Best computer news

The remote control may be humanity’s most perfect invention, granting you control over the audio/visual powers of your universe and making you like unto a god. Or at least someone who doesn’t have to leave the couch every time you want to change a channel, fast forward through a commercial, or adjust the volume.

For you Media PC types out there, the power to control remotely might be lacking – or so USB Geek would have us believe: their USB Media Remote is a $30.00 product designed for the Windows-running, media-loving laptop users out there. The remote works through some sort of wireless receiver that connect to your computer through a USB port, and works from up to 30 feet away. The pictures on the site are too small to read the remote, but it appears to do all of the standard DVD functions, plus volume control and forward and back keys for PowerPoint presentations.

As a loss-prevention measure, USB Geek built the remote and the receiver into a carrying frame that fits into any PCMCIA slot. The product page mentions that the remote sticks out a little bit from the slot (aren’t those things spring-loaded anyway?), but if this picture is any sort of representation, we’d have to figure more than a few snags would occur.
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With Skype really starting to take off, gadgets are popping up all over the place for it. If you are on the go all of the time, chances are that you already have enough stuff to carry around. That’s when the folks over at Gadget-USB got thinking and decided to make their mouse a Skype compatible phone.

The Portable Skype Travel Mouse comes loaded with tons of features to keep you happy. It has an LCD display, hands free capabilities, called ID, multi-language support, volume control and more. To top it all off, the mouse isn’t a flip phone but instead has a sliding cover and has an 800 DPI optical sensor. The mouse-phone is going to set you back about $50 after shipping but if you are on the go more than at home and a Skype user, you will probably find this a small price to pay for something that you will use on a regular basis.
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We have to hand it to Wolf King: they’re certainly doing a good job making their new gaming keyboard, the Warrior XXtreme, look as unique as possible. The Warrior XXtreme has what one might call unconventional layout: instead of the standard QWERTY with a few macro buttons like its numerous competitors, the Warrior XXtreme has two circular button arrangements, meant to enhance the gamer’s gaming skills without compromising his or her normal computer activities. On the left side of the keyboard are the gaming buttons, in the WASD arrangement that’s become the unofficial standard of FPSes, while the right side features a full array of keys for standard operation.

As this review on laptopmag.com points out however, putting your standard keyboard keys in a circle makes using them a bit of a nightmare, and we have to wonder why Wolf King didn’t opt for a half and half (half circular, half standard) arrangement instead, to combine the best of both worlds.
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It used to be that when you started playing guitar (or electric guitar, anyway), you’d get what manufacturers euphemistically call a starter pack: a cheap guitar, a cheaper amplifier, and a gig back that would fall apart in three months. Because the starter pack is so inexpensive however, it makes a great choice for anyone (or the parents of anyone) just starting out on the instrument – if you decide to stop playing guitar after a couple of months, you haven’t lost quite as much money.

Anyway, we suspect that in the future, manufacturers might start replacing the amp with something like this collaboration between Behringer and Native Instruments: called the Guitar Link UCG102, it’s a USB device that translates the signals from your guitar into digital audio on your computer, using three amp models from Native Instruments and an included version of the free Audacity multi-track recording program to record your riffs and licks into a replayable format. While the Guitar Link certainly isn’t the hottest recording technology out there, we do think it’s a good way to get your feet wet in the world of digital audio.
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Synchrotech has been notifying everyone in the blogsphere that it is now carrying the latest 13-port USB hub. The hub runs in self-powered hub, obviously, given all the burden it has to carry. We found five USB ports on two sides and rest on the remaining sides. Each port is able to pump a full 500mA current, thanks to the AC adapter with a generous 4 amps. of capacity.

We don’t really recommend hooking up all your mission critical devices to hub as the hub transceiver could be working at max. capacity even with only half of those ports occupied. Anyhow, if you feel like you need more for your USB slippers, greenhouse, heatpad, batteries and etc, the Synchrotech 13-port hub is a worthy investment afterall, and Frank would definitely agree with you on this one.
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Remember all of those days wasted in your youth at the arcade playing basketball shootout against your friends and anyone that dared challenge you? Well since you obviously have absolutely nothing better to do while sitting at your computer, you can remember the days of your misspent youth.

Enter the USB Basketball Dunk from Perpetual Kid. The game comes with 4 miniature basketballs, the hoop, and a USB cable. Just plug it in and start shooting hoops. At 4.5 inches square, it isn’t going to take up much space and at 25 bucks it shouldn’t empty your wallet either. Hell, get two of them while you are at it and have some challenges for those late nights at the office.
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With the advent of flash drives to the consumer market a new demand is rising for these devices to protect our data in one form or another. These days you can find a drive with all sorts of protection from military grade hardware encryption that can self destruct in that “Mission: Impossible”-esque kind of way to something simply requiring a password to access. Today we get to take a look at the Corsair Padlock, a drive that caters to those that just need a simple method to stop the majority from accessing their data.
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For those of you that just can’t get enough golf practice (and those that need it too) comes the USB Putting Green for your desk. The putting green is plug and play and activates by simply connecting it to an available USB port. Start putting away to your heart’s content with the mini putter and the green will start returning balls to you.

The USB putting green comes with 2 putters and 6 balls so that on those slow days at the office you and a coworker can go head to head before you leave work for the real green. It’s only going to set you back a measly 10 British pounds and if someone in your office is a golf nut, it would make a great gift for the holiday office gift exchange.
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Looking to adorn your desk with a little comedy? How about something for your geek that is a Simpson’s fan as well this holiday season? If so, Perpetual Kid might just have something for you. For those that always seem to need to shine a little light on the subject, they have the Homer Simpson USB Desk Lamp. It features 4 LED bulbs and an adjustable lamp neck to put the light right where you need it.

Maybe a little stress relief from time to time will help you out at the office on those long days where nothing seems to go right. They have a 4 port Homer Simpson USB Hub that comes to life with the press of a button sends Homer twirling in his chair and screaming “WOO HOO!” Just don’t let your boss see you twirling in your chair too, or else you might just find yourself looking at Homer and saying “D’oh!”
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If you find that sitting down at the computer is often a stressful task, then why not have a use something that lets you relieve a little bit of it. Straight from Solware comes the world’s first gun-shaped computer mouse.

The gun is a perfect replica of the Sig P230 with the trigger acting as the left mouse button and the right mouse button conveniently where your middle finger would rest. Seeing as how it is modeled after a real gun and isn’t one of those ergonomic designs, it should fit those of you that are left handed as well. Buying one of these for work will definitely make sure that everyone knows you mean business and not to screw with you. Just don’t get any ideas of modifying it to hold the real gun… It’s going to be awful hard explaining your coworker’s death three cubicles down from just doing your job as you were told.
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