Apple is motivated to introduce an ultra portable laptop and according to their calculations one of the biggest limiting factors is the port connectors. With that in mind, Apple submitted a patent for a collapsible USB connector (and other connectors like FireWire and RJ-45) to aid in the ultra slim effort.
After reading a summary of the report here it’s clear Apple is looking to create a “highly tapered chassis shape.” (although the picture in that report does show it).
So how does this collapsing port work? Without to much detail the idea is this: When the ultra portable laptop is closed so are the ports. When the laptop is opened those ports expand and allow connectivity using traditional sized cables.
Seems to me this methodology is asking for trouble, unless the only thing being connected are low speed peripherals like mouse or scanner.
Source: AppleInsiderContinue Reading
No this isn’t me; and my office doesn’t look like this. Not unless GetUSB came to life and ran me out of house and home.
Frank’s Cubicle is not a demo room, but an absolute time killer (in a good way). So if your boss stepped out and you have some time check out Frank’s Cubicle.
On a more serious note, the USB Implementers Forum runs the site and Frank’s Cubicle is a tribute to all the gadgets we’ve come accustomed to love.
The USB Implementers Forum drives certification testing and logo awareness for Hi-Speed USB, Hi-Speed USB On-The-GO and Wireless USB technologies. We developed Frank’s Cubicle to show the ubiquity and proliferation of the most successful interconnect technology in the world, with more than 2 billion implementations to date. Today consumers demand interoperability and ease-of-use. I’d like to think the USB technology has those benefits mastered. Now when consumers think USB we’d like them to remember the associated brands.
The latest technology we are supporting is Wireless USB, in which the first five certified products were introduced a few weeks ago from Lenovo, Dell, IOGEAR and D-Link. Set to perform like USB 2.0 sans the cables. Consumers can expect to see more products arrive on the retail shelves before the holiday season.
Shaped like a shampoo bottle and about as waterproof, this standalone juke box will let you get jiggy in the shower without harm to you or the system.
Now that we’ve found that waterproof Juke Tower speaker system you’ve always wanted; Step 2 – find that waterproof flash drive. The standalone system pulls music from your flash drive and includes basic volume, skip, stop, play, etc controls. What your shampoo bottle doesn’t have, but the Juke Tower does, is an illuminating clock display so you’ll never be late because of too much American Idol practice.
A company called Suck UK is about to launch this UFD cleverly disguised as a cassette tape. Nothing more than some creative packaging. So why am I writing about this? Because the other products on their website are absolutely classic for a good laugh. Such as Suck UK’s Smoking Mittens, Razorblade Mirror, Cardboard Mini Arcade and the list wouldn’t be complete without the Emergency Money Box. More fun stuff, check them out.
As for the USB stick in a cassette box, it’s available end of September and sizes are yet to be announced. If by chance you have a library of cassette tapes needing to be digitized than check out our post from the other day on a USB Cassette Archiver.
So what exactly are we looking at? Mimobot USB characters have always been a little off in their design, but I guess that’s why their following is so strong. Or is it?
Nine new models came out last week and they are strange – must be based off the characters in the animated movie, Chicken Little. So lets do a quick run-down.
Row One:
PSY mimobot
Ptry mimobot
PupStar mimobot
RayD8 mimobot
How do they come up with these names?
Row Two:
Galacula mimobot (Okay that makes sense)
Gigglebyte mimobot
Fairybit mimobot
Owsley Owlbert mimobot
The straggler Swirl mimobot.
Each Mimobot is available from 512MB to 4GB size and range in price from $40 to $110. As with most Mimobots these fun little USB characters are manufactured in only 2,000 quantity so if one strikes-your-fancy; get it!
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Nokia is leading the way in accepting the fact that USB is the end-all connectivity. The new Nokia 8600 Luna has only one external socket; a microUSB port. Since China set the standard for all charging to cell phones be via USB, this would be Nokia’s answer to the call.
So with Nokia on board for 100% USB charging and connectivity on this model, I would expect a quick adoption to other models.
You can see the microUSB port at the bottom of the picture; this micro port is our interface to the computer, charger and any audio devices. Amazing. The Nokia 8600 comes with microUSB adapter for audio connection as we haven’t seen audio devices with microUSB support as of yet.
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Franklin Wireless is churning out their smallest EVDO USB Modem so you can be your own hotspot – whether you’re hot or not.
EVDO or Evolution Data Only/Evolution Data Optimized provides fast wireless broadband (3G) internet service directly to your [I’m assuming] laptop [or any computer really]. All this access is now portable and available via Franklin’s USB CDU680 modem. You can take the internet with you and surf the web in your car, on the train, in the airport, at your Starwars technology convention or in your Luv Bus RV.
Some exceptional features too. 64MB flash drive – okay maybe THAT’S not impressive, built-in GPS, antenna port for external signal boost, pre-configured for PC/ Mac and swivel base USB connector.
(read that headline again) Grundig is doing dictation digital style. The DigtaSonic xMic is all professional and hard to call a typical dictation gadget. None-the-less, it’s out there with elegance and style. The design has a “soft touch” texture for … wait for it … long lasting pleasure comfort.
Using USB connectivity the DigtaSonic takes control of any PC application via Grundig’s Track Point mouse technology. For custom integration (medical applications) the Grundig mic comes with SDK tools for 100% software compatibility.
Digital quality is claimed to be top shelf with integrated sound card and dynamic speaker for optimal recording and play-back.
Clearly not a dictation tool for the common office executive but would make a great item for that afternoon rant.
Hyundai Motors will place a USB port into their 2009 Elantra car for stereo connectivity and support of the Microsoft automotive initiative Blue&Me.
Given the fact you’d find yourself in a Hyundai it’s not clear on how you can actually use the USB port, although it’s obvious the USB port would give you access to sync GPS devices, access the stereo for flash based music libraries and display contact information from your PDA on the upgraded nav station.
Update: Movie Photo Birth Announcements now has multiple templates to choose from. Templates are conveniently organized and include fun topics such as; Pirates, Baseball, Golf, Princess and Girl Teddy Bear themes.
Definitely off topic, but close friend and commenter on GetUSB.info just launched a Photo Birth Announcements website; MovieBirthAnnouncements.com. This isn’t your typical snap-shot stuffed into an envelope birth announcement either. It’s not even close to those Shutter Fly birth announcements; rather a fully customized Movie postcard with clever phrases and wording to bring a smile to the entire family tree.
Movie Birth Announcements currently has one template with four more coming in several weeks. This is an excellent way for telling the world about your new baby addition and much more creative than just about anything you could drum up.
Wish I had this service when my two little ones where born – Grandma and Grandpa just got a post-it note and Polaroid (not really).
Prices are very reasonable and FAQ for the inquisitive. And not to leave any stone unturned you have the option for customized photo birth announcement envelopes.
Running under the assumption most visitors of this site are male – if you know of anyone who’s prego or you just want to sharpen your communication skills with your female half – fire off this web link or email them.
Source: Movie Photo Birth Announcements.com
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Today I put together all the information needed to run a mobile Library from Apple iTunes on a USB stick or USB drive. This method will run the entire iTunes application from the storage device, making it easy to manage iTunes libraries from a single location. I believe this is how iTunes should have be developed – as having a library specific for each computer is a frustrating way to enjoy your music.
What pushed me over the edge is my wife wanting to purchase music from iTunes at work and sync them up with the iTunes computer at home. Typically this is done by purchasing the music and downloading directly to the iPod, but she’s a CPA and travels from location to location for audits and doesn’t even use the same computer all the time – yet she loves her music. The solution was to run iTunes from a USB flash drive to manage a single Library.
This tutorial includes installing iTunes on a flash drive, creating autorun files for auto-launching iTunes from the flash drive and how to set-up iTunes on different computers to run a music library from the single flash drive. Of course this method also works for larger storage hard drives – basically anything that appears as a Mass Storage Device on your system. If you are looking for a long term strategy for managing your iTunes music, I strongly recommend doing this process to an external hard drive that is, at least, 120GBs. So here we go:
Here is a quick summary so you know what we are getting into:
Why give someone a single still framed picture when you can give them an entire slide show? The MF-575 is an inexpensive hi-tech digital photo, MP3, and video player with a bright, high-resolution 5.6-inch color TFT screen and USB connectivity.
When I bought my first MF-575 picture frame, I got it as a gift for a family member who liked to complain that I never send them pictures anymore. The problem is, I have a digital camera and haven’t gotten any pictures developed in several years. So now, whenever I go over to their house for a visit, I just bring an extra memory card from my digital camera full of new pictures. If you don’t have an extra memory card, the MF-575 has an easy-to-use MD/SD/MMC memory card reader that plugs into any computer with a USB port. So you can just plug the entire picture frame into your computer and copy the pictures onto the card that way if necessary.
This year on Christmas morning, I was thinking about taking a series of pictures while everyone is opening their gifts. Then I’ll take the memory card out of my digital camera and pop it into the MF-575 picture frame for an instant slide show for everyone to enjoy on Christmas afternoon. Good idea right? The number of images you can put into your MF-575 slide show is only limited by the capacity of the memory card being used.
Here’s the full review: MF-575 Digital Picture Frame
BeSocial: digg story | methodshopContinue Reading
This year on Christmas morning, I was thinking about taking a series of pictures while everyone is opening their gifts. Then I’ll take the memory card out of my digital camera and pop it into the MF-575 picture frame for an instant slide show for everyone to enjoy on Christmas afternoon. Good idea right? The number of images you can put into your MF-575 slide show is only limited by the capacity of the memory card being used.
Here’s the full review: MF-575 Digital Picture Frame
BeSocial: digg story | methodshop
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