Kicking around in technology since 2002. I like to write about technology products and ideas, but at the consumer level understanding. Some tech, but not too techie.
The original wax seals were simply melted beeswax poured over the flap of a letter. The wax would range in color from nearly transparent to brown, depending on the quality of the wax. In the 11th century, artisans began adding colors to the waxes, such as red and black. These first seals were not tamper-proof, however, as the letter could be opened and then resealed with similar wax. For this reason, stamps or seals were created so people could impress their personal design or crest into the warm wax, making forgery difficult.
Today you can apply the same tradition to technology. The Top Secret USB drive with wax seal is that device. The USB flashdrive is made of high quality porcelain, finished off with a beautifull wax stamp containing the logo.
Besides the original white porcelain version there is also a black variant. Either one is available with red, orange, pink, blue or green wax seal. We also make Top Secret USB flashdrive for special occasions, like for a wedding: white with a silver wax seal. The top secret USB flashdrive in light blue or pink are designed as a gift for a newborn. All usb sticks are sealed standard with the original Top Secret ‘TS’ logo. There is the possibility of choosing your own design, letters or images. The Top Secret USB flashdrive are available with either 2, 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory.
Continue Reading
USB devices and ports are now the most ubiquitous item one can related to a computer product other then maybe the VGA connector or Ethernet port. With that said, it’s now the mainstream bus used to power and recharge most computer devices and gadgets. However, just because it will charge of USB doesn’t mean it’s all that easy and efficient. There is a lot more into charging via USB then you’d ever imagine.
With some devices you get a fast charge. With other devices you get a slow charge. So what’s the deal?
In most cases when you see a slow charging device it means the manufacturer made a digital signature that is compatible with the power charger which came with the device. Any other USB port used to charge the product simply isn’t as efficient…and that’s by design!
This post is just an appetizer for all the dirty little secrets related to USB charging devices, to get a little deeper into the details click over to
Continue Reading
Angry Birds is a great game for the first couple weeks. New levels, new designs, new challenges. However, the game gets a little stail for the 30+. Today, we came across something which might re-kindle the fire for the 30-somethings who got burned out after a couple weeks.
How about taking the slingshot in the game and making it real life? This is exactly what this DIY hacker did.
Over at MBed, the DIY tutorial for a USB slingshot gives step by step instructions, source code, design schematics and more for you to successfully remake a USB slingshot.
Source:Â MBed.
Continue Reading
Scientists are trying to break the boundaries of Moore’s law by taking a phosphorus atom and create a working transistor as the gate to control electrical flow.
Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computer manufacturing whereby the number of transistors that can be placed in the same amount of space doubles approximately every two years.
Michelle Simmons, director of ARC Center for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at the University of New South Wales, Australia, took an atom and etched it into a silicon bed with “gates” to control electrical flow and metallic contacts to apply voltage to start/stop current. It’s the first such device to be precisely positioned using
Continue Reading
The tech world is changing for the better. We are seeing longer lasting batteries, devices which require less juice and smarter power management. Good example is the PowerUSB Bar.
This power bar will automatically shut down the devices it’s powering based on time of day or clock settings. For example, why power that laser printer when everyone is away from work? Better to power off the printer between 6pm and 7am, right? The PowerUSB Bar can do just that.
The PowerUSB Basic empowers you to put your old devices on a diet by programming when to shut off power to them. It looks like a standard 4 port power strip but 3 of the for outlets are programmable. The last outlet is always on so it’s reserved for the PC. And there’s also a 6 ft USB cord coming out of the power strip. Attach printers, chargers, speakers or external drives and let the PowerUSB Bar govern their power consumption.
Continue Reading
Instructables has a nice USB LED lantern DIY project. I think the most important part about this project is getting a cool enough looking lantern. Make sure it’s 50s-60s style with some wear on ti.
For the full instructions go to the Instructables page.
Continue Reading
I just read this article from PC Magazine about watchdog group SumOf US taking on Apple for poor worker conditions in China.  I’m all for making the world a better place for mankind. I also think some perspective is needed.
One of Apple’s biggest contract manufacturers [CMs] FoxConn has been under fire the last 12 months for employee suicides and a fire in a production facility.
It was reported the suicides are directly related to working conditions. However, it’s important to keep some perspective. FoxConn is an organization which employees well over 100,000 people. I think it very likely a group of individuals from the 100K pool will find a common thread [depression] and lead their way to demise. We’ve seen it before with other cult groups in the US.
I’m not giving Apple a free ticket, but I certainly don’t think Apple is to blame. With the above situation, Time Cook, now CEO made the following statement [for the record I completely believe]
“We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain,” reads his letter; “Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us.”
As for the Foxconn fire in one of their production facilities, this type of accident happens all the time. In the US, Europe, Australia and of course Asia.
I fully support the motion which SumOfUs has started, but at the same time, I’m not holding Apple completely responsible for working conditions at FoxConn. Sure they are one element, but not the entire picture.
For those of you who are not familiar with FoxConn, it’s a CM which supplies many major companies in the US, not just Apple.
Continue Reading
Doing anything to make your product stand out is the only way to get your company ahead. Over the past 3 years, going green has been a very popular theme with many companies. Qmadix is another company you can add to the list. Qmadix introduces a biodegradable USB cable.
The biodegradable USB cable works like any typical USB cable. It is USB-IF certified to guarantee performance speed. It comes in Type A and Type B connector styles. Qmadix also includes HDMI and 30 pin Apple connectors.
The big difference is the coating put on the cable. The USB biodegradable cable uses a plant-based by-product to protect the internal copper. The cable will remain stable during use in the home or office, but once put into a landfill, the degrading begins.
We suspect is has to do with moisture levels, but not 100% sure. The plant-based coating will biodegrade the cable in about
Continue Reading
Now that USB is becoming the standard charging bus for all portable electronic devices [at least in UK], we can truly embrace the wall mount USB charger.
This slick looking wall mount uses one DC outlet from your wall and extends it to the face plate along with two USB charging ports. The two ports can charge one iPad or two iPhones. Of course it will accommodate other USB based devices like Android, tablets etc.
It would have been nice to see some additional logic inside which would send enough current for 4 or 6 devices. I also think if you are going to eliminate one complete wall socket, might as well offer more USB ports.
RCA is selling the charger for $20 retail.
Continue Reading
USB 3.0 has been slowly making it’s way into the retail space. When you have a new entry from Sony for such a technology I believe it’s safe to say the title wave is about to start.
Enter the USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault flashdrive. The Micro Vault can transfer speeds at 120MB/s for reading and 90MB/s for writing. Now that is fast! Connecting this same device to USB 2.0 and you can expect around 40MB/s read speeds.
The USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault is made of brushed aluminum case, pop-tail for expanding and contracting the USB connector along with LED to show status light during activity.
You can expect this product to hit the retail market by February 1, 2012.
Continue Reading
Roku has a USB looking set-top-box which runs streaming video off the Mobile High Definition Link [MHL] interface standard.
It’s a sweet package all bundled up for portability. As you can see the HDMI connector of the USB device, you click it once to a MHL supported TV and using the TV’s own remote you can steam video without the need of a bulky set-top-box.
Televisions that support MHL will be able to integrate Roku’s streaming TV platform simply by plugging in the stick. With the stick docked, it will be just like having the Roku set-top box: it adds the Roku interface (and the 400+ channels it offers), Wi-Fi connectivity, and local storage to the TV it is used on.
MHL standard is quickly becoming adopted by the major players like
Continue Reading
Today you can apply the same tradition to technology. The Top Secret USB drive with wax seal is that device. The USB flashdrive is made of high quality porcelain, finished off with a beautifull wax stamp containing the logo.
Besides the original white porcelain version there is also a black variant. Either one is available with red, orange, pink, blue or green wax seal. We also make Top Secret USB flashdrive for special occasions, like for a wedding: white with a silver wax seal. The top secret USB flashdrive in light blue or pink are designed as a gift for a newborn. All usb sticks are sealed standard with the original Top Secret ‘TS’ logo. There is the possibility of choosing your own design, letters or images. The Top Secret USB flashdrive are available with either 2, 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory.
Continue Reading
This post is just an appetizer for all the dirty little secrets related to USB charging devices, to get a little deeper into the details click over to
How about taking the slingshot in the game and making it real life? This is exactly what this DIY hacker did.
Over at 
Scientists are trying to break the boundaries of Moore’s law by taking a phosphorus atom and create a working transistor as the gate to control electrical flow.
Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computer manufacturing whereby the number of transistors that can be placed in the same amount of space doubles approximately every two years.
Michelle Simmons, director of ARC Center for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at the University of New South Wales, Australia, took an atom and etched it into a silicon bed with “gates” to control electrical flow and metallic contacts to apply voltage to start/stop current. It’s the first such device to be precisely positioned using
This power bar will automatically shut down the devices it’s powering based on time of day or clock settings. For example, why power that laser printer when everyone is away from work? Better to power off the printer between 6pm and 7am, right? The PowerUSB Bar can do just that.
The PowerUSB Basic empowers you to put your old devices on a diet by programming when to shut off power to them. It looks like a standard 4 port power strip but 3 of the for outlets are programmable. The last outlet is always on so it’s reserved for the PC. And there’s also a 6 ft USB cord coming out of the power strip. Attach printers, chargers, speakers or external drives and let the PowerUSB Bar govern their power consumption.
I just read this article 
The biodegradable USB cable works like any typical USB cable. It is USB-IF certified to guarantee performance speed. It comes in Type A and Type B connector styles. Qmadix also includes HDMI and 30 pin Apple connectors.
The big difference is the coating put on the cable. The USB biodegradable cable uses a plant-based by-product to protect the internal copper. The cable will remain stable during use in the home or office, but once put into a landfill, the degrading begins.
We suspect is has to do with moisture levels, but not 100% sure. The plant-based coating will biodegrade the cable in about
RCA is selling the charger for $20 retail.
Enter the USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault 
Televisions that support MHL will be able to integrate Roku’s streaming TV platform simply by plugging in the stick. With the stick docked, it will be just like having the Roku set-top box: it adds the Roku interface (and the 400+ channels it offers), Wi-Fi connectivity, and local storage to the TV it is used on.
MHL standard is quickly becoming adopted by the major players like