Thunderbold, LightPeak and their magical 10Gpbs transfer rate have been the talk for some time.  Well, at least the LightPeak version.  Thunderbolt is just Apple’s spin on the technology.  So will these new fangled technologies replace USB one day?  Yes, I think so.  Anytime soon?  No way.

LightPeak and Thunderbolt are currently designed off copper wire and provide an estimated 10Gbps transfer rate in both directions.  Of course that is spec, and we have yet to see a working product.  But never-the-less, the LighPeak technology has the ability to cap at 100Gpbs if they ever switch to Fiber Optics as the transfer hardware.

But lets be clear, a lot must happen before the momentum of a market switches from one technology to another.  Heck, just for Dell to make a change from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 took them nearly 9 months…and that was just an upgrade.

Are we scared over here at GetUSB.info – no.  I could see DisplayPort USB drives in the future, after all, it’s just another means of connection…and if it gets me more speed and more done in less time.  I welcome it with open arms.

USB Autorun is a favorite among USB promotional companies as it will autorun their website, PDF files or movies.  USB Autorun also gives the pirates and hackers an open door to reak havoc on your system.

Last year one of the worst virus’ spread via USB and it’s most important attribute for success was the USB autorun function.

This should all change if millions of users update the latest patch from Microsoft which address the autorun problem.  The update is for all versions of Windows other than Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to adapt to the behavior in those new versions. After the patch update (KB971029), users who insert a USB device will no longer see a menu option to execute programs on the device itself. The standard menu options, to view files on the device or play media, will remain, and behavior for CD and DVD media also remains unchanged.

Microsoft feels the autorun function was such a big problem for malware jumping onto your system they had to do something.  Users should note that USB with CD ROM emulation will still trigger the USB autorun function.  If interested, there are some ways of getting a CD-ROM partition onto a USB stick.

The update from Microsoft is not considered urgent enough for a security update, but they do consider it an “important” update, so we recommend you use the link in this post and get the update.  Or approve the next Microsoft update you get from your OS.

If you have a geeky love one, the following NES USB storage cartridges might stike that cord to make a perfect Valentine gift.  Etsy dealer 8BitMemory is doing a fantastic job of  mod jobs for NES hard drives like the Zelda cartridge below:

Some live, eat and sleep SuperMario, or at least did when they where younger will enjoy this small USB flash drive cartridge:

Or for the hard cord geek who needs a boat load of extra storage you can pull out all the stops for this 1TB hard drive,

Everyone loves a good USB missile launcher and Thanko has released yet another version.  The first thing you will notice is the cosmetic change to look more like an Army missile launcher, but Brando reports hardware changes as well.  The new missile launcher was retooled to have more power for longer distance and the software was updated to be less buggy.

As with all previous models, you get four foam missiles, software which controls the cannons up, down, left and right.  You have the option to go into stealth mode and turn off the sound effects and of course, all this powered via USB.

Software includes support for Windows 7, although not sure about 32bit verse 64bit.  Priced right at $36 + shipping.

I’m sure you had to read the title once or twice.  Well, you know what they say…a picture is worth a thousand words.  Doubt I’ll drum up a thousand words for this post, but you get the point.

The FlipIt is a slick little piece of plastic which fits between your wall prongs and the outlet itself.  This way you can high-jack some power off the outlet, while still sharing it with other electronics.  The FlipIt then redirects the juice to a USB port where you can plug any device which uses USB for recharging.

It’s a brilliant idea.

It’s $15.

After seeing it, don’t you wish you thought of it?

Source:  Those guys

It’s clear USB 3.0 is coming.  It’s an unstoppable train which is building momentum with each new day and each new product launch.  Millions of PC and peripherals will ship this year with the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed bus interface.  With that said, it’s no wonder the timing of the Nexcopy SuperSpeed USB duplicator couldn’t be at a better moment.  Now it’s possible for users to manage these new peripherals without using legacy 2.0 products.

The SSUSB160PC is a 16 target USB duplicator which works off the USB 3.0 technology.  What you need to remember is that a USB 2.0 stick won’t jump to the 3.0 speed just because it’s a new interface.  Fortunately, the 3.0 system will easily handle 3.0 hard drives, which seem to be the most prevalent in the market, as well as 3.0 flash drives which are just starting to show as mainstream.

The SSUSB160PC is a slick looking product with a light weight aluminum body making it ideal for on-site duplication and data loading.  The USB duplicator has a built in 120 watt power supply and will copy at your devices maximum transfer rate.  For some ideas, it’s reported by Nexcopy that 32GBs of data can copy in about 6 minutes.

We’ve reported on other products from Nexcopy – maybe it time I request an evaluation unit…some glamor shots after the jump…

With USB flash drives becoming a big threat to companies for spreading viruses and data slerping it’s smart to take some precautions about how employees use USB ports. I think NZXT Bunker understands that.

NZXT introduced the Bunker which is a 5.25 inch bay with 4 USB ports neatly placed behind a locking front door. Now you’ve got physical security against USB abuse. Granted it still wont stop those with access to spread a virus, intentionally or not, or perform some IP data slerping, but at least it’s a strong deturant.

EverythingUSB made a great quote about this:

As anyone who has ever gone to a LAN party knows, you need to watch your stuff or else something is just as likely to go missing! It really is a sad state of affairs, but the truth of the matter is you don’t bring any expensive peripherals to a LAN party unless you are willing to keep them on your person at ALL times.

Too funny.

The NZXT Bunker sells for $25 and can be purchased right off their site.