Sadly, Billy passed away this Sunday at his Tampa home. Autopsy reports showed that Billy suffered from heart disease. His sudden and untimely death at only age 50 shocked those of us who were lucky enough to meet Billy and experience his larger-than-life personality.

Born just minutes from InventHelp’s headquarters, Billy Mays grew up in McKees Rocks, Pa. He developed his unique pitching style on the boardwalk in Atlantic City before moving on to home show circuits, where crowds were drawn to Billy’s infectious spirit and genial manner. In the mid-1990s, Billy met Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh and soon found himself hawking the environmentally friendly line on the Home Shopping Network.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl recalls seeing Billy Mays pitch OxiClean and I instantly liked his jovial style and “thumbs-up” exuberance. Recently, I religiously watched his Discovery Channel show Pitchmen on Wednesday nights. Billy’s natural charisma was on full display in the show, and it was clear that he genuinely wanted to make people’s dreams come true. “I enjoy what I do,” he told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I think it shows.”

InventHelp and Gadget Girl extend our deepest sympathies to the Mays family and Billy’s friends and colleagues. With Billy’s tragic passing, the invention community lost a great advocate and his one-of-a-kind style will be missed by all.

Sure, trinkets and mementos from love lost can be hard to let go. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl won’t go into gory details, but let’s just say I’ve had a few teary sessions with a pint of ice cream while listening to the local light FM radio station! But after a while, rings, bracelets, watches and other fine jewelry from the ex can lose sentimental value and instead bring on painful memories. So, why not trade them in for a big, fat check?

OutOfYourLife.com will send lovelorn ladies an official “Break-Up Box” (the interior is lined with the words “You’re Better Off”), which can then be filled with gifts from He Who Shall Not Be Named and sent off in a pre-paid envelope. Outofyourlife.com will send a check for the value of the goods, which can be used to buy brand new jewelry (or more ice cream).

Blog readers: Do you think this website invention devalues a relationship or exploits a guy? Certainly these are questions to be considered. The way InventHelp’s Gadget Girl sees it, break-ups are highly personal and complex, and there’s more than one way to deal with the pain. The more inventions to help folks deal with it, the better!

Vacuuming is, of course, a regular part of my cleaning routine. One thing I’ve always hated about traditional vacuums is changing the vacuum bag. It seems like no matter how hard I try, I always wind up getting a big puff of dust in the face! Frustrated, I searched online for a vacuum that could eliminate my dust-bowl woes and found one to put to the test.

Hoover’s Platinum Lightweight Bagged Upright with Canister promises a self-sealing bag so dust, cat fur and other dirty tidbits stay in the bag and off my face. And guess what – it works! Plus, the bags are produced from HEPA media, which traps 99.97% of dirt, dust and pollens down to 0.3 microns.
This upright vacuum weighs only 12 pounds, so it’s easy to transport from room to room. Like all compact uprights, the vacuum sacrifices a little power for portability. But, for day-to-day cleaning, it’s got enough gusto to deal with the dirt.

The best part of the Hoover? A Ghostbusters-style portable canister with a crevice tool, dusting brush and hard floor attachment is included for hard-surface and above-floor cleaning needs.

Let’s see: no dirt in the face and I get to jam out to the Ghostbusters theme song while I remove cobwebs! InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has to give this vacuum the thumbs-up. The upright retails for $399.99 at Hoover.com and at retailers like Target, Best Buy and JC Penney.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl would like to buy a new cell phone every six months, but since I love my gadgets so much I tend to take good care of them. With today’s tight budgets, it’s hard to justify a new phone when I can wait it out and get a great discount when my contract is up.

Obvious contenders include the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold, and then there’s newcomer Palm Pre. How does the Palm Pre stack up against these Goliaths? Pretty well, according to reviews.

The interface and operating systems are meaty enough to earn respect, and make emailing and flipping through applications a breeze. The Pre’s screen is sharp and clear, and even the physical casing is attractive. Downsides include short battery life and a small, squat keypad that makes one-handed use difficult.

I know the iPhone has its diehard fans – it shook up the cell phone world a few years ago and earned legions of devoted followers. But, I don’t want to switch cell phone companies, and more importantly, I need a keypad. With actual keys.

And hey, they don’t call the BlackBerry the “CrackBerry” for nothing. These little gadgets are so addictive it’s hard to put them down! Still, is it just me or is the BlackBerry kind of boring? You can’t go to happy hour or ride the subway without seeing 100 other people with the same gadget.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl likes to take the road less traveled. That’s what makes the Palm Pre tempting – it’s an alternative to the Big Two. Until I can dig a little more, I’m holding on to Old Faithful for a few more days. In the meantime, I’m taking suggestions!

Do you think your invention will have all of America wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Would you like the chance to have your new product seen nationwide?

If so, Milojo Productions (the production company owned by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos) wants to meet you. They have contacted InventHelp to let us know they are now casting women with inventions and great personalities from across America for a new series on TLC to help women inventors and potentially take one inventor’s product to the Home Shopping Network.

If you have an invention or new product and a working prototype, TLC and Kelly Ripa may be able to help you manufacture, market and sell it on the Home Shopping Network.

A few requirements you should keep in mind:

• Invention or product may not be edible or make any guarantees of satisfaction (such as “guaranteed weight loss” or “best ever”)
• You must be a woman over the age of 18
• All applicants are subject to background check and standard television release forms

If you’ve got ambition, an idea and a working prototype, apply now at www.milojo.com/casting.

Casting calls are scheduled for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.

Good Luck!

I know plenty of adults who are terrified of the dentist’s drill. I can’t imagine what their parents went through during those childhood checkups! Today, both parents and kids could have an easy (and dare I say fun) time at the dentist’s office or hospital thanks to an invention called PediSedate.

PediSedate is a medical device consisting of a colorful, toy-like headset that connects to a game component such as the Nintendo Game Boy system or a portable CD player. While the child is entertained, the invention monitors the child’s respiratory function and distributes nitrous oxide, a common anesthetic. The child can drift off to sleep while enjoying a fun activity, reducing stress for the child, parent and the doctor.

Geoffrey Hart, M.D., the company’s founder, recognized the need to reduce the anxiety and fear in children undergoing medical treatment. Dr. Hart invented the PediSedate because he believed by making the hospital or dental treatment “fun,” appointments could go quicker and more smoothly.

To ensure patient safety, the PediSedate’s headset features a pulse-oximeter that monitors oxygenation, as well as a capnometer to monitor second-to-second respiratory rate. The anesthesia is delivered via a patented delivery/scavenging mask situated in the headset’s snorkel.

And let’s not forget that the device can hook up to a Nintendo Game Boy. Kids these days get all the breaks, right?

Even with medical inventions like the PediSedate, there’s no substitute for brushing and flossing after every meal. There – that should make my dentist proud!

Food carts are exploding in popularity, and that’s in no small way thanks to the invention of Twitter. In Los Angeles, Kogi BBQ trucks have tweeted their way into the mainstream. Kogi’s unique Korean-Mexican fusion has earned a reputation among foodies all across the country, which is no small feat for a few trucks selling Korean tacos.

No one knows who tweeted first, but now many food trucks send daily tweets to hoards of devotees to announce specials for the day (think “grilled asparagus with yellow nectarines and sesame seeds”).

The fun part is that food fans have to be in the know to order the daily specials. They’re nowhere to be found on the menu. Call it the thrill of the chase or the thrill of preferential treatment, but these carts keep things exciting for their customers and secure repeat business.

If the food carts aren’t tweeting, you can bet their customers are! In Portland, Ore., where food carts have grown from a few in 2006 to more than 170 this year, foodies send reviews and recommendations to other hungry subscribers. One user said, “My friend Michelle can’t stop raving about Persad, the juice cart! I’m heading up to Grilled Cheese Grill myself tonight.”

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl certainly understands the thrill of the hunt, even if it’s just the hunt for dinner. Do you have a favorite food cart in your city? If so, consider tweeting to spread the word!

Can’t get enough of Twitter? Be sure to visit our InventHelp page for updates from “The Invent Help People”!

Mays, who grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks just minutes from InventHelp headquarters, and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan scour the world for inventions they believe they can pitch to the masses. The show can be an emotional rollercoaster as Mays and Sullivan make or break the dreams of these dedicated inventors.

I had the pleasure of seeing Mays just recently at the 2009 International Home & Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago. Michael Tsang, the winner of our 2009 Inventors’ Corner Direct Response Panel Review, was thrilled to have his prize presented to him by Mays and Sullivan. His invention, the Plate Topper, is a cover that keeps food fresh by sealing itself over the top of a dinner plate.

Coincidentally, Tsang had met Billy Mays before. As a student at Princeton four years ago, Mays gave Tsang some feedback on an earlier model of the Plate Topper. Tsang incorporated Mays’ suggestions, and today he feels the feedback helped to advance the invention to where it is today.

“I’ve done everything I wanted,” Mays, who today lives in Florida with his wife and children, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Now I want to give back with this new show and help other people take their product to the next level. It’s the American dream, and I’m helping them achieve it. I’m proud of that.”

It seems, at least to those of us here at InventHelp, that Billy Mays was born for the job of helping inventors. Gadget Girl is sure to stay glued to The Discovery Channel’s Pitchmen and watch our hometown pitchman in action!

According to security experts, those days of peace and solace amid PC panic may be coming to an end. Researchers have found computer malware invented specifically to target Mac computers and expect these attacks to become more common.

For years, Macs were protected by relative obscurity. As Macs grow in popularity, they become bigger targets for online thieves. Plus, the bad guys online know that Mac users tend to be proportionally more affluent than PC users and are tempted by potentially large payoffs.

A Trojan horse program, dubbed the “iBotnet,” has infected only a few thousand Macs, specifically Mac users who have downloaded pirated versions of the Mac software iWork. The malicious software is called a “botnet” because infected computers become part of a network that is controlled by the program’s author.

Mac’s botnet is significantly less of a threat than the highly publicized worm Conficker. Conficker, by comparison, was thought to have infected up to 10 million computers. Worms are different than botnets because they sneak into a computer and replicate without the owner’s knowledge.

In a statement, Apple said it works diligently to resolve computer security problems before they can manifest into larger issues.

Still, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl expects to see antivirus companies invent computer protection software designed especially for Macs. Welcome to the Fear Club, Mac users!

Of course, the complicated problems that Bohmer is trying to resolve are anything but simple. One is the issue of rural residents, fueled by poverty and desperation, cutting down trees for firewood at unsustainable rates. This practice leads to deforestation and, in turn, global warming.

Bohmer’s solution? The Kyoto Box, a solar-powered oven, which allows villagers to boil water, cook and bake by harnessing the power of the sun. By making it easier to boil water, the invention could save millions of people who die each year from drinking unclean water. In addition to its humanitarian benefits, the invention is environmentally friendly. It’s even named after the international treaty that aims to reduce global warming.

And here’s the twist – this lifesaving invention costs only $5 to make. Bohmer uses two cardboard boxes (one inside the other) and an acrylic cover that gathers and traps the sun’s powerful rays. Black paint on the inner box and foil on the outer box work to intensify the heat. With the Kyoto Box, villagers no longer have to trek lengthy distances to search for firewood or risk drinking contaminated water.

Bohmer’s invention won the FT Climate Change Challenge, a contest to find and promote the most innovative and practical solution to climate change. The Kyoto Box beat out more than 300 other competitors to take the grand prize.

The box can be produced in existing cardboard factories, and the inventor has designed a more durable plastic model that also can be produced cheaply. Bohmer’s dream is to distribute the solar ovens throughout rural Africa.

Practical solutions like this prove that the best ideas aren’t always the most sophisticated. This invention story brings to mind one of InventHelp’s Gadget Girl’s favorite acronyms: KISS, or Keep It Simple, Stupid!