Google’s DeepMind AI VS. the Go World Champion

Cyrus March 11, 2016 Gaming, YouTube Video

It’s over 2500 years old and the rules are deceptively simple, but Go is an incredibly complex game. The rules are simpler than those of chess, but a player typically has a much more vast choice of moves. The game is played with white and black stones and the aim is to capture territory as well as your opponent’s pieces. Stones can be captured by surrounding them but the control of the board is a much more complicated matter which is why a true competitive AI has been rather difficult to create. In a landmark victory against the European champion in October it was proven that the efforts of the DeepMind team and subsequently Google’s efforts on the AlphaGo project had found success in what had been thought impossible since the early years of computing.

By first studying the patterns repeated in various games, AlphaGo will play different versions of itself millions of times during a single match and learn incrementally. Learning from its mistakes is what makes the AI truly remarkable and what led its developers to take their months of improvements since beating the European champion, to the next level. As of today, AlphaGo has secured its second win against world champion Go master Lee Sedol in a 5-game match worth 1 million US dollars. The games are being played with a 2 hour set time limit for each player followed by three 60 second overtime periods as well as the standard Chinese ruleset.

The magnitude of this achievement opens many doors to advanced functionality of artificial intelligence. The emerging truth is machines can learn real world tasks in much the same way they learn to make moves in a game. This opens new paths of scientific research while augmenting existing industries where machines can learn to identify promising areas of research and help humans in the right direction. Whether it’s fields with a sheer overload of data needing to be sifted through such as biology or security, or more subjective fields such as arts and language. As stated many times in AlphaGo’s 7 matches thus far, regardless of which player wins, it is a victory for humanity.

Game 3 between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo is set to take place tonight, March 11th, at 8:00 PST Watch Here

Source: Deep Mind

Quick Tips for Faster Wi-Fi

Cyrus March 7, 2016 USB News

Slow internet connections can turn the most innocent web browsing session into an absolute struggle to maintain sanity but luckily there are a variety of steps available to increase speeds once again.

First up, ethernet cables. Ironically the best Wi-Fi tip is to not use your Wi-Fi connection, but rather a wired connection to ensure stability by reducing interference. Plugging an ethernet cable from your machine to a router will ensure connection integrity and having a connection that doesn’t drop out can be particularly helpful for videos and game console activity.

Second, all to often, routers are stuffed in a closet in some far corner of the house. Getting it out in the open and as high as possible will create a larger and more consistent coverage area. Additionally, keep as few walls as possible between the router and the usual location of frequently used devices.

Third, if you’re running 802.11n, you might want to try connecting via 802.11g instead. Throughput speeds can potentially double but it does usually depend on other ISP variables and especially upon what other wireless sources are overlapping signals with the router.

It’s not always necessary to buy a new router to speed up your Wi-Fi, but if a router is more than a couple years old, an upgrade may provide some benefits. And if you own new gear that has 802.11ac built in, it’s definitely time to upgrade your router. Best of all, some of the least expensive 802.11ac routers out there deliver excellent performance.

A Breath of Fresh…

Cyrus March 4, 2016 USB News

The gas most commonly associated with balloons and chipmunk voices has recently seen use in Western Digital’s hardware. The memory provider unveiled a new set of their helium-filled drives this week, aimed at personal and small business use. While some of their sizing options are above and beyond what many users would care for, bringing these kinds of options beyond just server use can be a step in an uplifting direction.

Just like their predecessors, the new hard drives come with SATA III interfaces. With a density one-seventh that of air, helium filled hardware reduces the drag force acting on the spinning stack and lowers fluid forces affecting the disks, enabling thinner platters in larger numbers. The family of WD’s hermetically-sealed hard drives will include 8TB options with 5400RPM or 7200RPM spindle speeds and looks to be optimized for mixed workloads. While the only helium platforms available are for NAS drives, the use of the gas leads to speculation that Western Digital is working on more inexpensive helium-filled platforms. Hopefully, this will lead to helium adaptations of their high-performance HDDs currently on the market for desktop use.

Morse Code Beacon via USB Board

Matt Laboff February 18, 2016 Test Equipment, USB Gadgets, USB Hacks, USB Prototype Design

For those into home-brew programming projects, its easy to make a microcontroller spit out some Morse code with the post shown below. What makes [pavlin’s] take on this project interesting is that it resides on a tiny USB board with an ARM processor. The design for the board is available with single-sided artwork suitable for production using simple methods like toner transfer.

The STM device has a built-in USB bootloader. It can also act as a serial port, which makes the project very simple and a bit more flexible. The only external parts are a speaker and an opt-oisolator.

The program provides a command line interface over the serial port that you can use to program the message and set other options like speed and the delay between messages.

AirBar – Make Any Laptop Touchscreen

Matt LeBoff December 21, 2015 USB Gadgets, USB Input Device, USB News

The Airbar will turn any Windows laptop into a touch screen. Very cool. The technology is friendly with Windows 8 and 10 and this is because it uses Microsoft’s “Gestures” technology to turn your laptop into a touchscreen laptop.

The Airbar was designed in Sweden and made in Sweden. The bar is $50 US Dollars.

The Airbar works by invisible light beams. To get it working you connect is via USB and set the bar at the bottom of your laptop screen, just like you see in the picture.

The Airbar will project light upward. As your fingers break the barrier of the projected light, the bar will translate this into gestures. Through the Windows API for gestures your actions will translate to the programs running.

Why is my USB write protected?

Matt Laboff October 22, 2015 Flash Storage, Nexcopy Inc.

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
attributes disk clear readonly
exit

chkdsk E: /f

Sony files patent for a glove-like controller

Cyrus March 10, 2016 USB News

With the advent of Virtual Reality consoles upon us, now is as good a time as any for accessories which can be used in tandem with the technological leap. Electronics giant Sony has recently filed for a trio of patents and they look to be taking VR to an interesting new place.

The trio of patents are for a new glove-based controller system which centers around a finger-tracking flex sensor, a separate contact sensor that registers when the user touches a physical object, and a communications module that sends this data to a VR headset where it is incorporated into the simulated experience.

The patent filing describes the system as “a trackable object that is configured to be illuminated during interactivity with at least one inertial sensor for generating inertial sensor data”. Reminiscent of the Move Motion “wand” revealed in 2009 and released for the PS3, the glove appears to be more dexterous and its collaborative capabilities have the potential to make gesture actions or motions applicable far beyond the world of gaming.

An important note to make in the nature of patents is there is no guarantee a product of this nature will ever see the light of day. Between cost, time, and how well it would actually work, Sony may choose to simply hold the patent and work on other projects but it does suggest they are at least considering wearable computing in the future.

Source: Sony

Create your own Custom USB Flash Drive Logos

Cyrus March 7, 2016 Flash Storage, Nexcopy Inc., Press Releases, USB News

Create your own Custom USB Flash Drive Logos is a great method to build your brand, make a great impression and leave a lasting positive vibe with your clients.

Branding products isn’t a new concept in today’s marketing world, but Nexcopy has made it a lot more accessible to brand one of the most versatile pieces of technology in the industry. With the new USB7P full color inkjet printer, anyone can bring their designs or images to life on their flash drives. Below is a video illustrating the product with its features and benefits.

For more information about customizing this video for our reseller channel, please contact Nexcopy directly.

Source: Nexcopy Inc.

We recently published an article featuring 60 incredible custom USB flash drive designs that range from miniature cars to footballs and represent industries as diverse as material handling, construction, medical, and environmental services. A custom-shaped USB flash drive is more than just portable storage—it’s a unique, physical representation of your brand

By transforming a company logo or product into a functional USB drive, businesses create a marketing tool that not only stands out but also makes a lasting impression on their target audience. For example, a construction company once commissioned a USB drive molded in the exact shape of one of their heavy-duty excavators. This creative giveaway left potential clients with a practical device that doubled as a memorable conversation starter, reinforcing brand recognition long after the initial meeting

Marketing professionals continue to choose custom logo USB flash drives because they offer a tangible, engaging, and highly effective way to drive home their brand message.

Energizing How We Charge Our Phones

Cyrus March 2, 2016 Power for USB

At trade shows around the world, StoreDot is showing off the Samsung Galaxy S6 with a modified battery and charging port which enabled the device to charge from 10% to 100% in 5 minutes and 25 seconds. This solution isn’t simply faster, the physics within the battery is a new generation of lithium ion batteries which sets it apart from companies pursuing similar avenues to solve the battery inconvenience.

Possibly one of the most impressive features is how the charger manages heat. At Nexcopy we manage temperatures between each piece of our products to keep them safe and durable throughout their use, so we can appreciate some solid thermal decorum when we see it. These new batteries will make sure your phone is never hot to the touch during or after a charging session and it does so with modifications to the connector itself. This however, means there isn’t simply a wire between the phone and the charger but rather a solid, wall-mounted charger unit.

What does this means for the industry? Well the technology is alive and well to make our charge times negligible. The delay will be in the coordination needed to make the improvement. There has to be a suitable connection port to enable the top speed charging, and a StoreDot 150W charger is required to reach these speeds. Most notably, Samsung has invested alongside other interested parties so eliminating the wait time of charging could be a thing of the past in the next generation of our smartphones.

Source: StoreDot

Sony Branded USB Turntable

Matt Laboff January 14, 2016 Audio, USB Gadgets, USB Input Device

CES, 2016. Sony releases a USB turntable, named HX500. Sony will provide backup- software for the Mac and PC and it connects via USB. From there, you can send the DSD (Direct Stream Digital) copies to your computer or device. Of course Sony would prefer you to play them back on their Hi-Res-playing Sony Walkmans.

The DSD audio is a lossless audio quality that will sound more full and rich than your downloaded MP3 file. Andy why not, vinyl records have been making a big comeback the last couple of years.

StarTech USB 3.0 & 4K DisplayPort Dock Station

Matt LeBoff December 11, 2015 Audio, Networking, USB Input Device, USB Keyboard

The USB 3.0 / 4K display and dock station is ideal for the Bring Your Own Device work environment (BYOD).

Assuming you have a limited port laptop computer the StarTech dock station can expand your laptop screen and extend out to a 4K video feed needed. It doesn’t stop there with USB 3.0 port connectivity, and Ethernet connection.

The front side of the dock station also includes a USB charging port. You can avoid the inconvenience of a dead battery and make sure your mobile device is always ready to go, using the dock’s USB fast-charge and sync port. Plus, the always-on port supports device charging even when your laptop isn’t connected to the dock.

The dock station can act as a charging station unplugged as well, making it a very portable solution. A good fit for this product would be home-office where the work space is not that large, or class room where the budget isn’t there for a complete work station and a BYOD situation best applies.

Question Format a USB Flash Drive as exFAT or NTFS?

Matt LeBoff September 22, 2015 Flash Storage, USB Tutorials

It’s a good question; format a USB flash drive as exFAT or NTFS? There are several reasons not to format as NTFS and we’ll explain.

Most of the Time you are Okay

Most of the time, formatting a flash drive is a very simple decision. There are only two situations where you should carefully consider what format to use. Here are the details:

Note: This article is focused on Windows and Mac operating systems.

The file formats available for a USB flash drive are:

• FAT (also called FAT16)
• FAT32
• exFAT
• NTFS
• HFS (Mac only)

Flash drive manufacturers typically format a drive as either FAT or FAT32. Any device of 2GB or smaller will be formatted as FAT, and any USB over 2GB will be formatted as FAT32.

These two formats are the best file systems for removable drives like USB flash drives because they support quick disconnect functionality. Chances are very slim that you will destroy the device or files if you unplug the USB without using the Eject function (in Windows) or the Un-mount function (in Mac).

The one huge limitation with FAT and FAT32 is the single file size limit. If a single file is larger than 2GB, you need FAT32. If you have a single file bigger than 4GB, you must use NTFS or exFAT. Typically, these large files are video files or restore image files (for restoring a computer operating system from a single image file).