The Audio Jack Could Be Gone For Good

Cyrus October 3, 2016 USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB Security & Compliance

To the confusion and frustration of many iPhone 7 users, the lack of an audio jack is being seen as a step forward rather than back. With the advent of USB Type-C, audio will no longer require a 3.5mm headphone port. Instead, that data can be transmitted, along with videos and power, through Type-C.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) recently announced its awaited audio specifications for USB Type-C to end the reign of our beloved headphone jack so lets take a look at the new standard. Officially called the USB Audio Device Class 3.0, manufacturers that need to feed sound through USB Type-C ports are affected the most by it. Everything from PCs to phones is included and the USB-IF expects Type-C to be the “primary solution for all digital audio aplications, including headsets, mobile devices, docking stations, gaming set-ups, and VR solutions.”

Just How Much Can This SSD Speed Up Your Computer?

Cyrus August 31, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

SanDisk is well known for its memory and and with the price of flash memory steadily dropping, the SanDisk Extreme 500 Portable 240GB SSD is as affordable as it is fast.

Less than half the size of your smarthpone, it can deliver up to 4x the speed of a portable hard drive with write speeds up to 200MB/s and read speeds up to double that. In seconds, you can transfer big videos and photo libraries and its durable design is a great way to ensure the safety of your data. Solid state technology offers reliable, responsive, high-performance storage for any user who cares about big media files.

Additional features include access to SanDisk’s SecureAccess software for 128-bit encryption to keep private files from prying eyes. A bonus in the nature of an SSD as opposed to hard drive memory, this drive has no moving parts therefore generates significantly less heat than the standard drive even on the busiest of days. If you’re looking for a place to store your operating system or just to hold on to memorable videos, this device will make sure it’s all accessible, safe, and fast.

You can find more information about SanDisk’s products at https://www.sandisk.com/

USB Charger That Reminds You Where You Parked

Cyrus August 10, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

Everyone with a phone or mobile device will need charging and most people with a mobile device will of course be mobile! Since you’re charging your phone while you drive, why not also use it as a locator so you know where your car is after you get out? The combination of these ideas has led to the smart charger Zus.

The Zus works as any normal USB charger but the real difference is in its built-in Bluetooth transmitter and simple mobile app. Working with one another, the product turns into a honing device for finding your car. Without having to worry about your phone running out of juice or scouring a parking structure looking for your car, the Zus enables a new level of freedom while maintaining the benefits of a mobile device.

How To Turn Your TV Into A Computer

Cyrus July 29, 2016 Flash Storage & Memory, Tutorials & How-To Guides, USB Hardware & Gadgets, USB Security & Compliance

If the “smart TV” craze hasn’t made it to your home entertainment yet, making one on your own is getting easier every year. All you need is a spare HDMI slot and the Intel Compute Stick.

Why is Pokemon Go So Massive?

Cyrus July 15, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

 If you haven’t noticed the hordes of people across a variety of age groups walking around and bumping into each other while on their phones, then downloading Pokemon Go might be what you need in order to go out more. The game has been out for less than a week and is already shattering records for active users. This includes trumping other mobile games like Candy Crush, and even online platforms such as Twitter. That’s right, more people play Pokemon Go each day than use Twitter so it’s safe to say, it’s pretty big. But why? Awesome combat systems? The interactive Augmented Reality (AR)? To find out, let’s look at some of Go’s finer points and soon-to-come features.

 Capitalizing on the nostalgia of millions, Pokemon Go utilizes some of Nintendo’s most valuable intellectual property on a platform everyone is guaranteed to have access to. It captures the hearts of collectors and competitors alike and most of all it builds a community. For many who have spent their lives enthralled by video games, social interaction hasn’t been the most plentiful resource but with Pokemon Go, hangouts, meetups, and organic interaction occurs at each and every Pokestop.

This Simple iPad Stand For Beds Will Make Extended Use A Breeze

Cyrus July 8, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

Even considering the growth rate of recent technology, iPads and tablets are an impressive feat of functionality and compact usability. As a business tool, a substitute for your computer, or another way to binge-watch netflix, an iPad has countless uses and new apps are being created every day to increase its usability. Companies such as Moe Bull corporation however, have taken a more physical approach to usability instead of virtual and the newest Moe Bull iPad stand for bed is the perfect buy for any extended use of an iPad device.

Made of solid wood without any moving parts that similar and less stable products pride themselves on, the patent pending Moe Bull Stand is a unique and simple product which enables tablet use in a whole new range of locations. The tip resistant design leans the device towards the viewer when laying down on a bed or couch. This makes watching videos or reading an ebook an incredibly comfortable experience.

Sponsored Post Nexcopy’s New 128GB CopySecure Drives

Cyrus September 19, 2016 Nexcopy Hardware & Solutions

With flash memory continually becoming more spacious and more affordable, encryption and data security become a much greater challenge for larger loads of higher complexity. Nexcopy hasn’t shied from the challenge with their ever-improving CopySecure software and are proud to announce some version updates to make data protection even easier.

Larger Supported File and Filetypes

Fewer restrictions on data size means higher quality videos and images can be used in CopySecure content. With CopySecure, the bells and whistles of a site, program, or page can be stored on a safe drive, impervious to duplication.
Example: A 4K training video, which could be over 3GB in size, can now be securely stored and distributed without the need to compress or reduce quality.

Watermark Implementation

Branding your documents before encrypting them has been an issue in the past due to the nature of most watermarking software. Attempting to encrypt content with a portion of its data already encrypted had its challenges, but the newest version includes support for Adobe’s watermarking tool, Stamps.
Example: Educational institutions use watermarks on videos to discourage screen recording and unauthorized redistribution of their proprietary content.

Double The Storage Space!

Improvements to Nexcopy Duplicators as well as the software have made it incredibly convenient to protect more of your data, and in less time. With those upgrades, 128GB drives are now supported for loading and encryption using the CopySecure software.
Example: As average video file sizes continue to grow due to HD and 4K resolution standards, more storage capacity allows for more robust media distribution on a single USB drive.

For more information, here’s a page dedicated to information about the CopySecure software and the concept of Copy Protection.

A One-Stop Upgrade For Tablets, Laptops, And Desktops

Cyrus August 15, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

The World’s Largest SSD Is Now Available From Samsung

Cyrus August 2, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

It’s understandable for most users to need a bit of extra space on their machines and it’s always a great idea to grab some solid-state memory for frequently used items such as your operating system. Samsung however, has taken that combination to an entirely new level with the PM1633a SSD clocking in at a massive 15.36 terabytes. Expanded out a bit, that’s 15,360,000,000,000 bytes which is also known as “more storage than a single user will ever need in life”.

Not only is this 15.36 TB behemoth the largest SSD ever made, but the largest single hard drive, going above and beyond the 10 TB cap most spinning disk drives are limited to. Such power comes at a price though, with preorders for the drive hovering at over $10,000.

Google’s Cooling Project Using DeepMind AI

Cyrus July 21, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

Another day, another awesome implementation of AI from Google. To combat the notorious energy consumption of data centers worldwide, Google has been using an AI system built by DeepMind to control certain parts of its data centers for increased environmental friendliness. For those who haven’t seen our article about AlphaGo, another DeepMind project by Google, here is a quick link to check it out. Although DeepMind is famous for developing AI technology and was able to beat the world’s best Go player, it hasn’t turned a profit for Google. Yet.

The DeepMind AI system has been used to reduce the energy consumption of cooling units in Google data centers. These coolers are vital as they prevent overheating and so far DeepMind has reduced their energy costs by up to 40 percent. How? By training DeepMind’s self-learning algorithms to predict hourly heat patterns. The coolers were then able to run at the most efficient intensities to keep the servers sufficiently cool. It’s as simple of a concept as a weatherman telling you whether you’ll need a jacket or a T-shirt to prevent temperature discomfort but for a machine to regulate this in perfect sync with thousands of other machines is an absolute marvel. Using a system of neural networks that analyze different operating scenarios, DeepMind makes a more efficient framework to understand data center dynamics.

How To: Correctly Format a USB Flash Drive in exFAT

Cyrus July 14, 2016 Tutorials & How-To Guides, USB News & Press Releases

Whether you’re formatting an internal drive, external drive, or USB flash drive, Windows makes it possible to choose between NTFS and exFAT formats. In this guide, we’ll go over the simple steps to formatting a USB drive and which format is best for certain situations.

exFAT is a file system optimized specifically for flash drives. Introduced in 2006, it’s designed to be a lightweight file system like FAT32 without the extra features of NTFS and without the FAT32 limitations. exFAT has very large file size and partition size limits so files larger than 4GB a piece can be stored on a flash drive formatted with exFAT. It makes very few unnecessary writes, and stores files throughout the drive in order to maximize the lifespan and speed up transfers.

An “Eyedropper” Tool For the Physical World

Cyrus July 5, 2016 USB News & Press Releases

When designing print for screens, visual inspiration can strike at any moment. Colors, font sizes, and typefaces come in infinite combinations and varieties but rarely can a single person view one such sample and know what they’re looking at – much less save it for later use. This is exactly what the working prototypes of Spector are tackling and it’s looking to become one the most useful tools for online design.

Spector captures typefaces and colors in the real world and then transfers them directly to your computer. Described by Fiona O’Leary, Spector’s creator, as “an eyedropper for the physical world”, many think of it as Shazam for colors and fonts. To use it, place Spector over a piece of media and depress the button on top. A camera inside will photograph the sample and an algorithm translates the image into information about the shapes and color values of the typeface. Spector beams that information to a database which IDs the sample and if your computer is nearby, a custom plugin will port the information to InDesign.