A Fruitful USB Day

Matt Laboff July 25, 2007 Flash Storage, USB News, Useless Novelty

If the USB A$$ Blower didn’t satisfy your need for fresh air then maybe a more subtle approach is needed…a more politically correct way of freshening up your office space. How about fresh fruit straight from a flash drive?

The crazy UFDs coming out these days are a stretch to grab marketing share; however I for one believe putting a little fresh-n-fruity smell into the air is a great idea. As not to leave any one preference out of mind, select from orange, strawberry, grape and apple. But you probably figured that out from the picture. This is a pre-launch announcement from Microdia as the drives are not yet available. But they are expected to generate fruitful results. Continue Reading

Upgrade: IOGear USB Travel Kit

Matt Laboff July 23, 2007 USB Cables, USB Hub, USB Input Device, USB News

IOGear is set to release their upgraded USB Travel Kit which includes USB mouse and four port hub. The biggest improvement IOGear made was the VCSEL technology to their optical mouse. The Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser enables the mouse to work on any surface – including glass. Heck I can’t get my mouse to work on white paper so there is definitely value there. With a maximum of 1600dpi this means increased accuracy and decreased hand movement.

The 4 port USB hub is slim on design as this is a “traveling USB kit” so that added ports help out for limited laptop USB connectivity. I’d like to see a re-charger interface somewhere before calling this an ultimate USB travel kit. The GME226 IOGear USB Travel Kit will be available soon, but their older version GKC431 is currently available although without the VCSEL technology. Continue Reading

Ahoy Mate, Need Arrr USB Hub?

Matt Laboff July 18, 2007 USB Hub, USB News, Useless Novelty

Now here is a total waste of USB space, yet something which is totally cool…well…that is if you are 8. SolidAlliance has yet out done themselves again with the pop-up pirate USB hub.

Come on, I know it put a smile on your face. I doubt anyone reading this post will flinch for their wallet, but here’s the SolidAlliance website just in case. Interested in other USB novelty gadgets? Continue Reading

Review: USB Car Adapter Charger

Matt Laboff July 18, 2007 USB Fever, USB Reviews

Robert from USB Fever sent me a USB car adapter charger and I wanted to chime in with a quick review.

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As expected it’s literally plug-n-play. Works without a problem. What originally got my attention about this simple device was the two port connectivity. Easy to charge his and her cell phones, iPods or PDAs. A nice glowing red LED shows the unit is working and charging. It would be nice to have a switching LED for when the battery is full. I did notice the USB car adapter charger has over-current protection. This means if your car outputs a spike in volts the charger will cut off power before your device gets fried. Continue Reading

USB Virtual Friend

Matt Laboff July 16, 2007 Brando USB, USB News, Useless Novelty

Everyone can use a virtual friend, and what better friend could one have than a USB buddy.

Okay, so you probably don’t need a virtual friend, but for those who work from the home office, extreme introverts or Harry Potter fantasy freaks (Disney too) you can get this USB virtual friend and pre-progam over 100 says to keep yourself entertained. With embedded infrared motion sensors your virtual buddy will always know when you’ve arrived or when you’re leaving. The set of USB buddies will run about $30 or specific gender for $17.

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I Love You USB LED Laptop Light

Matt Laboff July 12, 2007 Brando USB, USB News, Useless Novelty

Funny how things happen. I just got off a forum page reading up on how much folks hate Blue LED lights and here comes Brando with a product update email to include this “I Love You” LED laptop light.

I use a Compaq LED laptop light from time to time and it only has two white LEDs and I’ll tell you that one more would be nice. Just a little more light would be perfect and I’d probably use the USB gadget that much more. So, although not a great fit for the Techie guy, maybe a good gift for the Techie girl. At just $9 it’s a good addition to your iTunes gift card to ‘that’ girl friend.

I Love You USB LED light product page Continue Reading

Aaah…Wireless USB From D-Link

Matt Laboff July 24, 2007 USB Hub, USB News, Wireless

It looks like 2007 will be the year of shipping wireless USB products. D-Link offers their wireless WUSB 4 port ultra-wide band USB hub for those seeking the ultimate laziness of USB connectivity. I for one agree, leaning over to connect a USB cable to your scanner, storage hard drive or printer is just too much work.

It looks like my paperless office will also be wireless by 2008, thanks to WUSB.

The D-Link DUB-9240 wireless hub wont be the fastest kid on the block as unofficial reports indicate transfer speeds of under 10MB/second and with no transfer speeds available on the D-Link website we aren’t too hopeful. With a maximum distance from base to hub at 30 feet I doubt this distance will have a big impact on performance.

USB and DOS – Does It Work?

Matt Laboff July 20, 2007 USB Hacks, USB Tutorials

USB on DOS, does it work? Sometimes. At least that’s the answer Ed gave me from BootDisk.com.

USB was never meant to run from DOS, yet there are situations you want a USB device to run from DOS. For those ~~elite~~ select few check out BootDisk to homebrew your own solution. Unfortunately there isn’t one disc or zip file you can unpack, load and mount a USB device and for that reason BootDisk gives you several options to figure things out. I would say BootDisk has the most complete collection of USB drivers around if you are one in need of USB on DOS. Continue Reading

Original 1983 iPhone (PIC)

methodshop July 18, 2007 Apple / iPod

The iPhone may be Apple’s first “official” phone, but apparently they toyed with the idea 25 years ago. Way back in 1983, designer Hartmut Esslinger, the same guy who made the Apple IIc computer, came up with this phone/tablet prototype.

Writing an electronic check with the 1983 iPhone. The 1983 version of the iPhone obviously never made it into production, but it’s still a cool concept. Although writing a physical electronic check seems a little silly now that we have online banking. The image is from fudder.de. BeSocial: digg story | methodshop Continue Reading

IOCELL With U3 Like Launch Pad

Matt Laboff July 18, 2007 Flash Storage, Software, U3 Related, USB News

IOCELL introduced their version of the U3 launch pad – I like the name better – very direct with “USB Computer.” U3 might have gotten more traction with that name.

IOCELL created a launch pad to provide the user with an easy-to-use interface for launching portable applications. Really, the same thing as U3, the difference being IOCELL gives you the ability to make any application portable for storing and running off your UFD.

It appears IOCELL (like U3) uses a micro-controller (chip logic) to confirm the drive is a “USB Computer” version and thus launches the IOCELL interface without seeing the default Windows screen “What do you want Windows to do?” question. IOCELL is calling this COB Technology (Chip-On-Board). To get the IOCELL with COB Technology look for the Castella brand name. Available from 1GB to 4GB sizes. Looking to install U3 on a regular flash drive? It won’t happen and this is why… Source: IOCELL Continue Reading

Cooler Master iTower930 Has USB and a Whole Lot More

Matt Laboff July 16, 2007 USB News

For the average tech guy, getting that perfect computer enclosure is like women hunting for that perfect shoe. The difference being most women buy their shoes throughout the process whereas men simply browse. Well, today you should consider buying. The CoolerMaster iTower930 has everything you need for a standard computer case or computer server. It’s about as close to ideal as you’ll probably get.

Knowing more information is the ticket of the day, CoolerMaster has a forward thinking design which includes four hot swappable hard drive sleds which are SATA along with a host of easy access connection ports. Continue Reading

iPhone Termination Fee Making Lawmakers Upset

methodshop July 12, 2007 Apple / iPod

Apple’s iPhone has enjoyed favorable reviews since its recent debut, but it got some criticism on Capitol Hill in Washington this week. The phones, which cost between $500 and $600â€”are usable only on AT&T Inc.’s wireless network and will remain that way until 2012. Even though the phones become expensive paperweights if customers quit AT&T’s wireless plan, the company will still charge a $175 early termination fee, said Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., chairman of a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet. Markey described the phone as a “Hotel California service. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leaveâ€”you’re stuck with your iPhone and you can’t take it anywhere.”

Timothy Wu, a law professor at Columbia University and commentator on technology issues, described the cell phone industry as “spectrum- based oligopoly” where customers have given up their property rights.

“Imagine buying a television that stopped working if you decided to switch to satellite,” Wu said. “Or a toaster that died if you switched from Potomac Power to ConEd.”

BeSocial: breitbart | digg story | methodshop Continue Reading