Power plug that charges USB style – I thought of this idea probably two years ago, no joke, but forgot about it just as quickly. Well, yesterday I saw Technabob do a post about this exact concept – the power plug which charges via USB [from Eneplug].
As you may [or may not] know, USB will become the standard for cell phone charging. I foresee USB branching out into other electronic gadgets as the main connectivity for juicing up. So, this obviously means the power plug which charges via USB will only become more popular.
I think it’s a great idea, because as time progresses we can all use only a single power cord to charge any device. [For now, lets forget about the fact manufacturers need to jump on board with my line of thought].
In addition, I would think any serious traveler would jump at a device like this. Look at how small it is. This is all you’d need to charge your cell phone, iPod, PDA and even your laptop.
Eneplug is the company which makes this device and it’s currently available in Japan, but I see it coming over to the states in no time. Shoot me an email if you see anything here – or I’ll update this when I find a US source.
Speaking of Source:Â Technabob.
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With over 5,300 Diggs, I figure this would be a good article to report about on how to make a sawed-off USB key. Nothing about this project is too technical, but the idea is clever enough it’s gained a lot of attention.
The sawed off UFD is a mod of using a slim Kingmax USB drive, USB cable and some glue + knife for a very cool looking storage device.
The intro line to this tutorial from the main page is:
“Holy crap– somebody just went and TORE MY FREAKING USB CABLE IN HALF while it was still attached to my laptop!!!
No– wait– sorry. That’s just my USB drive. My bad. Never mind.”
Which I think is pretty funny.
So besides getting a slim Kingmax USB drive (here is a 4GB for $15), you will need the following:Â USB cable, X-acto knife, glue, pliers, small screwdriver and some mad cutting skills.
First thing you will want to do is cut open the female end of the USB cable so you can insert the memory for storage. It’s fairly straight forward in the process. Some additional pictures are available
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OWC is giving you GB hungry data hoggers some extra storage space. Their new 500GB Mercury portable hard drive is their largest [portable] edition yet. It’s got Firewire and USB connectivity to support any gear you’re dealing with. A couple concerns I have are a) it’s a 5400 RPM hard drive, which is standard for portable hard drives – but I like 7200 RPM, and since the Mercury is b) bus powered, the 7200 RPM wont see the light of day. As I’ve mentioned before, if you are looking for serious use off your USB hard drive, don’t deal with bus powered devices.
So given those two knocks, it’s still super slim for a half Terabyte of data storage, and at just $359 it’s doable, but I’ve seen plenty of options out there.
Nothing posted on OWC’s site for purchase, but check their homepage and use the search function.
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Iomega is shifting it’s focus to the consumers with more disposable income, the gamers. Well at least in theory. The Iomega Media Xporter is a portable 160GB hard drive designed to seamlessly integrate with cross-platform applications to PlayStation 3 consoles and Xbox 360 console.
With the gaming console become more of a home entertainment center, it’s Iomega’s goal to provide the tools to enjoy photo’s, video, music and games without hassle. The Media Xporter allows users to experience all the above without a PC. Once more, the photo’s and video will look stunning on a hi-def TV since the PlayStation and Xbox support HDMI as well as HDTV connectivity.
I don’t know about you, but a family function or get together would be a lot more fun sharing photo’s on a sweet flat screen then huttled up over a computer monitor. The Media Xporter makes this a simple and easy process.
The 160GB Iomega Media Xporter drive is power via USB 2.0 and will retail for $120. Although I do have some concerns about a bus powered USB hard drive.
Source: Coolest-Gadgets. Media Xporter product page.
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What else would you need as the ideal desktop clock watching device other than the USB Fever Temp, Clock and hub gadget. Not only does the 4 port USB hub have a clock to insure you exit work at exactly 5:01pm, but you’ll get an accurate reading on temperature.
The USB hub clock includes data and alarm settings as to wake you from the mid-afternoon slumber after the fat turkey sandwich lunch.
With the exception of Mickey Mouse…is a mouse really that cute you need to make a million gadgets shaped like them?
Nope. But that doesn’t stop Brando. Here is a classic example. The USB mouse stands on four USB port legs. The legs can swivel around for easy connection, but even after a single device is connected the mouse wont stand…so what’s the point. Oh there isn’t one? OK.
Available in two colors of green or pink with high speed USB transfer rates you can add another animated animal to your drawer of crap for just $12.
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Capture video direct to H.264 video files for your iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, YouTube and even full resolution video backups from Blackmagic. So why is Blackmagic so great? Because it captures video into the native file format of your mobile device like iPod or iPhone.
The Blackmagic USB video recorder plugs directly into your PC via USB and using the included, easy to use software from Blackmagic you can recorder VHS, Video-8 or content directly from your video camera recorder.
The software has a graphical interface to quickly and easily identify your destination device during job setup to begin the ripping process. The software includes a cropping tool because sometimes your VHS tape has black borders or time display stamps. Well not anymore.
Check out this image of the software interface. It’s clean, simple and logical.
So getting excited and ready to pull the trigger on a purchase or maybe work it into your next months gadget budget. Well be sure to set aside $119 + shipping.
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Icron is leading the way in low cost USB extension options with their new Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 products. These extension adapters are a single connect to extend a USB device up to 100 meters away. The concept is simple, through USB and CAT5 Icron ExtremeUSB technology can maintain high speed USB transfer rates over such a hard wired configuration.
The Ranger 2101 is a single connect ExtremeUSB extension box with a retail price of $349 and the Ranger 2104 is a single connect with 4 port end-point hub for multiple device connection for only $389. To learn more about the Icron ExtremeUSB technology read my earlier posts.
As for today’s announcement:
“Our customers are connecting USB enabled devices in more challenging and unique applications which demand higher performance and flexibility from our ExtremeUSB technology.†stated Robert Eisses, President and CEO of Icron Technologies. “We are committed to enhancing the technology to increase the implementation options to be able to dramatically expand the market for ExtremeUSB technology. Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 are the initial products in a new series of solutions from Icron that include other cost down products and ultimately a family of single chip ExtremeUSB devices, ideal for embedding into a variety of applications.â€
Over the past 18 months the company has focused its Research and Development initiatives on evolving its core ExtremeUSB technology to be more flexible and cost effective to encourage quick adoption into larger markets. With over 2 Billion USB ports shipped
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I’m on the left coast, so not exactly sure on why Pexagon had the motivation to create a New Yorker USB Hard Drive [customer request], but none-the-less, it’s here and available.
The Pexagon New Yorker hard drive has over 4,000 issues of the East Coast’s favorite magazine. The Complete New Yorker gives you instant access to every poem, short story, cartoon and ad since the magazine’s inception back in 1925.
Pexagon is known for their engraving to USB storage devices and The Complete New Yorker is no exception. The hard drive measures 3 x 5 inches and has a brushed aluminum front with beautifully etched New Yorker logo and icon. The magazine archive takes up a small percentage of the 80GB hard drive so the $65 price tag gets you not only storage but a great opportunity to educate yourself and become well read if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 80 years.
I would imagine someone interested in this would need to be a die hard fan of the magazine, so now the question is: Are you?
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Wouldn’t it be nice to have a background image for the USB window upon connection of your USB storage device? This simple, quick USB hack will show you how to create a background image. In this example, I inserted the GetUSB logo at the bottom of my USB window, like this:
To perform this simply copy the following information:
[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}={BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}
[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1
IconArea_Image=your background picture
Change: the IconArea_Image= to the name of your jpeg file…I did: getusb.jpg
Next, save the code above as desktop.iniLast: place the ini file and the jpg file in the root of your USB drive.
Refresh or reconnect your device and …bamb…USB background image done. Tip: The image will repeat so when creating the jpeg be sure to leave plenty of white space in your image file. I used a canvas size of 800 x 800 pixels and placed the GetUSB logo near the bottom.
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Pexagon Technology has a fresh, contemporary way for schools to raise money for their academic and extracurricular activities via USB. The idea is simple, offer a 1GB gift card to schools, kids and parents where by the purchase results in a customized 1GB drive with their school mascot or logo.
The USB fundraising plan is simple; the schools contract an agreed bulk price with Pexagon along with customized logo design, the school then set their own gift card price which best suites their community. The delta between the cost and fundraiser purchase price goes right to the school club or program.
With memory prices constantly decreasing, this is an excellent way to get valuable technology into the students hands while providing contributions to their schools fundraising activities. If parents had to choose when buying flash memory, I’m sure they’d opt for USB fundraising option.
To learn more about USB fundraising with Pexagon you may contact Shane Schmidt for more details. Here is the contact page: USB Fundraising with Pexagon Technology.
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Set Top boxes have a big limitation in that you get Pigeon Holed into one device such as AppleTV or the forthcoming NetFlix unit, but the Myka could change the landscape forever. The Myka is a BitTorrent device which will work with anything the web has to offer and can download/play MPEG2, H.264, WMV and DivX media.
As Wired reports, the Myka is userfriendly because it takes the nerd out of the BitTorrent process. The Myka is intelligent enough to provide content (legal or otherwise) from a Peer2Peer network without all the advanced skills often required to pull off a BitTorrent download. The Linux based box is a simple connection to the TV via HDMI, composite (ouch), S-Video or SPDIF and connects to the internet via eithernet or WiFi. The Myka comes with a variety of internal hard drive configurations (80, 160 or 500GB) and includes an external USB port for additional storage or future connectivity / peripheral options.
“There’s no way the content providers will allow this pirate box on the market, right? Wrong. Myka already has the official BitTorrent service on board, which means it will carry legitimate content from 20th Century Fox, MTV, Warner and Playboy, amongst others.”
Wired posted a full interview with Myka’s president Dan Lovy, so if you’d like to learn more about the Myka set top box which will rule them all, jump.
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Icron is leading the way in low cost USB extension options with their new Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 products. These extension adapters are a single connect to extend a USB device up to 100 meters away. The concept is simple, through USB and CAT5 Icron ExtremeUSB technology can maintain high speed USB transfer rates over such a hard wired configuration.
The Ranger 2101 is a single connect ExtremeUSB extension box with a retail price of $349 and the Ranger 2104 is a single connect with 4 port end-point hub for multiple device connection for only $389. To learn more about the Icron ExtremeUSB technology read my earlier posts.
As for today’s announcement:
