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.
Verbatim turned 40 this year and one of the products they have released to celebrate is the USB TUFF CLIP flash drive. Designed for the everyday use by a teen or college student the USB TUFF CLIP is made of ABS plastic and includes a retractable USB connector. In addition the TUFF CLIP comes with the obvious carabineer clip.
The clip is the compelling part about this project, as you can pick up a 4 or 8GB flash drive just about anywhere. The clip is well designed to fasten the flash drive to backpacks, key chains, belt loops and notebooks. With a capless design the caps wont fall off or get lost while dangling from your person.
The 4 [light blue] & 8GB [black] drives are priced at $29 and $39 respectively.
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Back in June of 2009 I made a joke that GetUSB.info had a USB Steampunk award, now I’m seriously considering it. Especially after seeing this new rendition.
This USB steampunk drive was made by a Russian modder. He traveled to a local rag fair [I’m assuming street fair] to pick up old clock parts and gears. The guy also picked up some stock brass tubing and screw rods to build a sturdy housing. Then off the the metal shop.
The source website, EnglishRussia, has the entire tutorial on how to do this crafty artwork. It’s far more interesting than educational, so if you are curious about the
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It’s not often you can merge the terms USB and Rock Star together. I can’t picture one scenario…but Intel can – and did. Here is their 20 second promo on USB technology. Funny, classic funny.
Source: DailyCupOfTech.
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Mimo has made a fairly good name for itself with the 710 series USB monitor…a compact 7″ add-on monitor. Well, these guys have one-upped themselves with the new 710-S. This is a USB monitor which is now slider slim sweetness.
Just check out this picture and you’ll understand why.
Mimo better dump all their old 710 inventory because everyone will want this new version.
The 7″ display has a display resolution of 800 x 400, contrast ratio of 400:1, and brightness around 350 cd/m2. Of course, the only connection needed, including power, is a USB connection.
The 710-S pivots 90 degrees and
“The integrated stand protects the screen from scratches when closed.”
Mimo doesn’t have stock, but willing to take your money. For those who pre-book, you’ll get product by late August. Price is $149.
Mimo 710-S product page.
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As Windows 7 is set to release sometime in October, today we heard there is an update to USB support. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what it means, but the quote is, “adding new USB and drive sharing support options…”
Does this mean you can set a USB stick as a shared device, maybe there is a default USB wireless support built in, I’m not sure, but maybe the following information will help.
The information I have is simply a download link to try out the “release candidate” for Windows 7. Here it is. If you have time, give it a download and try…see what the USB sharing is all about. I’d do it myself, but honestly…I’m too knee deep in other projects at the moment.
As a quick highlight, the Windows 7 requires an additional 1GB of RAM and 15GBs of disk space. We’ve also learned that XP virutal desktop will be preloaded on most new PCs and clearly an option for those who upgrade. Meaning, any software package built around .NET and XP will have full support under Windows 7. Microsoft did this so that large corporations don’t have to worry about software updates with an OS update. Just focus on the OS update and the software will still work. BUT – Windows 7 is built on Vista code [scary] so only time will tell.
Source:Â ARN.
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Here is a great gift idea that includes a splash of tech…give the gift of millefiori glass with a USB stick tucked inside. Granted, the picture is what caught my eye for this article, but the bottom line is that: it IS a good gift idea.
Personally an image like this might work even better…but who am I to judge.
To create the millefiori USB drive can be done in several simple steps. If you haven’t heard of millefiori then let me tell you: Millefiori is a glass work technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term “millefiori” is a combination of the Italian words “mille” (thousand) and “fiori” (flowers).
The millefiori technique has been applied to polymer clays and other materials. Because polymer clay is quite pliable and does not need to be heated and reheated in order to fuse it, it is much easier to produce millefiori patterns than with glass. And this is what we are going to do today.
In seven steps you can produce a nice looking USB necklece. The detailed how-to is over at Instructables but here is the general idea.
Get a small USB flash drive and take it apart. Get some polymer clay, such as Fimo Soft or Fimo Effect. Prep the millefiori material into a cane like shape. Include a core in the cane shape as this is where the USB stick will go. Cut the cane so you have
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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a USB tattoo and it isn’t the first time we’ve asked ourselves “why?” But here we are…asking that question again:
Is it me, or does this arm look like it belongs to a woman? Interesting.
MSN did an interesting article on the top 15 tech tattoos – which is the full story – check it out.
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Sometimes you need a USB stick to always use the same drive letter. Whether it’s backup software needing to point to a specific storage device, or you use a Windows Office application which requires a specific drive letter – sometimes it is just needed.
Given that Windows will assign a drive letter as a first-come, first serve basis to removable media it can get frustrating to always try for the same drive letter. Here is one way to assign a specific drive letter to a USB drive.
Before you can assign a drive letter to a USB device, take a look at what drive letters you have available. This will vary depending on what’s connected, networked drives and mapped drives in your system. Simply go to START > MY COMPUTER and take a look.
Next, plug in your USB drive to your computer and let Windows enumerate it [see it].
Navigate to:Â START > CONTROL PANEL > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > COMPUTER MANAGEMENT >
An alternate way to get to the same spot is START > RUN > “diskmgmt.msc”
In the left panel expand the Disk Management icon. On the right side you’ll see all the drives available. Right click on the Removable drive and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths”
Click the Add button and choose a drive letter not already in use from the drop-down list. Click OK.
Now exit or close all the dialogue windows and you’re set. Now, each time this specific USB stick is plugged in, Windows will assign it the same drive letter.
Note:Â Windows is associating the serial number of the device to the request you’ve entered above, SO, you’ll need to perform this same process for different flash drives.
Spread the word and enjoy.
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Albiet a concept design, this is one portable looking USB vinyl record player. Comprised of just two parts, a base and top, the USB vinyl record player is meant for table top play back. Granted, you’ve got to ask yourself who’s in such need of a portable solution, but for the die hard vinyl fan who just can’t stand MP3 this is a sure bet.
Published on Pyott Design they give you 3 easy steps:
1) Carry around & store as needed. To play separate base and player via side button.2) Place record on base spindle and reattached top player
3) Plug in power jack to USB port and additional audio jacks if needed. Will play 35/45 RPM
4)Â Place needle head on desired track and play.
In the beginning of July Engadget posted an article about a new release of Star Wars USB drives, not that we need more, but it was a fun little gallery – yet, not impressive enough to make you buy. Today that changed with this artist’s rendition of what he thinks a Star Wars USB drive should look like.
It should look like Luke Skywalker’s hand just got cut off.
That’s right, to gain access to your portable storage you need to sever Luke’s hand.
What’s more impressive is the detail of this home-brewed USB stick and the agony you can see in Luke’s eyes while you detach his hand just to store the latest collection of Tera Patrick photos.
No price as I don’t think these are for sale, but definitely a sweet little project for some bored teen.
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We all know the MinoHD Flip is a great hand held video recorder and is probably the most popular one, but there is a new star on the horizon, the Samson Q3.
Where the Samson Q3 differs from the Mino Flip is the great ability to capture audio. Just look at the thing…there is a towering microphone perched. Ready to capture the best of moments.
I would like to see what Jake & Amir can do with this thing?
In addition to the well positioned microphone, the Samson Q3 also has an expansion slot via SD card for additional memory capacity. Up to 32GBs to be exact.
The Samson Q3 also has VGA output so you can easily connect the device to your TV for instant viewing.Â
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If you are like me [and most people] you have a favorite flash drive. It’s not necessarily because of the way it looks, but rather – over time – all of your important information has accumulated to one stick. You get to a point where if you are going to save any kind of data to your USB drive, then you might as well save it to the one which has everything else.
This is where RecycleUSB.com comes in…if you have extra sticks lying around, which aren’t gett’in the love – donate them. Recycle USB has partnered with SugarLabs to turn donated USB sticks into portable learning computers.
What do I mean by portable learning computers?
Well SugarLabs created a Linux distro [based off Fedora] which boots directly from a flash drive. The distro is a customized learning platform for kids to
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To create the millefiori USB drive can be done in several simple steps. If you haven’t heard of millefiori then let me tell you: Millefiori is a glass work technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term “millefiori” is a combination of the Italian words “mille” (thousand) and “fiori” (flowers).
The millefiori technique has been applied to polymer clays and other materials. Because polymer clay is quite pliable and does not need to be heated and reheated in order to fuse it, it is much easier to produce millefiori patterns than with glass. And this is what we are going to do today.
In seven steps you can produce a nice looking USB necklece. The detailed how-to is over at Instructables but here is the general idea.
Get a small USB flash drive and take it apart. Get some polymer clay, such as Fimo Soft or Fimo Effect. Prep the millefiori material into a cane like shape. Include a core in the cane shape as this is where the USB stick will go. Cut the cane so you have
Continue Reading
