USB Beagle Board Is A Developers Dream
Digi-Key released their USB Beagle Board today which is a low cost, high performance development board for ground level design work. The USB Beagle Board is 3in x 3in in size, includes a powerful 600MHYz ARM Cortex A8 processor, high speed USB 2.0 port, SD port, C64x+ DSP & video acceleration and supports 1280×1024 DVI-D monitors.
The ARM processor will handle over 1,200 million instructions per second (MIPS) making it as powerful as most laptops these days.
The USB Beagle Board is only $149 making it the least expensive, most powerful development board on the market. Here is a list of other hardware components for the Beagle Board:
- OMAP3530 applications processor featuring the ARM® Cortex™-A8
- 128MB low-power DDR RAM
- 256MB NAND flash
- USB 2.0 high-speed on-the-go port
- NTSC/PAL TV via S-Video output
- 6-in-one 8-bit MMC+/SD/SDIO connection
- Stereo audio in/output
- JTAG header
- I2S, I2S, SPI, MMC/SD expansion header
- Power via USB or alternate jack
Error: This USB Device Can Perform Faster if Connected to Hi Speed USB 2.0 Port
Have you seen this error message before from your Windows machine when a USB device is connected: “This USB Device can Perform Faster if Connected to Hi Speed USB 2.0 Port?” Well, I’ve seen it recently and went through a fairly long process to figure out how to correct it. Surprisingly it’s not difficult.
First, let me say I’ve found little information on WHY this error occurs and how to avoid getting this error message when a USB device is connected to your computer. From the research I’ve done, this USB error message of “device can perform faster when connected to hi-speed USB” stems from a corrupt setting for a device on your computer in relation to how it communicates with the hi-speed USB host controller.
So here is the quick and easy fix: Reinstall the drivers for your Enhanced USB controller. Sounds complicated, but it isn’t. In fact, it’s a simple right click and a reboot. That’s it. Here’s how you do it:
Step 1: Unplug any USB devices from your computer with the exception of your keyboard and mouse [if they are connected].
Step 2: Navigate to your Device Manager page by doing:
Start > Control Panel > System > go to Hardware tab > Device Manager
From this window scroll down until you see the + sign for “Universal Serial Bus controllers.” Click the PLUS sign and another list will expand out. Simply identify the item which references a “USB Enhanced” controller and right click. From the options provided from your right click select “uninstall.”
Flexible USBee Drive Could Be Next Prototype to Hit the Streets
It’s probably fair to say most of use have damaged a USB drive while stuck inside a computer by bumping it, jamming it or stuffing it in via the wrong direction. To reduce the possibility of damage and increase the life of your USB stick, designer Damjan Stankovic has come up with a flexible USB device.
Flip Your Bit USB Utility To Make Local Drive
BootIt is a Lexar based utility to flip the Removable Media Bit setting of a USB drive. What this means, is you can take a Lexar drive (and many other brands) and make it appear as a Local Drive on your PC rather than Removable Storage.
This is absolutely necessary if you are looking to partition your USB drive or try some trick hack like run your iTunes from a USB stick.
The RMB or Removable Media Bit is present on all flash drives, but whether the Lexar utility can flip it is something of trial and error. Although it goes without saying…and I’ll say it anyway…the utility works with Lexar drives, everything else, use at your own risk.
Flip your bit BootIt is a freeware program. Download it here.
Continue Reading No CommentsUSB Hack: Make Your WD Passport Work Directly With USB DVD Player
Lets cut out the middle man (PC or laptop) and directly wire a Western Digital Passport to your USB DVD Player. This hack will give you the ultimate in A) storage size of movies and B) portability without lugging around a laptop. If you can’t see the video click here. Continue Reading No CommentsWordPress On USB
Back in July 2007 I made a USB tutorial post about putting WordPress on a stick. Shortly there after, several visitors emailed me indicating I had too much time on my hands and it really wasn’t worth the effort. But how do I disagree!
Even in the past year, WordPress has gain momentum in the blogisphere and becoming the #1 blogging platform. Even Alexa, a fairly decent gauge on web traffic ranks WP as #26 in most popular sites.
Given this information, I’ve seen more and more website – not blogs – use the WP platform to create their static website and webpages. So for those SEO and web designers out there, putting WordPress on a stick allows them to demo the site to clients, run SQL runtimes for testing and troubleshooting and isolating their web environment during development.
A good example is my RSS Filter website: FilterMyRSS. Take a look at the source code, you’ll see the script which runs the utility along with supporting pages and blog entries…all based off WordPress.
I do agree the masses wouldn’t care about putting WordPress on a stick, but if the web is your bread-n-butter it would probably be smarter for you to know how – than to not.
Install WordPress on a stick tutorial.
Continue Reading No CommentsUSB Tutorial: Wiki On A Stick
Today LifeHacker syndicated a short description on how to place a Wiki on a USB stick…and I thought…hmm interesting idea. So digging into things a little deeper it seems no more complicated than putting WordPress on a stick. But I think most of you would ask, why? The reason would be for off-line edits, organizing or remote access where there is no internet connectivity or you are in a facility which limits your access (schools & gov’t agencies).
Here is the web page from the MediaWiki website which gives you all the juicy details on placing a wiki on a stick.
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USB Tutorial: Make a Wood USB Drive
One of the most common problems with USB drives is the plastic casing getting cracked and breaking apart. It’s a shame that such a cheap piece of plastic might encourage some to drop another $20 or $30 on a new device. Of course fixing the plastic is never going to work as a long term solution – just a stop-gap. Instructables has a nice USB tutorial on taking a UFD and turning it’s case into a nice, customized wood piece. Sure you could buy a fancy wood drive made from material carbon dated back 600 years or more, but sometimes making your own stuff is much more satisfying.
USB Soft Air Gun Mod
Jared Bouck from InventGeek come up with a great mod for those USB Missile Launchers from Dream Cheeky. Rather than toy around with a foam missile, Jared up’d the anti with a soft air gun able to shoot plastic BBs up to 250 FPS. This is an ideal mod for rabbit control or pidgin control with a high level of fun involved. The other benefit from swapping out the foam missile launcher head, is the higher accuracy rate you’ll get from the soft air gun. When I reviewed the USB circus cannon [basically same product] that was a big down fall is lack of accuracy.
USB Tutorial: Make a USB LED Greenhouse
With “going green” such a big trend right now you might find yourself wanting to put a little green in your workspace – and no, I don’t mean that green. The following is a video USB tutorial on taking some supplies from around your office or home, LED lights and some USB power to create your very own USB LED Greenhouse. Video is 3 minutes. Continue Reading No CommentsUSB Tutorial: Turn VHS Tape Into Glowing USB Hub
