Author Archive
Mark McCrosky
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.
Our Answer to a Smartphone / Tablet Dock Charging Station
With the iPhone in its 8th iteration of the product and most likely you have some older models laying around. Those older models can be put to use, but chances are, you don’t keep them charged up. So after a couple of days without connection, they are dead. I currently use an older iPhone to stream my music at work. I don’t stream from my phone, because I always seem to get disconnect to the Bluetooth speakers after I take a call.
This is why I like the 10 port charging station from USBFever. It’s got a logical design for holding ten devices. With the USB ports on the bottom, it keeps the plugs from hanging off the wall. Just above the USB ports are hollow channels you can bundle up the USB cable and stash it away. On top are vertical channels to hold your iPhone, iPad, Smartphone or tablet. The vertical channels are tall enough the devices will sit sturdy and proper.
Finally, the design includes a good balance of power output for the devices. There are a total of 10 USB ports. Eight of which push out a 2.5amp power supply and the remaining two are 1amp. This means the charging dock station will power the tablets as well as the larger iPhone and Samsung product while you can leave the smaller phones to the 1amp channels.
The default color is
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How Flash Memory Works
This is a great video that explains how flash memory works. Granted, the video is very technical but does work through the concept of reading and writing data to flash. So if you have the 17 minutes to use, I suggest giving this a watch. The video does cover SLC, MLC and TLC memory and how each of these technologies read and write with the different layers of a floating gate device like NAND. Source: YouTube. Continue ReadingVideo: USB Inkjet Printer for USB Swivel Drives by Nexcopy
UPDATE: The Nexcopy USB Flash Drive Printer has been updated to a 40 up print unit. Nexcopy reached out and informed our team the USB7P printer has been replaced with the LOGO-EZ PRINTER. The new design includes a 100% customized print tray to secure hold the USB flash drives in place during print. Price starts around $3,500
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The following information is related to a depreciated version of the USB Flash Drive Printer from Nexcopy. For current information please visit their product page (link at bottom of article)
Nexcopy introduces the USB Clip Printer – a full color, inkjet printer that brings vibrant custom logos and graphics to any standard USB swivel drive and its all available from your desktop.
The USB7P was engineered to address full color printing to USB flash drives at an affordable price. The idea is simple. Using the body of the standards swivel drive you swap the metal clip from your supplier for the inkjet printable clip from Nexcopy. Now, with an inkjet printable clip you can print full color images, on both sides of the clip, from any jpeg image. The results are fantastic. The print is durable and the print is highly
water resistant. Nexcopy has really pieced together a great solution whereby the user can buy memory from their favorite supplier while still having in-house, full color printing.
The USB7P is a full color inkjet printer based on HP technology. With HP™s proven technology the USB7P can print over 11 million colors with very accurate PMS color matching. The USB7P can print seven USB clips of the same image or seven unique images. Full color printing is done in about 35 seconds. Black logo printing is less than 20 seconds. With the intuitive and user friendly PC based software you will be printing crisp, high quality images in no time.
The process is simple. It begins with installing the USB7P software, drivers and preparing the printer to accept a project by making sure it’s properly connected and aligned for the 7 slot clip printer tray.
Using either bitmap or jpeg images you can quickly and easily import and align your images to the seven inkjet printable clips.
The USB7P uses an on-board camera to easily size and align your image to the size and position of the clips. This exclusive camera feature makes the pre-print process a breeze.
Again, it takes less than 35 seconds to print a complete set of 7 clips. As they emerge from the printer, the clips are instantly dry and highly water-resistant, making it a perfect solution for quick-turn USB branding jobs.
Since the clips can be printed on both sides, flip the clips around in the clip printer tray and return to the software for easily printing on the reverse side. No drying time is necessary.
Source: Nexcopy Inc., Newsroom
Nexcopy Introduces USB Flash Drive Printer
UPDATE: The Nexcopy USB Flash Drive Printer has been updated to a 40 up print unit. Nexcopy reached out and informed our team the USB7P printer has been replaced with the LOGO-EZ PRINTER. The new design includes a 100% customized print tray to secure hold the USB flash drives in place during print. Price starts around $3,500
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Press Release:
Lake Forest, CA — Jun 11, 2014 — Nexcopy Inc., launches an all new inkjet printer for printing to USB flash drives. The USB Flash Drive Printer is capable of printing full color logos on USB clips used with the popular USB swivel styled drive. The USB Flash Drive Printer is targeted for small business, marketing firms and promotional companies where quick turn, full color printing is beneficial for customer service and product sales.
Using the Nexcopy seven slot USB Flash Drive Printer and Nexcopy inkjet printable clips, quickly and easily print full color logos in about 35 seconds.
- Print from common jpeg and bmp files
- Print 7 identical images or 7 different images with Nexcopy print software
- USB clips are print ready on top and bottom
- USB clips are available in a smooth, white, matte finish
- Ideal for one-off samples or short and medium size print jobs
- Printed images are instantly dry, highly water resistant and durable from scratching
- Inkjet printable USB clips compatible with nearly all swivel USB drive styles
“The USB Flash Drive Printer is an exciting product for Nexcopy to release,” says Greg Morris, President of Nexcopy Inc. “The USB7P opens doors for branding to flash drives the industry has never seen before. The printer has an aggressive price point which provides marketing firms and promotional companies a real in-house option for full color printing to USB flash memory.”
The USB7P is based off Hewlett Packard inkjet print technology. Hewlett Packard print technology is known for exceptional print quality and ability to closely match pantone colors when images are sent to print. Testing has shown the USB Flash Drive Printer can print seven full color images in about 35 seconds. Print speed can improve with the quickest time being around 15 seconds for seven clips while printing a black only logo.
“The USB Flash Drive Printer gives small business a cost advantage because with an in-house print solution, there is no shipping fees associated with sending USB media to a print house. No screen costs or setup fees to pay and the per-print run cost is significantly lower than from a print shop.” Morris continues, “The USB7P is extremely easy to use. Our Resellers have pulled company logos off their client’s website, printed the image to a USB clip and it looks fantastic. The customer received their sample the following day and the client booked a large flash drive order. These are the types of examples we hope business consider when thinking about the purchase of our USB Flash Drive Printer.”
The USB7P weighs 11 pounds/5kgs with physical size of: 18 x 11.5 x 10.5 (inches) or 452 x 286 x 267 (mm). The clip printer ships with an external power block and power cord for both 110 and 220 power. The printer is based off HP print technology and uses a CMY ink cartridge and black ink cartridge. One of each cartridge and 20 clips ship with purchase of the printer. The USB7P will hold seven USB clips and print seven of the same image or seven different images at the same time. The USB7P has an MSRP of $1,799. “USB Flash Drive Printer” is a trademark of Nexcopy Inc.
Images for Nexcopy’s USB Flash Drive Printer USB7P:
Product Page: https://www.nexcopy.com/usb-clip-printer/
Printer image: https://www.nexcopy.com/downloads/usb7p.jpg
USB clip samples: https://www.nexcopy.com/downloads/usb7p_tray.jpg
USB7P data sheet: https://www.nexcopy.com/downloads/USB7P.pdf
Nexcopy’s complete line of USB Duplicators, CF Duplicators, SD Duplicators and microSD Duplicators are available through a world-wide network of authorized resellers.
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About Nexcopy Incorporated:
Nexcopy Incorporated specializes in developing and manufacturing the finest and most feature rich flash memory duplicators in the market. Pioneering the solid-state memory duplication market, Nexcopy supplies Central and South America, Europe, India, Asia, Pacific Rim and serves the U.S. market through its U.S. headquarters at: 13 Orchard Road Suite 102, Lake Forest, CA 92630.
Nexcopy Incorporated
Mr. Greg Morris
+1 949 481 6478
contact @ nexcopy.com
https://www.nexcopy.com
Credit Card Size Charge with USB and miniUSB
Revi Charger is a creative form factor. The Revi power station is a cordless device which will accommodate either USB or microUSB sockets.
The Revi was designed to be sleak and stylish charging unit and is available in 550mAh capacity or 1440 mAh capacity. Retailing for $25 and $35 respectively
“Since we are already funded, we were able to gather the world’s top talent to produce the Revi Charger. We want our customers to receive the biggest boost when they need it the most with no wires.”
The company also has one impressive website that is easy to navigate, gather information and order.
Revi Charger homepage.
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Stand alone Windows Password Reset Tool
One of the most classic and – yet still perversely prevalent – issues IT staff face is resetting Windows passwords for users who have forgotten them (again). While remote administration has reduced the need to physically reactivate and reset passwords in most scenarios, a copy of L0phtcrack still remains in every experienced admins ‘toolbox’. Of course, having to reboot the system and use a copy of Bart PE or other portable OS’ to run L0phtcrack has a PITA factor all its own.
Well, it seems that entrepreneur Jonty Lovell has done something about it as the all new – and fully funded – Password Reset Key has been designed to take the hassle out of this common issue. In fact, as long as you have physical access to the system even home owners can now reset their forgotten password within mere moments.
The secret to the Password Reset Key is the fact that it combines a key shaped 1GB flash drive – available in black, stainless steel, or ‘gold’ – with a simple OS that auto-loads his custom software upon startup. Just as with L0phtcrack, with a simple click or three, you can scan, reset and even test how secure a given systems login passwords are. Because of its ‘key’ form factor, it will be hard to lose as you can simply stick on your keychain and always have it close at hand. However, be warned that this $15 – $50 device (depending on which option to choose) may get you in trouble with your IT staff as resetting the ‘administrator’ password will greatly ‘annoy’ them if they find out.
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USB Zipper Cable – Great Idea
The Xpower 2 in 1 Zipper USB cable will support all micro USB and lightning devices. With its unique zipper design, it allows the cable to become expandable enough to charge more than one device at any given moment. It also supports iOS 7 and android devices. It is conveniently 36cm in length. The 2 in 1 Zipper USB cable will make multitasking much easier. The design and size make it very practical for transporting with you on the go. Its cable syncsupport is a 2.4A output at max and it has a 30/30 AWG high speed transmission and cable sync with micro UBSs only.
USB zipper cable
USB Head Massage Thang
We have heard about the USB hand warmer or the USB foot warmer or even the USB eye warmer, but it appears we’ve gone one step further. I guess if there were ever a line to draw in the sand as to much, is too much, this would be it. Brando, a distributor of USB gadgets, now has on sale a USB head massager. For $52 US dollars you can have this goofy looking head bracket which will vibrate at your heads key acupuncture points.
If anyone ends up buying this USB head massager, please post a picture of you wearing it on our facebook page.
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Corsair Brings USB and microUSB Stick to CES 2014
Corsair continues their reputation for high speed, high quality USB products. This year at the CES 2014 show Corsair is showing off their new Voyager Go USB drive. Two improvements with this device: 1) The USB includes a standard USB connector and a microUSB connector. This addition makes it easier to store files from a portable device directly to the flash memory. 2) The USB cap and USB body include a loop so when connected with a lanyard you no longer have the option to lose the cap. This is the first that I’ve seen with a cap/body configuration like this…and it should have happened years ago.
The Corsair Voyager Go USB is available as a 3.0 device in 16, 32 and 64GB capacity. USB 3.0 can boost transfer speeds in excess of 135MB/s however we must realize this spec is not real-world environment.
Source:Â Corsair, CES.
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USB 3.1 Connector, Physical Design, Universal Connector
It is all over the internet, the universal USB connector; however, it is difficult to find the physical design or look of the connector. Most websites are posting old style 2.0 or 3.0 connectors. From reading through the USB.org documentation, we have the following physical design specs.
From the notes in the document, these designs could change, but at least we have an idea.
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Question: CRC Verse Checksum Verification for USB Flash Drives?
Is Checksum or CRC better for checking data written to USB flash drives?
This post is to give the general user an idea of what verification method is better for writing data to a flash drive. There are reference links at the bottom of this post which dive much deeper into the two methods of verification if this simple overview is not enough.
The short answer is Cyclical Redundancy Check or CRC is the best method for checking data written to a USB flash drive.
Many believe a checksum is the best method to verify data written to a flash drive (most popular is MD5). I believe this is favored because it is easier to understand how the verification works, and also easier to implement. However, there are flaws in checksum verification and therefore not suitable for verification of data written to a flash drive.
What is the difference between Checksum and CRC verification? The checksum method uses addition in its math calculations to check whether all data was written correctly. CRC uses long division in its math calculations to check whether all data was written correctly. It is worth noting I am talking about binary long division, not the school-yard long division you so fondly remember.
Checksum methods will calculate the total bits in a packet of data and include that total checksum amount when the data is sent over communication lines. The receiver will then look at the packet, read the checksum value and then perform the same calculation to make sure everything adds up. If the calculation on the receiver’s end matches the value passed in the packet, all is good. The problem is a high probability that somewhere between the sender and receiver the bits of data are changed, corrupted or swapped yet still turn a correct checksum value after calculation on the receiving end.
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