Icron brought us the ExtremeUSB technology making it possible to connect via USB from over a mile away, now Icron is bringing us USB over power lines. Not bad, not bad at all.
Integrating Icron’s patented ExtremeUSB technology and Panasonic’s leading edge HD-PLC power line communications devices, the system extends USB 2.0 over standard power lines enabling remote connection of standard USB devices such as keyboards, printers, flash drives, hard drives and web cameras over the AC outlets in your home or office.
“We are excited to once again be able to showcase the flexibility of our ExtremeUSB technology. With the help of Panasonic’s leading edge HD-PLC devices, we have been able to quickly implement our platform to extend USB 2.0 over standard power lines.†stated Robert Eisses, President and CEO of Icron Technologies. â€With power line technology poised to be a major catalyst for converged home network solutions, we are pleased to be working with Panasonic to add USB 2.0 to that pictureâ€.
In case you are scratching your head about the HD-PLC technology, this explanation might help:
Power Line Communication (PLC) is a technology that uses power lines to both supply electric power and transmit data. Electricity travels in large, slowly changing waves, while data signals move in small, quickly changing waves. Since these waves travel at different speeds, there is no mutual interference when they travel together. This makes it possible to send data signals through power lines, and access the Internet from power outlets. Original Panasonic HD technology uses this principle to provide the large data transmission capacity and high speed of the HD-PLC Ethernet Adaptor.
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There are times when digging around for a charge cable becomes extremely frustrating. The tangled mess of cables, the inconvenient location of the power strip on the floor – what a pain in the a$$.
The Chargepod from Callpod is a welcomed charger which solves all this. The Chargepod is a slick design for charging 6 devices at once. The Chargepod comes with extra short cables to decrease the clutter of wired cables.
There is some engineering that went into this as well. Callpod made sure to put in Current Control (IC) logic so each devices gets the exact amount of energy needed for a charge. This is smart because it wont fry your USB gadgets and it reduces heat of the Chargepod itself.
So – an ideal product for the messy office or traveling professional the Chargepod is well worth the extra few bucks from your typical charger. $49 for the unit and accessory cables for just a little more.
Linksys, a division of Cisco, released their new Wireless G USB Network Adaptor aimed at small business. What Linksys did with this product is incorporate range booster technology to increase signal strength and improve data transfer speeds.
The RangeBooster technology makes the claim that range will increase by double and data transfer speed will increase by about 35%.
And if you’re concerned about security, well then wireless products might be a little scary. Linksys covered their bases with a WPA2 256-bit encryption engine along with a Security Monitoring abilities to get the low-down when there’s a crack-down.
No word on pricing or availability.
The long awaited wireless USB hubs are starting to show their face. Belkin did a push for nearly a year before their wireless hub came out; Gefen just made their announcement about a 4 port wireless USB hub.
This is an excellent choice for those having peripherals further then a common USB cable connection. The Gefen WUSB hub uses a USB dongle at the host PC and will communicate up to 60 feet to the wireless hub.
Since these types of products have not hit the shelves yet, the real-world transfer rate is yet to be determined. The specification calls for data transfer rates between 55Mb/s to the max of 480Mb/s (wouldn’t that be nice) but I believe that will depend more on distance.
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IOGear is like a rising tide when it comes to cranking out USB products for Geek consumption. It just never stops coming.
From the long list of new IOGear products, here are the four most needed geek items you must have.
1) The IOGear wireless laser mouse with germaphobe coating. I mention this because not only having a wireless mouse is a must-have, but raising the geekness level to the antibacterial state is definitely cool.
2) Show me one Geek who wouldn’t like to have another monitor. And since a primary intrinsic value of geekness is saving space, working from a laptop is very standard, thus limiting the options for endless monitor configurations. The IOGear USB VGA video card adaptor is definitely a must-have for the monitor lacking.
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Wireless technology is everywhere. Whether it’s buzz about something new or a product currently available, I cannot go through a day without reading or bumping into something related to wireless technology.There are seven built in wireless technologies that make the world go round. When I say “built in” I’m talking about products which have wireless technology inside the device. Most familiar to most people are Wireless USB, Bluetooth and RFID. However, there are four more technologies you should at least know about. So here are all seven technologies: WUSB, Bluetooth, RFID, WiMedia, UWB, NFC and ZigBee.
WiMedia – WiMedia refers to the Ultra Wide Band radio platform which enables high data transfer rates. The goal of WiMedia is to standardize the protocols or code used in wireless devices. For example, WiMedia standards are used in Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth and WUSB technology products. The end result for a consumer is that WiMedia guarantees
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GetUSB.info has reported on several off-the-shelf USB extenders, but they are high priced, at least for the home user. If you have low signal strength and on a tight budget, here is a tutorial on making your own beefed up WiFi USB extender.
Using this home-brew WiFi extender will help pick up dozens more hot-spots in your area; don’t believe it – we’ll you’ll just have to try it – this really works. The premise of this solution is taking a parabolic dish and bouncing all possible waves into the focal point of the “dish” or in this case, the WiFi USB stick.
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Forget about garage design Altoid Tin battery chargers, Sanyo has a slick USB charger pack that will replenish your thirsty gadgets, called eneloop.
Eneloop is the first USB recharger pack Sanyo – self proclaimed world battery supply leader – has introduced. The Eneloop name is a concept of recycling, or looping, energy. The USB recharger is compact in design and houses the USB connector when not in use.
What I like, and albeit common, are the batteries being ready for use immediately after purchase; there is no charge-up time needed.
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USB is branching out into another standard, we first heard about China implementing USB the standard for cell phone chargers, now USB gets a new charging specification from the USB-Implementers Forum.
Power via USB is nothing new, but what the USB-IF did was increase the amount of energy which can flow to a USB device. To get our geek on, an example is current spec is only 100mA of electricity to a device, the new specification increases that to 500mA. In addition, USB-IF addressed the low-end too. The organization decreeds that devices which have completely dead batteries can charge at 100 mA. This allows dead devices to charge up even though they don’t have enough power to turn on.
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So here is a simple project to groom your child into the geek parent you are. Over at Hacked Gadgets Alan pointed out a “how-to” on creating your own USB charger from Lego’s.
The charger uses a Lego motor to generate current which passes through a voltage regulator and off to the USB port. If you don’t already have the Lego motor you can pick them up at target and the voltage regulator at Radio Shack.
When all done, rather then sending your kid to time-out, have them hand-crank and recharge your favorite MP3 player.
Here is a picture of the hand crank with electronics already installed.
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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. 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.
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The iPod Shuffle comes with the 2G Dock station which is a little large, relatively speaking, so replace it with this inexpensive iUSB dock connector. The Essential Tech iUSB connects directly to the iPod and directly to your USB port.
The iUSB dock station supports full USB 2.0 transfer speeds, is ridiculously small and eliminates any cables. At just 5.6 grams it’s truly the best mini iPod dock station available.
Mac and PC compatible for only $10.
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