2010 will be a fun year of USB reporting and blogging with USB 3.0 just starting to break with new products. Today we have the first USB 3.0 WebCam from Point Grey. The webcam has the bandwidth and capability to push a full 1080p video stream without compression.
Since USB host controllers are not yet available, Point Grey has teamed with Fresco Logic to include a USB 3.0 PCI interface card.
EverythingUSB brings up a good point with these new USB 3.0 devices, they will actually become cheaper than their slower, 2.0 predecessors. The reason being: less logic and hardware is required inside the device to do processing such as compression and decompression, USB 3.0 now simply push the data through the pipe.
The Point Grey Webcamera is slatted to display at the IDF 2009 conference in San Fransicso in a couple weeks.
Here at GetUSB.info we are a fan of the USB key logger technology. After all, what better way to find out what employees, girlfriends and such are doing with their spare time. Especially with all the social network, it’s important to know what is, or is not, being said about you.
We have reported about USB key loggers before, but this one is especially nice with the old school PS/2 connector. Great for the older machines.
The device comes with 2MB of internal memory, but check it often as that amount of space will be filled quickly.
Pricing is a bit different depending on the connection type you need. $60-$75.
Here is the USB key logger product page.
Reminder from UberGizmo.
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The Windows IceBox is an interesting little tool. It’s a software program which runs from a USB stick that locks down partitions on your hard drive. The concept is that you lock down partitions on your hard drive so that other users, like your kids, don’t get in there and start accidentally deleting important files, registry entries, uninstalling software,etc.
The USB Windows IceBox includes recovery software for your hard drive and has the ability to block virus software or malware programs from getting into your computer.
From my perspective, it’s a nice little tool, but if you have the smarts to partition up your hard drive, you probably have the smarts to create multiple users as well. See the USB Windows IceBox will lock down your partitions when you walk away [certain amount of idle time] but you can do the same thing with User Login priveleges. Just don’t give your kids
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The USBIF [Implementers Forum] has announced the certification program to get your gear certified for a Highspeed logo. Granted, it’s not a simple process, but at least they’re putting together the documentation needed to make it happen.
As Gizmodo says, ” what shall I do with all that extra time I will have that will no longer be spent waiting for file transfers” [they write about as well as I do] The new 3.0 speed will be 10x times faster at 10Gpbs! To learn a bit more about how our technology life will improve, here is the USBIFs sales pitch:
As technology innovation marches forward, new kinds of devices, media formats, and large inexpensive storage are converging. They require significantly more bus bandwidth to maintain the interactive experience users have come to expect. In addition, user applications demand a higher performance connection between the PC and these increasingly sophisticated peripherals. USB 3.0 addresses this need by adding an even higher transfer rate to match these new usage and devices.
USB continues to be the answer to conncectivity for PC, Consumer Electronics, and Mobile architectures, It is a fast, bidirectional, low-cost, dynamically attachable interface that is consistent with the requirements of the PC platforms of today and tomorrow.
SuperSpeed USB brings significant performance enhancements to the ubiquitous USB standard, while remaining compatible with the billions of USB enabled devices currently deployed in the market. SuperSpeed USB will deliver 10x the data transfer rate of Hi-Speed USB, as well as improved power efficiency.
SuperSpeed USB has a 5 Gbps signaling rate offering 10x performance increase over Hi-Speed USB.
SuperSpeed USB is a Sync-N-Go technology that minimizes user wait-time.
SuperSpeed USB will provide Optimized Power Efficiency.No device polling and lower active and idle power requirements.
SuperSpeed USB is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Devices interoperate with USB 2.0 platforms. Hosts support USB 2.0 legacy devices.
NEC uses the term of “unmatched viewing experience” for their new 43 inch curved wide screen monitor. Lets forget about the $7,000 price tage for a moment.
It’s a seamless curved design which is the most impressive feature, and includes connectivity as a single DVI-D input, HDMI 1.3, or USB 2.0. NEC doesn’t clearly spec if the USB connection is for the monitor or an internal hub that just gives you access points for promotional flash drives, cameras and camcorders.
Some notable features which I didn’t think about, but NEC did the convenience of reminding me are the lack of bezels of multiple monitors side-by-side, and auto extended taskbar that spreads natively across the screen.
Do you wonder if a USB stick will drop below $2? I don’t think it ever will, and for several reasons. First, the bare cost of the Flash, Controller and case will keep the price much higher than it’s predecessor [CD/DVD] but also consider the millions of dollars needed in equipment just to make these things in bulk.
So let’s find out how a USB stick is made…here is a behind-the-scenes video of the Kingston USB flash memory plant. With step-by-step video it’s an amazing process.
Note: The narration is nothing close to an award winning voice over.
Source: Engadget.
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Flash drives are getting so small, they are the size of the USB connector itself. How cool is that? Well, in size it’s cool, but in functionality…it won’t become your favorite flash drive. Take this new 4GB EagleTec USB nano drive…
This friggin tiny drive is too small. Too small to easily connected and, more importantly, disconnect from your computer. As I’ve said before, once you starting saving SOME files on that stick..you’ll soon be saving ALL your files on that stick. So why deal with something so small it’s a pain in the a$$ to get out.
So here is a sweet little deal I stumbled upon at USBFever. For $27 you can get a USB hard drive case with biometric fingerprint encryption scanner.
Given how cheap USB hard drives are these days, it’s easy to have them become your backup device of choice. Well, if you’re like me, chances are you are backing up the QuickBooks or MAS90 accounting programs which need a bit more security. It would be bad enough to lose your portable hard drive, so at least protect it with your fingerprint.
The USB hard drive case with biometric encryption supports the IDE / USB 2.5″ hard drive sizes along with plug & play insertion and removal.
The fingerprint biometrics supports all Windows platforms, but not Mac. So if you’re about to drop $15-$20 for an external case, pay just a couple bucks more and get the USB encrypted version.
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Verbatim has been busy these days. On Monday we reported about the Verbatim USB Tuff Clip flash drive, and today Verbatim is announcing their new Tuff-N-Tiny USB flash drive.
At the thickness of a penny and about twice as long, the Tuff-n-Tiny USB drive is available in 4 & 8GB sizes. It’s almost the side of microSD card.
The stick gets so incredibly small, because of it’s SIP technology which encapsulates all of the electronic components into a single miniaturized and sealed unit. As a result, the tiny drives are resistant to dust, water and static discharges.
Our comment about this drive, and any other drive which uses the same USB contacts [image below]
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Verbatim turned 40 this year and one of the products they have released to celebrate is the USB TUFF CLIP flash drive. Designed for the everyday use by a teen or college student the USB TUFF CLIP is made of ABS plastic and includes a retractable USB connector. In addition the TUFF CLIP comes with the obvious carabineer clip.
The clip is the compelling part about this project, as you can pick up a 4 or 8GB flash drive just about anywhere. The clip is well designed to fasten the flash drive to backpacks, key chains, belt loops and notebooks. With a capless design the caps wont fall off or get lost while dangling from your person.
The 4 [light blue] & 8GB [black] drives are priced at $29 and $39 respectively.
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Back in June of 2009 I made a joke that GetUSB.info had a USB Steampunk award, now I’m seriously considering it. Especially after seeing this new rendition.
This USB steampunk drive was made by a Russian modder. He traveled to a local rag fair [I’m assuming street fair] to pick up old clock parts and gears. The guy also picked up some stock brass tubing and screw rods to build a sturdy housing. Then off the the metal shop.
The source website, EnglishRussia, has the entire tutorial on how to do this crafty artwork. It’s far more interesting than educational, so if you are curious about the
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Mimo has made a fairly good name for itself with the 710 series USB monitor…a compact 7″ add-on monitor. Well, these guys have one-upped themselves with the new 710-S. This is a USB monitor which is now slider slim sweetness.
Just check out this picture and you’ll understand why.
Mimo better dump all their old 710 inventory because everyone will want this new version.
The 7″ display has a display resolution of 800 x 400, contrast ratio of 400:1, and brightness around 350 cd/m2. Of course, the only connection needed, including power, is a USB connection.
The 710-S pivots 90 degrees and
“The integrated stand protects the screen from scratches when closed.”
Mimo doesn’t have stock, but willing to take your money. For those who pre-book, you’ll get product by late August. Price is $149.
Mimo 710-S product page.
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Here at GetUSB.info we are a fan of the 
