I think Brando found the perfect Father’s Day gift, the drinking Tic Tac Toe game set. Looks like each glass holds about 3oz of your favorite liquor. Question is, does the loser clear the table?
EVGA is lowering the bar for USB to VGA adapters and that’s a good thing. Traditionally you would pay upwards of $200 dollars for a USB to VGA adapter but now the UV12 and UV16 adapter from EVGA are under $80!
The UV Plus family take an existing USB port and convert that bus into a VGA/DVI adapter for additional monitors. This is ideal for those will lower video processing power (laptops) who want two or three widescreen monitors.
I spoke with Jeff, a pre-sales rep at EVGA and he did caution me against using the UV Plus family for hard core video applications such as
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REVIEW OF MAGICJACK PHONE
The MagicJack phone is a simple device which is specifically designed to connect your regular [and current] land-line phone to the internet for Voice Over IP calling.
I ran into one of the project managers of MagicJack from a different business deal and he sent a phone for review. I’ve mentioned the MagicJack phone before, but this is my first experience using the product.
OVERVIEW
The MagicJack is a small device [2.5″ x 1.5″] and works as a USB dongle which connects to your computer via USB port. The MagicJack phone does not require a Hi-Speed USB connection and thus will work on your front USB connection of a PC tower or the slower ports off your laptop docking station.
The USB MagicJack costs about $35-$40 depending on where you get it. You then pay $19 [the year after you buy it] for unlimited calling in the United States, Canada and parts of central America. Calls outside this region are then chargeable, but very reasonable. I looked up rates to the UK at it was $0.02 per minute. Not bad at all.
WHY IT’S UNIQUE
The MagicJack phone is unique because it has a regular phone jack connected to the dongle. This means ANY phone can be plugged into the device and used for VoIP calling
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Buffalo introduces their VH-MU01 USB phone for Skype and MSN chat so you can drop those headsets if you have a complex. The Buffalo USB phone looks like a slim design with easy button navigation. Any asstute reader will quickly realize there is no LCD or display for the phone. Well, if you’re looking to get into USB phones for home or work, don’t let the lack of display worry you.
These phones are designed to work with software like Skype where the software on your computer provides the visual display you need. So as you click the touch pad of the USB phone the action shows up on your Skype software.
This type of USB phone makes using on-line VoIP more like the traditional phone. However, if you just can’t part with the land-line setup than you should consider the MagicJack phone. The MagicJack is a USB dongle which connects to your computer and on the other end of the dongle is a traditional phone connection. Simply connect your good’ol phone to the dongle and you’re talking over VoIP.
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The Imation Disc Stakka is a management tool for keeping those messy CDs organized and accessible. Granted your music is probably on your iPod and if it isn’t then you should contact a CD Ripper Service…but even with all your music on that MP3 player you can still find a use for the Disc Stakka.
I’ve got at least 3 dozen installation CDs, software CDs, and utility CDs that I like to have in storage. Problem is the over flow of putting those CDs into a leather case – now I’ve got two cases. Rather then spending more mone on another bulky leather CD/DVD case, I’m looking at this Disc Stakka.
The Stakka is an automated carousel that stores and protects your CDs and DVDs. It does the painfully obvious as well, retrieves them. The Stakka holds
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If you’ve got Guitar Hero and recently acquired Rock Band from say…Christmas then you’ve probably wanted to bridge the two together for a complete bi-gaming experience. Since Activision and Harmonix will never come to minds on hardware connectivity and interface you’ll have to resort to the Ant Commandos converter to make the two play nice.
The converter has a USB connector on one end and PS2 connector on the other. Simply plug the converter into PS3, connect the PS2 controller, and set the switch to either Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Gamepad and you are ready to go.
TAC’s Universal PS2-to-PS3 Converter is compatible with PS3 Rock Band and PS2 / PS3 GHIII, and it works with basically every PS2 axe you can think of, wired and wireless.
The PS2 to PS3 converter product page.
Source: Engadget.
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Joe from USB Geek sent me an email about his new USB washing machine alarm clock, I thought we hit the mother-load. We didn’t. But lets stop and think for a minute, could we – one day - have a USB washing machine? It’s possible if the USB 3.0 spec really boosts the power over the bus to 12v. Until then, the USB washing machine can only be an alarm clock.
The USB washing machine plays four crappy alarm clock sounds along with an hourly chime and LED signal. Perfect for late night slumber.
In case you have a military friend you can set the hours for 12 or 24 and power the gadget via USB or two double A batteries.
At just $20 you can please any gadget lover who’s a germaphobic and likes to sleep in.
Visit the USBGeek web page and get a sample of the alarm clock sounds. Music to the ears [not].
USB washing machine alarm clock product page.
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Gadget4All generally has some useful USB gear they sell, but today in my inbox was a USB flower fan that was nothing short of gadget crap. Sorry guys.
Powered by USB or AAA batteries you can clutter up your office space with a pink or green USB flower fan. Granted it’s only $12 to buy, but sometimes it’s just more fun taking random items from around your space and creating something yourself…example: this USB fan.
BUT, if you are looking for a colorful and playful looking fan to prop up on your PC for the kids during the hot summer months, than please reconsider the USB flower fan. Or if you’ve got a lady friend who’s totally into Disney trinkets and anything gay and colorful like that.
USB Fever is thinking outside the box on this one. Going away from standard box USB hubs, this hub is all cable. To continue along the lines of abstract thinking USB Fever includes a separate power cable to extract juice from the system bus solely for the purpose of powering up those peripherals.
So we are looking at one upstream USB connection, a 4 port USB hub held together by cables along with a dedicated power line (red cap) for those thirsty gadgets.
You should note, one of the four USB ports is a mini USB connection. All this for just $14 + $3 shipping.
USB Cable Hub product page
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A Japanese company called Solid Alliance is selling an Apple iPod cover that’s designed to look like RAW MEAT. It comes in a cellophane-and-Styrofoam package just like meat does. We’ve reviewed plenty of iPod/iPhone cases before, but this one gets bonus points for originality. I wonder what my dog will think.
iPod… It’s what’s for dinner?
Iomega is shifting it’s focus to the consumers with more disposable income, the gamers. Well at least in theory. The Iomega Media Xporter is a portable 160GB hard drive designed to seamlessly integrate with cross-platform applications to PlayStation 3 consoles and Xbox 360 console.
With the gaming console become more of a home entertainment center, it’s Iomega’s goal to provide the tools to enjoy photo’s, video, music and games without hassle. The Media Xporter allows users to experience all the above without a PC. Once more, the photo’s and video will look stunning on a hi-def TV since the PlayStation and Xbox support HDMI as well as HDTV connectivity.
I don’t know about you, but a family function or get together would be a lot more fun sharing photo’s on a sweet flat screen then huttled up over a computer monitor. The Media Xporter makes this a simple and easy process.
The 160GB Iomega Media Xporter drive is power via USB 2.0 and will retail for $120. Although I do have some concerns about a bus powered USB hard drive.
Source: Coolest-Gadgets. Media Xporter product page.
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What else would you need as the ideal desktop clock watching device other than the USB Fever Temp, Clock and hub gadget. Not only does the 4 port USB hub have a clock to insure you exit work at exactly 5:01pm, but you’ll get an accurate reading on temperature.
The USB hub clock includes data and alarm settings as to wake you from the mid-afternoon slumber after the fat turkey sandwich lunch.
