We really don’t like reporting about cables. It’s boring. But this post is going into publication for two reasons: 1) The model used to show off the product is a complimentary image {wink} and 2) It’s actually a unique feature combination for a USB cable.
Hyper has a new USB-C to Lightning cable that makes it convenient to keep the cable near by and doubles as a cleaver key-chain holder. The new HyperDrive Cable series includes Key-chain, Lanyard, and Tough. All of the cables are MFi certified (Made For iPhone/iPad devices) and make use of bulletproof ballistic nylon for high durability and longevity.
The cable length is 3.3 feet, or 1 meter.
Made of TOUGH 2m material by Hyper. This is material that can withstand 70kg of tension before something bad happens.
The key-chain has made of aluminum and screws into the capsule like casing which also doubles as the housing for the ends of the USB-C and Lightening connections.
They Hyper cable starts out at $27.99 USD at the time of this post.
I came across an interesting article today from Dr Gough, a tech nerd. and thought it good enough to summarize here:
The USB specifications for power from a port vary from 100mA to 1.5A and up to 100W of power for USB Type C, but the cables and connectors used in a cable might not align with the power specifications of the product being designed and used. Cables are typically rated for about 1.8A of current, which is most common for cables used for charging.
The 1.8A rating is based on safety limits for resistive heating of the cable and connectors. The rating is no guarantee your +5V at 1.5A setup will get you the maximum level of power. The important point here, the cable and connector combination is simply a rating to deal with heat, and ensures nothing melts. Going a step further, most specs ensure nothing gets noticeably warm to the human touch.
Every wire that’s not a superconductor has some finite resistance. Said another way, resistance is transferred into heat. Ohm’s law tells says that E = IR, where E is voltage, I is current, and R is resistance. So when you put power through a wire, the current X resistance gives me the voltage that will be “consumed” across that wire, power that turns into heat, and thus, never makes it to your phone.
I want to end this blog post with the above paragraph as that is the real takeaway here. The more inefficient (or cheap) a cable is, the warmer it will get. So if your iPhone cable is warm to the touch, it sucks. If your wire charging your power bank is warm, it sucks. Get a better cable. From what I can tell, there is no rating posted on all these cables you see on Amazon at cheap prices, so word to the wise using your tactile feel!
Last year, Google released the Titan security key. It can be used as ultra secure methods for two-factor authentication for some online services over USB-A, NFC, or Bluetooth. Today, Google announced an updated USB-C key to the lineup, which will be available tomorrow from the Google Store for $40.
The new USB-C key appears to have similar functionality to their previous model, all of which are built to the FIDO standard. The USB-C model lacks the NFC capabilities that its other two keys have, but this shouldn’t matter as the USB-C design is meant for you to plug it directly into your portable device, such as phone or ultra-thin laptop. That said, NFC is a bit moot.
Google’s new USB-C key is compatible with Android, Chrome OS, macOS, and Windows devices (Only the Bluetooth key works with iOS, and it requires the installation of Google’s Smart Lock app.) Like its previous keys, Google says the USB-C key’s firmware is permanently sealed into a secure element hardware chip, making the key more resistant to physical attacks.
Google partnered with security key-maker Yubico to manufacture its new USB-C key. Google’s key looks a lot like Yubico’s YubiKey 5C. Both keys are pretty similar, but Yubico’s keys support a few more protocols than Google’s Titan keys do, such as WebAuthn, so they might be the better option for some, depending on what you need.
Google’s other two Titan security keys were previously only available as a $50 bundle, but Google says you’ll be able to buy them individually starting tomorrow. The USB-A / NFC key will cost $25, while the Bluetooth key,
Let’s face it, optical discs are large and bulky. At nearly five inches in diameter, they feel oversized compared to modern laptops and tablets. Even though optical drives have been reduced in size over the years, many laptop manufacturers have eliminated them entirely to save space and power.
Beyond the size factor, space once used for an optical drive could be better allocated. It could house a larger battery for extended runtime, a faster solid-state drive for improved performance, or a more powerful graphics solution for design work or gaming.
When CD-R drives first entered the market, they offered massive storage compared to traditional magnetic media of the time. With 650 MB of capacity, they outperformed most hard drives of that era. DVDs expanded this further, offering 4.7 GB on recordable discs.
While optical media grew steadily, it never matched the exponential growth of hard drives and USB flash drives. Optical storage remains limited to gigabytes, while modern hard drives now store terabytes of data. Using CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs for storage has become impractical—the write speed is slow, and retrieval times are equally sluggish. Hard drives and portable USB flash drives have become the dominant solution.
USB Duplicators: The Modern Replacement for Optical Disc Copiers
Given these points, it’s easy to see why optical media is fading out. CD-R and DVD-R may survive for a few more years, but USB drives and hard disks have already taken over. The next logical question is: how do you efficiently load data onto USB drives? In the optical era, you had CD/DVD tower duplicators, often with robotics and printers for disc labeling. These systems are now rare.
The solution today is USB duplicators. These are high-speed flash memory copier systems designed to load content onto USB drives quickly and efficiently. Similar to how optical duplicators had different burning methods, USB duplicators support multiple copy modes—file copy, binary copy, and duplication from ISO or IMG files.
It’s important to choose a USB duplicator that supports all these functions. Some models offer up to six copy modes, making them highly versatile. Options may include file copy, copy add, unique data streaming, copy from a physical device, and image-based duplication from IMG or ISO files. This flexibility ensures compatibility regardless of how the source content is provided.
Will “USB juice jacking” trend on Twitter anytime soon? Probably not. Should you be paranoid about USB juice jacking? Probably not.
What is USB juice jacking anyway?
The idea is someone, a hacker, trying to steal your data while you are charging up, or “getting juice” from a public USB port.
Yes, it can technically happen, so don’t be fooled. But could it actually happen? Probably not, so don’t sound like a fool.
Getting down to brass tacks of how this could happen, what would a hacker need to pull it off?
First, they’d need to make a connection, either WiFi or Bluetooth. This connection would transmit your valuable data to the hacker. To do that, the hacker needs some sort of device that holds that communication chip. That chip would need to sit behind the USB port in the string of communication. This “device” would also need power.
Given the above, a quick observation of the USB port you are planning to use, will tell you everything you need to know. So basically if you see a big block with a USB port, don’t plug in your device. If it’s a wall mounted USB port, chances are ultra-slim there is a technology behind the placard stealing your data.
So take airport chairs and charging stations for example; as this is the most comment place a website gives for the “scare.” You are not going to get hacked using those ports. First off, airports are high security areas and those charging stations are monitored. Second, the security cameras will pick up on someone trying to tamper with a charging station or USB port on the chair. Third, the people in the terminal need a boarding pass to get to those spots, so their identity is already known if anything suspicious does turn up.
