It’s been said for a while now that WiiWare was expecting Karaoke ability under a software program called Joysound. It appears this is finally coming to fruition. The Joysound Karaoke program has some ambitious plans with over 20,000 title by it’s release in mid summer with an additional 1,000 songs added each month.
“Although it’s being referred to as a WiiWare title, Joysound is a bit different from the rest of the WiiWare lineup. Users download the Joysound program from a server that’s being exclusively set up for it. This server will also house the songs for downloading.
Hudson is currently considering a billing system based not on a per song rate, but on a subscription rate. Users will presumably be able to download as much as they want over a set period of time.”
As previously mentioned the Karaoke Joysound will be available in two packages. You can either download the software to run Karaoke but you’ll need to have your own USB microphone. Or a bundled package will be available which includes the software along with USB microphone. There are even talks about including
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Today I’m able to report about the Casio LK300 with USB and TV connectivity. I didn’t perform the review, rather my brother did. So lets see what Ned had to say:
I have to say the Casio LK300 is bigger than I expected and definitely more solid and quality built than anyone would expect for the price (about $200). The LK300 keys provide just enough friction to make them feel almost real, but obviously not exactly like a real, piano hammer like feel.
Although I’m not a piano enthusiast, I did pick up the LK300 to learn. After all part of the enticing thing about the Casio is the ability to connect it to a TV and learn along with instructional lessons. During a lesson, the LK300 keys will light-up as the song is played giving you the exact location of which key to hit and when. It’s even got a nice feature to cover any delay you might have in stroking the key…a little late…that’s OK, the sound still matches the lesson song.
With the lessons, the software will provide feedback in the form of a scoring system whereby it calculates the number of
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USB Fever is sporting their new 11 button multi-media USB mouse as the best ticket to enhance your work productivity, increase your efficiency and ultimately land you that promotion. Well, maybe not the last three, but chances are with an 11 button mouse things will be [a bit] more convenient.
So for those armchair executives, consider the following 11 quick access features the USB Fever mouse offers:
Internet key
Speed switch
Volume down control
page forward
page backward
volume up control
left button
double click button with only single click
click wheel
right button
play and pause button control
Granted you’ll need a weeks worth of practice to flawlessly work the 11 button super mouse, but the payoff is huge.
The multi media 11 button USB mouse is only $15 directly from USB Fever with an additional $3 for shipping anywhere in the world.
Thanks for the tip Thomas!
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The Asterisk USB hub is one fancy looking device, too bad it doesn’t work. This is another design prototype from contempo designer Joel Escalona. What I like about this layout, besides the bright Ferrari red is the space between each USB port. Too often have I not been able to use all the ports of a USB hub, making it half as efficient as what it should be.
The issue I see with Asterisco hub (Asterisk hub) is how wide it would be if directly connected to a USB port. It would clearly block other ports to the sides, so an extension cord would be needed to make this ideal. Give and take I suppose.
If you are not familiar with Joel’s work, maybe you can jump over to view his USB bomb or USB furniture. Both are enjoyable to consider.
Joel – if you’re out there – has anyone picked these up for production?
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The world is quickly moving to a wireless environment. Earlier in the year I talked about how to boost your Wifi signal, and today we talk about making your own, portable, personal Wifi for wherever you go. Granted this isn’t a hack or tutorial, but with the use of the PHS300 Personal Hotspot, creating an island of connectivity has never been easier.
CradlePoint manufactures the PHS300 and with their technology and any broadband-enabled mobile phone or modem, simply plug in the phone or USB modem to the CradlePoint router then connect your computer, get access and share. I guess you could add in a few extra steps if WEP/WPA security options are required.
“The personal hotspot includes a built-in lithium-ion battery that will keep it running for several hours and can be recharged via USB when connected to your computer. It can even be used to recharge a phone that’s connected to the USB port, though that will no doubt reduce its own battery life.”
Here is the Personal Pocket Safe UFD which is the first of it’s kind that is an “encrypted, epoxy coated, pin-protected smart drive.” Not the first pin-pad USB stick we’ve seen. But with military grade encryption and a mysterious “track-covering” feature to insure no one can trace it’s where-a-bouts after removing from the host.
Lets say you did find the Personal Pocket Safe, well you still need the pin number. This guy features a 10 digit touch-pad pin code using between 4 and 10 digits to lock down your passwords, documents etc. Get the pin number wrong and the Personal Pocket Safe goes in complete lock-down.
“The Personal Pocket Safeâ„¢ is powered by proprietary software embedded within a pin protected pocket safe that features a host of security-rich options that lock in all of the confidential and critical information that powers the lives of today’s consumers.”
Here are some key bullet points from the press release:
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This “everything you need” HDTV connection kit is one Pretty Hot And Tempting deal from Buy.com for only $22.49. I’ve seen just a single HDMI cable at BestBuy for more than $50 so this deal is off the hook.
What you get for just over $20 bones:
6ft RCA Type Audio/Video Combination Interconnect
6ft Component Video Cable
6ft RCA Type Audio Interconnect
2m HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interconnect 2m TOSLINK Optical Digital Cable
6ft S-Video Interconnect
HDMI to Male DVI Inline Adapter
All the cables have 24-karat gold plated connectors for optimal performance and quality. The gold plated connectors also ensure long lasting quality without degradation for connect and disconnect sequences. The cable ends are molded for ease of use, handling and comfort during installation AND these cables come with a lifetime warranty. You can’t go wrong.
However, BUY.com did say the quantities are limited and this GetUSB Dealz will only be around for a short while. $32.49 with $10 rebate. Free shipping so total is $22.49.
What could be better than working with USB, robots, legos and our imagination? Our beloved memories of childhood play with Legos has now turned into adult fun with the new robotic line of Mindstroms.
The Mindstroms from Lego is based off their NXT Technology whereby a main NXT brain unit controls 5 different robotic functions for you to let the imagination run free. Build anything you want with the legos, intuitive robotic software or get extreme with Lego’s open source developers kit.
So what are the 5 building blocks of the Mindstrom units?
Touch sensor
Sound sensor
Light sensor
Ultrasonic sensor
Servo motors
Through these sensors, some crafty lego design build your robot and communicate via USB for software download and development stages. The world’s next Frankenstein is only a lego or two away.
So this is how it works.
Build your lego monster with available parts kits.
Launch the intuitive robot software and use pre-defined commands to build motion, touch, light and other sensory functions.
Last, connect and communicate via USB to test your functions and ultimately download the finished firmware version to the NXT Lego robot.
Yesterday we spoke about the asterisk USB hub which solved a basic problem of USB ports being too close together. Today, Brando announces a new turnable USB hub which also address tight layout of USB ports found on most hubs. The turnable USB hub not only offers the ability to rotate 180 degrees for each connector, but Brando spiced it up with some flashy color. Making it easy to find that hub in your pile of papers, coffee cups and other desk junk.
Running through the rainbow colors you have a 4 port hub with one up-stream port. From purple, to red, orange, yellow and finally green.
It’s definitely a fun looking little hub which might double as a 1 year old twisty-turn toy. Price from Brando is $12.00 with a few more chips for shipping cost.
Brando Turnable USB hub product page.
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Mimobot, the company which makes those lovable, fun and sometimes crazy looking USB drives is now coming out with Tokidoki Branded UFDs. Renowned Italian artist Simone Legno and his popular Tokidoki brand is crossing over to the fashion tech world with the introduction of the Tokidoki Mimobot.
Legno, the artistic genius behind the wildly successful, super-kawaii Tokidoki lifestyle brand, joins creative forces with Mimoco to bring you monkey adorned Meletta, Italian devil chef Pastaio and treasure hunting Pirate Nero.
Meaning “sometimes” in Japanese, Tokidoki was named because of Simon’s love for Japanese culture and because he believes “everyone waits for moments that change one’s destiny”
The Mimobot series will be released April 18th where Simone wil be in New York at the Comic Con store. You can pre order now, and if you’re into Tokidoki you should as only 2,000 of each Mimobot Pirate Nero, Pastaio and Meletta will be made.
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I’ve often thought of what shape [not] would make the perfect card reader and USB hub, and I must admit the idea of fitting all this into a can never crossed my mind. However, our friends at Brando did think outside the box, with this canned shaped card reader and USB hub. The 3 port hub supports SD, SDHC, MMC, XD, CF and microSD flash memory cards.
Granted the design is unique and different but not designed for travel or someone looking for a card reader in a compact size. The canned card reader does not include a power adapter and is USB powered, thus not the ideal unit for large or long data file transfers. Read to know why.
As for a marketing product, the card reader seems to be the ideal promotional product for a company like Coke or Pepsi or any other canned food or drink manufacturer.
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I believe we have all thought of…or wanted a…customized neon sign over the years. Whether it be making your kegg’r party that much better, or let the world know you are open for business, a customized neon sign would have fit the bill. Well, wait no longer.
ThinkGeek is offering up a customized neon sign kit and it will not only fit the bill, but make a damn big one. The customized neon sign is $30 to start, then add $7 for each letter, or $5 for each number.
The snap-together letters are 2″ x 3″ which connect to a single power source. There is low heat and power consumption so it’s ultra safe for the front office or the kids bedroom.
Sealed blue neon letter blocks
Low heat generation
Choose from letters, numbers, and special characters
Push button control for blinking or steady-on
Up to 22 neon letters can be connected to a single Power Supply unit
Even though the customized neon sign for “free beer” would run you $86, it pails in comparison to buying a REAL customized neon sign. Let your communication juices begin the free flowing.
What could be better than working with USB, robots, legos and our imagination? Our beloved memories of childhood play with Legos has now turned into adult fun with the new robotic line of Mindstroms.
The 
