How To: USB Steampunk a Flash Drive

Matt LeBoff July 1, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, Tutorials & How-To Guides, USB Hardware & Gadgets

Here at GetUSB.info we love the USB steampunk drive.Â We’ve reported on at least a dozen of them over the past couple years and I’m sure we’ve missed three times that many.Â Today we are tipping you off to a great tutorial on how to USB steampunk your own flash drive. Instructables has a very detailed, 9 page tutorial on how to steampunk your own gear.Â It gives you a list of material, a detailed process, good and creative guidelines along with plenty of pictures and resources.

It’s my goal to actually do this over the July 4th weekend [2010] and post my result.Â Lets hope for the best! To give you an idea of the scope of project considering the following list of materials and tools.Â If it fits into your abilities, then give it a shot! Continue Reading

Wireless USB Media Stick

Matt LeBoff June 8, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB Security & Compliance

wireless usb media

It’s very common these days to see a media player with a USB port.Â Whether it be a Blu-ray player or a set-top box, chances are, a USB port is somewhere in the front or back. At first glance you say to yourself, “sweet, a USB port so I can play content off my flash drive” but then you think a bit more and wonder if you can hang a wireless dongle off the media player and stream content to your media box from a source computer? stream via USB

Well, Home Server Technologies Inc is one step ahead of you.Â Their new Wireless Media Stick will do exactly that; stream digital content to your media player. Whether it’s a laptop, TV, DVD player, Stereo or game console the Wireless Media Stick can stream the content and your media player will play it.Â There is no limit to the type of format, music, audio or video. Currently the USB Wireless Media Stick will only stream saved content from the source computer, but future updates will include the ability to stream internet content to your wireless setup, so now you’ll have the best of both worlds. The Wireless USB Media Stick is $99 USD. Continue Reading

USB Hack: Nexus One Turns Into Full Blown Portable Workstation

Matt LeBoff June 5, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, Tutorials & How-To Guides, USB News & Press Releases, USB Security & Compliance

The love for Linux is that with a bit of tweaking you can do just about anything. Case in point: Sven Killig took the Nexus One, loaded up some code to control the USB host controller and is now running a full work station. Now this sounds awesome. Sven can run a digital camera off his phone, stream video from a USB stick to his screen or even run a printer off the USB port. Check out the screen-shot of his work station…

USB Hack Nexus One

So if you’re like me, this project would be in the advanced level of Instructables for DIY mods, but thanks to Sven’s recording skills, we have a video to tell us how. The best part of all this? Heâ€™s got the whole thing demonstrated for you on video, but not only that, you can hit up the down-loadable binaries from his website. And while he tried all of this on Android 2.2, which means its the only version of Android itâ€™s been successfully tested on (at the moment), Sven believes that it will work on Android 2.1, too.

Source: SlashGear.com. Continue Reading

USB Powered Monitor By Samsung

Matt LeBoff June 1, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory

GetUSB has reported on monitors which connect via USB, but now Samsung has fine tuned this product to include connection AND power to be exclusively through USB.Â The Korean electronics giant made this possible by including two USB connections to the host so that one transmits data and some power and the 2nd USB connection is designated to power only.Â We’ve seen this before in USB hard drives, so it’s nothing new.

USB powered monitor

In addition, Samsung says that this was made possible by improving the transmittance of the panel and the luminance efficiency of the back-light used in the monitor, which ultimately reduced the power consumption to as low as 6.3-watts. The new USB monitor by Samsung has a shorter life span than a traditional monitor [30,000 verse 50,000] but hey, it’s just growing pains and, as with everything, expect it to get better. Source:Â TechnaBob. Continue Reading

Underwater Video Recorder With Spot Light

Matt LeBoff May 25, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets

Now this is a great USB gadget which you could have a ton of fun with, especially with summer coming up.Â USBFever released a new underwater video camera which is compact in size and good with resolution.

usb underwater

The underwater video recorder is small enough it can strap to your wrist or versatile enough to mount on your bike helmet, skateboard bottom, mountain bike, you name it! The video recorder includes a powerful LED spot light to increase visibility under water or ideal for low light situations [cruising through the brush or forest on your mountain bike].

USB video recorder

If you can blow the $190 then it would be a great gift for the kids to use while at the pool all summer. Here are the bullet points worth considering: Continue Reading

Nexcopy SuperSpeed 3.0 USB Duplicator – Shipping Soon

Matt LeBoff May 13, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Duplicators

2025 Update: Nexcopy Enhances USB 3.0 Duplicator with Higher Capacity Drives and Advanced Drive Manager Software

Nexcopy, a leader in USB duplication technology, has been shipping its USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Duplicator for over 15 years. The 16-port USB 3.0 Duplicator remains one of the most reliable solutions for high-speed USB flash drive and hard drive duplication. With peak transfer speeds of 65MB/s per device and up to 72MB/s with multiple drives connected, the duplicator can efficiently handle demanding data loads. For USB 3.0 hard drives, transfer rates reach a consistent 95MB/s, regardless of whether a single device or eight devices are connected.

USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Duplicator

Since its initial release, Nexcopy has expanded its USB 3.0 flash drive lineup, now offering capacities up to 256GB with optional custom branding. These high-capacity drives are ideal for industries requiring large data sets, secure distribution, and reliable performance.

The USB 3.0 Duplicator is powered by Nexcopy’s proprietary Drive Manager software, which receives regular updates to enhance speed, improve user experience, and add new functionality. Drive Manager updates are always free and require no license fees. For professional applications, the PRO version of Drive Manager enables advanced features such as:

USB write protection (hardware-based read-only mode)
Configuring USB drives as USB CD-ROM devices
Partitioning flash drives at the controller level
Editing USB device serial numbers

USB 3.0 flash drive

Nexcopy continues to focus on providing enterprise-grade duplication solutions with ongoing software innovation and long-term product support.

Source: EverythingUSB.

Do You Really Need 64GB USB Drives?

Matt LeBoff May 12, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB News & Press Releases

I can honestly say, today, no I don’t.Â But that doesn’t mean you don’t.Â Today we found the Kingston 64GB drive on sale for $147.Â That’s about $72 off the regular price.

The company line: Kingston’s new DataTravelerÂ® 200 USB Flash drive is ideal for storing and transferring digital images and presentations and transporting all kinds of data. With capacities up to 128GB, the DataTraveler 200 features password protection via Password Traveler software, which allows you to create and access a password-protected, secure area of the drive called a “Privacy Zone.” DataTraveler 200 is ideal for those who need significant storage capacity and data protection in a sleek, durable design. With a capless design and enhanced with Windows ReadyBoostâ„¢,** the DataTraveler 200 is perfect for home or business. DataTraveler 200 is backed by legendary KingstonÂ® reliability plus a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support. Grab the GetUSB Dealz now. Continue Reading

GetUSB Dealz: 32GB Flash Drive Only $59

Matt LeBoff April 29, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB News & Press Releases

Wouldn’t it be nice to get 1GB of data storage for $1 on flash drives?Â We are not there yet but getting close.Â We are about $2 per GB for this 32GB Kingston DataTraveler.

It doesn’t come with the lifetime warranty we typically see, only a 5 year one…but chances are you’ll lose it before then anyway. The c10 drive comes in four colors [Red, Yellow, Blue, Green] and has a full cap design to protect the entire stick.Â No word on performance, but the typical flash drive has a write speed of 5.5MB/s and a read speed of 15 MB/s, again not official just our experience speaking here. Just 5 years ago I had a laptop with a 40GB hard drive, now we have flash drives just about as big and much less expensive.Â This deal is for a limited time at buy.com and has a normal price of $90. Continue Reading

ASUS USB 3.0 Netbook Out-n-About

Matt LeBoff April 20, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory

We’ve been chomping at the bit waiting for a Netbook to have USB 3.0.Â Last month we heard several models coming out while at CeBIT, but still nothing from the manufacturer websites.

ASUS USB 3.0 Netbook

Today SlashGear reported a new ASUS 1018P Netbook with USB 3.0 out-n-about.Â You can see the bright blue connectors above.Â To give you an idea of what the ASUS 1018P can do, consider working on a Netbook with Intelâ€™s latest Pine Trail Atom N455 and N475 processors, with Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 3.0 connectivity along with the promise of 10hrs runtime. In addition [and this is good] the 1018P would come with integrated 3G, though thereâ€™s no word on whether that will be a standard-fit feature or an upgrade at time of order. The last bit of no-news I guess you could say is no word on price points and no word on availability.Â All I can say is Continue Reading

Chat Stick – USB Flash Drive To Recover All Her Dirty IMs

Matt LeBoff April 13, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, Tutorials & How-To Guides

Several weeks ago I reported on the flash drive which detects p0rn and today I’m letting you know about the Chat Stick.Â A flash drive which recovers all those dirty Instant Messages. The USB Chat Stick is loaded with software which scans the host computer for all instant message conversations, deleted or not, and uses recovery software to localize all those discussions into one, nice, handy place; the flash drive.

USB chat stick

So here’s the obvious spin about the USB Chat Stick.Â You can search a computers history for children IM conversations to make sure they aren’t sexting or worse, talking to on-line predators.Â Or, for the paranoid spouse, a great tool to finally put your curiosity to rest – are they cheating on me? But from a business perspective, I think this has a lot of value.Â For example, we spend many hours talking to suppliers overseas about flash drives, MP3 players etc and there are many conversation which get deleted away.Â Import business transaction information that, one day, you may need to recover.Â The USB Chat Stick can help. Here are the company’s talking points: Continue Reading

MIMOBOT Introduces Star Wars Series IV

Matt LeBoff April 8, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB News & Press Releases

Press Release: Mimobot With New Star Wars Series

Mimobot Star Wars

Designer USB flash drive pioneer Mimoco is excited to unveil its newest line of STAR WARS MIMOBOT designer flash drives. Devoted to the film that started it all – STAR WARS: Episode IV A New Hope – the latest series of classic characters immortalized as USB flash drives includes astromech droid extraordinaire R2-D2 and the shooting-impaired Stormtrooper – both back by popular demand from the original STAR WARS MIMOBOT series. Two newcomers also join the 2010 series, including that scavenger of the desert, the Jawa, and the fan selection from the first-ever STAR WARS MIMOBOT Audience Choice poll – Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The completely redesigned Stormtrooper Unmasked MIMOBOT features a removable helmet revealing either Luke Skywalker or Han Solo beneath. Just as their “borrowed” uniforms provided perfect cover for the young heroes during the daring Death Star rescue, these Stormtrooper USB flash drives provide up to 16GB of “armored” protection for your digital life. Stormtrooper Unmasked MIMOBOT will be offered as a blind assortment character, with a 50% chance of uncovering either Luke or Han when the MIMOBOT helmet cap is removed. Check out this very intertaining video:

Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 5 Video! from MIMOBOT & mimoZine on Vimeo.

Mimobot product page. Continue Reading

USB Lego Style 4 Port Hub

Matt LeBoff March 11, 2010 Flash Storage & Memory, USB Hardware & Gadgets

It seems that kids these days are simply born with the jeans to run computers.Â I know of 7 year old kids doing Power Point presentations already!Â They have incorporated YouTube videos, slides with more animation then what I’ve ever done and all before the 4th grade.Â Impressive. On that note, it’s worth making their computer environment a bit fun.Â With USB keyboards, USB mouse, flash drives, digital cameras, iPhones etc, it’s required to have a USB hub, even at the kids computer.Â So why not get them a fun looking Lego USB hub?

USB Fever now carries these 4 port USB hubs for just $12 USDs.Â It’s a USB gadget they need, in a fun familiar form factor they recognize. It would be very cool if the USB Lego hub would stack, but with a flat bottom, it doesn’t.Â Shame. In case you are color blind and can’t see the different colors available in the picture, you can purchase red, black, yellow or blue 4 port Lego hubs. Continue Reading