Just last week I talked about the USB Fever 62-in-1 card reader thinking that was just about everything one would need. Today iMono announces an 80-in-1 card reader. It’s very likely either card reader will satisfy your every need, and I’ve still found a way for you to buy both [not that you would].
The USB Fever card reader is a 5.25 inch bay system making it ideal for a standard component on build out for numerous machines whereas the iMono 80-in-1 card reader is an external device making it an excellent sidekick for your laptop.
I didn’t take the time to count out all 80 devices – which begs the questions:Â Does anyone audit this stuff?
In case you are asking,
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IK Multimedia is shipping their new USB stomp box, the StompIO for a plug-n-play floor contoller and audio interface for guitars. I’m a bit familiar with embedded designs and especially those related to USB, so the reports of the StompIO being delayed wasn’t a surprise.
None the less, the USB stomp box is a unique product which provides the musician with a host of benefits such as replicating numerous amps, mics, stomps, cabinets and rack effects on the fly.
So here’s the deal, the stomp box is the first of it’s kind with high quality effects in a compact floor control design. You can operate every aspect of the software without connecting a monitor and keyboard. Connecting the box [via USB] to a host computer (Mac & PC compatible) , the StompIO is a powerful tool for recording making it an excellent [portable] solution for the touring and gigging guitarist. The StompIO is the only software-based guitar amp and FX that can truly be used live. Since you need a computer for processing the effects, IK Multimedia sells a nice add-on computer to run the StompIO while on stage.
The IK stomp system comes with five pre-loaded software packages. They are:
AmpliTube 2
Ampeg® SVX
AmpliTube Jimi Hendrixâ„¢
AmpliTube Metal
AmpliTube X-GEAR
The grubby details include StompIO having 51 stomps, 26 amps, 33 cabinets, 11 mics and 23 rack effects.
The IK Multimedia StompIO will set you back $1,050 and is available now. IK Multimedia webpage.
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Ok, there are several items we need to discuss about the USB eye warmers.
First – the picture is classic. Guy looks like sleeping at work – not a good image for selling product. At least put the subject in a hospital bed or white background so the first image running through your mind isn’t sleeping at work.
Second – Warm your eyes to reduce fatigue and tired eyes. Isn’t that called sleep? There might be some obscure medical research to back up the notion of warmth to the eyes [while not sleeping] reduces fatigue, but doubt it.
Third – The website reports:
User controls temperature by hand and switching power on/off.
That statement is ridiculous. No sh!t power on/off would control temps.
In Conclusion – Because of the items listed above, I’ve made a proclamation as editor of GetUSB.info: The USB eye warmer is the most useless product I have ever seen. Period.
If you feel differently here is the link to the $13 gadget.
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It’s always been a gas to report on those strange USB drives floating around and I thought we had seen it all with the Spongebob drive, Biscuit drive and Star Wars Pez drives, but today I bring you yet another.
Minimoo brings us four new USB animal drives to place into our “useless novelty” category [although not useless, sure is goofy]. As the flagship product we have the USB turtle, Göran.
Next up we have Fredrick the USB gorilla, Jan the USB sheep and Maud the USB pig.
The common USB sizes are available which are 1, 2 & 4GB with prices between $43-$75.
I’ve got a brother-in-law scared to death of turtles, so I’d love to get him Göran. The look on his face when a USB turtle is sticking out his USB port would be legendary. Although probably not to funny to you.
Anyway – getting your veterinarian a “thank you” tech gift or starting your own USB animal collection would never be easier, thanks to Minimoo of course.
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I’ve never given geo tracking my pictures much thought, not until I came across Coolest-Gadgets post about putting GPS to your JPEG images. This gadget would especially apply to those frequent travelers, or travelers who love getting lost in the details during family slide shows.
The picture geo tracker is a standalone device that allows a photographer to tag their photos with GPS location. The Photo Finder is pocket sized and has software which syncs GPS location data into the saved photo file without PC connection or editing. Coolest-Gadgets reports the Photo Finder only supports JPEG at the moment, with plans to support KML route files so you can not only geo tag and plot your pictures, but sync up your
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Click – Hard drive locked and encrypted.
Click – Hard drive unlocked and ready for use.
Yup, that’s it for security when using the RFID USB hard drive enclosure. The enclosure is designed to hold any number of 2.5 inch hard drives and with the embedded RFID technology a simple RFID ringkey is all that holds your data safe and secure.
Upon connection to your system, the RFID key identifies the USB hard drive for setup and connection, from that point forward the USB enclosure needs the same RFID signal to lock and unlock the drive.Several LED light configurations provide status: Red for lock, Green for unlock and Blue for write process.
With all this high tech RFID security, you can still be a knucklehead
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Not that domino’s has traditionally carried the “geeky” stereotype, but putting some flash memory and a USB connector on would definitely capture a Geek’s attention.
Although the USB domino is just a design, the creator wanted each domino dot to represent 1GB of memory. Not too far fetched for the lower end, but what about the box-car 12 USB domino? That’s over a TB of data.
The other question which comes to mind, is what kind of coin will you drop to get a full set to make the USB domino collection worth…shall I even say it?…playing with.
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Steve Jobs announced an update to the Apple TV at Macworld San Francisco this week as well as iTunes Movie Rentals, which were already rumored to be part of his Macworld keynote speech.
Jobs admitted that Apple’s online video plan had been a disappointment and that users didn’t take to watching online video the way Apple had expected. When Jobs first announced the Apple TV last January, Apple’s initial video plan was too complicated for many people. Getting a movie or TV show onto your Apple TV required customers to buy the video from the iTunes Store, download it to their computer, then sync/stream the file using an Apple TV.
Although Apple has already sold 7 million movies, Jobs said: “That’s more than everyone else put together, but it did not meet our expectations.”
Apple plans on overhauling their strategy by making 2 major changes:
Adding a new online movie rental service
Updating the Apple TV’s software so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet sans (that’s Latin for without) computer.
Jobs thinks that viewers would prefer to rent movies, not buy them. As a result, the new Apple TV software will allow users to
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Our good friends at GizmosForGeeks cruised through CES’08 this year and one of their highly recommend products was the Pinnacle Video Transfer unit from Pinnacle Systems. The point of this device is making the record, copy and transfer of your favorite video (TV, DVD etc) to your iPod [or other hand held device] quick and easy.
As seen here, USB is the answer for plug-n-play connection and the Video Transfer box gives three settings for video quality. Your setting choice will dictate the file size and resolution quality. The video input options include S-video or Composite video.
The Gizmo guys had a moment to demo the unit and reported the unit was easy to use, compact and simple in operation.
The Pinnacle Video Transfer box will be available later this month for just $129.
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I hope you didn’t buy a new Apple laptop recently. Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air at Macworld today.
The MacBook Air is the “World’s Thinnest Notebook” – even thinner than the Sony TZ, which is 0.8 to 1.2 inches thick. It’s so thin it fits in a manila envelope. Seriously. See the image below! Apple’s goal was to make a high performance 3 pound laptop, with a full size keyboard, and large display.
The MacBook Air is so thin, it only has 4 ports: USB 2.0, Micro-DVI, headphone jack and a MagSafe 45w power adapter plug.
So what did Apple leave out?
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Markus Bischof is a Germany craftsman who’s recently applied his skills to the creation of hand crafted USB drives.
Made from extremely old wood and veneers it’s hard to believe a single tree hasn’t been (recently) cut down for it’s creation. Rather, the materials used, come from old wood collections where the wood is as hard as stone and incredibly smooth to the touch. For example some USB drives where made from an old pipe organ built in 1839 and dismantled years ago.
It’s clear these materials aren’t collected from local trees but rather hand crafted and hold a historical past from the materials used.
The image above is a sample shot which the German Bundesumweltminister (Federal Environment Minister) ordered as a representative giveaway to the ministers of other countries.
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Not the best looking USB mouse, but it does hold one unique characteristic…it’s waterproof. Yep, you can now browse the web, underwater, safe and secure. Putting some traditional yellow to signify the waterproof feature would help the look, but not by much.
The redeeming quality for this USB gadget is the application in hospitals, weathered / outdoor applications or possibly chemical laboratories as the mouse is chemical resistant as well.
The USB waterproof mouse is sealed with high quality silicone making it possible to clean, disinfect and even wash under water without harm or damage.
So if you happen to be a pool bartender, restaurant owner of just a slob, you can pick up the waterproof mouse for $37.
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Ok, there are several items we need to discuss about the USB eye warmers.
First – the picture is classic. Guy looks like sleeping at work – not a good image for selling product. At least put the subject in a hospital bed or white background so the first image running through your mind isn’t sleeping at work.
Second – Warm your eyes to reduce fatigue and tired eyes. Isn’t that called sleep? There might be some obscure medical research to back up the notion of warmth to the eyes [while not sleeping] reduces fatigue, but doubt it.
Third – The website reports:
