Update: The Tengu is now available from ThinkGeek for only $45ish.
SolidAlliance might be on to something with their USB Tengu, self talking USB gadget. At the size of a cigarette box this guy comes to life upon USB connection. The LEDs turn bright red into a friendly face, then reacts to music and sound – ideal for those looking for anonymity and in need of a front man (Jeffrey Skilling could have used this a couple years ago).
Not on sale yet – but will be in Japan mid August. Price tag – about $40USD. Now Available! YouTube video below will make you laugh, worth the look – if you have IE6 click here.
The Tengu is now available from ThinkGeek for only $45ish so shut down that YouTube video and click over to grab your Tengu today. After all, everyone needs a front man.
This SATA/IDE to USB converter kit would be the easiest way to clone your hard drive and finally upgrade your laptop storage space. However, the combo kit isn’t limited to just 2.5 inch hard drives but includes connection support for 1.8, 3.5 and 5.25 inch hard drives along with CD-ROM drives, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD blah blah blah – anything in 5.25 inch size.
The USB to SATA/IDE combo kit is fully compliant with USB 2.0 so you can expect maximum transfer speeds of 480Mbps (yet that never happens) and plug-n-play connectivity with hot-swap support. For the techie, the chipset used in this guy is JMicron-JM20337.
With $3 shipping for any order this converter kit to go from USB to SATA/IDE (product page) puts you back exactly $32USD. Takes about 7 days to receive anywhere in the world.
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I love labels. I label folders, tools, lunch boxes (for the kids), miniDV tapes, flash cards – you name it. I currently use a Brother label printer but I don’t like using the small alpha-numeric touch pad. I like this Casio USB label printer because I can design the text on my PC and print directly to the label maker via USB.
The USB Egg shaped thermal label printer uses any TrueType font so you can print in any language. The USB printer uses a thermal print technology – yet I don’t know how long the roll of paper is…(email into manufacturer now) the roll is about 2 meters (6 feet) long and the replacement thermal ribbon is a standard Casio part number which can be obtained from most supply stores (so they say).
At just $29, which is half the price of a Brother label printer, I will definitely purchase this if the replacement rolls are easy to get and affordable. Update to follow. Purchased and awaiting arrival for review.
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The good folks at AppleTVHacks just released a way to use an external drive via USB for additional storage. Here comes the 1TB AppleTV! So here’s the high-level summary, the AppleTV hack allows the system to boot normally from the internal drive of the AppleTV then allows for digital content to be stored, pulled and played from an external drive. Unfortunately this AppleTV hack is only working on Max OSX at the moment, but a community call to action has been made to incorporate this hack to support other opperating systems. Ahh, how nice.
The new IOCELL UFD, the mDrive, is a slick design from the leading Korean design firm, InnoDesign. Young Kim is creating a Korean focus for this drive based off the national flag or Taeguk-ki, which emphasizes beauty and balance.
Wearing the mDrive means one has come into the deep philosophy of Taeguk and breaths the cosmos it creates.
Hmm…I know the American culture isn’t much into karma (isn’t that obvious!) but philosophy aside, this is still one slick looking flash drive. InnoDesign put specific detail into the color and lines of the drive to reflect the balance of the Korean flag. I especially like the small metal lanyard clip as it appears as durable as one would need not to lose those valuable personal files. The gold plated USB connector style also makes the drive very resilient against water damage.
On more occasions that I’d like to admit, Windows will not eject a USB device from my operating system when using the Safely Remove Hardware in the icon tray. The annoying error message Windows displays “The device cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later” usually appears in a time sensitive situation. So what is the work around?
Try using a freeware software utility I found while reading FreewareGenius.com called Unlocker. Unlocker is a utility that frees a file or folder which is being used by another program or process. Albeit there are situations that a file should remain tied to it’s process or program but other times you need to force the release.
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Laptops rejoice! Sewell is spinning out a very inexpensive USB to DVI adapter to offer high quality video displays for those tiny notebooks displays. The process is simple. The external DVI video unit has a USB port which you connect to your laptop (or PC) and a DVI port you connect to you external monitor, turn everything on and you’re done.
The $120 price tag might seem a couple dollars high, but considering there is 128MB of flash memory used for buffering and processing the video signal you wont be disappointed. Sewell claims the USB to DVI adapter drove a 20 inch DVI screen with no visible differences what-so-ever.
The USB bandwidth is more than enough to transfer the necessary video data to the USB to DVI adapter, and the 128 megs of onboard RAM does the rest to bring you perfect performance every time.
With this unit you can turn any laptop into a three monitor system: 1) Laptop screen, 2) use DVI output of laptop 3) use Sewell DVI adapter for monitor #3.
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Several weeks ago I ran an article on running WordPress from a USB stick. That tutorial uses the same utilities as this USB Web Server product BUT since I received 11 emails about the WordPress post – I think a version which can be purchased is worth posting.
WebServUSB is a full featured web server programmed into flash memory a USB device. It features HTTP and FTP web services, plus a companion email server program which provides POP3 and SMTP mail services. By plugging WebServUSB into any PC with a USB port, it can enable that PC to become and Intranet (LAN) or Internet based web server.
Looking for a little color on your desk along with some utility, this color chromatic USB hub should make the top of your list. Not that you need a colorful USB hub to connect your USB gas mask, USB aroma drive, USB fart fan and Coca-Cola flash drive, these hubs just make it that much more fun. Never again could someone else take the crown of most cheezy USB guy at your office.
USB hi-speed compliant, 4 ports, self powered, $7 bucks – great addition, great addition.
…fragrance oil that is. USBGeek rolled out their latest USB gadget, the fragrance USB drive, at just $7.00. Right on the heels of the fruitful USB drive the USBGeek version comes in two distinct aromas. Red Rose and Peppermint Green. No word on the longevity of the aroma and you’ll need a steady hand for application.
This USB webcam is for the egotistical with glowing white LEDs to nail those perfect internet first impressions. Although anonymity is what most internet users strive for, if you need clear shots with bright environments the USB Big Eye does just that.
Resolution is 1280 x 960 and focal points from 5cm to infinity, built-in image compression, dynamic image e-mail and 24-bit RGB color it’s a decent USB web cam.
I love my laptop. My wife loves her laptop. It’s powerful, widescreen and portable. What more could one ask for? (I asked for a 19″ widescreen for the office)
First things first: Congratulations to S. Wastgate of Florida for winning the Proporta Laptop Sleeve. Mr. Westgate visits GetUSB at least once a week, pockets a huge 8GB flash drive, works from his HP laptop and claims his GPS unit as his favorite gadget (I would too if lost in the Everglades). Thank you Proporta for sponsorship.
Okay – back on track: It seems about half our visitors are on the same page, “love the laptop.” Not that a PC has it’s merits and provides an environment for complete customization of hardware. With laptops getting much more powerful and wide screen viewing it’s an easy decision to go that route when making the next computer purchase. I recently saw an article where $100 laptops should be out before 2008 (educational tool). Crazy.
Be sure to visit GetUSB web pages and vote. Please remember to CLICK AND ENTER TO WIN if you’d like a chance and this rounds gift.
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Hmm…I know the American culture isn’t much into karma (isn’t that obvious!) but philosophy aside, this is still one slick looking flash drive. InnoDesign put specific detail into the color and lines of the drive to reflect the balance of the Korean flag. I especially like the small metal lanyard clip as it appears as durable as one would need not to lose those valuable personal files. The gold plated USB connector style also makes the drive very resilient against water damage.
