iCarte is a snap-on device for the iPhone to allow it to receive RFID signals.  This is great for all sorts of on-the-go applications.

The iCarte could be used for micro payments, such as public transportation payments or vendy machine purchasing.

Another application is getting RFID signals for promotional material.  Such as walking past a movie theater and you would be asked to download the trailer for an upcoming movie.  Or past a music store and you can get a sample of the latest releases.

Makes you wonder what the world will be like in a couple years, doesn’t it?

UberGizmo rumors that Apple might integrate an RFID feature in the next release, but who knows.

Source:  UberGizmo.  Product by: Wireless Dynamics.

Did you know Windows will make over 260 registry entries with a single enumeration of a USB stick?  This means for those with multiple flash drives your registry will get extremely cluttered and bogged down.

With flash drives dirt cheap these days, you’ll find at least a couple dozen going into your computer through the year.  That would be over 6,240 registry entries.

USB Scrub is a free utility which performs a deep cleaning of those unused drivers and registry edits.

We gave USB Scrub a try, and it worked great.  We went from enumerating a single USB stick in 45 seconds to enumerating that stick in less that 12 seconds.

In addition, if you have a USB stick that doesn’t perform correctly or the Windows OS doesn’t see it, chances are the USB Scrub will clear up those problems and your drive will work once again.  This is because a registry entry can become corrupt and simply clearing it out will resolve your issue.

So lets take a closer look.

Using RegShot [a free application which takes a snap shot before and after an event and compares only the changed registry values] I took a snap shot before and after a USB stick was connected and ejected.  The result was this:

• 78 Registry Keys where created
• 183 Registry Values where added
• 261 Registry edits in total!

Here is a snap shop.  Click the image to get the full text file.

For those who need disaster recovery protocols put into place, the new ioSafe 2TB hard drive is your best friend.  The USB hard drive is both water proof and fire proof making it the most durable drive on the market, and essential for disaster recovery mandates.

I can tell you one thing, seeing is believing.  Check out this 2 minute video where the ioSafe is getting wet and wild and then dried off at over 1,500 degrees.

The USB hard drive ioSafe can be submersed in water for 3 days without damage to the digital content.

The ioSafe USB hard drive can withstand fire excess of 1,500 degrees for over 15 minutes without damage to the digital content.  So how do they do it? 

Not the cougar we’d like to mention, but just as hot.  Brando has a Transformer USB stick that goes from 2GB of storage to Cougar in a couple twists and turns.

Granted anyone over 30 probably couldn’t get the stick back from cougar shape to USB shape, but that’s half the fun, right?

The cougar comes in the black body shape or the spotted white and green body shape.
Sure you can grab a 2GB stick for under $10 over here, but for the USB Transformer drive, it’ll more than triple, at $45.

Brando page.

At the time of this article, Buy.com has a set of AA battery chargers which re-powers via USB at a 72% savings.  List price went from $24 down to $7 bucks!

Great stocking stuffer for the geeky Dad, brother or in-law.

Save the environment by throwing fewer batteries away! This Ni-MH battery recharges with any USB port and has a built in safety circuit to prevents overcharging. LED indicator light lets you know when your battery is fully charged.

Grab the Get USBDealz now!

Last week we posted an article for Windows 7 users to download a utility to make a bootable USB recovery stick.  Well, looks like that feature is [temporarily] gone.

So what gives?

It appears Microsoft lifted some GPL code to make their ImageMaster tool for bootable USBs.  Interesting.

We posted how you could make your own nt60 USB recovery stick.  Check it out.

From eWeek here is a bit of detail:

Now that Halloween is over, it’s time to turn our energy to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Since Thanksgiving isn’t a Brando thang, they’ve got their eye on the biggest holiday – Christmas.

So putting aside that I’m in Southern California, for those in Michigan, Wisconsin, New York…hell anyone East of California could appreciate these USB heating Christmas gloves.  Right?

How about your hands freezing and slowing down your reaction when you are playing game? Sure you’d look ridiculous, but you can’t sacrifice your skills.  Or how about stuck in an air-conditioned office space because your boss is 400 pounds and needs an ice locker to work in, the USB Christmas warming gloves would help.