U3 Software: ZACK U3 Game

Matt Laboff April 18, 2007 Gaming, Software, U3 Related

So the makers who brought you Drops just released another fun and adictive game called ZACK.

Simple. Place the colored squares in the grid without getting stuck. The color of your stone must match the color to the left, right, top or bottom. You do have gray stones as jokers whereby you can place them anywhere there is a free slot. When you fill a complete row or column it’s removed from the grid. I guess one guy got so into this game, he emailed in and said:

I lost my wife because of this game. Thank you Derbrill

Not sure who to feel sorry for… Continue Reading

U3 Software: XnView a Free Graphics Editor and Viewer

Matt Laboff April 13, 2007 Software, U3 Related

XnView is now available for U3 enabled flash drives. XnView is a powerful graphics tool for viewing and converting files from one format to another.

I would recommend this software if you’re a blogger, but have a job where there is no graphic editor software like Photoshop. Load up your U3 flash drive and edit anywhere, on any PC. I particularly like the slide show feature XnView offers. The list of features is insane long so here’s the cut-n-paste: Continue Reading

U3 Software: Beef Up Your Kids IQ with USB Math Software

Matt Laboff April 9, 2007 Software, U3 Related

The latest addition to U3 is the Junior edition of MathOwns software. Yep, now it’s possible to drill your kids via USB in their math abilities. For the competitive parent this is an ideal tool to sharpen skills based off pre-reselected criteria and math levels. Forget flash cards as the MathOwns software auto-generates exercises and provides email or PDF notification options upon completion of drills.

Sarcasm set aside, anything to make kids learn more and make it more interactive and fun is definitely a plus. I have first hand seen the interest kids have when working on computers and to have math lessons and exercises loaded on their Spongebob flash drive is a nice benefit. Continue Reading

Automatic and Simple USB Backup Utility

Matt Laboff April 3, 2007 Software, USB News

I came across this handy USB disk drive backup software utility the other day. Tom Bell did a nice job putting this package together. The program automatically starts when the UFD is connected to the PC. Backing up your thumb drive could never be easier.

USB Backup looks for a specific configuration file – when found – it begins the auto backup. The USB backup will archive the information to a directory of your choice. If the config file isn’t found on your UFD then a simple guide will walk you through setup. Get USB Backup. The utility is in Beta now, so download and give him feedback. The back story for why Tom created this: Continue Reading

Zune Hack: Run Zune on Vista

Matt Laboff March 24, 2007 Audio, Software, USB Hacks, USB News, USB Tutorials

My buddy purchased a Zune a couple days ago and learned it didn’t work with his Windows Vista. He did figure out how to run the Zune on Windows Vista. A little digging around he came up with the following article, thought to pass it along.

Before you start be sure you have the Zune CD, WinRAR (if you don’t have it, grab a trial version) and a this Zune.msi install patch (here *requires log-in on forum). There are 10 steps to this process and please don’t plug in your Zune until prompted to by the Zune software. Instructions: Continue Reading

U3 Software: Backup Software, BackUp4All

Matt Laboff March 22, 2007 Software, U3 Related, USB News

Softland jumps onto the U3 momentum and offers a portable backup solution, Back Up 4 All. One feature which caught my eye, is the ability to preconfigure a UFD to auto-backup upon plugin to a host computer.

BackUp4All can also back up locked files and perform full, partial or mirror backups. Softland mentions you can also set filters and review which files changed between the current back and the previous. If you are like the other 90% of computer users, backing up once a month will do the trick, but if you’re a U3 junkie or simply want to be better prepaired, grab Back Up 4 All. Source: U3, Download BackUp4All Continue Reading

MagicJack the Magic Phone Jack

Matt Laboff March 19, 2007 Software, USB News, VoIP

UPDATE: The MagicJack phone jack received Product of the Year in 2007. After the purchase of the MagicJack USB dongle (about $40) you pay a one time fee of $19.95 per year for unlimited calling. Not $19.95 per month BUT $19.95 per year. This will reduce your phone bill to just $20 a year! The MagicJack phone is available at Amazon. Review: GetUSB.info reviews MagicJack, the Magic Phone Jack.

MagicJack is a convenient USB dongle with phone jack attached to it. By connecting your regular phone to the MagicJack phone port, you can now make free calls anywhere within the US for free. If traveling in Canada, Mexico, UK, China, Italy and Israel then you can call home (USA) for free.

MagicJack is a VoIP service which doesn’t have phone charges but rather an upfront cost for the USB dongle. No pricing yet, but it does provide not only free calling using your regular phone, but includes Continue Reading

How Popular Is U3 Software

Matt Laboff March 15, 2007 Kingston, SanDisk, Software, U3 Related, USB News

Yesterday GetUSB.info reported on Kingston giving U3 the axe and their decision to stop selling the portable application bundled into Kingston UFDs. Interestingly enough, part of that announcement indicated sales for U3 devices are lack-luster and demand for U3 drives aren’t high enough to offset the royalty fee associated with platform.

However, as the story broke, GetUSB.info just finished their latest USB Poll on “Do You Own a Flash Drive With U3 Software?” The results concluded that 64% of GetUSB.info readers have U3 drives, where as the balance do not. Seems to us, there are some mixed numbers. Continue Reading

ATP USB mini ToughDrive and CoSoSys Team Up

Matt Laboff March 13, 2007 Flash Storage, Rugged Flash Drives, Security, Software, USB News

The CoSoSys Carry It Easy software we recently reported will now be found, pre-installed, on the ATP USB ToughDrive. The preloaded CoSoSys software will allow for quick and easy sync of email, contacts and personal bookmarks.

If not familiar with the ATP ToughDrive, it’s a ruggedized flash drive designed to withstand water, dust, static discharge and extreme temps. Include the Secure It Easy software from CoSoSys and now you’re not only portable but iron-clad secure too. Continue Reading

U3 Software: Opera 9.1 for Flash Drives

Matt Laboff March 12, 2007 Software, U3 Related, USB News

By default, most use IE for their web browser and those wanting a little more switch to Firefox. You’ve also got a portion of that browser pie who love Opera. Recently Opera-USB become available for U3 flash drives. Opera is a portable browser, email system, contacts database and download client.

As with Mac/PC Opera there are a host of internet surfing tools available for this portable application. If you’re on the fence here are a couple safe harbor statements:

U3 Software: Atlantis Portable Word Processing for U3

Matt Laboff March 9, 2007 Flash Storage, Software, U3 Related, USB News

Atlantis is carving out a name for themselves with non-Microsoft word processing software. I’ve used the software and I like it. Atlantis is taking a more social approach to their software. You’ve got plugins to download and easy integration of audio and video.

Recently Atlantis made their Word Processing portable for U3 flash drives. I think most of us can agree there is a love-hate relationship between Microsoft applications and having to use them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m impressed with Microsoft, I couldn’t have done what Bill did. But the fact is, most of us get trapped into using their software because it’s at home, at work and everywhere else. Continue Reading

Install Vista from a USB Flash Drive

Matt Laboff February 28, 2007 Readyboost, Software, USB News

With all the Windows Vista buzz flying around on the internet, I asked myself how could USB fit into this, besides the Readyboost power-up feature Vista provides. I found this forum post, via EverythingUSB, and wanted to share it with my USB clan. So here it goes: Why install Windows Vista from a USB flash drive? As any tech savvy would answer: Performance. Installing Windows Vista from a high speed USB flash drive is, most likely, the easiest & fastest way to complete a Windows Vista install. This is much faster than using a DVD, gigabit Ethernet, or external USB hard drives because the differences in access speed & transfer rates.

Play-by-play guide to installing Vista from a USB flash drive: Continue Reading