GetUSB.info Logo

Burning Stove Charges Electronics via USB Socket

Biolite Stove is portable camping stove which converts boiling water into energy to charge your portable devices.  I like the symmetry already! The Biolite Stove is no bigger then a large jug of water.  It can hold up to 1 liter of water and can boil that same amount of water in [about] 4.5 minutes. The fire power, as they say, ranges between 3.4kw and 5.5kw and will charge at a continuous flow 2W @ 5volts or peak of 4W @ 5volts.  Peak power flow depends on the BTUs of the fire while it’s going…you know, the hottest the fire will get, the most energy it will create as the water is boiling at the highest rate. The Biolite Stove will charge anything via USB.  As to the efficiency of that charging process, nothing to say it’s fast or slow, but conceptually Continue Reading

Zip Mini – Magnetic Charging Station

The Joy Factory has a smaller version of their popular Zip charging station, but looks just as cool. The ZipMini Touch-n-Goâ„¢ charging station is the next step in the evolution of mobile device power.  Now you can take a call or check your e-mail without having to manually disconnect cables. Your device reconnects itself when you move it back near the charging station. This sleek little powerhouse charges up to four devices at once, eliminates cord clutter, and looks great doing it. Touch-n-goâ„¢ is a revolutionary combination of a magnetized base unit paired with magnetized 3-inch mini-cables knows as “zip tails.” The zip tails pop immediately into place on the charging station via the built-in magnets, and safely snap off when you move your device. The only problem I have with this solution is finding additional 30 pin connectors since I have four iPhones to charge.  In addition, TheJoyFactory doesn’t give specifics about charging times with multiple devices, so a good chance you’ll get a trickle charge to the iPad while have several other devices connected at the same time. Purchase price for the ZipMini Continue Reading

How To: Make a USB Bracelet

Here is a simple way to make a stylish USB bracelet.  The project is very simple and requires no technical skills, but will take some time.  The largest amount of time you will spend is making the bracelet, so be sure to have your home-making skills fired up and ready to go.

Items you will need:

The first step is cutting up the cardboard to make the back-bone of the bracelet. Using tape to secure the lead start of the yarn, start wrapping Continue Reading

USB Battery Charging – Not An Easy Task

USB devices and ports are now the most ubiquitous item one can related to a computer product other then maybe the VGA connector or Ethernet port.  With that said, it’s now the mainstream bus used to power and recharge most computer devices and gadgets.  However, just because it will charge of USB doesn’t mean it’s all that easy and efficient.  There is a lot more into charging via USB then you’d ever imagine. With some devices you get a fast charge.  With other devices you get a slow charge.  So what’s the deal? In most cases when you see a slow charging device it means the manufacturer made a digital signature that is compatible with the power charger which came with the device.  Any other USB port used to charge the product simply isn’t as efficient…and that’s by design! This post is just an appetizer for all the dirty little secrets related to USB charging devices, to get a little deeper into the details click over to Continue Reading

Store Files on USB Flash or USB Hard Drive?

Flash drives are getting cheaper and flashdrives are getting bigger.  You get to a point and ask yourself, should I archive my valuable information on a large flashdrive or a USB hard drive?  For example, lets say you have 10GBs of photos from your phone or camera and you are looking to archive those pictures.  Should you do this to a flash drive or a hard drive? The easiest and most convenient decision would be saving your files to the flash drive.  Most everyone has a 16GB USB flashdrive these days, it fits in  your hand and you can carry it around with out trouble.  But will it last?  Is a USB flashdrive where I should put my photos if my computer crashes and I need to restore my photos?  Lets forget about the possibility you simply misplace the USB flashdrive.  Is the device archive worthy? The other option is the USB hard drive.  Most people don’t have one so you’ll need to buy one.  Although they are cheap, a USB hard drive is not as cheap as a 16GB or 32GB flash drive…and to be honest the 16-32GB sticks probably have enough space that it could hold your photos.  So is it worth the extra time and money to archive to a USB hard drive?  I guess this is the question more and more people are asking themselves.  Well I have the definitive answer: USB hard drive. Flashdrives are great products for quickly moving files from one computer to another.  However, they are not the best choice for archive purposes, and here are some reasons why: The devices are small and will most likely get damaged.  Unless of course you put the USB stick into the back of your desk drawer, a USB flashdrive gets banged around a lot and this abuse lends itself to failed cells in the memory.  Meaning, over time the files will get corrupted because the NAND memory gets damaged. Continue Reading

MacBook Air Adds USB 3.0

Apple released their new MacBook Air product and we are very excited to hear USB 3.0 is now standard. If you have concerns about USB 3.0 being a new technology without much compatibility, you are totally wrong.  The great thing about USB is their backward compatible specification.  What this means, is the USB-IF [the forum which governs the technology] requires that any new USB specification work will all legacy USB protocols. So even using that ultra slow USB drive from 2004 will work in the new MacBook Air products.  Not like you would, but it’s just an example.  Another example is using slower USB products like USB keyboards or USB calculators or USB breast warmers will work from the Apple USB 3.0 socket. The USB 3.0 specification has a maximum transfer speed of gigabits per second.  That’s about 500MBs per second.  You must keep in mind this is the theoretical maximum and you can never expect this type of performance from a USB device, but it’s nice to know the efficiency ratios are dramatically improved with the new USB 3.0 specification. Continue Reading

How To Read and Write CID on SD Cards

How To Read and Write CID on SD Cards, using Nexcopy SD Duplicator Solutions

How To Read and Write CID on SD Cards

If you are looking to read the CID number of an SD card, or extract the CID off an SD card, then you will find this article very helpful. Some also call this “reading the PSN off the SD card” or reading the product serial number off the SD card.

UPDATE (Feb 16, 2023):

We learned the company which manufactures this product now offers the ability to write the CID value as well as write protect the Secure Digital media.

Most phones and much of the software on phones will lock into the CID number of an SD card. The CID number is a unique card identifier number that is unique to the card itself. The CID number is valuable because software developers and hardware developers can lock software to the unique number of the device, thus eliminating the ability to pass along licensed software.

Reading the CID number from an SD card is not an easy task. It requires specific access codes to the index table of the memory card, and unless you know how to use the SD chipset of your card reader, chances are you won’t get the number—or at least not the correct and accurate number.

What is the CID number of an SD card?

The CID register is 16 bytes long and contains a unique card identification number. It is programmed during card manufacturing and cannot be changed by SD Card hosts. The CID number is a compilation of information about the card, such as manufacturer, date manufactured, checksum total, GB size, and more. Below is a table outlining all the items which make up the SD CID number.

CID Number Table for SD Cards, Learn How To Read and Write CID values

So with all this said, how do you read the CID number from an SD card? As we’ve mentioned, it isn’t easy and it’s hardware based. If you do enough searching on the internet, you’ll find some home-brew code to read the CID numbers, but that’s only if you have the SD card or microSD card connected via an IDE bus to your host computer. This isn’t easy for everyone. There is clear evidence that using a USB to SD card reader will not get you the information you require—or at least accurate and correct information. Meaning most times the CID number generated is actually the serial number of the card reader itself, not the CID number of a specific SD card.

In addition, what if you are required to read the CID number off SD media in bulk? A single, one-at-a-time solution is not practical.

In my search to read the CID number from SD media, I came across Nexcopy – a manufacturer of USB duplicator equipment and other flash memory equipment. Several models they carry are SD duplicators and microSD duplicators. With the secure digital duplicators, part of their feature set includes reading CID numbers from SD media. The equipment can read 20 cards at a time, 40 cards at a time, or 60 cards at a time, depending on the model. The duplicators will read the CID number and export it to a .csv file for import into other business functions. This configuration makes it quick and easy to obtain the CID number. Granted, the equipment is not designed for single-use operation, but rather reading the CID of SD media in bulk quantity. Here is a screenshot of Nexcopy’s software reading 20 CID numbers:

Nexcopy SD Duplicator Software Reading CID Numbers for SD Cards

I didn’t contact Nexcopy Incorporated for pricing of the equipment, but doing a quick search for the equipment shows me a price of about $1k for the smallest 20 target system and $3k for the largest 60 target system.

With all this said, there is still no clear-cut method to read CID numbers off SD cards for the home-user, but maybe this article will at least explain why you haven’t found a good solution as of yet.

The CID (Card Identification) number is a unique identifier that is assigned to each Secure Digital (SD) card. The CID number is a 16-byte value that is used by the SD card host device to identify the SD card and to determine its capabilities.

Reading and Writing CID on SD Cards using Nexcopy SD Duplicator Example

Continue Reading

Solar Rechargeable Wireless Optical Mouse

The four adjective computer USB mouse does exactly as what the name describes.  I’m also a big fan to see computer products taking the step towards solar power rather then other means.  Why not, the sun is always out [oh wait, I’m in SoCal] Sure the hand will cover the solar panel, but there is plenty of time you’re hand is not covering the solar cells for recharging. Recharging takes place to the single AAA battery inside the unit.  If the power does drain too much, you can swap the battery for a non-chargeable one. 2.4Ghz wireless spec gets you the communication you need with out the interference you might expect. Personally, I’d rather see Bluetooth as this little guy takes up a USB port for the wireless dongle on the host side. The Solar rechargeable wireless optical USB mouse is compatible with Windows back to XP, Linux and Mac operating systems, so ya, standard stuff. Continue Reading

Old School Wax Seal for USB FlashDrive

The original wax seals were simply melted beeswax poured over the flap of a letter. The wax would range in color from nearly transparent to brown, depending on the quality of the wax. In the 11th century, artisans began adding colors to the waxes, such as red and black. These first seals were not tamper-proof, however, as the letter could be opened and then resealed with similar wax. For this reason, stamps or seals were created so people could impress their personal design or crest into the warm wax, making forgery difficult. Today you can apply the same tradition to technology.  The Top Secret USB drive with wax seal is that device.  The USB flashdrive is made of high quality porcelain, finished off with a beautifull wax stamp containing the logo. Besides the original white porcelain version there is also a black variant. Either one is available with red, orange, pink, blue or green wax seal. We also make Top Secret USB flashdrive for special occasions, like for a wedding: white with a silver wax seal. The top secret USB flashdrive in light blue or pink are designed as a gift for a newborn. All usb sticks are sealed standard with the original Top Secret ‘TS’ logo. There is the possibility of choosing your own design, letters or images. The Top Secret USB flashdrive are available with either 2, 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory. Continue Reading

DIY: USB Slingshot for Angry Birds

Angry Birds is a great game for the first couple weeks.  New levels, new designs, new challenges.  However, the game gets a little stail for the 30+.  Today, we came across something which might re-kindle the fire for the 30-somethings who got burned out after a couple weeks. How about taking the slingshot in the game and making it real life?  This is exactly what this DIY hacker did. Over at MBed, the DIY tutorial for a USB slingshot gives step by step instructions, source code, design schematics and more for you to successfully remake a USB slingshot. Source:  MBed. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2006 +

USB Powered Gadgets and more...

All Rights Reserved

GetUSB Advertising

This is a high value website providing great exposure to your product and brand. Visit our advertising page to learn specifics.

For more information
Visit our advertising page.

Nexcopy Provides

USB copy protection with digital rights management for data loaded on USB flash drives.

Contact us learn more