The Gadget Report
Just in time for CES, I’ve launched a new Gadget News show called The Gadget Report at GadgetReport.TV. I’m using the first couple episodes to work out my workflow and attempt to get it up to speed by Monday.
There are a couple major challenges I have being on camera. So far, my biggest problem is bringing enough energy to my presentation. My natural speaking voice is very soft. I kick it up when I talk to strangers. I have to kick it up even more when I talk through a camera. It’s a matter of practice. I’ll get there quick enough. The other challenge for me is a tendency to talk with my hands. People found it distracting on episode 1, especially since my hands don’t necessarily relate to what I’m saying. 
In episode 2, which I’m editing now, I calm my hands. It turns out, though, there is some degree of correlation between how much my hands move and the amount of energy I put in my voice. It will be interesting to see if anyone notices that.
When you watch the first episode, I hope you’ll be reminded of the spirit and humor of GeekBrief.TV, and I hope you’ll get a sense of where I’m going with the show. I’m starting with a look back at some of my favorite gadgets, in different categories, from the last year. Tomorrow, I’ll start covering CES remotely the way we did with GeekBrief.TV.
I’m a pretty harsh self-critic, and I have to read the advice Ira Glass from This American Life gives to creatives from time to time …
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” -Ira Glass
Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.
The first few episodes of The Gadget Report will have flaws, but they’ll give you a taste of what I’ve imagined. It will take a bit of time to work out a workflow that isn’t interminable. I like making extremely produced shows. That takes a lot of time. Episode 1 took at least 20 hours to post-produce. I’m building template elements that are already helping me speed things up. My goal is for it to take six hours from writing to upload. It may take months to get to that point. I expect to release an episode approximately every other day.
If you haven’t seen the first episode of GadgetReport.TV, please watch it now and help me spread the word. Subscribe and give thumbs up at Youtube, and then subscribe in iTunes once it’s available there as a podcast later this week! I appreciate you giving it a shot and need your help in matchmaking the show with the audience that will enjoy it!
The script and transparent .png files of gadgets I cover will be available at GadgetReport.TV / episode number, so for example the script and images for episode 1 of The Gadget Report is at GadgetReport.TV/1.
Read MoreNesting Knives: Space Saving Design
I love design and I love to cook. I’m known for sharing electronic gadget finds, but I’m on a constant personal hunt for kick-ass kitchen gadgets.
The Deglon Meeting Knife set is cleverly designed to save space in the kitchen. Four stainless steel knives of diminishing proportions nest inside from largest to smallest. There’s a 3 1/4-inch paring knife, a 5 1/4-inch utility knife, an 8-inch chef knife, and an 8 3/4-inch slicer. All four knives nest in in a block of stainless steel.
Designed by Mia Schmallenbach, the set won first prize in the 5th European Cutlery Design Awards. Press down on the blade of a knife and the handle lifts up so you can safely remove it from its nest. The Deglon Meeting Knife set a perfect example of design that unifies form and function into that takes up less space than just my chef’s knife.
The set is expensive though. Retail prices $1,000. Amazon sells it for $858.59. That’s not too much to pay for knives, but if I was spending that much, I’d buy carbon steel knives forged by Bob Kramer. If I could only keep 10 things I own, one would be my 10-inch Bob Kramer chef’s knife.
Read MoreHidden Radio and Bluetooth Speaker
Early in the days of GeekBrief.TV, when we had quit the day job to produce the show full-time, I had a need that wasn’t being met by any available technology. I used the show to lobby for wireless speakers that could be placed around a house or an apartment so whatever podcast I played in iTunes would fill the place.
I designed this cube inspired by Tivoli Audio’s Model One as the form factor I wanted.
And then when Griffin Technologies had their Evolve wireless speakers ready, they invited us to preview them at their HQ in Nashville.
We learned about the problems engineers had to overcome to make wireless work without lag and asynchronicity. Those issues have been conquered and now wireless speakers work great. My favorite wireless speaker technology is made by Soundcast. Good stuff.
Industrial Designers, John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen and Vitor Santa Maria have surpassed a goal on Kickstarter to manufacture a gorgeously designed Bluetooth wireless speaker and radio where the whole top is a giant volume knob. About the size of a giant coffee mug, the hidden speaker has a rechargeable battery providing 30-hours of streaming audio.
Gigantic iPhone / iPod Dock: Behringer iNuke Boom
During the production of GeekBrief.TV I wrote about some weird and wacky gadgets. I’m not sure any of them top this. This is one of those products so over-the-top in every way I checked the calendar to verify I didn’t oversleep all the way to April 1st!
The BEHRINGER iNuke Boom will pump 10,000 Watts of concert quality audio into your room of choice. Certainly nothing wrong with that sales pitch! The press release says you get this loud concert quality audio at a great value! The economy’s bad so that sounds super duper! It’s released under the new sub-brand BEHRINGER is calling Eurosound. Eurosound audio products will have modern, European design combined with BEHRINGER’s audio engineering chops. I LOVE me some modern design and great engineering! GIVE ME the DETAILS!
This thing is 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall. It weighs 700 pounds. Notice the scale? See that little iPhone docked at the top? As for that great value? $29,999.99!
This isn’t a gadget. It’s furniture!
The gigantic boom box will be unveiled at CES 2010. Here’s the press release to prove I’m not kidding!
Read More
Case for a Cause iPad Case
What do you get the person in your life who has everything? If having everything includes an iPad, Case for a Cause is a great gift idea. It’s an iPad case handmade by women in the Tian-Shan mountains of central Asia who have escaped abuse, forced prostitution and human trafficking. Profits go to the women so they can improve their lives and maintain independence. Everyone involved in making the cases available other than the women is an unpaid volunteer.
Each case is hand-stitched and made from wool felt featuring traditional Kyrgyz embroidery. The cases are lined with dublerine to protect the screen. This a video explaining the project.
