The Gadgets Page

I LOVE toothbrush technology and I love to talk about the changes and advances that they have made with just a simple brush to clean teeth. It looks like Dave Kellett feels the same way.

• Sheldonâ„¢ Comic Strip: Daily Webcomic by Dave Kellett

My favorite is this one with the tilted head:

The Tilted Head: Doing what apparently your wrist couldn’t do before? Bend 10°?

I guess Dave hasn’t seen the commercial. You CAN’T get to those back teeth unless you have a Reach toothbrush or a flip-top head!

• Gadgets Page » 1946 Squibb Angle Pre-dates the Reach Toothbrush By 40 Years

I have enjoyed watching the Toothbrush Wars over the years. I find them far more entertaining than anything you could find on reality television. It’s nice to know Dave Kellett is right there watching with me!

The ever-exuberant NakedJen gave me this awesome retro Vibramassager for my birthday this year!

I sometimes forget how OLD vibrator technology is. This item doesn’t have a date on it, but the font alone just screams early sixties.

For more information on the history of vibrators:

• A history of the vibrator. – By Teresa Riordan – Slate Magazine

• Slow driving through Yellowstone has got my mileage up to 46 mpg! Prius FTW! http://twitpic.com/5ehin #

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I found this ad from the Found in Mom’s Basement blog. It’s from 1969 and it really reminded me what it was like before the iPod.

It reads:

Why one out of four people into our music is onto our Stereo 8 Tapes.

Superb sound wherever you go.

Whether your head’s with the Airplane or Feliciano or the Original Broadway Cast of “Hair,” our Stereo 8 Cartridge Tapes get it right on – with sound that’s almost like you’re sitting in the studio at the original session.

Stereo 8 Tapes go where you go. A half-dozen cartidges fit in a glove compartment, trench coat, overnight case. They give you up to 80 minutes of uninterrupted music and instant push-pull operation.

Good reasons why one out of four people listening to our music today is listening to the Stereo 8 Tape.

Shouldn’t you be the one?

Just imagine! 80 minutes of uninterrupted music. Instead of 80 GB (or approximately 40,000 minutes), it was only 80 minutes.

Those 8-Track Decks had STYLE, though! Check out the eject on this one:

IKEA has great products for gadgets, but this Mackis stationery caddy is so versatile that it can be used to create a charging station.

The Mackis comes unpainted and since you are putting it together, you can choose to put it together like this instead.

You do need to saw one part into three and add two strategically placed holes. With a little white paint and corkboard, you have a perfect charging station for your gadgets all for less than twenty bucks!

More photos here: ikea hacker: A compact Mackis charging station

I found an ad for a top-loading portable dishwasher from Kitchen Aid on Flickr. You can see the full ad here:

• Kitchen Aid Dishwasher Ad on Flickr

I understand the appeal of top-loading because there is no way that water can leak and spill all over your kitchen floor. Anyone who has had a dishwasher with that problem understands the desire to contain that potential mess.

The CAPACITY, however is so low! Imagine only being able to wash ten plates and six glasses! No pots or pans, just service for six (or so).

I’m sure that front loading dishwashers came into existence so they could be installed under counters, not because of their limited dish capacity. They must have been around for only a short amount of time, because I’ve never seen a top-loading dishwasher in my life. Honestly, I’ve only ever seen two portable dishwashers, period.

What was once a “fashion” or a luxury, has now become a housing staple. My first apartment didn’t have a dishwasher, but I’m sure it does now. It surprises me how quickly gadgets advance within one lifetime.

Mom needed a heating pad, so she went downstairs to borrow Carol’s. When I saw what was in her hands, I attacked her so I could take photos of it.

Based on the illustrated sun on the box, it looks like it was bought in the 60’s or 70’s. Back then, it only cost $4.95 at Grand Central.

Heating pads haven’t changed over the years. This design is very similar to the one I have under my bed right now.

It’s surprising to me how some gadgets can last so long while others become obsolete and unusable after a short amount of time. Long after we die, our heating pads can still warm the backs of our children.

You can see all the photos here:

• Carol’s Retro Heating Pad – a set on Flickr

For the longest time, I used the Xtreme Mac Microblast next to my bed with my first generation iPod Nano. There was plenty of room on the 1GB drive to load up a few relaxing songs to lull me to sleep. Two iPods and an iPhone later, however, it was showing its age. The speakers buzzed and screeched something horrible, so I finally retired the Microblast and started using my iPhone next to my bed with a binder clip stand.

When I found the Cyber Acoustics Docking Speakers, however, it was love at first site.

I use it with my iPhone, and although I DO miss the landscape version of Night Stand, I love having my iPhone right next to my bed.

My biggest problem is that I have a VERY narrow night stand, so most of the normal sized iPod docks just don’t fit. Even the very small JBL On Stage Micro is too large. The Cyber Acoustics is just the right size to sit on my tiny night stand and give me enough sound for a soothing playlist of music.

I only paid 39 bucks for it at FYE, so I was worried that it would have cheap speakers that hiss and squeal, but instead, they are quiet and only make noise when I want them to.

The Cyber Acoustics isn’t an alarm clock or clock radio. It is ONLY speakers for an iPod or iPhone. Most iPods, including my 2nd generation iPod Nano, have a time and alarm feature of their own, so you don’t actually NEED a clock, display or alarm. You can even set them to play a specific playlist instead of an annoying beep.

I set my iPhone playing a soothing meditation track before I load up Night Stand and let it lull me to sleep every night. It works perfectly for that. In the morning, I’m awakened to a track I recorded using Garage Band of my dog barking.

I’ve owned my speakers for a few months now. I waited to write a review because I was worried that the speakers would get old and start making an irritating noise, but over the months, they have stayed quiet. I am now completely willing to say that I am totally in love with my Cyber Acoustic Speaker Dock. I hope you like them, too!

I’ve seen lots of these kind of food cutting devices, like the Slap Chop, on television. I’ve even seen the original Slap Chop commercial, which was a typical infomercial with little to show for it. This remix of the commercial, however, is freakin’ AWESOME!!

I have watched this video at least five times now. I love the line, “Stop having boring tuna.” I know it’s a line straight from the commercial, but it sounds SO much better in the song. THIS is what should be on television, not the original commercial.

Wouldn’t you be more likely to buy the Slap Chop with a cool commercial like that?!

The original commercial is here:

• RT @drford: Re #Kindle 2 vs DX purchase: just realized how screwed I’d be if used 4 college texts & *anything* went wrong. Going 4 K2. #

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