Copper Case With Encased Gears Steampunk Custom Flash Drive

Matt Laboff March 26, 2009 Flash Storage, Hand Crafted USB, USB Gadgets, USB News

Here is a great looking Steampunk Custom flash drive.Â The creator, Marcos, put a brass shell around the outside of this USB stick, then decorated the outside with miniature gears and watch components.

custom flash drive

It appears Marcos took the USB cap and attached it to the end with some included brass gears and other Steampunk detail. The custom flash drive uses a piston gear from the USB connector to the watch components as a representation of the power from the PC being transferred to the heart of the USB stick. The 2GB steampunk custom flash drive is only $50, is 100% handcrafted and completely unique.Â There is limited stock, so if interested get on it. The USB Steampunk can be found and purchased at Etsy. Continue Reading

Combo eSATA / USB Flash Drive From Pretec

Matt Laboff March 23, 2009 Flash Storage, USB News

Pretec is about to introduce an aptly named eSATA/USB dual interface flash drive named Cobra.Â This ultra fast flash drive has max read speeds of 90MB per second and max write speeds of 60MBs per second. The dual channel interface has the eSATA connector at one end and the USB connector at the other.

esata usb flash drive

The Pretec Cobra is available in 32GB and 64GB sizes, which is respectable given the fast transfer rates.Â This info was sourced via Engadget China, so no word on pricing or availablility. Continue Reading

LaCie Takes USB Key a Bit Too Literal

Matt Laboff March 4, 2009 Flash Storage, USB News

LaCie launched a new line of USB keys that look like, well…keys.Â I’ve mentioned a key looking USB key before, but it was just a prototype.Â Here LaCie made USB keys a real-deal and they look pretty sweet. There are three models LaCie has introduced.Â The PassKey, IamaKey and Itsakey.

lacie usb key

Engadget reports these guys also have microSD card readers, but I honestly don’t see where that is, but clearly a nice addition. Continue Reading

USB Cable Gets Hitched With SD Technology

Matt Laboff March 2, 2009 Brando USB, USB Cables, USB News

The desk drawer to my left is full of card readers, USB sticks, cables etc.Â It’s just too much.Â Last week Brando sent me an email with their latest idea to reduce the clutter and global waste of all these connection devices.Â It was a USB cable with an SD card reader built; in-line. Take away the fact that it’s ANOTHER cable I will have, the idea of putting connectors in-line a USB cable is brilliant.

sdhc card reader usb cable

There are two versions to you can buy, but really only one is needed.Â Brando offers the full size SD card reader and the microSD card reader version.Â Simply buy the full SD card version and get a microSD adapter and you are set. Continue Reading

exFAT – No More Limitations For FAT32 – USB Rejoice

Matt Laboff February 8, 2009 USB News

USB stick manufacturers will rejoice with this news. No longer will their flash memory be limited with the FAT32 file system, but rather an unlimited size of storage space.

Up to this point FAT file systems had a limitation of 4GB for a single file size and up to 32GBs for an entire volume. But no more.Â Microsoft has released a new exFAT file system. This means our USB sticks will become supersized and no longer need to worry about dynamic file structures of NTFS.Â With USB memory getting bigger each year, this is great news for mobile storage.

exfat logo

On January 27 2009, Microsoft released their new exFAT file system. Or extended File Allocation Table [exFAT]. Here is some information off the Microsoft website:

The exFAT file system is the successor to FAT32 in the FAT family of file systems. The exFAT file system is a new file format system to address the growing demand and size of mobile storage like USB sticks, PDAs, and solid state hard drives. What’s nice about the exFAT file system

Plantronics USB Phone For Social Butterfly

Matt Laboff February 5, 2009 USB News

Skype has been a great resource for those social butterfly’s who must talk 24/7.Â It allows them to speak with anyone in the world at an extremely low price.Â Well, the new Plantronics USB phone would be a great addition to those talk-a-holics.

plantronics usb phone

Besides the standard phone features, the Plantronics Audio 1100M includes speaker phone capability to let the entire family join in. Plantronics teamed with Microsoft to officially support their Office Communicator 2007 platform with the Plantronics 1100M.Â The Plantronics MCD 100 USB speakerphone, also announced today, is an option for those conducting group conference calls via Office Communicator 2007. It provides 360-degree room coverage so more than one person can participate in a PC-based audio conference. To achieve call clarity, the MCD 100 includes acoustic echo cancellation, noise suppression and equalizer algorithms embedded within the product. Pricing starts just at $80. Continue Reading

USB Tutorial: Home Brew USB Popcorn Maker

Matt Laboff February 4, 2009 USB News, USB Tutorials, YouTube Video

Here is a guy with a bit too much time on his hands and clearly in the need for a healthy meal.Â Check out this USB tutorial on making a USB popcorn maker:

Source: YouTube. Continue Reading

USB Birthday Cake – Best Surprise Ever

Matt Laboff February 3, 2009 USB News, Useless Novelty

Engadget reported on this just a few minutes ago, “USB cake design worst birthday surprise in history” but I beg to differ…at least for a guy like me.

usb birthday cake

True this USB birthday cake is ridiculous looking, but for a guy like me who spends most of his days working with, or thinking about USB, I would LMAO if this was presented to me. So good on you, Mr. Birthday Cake Designer. Although Engadget did have some good comedy with their post: Continue Reading

BenQ Palm Top Projector is Easy USB Connect

Matt Laboff January 8, 2009 USB News, Video

What is more simple than connecting via USB?Â Especially for projectors.Â Sure the VGA isn’t hard, but who wants to screw in the anchors.Â That’ why the BenQ projector is so appealing.

benq projector

Once more, BenQ turns the USB connection into an easy way to upload images, video and slide shows to the portable projector.Â So not only is the USB an easy way to connect a laptop, it’s also an easy way to data load for a standalone projector. The GP1 USB projector from BenQ offers a throw of 100 lumens, which is nearly twice of some other brands of the same size.Â It’s 1.4 pound unit with a distance of 80-inch diagonal for imaging. The GP1 from BenQ is offered at the MSRP of $599. Continue Reading

1 Billion Mouse Sold By Logitech

Matt Laboff December 15, 2008 USB News

Logitech is probably the first name most people think of for input devices like keyboards, mice and hubs…and why not, they’ve been around since 1985…prettyÂ much from the start for mainstream computers.

first logitech mouse

Logitech posted some interesting information about selling their one billionth mouse after being in the market for 20+ years. The first mouse from the Switzerland-based Logitech was the P4 (pictured above), which began mass production in 1985 at the company’s birthplace. Logitech reached the 100 millionth mouse mark in 1996, and subsequently, topped 500 millionth 7 years later. The company is now selling at a rate of 376,000 mice per day and 7.8 million every month. Continue Reading

SanDisk Gives MacFanBoy Love With Secure Flash Drive

Matt Laboff December 5, 2008 Flash Storage, SanDisk, Security, USB News

The Mac users usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to software and hardware support for the Mac OS.Â Most products and applications are specifically design for the Windows user, knowing this is the largest install base of computer owners.Â However, the tide is shifting.Â I’m not sure if the popularity of the iPod and iPhone are the sole reason, or if users are just tired of the buggie OS of Windows but Mac computers are popping up everywhere.Â Friends, work, school – well always school – and even my grandparents house.

usb encryption mac

Today SanDisk is giving the Mac Fan Boy a bit of love.Â SanDisk introduces the first secure flash drive which fully supports operation under the Mac OS.Â The SanDisk Cruizer Enterprise is a USB stick that may be used on either a PC or Mac and has the full ability for data encryption of the drive.Â With a friendly user interface, the owner can unlock files and data on the stick for using and sharing.Â Once the drive is locked down or disconnected the encryption is back on. Continue Reading

USB Mouse Or Digital Scale? Either Way, You Win

Matt Laboff November 30, 2008 USB Input Device, USB News

American Weigh company introduces a new hybrid USB mouse which includes a small digital scale.Â The precision digital pocket scale goes down to a 10th mark and supports 500g / 17.635oz / 16.075ozt / 321.5dwt weight capacities.

usb digital scale mouse

I would think this be a perfect scale for the small office or front office secretary for quick checking of letters and small packages.Â Some of those larger scales take up quite a bit of space. The USB digital scale mouse is available for $59 and a higher weight capacity unit for $69. The USB digital scale will also work as a standalone device without connection with an internal [rechargeable] battery and includes a stainless steel platform in the size of 2.25 x 2.75 inches. Continue Reading