Ultra Cool Gadgets

There’s nothing better than slow-cooked barbecue. And, there’s no better way to get authentic smokehouse flavor at home than with the Smokey Mountain Cooker/Smoker. Perfect for large gatherings, it’s easy to cook a whole turkey and an entire ham at the same time in this roomy charcoal smoker. So there’s no need to plunge straight into ham prep when you still haven’t recovered from baking the turkey. Made of premium-grade steel, the smoker has two, triple-nickel-plated cooking grates measuring 18-1/2 inches in diameter-plenty of room for larger birds. Individual vents on the bowl and lid offer optimal air-flow control for tender meats and longer-burning charcoal. Rust-resistant aluminum vents and an aluminum fuel door ensure years of clean use. The bowl and lid are coated with porcelain enamel for optimal corrosion resistance. And, a porcelain-enameled water pan adds steam to the cooking process, so meats stay moist and juicy. Maintenance-free, glass-reinforced, nylon handles withstand the elements for the life of this innovative charcoal grill. The Smoky Mountain measures 41 by 19 by 19 inches, and rests easily on a park bench or patio.
Customer feedback:
1. The Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) is really the king of the bullet smokers. You may be tempted to go with a cheaper Brinkmann model, and if your budget just can’t afford the WSM, then you can do some perfectly acceptable bbq on the brinkmann. But if you can afford the extra for the WSM, you will get much better temperature control, and getting good temperature control means you can keep a good consistent low temperature for doing some truly outstanding smoke cooking.
I am by no means an expert on the subject, only having used my WSM about 10 times. Even so, I have been getting results better than any ribs I have tasted at any restaurant (with the exception of real honest to goodness BBQ joints that cook over hardwood for 12 hours plus…). You can tell real barbecue because it has a pink smoke ring in the meat, which I always get when I use the WSM.
2. If you’re in the market for your first barbecue cooker, or if you currently own an inexpensive cooker that’s frustrating and difficult to use, consider purchasing the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (WSM). At home in the backyard and on the barbecue competition circuit, the WSM is not the cheapest cooker on the market today, but it’s quality and ease of use make it an excellent value. It benefits from the same quality construction, materials, and customer service as all Weber products, and it’s superior design makes it very easy to use.
One of the keys to success in creating great barbecue is being able to control the temperature of your cooker. This is critical when cooking “low and slow” barbecue for 10 to 12 hours or longer, for example when making beef brisket or pork shoulder. This is where the WSM really shines! Unlike other cookers, you don’t have to babysit the WSM to maintain a low, consistent cooking temperature. A good airtight design and a series of adjustable air vents make precise temperature control and adjustment extremely simple. You control the cooker, it doesn’t control you!

Product features:

* Outdoor charcoal cooker/smoker; capacity to smoke a whole turkey and a whole ham simultaneously
* Bowl and lid made of premium-grade steel; coated with porcelain enamel; won’t rust or fade
* 2 triple-nickel-plated, 18-1/2-inch-diameter cooking grates; rust-resistant aluminum vents and fuel door
* Measures 41 by 19 by 19 inches; 10-year limited warranty

Chefs, start your grills. You can have red-hot coals in a matter of minutes by following three steps: load your coals into this aluminized steel chimney starter, light a fire, and place the starter over the fire. The Weber chimney starter is extra large, holding enough briquettes for indirect or direct fire on a 22-1/2-inch kettle grill. A stay-cool thermoplastic handle and a wire foldout handle let you move the starter safely.

Customer Feedback:
1. I have used other chimney starters, and in fact have even written favorable reviews for another model on this site. Well that was before I broke down and bought the Weber model.
I love this chimney starter, it really is better than the others.
- charcoal capacity seems greater than other brands
- The coals get going an glowing faster than with the other model
- Fire has not yet “gone out” (sometimes with other brands I have had to put in more newspaper and start over, or relight the newspaper.)
- the extra handle that swings up to make it more stable when you are dumping the hot coals is a nice feature.
2. Other than that little metal piece overlapping the handle, this is a great chimney. That piece is for your second hand to stabilize the thing while you are pouring the coals out. It gets in the way more than it helps though. This chimney is slightly wider than others I have used and has the air holes up and down the sides. These air holes get the fire going quickly. I think every fire I have started with this thing has only taken one match unlike my experiences with other chimneys that have taken 2 or 3 rounds of lightings to get it going.

Product Details:

* Chimney starter system lights charcoal faster and easier
* Durable aluminized steel construction
* Stay cool thermoplastic handle adds safety
* Extra large capacity–holds enough briquettes for a 22-1/2-inch kettle grill
* Greatly reduces the amount of time it takes for coals to get ready

Turn your video iPod into a portable, pocket-sized recording studio with the XtremeMac MicroMemo. It plugs into your iPod to record interviews, meetings, lectures, or any audio content directly to your iPod. Capture audio using the flexible, detachable mic–or another type of microphone with a 3.5mm-plug, like our MemoMic lapel microphone or a stereo or condenser mic. MicroMemo also records directly from a computer or soundboard via line-in capabilities. This model comes in black, but it’s also available in white.
Recording time is displayed on your iPod screen in real-time, and the built-in speaker allows you to listen to your recordings instantly–without earbuds. But if you want to connect them, MicroMemo also allows access to the headphone port. Managing recordings is easy too: your recordings are saved as files that import into iTunes at CD-quality. From there, you can edit the audio in programs like Garage Band, or import as a soundtrack to a home movie, slideshow or presentation.

Customer reviews:
1. I frequently record interviews as part of my job as a magazine editor; they’re a drag to transcribe, but it was a bigger drag before I started using digital recorders. The MicroMemo has performed extremely well on “mission critical” recordings in the field.
2. I purchased this a week before my college classes started this quarter, primarily to record lectures. It is past the half way point of the quarter, and I am pleased with the results. Recording is easy; just snap it on the bottom of the iPod and the recording menu will automatically show up. From there you have an option of recording in either high or low quality.
Personally, I did not find any great difference in quality, but there is a significant difference in the power consumption (with the high quality mode sucking almost all the battery power of my 30gb iPod video when recording for 80 minutes), and file size (low quality mode records at about 2.5 mb/min) between the two options.
My class lectures are 80 minutes long, and I had no problem with battery life. In fact, I am able to record 3 of these lectures in one day, as well as walk around campus using my iPod, and still have about a quarter of the battery life left.

MicroMemo records in 2 different quality levels: Low (default) and High.

* 1-minute recording size: 2.6 MB (low); 10.3 MB (high)
* 1-hour recording size: 156 MB (low); 618 MB (high)
* Recording capacity (30GB iPod): 192 Hours (low); 48 Hours (high)
* Recording capacity (60GB iPod): 384 Hours (low); 98 Hours (high)

Feature details:

* Record interviews, meetings, lectures, or any audio content directly to your video iPod
* Flexible, detachable mic for exact positioning
* Menus and controls display on iPod screen
* Accepts other microphones with 3.5mm plug; records directly from line-in sources
* Compatibility: iPod Video

The iBeam turns your iPod into a combination flashlight/laser pointer, which is a handy combo for people who take their iPods everywhere. The package actually consists of two different attachments, both of which fit into an iPod’s headphone and remote ports (they only work with docking models, including the iPod mini). Griffin recommends using the iBeam flashlight to find keys in the dark or to locate a keyhole when the porch light is off, while the laser pointer makes a good business aid during presentations. The accessories are compact and smooth, with shapes that seamlessly complement the iPod’s contemporary design.
Both the flashlight and the laser pointer are easy to use–simply snap on and point. They’re also free of buttons and switches, turning on when connected and turning off when removed. And because they draw their power from the iPod itself, users don’t need to worry about batteries.
Customer reviews:
1. As the description says, the small efficiently designed little “sub-pods” pop right onto the top, offering either a medium bright flashlight or a red laser pointer. As a university teacher, I am frequently involved in presentation situations where I am in the back of a darkened room commenting on Powerpoint or other computer images. Since I often use my iPod in the class as well, the flashlight is a perfect momentary plug-in to check notes. The laser is useful and works well, allowing me to focus attention on areas of a painting, image, map, or text with ease.
2. I put the lanterns on my car key chain. It’s convenient, and the torch or flash light really comes in handy in places like Disney World or the road at night when looking at maps: focused light is better than overhead car light. Also, the torch or flash light is brighter than is generally credited. It will not work as a fully functional lantern, but if it’s dark enough to warrant a lamp, you can see the ground with 20/20 vision.

Product Features:

* Separate flashlight and laser pointer accessories for iPod use
* Handy flashlight attachment helps find items in poorly lit areas
* Class IIIa laser pointer assists in business presentations
* Includes pair of snap-on caps that attach to keychains
* Compatibility: iPod mini, iPod (3rd and 4th gen), iPod Photo (4th gen)