Monday, July 31, 2017 at 12:05PM 
B&H’s Cris Silvestri put out this white paper on this new group of connections that we are finding on the new computers that we are buying. It is important that you use the right cabling with the right connection to prevent damage to your devices. So take a few minutes and download this article and have a read.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 9:00AM According to Intel the addition of USB-C connector in your mobile device gives you a single connection type for every use. With Apple’s disclosure that they are not going to include a headphone jack in the next iPhone release we are going to need some method of connecting a headphone to your device. While wireless Bluetooth headset/buds are an alternative, a lower power consumption method is much desired. We don’t want to do anything to diminish our battery life at all.
The most obvious advantage, at least to devices manufacturers, is slimmer phones. Without needing to route analog circuitry, a phone maker could switch to digital audio and shave off precious millimeters from the device's body. With digital audio, Saunders added, software and device makers could help cheaper earbuds take advantage of features reserved for more expensive headphones, like noise cancelling and bass boosting.
Another benefit is the ability of this connection to handle multiple functions simultaneowusly through the single connection. This means, you could be charging your phone, streaming music or video and transferring files all simultaneously. So, One connector to rule them all!
Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 11:00AM USB C cables the new configuration of USB cable that is reversible and prevents you from plugging you from plugging in the coble incorrectly. Google engineer Benson Leung, has been on u crusade to prevent shoddy manufacturersof USB Ccables from marketing their productson Amazon.
Amazon.com has added non-standardized USB Type-C cables to its "Prohibited listings" for the Electronics section of their site. In other words, at last, non-compliant USB-C cables, which can damage or shut down a device entirely, will be banned from sale on Amazon. This is a policy update though, and Amazon will need to police its seller community and shut down any who continue to offer non-compliant cables.
There has been issues with these shoddy cables actually damaging devices that they are plugged into. Hopefully Amazon and other marketing sites will continue to monitor these products so that consumers won't have to suffer damage to thin electronics caused by these rogue cables!
Monday, September 7, 2015 at 11:05AM 
We were considering creating a series of charging stations that patrons could use at site to recharge their phones and other devices. One of the issues that we thought might come up is that even though recently most phones are now using mini-USB connectors for their recharging port, it used to be an issue that many phone manufacturers used to use proprietary connectors.
Here is a cable that takes that into account! This cable has 10 different cable ends attached to give you compatibility with the following devices:
E01-Sony Ericsson
C702,C902,C905,G502,G700,G900,K330,K530,K550,K660,K770,K800,K810,R306,S500,T303,T250,T270,T280,T650,T700,W350,W380,W580,W595,W610,W660,W760,W880,W890,W902,W910,W980,Z555,Z750,Z770,Z780,F305,G705,R300
LG01-LG
KF700,KM380T,KM501,KM710,KS20,KT520,KU250,KU380,KU970Shine,KU990Viewty,KE850Prada,KE970Shine
SA02-Samsung SGH-
F258,F488,G608,G808,i458,i908Omnia,L768
MT02(Micro-USB)-Nokia
8600Luna,8800Arte, Carbon Arte,Sapphire Arte,8800 Sirocco,Sirocco Gold,Prism-series,6500 Classic Motorola Vorager 855 stereo bluetooth headset
SA01-Samsung
SCH-F609,SCH-F639,SCH-S209,SCH-S299,SCH-S399,SGH-B289,SGH-S268,SGH-C408,i608,i620,i718,U608,U708,U808,D838,D848,D908,D988,E218,E258,E768,E848,E908,E958,Z368,Z728,X838
PSP-Sony PSP Kodak camara
NK02 cable-Nokia
2100,2112,2115i,2116,21161,2125,2125i,21261,2128i,2260,2270,2275,2280,2285,2300,2310,2600,2610,2626,2630,2650,2651,3100,3105,3108,3110,3120,3200,6235i,6236i,6250,6255i,6256m,6260,6310,6310i,6340, 6340i,6360,6370,6385,6400,6500,6510,6560,6585,6590,6590i,6600,6610,6610i,6620,6630,6650,6651,6670,6680,6681,6682,6800,6810,6820,6822
MT01(Min-USB)-HTC
Touch Diamond,Touch Pro,Touch Cruise,Touch Dual,Touch Viva Asus M530w,P320,P527,P526,P535,P550,P750 MotorolaW181,W210,W213,W220,W230,W231,W270,W355,W362,W375,W396,W510,Z6,ZS,ZN200,E6,E8,EM30,K1,L7,L72,maxx K3,maxx V3,U6,Ug,V3,Blackberry 8300,8310,Pearl 8120,Bold 9000 glofish M500,M700,M800,XS00,X600,X800 Gsmart i-series,MW998,T600 MS-Series Sony Ericsson X1Xperia HPTMIpaq512,612,912,rw682802 Atom,Atom Pure,Xda Atom Life,Xda Flame,Xda Stealth,Xda Zinc
NK01-Nokia
2610,2626,2630,2680slide,2760,3110,3120,3150,3155,3155i,3250,5220,5300,5310,5320,5500,E61,E65,E71,6060,6070,6080,6085,6290-3G,6300,6500,6500VI,3155i,N70,N71,N72,N73,N76,N77,N80,N81,N82,N85,N90,N91,N92,N93,N93i,N95,N96
IPSG-ipod/iphone series
Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 10:53AM 
Our world is becoming more and more craze with all the mobile devices that we seem to be accumulating. My household is probably like yours with both my wife and I having cell phones, Kindles and tablets that we are needing to keep charged. One are of our kitchen is set aside for that main purpose charging (3) Kindles, (2) cell phones, a Nexus 7, Samsung Note8, and an iPad. Quite a bit of craziness in one small area.
So I am constantly looking for a better way to consolidate and accommodate the charging of so many devices. I found a 7-Port USB Charger made by Satechi that allows you to charge 7 devices simultaneously. Four of the ports provides 5 volts/1 amp and the other 3 ports provides 5 volts/2.4 amps of power.
Powerful Charge Three 2.4A ports can charge high-powered devices such as tablets, while four 1A ports can charge smartphones, music players, and other devices. Charge a total of 7 devices simultaneously.
Compact, Space-Saving Design This charging station is only 7.4 x 5.5-inches, providing a powerful charge to all your devices without taking up desk space.
This unit is compatible with the following devices:
Priced around $54.95 this could be a great solution for messy kitchen countertop.
Monday, June 9, 2014 at 10:55AM Here is a neat camping accessory for those of you that are still camping, I’m not but this is really something that I could see being useful for the outdoor Geek that is in some of us. At cost of just $129.95 you can have a way to charge your phone while cooking your meal along the trail. This is a very small stove and it sure would be a Godsend for those of you walking the Appalachian Trail.
For being such a small package it sure appears as though it is extremely useful when considering the extra weight it would add to your backpack. It is 5 inches in diameter, 8.25 inches high and weighs 33 oz. Here are a few other Tech Specs that you might be interested in:
Saturday, August 25, 2012 at 12:00PM This is a new Logitech K310 keyboard that should be hitting distribution shortly. Priced at $39.99 it is geared towards being able to be cleaned using soap and water. It is great for use in highly dirty situations. It can handle a light dusting or be soaked in up to 12 inches of water. It has drainage holes in the back for faster drying. From Logitech’s Features Page:
More than tough enough
Laser printing and a UV coating ensures this keyboard can take a washing as well as a pounding. The durable keys, robust tilt legs and increased resistance to surface scratches makes the Washable Keyboard one of the toughest on the market.
Functional and good-looking
Comfortable typing is a given, thanks to a familiar layout with F-keys and number pad. And it all comes in a unique, contemporary design that will complement your computer, as well as your work space.
Plug and play simplicity
Thankfully, the Washable Keyboard works right out of the box. There’s no software to install, so you can simply plug it in and start typing. Talk about a clean setup.
Take a shortcut and save time
Gain instant access to popular applications like the Internet, email, volume controls, and more—with 12 hot keys. Hit F1 to go home, F2 to launch your email, F3 to start a search, and F4 to crunch some numbers on the calculator. Want to bring up your media player and play your favorite music? Simply hit F5 to launch, F6 for the previous track, F7 to play or pause the track, and F8 to skip tracks. For volume controls, you can hit F9 to mute, or F10 and F11 to lower or raise the volume (respectively). And when you’re finished using your computer, put your PC to sleep by hitting F12. It’s that easy.
Look at this brief video from Logitech:
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6:01PM Press Release: WILMINGTON, MASS. (May 8, 2012) – Lilliputian Systems Inc. (LSI), a developer of portable power products for consumer electronics, is pleased to announce that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Brookstone, Inc. (Brookstone), a multichannel lifestyle retailer and innovative product development company, to launch LSI’s initial product, a revolutionary portable charger for power hungry consumer electronics.
Under the terms of the agreement, Brookstone will be the first retail launch partner for LSI’s portable charging system. Brookstone will be responsible for the marketing, promotion, distribution and sale of the product through their various distribution channels such as catalog, Brookstone.com, and retail stores including airport and mall locations. Lilliputian will be responsible for the product design, development, and manufacturing. The product will be branded and sold under the Brookstone® brand.
"Today's Smartphones use much more power, increasing the need for a more efficient way to recharge when on the go," said Steven Schwartz, Vice President of Merchandising and Product Development at Brookstone. "Lilliputian's groundbreaking technology provides power, wherever and whenever you need it. This breakthrough aligns well with our commitment to innovative solutions that make life easier."
The stand-alone, portable, lightweight, “plug-less charger” product will charge and power billions of Consumer Electronics (CE) devices that subscribe to the USB standard. (e.g. smart phones, mobile handsets, MP3 music/video players, digital cameras, etc.). It provides several weeks of “always available” Personal Power™ to the user from a single recyclable cartridge. Lasting significantly longer than alternative solutions and costing much less than primary spare batteries, the portable power system offers a compelling value proposition and unparalleled mobility and freedom (from wall outlets) for consumers with power hungry smart phones. Additionally, the system can be used for multiple devices, significantly reducing the need for consumers to travel with cables and power adapters. The product has been approved for carry-on and use for regular commercial aircraft abroad by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and domestically by The U.S. Department of Transportation, offering a superior, convenient solution to the myriad of CE power challenges faced by today’s user.
“We are happy to announce our first strategic go-to-market partnership agreement with Brookstone,” said Ken Lazarus, Lilliputian CEO. “Brookstone’s widespread distribution, brand recognition and reach to our targeted customer base are world-class and we are certain this will be a successful partnership. Together with Brookstone, we look forward to providing customers with a real solution to the challenge of keeping today’s mobile CE devices powered.”
“Countless surveys, focus groups and research reports have shown that current and near-term battery technologies are incapable of satisfying the growing consumer demand for portable power – a fact that any smartphone user already knows,” said Mouli Ramani, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Lilliputian Systems. “This new power system will transform how consumers use their CE devices; they will never have to hunt for a wall outlet or run out of power midday again. It’s like having a plug in your pocket”
Brookstone and Lilliputian will make a formal product announcement in the coming months.
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 11:32AM 
Experience the most ECO-friendly wireless mouse from Genius BlueEye family DX-ECO. Battery free design let you contribute your very own effort in environment protection. Featuring battery free design, it has built-in a gold capacitor to expand recharge life up to 100,000 times; just a quick charge for 3 minutes and ready to use. The Genius BlueEye technology let you work virtually anywhere. Its bi-directional 2.4GHz let your work up to 15 meters and anti-interference ensures perfect working smoothness. Also available of four hot key to access to Previous/Next Page, Flying Scroll and dpi adjust between 800 and 1600 dpi. Plus it’s super mini receiver is easy for storage and prevent breakage. For a high C/P value and ECO-friendly mouse, there is nothing better than DX-ECO, so why wait? Start protecting the environment from DX-ECO now.
How does it work? It uses a gold capacitor, also known as an electric double layered capacitor (or super capacitor). Rather than the chemical reaction found in standard batteries, gold capacitors rely on a storage cell that utilizes the absorption and release of ions. It was theorized a few years ago that this technology could power a mouse, but historically it has been used to provide backup sources of power (though the test mouse was also able to charge inductively, so it was completely cord-free). Apparently, the mouse can go a "full day" on one charge, but can be recharged in a mere three minutes — so while you likely won't see the longevity you get from traditional batteries, charging the mouse up should be a minimal inconvenience. You accomplish the recharging by plugging in the mouse using a micro-USB connection on the mouse.
Package Contents:
Monday, August 15, 2011 at 3:46PM This product really interested me when I saw it right after returning from a recent trip. One of the problems that I was constantly running into was enough power charging for all of the devices I had with me. Granted I travel a bit heavy with all of my toys but this setup would have easily accommodated me with everything that I would have needed. Priced at just $79.99 I think it is a real bargain.
Four Port Hub
3+1 USB charging hub can charge all your devices and get pass data through one.
The AViiQ Portable USB Charging Station can charge four USB devices simultaneously, including an iPad, as well as passing data through one specialized port. Rest assured that even your larger power-consuming products such as the Apple® iPad™, which requires a 10v charger, is supplied through one of our four ports.
Retractable USB Port
Syncing your device is a synch.
Sync to your computer with this retractable USB cable. No more unplugging between the wall and your computer just to charge your device, especially those that require more power than your laptop can provide. After you're done. pull and let it zip back into place and you're ready to go.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 4:50PM Press Release: The new Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 is here, combining our world's best selling shape with new micro-precise technology that is specifically designed to improve your online navigation experience with a better mix of precision, comfort and control.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 3:44PM Looking for a super small fast USB 3.0, 7200 RPM hard drive to add to your mobile kit bag? Seagate is finally releasing it’s 9mm 2.5 inch GoFlex external HDD. This drive is probably thinner than your cell phone. It has a 3 year warranty and is priced at $99.99. It only weighs 0.356 pounds and measuring 4.91 x 30.7 x 0.354 inches. It requires a special USB cable that is included. It can transfer files at upwards of 40MB/sec when attached to a USB 3.0 system. To put the size into perspective this drive is thinner than a pencil. It is supposed to be shipping now and we do see it SKU’d up now.
Friday, February 11, 2011 at 12:24PM If you are still using Windows XP/Vista you may notice that the AutoRun function will stop working on removable media like flash drives. It will still work with CD’s and DVD’s but in an effort to help cut down on malware infections caused by the AutoRun attacks.
According to Microsoft, Win32/AutoRun remains the most popular method used by malware families of software. Microsoft suggests that XP user are more likely to be infected as compared to Windows 7 users.
A similarity all of these worms share is a common propagation method. They all abuse the autoplay feature of Autorun, many by creating or manipulating Autorun.inf files on network drives and removable media, so that when a user connects, the malware is automatically executed on their system. On average in 2010, about 9% of Windows 7 Security Essentials users reported seeing one of these families at least once per month in comparison to 13% of Windows XP users. In other words, a Windows XP user was 43% more likely to report one of these Autorun detections in any given month in comparison to a Windows 7 user..
Here is a good article on how Autorun.inf works and what it is used for.
Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections | ZDNet
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 8:01AM Another announcement of a product supporting the USB 3.0 interface format comes from LaCie providing either a 2TB or 4TB solution, $349.99 and $579.99 respectively. The biggest benefit besides the amount of storage capacity is the speed that you can read and write data to the device. It is still compatible with USB 2.0 so if you don’t have a USB 3.0 port on your computer yet you can get this now for when you do. It is compatible with Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7 /Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6 (USB 2.0 only). Windows XP does not support drives greater than 2TB’s.
The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 supports up to 5Gbits/s and the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 supports up to 480Mbits/s. It supports RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD modes through an easy switch-button.
Overview from LaCie:
Developed for professionals looking for high storage capacity and performance, the 2big USB 3.0 is the first RAID storage solution to feature the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, and supports multiple uncompressed HD streams. With three RAID modes for flexibility, you can choose "Fast" (RAID 0) to get speeds of up to 205MB/s, "Safe" (RAID 1) for full data protection, or JBOD for non-stop data access. With its 7200 rpm drives and compatibility with USB 2.0, the LaCie 2big USB 3.0 is the most complete USB 3.0 storage device. The unique fanless aluminum heat sink design is sturdy and features 60% more surface area, providing the most efficient heat dissipation. This keeps it ultra-quiet, and protects the hard disk. The LaCie 2big USB 3.0 helps you to reduce power consumption by letting you program when it switches to idle mode. You can schedule a deep sleep on/off mode according to your needs, and the 2big USB 3.0 can be switched back to operating mode from the client side. For users that need performance and flexibility such as print professionals, recording engineers, and video producers, the 2big USB 3.0 is the ideal storage solution.
For more information about Video Process, please click here
Cute that they are calling these drives the 2big… Hope that is just a typo.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:37AM Every now and again I find myself running down my devices to the very end of their battery limits and need a little extra time to complete the project I am currently working on. Morphie has made a press release on a battery product that you can attach to different USB powered devices. The Juice Pack Powerstation is most obviously targeting heavy iPad users, but the beastly battery pack is quite capable of rejuvenating your PND, PMP or smartphone provided you have the necessary cabling. Most interesting, however, is this unit's ability to automatically switch between desired mAh charges, including 500 mAh, 1A and 2.1A, while a standby toggle switch ensures no drainage when it's idle. There's also a USB pass-through so users can charge a device and the Powerstation simultaneously, and if you're interested, all 3600mAh can be yours starting today at $99.95.
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 3:41PM Here is a neat product that looked interesting when we read about it.
If you want to be able to display video content from your PC to your big screen TV, then this might be just the thing for you.
It is available in SD (480i) and HD (1080p) version at $99 and $139 respectively. For the extra $40 it looks to me like the best configuration would be the HD Version.
They are taking preorders on this product now and are planning on beginning shipments in early October, 2010.
It’s Features include:
and on the HD you also get:
The magic behind the product is that it is using Wireless USB based technology (WUSB). WUSB uses radio technology in the Ultra-wideband realm. This high-bandwidth, low-power method of wireless data transmission enables the secure, high-speed connection required for functions like HD Video transmission. Intel has helped to support this initiative and we are now seeing it come in products like this one. One of the other benefits is that it is a secured transmission so you don’t have to worry about it being intercepted.
Wireless USB creates a secure point-to-point connection between your laptop and your TV. WUSB is more powerful than traditional WiFi because it offers more bandwidth, better security and less interference over short distances.
Best performance of this device comes when all of the equipment is in the same room. I look forward to testing this out when I get my hands on it.
Hardware, Television, USB, Video Friday, September 17, 2010 at 3:10PM We are starting to see some USB peripheral devices coming out that support the new USB 3.0 specification.
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping its first USB 3.0 Flash drive. The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Flash drive takes advantage of the faster USB 3.0 specification that has up to ten times the data transfer rates of the current USB 2.0 specification.
The DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 has a read speed of 80 MB/sec. and a write speed of 60MB/sec. It is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities. The combination of speed and size makes it ideal for data backup or fast transferring of large files including music, photos and videos. To ensure backwards compatibility, Kingston is also including a Y cable as some USB 2.0 ports require it to initialize USB 3.0 drives.
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 7:59AM If you follow me at all you know that I have a penchant for making multiple copies of my data on multiple devices, locations and sources. Buffalo is coming out with a new series of portal hard drives that will help you make backups and share your data between machines and locations.The HD-PCTU2 comes in piano black and pearl white colors, and capacities that include 320 GB, 500 GB, and 640 GB, priced at around $119, $149 and $200, respectively. Measuring 77 x 14 x 114 mm, the drives weigh 165 grams. USB 2.0 handles power and connectivity. The bundled EcoManager software cuts down power draw by 20%. These devices have a 1 year warranty.
I love the size of this type of drive and that it will draw it’s power from your USB port connection. That it has less of a power draw will make it a great choice as a mobile solution along with your mobile computer for backup or extending storage capabilities.
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 6:52AM Here’s your chance to do it cost effectively. Buy.com has a special on today for $49.99 with free shipping for the Innovative Technology ITUT-201 USB Turntable. Here are the specs from their site:
Encode your Vinyl Albums to MP3's. The USB Turntable takes your favorite vinyl records and seamlessly converts them to MP3 digital format. Enjoy your music on your laptop or iPod, wherever you go! Easy to record with and use on any computer.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 7:39AM Amazon has announced two updates to its latest generation eBook reader. Jude and I were discussing last night how we wish that the Kindle supported PDF file format natively. For me one of the biggest uses with the Kindle is to have all my books, manuals and white papers available to me on the device. Up until now you had to send your file to Amazon to have it converted from native PDF to a format that could be used on your Kindle. The Kindle DX already had this feature in it.
The earlier versions of the Kindle will get this an update through Whispernet. You will be able to add PDF Files to your Kindle via connection to your PC using the USB port on the device. This update will also provide programming changes to make better use of the battery to give the Kindle better battery life. This appears to be in direct response to the newly releasing Barnes & Noble Nook eBook Reader that offers native PDF support in 10 days of battery life without using wireless connection.
Regarding the battery life boost, Amazon states, "Battery power management for portable wireless devices is a complex technical area, and the battery life improvement announced today is the result of a six month firmware improvement and testing program." With 3G connection active on the Kindle, users can enjoy reading books for up to a week.
Remember, sometimes dreams do come true!
