Best computer news

The product page claims this mousepad is fried, but it looks more like sunny side up to me. I prefer scrambled to be quite honest, but that would probably screw up the mouse tracking.

Product Page ($2.35)

For John so loved us all that he gave his PortableApps Format 1.0 release to the world. Having put the finishing touches on a few remaining items that allow for many more programs to share in the portable glory. The 1.0 release is effectively an invitation for developers to tinker with creating portable applications with a friendly wrapper and installer. The specification includes functions that help handle portability features like registry redirects and setting storage locations. The truly hardcore portable applications can run on all windows versions from 98 and up. With the maturity of many Java and .Net applications the bar has been obliged to move. The times, and the relative ubiquitous installation of both .Net frameworks and Java run-times, has called for the inclusion of applications that require those frameworks. Recent work on making the JRE portable has also met with some success.

This expanded base has opened the door and PortableApps.com is welcoming all comers to add their applications to the fun. The same philosophical guidelines remain around GNU and GPL code being required. Commercial development can be accommodated as well with special permission. There are quite a few new applications for grabs on the site thanks to this expanded policy. This is truly great news for those of us checking the site daily for new gems to add to our Swiss Army flash drives.
Permanent Link

There could be some delay in mass adoption of USB 3.0, largely due to Intel pushing USB 3.0 integration into its southbridge to 2011. That doesn’t stop rest of the industry from going after this huge connectivity market. Western Digital and NEC have jointly announced the two are going to push the envelope even further with a USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) driver that they claim to fully leverage the SuperSpeed USB transfer rate while giving a moderate boost for legacy USB 2.0 mass storage devices.

The UASP is a complete MSC back-compatible replacement for current USB Mass Storage class as well as Bulk Only Transfers (BOT). For it to work, UASP must be implemented on both host and device. That’s why NEC and WD are collaborating on this. It’s logical to believe that when the time is right, WD will debut a USB 3.0 SSD, which is perhaps the only application that needs UASP to flex its muscles. The current fastest USB 3.0 drive to date is LaCie 2Big, hitting 275MB/s when in RAID 0 mode.
Permanent Link

The governing body of the Bluetooth specification has released the 4.0 guidelines in what promises to be a more widely adopted version of Bluetooth. Bluetooth 3.0 is not reaching wide adoption yet due to a number of factors, mostly economic. More speed requires more power and more battery power. Battery technology has not kept up with bandwidth. Bluetooth 4.0 promises to do more with less which may stimulate device manufacturers and starved R&D groups to employ it in their existing applications. Also, data transfer rates are not currently the same kind of bottleneck for device usage that ‘size’ is. The Bluetooth 4.0 promises to work in smaller devices thus requiring less power, less battery and therefore less bulk.

Bluetooth 4.0 also heads down 2 paths for even more power saving, dual-mode and single-mode. Dual-mode which can alternate between high-speed and low-power modes for multi-role or data intensive uses, like computers and cell phones. The single-mode chipset will be for the ultra low power uses like location tags and reporting sensors. Some of the envisioned uses are air pressure sensors in your car’s tires, key fobs, etc. The group expects to see Bluetooth 4.0 products shipping in the summer of 2010. I’m still looking for Bluetooth 3.0 products, let’s hope 4 fares better.
Permanent Link

It looks a bit like a bottle opener but might actually be more useful (for some). The Lockface USB Key comes preloaded with encryption technology and a handy little piece of security software. Once you plug in this drive, the Lockface software takes over your webcam and uses your face to allow access to the data stored on your Lockface drive. The software only takes a few minutes to setup and stores the facial data on the drive so that it can be reused on other computers. In addition, the login information won’t be discoverable on your PC while you’re away.

The device’s error rate is a little on the high side for it to be industrially acceptable, unlike some other proven high-end solutions. It also openly discloses that it has an almost 2% false acceptance and a similar rate of incorrect rejection. That’s not terribly inconvenient to have to retry authentication 1 in 50 logins, an inappropriate user gaining access after only 50 attempts isn’t that great though. But like most security, the important part is increasing the work-factor required to gain access to secured resources and this device does accomplish that. Probably not suited for an organization this is definitely a great boost for personal security. Should keep your dorm-mate out of your party pics and homework. Priced right at roughly $110, let’s hope this one makes it outside of Japan soon.
Permanent Link

Nowadays everyone should give second thought about getting an external drive without any RAID capability for permanent data storage. The least you can do is opting for RAID 1. But if your laptop only comes with USB 2.0, but you want a simple, future-proof RAID drive. The new LaCie 2Big USB 3.0 is a logical choice.

The 2-bay RAID is powered by Symware’s USB 3.0 SATA bridge to achieve a jaw-dropping 275MB/s (when in RAID 0 mode), at which speed real-time multiple HD video editing is possible. From the looks of it, LaCie 2Big USB 3.0 will take advantage of the new USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) to break this new record. Also, upon checking LaCie website, there is already a 2Big Quadra with eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire 800/400. Going USB 3.0 may lower the cost of the drive. While there are no words on pricing nor shipping date, the largest capacity available is 4TB, by combining two 2TB 3.5″ drives.
Permanent Link

Now, we’d never claim to be the most frugal when it comes to gadgets, but this is one for only the Hollywood crowd. Vertu is marketing a set of cell phone-centric accessories to complement its exorbitant line of cell phones. Vertu’s USB drive / MicroSD Card Reader is may out of high quality stainless steel and a durable resin. Both components are lovingly polished and should be extremely scratch resistant (and Shiny!). The USB drive hasn’t not been hinted at being made with any similarly eye-catching new technology so we’re betting it will be of the usual MLC variety.

Not just accessorizing their cell phones they claim that data from the flash drive and microSD card can both be transferred to the phone via a 3-stage process. If their “3-stage process” includes a computer then we’re even further underwhelmed. While asking a great price, we’re impressed they didn’t sell out and opt for over-hyped titanium or carbon fibre components. Sadly, the only thing that could really save this gizmo from being an overpriced gimmick drive, is if they announce some appropriate size/performance numbers. That’s on the order of a 128GB flash drive if they want to make it a break even deal. But come on, we know you can do better than that, here’s your chance to wow us.
Permanent Link

Performance gurus and desktop support teams rejoice with the launch of a Portable version of SiSoft’s legendary performance product. SiSoft Sandra 2010 Portable USB Edition will certainly become a favorite tool for large companies dealing with nebulous problems throughout the day. Just pop in the 4GB USB stick that comes loaded with the hugely popular Sandra application. The portable application runs directly off the stick without installation. There’s a wide selection of tools available to rate your system, diagnose problems or attempt fixes. You can easily configure custom sets of named reports to suit your individual needs.

Once you are done running your tests all the results are stored in a database on the USB drive. The application only takes up 120MB of the 4GB stick so you’ll have plenty of room for any other flash tools you like to carry with you as well as test results. Uses included rubbing your friends’ faces in your smoking overclocked gaming machine’s amazing stats. SiSoft Sandra could also be a great first step in helping (muzzling) that one annoying user that is always complaining his/her computer is too slow. Running this and having comparisons on hand can either shut them or give you a clue where the actual problem lies. Easily worth it as a tool that the entire IT team can share at $399
Permanent Link

LaCie’s bewildering choices of external storage are almost never dressed up by utilitarian designers. But if you want a classy USB drive to go with your Dell Adamo or MacBook Air, LaCie’s new Rikiki makes a great backup solution on the go. Housed in a brushed aluminum case, the Rikiki – 4.3″ x 2.9″ x 0.5″ – is about an inch shorter than the already sleek Seagate FreeAgent Go – 5.12″ x 3.15″ 0.49″. Rikiki, meaning tiny in French, is a naturally appropriate name for the, well, Rikiki.

The Rikiki should be also quite rugged and scratch-free, considering the aluminum exterior. LaCie also has been shipping USB Boost to enhance performance of its USB storage, including the Rikiki, by up to 33%. Though, the feature is exclusive to Windows. There’s a mini-B USB jack placed vertically on the left side of the drive, but there’s no provision of an auxiliary power port. Either LaCie decides to take out the secondary power in favor of a minimalist design, or simply the 2.5″ drive inside Rikiki is able to spin up without needing much power. The drives are making their way to retail shelves as of this writing with 250GB going for $75, 500GB for $109, and 640B for $150.
Permanent Link

Some guy has dissected the Microsoft HD webcam and put some serious Frankenstein on it and turned it into a digital Telescope. Gary Honis decided for some reason to peel out the HD sensor in his webcam and fit it into a camera adapter for his telescope. Take a trip back in time to the dawn of HTML on his website and check out his step by step instructions on how to disassemble and rig together his video telescope. The trickiest part is getting at the IR filter which while great for earthbound scenes is terrible for celestial subjects. Afterward, make sure to check out his results, a tour of the lunar surface and an animated gif of Jupiter.

Be sure to check out his gorgeous DSLR photos of the night sky. You can tell he didn’t waste time on web design and has been devoted to becoming a truly stellar photographer (pun intended). If you don’t have the chops to do this yourself you might be able to convince him to do it for you, for a fee. He seems to do a similar set of modifications for Canon DSLRs. I may try this little DIY project myself for hobby microscopy, it should work exactly the same without the need to remove the IR filter. Yes, because we prefer to take time to appreciate the little things.
Permanent Link