Best computer news

In their own words, the latest MojoPac has been optimized to run three times faster than before. That’s really something since MojoPac is a unique virtualization software that offers compatibility with featured games and software, so you can bring literally everything with you on the road while only limited by the flash drive capacity. MojoPac in contrast to VMWare Fusion & Parallel Virtual Machine virtualizes the operating system rather than hardware, hence, allows it to significantly reduce CPU & memory overhead. Another benefit to this approach is that you get around licensing problems as there’s really one copy of the OS running.

The new MojoPac now includes a utility to test the performance of the flash drive. An easy-to-read meter provides a color-coded output, indicating whether the drive is suitable for intense workload resulted from frequent file swapping. (If you don’t want to take chance, OCZ ATV Turbo & Corsair Flash Voyager GT are two that will definitely work well with MojoPac.) Also recently, I found out RingCube has made Usher public – a nifty program that allows MojoPac to run with whatever privilege the user currently has. This is to address complaints that MojoPac couldn’t be run on accounts other than the Administrator.
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This USB-powered leg wrap from Thanko might be the most practical USB-powered heating device we’ve seen. Our Japanese is a little rusty – read: non-existent – but we’re pretty sure from the pictures that unlike most USB heaters, which bind you to the nearest computer as you struggle to stay warm in the blistering chill of winter, Thanko’s device has a converted that plugs into the nearest electrical outlet, making it far superior to this fuzzy, yet computer-bound device. It’s not quite the portable, battery-powered wonder that we all might hope for (or is that just us? It seems like batteries would be logical extra power source for these types of gadgets), but at least you can take the leg wrap with you around the house – and away from the computer – when necessary.
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We can get the concept behind this conceptual device; it’s basically the same idea as the stacking going on with these USB drives: multiple bits are going to be more than one single bit, and you can keep adding new bits as necessary without losing ports.

However, while the chocolate bar design is certainly efficient in its delivery of capacity, we’re a little confused about the need for the organizational screen, and the expansion in size such a screen represents. Wouldn’t it just be simpler to plug the stack of drives into your computer and use the operating system’s file system to drag and drop as necessary? That might reduce the whole chocolate bar down to a pocket-fitting Hershey’s standard size, and escape the madness of a Hershey’s king size chocolate bar that refuses to make carrying easy. With flash drives, it’s all about the portability.
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For those of you that bought the original USB Missile Launcher, you know that it can be a blast to play with at the office. Unfortunately, with it being tethered to your PC via a cable, it left little doubt as to who was the culprit of the daily executions. Thankfully it’s gotten a few upgrades!

Now you can place the USB Wireless Missile Launcher all over the place, as long as it can get a signal, and fire them while blaming it on someone else. I wonder if you can set up multiple ones all over the place and control them individually. Maybe you want to have a little more fun at home, so they developed the USB MSN Missile Launcher (co-developed with Microsoft) as well. Now you can sit in your chair and via the detachable video camera let all your friends shoot missiles right in your eye. I think I’ll get one of these for a friend and tell him the camera is to detect people coming in his room, not so I can shoot him at random intervals.

Dream Cheeky doesn’t appear to have the new launchers on their website but expect them there soon. Until they do, use the picture to hold you over. The MSN launcher is on top and the wireless version to the bottom.
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Contrary to what the folks over at The Raw Feed feeling that this is the worth USB gadget to date, I see this as a great idea from Konami. The Pop ‘n Music Be-Mouse appears to be a fully function three button mouse but with some extra functionality.

Directly below where your palm usually rests are two pieces of plastic that when lifted up look like the wings on a bee and reveal an extra nine colored buttons. This could be very useful for young children to aid them in interacting with a computer. On top of that, the game that it is bundled with it might just teach them some things like colors or music and even aid them in memory retention. Judging from the website it doesn’t look like the game or mouse will be released outside of Japan, but you can expect it to go on sale March 21 of next year.
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The retro style has been coming back for quite some time now and it is here to stay. One of the last areas for this to catch on has been technology, but it seems that even that is coming to an end. The Retro Webcam has that classic look to it, but comes with the modern features you’d expect.

The cam features the classic black and silver finish and the old school camera shape, but that is where the retro ends. A high quality glass lens, 640×480 resolution, 24bit true color, and a built-in microphone will keep you chatting for hours and the automatic exposure control with white balance will make sure that others can see you even in those dimly lit rooms. If the retro thing isn’t your style but the futuristic is, why not take a look at the Creative Live! Cam Voice.
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The mushroom might just be one of the most iconic symbols in video game history. Go ahead, admit it. Every time you see a red or green mushroom, Super Mario Bros. is going to be one of the first things that pops into your head. Don’t be ashamed, embrace your geekness and let Brando help with their USB Mushroom Lamp.

These bus powered lamps have two white LEDs on the inside to give you a nice ambient glow in the room and come in red, green, and blue colors. For those of you that don’t want to use a computer to power the lamp, you can also use four AA batteries to set the mood as well. Now if only Brando would come out with the badger and snake lamps….
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Sometimes a business card is just what you need, other times it isn’t. Often when meeting with a client you need to deliver something to them and in today’s fast paced tech era, paper is simply old school. If you want to make an impression, you better be able to hand over something that can be looked at electronically. So why not give them a business card with all of your deliverables inside it?

The USB business card dubbed the M++Card does just that. Turn over your entire portfolio, a set of PDF’s, or any number of other documents and give them your business card at the same time. After doing some digging on the net it appears that this is just a concept for the time being. Nothing is mentioned about how much storage will be available but you can bet that it won’t be much to start with. I can see this being practical on a small scale but I don’t see these as being something you hand out like candy, unless you are looking to go bankrupt. This isn’t the first attempt at a techie type business card we’ve seen, but certainly seems to be a little more practical.
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Flash drives have become a staple for any computer user these days. Unfortunately a majority of drives are usually made of cheap plastic which means easy to damage or destroy and aren’t protected against the elements. We’ve all accidentally left one in our pocket and washed it, dropped it outside and left it to Mother Natures wrath, or something similar. Thankfully many manufacturers are starting to come up with ways to protect these frail devices and help them withstand our mishaps. While OCZ isn’t the first one to introduce a product that increases the durability and ruggedness of a flash drive, it is their first attempt at a flash drive with some extra resilience. And today, I’m reviewing the company’s rugged flash drive – ATV Turbo USB 2.0 4GB flash drive.
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Rejoice USB OEMs. Displaylink & Alereon has announced the availability of a reference design for a Certified Wireless USB display adapter. I’m sure you’ve all seen IOGear USB video card and Samsung 19″ native USB monitor. While this breakthrough would allow these products to go wireless, the reference design will allow new product categories, including wireless USB projectors and photo frames that feed images from the PC.

The board pairs Alereon’s WiMedia AL5000 chipset with DisplayLink’s network display to output a max. of 1680 x 1050 res in 16.7 million colors with “…smooth DVD video playback and quick responsiveness.” Future products with this board integrated will be universally compatible with notebooks with built-in WUSB option, which is a novelty as of this writing. You can check out this board in action in WiMedia Booth at upcoming 2008 CES in Vegas.
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