Best computer news

The general consensus is that any laptops running at near its maximum capacity can get uncomfortably warm, not to mention the possibility of killing a large number of sperms from the heat of a hot computer parked on a man’s lap. While you may probably know we’re going to talk about another USB laptop cooler, the Moshi Zefyr you could say is different in that it is designed specifically for MacBooks and Air. The company knew well which part of the Apple laptops dissipate the heat and put high-thermal conduction compound to effectively pull the heat away from hot zone into the Zefyr’s aluminum heat sink to be cooled down by a USB-powered fan.

, the conductive compound is soft and compressive to ensure contact while preventing abrasive scratches to the MacBooks. The Moshi Zefyr is largely different than the Belkin wave-shaped USB cooler which tries to blow hot air out the sides, and the NZXT Cryo LX which sports three massive USB fans to reduce the temperature of a laptop.
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Here’s another gadget having an identity crisis (first one here). At first glance, the Genius Navigator 365 Laser is undoubtedly a wired mouse, but flipping open it reveals an old-school joypad with a 8-way directional pad and 8 buttons which should be good enough for most Nintendo NES and SEGA gameplay. The mouse itself boosts a laser sensor that tops at 1600 dpi resolution, but Genius’ touch sensitive optical ‘wheel’ doesn’t make it to this foldable controller.

So, if you split your time between emulated games and number crunching during your business trip, this 2-in-1 mobile mouse might be worth your $33. Here’s our approved choice of mouse for a real road warrior; it doesn’t have a gamepad because we don’t think such a person would have time for games.
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With peripheral sharing station that can now emulate USB on a network, one wonders if anyone will shell out for a $200 Wireless USB hub which basically does the same task except on another radio spectrum. (Alereon earlier has promised WUSB chip that tops 240Mbps effective bandwidth. This may help to improve usability but still enough not to lower the price needed to give WUSB push into mainstream.)

IOGear’s USB Net ShareStation is another non-WUSB hub that lets share any USB devices on Wifi or Ethernet at an affordable price of $79.95. While it looks like a cheap print server with an RJ-45 jack on one side and a USB port on other, the ShareStation can actually share not only MFPs, storage but also USB webcams and speakers. Supporting USB speakers is really the first of its kind, and pioneers USB audio streaming over LAN. Though, the bandwidth-hungry multimedia products may require wired connection for optimal performance. We are kinda hoping USB TV is also on the compatibility list too. Perhaps version 2.0.
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If you want your gadget to sell like hot cakes, you better ally with something that is insanely popular, like iPod for example. Recently, everyone seems to want a piece of YouTube which is already synonymous to Internet video sharing. JVC’s new Everio GZ-MS100 camcorder – slightly smaller than the rest of its siblings – is aimed squarely at this YouTube market; it even prominently displays a label about its One Touch Upload to YouTube feature. (Google may have found a new revenue source, perhaps by charging a flat fee like what Apple does with iPods.)

Another nice touch is that each clip is capped to 10 minutes to meet YouTube’s video length requirement. The GZ-MS100 has one SDHC whose largest capacity as of this writing is about 16GB – an ample amount for standard definition MPEG-4 video that YouTube traditionally embraces. The $349 high-end YouTube camcorder will come with a Konia Minolta lens with 35x optical zoom as well as image stabilizer and six noise reduction system.
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The new Fedora 9 – an open-source Linux desktop OS financially backed by Red hat – now allows capturing an image of a user’s desktop and then loading it onto a USB device, which will operate on any common x86 instruction set hardware. This can also be done without reformatting or repartitioning existing flash drives.

Creating a portable Linux desktop, according to Fedora project leader Paul Frields, opens up new opportunities for “low-heat producing, low-power consuming mobile devices…” that run off a comfortably on a 2GB USB drive. Another idea would be to install public kiosks in school or Starbucks where users can boot off their own Linux OS with all the familiar applications on a thumbdrive. Unfortunately, large footprint apps like OpenOffice and multi-language support, are off limits to this approach, but users can still combine small apps like AbitWord, email, calender & browser without taking too much memory.
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While not even one native Wireless USB peripheral has seen the light yet, that didn’t stop designers from coming up new concepts. Touch360 believes the days that people have to plug in their flash drives to a USB port are over, and that we will soon be going unplugged. To materialize this idea, you need Wireless USB or other lower-speed PAN technologies; basically, this concept allows users to keep their drives in their pockets using aforementioned wireless standards while remaining connected to the host PC or making connections to another cordless thumbdrive. If this is to become a shipping product, there will also be a ‘device’ that is essentially a battery-powered RF module that provides a dock for the flash drive.
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MS is trying all sorts of shapes and sizes for its LifeCam-series, but the general consensus is that none of them can be flexible and looks good at the same time. The MS LifeCam VX-5000 is here to change that. While targeting at low-end market, the USB webcam is the first decent looking compact webcam from the company; its bendable attachment base can mold to virtually any surface, allowing the cam to hook on a laptop or monitor, or rest on a desk.

In contrast with the “HD-capable” VX-7000 and VX-6000, the VX-5000 tops at VGA res video, which could easily clutter a broadband pipe. MS didn’t say whether the VX-5000 has auto or fixed focus, but the $50 price tag suggests it is likely the latter. The software remains largely unchanged except with the addition of Photo Swap – essentially a way to share and swap photos in real time in a video window with friends and family using Live! Messenger.
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Global regulatory approvals, increase in effective throughput & lower cost are essential to the success of Certified Wireless USB. Alereon’s recently announced AL5350 Wireless USB chipset allows worldwide deployment with a single SKU model which means OEMs will be able to distribute the same hardware to customers regardless of their local regulatory emission requirement. In addition, the AL5350 – an in-house all-in-one solution integrating BBP/MAC, firmware, RF transceiver – should minimize risk in supply problem when working with multiple vendors. The two work together to further reduce the overall cost, which ultimately decides the fate of WUSB.

Also of paramount importance is the effective throughput; Alereon claims its chipset (the PCIe favor) now reaches 200Mbps at which speed end products can finally work reasonably well in native wireless mode. The Alereon’s WUSB chipset is offered in reference designs for half PCIe miniCard, ExpressCard and peripherals like wireless monitor, docking station as well as wireless connections to HDTVs.
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This Hardbox external hard drive from Sarotech does one thing best, and that is to blend in well with all the other hardcover books like Harry Potter-series on your bookshelves. And someone actually thinks poor-sighted burglars might mistaken the Sarotech drive as an ordinary book if the blinking LEDs don’t give it away.

The USB enclosure supports both SATA I/II 3.5″ drives, and since it doesn’t have a fan, you better not block the fake page detailing that is used for heat ventilation. The drive has a built-in power supply, which is obvious given its size measuring at 200 x 160 x 40mm. So you really only need to drill a hole in the bookshelf to let the power cable through. A quick glance at the back reveals a power button, write protection switch and an one push backup button, which activates IntelliStor backup software. While using a hardcover book for camouflage is as nifty as this pair of USB photo frame-speakers, it still doesn’t justify the drive’s $300 price tag especially when Sarotech doesn’t include a hard drive.
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Ultra-wideband (UWB) has been in the market since 2006, yet only a handful of consumer products based on Certified Wireless USB of WiMedia’s UWB radio platform exist. In fact, there isn’t even one native peripheral to date. The only application we’ve seen so far is some WUSB hubs plagued by sub-par performance. So, where is Wireless USB heading? IMS Research believes UWB and all the protocols that rely on the platform are at a cross-road, and 2008 may very well be pivotal year for them.

The key is in getting more first tier manufacturers to ship WUSB integrated with their notebooks, and this should ramp up the production, hence driving the cost down to below $5. (The UWB IC prices currently remain at around $10.) Even though Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo are getting onboard, the rest is skeptical about UWB future, and has expressed concerns that half of the eco-system has been disappointing. IMS Research isn’t all pessimistic, reassuring that UWB market volume will increase eventually as portable electronics move on to wireless option whose only choice is Wireless USB.
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