USB Cable to Play 1080p HDTV

Matt Laboff May 11, 2010 USB Fever, USB T.V.

With a simple USB cable, it is now plug and play to access your hi-def video files stored on your PC and play them directly on your HDTV. The USB to 1080p HDTV sharing cable is capable of streaming 1080p signal, without degridation, to your HDTV [with USB port] set.

USB to HDTV cable

The cable retails for $24 and I wanted to make a quick post about the product.Â Check out USBFever’s site for more details. Continue Reading

Energy Boost for iPad – 99 Hours Worth

Matt Laboff May 11, 2010 Power for USB

HyperMac updated their power blocks to include support for the iPad product line.Â There are a couple models to chose from, but the high end, $500 unit, will give you 99 hours of iPad life.Â More then enough for that weekend get-away. For a bit less, the $200 battery pack will get you the 60 watt version capable of powering your beloved Apple product for 34 hours. For this price, at least they include USB ports to power those USB gadgets you have in every corner of your office.

hypermac power supply

The HyperMac power bricks are not yet available, but will be within a couple of weeks.Â Just in time to be received with your long delayed iPad order. Continue Reading

Facade Printer Paints Life Size Graffiti

Matt Laboff May 4, 2010 USB News, Useless Novelty

So here is a new twist on the graffiti art, the facade printer. Technically, it’s not used for graffiti in the traditional sense, but rather a new marketing method for a different print medium. Buildings.

The facade printer is an inkdot printer which looks like a paint gun mounted on a portable deck. The paint gun is controlled via software and connects via USB cable. From here the facade printer uses stepper motors to control the firing position of the barrel and point the end towards it’s next mapped position.

Through this technology it is now easy to make a pointillism type image on buildings, bridges, or any large scale surface. I think this is a particularly interesting method for retails to promote products to the masses much like a freeway billboard. Visit the facadeprinter.org website to learn more or what the video below.

facadeprinter.org – three stones from Facadeprinter

Source: CNET News. Continue Reading

How To: Format USB as NTFS File System

Matt Laboff May 3, 2010 USB Tutorials

Format USB Stick as NTFS File System

Flash drives are getting very large in size these days, the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 sticks are getting over 256GB capacity.Â With these larger sticks, the option to format the device as a NTFS file system is available, but what about the smaller USB sticks? By default, any USB stick under 4GBs in capacity will not have the Format USB as NTFS file system option, but we can fix that. Here is the How To: Format USB sticks as NTFS: Click Start > My Computer > Right click on the drive letter for the USB stick and select Properties.

format USB NTFS

Now, click the Hardware tab of the Properties pop-up window and select the drive letter of which youâ€™d like to change.Â In this case, itâ€™s drive letter F shown as â€œSimple Flash Disk 2.0 USB Deviceâ€œÂ From here click the Properties button.

format USB stick NTFS

The next step is click the Policies tab and Continue Reading

Off USB Topic – Have You Seen The Gear Ring?

Matt Laboff April 28, 2010 Off Topic, USB News

Once again, I am off topic of USB, but sometimes you get ultra cool products that you must mention.Â Today I found a great gadget from our buddies at Gizmos For Geeks.Â It’s the Gear Ring.

Gear Ring

Very elegant in design and intrigues the engineering in all of us.Â The Gear Ring is comprised of 6 mini gears which rotate in unison as you twist the top portion. The product is high quality stainless steel and engineer to very tight specifications.Â This makes for an easy and smooth feeling as you twist the ring. Although I’m not a ring guy myself, other than my wedding ring, it is intriguing enough that I’m going to buy one.Â It’s not THAT much, only $165.Â Ring sizes include 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Source:Â GizmosForGeeks. Continue Reading

Robot Arm Looks And Works Like Elephant’s Trunk

Matt Laboff April 26, 2010 Off Topic

Engadget posted a video today about a robotic arm which looks and acts like an elephant trunk.Â Made by Festo’s it’s an impressive robotic machine.Â It appears much bigger than it is, watch the video and you’ll see the arm hand something off to a human.

robotic arm

It really has nothing to do with USB, but just a great video to watch.

After watching it, I do wonder how quickly it can move. Continue Reading

iMONO 13 Port USB Hub

Matt Laboff May 11, 2010 Brando USB, USB Hub

Will this USB hub give you chub?Â With 13 ports all rolled up into one case, it’s a gadget lovers dream to power all those things USB.Â In addition iMONO went green with giving us the ability to turn off a port and save energy going to a device. A quick glance through the specifications shows that an external power adapter is not available so you might run low on the bus powered juice if you’ve got too many power hungry gadgets [say several USB hard drives], but for powering your MP3 players, sticks, and humping dogs, should be ideal.

13 port hub

The 13 port hub runs for $30. Continue Reading

How To: USB Game Pad With Accelerometer

Matt Laboff May 7, 2010 USB News

Make a custom USB game pad with an accelerometer for endless fun. The concept for this USB tutorial is taking a game pad and adding some USB.Â Then putting in a small PCBA to enable keyboard shortcut programming so the device looks like a keyboard to your computer, but with specific buttons for game play.

The USB game pad can be used with nearly any software, such as a MAME emulator, game, simulation software, or for custom user interfaces. We’ll start by turning the buttons of the game pad into keyboard buttons, so that pressing ‘up’ is converted into the ‘U’ key, for example. The firmware is easily adaptable, so you can adjust it for whatever software it will be used with. Then we’ll beef things up by adding an interesting twist…an accelerometer. This will allow Continue Reading

USB Flashrods

Matt Laboff May 3, 2010 USB Hacks

What do you get when you cross a Hot Wheels car and USB stick?Â Flashrods. We’ve seen plenty of mods for USBs and hot rods, but we found one guy making a part time job of it. Sure you can do your own, but getting the masterpiece on the first try is hard, buy a Flashrod of $25 and have it done right. There are 20+ styles to select and available in different GB capacities.

USB flashrod

Source:Â DigitalDrops. Continue Reading

GetUSB Dealz: 32GB Flash Drive Only $59

Matt Laboff April 29, 2010 GetUSB Dealz, Kingston

Wouldn’t it be nice to get 1GB of data storage for $1 on flash drives?Â We are not there yet but getting close.Â We are about $2 per GB for this 32GB Kingston DataTraveler.

It doesn’t come with the lifetime warranty we typically see, only a 5 year one…but chances are you’ll lose it before then anyway. The c10 drive comes in four colors [Red, Yellow, Blue, Green] and has a full cap design to protect the entire stick.Â No word on performance, but the typical flash drive has a write speed of 5.5MB/s and a read speed of 15 MB/s, again not official just our experience speaking here. Just 5 years ago I had a laptop with a 40GB hard drive, now we have flash drives just about as big and much less expensive.Â This deal is for a limited time at buy.com and has a normal price of $90. Continue Reading

microSD Duplicator From Nexcopy

Matt Laboff April 27, 2010 USB Duplicator

Micro_SD_Duplicator_60_1_port, Nexcopy, microSD Card Duplicator, microSD Card Copier

Nexcopy recently introduced an upgraded line of microSD duplicators supporting media capacities from 16 to 60 port configurations—no adapters required. These systems are built from the ground up for high volume deployments and advanced flash memory control.

PC Based Solution: mSD160PC (16 Port)

The mSD160PC is a USB 3.0, PC connected duplicator featuring:

16 targets per run with maximum card write speed utilization
Six copy modes: File Copy, Copy Add, Device Copy (short/full), IMG Copy, and Unique Data Streaming
CID (Card ID) reading capability with CSV export—ideal for content encryption tied to unique serials

This PC based unit excels in custom data workflows and streaming content uniquely per card. Supported by Drive Manager software running on Windows 10+, it offers unlimited free software updates and support.

Standalone Duplicator: mSD115SA (15 Port)

The mSD115SA operates independently—no PC needed—and is ideal for on-the-go use at trade shows, field sites, or telecom recycling centers:

15-port standalone unit with synchronous or asynchronous copy modes
High-speed binary copying (including bootable devices) at up to 1,800 MB/min
Built-in functionalities: Copy, Verify, Compare, Erase (including D.o.D. Secure Erase), H2 integrity test, speed benchmarking, and auto-start capability
Real-time LCD feedback, rugged design, and compatibility with FAT, NTFS, Ext2–4, proprietary formats

Documented in Nexcopy’s 2016 press release, this model offers both simplicity and durability for 24/7 industrial use.

High Volume Option: microSD131SA (31 Port Standalone)

The microSD131SA builds on the mSD115SA architecture to support 31 targets and is priced at approximately $3,399:

No PC required—supports FAT, exFAT, NTFS, Linux formats, and proprietary systems
Fast synchronous/asynchronous copying, CRC-32 verification, memory benchmarking, D.o.D. erase, and automatic job start
Rugged hardware built for extended production with real-time performance feedback and compatibility with 110/230V power

This system is engineered for industrial-scale duplication where speed and accuracy matter most.

Why This Matters

Compared to earlier adapter-based copying systems popular in the 2010 era, all new Nexcopy microSD duplicators eliminate the need for micro-to-SD adapters—reducing labor, improving throughput (up to 30%), and enhancing reliability in telecom, recycling, and promotional content use cases.

“The microSD duplicator is ideal for telecom recycling centers who need to process and format microSD media left in cell phones … formatting, erasing, verifying and data loading is a very simple and straightforward process.”

To learn more or request a quote, please visit Nexcopy’s mSD160PC, mSD115SA, or microSD131SA product pages.

Source: Content compiled from Nexcopy’s product pages and official press releases.

Another Great USB Steampunk Product

Matt Laboff April 22, 2010 Hand Crafted USB

I have been a fan of USB Steampunk products for a long time.Â I’ve even thought about running a Steampunk contest for the most creative, but never gotten around to it.Â Today, I’ve come across another great creation which is 100% hand made. The construction is similar to other Steampunk products weâ€™ve seen, made of brass, copper, glass, watch parts and clock parts.Â The metal connections from the brass wire outside are made with silver solder and an acetylene torch, which gives it the unique look and feel.Â In addition, the maker, put extra time into the fitting and position of the internal components for a solid product.

USB steampunk

The Steampunk device is an 8GB flash drive with a microSD card reader at the tail end, which is a nice twist for someone looking for more storage.Â The technology is made of disassembled retail product where the microSD card reader is built into the flash drive.Â Clearly the device will show two drive letters when connected to the computer, one for the USB stick and the other for the card reader.

USB steam punk

The price is much higher at $195 then it’s retail original package [about $15], but hey, youâ€™ll never get a great looking, hand crafted USB case like this USB Steampunk. Continue Reading