Administator for GetUSB.info
GetUSB.info started in 2004 with the concept of providing USB information for everything USB related. At the time, USB was gaining momentum and every day new products, articles and news became published. Today, the site is focused on bringing technical information, tricks and hacks to USB related products. The site does publish off topic information as well, to keep the variety up. Please visit the footer area of any page if you or your company is interested in article or product placement via purchased advertising.
It’s always been a gas to report on those strange USB drives floating around and I thought we had seen it all with the Spongebob drive, Biscuit drive and Star Wars Pez drives, but today I bring you yet another.
Minimoo brings us four new USB animal drives to place into our “useless novelty” category [although not useless, sure is goofy]. As the flagship product we have the USB turtle, Göran.
Next up we have Fredrick the USB gorilla, Jan the USB sheep and Maud the USB pig.
The common USB sizes are available which are 1, 2 & 4GB with prices between $43-$75.
I’ve got a brother-in-law scared to death of turtles, so I’d love to get him Göran. The look on his face when a USB turtle is sticking out his USB port would be legendary. Although probably not to funny to you.
Anyway – getting your veterinarian a “thank you” tech gift or starting your own USB animal collection would never be easier, thanks to Minimoo of course.
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I wrote about the Yoggie Security System a while back and today found a special deal for the standalone USB security stick. To peak your interest here’s short quote from my previous article:
The Yoggie Pico device is a self contained mini computer on a USB stick which runs and manages 13 different security applications. At first thought – doesn’t seem like much – why not load up 13 security applications on your computer and save a USB port? Well, the beauty lies within the combination of a self contained unit, a processor to run it self and the combination of hardware and software to protect your computer.
I’ve never given geo tracking my pictures much thought, not until I came across Coolest-Gadgets post about putting GPS to your JPEG images. This gadget would especially apply to those frequent travelers, or travelers who love getting lost in the details during family slide shows.
The picture geo tracker is a standalone device that allows a photographer to tag their photos with GPS location. The Photo Finder is pocket sized and has software which syncs GPS location data into the saved photo file without PC connection or editing. Coolest-Gadgets reports the Photo Finder only supports JPEG at the moment, with plans to support KML route files so you can not only geo tag and plot your pictures, but sync up your
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CES 2008 is a couple weeks old and after poring over the gadget blogs, press releases and manufacturer websites it’s clear Wireless USB or WUSB will be hot in 2008. For that reason, I thought it would be the right time to revisit: What is Wireless USB?
WUSB is a high-bandwidth wireless extension for short range communication between computers, devices and gadgets. The WUSB specification claims a transfer speed equal to USB 2.0 of 480Mbit per second. Although that has yet to be seen (even with USB 2.0 wired products).
The USB Implementors Forum based this wireless technology off the WiMedia Alliance’s Ultra-Wideband or UWB platform. WUSB will work up to 9 feet away and then slow down to 110Mbit/s with a max range of 30 feet. WUSB works on the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz frequency range and spreads communication over an ultra-wideband of frequencies. For this reason you will not see wireless interference between WUSB and Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wireless networks.
If I have peaked your interest for Wireless USB, check out some other WUSB articles.
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Gadgets and the size of those gadgets have always been inversely proportionate. We want the bigger and better technology features with a smaller physical size. Here I bring you a classic example: the USB digital voice recorder.
At the size of [about] a credit card – 6.5mm – this digital voice recorder can record up to 69 hours of audio. The USB digital voice recorder is a 1GB storage device with a flip-out USB connector and flush mounted controls for recording, pause, play, rewind etc.
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Click – Hard drive locked and encrypted.
Click – Hard drive unlocked and ready for use.
Yup, that’s it for security when using the RFID USB hard drive enclosure. The enclosure is designed to hold any number of 2.5 inch hard drives and with the embedded RFID technology a simple RFID ringkey is all that holds your data safe and secure.
Upon connection to your system, the RFID key identifies the USB hard drive for setup and connection, from that point forward the USB enclosure needs the same RFID signal to lock and unlock the drive.Several LED light configurations provide status: Red for lock, Green for unlock and Blue for write process.
With all this high tech RFID security, you can still be a knucklehead
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Not that domino’s has traditionally carried the “geeky” stereotype, but putting some flash memory and a USB connector on would definitely capture a Geek’s attention.
Although the USB domino is just a design, the creator wanted each domino dot to represent 1GB of memory. Not too far fetched for the lower end, but what about the box-car 12 USB domino? That’s over a TB of data.
The other question which comes to mind, is what kind of coin will you drop to get a full set to make the USB domino collection worth…shall I even say it?…playing with.
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Our good friends at GizmosForGeeks cruised through CES’08 this year and one of their highly recommend products was the Pinnacle Video Transfer unit from Pinnacle Systems. The point of this device is making the record, copy and transfer of your favorite video (TV, DVD etc) to your iPod [or other hand held device] quick and easy.
As seen here, USB is the answer for plug-n-play connection and the Video Transfer box gives three settings for video quality. Your setting choice will dictate the file size and resolution quality. The video input options include S-video or Composite video.
The Gizmo guys had a moment to demo the unit and reported the unit was easy to use, compact and simple in operation.
The Pinnacle Video Transfer box will be available later this month for just $129.
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ATP is a northern California memory manufacturer who’s just launched the most “green” USB drive you’ve ever seen. The EarthDrive is designed and built using the maximum amount of bio-recycled materials resulting in a fully recyclable product.
I’ve been meaning to do something about recycling USB drives as I purchased recycleusb.com domain a while back and intended to do something about recycling. I still plan on doing it, but ATP has sure come up with a great environmental plan for USB memory recycling.
ATP doesn’t stop with just a bio-recycled drive either, part of the purchase price of the EarthDrive includes a contribution to American Forests, a world leader in planting trees for environment restoration. ATP doesn’t disclose
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Markus Bischof is a Germany craftsman who’s recently applied his skills to the creation of hand crafted USB drives.
Made from extremely old wood and veneers it’s hard to believe a single tree hasn’t been (recently) cut down for it’s creation. Rather, the materials used, come from old wood collections where the wood is as hard as stone and incredibly smooth to the touch. For example some USB drives where made from an old pipe organ built in 1839 and dismantled years ago.
It’s clear these materials aren’t collected from local trees but rather hand crafted and hold a historical past from the materials used.
The image above is a sample shot which the German Bundesumweltminister (Federal Environment Minister) ordered as a representative giveaway to the ministers of other countries.
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How good are bus powered USB devices? That’s a good question and the answer depends upon the device and the application. To start, let me summarize situations / products you could find problematic. From here we can determine what & when “bus power” is best.
Most problem situations are with USB devices which require a heavy load of power. Products such as USB disc [hard] drives, external USB CD or DVD burners etc. With these products you need a lot of power, if you don’t get it, you have problems. If the power running through the USB cable (the USB bus) to your device is not enough good chance the product will fail. Problems such as drive failures, burning CD coasters or repetitive USB disconnects during operation.
With the larger USB hard drives coming out this is where you need to pay attention. I would recommend against purchasing a “USB hard drive” where the drive itself runs from USB bus power.
But lets say you’ve covered your bases and purchased a USB hard drive with an external power adapter – now we must consider the connection to your computer? Many times I’ve heard users making the connection via their
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Not the best looking USB mouse, but it does hold one unique characteristic…it’s waterproof. Yep, you can now browse the web, underwater, safe and secure. Putting some traditional yellow to signify the waterproof feature would help the look, but not by much.
The redeeming quality for this USB gadget is the application in hospitals, weathered / outdoor applications or possibly chemical laboratories as the mouse is chemical resistant as well.
The USB waterproof mouse is sealed with high quality silicone making it possible to clean, disinfect and even wash under water without harm or damage.
So if you happen to be a pool bartender, restaurant owner of just a slob, you can pick up the waterproof mouse for $37.
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How good are bus powered USB devices? That’s a good question and the answer depends upon the device and the application. To start, let me summarize situations / products you could find problematic. From here we can determine what & when “bus power” is best.
Most problem situations are with USB devices which require a heavy load of power. Products such as USB disc [hard] drives, external USB CD or DVD burners etc. With these products you need a lot of power, if you don’t get it, you have problems. If the power running through the USB cable (the USB bus) to your device is not enough good chance the product will fail. Problems such as drive failures, burning CD coasters or repetitive USB disconnects during operation.
With the larger USB hard drives coming out this is where you need to pay attention. I would recommend against purchasing a “USB hard drive” where the drive itself runs from USB bus power.
But lets say you’ve covered your bases and purchased a USB hard drive with an external power adapter – now we must consider the connection to your computer? Many times I’ve heard users making the connection via their
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