This corn based biodegradable flash stick is definitely a step in the write direction, but a little over zealous on the claim of being a biodegradable flash drive. The stick has a corn based shape for the outside, but you’ve still got the internal flash memory and PCB board holding it all together. So don’t feel too good when you dump this in the trash – it’ll still be around after 500 years.
But, it’s a step in the right direction. At least the outside is biodegradable, so we’re going to give you props for that.
As EverythingUSB says “Should be a great promo gift at the next Ethanol trade show…”
Source:Â TechFresh.net.
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For obvious reasons we aren’t the biggest Bluetooth fans but more of a WUSB fan, never-the-less we do stumble into very cool products with Bluetooth technology. Take this Estilo Carrera GT Porshce Bluetooth mouse from Brando.
The Estilo GT mouse is extremely cool looking and the ideal gadget gift for that Porsche loving greek friend. The Bluetooth dongle sits in the rear trunk of the wireless mouse with left and right clickers along with scroll mouse on the hood.
I guess you could make the argument that some fellow “over seas” chopped up the Estilo design and did the world a disfavor by creating a Porsche mouse, but if that’s you…get a life…it’s a cool looking mouse.
The Estilo GT Bluetooth Mouse is $38 and $55 with tiny USB Bluetooth V2.0+EDR adapter (see I knew we’d fit in USB somewhere)
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Gadget4All sent me their Blue Mirror wireless Bluetooth visor car kit for review and I’m glad they did, as California will start enforcing the “mandatory hands free car kits” come July 1st and the ticket is expensive, so this review couldn’t have come at a better time. This is what I found:
Review Summary for Wireless Bluetooth Visor Car Kit:
UPDATE: The bluetooth visor car kit is available at Amazon for immediate delivery. Great product for the quick fix you might need if in California or another state which has a “hands-free” wireless policy.
The wireless visor Bluetooth car kit is well made, easy to operate and performs well. Sound quality is good, setup is easy and user design is well thought out. Strong mounting assembly yet portable and easy to disconnect.
Out Of Box Experience:
The Blue Mirror is packaged well and comes with:
Main Bluetooth wireless visor kit (5″ x 3″ x .75″)
Mount clip with very strong magnets
USB cable (mini to Type A)
Car power adapter (cigarette style)
The product is simple and intuitive to put together. I was able to charge up the unit in under 1 hour as it was already charged. The full charge time is maximum of 3 hours. You can use either the USB cable and power from a laptop/computer or use the cigarette power adapter in your car along with the USB cable to recharge that way.
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Mac from Zedomax picked up a nice story on turning a wine cork into a USB stick. Why ask you say? So wine companies can data load the cork with company history, processing methods and other marketing spin (mood setting music) to give the ultimate crushed grapes experience. You couldn’t do this with CDs or DVDs that’s for sure.
IOGear releases their version of the USB battery, with the GearJuice Rescue charger. What IOGear has done differently from other battery shaped USB solution, is make a miniUSB connector for cell phones, PDAs and other handhelds rather than the traditional full sized USB connector.
The unit is just larger than a double A battery and will provide your device with an extra 15 minutes of performance. Just enough time to call the bails-bondsman after getting the late night lock down because of too much party’in.
IOGear GearJuice Rescue Charger product page.
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Wireless USB has gotten some hits for not picking up developers over the past 18 months. Some of the only items we’ve seen are wireless USB hubs with poor performance. Well, maybe a slow data transfer is what’s needed, like that from the AMEX wireless USB multi-media remote.
The AMEX remote is stylish in look, and will control your multi-media system including music, photo, video and DVD titles. The RM-mp1 uses a touch pad mouse, a slick laser pointer, basic nav buttons and includes a wireless USB receiver. I’d say it looks like a cell phone, and with dimensions of just 104x38x12mm in size, it’s the size of one.Source: Akihabara News.
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The Hawking parabolic WiFi dish is a fancy version of our home-brew version to boost your wireless signal. The one thing Hawking has which you will never achieve, this the cool dish look. The Hi-Gain Wireless 300N is a dish adapter to your WiFi network which connects via USB and could boost your signal as much as 600%.
The 300N supports b, g and n networks so regardless of your setup, you can put the Wireless-300N to use. As with any wireless solution security is a big concern and the Hawking unit supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 enccryption – so again, whever your setup the 300N will work.
“Since the dual-antenna is highly directional, they’re also trying to sell it on the idea that you can avoid signal interference by pointing it away from other electronics. I’m not sure that’s something I’ve ever experienced using WiFi, but I could imagine it might be useful to specifically target a base station in an area with lots of wireless congestion.  — SlashGear“
WiHood is a relatively new service which is the world’s first “virtual laptop” that protects children online [ anywhere & at all times] with the WiHood’s USB bracelet.
The concept is ideal and it appears the user interface, setup and configuration is just as simple. This is what WiHood is: A USB bracelet which auto-launches a virtual desktop when connected to any computer. The virtual desktop runs off the WiHood servers which monitor and update website, programs, virus etc 24/7 for a completely kid friendly computer system.
From personal experience, my kids have trashed my computer – by mistake of course – but it still took time and skill to restore my PC. The WiHood USB bracelet eliminates this risk because a virtual desktop is all your child can use. The other issue I have with my kids using “the parent’s PC” is constant maintenance to monitor website, filters and content. With WiHood, that daunting task is automatically taken care of.
“WiHood protects children, saves parents from purchasing a new PC, and kids love that they have their own “virtual laptop” which stores their pictures, music, homework, etc. and can be worn on their wrist!”
The USB bracelet uses the internal storage to save files, folders, pictures, music etc…but those files are only accessed through the virtual desktop which runs off the WiHood servers. This means your kids will enjoy all the performance of a PC with the security of a remote server running the underlining PC desktop.
The WiHood is free to try and costs $49 for 6 months service or $100 per year. Stack that cost up against purchase of a dedicated PC for the kids and the WiHood is the clear choice.
Still interested. Maybe some more information? Check out the WiHood FAQ page. Or their WiHood Virtual Laptop home page.
WiHood was founded in August 2007 and has been honored to be awarded funding from Innovation Norway, a division of the Norwegian government providing capital to the most innovative companies in Norway.
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Getting odd results off your Wi-Fi network? Maybe getting no results at all? The boss is pissed, co-workers can’t work, what do you do?
Get the Wi-Spy spectrum analyzer, that’s what you do. The Wi-Spy is the world’s smallest 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer and is specifically designed for troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks. The Wi-Spy records data traces over the wireless network and also plays them back for analysis.
This isn’t the first version of the Wi-Spy, BUT the hardware has been redesigned to increase the frequency and amplitude resolution with an added reverse-polarity SMA adapter. Wi-Spy 2.4x is packaged with a powerful little antenna, so it’s good from the start but it’s also
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Power plug that charges USB style – I thought of this idea probably two years ago, no joke, but forgot about it just as quickly. Well, yesterday I saw Technabob do a post about this exact concept – the power plug which charges via USB [from Eneplug].
As you may [or may not] know, USB will become the standard for cell phone charging. I foresee USB branching out into other electronic gadgets as the main connectivity for juicing up. So, this obviously means the power plug which charges via USB will only become more popular.
I think it’s a great idea, because as time progresses we can all use only a single power cord to charge any device. [For now, lets forget about the fact manufacturers need to jump on board with my line of thought].
In addition, I would think any serious traveler would jump at a device like this. Look at how small it is. This is all you’d need to charge your cell phone, iPod, PDA and even your laptop.
Eneplug is the company which makes this device and it’s currently available in Japan, but I see it coming over to the states in no time. Shoot me an email if you see anything here – or I’ll update this when I find a US source.
Speaking of Source:Â Technabob.
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Having poor cell phone reception is a frustrating thing and it seems there’s always a zone you can’t get a call, regardless of courier. I’m lucky enough to get 4 bars of reception at my location, but my neighbor who works less than 1 mile away, gets only one lousy bar.
Southern California has rolling hills which plays havoc for cell phone providers. Until now that is. If your home or office is in a dead zone, or an area with low quality reception consider this cell phone signal booster, or signal extender.
This bad boy will boost your weak signal into full bar reception. All you need is at least one bar to let the cell phone extender do it’s boosting.
The mobile phone signal booster will add 2,500 square feet of pristine clear reception to where ever the installation is…that’s about 3 additional rooms or offices.
So what does something like this cost you? Just slightly more than cancelling your cell phone contract, about $250 bucks.
Jump over to ThinkGeek to get the details and different models available. You need to select the correct model for your courier service. It’s one of ThinkGeek’s hottest sellers, so it’s obviously worth the investment.
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Irvine CA based Toshiba American (Digital Products Division) announced a newly designed Satellite laptop line with sleep and charge USB power concept…and we think it’s a winner.
The sleep-and-charge USB concepts makes it possible to charge and power electronic devices connected to the laptop without the laptop being powered-on or in sleep mode.
This is a simple yet revolutionary way USB power bus technology will begin working it’s way into our life. With USB connectivity as the #1 method for peripheral connection to laptops and computers, the sleep-and-charge USB concept is brilliant.
 “Toshiba has long been a leader of innovation, and prides itself on creating solutions that make the digital lifestyle even better,†said Jeff Barney, vice president of marketing, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “With the development of the Sleep-and-Charge USB ports, Toshiba has developed an innovative technology that helps ensure that our digital products are ready for use at the moment we need them.â€
As you know, the major shortcoming with today’s USB ports from either computers or laptops is the lack of power support while the host device is turned off.
I have reported on USB surge protectors which do basically the same thing, but that requires more gear for a traveling business person, the sleep-and-charge is built into the host system.
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The wireless visor Bluetooth car kit is well made, easy to operate and performs well. Sound quality is good, setup is easy and user design is well thought out. Strong mounting assembly yet portable and easy to disconnect.
WiHood is a relatively new service which is the world’s first “virtual laptop” that protects children online [ anywhere & at all times] with the WiHood’s USB bracelet.
The concept is ideal and it appears the user interface, setup and configuration is just as simple. This is what WiHood is: A USB bracelet which auto-launches a virtual desktop when connected to any computer. The virtual desktop runs off the WiHood servers which monitor and update website, programs, virus etc 24/7 for a completely kid friendly computer system.
Getting odd results off your Wi-Fi network? Maybe getting no results at all? The boss is pissed, co-workers can’t work, what do you do?
Get the Wi-Spy spectrum analyzer, that’s what you do. The Wi-Spy is the world’s smallest 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer and is specifically designed for troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks. The Wi-Spy records data traces over the wireless network and also plays them back for analysis.
This isn’t the first version of the Wi-Spy, BUT the hardware has been redesigned to increase the frequency and amplitude resolution with an added reverse-polarity SMA adapter. Wi-Spy 2.4x is packaged with a powerful little antenna, so it’s good from the start but it’s also
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