. Because the device is based on open source software, Neuros also encourages open development of additional features for the OSD. Comes with a remote control, an IR Blaster, and RCA cables (European models include SCART adapters).
Automatic Podcast Generator
Dick and Leo lament the missed opportunity of getting a push-button automatic podcast generator, while Leo was away in Tasmania, from Ludwik Trammer, DGW's official statistician, database compiler, RSS feeder, general factotum and all-round nice guy.
Missing Feature
Girl Geek Myra Joyce (who wrote in in Episode 495) referred to the letter read in Episode 526 about the Canon Pixma iP4300. To her disappointment, the CD-label printing capability is enabled only in models shipped outside of the US (which could be enabled for US models but only with some dismantling and reassembly of the printer).
The Ultimate Toaster
Leo has come up with an idea for the ultimate toaster. It can print any image you want on your toast. A toast before it's even made and one destined for the Gadget Warehouse.
Listen to Episode 546
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
