Plextor PlexMedia Player Connects USB Blu-ray Drive & More
Plextor has shown us how USB compatibility provides even unique opportunities to commodities. Its latest media player, dubbed PlexMedia, has everything you can ask for from HDMI 1.3a to 3 USB 2.0 ports, eSATA and Gigabit Ethernet. There's even a 3.5" internal bay to provide ample amount of storage for incoming files from BitTorrent world. If that isn't enough, Plextor also throws in Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and DTS-HD MA 7.1 for high-end surround audio support.
While these have little to do with universal bus, its onboard ports can be outfitted with a USB Wi-Fi dongle to cut the cords. And for those without Blu-ray, the PlexMedia can double as a dock for Plextor's own PX-B120U BD-ROM - a top-loaded USB 2.0 Blu-ray drive for PC. So you plug in the optional BD-ROM and play true high-def movies just as you would on a laptop. Plug in a USB stick, and the PlexMedia enables interactive BD-Live content. We are as of this writing still waiting for Plextor to release additional info such as retail pricing and availability of the promising PlexMedia.
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Thermaltake Challenger Gaming Keyboard - Old School Meets New School
Here's a keyboard all of us middle-aged gamers can get excited about. The Challenger keyboard from Thermaltake, renowned makers of gaming cases have extended their reach into the keyboards of yesteryear. The Challenger is decked out with appropriately placed lighted keys, highlighting the WASD and arrow keys, among others, for easy location after wiping sweat from your brow during marathon game play. This feature will bring a tear to the eyes of all those former Zork champions of old is a comforting sound. Not some fancy digital audio, it's the triumphant return of clicky-keys. We know several COBOL programmers and one PASCAL ninja that will have these on pre-order. Clicky-key keyboards produce a very satisfying mechanical click with each tap that is addictive to the converted. They are coveted possessions, that are hard to come by and seem to last for years.
The updated keyboard moves from AT connection to USB and packs a 2 port hub in the back. Another comfort for marathon coding, writing or gaming is a tiny cooling fan. This should keep your hands from getting slippery and lose you precious frags trying to wipe them off. So whether you're still trying to get used to a mouse and long for a revival of the Legend of Apshai or you've never seen a game without video, this keyboard might be for you. The clicky keyboards do command a premium though and this one promises no difference. Relive your history when it arrives somewhere in the next few months.
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Super Talent Readying SuperSpeed USB 3.0 "RAM Drive"
Super Talent is fast becoming synonymous with USB 3.0 flash drives. Following the RAIDDrive (the world's first USB 3.0 SSD RAID0), SuperCrypt and Express, the company outs USB 3.0 Express RAM Cache. The aptly-named thumbdrive is said to implement some sort of DRAM caching system with the sole purpose of boosting small block random speed by up 110x over USB 2.0.
While such performance claim awaits to be examined, Super Talent is definitely taking this into the right direction. Flash drive benchmark scores have always focused on sequential read and write even though real-world usage involves mostly transfers of smaller pieces of data. This includes data synchronization and OS virtualization. This is where a caching system would pay off. Measuring at 62 x 37 x 7.5mm, the Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RAM Cache is between the size of the RAIDRive and the Express. We hopefully this so-called RAM drive would strike a balance between affordability and performance scalability.
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