Best computer news

Since UWB shelved itself and concurrently transferred its intellectual property to the Bluetooth SIG group, we’ve been waiting for the release of Bluetooth 3.0. the Bluetooth special interest group released the latest official update to the Bluetooth standard. The new standard promises a eightfold increase in data rate as well as various improvements to stability and power saving functionality. Unicast Connectionless Data increases speed and decreases power drains for longer battery life and better throughput. Enhanced Power Control will help adapt to changing signal quality conditions and reduce the annoyances associated with interference laden areas and changes in distance. The bandwidth increase of up to 24Mbps is accomplished by spilling over into 802.11 radio communications. Many phones are already shipping with wifi capabilities so this shouldn’t mean a price jump or major engineering hurdles.

Wifi and Ethernet titans, Atheros and Broadcom, are already shipping BT3.0 chips. Of course we were, albeit foolishly, hoping that BT 3.0 might be packing more of a UWB sized punch. Sadly though, it seems reality has let us down again. Bluetooth 3.0 does bring some improvements to the current Bluetooth offering, but they seem minor in comparison to the concept that was Wireless USB. Here’s hoping that the various adopting industries will roll out some exciting applications for this new release.
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In celebration of Earth Day, we thought we’d revisit a few of the items that take a bit of the load off of Mother Earth. We have organized the ten eco gadgets into three sections: Saving Power, Buying Eco-friendly Peripherals, and Generating Your Own Power. Please take some time today to see what you can do to help as well.
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Elgato is back at it again with the latest incarnation of their do-it-all TV tuner for Macintosh, the EyeTV Hybrid (2009). Whereas the 2008 version was already jam-packed with the ability to record analog, ATSC digital, and Clear QAM broadcasts up to 1080i all in a package the size of your thumb, the new model boasts improved HD reception, a much-improved electronic program guide and the addition of FM radio. Walk with me as Everything USB takes an in-depth look at all the new Hybrid has to offer television aficionados, and what needs work.
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No need to call in the CSI guys, this isn’t the work of the Miniature Killer but it sure could qualify. What has to be one of the most detailed replica USB drives has arrived in the form (bidding has ended… sorry) of Canon EOS 450D. All the way down to the options on the LCD screen no detail is left out. The LCD is also back-lit when plugged in. Accurate down to every detail these are available on ebay now for between $90 to $150 depending on the competition for each one. Okay, they don’t really take pictures but it could make a great gift for the Canon fanboy on your list.

The only minor detail you’ll have to contend with is the odd shape of the drive. If it even fits directly into your USB ports it will likely block any nearby ports with its bulk. Worst case scenario it may not fit at all. Fortunately the seller includes a USB extension cord to help out. The model that’s currently for sale is only 2GB but previous versions were 4GB. Check them out for yourself. There may even be a few of the original 5D MarkII’s still available if that’s your favorite EOS.
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Super Talent has come up with a very American USB flash drive that mimics a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty. The flash drive component is inside the robed goddess which sits on a foundation (or a dock in this case). The USB connector is revealed by separating the statue from the base.

Even though there’s no word on the scale of the model, souvenir shops will surely stock up a bunch of these for the visitors flocking to Big Apple as soon as economy picks up again. Milking on one of the most recognizable icons of United States is perhaps a better idea for a flash drive than paying a hefty sum for The Godfather license to put the name of the epic film on some ordinary looking flash drives.
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A problem shared among auto chargers is that it’s sticking out of a car’s dashboard. Belkin’s Micro Auto USB Charger is here to fix that. The low-profile charger fits flush in your cigarette socket, and turns it into a single 1000mAh charging port for the latest generation of iPods as well as iPhone 3G and original. Belkin could be looking at selling at least two of these to every car owner: one for the kids’ iPod touch and another one for the iPhone.

If charger sticking out doesn’t annoy you, the Dual Auto Charger is capable of supplying 1A on the first USB port and 500mA on the other. This maybe what you need should you also have a portable GPS on your dashboard that also needs recharging. The Micro Auto USB Charger will hit retail in May for $15, and the bulkier Dual Auto Adapter goes for nearly $30.
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The ancient order of the one-eyebrowed ninja is renowned for their ability to slay untidy cables. They hit hard, fade away without a trace and, best of all, they work cheap.
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Just because you don’t own any of the Apple iPhone, iPod touch or MacBooks doesn’t mean you have to miss out all the fun that multi-touch offers. The Diatec SmartTrack Neo USB trackpad straight from Japan can now add this functionality to a desktop PC, and it might arrive just in time for testing on Windows 7 – the first MS’ OS with integrated multi-touch tricks.

The mini-pad measures at 3″ by 1.8″, comes with 2 buttons, and supports pretty much the same gesture controls (e.g. pinch, swipe, two-finger rotation) heavily advertised by Apple. The multi-touch USB pad is also meant to be used with both hands. We also need to remind you this is purely for PC, specifically Windows. So, if you have a PowerMac or Mac Pro, you may need to wait for Apple to release something similar or until someone convinces Diatec Mac support for the pad could be wholeheartedly welcomed by owners of pre-2007 Macs.
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Fujitsu has continued its innovation in security with the invention of a smart USB drives. Due to the ever increasing threat of data leakage through small portable flash drives system administrators and policymakers are struggling with ways to stem these problems while maintaining their utility. For a brief stint, The Department of Defense actually banished flash drives from their facilities. While devices like the IronKey and other hardware solutions have helped improve some of the aspects of flash drive security MANY holes remain. Fujitsu is developing a software and hardware solution that will start to close the circle around USB flash storage devices and enterprise security.

Fujitsu’s lowest level security takes the form of inserting a battery and a microprocessor onto the USB drive which can set auto-erase time limits on the flash drive. This way data can be auto deleted after a certain amount of time has elapsed. On top of that, Fujitsu is writing software that will be required in order to interact with the flash drive. Enterprise administrators will be able to specify which computers will be able to access the data on a flash drive and can delete the data on the drive if it access is attempted on an unapproved drive even once. Their new “File Redirect” solution will prevent data from being moved off of the flash drive and only allow it to be manipulated on the drive. As it’s still in development there’s no word of price or release date.
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Spreading like wild fires across Europe and launching in Japan this week, Poken seems ready to take over the world. Cell phone and mobile communications being are huge hit with teens and tweens and nearly every single adult is carrying at least one mobile communications device. Almost everyone from 13 to 30 has embraced text messaging and growing numbers of people are joining social networking services like LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace and so on. Poken seems set to bridge the gap between business card and social network.

After setting up the Poken upon your computer you simply hold it next to someone else’s Poken in a RFID high-five. Once the little hand lights up green, your contact information is exchanged. More specifically your ID within the Poken database is exchanged and you store whatever social information that you want to share in that location. The next time you go online and plug-in your Poken you are connected to the people with whom you’ve Poken’d. Proper verb conjugation and a US release date are both still elusive, but you can order from international web vendors now and start to Poken all your friends. Pokens are around $20-$25 apiece and are available in about 8 different fun character shapes.
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