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Tag Archives: USB

In A Throwback To Days Of Yore, USB Stick Lets You Use Wax Seal

By David Ponce on 05/01/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

The best way to make sure no one accesses your documents is to use a strong encryption algorithm and a long, hard-to-guess password. But hey, everyone knows that, and it’s new and modern and sort of expected. To add an old-timey twist to your data securing needs, the above Top Secret Custom Made USB stick is made out of porcelain. This makes it possible to apply a wax seal to it. Seal is unbroken when you receive the stick: you know the contents haven’t been peeked at. If it is… well, then we hope you used a password, like we told you.

You get to pick your colour of wax from bordeaux red, orange, pink, blue and green. You also get to pick which “classic letter” to have imprinted on the wax press. The entire kit consisting of the wax, the press, the porcelain 2, 4 or 8GB stick costs €35 or about $46.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Geek.com ]

The Jigger Lights Up Your Cancer Sticks Flame-Free

By David Ponce on 04/24/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Smoking up is not cool and all that. We’re equal opportunity haters though, which means that what you do is really up to you and we’re not going to preach. If you’re into it however, there’s a good chance you’ve gotten a nice good puff of sulphur from trying to light up with a match. Or struggled against the wind, cowering in a corner, keeping a flame alive. Fun stuff, right? The Jigger, a more than 2 year old gadget, fixes all that. Press the button and a metal coil gets to red hot in an instant, so you can get your fix with none of the regular flame related struggles. The standard version sells for $29.99 and will light 250 smokes before needing a recharge while the fancier Prestige version is good for 300 lights and sells for $49.99. Recharging is done through USB and while the company says “light cigarettes of any size”, we do feel the need to point out that it’s cigarettes it works with, and not cigars. Still, for something that will be allowed in an airplane and work in any weather, we’re pretty impressed.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Geeky-Gadgets ]

From The Creator Of That All-Diamond Ring Comes World’s Most Expensive USB Flash Drive

By David Ponce on 04/17/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when we posted about the diamond ring made of nothing but diamond? It was made by an outfit called Shawish, from Geneva, and now the same company is back with news of a series of 32GB flash drives, called The Magic Mushroom collection, that could well be the world’s most expensive.

The glittering diamonds studded all over this Magic Mushroom USB key weigh 9.18 carats in total, while the rubies weigh a total of 11.34 carats, and the sapphires weigh 11.34 carats

That’s almost 32 carats of precious stones and the is reflected in the price: “The Magic Mushroom USB key crafted with white gold, emeralds and white diamonds will cost $36,900, whereas the USB key in yellow gold, white diamonds and rubies will cost $24,400, and the USB key in pink gold studded with pink sapphires and white diamonds will cost $16,500.”

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

Mimo Magic Touch 10-inch USB Display Reviewed. Verdict: Fully Windows 8 Future-proof

By Ian Chiu on 04/04/12 • Leave a comment!

Mimo is a company that puts all its eggs in one basket – USB display. It has made its name known with bus-powered monitors that allow users to add an additional screen to a PC even when there’s no power outlet available. The latest mini monitor to further expand the Mimo’s niche product line is the Magic Touch. As the name suggests, the display supports multi-touch interaction, tracking up to 4 fingers. The display also gets all the power and connectivity it needs from a single USB 2.0 cable.

Setting the Magic Touch is a no-brainer. You only need to download the driver from DisplayLink which handles automatic firmware update after installation. The display itself is as vibrant as it gets with excellent video quality. Interestingly, the latest driver hooks into your existing GPU for the heavy lifting. This dramatically reduces CPU usage and at the same time increases the 2D & 3D performance of the 10″ USB screen. It’s also a pleasant surprise to see the monitor can handle some casual gaming even though that isn’t what the Magic Touch is designed for in the first place. One caveat is that the glossy screen is prone to glare, making it uncomfortable when used in some bright environments. The best use for this display may well be for developers of multi-touch apps and perhaps a touch screen panel for Windows 8 desktops or HTPC. Get all the details of the Mimo Magic Touch 10-inch USB monitor in the full review below.

[Mimo Magic Touch USB Monitor @ Everything USB]

JLab B-Flex X-Bass Laptop Speaker Reviewed. Verdict: Surprisingly Good

By Ian Chiu on 03/29/12 • Leave a comment!

On-board audio quality on notebooks and most all-in-one computers leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes the audio quality is so bad users can barely hear anything without resorting to headphones or a bulky set of external speakers. Something that notebook or netbook users wanting improved sound may want to check out is the JLab B-Flex X-Bass Laptop Speaker reviewed at Everything USB. This unique one-piece speaker connects to computers via a USB port and is on a rigid flexible arm which means no excess cable on your desk and allows you to place the speaker for the best use of available space.

The B-Flex X-Bass integrates a tiny passive sub-woofer, which is great for improving bass – something that is typically very lacking in on-board audio. The reviewer is also pleased with the surprising amount of sound it pumps out. The crisp highs and solid lows are equally impressive, considering the driver size. The X-Bass does have a few caveats such as lacking mid-range sound, minimal stereo separation due to the speaker’s design and it lacks an analog input for MP3 players. The little speaker sells for about $40, and is worth checking out.

[JLab B-Flex X-Bass Speaker Review @ Everything USB]

Tune Blocker Charge And Sync Cable Puts iTunes Back In Its Place

By David Ponce on 03/08/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

iTunes is great, but it’s also like a needy girlfriend. It’s just always there, hungry for your attention, pleading and nagging. Every time you plug that iPhone in, iTunes just pops up and wants to talk about the day it’s had. It wants to swap data with you and make sure you’re on the same page, all caught up and synced up. Sometimes you just want to put your feet up and get a nice relaxing charge without iTunes codependant behaviour weighing you down. That’s where the Tune Blocker Charge And Sync Cable comes in. A simple switch lets you decide whether you just want to get a charge, or if you want to give in and “sync up”.

It’s $20.

[ Product Page ]

Buffalo’s USB Hub Likes To Go Both Ways

By David Ponce on 02/24/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Even though in theory there is a 50/50 chance that you will insert a USB plug into its socket in the correct orientation, in practice things are much different. We’d rate the odds at 1/10, while the likelihood of having a rage-induced USB-connecting coronary much, much higher. Buffalo’s latest 4-port USB hub fixes this small but annoying issue by accepting a USB cable both ways. It doesn’t do USB 3.0 (yup, USB 2.0 here) or do anything else interesting for that matter. But it’s sometimes the small things that go a long way to making our lives just a bit more pleasant. It’s going to set you back $23 and comes in four colours. We’re just not sure exactly when it’s available.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Fark ]

R2-D2 USB Hub Makes Sounds

By David Ponce on 02/07/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

This is old as the world, but we just came across this quasi-novelty item that could make a Star Wars lover smirk now and then. It’s an R2-D2 USB hub with 4 ports. But the better part is that it moves and makes artoo sounds.

It’s $25.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ TechEBlog ]

The Duo And The Quattro Wall Outlets Integrate USB

By David Ponce on 12/30/11 • 2 Comments

By David Ponce

USB is quickly becoming a standard for charging electronics. But that interface is meant to be used on computers. So if you want to plug something into the mains, you need an adapter that accepts USB on one side and plugs into the outlet on the other. Looks at your iPhone and you’ll see what we mean. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Duo and the Quattro outlets from Current Werks simply integrate the USB plugs right into their design. The Quattro is a dedicated USB charging station that delivers 22 Watts of power and features a slider that completely eliminates “Vampire Power”. The Duo is a combination USB and electric plug, and this one feeds 16 Watts into the USB port.

Currently on pre-order on the Current Werks website, the Duo is $25 while the Quattro is $40.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Treehugger ]

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