GetUSB.info has reported on several off-the-shelf USB extenders, but they are high priced, at least for the home user. If you have low signal strength and on a tight budget, here is a tutorial on making your own beefed up WiFi USB extender.

Using this home-brew WiFi extender will help pick up dozens more hot-spots in your area; don’t believe it - we’ll you’ll just have to try it - this really works. The premise of this solution is taking a parabolic dish and bouncing all possible waves into the focal point of the “dish” or in this case, the WiFi USB stick. (more…)

Forget about garage design Altoid Tin battery chargers, Sanyo has a slick USB charger pack that will replenish your thirsty gadgets, called eneloop.

Eneloop is the first USB recharger pack Sanyo - self proclaimed world battery supply leader - has introduced. The Eneloop name is a concept of recycling, or looping, energy. The USB recharger is compact in design and houses the USB connector when not in use.

What I like, and albeit common, are the batteries being ready for use immediately after purchase; there is no charge-up time needed. (more…)

TrueCrypt has just what you are looking for, provided you are looking for free USB flash drive encryption software utilities.

The best feature of TrueCrypt is the automatic, on-the-fly, real-time encryption process. So it’s completely transparent.

The other great feature is the Plausible Deniability feature which provides two levels for you.

• Level 1: Hidden volumes. This is where a volume is created within another volume by TrueCrypt. The upper level (the one seen by a person forcing you to get the content) is filled with random data, so you can show them “Look man, there’s nothing there!”

• Level 2: A volume appears to consist of nothing more than random data, no signature or typology what-so-ever. Therefore, it is impossible to prove that a file, a partition or a device has been encrypted.

To round out the offerings of this free USB encryption software, TrueCrypt includes a key-log which records the time and date the last time modifications were made. Such as password changes, data access or more concerning information such as last time the device was mounted in an OS, or attempted to be mounted.

The only down side, which I feel (more…)

As with Sony and their James Bond Flash Drive, A-Data steps up with their limited edition Pirates of the Caribbean UFDs. Included in this exclusive collection are SD Duo Memory Cards with intelligent design whereby a card reader isn’t needed (connects via USB).

So why the release? The limited edition Pirates flash drive is in efforts to promote the upcoming “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” due out May 23rd, 2007.

A-DATA has obtained authorization from Disney to launch a series of designs featuring Johnny Depp’s mysterious pirate figure, and a golden exterior just like the pirate’s sword, capturing the attention of all who gaze upon it.

The limited edition Pirates of the Caribbean USB Flash Drive included an exclusive (more…)

Kithara Software has a USB toolkit for quick development of USB devices in the Windows environment. The USB driver development kit also supports the most recent, Vista OS.

The biggest claim: non-technical folks can get their hands into USB driver development with little or no previous experience with USB. Simply edit an INF file and configure the USB stack to perform just about any function you desire.

Now, I’m no programmer, but have been around enough that I know nothing is quite this easy. None-the-less, with the popularity of USB, development kits such as the Kithara USB toolkit is a welcomed sign. (more…)

USB is branching out into another standard, we first heard about China implementing USB the standard for cell phone chargers, now USB gets a new charging specification from the USB-Implementers Forum.

Power via USB is nothing new, but what the USB-IF did was increase the amount of energy which can flow to a USB device. To get our geek on, an example is current spec is only 100mA of electricity to a device, the new specification increases that to 500mA. In addition, USB-IF addressed the low-end too. The organization decreeds that devices which have completely dead batteries can charge at 100 mA. This allows dead devices to charge up even though they don’t have enough power to turn on. (more…)

Get the D-Link 802.11g 54Mbps Wireless USB Network Kit (DWL-922) for as little as $18 bucks.

Purchase price is $63 with a $35 mail in rebate. Use Google checkout and save another $10. End price is $17.99

The advanced wireless technology built into the DI-524 now offers up to 54Mbps through its wireless channels, allowing streaming videos and other high bandwidth applications, such as online gaming events to operate without the hassle of Ethernet cables.

18 reviews at Buy.com with an average rating of 4 out of 5.

Grab the GetUSB.info Dealz now! (more…)