About USBs

From software to hardware, breakthough to disaster, it all belongs here!

Moderator: CricketMX Forum Moderators

User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Making a connection with Doctor Who
Image
Dr Who's TARDIS
There is no question in anyone's mind who the real time lord is, it is of course Dr Who. Today we can bring you a bit of Time Lord Gadgetry in the shape of a USB hub in the guise of his very well known 1950's Blue Telephone box, the TARDIS. This 4 port USB hub is PC & MAC compatible and comes with approximately 140cm/55in of connection lead. The lead has a USB connection to your PC for power and connectivity and doesn't require an additional power supply.

Sounds of the TARDIS are created when a USB device is inserted into any of the hubs ports and when the demo button is pushed.

Dimensions - 12.5 cm / 5 inch High & 7cm square around the base.

Notes:
The demo button for sounds is the white square on one of the doors of the TARDIS.
The light on top of the TARDIS lights up blue when in use.

Remember to close USB devices down correctly to prevent loss of data. Also, if high powered devices are connected to your hub an additional adaptor may be required for that device (not the TARDIS unit itself).

What does TARDIS stand for - Time And Relative Dimension In Space. That's one point for the pub quiz.

Estimated cost to send via airmail to the USA - USD$25.00
http://www.thefunkycompany.com/shop/Pro ... Who-TARDIS
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
nesman
Miracle Worker
Miracle Worker
Posts: 1453
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2004 8:17 am
Contact:

That's pretty cute. New baby will have to get a job and buy that. :) Anybody needs their gutters cleaned?
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

nesman wrote:That's pretty cute. New baby will have to get a job and buy that. :) Anybody needs their gutters cleaned?
Nes :shock: Baby can't clean gutters...you get to clean baby! :wink:

Although babies are very clever people...I love the movie, Baby's Day Out.
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Big, big storage...price-tag & warranty

DataTraveler 300
World's first 256 GB USB Flash drive

Image

Kingston's new DataTraveler® 300 USB Flash drive carries the highest capacity available on the market. Up to 90% of the drives content can be password protected and conveniently accessed due to the new Password Traveler software. No administrator rights are required. Fast transfer speeds guarantee smooth data flow to your host device.
http://www.kingston.com/ukroot/flash/dt300.asp
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
battye
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 14391
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 8:26 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

No way! :shock:

I wouldn't mind a 256GB flash drive :)
CricketMX.com in 2022: Still the home of bat's, rat's and other farmyard animals!

"OK, life [as you chose to define it] repeats until there are no more lessons to be learned." - nrnoble (June 12, 2005)
"the new forum looks awesome, it's getting bigger & better" - p2p-sharing-rules (11 Jan, 2008)
"Looks like CMX is not only getting bigger...but, also getting better!!" - moongirl (14 Dec, 2007)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

USB Yoda - Protecting Your PC & Mac
The Clone Wars Animated Yoda USB Desk Protector can detect motion up to 2 meters away, and he will say one of the following phrases.

‘In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side’
‘A disturbance in the Force there is’
‘Retreat! Cover you I will’
‘Still much to learn you have’
‘So certain of defeat are you, hmmm?’
‘Rush not into fight, long is the war – Only by surviving it will you prevail’
Image
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/clone-wars ... 3-07-2009/
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Carbon Neutral Wooden USB Flash Drive
The British company Flashbay has a new line of carbon neutral USB flash drives called “Nature Series”, featuring a natural hardwood shell from an PEFC certified source.
Image
The perfect blend of modern technology, environmentally sustainable materials and sophisticated styling, this USB Memory Stick is machined from European Maple (light wood). Complete with all the capabilities of a traditional Flash Drive and brandable by either colour printing or laser engraving, the Nature Series is perfect if you are looking for a distinctive product with a tactile feel and great visual appeal.
http://www.geekalerts.com/wooden-usb-flash-drive/
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
Rat
Drain Brain
Drain Brain
Posts: 4476
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2004 9:38 am
Location: in the dark

I don't get it. It can't be carbon neutral can it? It certainly isn't Eco friendly. The little PCB inside certainly won't be going anywhere fast, right?
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Yes you're right Rat! :)

Now if you wanted to get your eco jollies...you could name your company "Carbon Neutral".
Then, everywhere you put "your logo", eg on the USB, the warm & fuzzies would wash over you! :wink:
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

1TB Victorinox Flash Knife
Displayed at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show - that's a pretty swish Swiss Army Knife!
Victorinox SSD official: up to 1TB of high-speed storage crammed in a Swiss Army Knife (Update)
Image
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/vict ... e-crammed/
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

First Biodegradable Flash Drive
Image

E-waste and the amount we as a society create is becoming a major concern. Every year, more plastic clad devices are thrown out and left to sit in landfills for generations to come. This is why the ATP EarthDrive USB 2.0 flash drive is so interesting as it not only is made of biodegradable PLA - Polylactic acid - but is also built not to easily break in the first place. The eco-friendly flash drive not only has a retractable connection port to protect the delicate connectors when not in use, but it is also water, dust and shockproof.
ATP is vague on the details of how shockproof or waterproof the ATP EarthDrive is, but considering most devices in this price range, don't even pretend this to be a major point in the ATP EarthDrive's favour. Even better still is a portion of the $20 goes towards planting trees. It may not be the largest, fastest or most durable we have ever heard of but this does sound like a winner to us, particularly if you want to reduce your carbon footprint.
http://www.everythingusb.com/atp-earthdrive-14094.html
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

LaCie RuggedKey
Image
It’ll be interesting to see where LaCie takes its product line now that Seagate has acquired the company. Our advice? Don’t mess with the Rugged series of hard drives and flash drives. The LaCie Rugged Hard Disk is still the go-to product for extremists, but now the RuggedKey lets you take your data anywhere and keep it secure without the bulk of a hard drive enclosure.

Clearly, LaCie combined its two best products, borrowing the orange rubber aesthetic from the Rugged hard drives, and the actual USB key is almost identical to the discontinued IamaKey flash drive. The key is stylish and small enough to hang around with your car keys, and its water-resistant rubber covering protects against dust, heat, cold, and drops of up to 100 meters.
 
The RuggedKey caps out at 32GB of space (we tested the 16GB version), which isn’t much for the price you’re paying. Its transfer speeds help only marginally, with USB 3.0 read and write speeds topping out at 138MBps and 35MBps, respectively. Plus, Macs with the now-antiquated USB 2.0 will be stuck with 26MBps and 17MBps read and write speeds.

The RuggedKey can be password protected with secure AES 256-bit encryption. And it comes with a year of LaCie’s Wuala secure cloud storage software, which allows you to back up your content one-to-one, or to double the drive’s storage capacity, though naturally you’ll need Internet access to get to those files. Of course, you don’t actually need these services because Disk Utility and Dropbox can provide the same encryption and backup features, but Wuala can come in handy if you’re using the drive with different computers.
 
The bottom line. If you need a hardcore hard drive that can stand the test of time and carry decades of research wherever you go, invest in LaCie’s Rugged hard drive and partition it with a NTFS driver to make it available to Windows machines, too. But if you just need an easy-to-carry, multiplatform USB stick that can handle rough weather, the LaCie RuggedKey is worth its price.
http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/ ... key_review
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

A Complete Guide to the Universal Serial Bus

UPDATE: this document applies to USB 1.1 and USB 2.0.
For the latest information, please see USB 3.0 Explained.
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/usb_3_explained.html


http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/usb_info.html
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
User avatar
moongirl
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 19016
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:07 am

Leef USB Bridge Shares Files Between Android & PC the Old-fashioned Way
June 27th, 2013
USB bridges have existed in one form or another since nearly the inception of Universal Serial Bus standard. The all new Leef Bridge, however, has a unique twist in that it works with between different OSes; at the same time, it can also be used as a typical thumbdrive. Boiled down to its very essence, the Leef Bridge is a USB 2.0 flash drive (16GB, 32GB & 64GB available), which comes with not one but two USB 2.0 ports. On one end is the typical full-sized USB port and on the other is a micro-USB jack. To use as a flash drive, simply slide out the full-sized recessed port, plug it into your Windows or Mac, and it will be recognized and utilized as just another storage device.
The magic really happens when you then remove the Leef Bridge from your first system, slide out and use the other side to plug it into your smartphone or tablet. When this is done, it once again will be seen as a just another storage device, albeit one that is now full of data and does not have to be formatted to before using it. This allows for seamless, hassle free transfer of movies, music & etc. without going through cloud, Wi-Fi or USB sync. All that is required is your device be running either Windows or Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and support micro USB OTG connectors. Leef has already complied a compatibility list which includes a number of HTC models; the entire Samsung Galaxy line; and about 10 Sony handsets. While it does come with special software, the drive is optimized for use with with ASTRO File Manager. With prices starting at $18 for 16GB, these dual-plug USB drives for Android are sure worth a look by all means.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKtvc-V-Jc

http://www.everythingusb.com/leef-bridge-21831.html
Image
That's not the man in the moon...that's me ;)
Post Reply