48 posts tagged “toothpick bird”

An easy way to spread music around your house.  The Eos Wireless Speaker System starts with the base station, where you can play music from your iPod via the iPod dock (not iPhone-certified) or from another audio source through the Aux jack (3.5mm headphone jack).  You can add up to 4 wireless satellite speakers which will start working as soon as you plug them into a power outlet.  Music is transmitted wirelessly from the base station to the satellite speakers using GigaWave technology, without interfering your WiFi at home.  All speakers are stereo 2.1.

For other options, with different functionalities, check out listener Steve Miller's recommendation in Episode 682, the Logitech Squeezebox Boom, or the Sonos System which Leo would love to be able to review.


Family Concerns
Dr Mark Sukoenig has much to write about.  Being a model of courtesy and discretion, and a doctor, he asks after Leo's sister Eva (who made a guest appearance in Episode 876) and wonders why she looks significantly older than Leo.  Then he asks after Mama Laporte, and is concerned about her oratorical capacity, as she didn't seem to talk much when she appeared on TWiTLive.

Crust and The Ten Commandments
More to the point, Dr Mark is very well connected in the medical field.  Hailing from Syracuse, New York, Dr Mark would have been served when he was young by the inventor of the Brannock Device (see his letter in Episode 280).  Not only that, he is also a distant cousin of Herman Klotz, a dentist whose name happened to be used by MAD in a satire on Crest, called Crust, for which he was handsomely compensated by having a stack of MAD magazines sent to him.  For the cover of the relevant MAD Issue No.43, visit Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site.  Dick remembers that MAD did a visual Ten Commandments, and for "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery", MAD used a picture of a motel, and the motel owner was similarly compensated.


Gotcha!
Dr Mark likes to listen to the Daily Giz Wiz while driving.  Just last month, he was doing the same thing, and he laughed so hard that he lost control of the car, the car skidded on an ice slick, flipped over in a snow bank, hit a tree .... and got Leo, but not the street-wise Dick Debartolo.  He hasn't heard any report of snow in July, even in Syracuse, and certainly not last July.

Giz Wiz Meet-Up
Don't forget about the Giz Wiz Meet-Up in the evening of Tuesday 11 August in San Francisco.


Listen to Episode 887
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The Z Bar Desk Lamp from CCrane has 66 LED lights, using only 9.6W, giving 112 lumens focused within a 50 degrees viewing angle.  The Z shape gives it flexibility while the weighted base gives it stability.  If your desk is too cramped, it comes with a desk clamp so that it doesn't take up more desk space.

TWiT: The Early Days
Leo explains the origin of the name TWiT.  When the old gang from G4/TechTV, including Leo, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, David Prager and Robert Heron, got together for the podcast, they originally called the show Revenge of the Screen Savers.  They soon got a cease and desist letter from G4.  Eventually they asked the listeners to make suggestions for the name, and the winning entrant would get a surprise box of stuff from Patrick's garage - the "box of crap".  Entries included Revenge Of The Green Saviours, SledgeCast, Saved By The Geeks, and This Week In Geek, the last of which was closest to what Leo wanted.  In the end Leo decided on This Week In Tech, shortened to the acronym TWiT which became the name of the site and his podcasting network.

For a summary of the early episodes of TWiT (0 to 9), you can get Episode 81 of TWiT: The Early Years.  It is a collection of tidbits from the podcasts (but not a best-of) outlining how the podcast evolved in the early days, badly put together by none other than myself, which I would have called TWiTbits.

TWiT Trademark
Leo has trademarked the brand TWiT for virtually all media, including audio, video, variety show and musical.  Leo's lawyer questioned Leo about his involvement in variety shows.  Of course we do variety shows.  The Daily Giz Wiz.  What about musicals?  The Daily Giz Wiz.  The only 4 media left are vinyl, cylinder, 8-track and wire recorder.

Just don't talk to Leo or Dane Golden about TWiT and Twitter.

Leo's Life Stories
Dick and Leo have often talked about Leo's autobiography and its title, the last time in Episode 812.  Tom Pruett has 3 ideas for Leo's book, all of which lend themselves easily to TV production as well.

The PodCouple - Leo Laporte has recently lost his job at TechTV.  Despondent, he wanders aimlessly until his friend Dick DeBartolo comes to the rescue and the two do a podcast together.  The trouble is Dick is neat and tidy and Leo is a slob ...

The PodFather - An aging patriarch of an organised podcasting dynasty, Leo Laporte, wants to transfer control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant friend Dick DeBartolo.  A story of power and greed, culminating in the Toothpick Bird and Spork Episodes.

Podman Begins - Explore the Podman legend and his emergence into a force for good.  A disillusioned tech journalist Leo Laporte travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and to turn fear against those who prey on the fearful.  He comes back as his alter ego Podman, a mass crusader who uses his strength, intelligence and vast podcasting network to fight sinister forces.  Don't forget his butler, Leo adds, Dick TheBartolo.

MAD 500
MAD 500 is out, with retrospective looks into different parts of MAD Magazine's past issues (or episodes as Leo persists in calling them).  By MAD 502, Dick will have completed 40 years of unbroken contribution to every issue of MAD.  You can get MAD 500 along with the 2 Obama-cover issues as a collection autographed by Dick from MAD Stuff.


Listen to Episode 824
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A companion to yesterday's Wonder Wash, the Mini Countertop Spin Dryer spin-dry your laundry (2.2 lbs dry laundry capacity) in 2 to 3 minutes, ready for ironing, or hang-drying.  Unlike the Wonder Wash, this does use electric power (82W).  Portable as well, 15" x 13.5" x 13.5".

Play for MAD 500
Today's the last day for Dick's WTHII contest.  We're playing for MAD 500.

Bringing down a Site, Live
When Leo did the Screen Savers, any mention of a website on the live show used to bring the site down.  It's now happening all over again with TWiTLive, but not when you use SquareSpace.

Refrigerator LED Light
John Fiedler from The Woodlands, Texas may not be a huge gadget fanatic by GizWiz standards, but shares with the crew certain gadget fascinations, such as flashlights, radios and LED lights.  Recently his 20-year-old refrigerator finally broke down.  He was surprised to find that the GE Profile Series uses an array of LED lights.  The conventional 40W incandescent bulb has been replaced by a blue LED.  Opening a fridge has never felt so comforting.

The Fixer
Leo is not exactly a handyman when it comes to fixing things like the microwave, as he has no tools, only a butter knife.  When he needs a butter knife, it's always in the garage and he uses his tongue (cf Jackie Mason, says Leo).  But when it comes to fixing a computer, he's a magician, as Dick witnessed in person while doing the Screen Savers.

What A Scandal
Leo confesses that although he has a Toothpick Bird (Episode 282), he's never owned a Spork (Episode 182) all his life.  What a scandal !

Cleaning Up after TWiT
Leo and his TWiT crew had a ball doing This Week In Tech two Sundays ago.  Wine, women, song and a lot of cleaning up after himself.

TWiT Shirts
During the intermission just before this episode, Dane Golden shows Dick some of the new shirts made for the TWiT network.  No word that they're available to fans, presumably just for the TWiT staff?  TWiT T-shirts, designed by Lori LeBeau Walsh (who designs the Album Art for the TWiT netcasts) are available, though, from Art and Tech Tees.



Listen to Episode 819
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The In Your Face Viewbase has an adjustable grip that holds all models of the iPhone and iPod Touch, or any PMP up to 2 inches wide, at the end of a flexible 8" neck, which you can clamp on to a tray table on a flight, your monitor, or above the dashboard.  Do not mistake it for the iFlyz which Dick did in Episode 783, even though it costs the same $29.95.  The Viewbase does not use a suction cup as does the iFlyz.  To salvage his pride, Leo tells us that he first saw this product in January at MacWorld Expo, way before Dick did the iFlyz, and you can use it as a hands-free device in the car, and in the gym, and sock yourself in your face, as Leo deftly demonstrates.



Airport Accommodation
Back in Episode 616, Dick and Leo complained how airports seem to have been designed to do everything to prevent you from sleeping or lying down.  Shashank Sivaji recommends the Dubai Airport, which has long wide lounge chairs.

NOT PR
Phil Baker, who wrote in Episode 795 about his book From Concept to Consumer, explains that he is no PR guy, but an engineer/product developer, and offers to show Leo gadgets in production in China.  Dick thinks he bought a Sham Wow towel from Phil, but he's obviously mistaken - a reference to This Week In Tech Episode 188.

The ooma system started in July 2007, and the price of the package (the ooma Hub plus the ooma Scout) has come down.  The ooma Hub is connected to your router and hooked up to your own telephone, which enables you to make telephone calls via the internet using VoIP (to another telephone number).  You can keep your own land line telephone number, and if you don't have a number, you can get one from ooma (for a one-time fee of $40).  All calls within the US are free (subject to a limit of 3,000 minutes per month for outbound calls), while you can make international calls at cheaper rates through ooma.  If your friend overseas has an ooma system and a registered US number too, those international calls are also free.  Although naturally aimed at the US market, the ooma system can be used outside the US too in the same way.  If you keep your landline number, you can of course use the traditional 911 service.  If you use a number from Ooma, it includes the E911 service so that emergency staff can be given your registered address.  The ooma Scout can be connected to another phone jack in the house, and lets you make calls from another phone in the house.


Ooma's peer-to-peer technology differs from other similar services in that instead of using normal telephone exchanges to terminate calls, ooma routes calls through other ooma users' phone lines if possible, cutting out the termination fees on the calls.  If there are no ooma users with a phone line within 12 miles of where a call is terminated, only then will ooma use the normal telephone exchange.  For more details, see TechCrunch's article in 2007.  Because of the initial outlay, whether ooma is worth investing in depends on how long it stays in business.

Ooma does also have a Premier plan, for a yearly fee of $100 or $13 per month, which gives you extra functionality.

Uma?
Ooma has nothing to do with Uma Thurman, but does have something to do with Ashton Kutcher, who was involved Creative Director.

All For Nothing
Dick is always prepared for a disaster, with all his emergency kits.  Leo wonders, if at the end of Dick's life, Dick lying on his death-bed would be disappointed that nothing bad had happened, and all that engery spent on getting ready for disasters was expended for nothing.  That is indeed a frightening scenario, but Dick always looks on the bright side.  While his emergency kits may prove to be of little use to him, his beneficiaries will inherit all his kits, and God willing, they will have a disaster.

Emergency Kits at the TWiT Cottage
Leo has had his share of buying emergency kits, such as the Ready Kit Plus (Episode 29), even though he eschewed the Talking First Aid Kit (Episode 454) for not having a Swedish accent.  The TWiT Cottage is well equipped with emergency kits, only that no one is allowed to use it.

Bring Back the Jingle Singers !!
Brian Zager has noticed that Leo has been inviting celebrities lately such as Elvis and the Beatles to sing the Letters Jingle.  He hopes that Leo is not considering laying off the Jingle Singers who at this time of economic downturn cannot afford to lose their jobs.

A Public Announcement for WTHII
The next issue of MAD is going to be the April Issue (Watchmen cover).  So Dick is extending the current What The Heck Is It game to 15 March.  The next WTHII will be for another 6 weeks, and the prize will be the 500th Issue of MAD.


Listen to Episode 779
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Listener Dan McCormick, who suggested the Multi-Colour LED Light Bulb with Remote Control (also carried by Think Geek) in Episode 704, wonders if Dick, who did the original Neverlate 7-Day Alarm Clock in Episode 421, knows that there is a new upgrade model of the Neverlate clock.  Does Dick know?

"Dan, Dan, Dan," sighs Dick, "what do you think this is, sitting on my shelf right here?".  "Who do you take us for, complete amateurs?" Leo chips in.

The original Neverlate clock features a 7-day alarm schedule (different alarm time for each day).  The new Neverlate  Executive Alarm Clock, retaining the same 5" cube body design, can best be summarised as a 2x 7-Day Alarm Clock, as it allows you to set two 7-day alarm schedules, for you and your significant other.  Plus 7 extra independently configurable alarms in addition to the two banks of 7-day alarms.  The alarms can be set as one of 4 buzzers and 20 preset FM/AM radio stations.  You can also use the clock as speakers and charger for your MP3 Player via the USB port, too.  The best feature for Dick remains the nap timer fuction - one of his all-time favourites was the Westclox Nap Timer (Episode 40).

Power Needs
Dick has heard about the power cut during the ice storm in Kentucky and thinks the folks there could do with his Honda Super Quiet Generator (Episode 69).

In the Year 2020
Dick and Leo talked about doing podasts in 2020 (in Episode 750), and Tobias Robinson has some gadget suggestions, including 4D glasses and the morphing Smart Spork.

A Riddle from Leo
"What gets wetter as you get drier?" Leo asks, hoping to stump Dick.  "Leo, Leo, Leo.  Who do you take me for, a complete amateur?" - should have been Dick's riposte.  Instead, he quips, "A sponge?"

Next Recording Session
Note the change of schedule.  Dick will be off to the Miami Boat Show this week, and the next recording session has been brought forward to Monday (today) at 15.15 (Pacific time) or 18.15 Eastern time.  Dick and Leo will do 6 shows including the 3rd Anniversary show for 20th February 2009.


Listen to Episode 761
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Dick asked listeners on the TWiT Army to write in about their New Year Resolutions.  Here are some: that everyone gets a SpearHat (Episode 537); to quit smoking; to be debt-free; to watch a lot more TWiTLive: to keep the stress down to avoid the migraines; to spend more time with real people and less time on the computer; to help with a public service organisation; to stop buying any more yarn for 6 months; to eat less candy-coated chocolate and more broccoli; to learn Russian; to get a job that allows him to get the DGW gadgets plus a pair of Converse sneakers every month; to get a Titanium Spork (Episode 182) and a Toothpick Bird (Episode 282); to buy Good Days and Mad and get an audio book version of it; and never to have a New Year Resolution.

Twitter Offer
Leo offered a trip to France to anyone who decided to follow him.  Dick thinks Leo should have added, "Transportation not included."

Withdrawal Symptoms
When Leo was away, Dick missed doing the show, and had to go on Stickam.


Listen to Episode 734
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Ever since Leo discovered the Tom Bihn Western Flyer (Episode 522), he's been very happy with it (and used it on his Tasmania trip - see Episode 539), and so has Dick.  One of the latest models from Tom Bihn is the Checkpoint Flyer, a TSA-compliant laptop bag which is designed to give the X-ray machine a clear view of the laptop while it's still even the bag.  The Laptop Case itself can be flipped open very easily.  It is securely attached to the main Briefcase while it can also be removed and carried on its own.  The Laptop Case comes in 4 sizes (corresponding to Apple's different notebook models).  If you have more than one laptop that you travel with, you can also purchase additional Laptop Cases and swap when necessary.

Apart from the Laptop Case itself, the main Briefcase contains many flaps and organisational pockets, some on the outside of the Briefcase for easy access.  Designed and manufactured in the US.

As with other Tom Bihn bags, you can accessorise the bag with shoulder straps, and other packing units, such as the Freudian Slips and Packing Cubes.  Surely listener Robert Alexander from last Friday (Episode 715) cannot resist the Checkpoint Flyer.

Missing Laptops
Over 10,000 laptops per week and over 600,000 a year are reported lost at US airports.

Toothpick Ballerina
Ton Ton Yulo from Manila, the Philippines, aka Commando Smurf, found, in his grandmother's drawer, the Toothpick Ballerina.  He reckons that she must have bought it on her trip to Italy in the 1960s.

It would appear that the Toothpick Ballerina was made by Alessi, and designed by Andrea Branzi in 1991.  Made of pear-wood, it has a chrome-plated ballerina figure who performs an arabesque to pick up a toothpick from the opened drawer.  Same idea as Leo's Toothpick Bird (Episode 282), perhaps a little more elegant.  Ton Ton has sent Leo a video demo of the Ballerina.




Listen to Episode 717
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A heads-up from a listener, Charles from Berkeley, California.  No need to worry about your shopping cart with your child sitting in it rolling down the slope.  At one end of the CartStopper is a giant suction cup, connected to a bungee cord with a hook at the other end which you attach to the shopping cart.  The device is strong enough to hold in place a full shopping cart with a child in it.

Leo thinks the CartStopper might be another Purseguard (Episode 406).  That's not going to please Shopping Mom Dyanne who designed the device!

CES 2009 Preview
Dick was at the CES 2009 Preview last week.  CES has to hold a preview in order to announce the CES awards in January.

Busy Bee
Busy Bee Ludwik Trammer is at work again.  He has some ideas for Dick's site, and is going to show Dick on Go To Meeting.  By the way, Giz Wiz Search now has a new .com URL: www.gizwizsearch.com.

The Joy of Gadgets
The Kodak Disc Camera (Episode 690) brings back fond memories of a strong and vibrant company for Brent [Cascamenti] from Rochester, New York, who has been working for Kodak as an electrical engineer for 27 years.  Brent has been a faithful listener since Episode 1, and thanks Dick and Leo for bringing him the joy of gadgets.

Skunk Works
Brent uses the word "Skunk Works" in his letter, which Leo explains to Dick, with a little help from Wikipedia, first used by Lockheed Martin in 1938.  The name has its origin in Al Capp's comic strip L'il Abner.

Dick's Thanksgiving
No small talk for Dick's party at Thanksgiving, where his pineapple upside down cake is de rigueur (in addition to the gravy of course).  For more on Dick's Thanksgiving celebrations, go back to Episode 199.  Whenever Dick misses his Thanksgiving fare, he can go to "Good Enough To Eat", all year round.  This is also the restaurant Dick took Leo for a huge breakfast when Leo was in New York (listen to the beginning of Episode 334).

Ready for TTTT
Leo had numerous ideas for last week's TTTT (see Episode 697), but only after the recording had ended.  This time, he's ready.


Listen to Episode 701
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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
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