It’s been all over the blogs the last couple of days regarding Kingston and their security issues. They have been tight lipped about exactly what makes the device vulnerable and with specific information it’s hard to gauge just how hard it would be for someone to crack it.
I don’t think the typical user who keeps their personal information secure with this drive [in the event it’s lost] has much to worry about, but the government has purchased plenty of units and that’s clearly a concern. The list of drives include Data Traveler BlackBox, the Data Traveler Secure – Privacy Edition, and the Data Traveler Elite – Privacy Edition. Again, a typical computer user probably doesn’t have the tools or skills to unlock the device, but a professional would.
My guess is the IC controller chip which runs the AES 256 encryption is at fault here and someone has figured out how to hack the machine code and disable the encryption, but that’s just my educated guess being in the industry.
PC World did a good write up about the statement and interesting perspective on the whole situation.
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Even at full price, the LaCie Petit 350GB USB hard drive is a good deal which is $79. For a limited time you can get the same drive for $20 less, or $60.
The LaCie USB Hard drive is small and mobile with aluminum case to protect your data. Includes scheduled auto backup software and USB boost for a 33% jump in performance.
Get the USBDealz now.
Here is the company sales pitch: The LaCie Petit Hard Disk is one of the smallest, most compact drives on the market, making it an ideal choice for users that need constant access to their data. It’s small enough to fit in a pocket, but looks good on any desk. Its USB 2.0 interface helps the LaCie Petit work on almost any computer, anywhere. Simply plug it in and you’re ready to begin storing or sharing your data, with the fast speeds you need for efficient data transfer. Covered in aluminum, the LaCie Petit features a sturdy, resistant casing that keeps your data cool, and most importantly, protected. The aluminum exterior is tough, but also light enough for mobility, ensuring your data will always make it to its destination.
Get this USBDealz now!
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Some guy in Germany had a bit too much time on his hands and modified a Nerf gun into a electromagnetic USB stick stun gun.
This gun is by no means subtle and was modified from an old Nerf N-Strike Recon CS-6. Added to the mod was an MP3 player and amp for sound effects, a flash unit and 50-turn copper spool. The completed gun, including accupack, chips, LEDs, paint, and primer, cost around $75 to construct and still works as the original N-Strike gun.
The video shows several RFID products killed so the signal no longer works, and the author also claims it will destroy USB sticks, and I would assume, many other electronic gadgets.
Clearly a fun and interesting product for the hobbiest, but very little particle use.
Source:Â Pocket-Lint.com
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TouchScreen Preschool Games has just released another iPhone app; Mister Rogers.
GetUSB.info doesn’t make it a habit of reporting on iPhone applications, but when you know the author and game publisher it’s worth taking a moment and saying “good job.”
Murtha Design had their first block buster iPhone app, ShapeBuilder and from that success Murtha Design has teamed with PBS.org to develop the Mister Rogers iPhone app.
Mister Rogers Make a Journal encourages children to identify and talk about their feelings about their everyday experiences like school, playtime, and friends. The App features an animated version of favorite Neighborhood of Make-Believe character Daniel Striped Tiger, who invites children to make a journal to help them reflect on the things they do and to express how they feel.
What is amazing about this application is the goal of establishing Emotional Development truly works. I have a 4 and 6 year old child and they both create journals about their day and from simply listening to their interaction with the program, I can learn about my child’s day without pressuring them for daily activity reports and grilling them on “how was school today?”
The USB surgeon is not alone, he also comes as a doctor and nurse. Unfortunately we don’t have pictures of the entire medical family but we do have the following.
First, SlipperyBrick and TechFresh reported on the drive earlier today, but we thought a “in the wild” photo would also be fun. Here is a snapshot of them multiplying before your eyes.
As SlipperyBrick pointed out, it’s a fun little drive that you can decapitate as well as play out classic MASH scenes or more current Grey’s Anatomy drama.
The USB surgeon flash drive can be found at USBGeek.com for just a shade over $20.
If we find the doctor or nurse, we’ll let you know…chances are, they are in the supply closet…no wait, that’s Scrubs.
Source:Â SlipperyBrick & TechFresh
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Sugar Labs Nonprofit Announces v2 of Sugar on a Stick with Improved E-Book Readers, Recycles Any USB Stick Into Learning Environment for Children; Partners with Nexcopy, Inc.
PARIS, December 8, 2009 — Netbook World Summit — Sugar Labs(R), volunteer-driven nonprofit provider of the Sugar Learning Platform for over one-million children around the world, announces the release of Sugar on a Stick v2 Blueberry. Available for download at https://www.sugarlabs.org, Sugar on a Stick can be loaded onto any ordinary 1Gb or greater flash drive to reboot any PC, netbook or recent Mac directly into the child-friendly Sugar environment without touching the existing installation. Sugar is also available for GNU/Linux distributions, runs under virtualization on Windows and Apple OS X, and features built-in classroom collaboration and automatic backup to a Journal. The latest version of Sugar offers simpler navigation, improved wireless networking, streamlined updating of Activities for children, easier keyboard configuration, better Gnash support for Adobe Flash content, and more. New Activities such as Physics and OOo4Kids join updated favorites such as Browse and Read, suitable for reading e-books.
“Sugar on a Stick is a great way to experience Sugarâ€, commented Walter Bender, Sugar Labs executive director. “In this holiday season, we wish to remind parents and teachers that e-books are not only for costly reader units for the well-to-do, but freely available as part of the open-access to knowledge movement to help children everywhere develop critical learning skills and to bridge the digital divide wherever it exists.â€
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We’ve seen the first step in USB 3.0 which is the USB host controller. This gives motherboards the opportunity for USB 3.0 devices to connect. Now we are starting to see other system support peripherals such as the USB 3.0 hub.
VIA announced their USB 3.0 four port hub this week just days before CES 2010. We fully expect others to make a similar announcement during the CES show, but VIA, thus far, has beat everyone to the punch.
The USB 3.0 hub supports 4 downstream ports and one upstream port. The board is powered via AC and VIA claims to have improved the power management in the USB 3.0 hubs to allow attached devices to enter into a lower power state when not being used. The chip itself is based on advanced 80nm CMOS technology which makes it a more power efficient USB hub controller.
VIA did indicate the USB 3.0 hub is not only backward compatible, but also supports the full 5Gb/s transfer rate USB 3.0 calls for. No word on price, but I’m forecasting a 50% increase in price over traditional USB hubs.
We hope you find many USB gadgets in your stockings or under the Christmas tree. Merry Christmas to all our readers, bloggers and fellow gadget lovers.
MSN did a fun article on 8 lavish gadgets for the holidays, and of course, a USB flash drive made the list.
Gresso introduced a 64GB USB flash drive which is F1 racing inspired with sleek design, look and material. Gresso used the base material to be carbon fiber [the black] and titanium alloy as the accents [silver] then glazed the entire device with a special ceramic coating.
The Gresso branded USB stick will set you back 6,448 Peso’s or about $500 USDs. Still small enough to be lost in any coat pocket, but a perfect stocking stuffer for the well-to-do.
So the question becomes:Â would your friends be more impressed with the Gresso flash drive or a $500 bill?
Fuchi View is making our life very portable with their new Pico Projector Plus USB projector. As you can see from the picture the Pico Projector is literally the size of your hand. The dimensions are a tiny 11.5 x 6 x 2.6cm.
Although the built in memory is only 1GB making it ideal for shorter presentations, to take full advantage of the multimedia functions you can use the SD memory slot to project even the largest of multimedia files.
If you are serious about this product there here are a couple more bullet points to consider: Display formats include JPG, BMP, AVI, MOV, DivX, XviD, 3GP and MP4. Runs off AA batteries or AC adapter. Connects via mini USB cable. Screen size from a small 5 inches to a large 65 inches. Contrast ratio 260:1. Aspect ratio 4:3 and the key element of resolution being 640 x 480 RGB.
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AT&T reports that smart phone users, which make up 3% of their market, are eating up nearly 40% of the data bandwidth on their mobile network.
To no surprise, AT&T is considering ways to free up network bandwidth so that everyone without a smartphone, isn’t effected. So what does this mean? It means AT&T might be giving a screw j_b to iPhone users. – by far the biggest consumers of bandwidth from smartphones.
iPhone users on average consume five to seven times more data per month than average wireless subscribers, according to analyst firm Sanford Bernstein. And all this usage is clogging the network, causing many iPhone users, especially in large cities such as New York and San Francisco, to experience dropped calls, slow 3G service, and issues connecting to the network at all.
So what is AT&T considering? I would think upping the usage fees, but this might not work for those who don’t care about monthly fees. Another approach are incentives.
“We’re going to try to focus on making sure we give incentives to those small percentages to either reduce or modify their usage so they don’t crowd out the other customers in those same cell sites,” said de la Vega according to a transcript of the conference. “And you’ll see us address that more in detail.”
Either way, I have a strong feeling AT&T will be limiting or slowing data usage for iPhone users.Â
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SuperTalent announce their USB 3.0 flash drive in November of 2009. Today we have a short video of that drive in action. You can see the performance of the device is much greater than any 2.0 device. How would you like to copy files at 78MB per second?
I spoke with SuperTalent last night and still no word on official price or official launch date.