Jumping Jehosephat!

CBS News Technologist "Digital Dan" Dubno reviews the latest gift ideas.

Look around you, Mr. Man-Of-The-House: Were you truly wined and dined on our "very special day"? Did you even dominate the TV remote control on that sacred occasion: the holiday celebrating filial and uxorial love? Not in my house, that's for sure!

Shakespeare observed: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!" Clarence Darrow, on the other hand, may have gone too far: "The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children."

The lesson here is that if your thankless kids and spouse failed to get you what you wanted for Fathers' Day, get it yourself.

There comes a time when man must cast aside his childish toys - to replace them with much better ones. Here are a couple of excellent post-Fathers' Day gifts:

Vurtego Pogo Stick

If you had a pogo stick, as a kid, but found bouncing up and down kind of dull, the Vurtego is a quantum leap. This is the most extreme pogo stick ever made; an experience not for the faint-of-heart. Unlike the spring-toys you knew decades ago, father and son team Bruce and Brian Spencer created this pneumatically driven unit. Pressurized using a standard air pump, once you calibrate the stick, you're in for a heck of a bounce.

This pogo is ultra-light (under 10 pounds) and definitely NOT designed for the newbie. (Macho dude and dudette: You had better know how to pogo before you attempt Vurtego.) Nevertheless, with some skills, a helmet, and no fear, you can set world records with this high-bouncing phenomenon. Good Vurtego jumpers leap over parked cars and other urban artifacts. You have to see this high-flying gift in action. Available in three sizes with a suggested price of $349.

What better tribute for dear old Dad than immortalizing his bold visage on an official U.S. postage stamp? Turn digital images into custom postage with PhotoStamps. I uploaded several pictures onto the website, selected the postage value, and a few days later, genuine postage with my chosen images arrived in the mail.

What can be more joyous than to send envelopes to bill collectors with stamps showing how far you can stick your tongue out? You do pay a premium for customizing your postage and prices vary depending on the value of the stamps you purchase. Still, they're great for customized invitations and the usual thoughtful self-promotion!

Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital Elph

Ok, I surrender! Canon's latest Digital Elph Power Shot SD700 IS has all the features we deserve in a tiny camera: An image-stabilized 4X optical zoom lens capturing 6 Mega Pixel pictures. I love the 16:9 widescreen option to display photos or videos across the full screen area of the newer monitors and televisions.

This ultra-portable camera is elegant and solid. The screen is comparatively huge and camera operation is simple. New ISO 800 settings allow high-speed blur-free pictures. Good glass on the lenses… good image processing behind the scenes… and image stabilizing features significantly improved the pictures I took with this lovely handful. About $450, street price.

The trusting folks at Canon (oh, so innocent, so forgiving, so optimisitic!) actually lent us the waterproof housing (WP-DC5) for this SD700 camera. It's hard for me to believe they forgot about the time, several months ago, we tried out a less lovely Canon digital camera in the appropriate waterproof case, only to discover a tiny thread broke the watertight seal. Well, what happens in such situations is fascinating: camera + salt-water = burned-out wreck.

I like the design of this new waterproof housing and do not intend to repeat my drenching experience on the precious SD 700. But, I decided to wait to do the underwater test until after I show you the nice camera just to be sure. (Waterproof case: about $165.)

LukWerks: Digital Video Surveillance System

What do you get for the guy who has everything? Something to watch it all. I was impressed by a new digital video surveillance system by LukWerks. The starter kit comes with an elegant brushed metal camera, power supply, and receiver. (Most video surveillance kits, in sharp contrast, look too ugly to place in a home.)

Attach the camera to a window and plug the camera into a standard electrical socket. The LukWerks system transmits a live videostream through your existing electrical wiring to a receiver attached to your home computer. The software allows you to use your computer as a video-server so you can remotely view up to six live cameras anywhere via the Internet. You can even set the software to email you when motion is detected by one of the cameras. Starter kit is $299 and additional cameras are about $250.

Toshiba HD DVD Qosmio G35-AV650

Last week, we showed you Samsung's stand alone Blu-ray high definition video player, the first of its kind commercially introduced in the United States. So, this week, we raise the ante by unveiling the first notebook computer that also plays high definition DVDs. Toshiba's brand new Qosmio G35-AV650 supports the competing high-definition DVD "flavor": HD DVD. Watch astounding pre-recorded high def DVD movies in gorgeous 1080P on the crisp and bright 17-inch diagonal screen (1920 X 1200 resolution.) If you prefer, output high definition video at 1080i using the HDMI connection to larger displays (like flat screens or projectors.)

This Toshiba notebook also plays standard legacy DVDs, of course. Sadly, the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats remain incompatible. Since these high definition DVD players are only now coming to market, there are relatively few titles available for either standard. Movie studios publicists continue to insist floodgates will soon pour forth a torrent of high-definition content and I'm too weary to debate them any longer.

Obviously, early adopters will be the first courageous ones to grab HD DVD machines like this Toshiba. But, they'll also be getting an impressive array of features not found in the laptop of yesteryear: First, the speedy Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 (a 2.0GHz powerhouse.) There's 200 GB of storage (on two 100 GB 5400 rpm hard drives) plus a very ample NVIDIA GeForce G0 7600 graphics card.

With Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center 2005, a TV tuner, and a remote, this "portable" notebook is a complete entertainment center. Naturally it also features a wide array of communications methods (WiFi, Bluetooth, IR, etc.) and a host of memory slots for various digital media.

When I suggest this device is "portable," obviously not many folks (other than Olympic weightlifters) are likely to lug a 17" computer around. But, Toshiba's new HD DVD laptop is an exciting entry and I would be delighted to get a hernia just to finally watch movies in high definition. I suppose, I'll repeat the same HD DVD movie we have (starring Tom Cruise and a very sharp sword) over and over again until the "floodgates" truly open.

This lovely Toshiba notebook (really a portable media super-station) lists for $2,999.

Suunto's G6 Golf Watch

When I was stuck in the crush of traffic going to the US Open last week, I remembered the sagacious words of the old golf pro who once attempted to teach me the fundamentals. Half an hour into his patient tutoring, the wise man of the green finally took the clubs away and said, "Son, let's face it, some people just can't play golf." For the more coordinated who do, Suunto's G6 Golf Watch may be the right tool to perfect your swing.

This new watch actually evaluates your golf swing using three internal wrist sensors to improve consistency and timing. After each swing, golfers can check their "tempo, rhythm, backswing length and speed." The watch measures wrist movement 200 times per second to provide instant feedback after each shot.

To give the Suunto G6 a fair test, we went to Gizmorama's chief golfing consultant, Jay Fishkin of CBS News, and lent him the watch. Tough, yet fair, Jay spent many a day on the links testing this contraption and his verdict: A whole lot of love, but a little wistfulness. The watch did a great job measuring the three major elements needed to play better golf: tempo, rhythm, and speed of strokes. Knowing the speed and tempo of his swing did significantly improve his consistency.

Jay had a few minor complaints: the watch featured too many modes and sub modes, making navigation and control of the watch cumbersome. He was less enamored of the scorekeeping functions and found it difficult to transition between modes (practice, test, or game mode) without losing data. But our golf expert eagerly indicated he "would like to continue strenuous testing of the G6 indefinitely" so Suunto's G6 Golf Watch seems an ideal gift for the techno-savvy player who wants to improve his game.

The watch comes in two flavors: standard (for $399) and a "Pro version" (including a leather band plus USB cable and software to download results and chart performance) for $499.

XM Sportscaster

Advanced Global Technology and XM Satellite Radio teamed up to provide an inexpensive receiver and car kit for the sports radio enthusiast. Pre-tuned to 30 sports channels, the XM Sportscaster can also access all 160 of the XM Satellite Radio's commercial-free programming.

With a built-in FM transmitter, you can listen to the XM Sportscaster on your existing car radio, without rewiring. Everything a sports fan needs to get satellite radio from XM is in the box: antenna, power adapter, mounting units, etc. Everything, except the $12 monthly XM subscription, that is.

Violight Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer

Your toothbrush cleans your teeth but what cleans your toothbrush? Well, I always thought hot water in the sink was good enough. A 2002 report on oral health by the Center for Disease Control points out that "…a common recommendation is to rinse one's toothbrush thoroughly with tap water following brushing. Limited research has suggested that even after being rinsed visibly clean, toothbrushes can remain contaminated with potentially pathogenic organisms." Uh oh. So, if you really want to kill 99.9% of the bacteria and microorganisms that live on your toothbrush, what can you do?

For the fastidious, Violight manufactures a series of products that sterilize the toothbrush by subjecting the bristles to a germicidal UV light. Now, Violight has developed a portable toothbrush cleaner that sterilizes it "on the go." Actually, the sterilization takes place "on the glow:" the lovely ultra violet light shines for a timed 7 minutes, presumably eliminating all the nasty pathogens threatening your oral safety.

Since I quoted the CDC report cited above, in good conscience, their findings continue: "Various means of cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing toothbrushes between uses have been developed. To date, however, no published research data documents that brushing with a contaminated toothbrush has led to recontamination of a user's mouth, oral infections, or other adverse health effects." Nevertheless, this portable Violight toothbrush cleaner is perfect for people who prefer an abundance of protection. Price: $53