Review: Pinnacle USB TV Flash Stick

Matt LeBoff April 11, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases, USB Reviews

The Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T Flash Stick is one of the many TV receiver solutions out in the market these days. Dave Carter from Gadget Centre did a detailed review I’ll share with you. First off, the Pinnacle USB tuner is a step above the rest in that it’s true plug-n-play. There is no loading of software, simply plug in via USB and you’re set-up. This is a big bonus as taking the TV tuner from PC to PC is a snap. Continue Reading

Give the Stamp of Approval via USB

Matt LeBoff April 10, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets

I’m on the fence about this one. Solid Alliance came out with a UFD which also incorporates a stamp. It’s called the USB Stamp. Use one end to store data and the other to graffiti up whatever is with-in arms reach. The problem I see with this is the time it takes to eject the USB drive from your OS you could easily have grabbed 3 stamps to do your business.

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I’m sure this concept was the request of a customer, but kudos to SolidAlliance for thinking outside the ~~sponge~~ box. Continue Reading

Apple TV Hack: RSS Reader Plugin

Matt LeBoff April 8, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, Tutorials & How-To Guides, USB Hardware & Gadgets

The buzz about Apple TV remains strong, especially with new hacks and plugins. The most recent is an RSS reader plugin which is fully functioning with RSS1.x and 2.x. You can grab this plugin from the folks who cranked it out, twenty08. Only downer is the lack of support from ATOM feeds, but that group is a minority these days. Continue Reading

USB KVM Extender Goes the Distance via CAT5

Matt LeBoff April 7, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets

This is definitely a product which is more commercial, but there are a few home users who could get excited about this. Network Tech Inc introduced a KVM box that connects via USB and through CAT5 can expand the Keyboard, Video and Mouse another 300 feet.

For the gamer, this means you can put your water-cooled, dual processor kick a$$ PC off in the remote bedroom closet while game without a hint of PC noise. Although at $385 it might be a tough sale. Don’t kid yourself, the ST-C5USBV-300 Xtendex gives a crisp clear 1920×1440 resolution at 300 feet. Continue Reading

USB Storage Access on Nintendo Wii

Matt LeBoff April 5, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases

We’ve been waiting to report on the USB storage abilities of the Nintendo Wii, today it finally came. The USB port you’ve so longed to use as extra storage will eventually see the light of day. Today Nintendo partnered with a USB embedded software vendor eSOL to use their USB stack code for file management on the Wii.

True, the Wii has an SD memory slot but that taps out at 2GBs, this new partnership means a potential storage size of 32GBs, or for the common folk, 2-8GBs of storage. Although no official Nintendo announcement came about the news of this development, the writing is on the wall. Continue Reading

USB Beverage Cooler Gets Down to 20 Degrees

Matt LeBoff April 5, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets

With summer time coming up, a small investment into a USB beverage cooler isn’t a bad idea. Especially after hearing the USB cooler actually works. I have a feeling some of my PayPal dollars will be going towards this real soon.

If you can’t see the video, click here. Continue Reading

Vista Readyboost Dream Machine

Matt LeBoff April 3, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases

Brando is distributing the A-Data turbo speed USB flash drive, the PD7. This is a Windows Vista Readyboost dream with 133x (20MB) per second write speeds.

Not sure what’s up with brushed aluminum case, as this is the second release in one day, but it appears to be the trend – what can you say, good looking and durable.

Caution about the Vista Readyboost claim as today Microsoft got slapped with a lawsuit for false Vista compliance ads with regards to compatibility of “signature” features working in peripheral products.

Wireless USB Hub from Icron

Matt LeBoff April 2, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases, USB Security & Compliance

The WiRanger from Icron is a wireless USB hub making it easier than ever to unclutter your desk and redistribute that crap to the credenza, filing cabinet or your buddies cubical.

“Icron’s flexible ExtremeUSB technology is the engine that enables USB 1.1 or 2.0 connections over any media: wireless, cable, power line or fiber optics.”

so given Icron are experts with USB, jumping into WUSB is a logical move.

What I like about this solution is no software is needed for configuration so Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac users can benefit from this product. The hub uses a USB dongle from the host computer which communicates with the remote hub. Using the 802.11g radio frequency the WiRanger can transfer data up to …well, Icron just says high speed. Speed will be determined by the peripheral product and radio frequency output of about 58Mbps – not the performance of the hub. The range is about 30 meters from base unit to hub unit.Â The WiRanger is a 4 port hub and has a set MSRP of $395. Icron said the WUSB hub to be available this spring, which should be any day now. Icron also eludes to other high-end WUSB solutions coming to market for the military, pro-sumer and medical markets in the coming months. Continue Reading

AppleTV Video Review: A First Look by Father Bill

Matt LeBoff March 30, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets

Father Bill does an excellent job of showing you what’s under the hood of an AppleTV. If you are thinking about buying an AppleTV, this is a great review with real world examples. If you cannot see the AppleTV video review, click here. Continue Reading

Make the Most of Your Desk Grommet

Matt LeBoff March 30, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases

Let me help Belkin help you with their latest product announcement the In-Desk Grommet USB Hub and In-Desk Grommet iPod Dock Station. Every now and again, a real great idea comes along and I believe this is one of them. What I like about this solution are the side spaced so you can still fit your other cables, like monitor and keyboard connections down through the desk grommet.

At $39 the Belkin In-Desk USB iPod dock station and hub are a fair price. Belkin also has two other “flat” models available. Grommet size solutions are standard 2 inch and 3 inch holes. I was going to click the Buy Now button, but Belkin is just prepping the market, nothing is available just yet. Continue Reading

The Magic Jumping USB Shoe

Matt LeBoff March 29, 2007 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets

There is really nothing to say, just watch the video. Fricken crazy.

How the hell did he get the shoe to jump that high? If you can’t see the magic jumping USB shoe, click here. Continue Reading

Get Your iPod-Mix-On with iMultiMix 8 USB

Matt LeBoff March 27, 2007 USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases

Alesis has a new compact mixing station that does a little more than mix. What’s great about the iMultiMix 8 USB, is that you have the ability to record directly to iPod. So this direct-connect ability puts those 28-bit studio grade digital effects and recordings ripe-n-ready for podcasting.

For ultraâ€“clean live recordings of nearly any performance, including home studios, musicians, podcasters, and houses of worship, the iMultiMix 8 USB is an ideal solution.

I reported on the iPod DJMixer from ION Audio, but that was just a mixer for playing from your iPod, the iMultiMix gives you professional quality mixing, 3 band per channel EQ, guitar/line inputs, built-in FX and iPod recording in a single, smart package. This should run about $500. Continue Reading