IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Everything USB) 03/10/2009

Cowon's UM1 Classy Flash Drive Doubles as Necklace

Cowon engineers probably were trying to make a uber-slim DAP, but instead went back to making a classy thumbdrive. Bearing a prominent inscription that reads "Don't Forget Me", the Cowon UM1 water & dust proof USB drive is about the same length as a clipper and a mere 3mm in thickness. For every capacity (2GB to 16GB), there are two color choices: Chrome Black and Glossy Gold. The little loophole on the thumbdrive also makes UM1 a decent choice for a necklace although that may affect usability to some extent.

Why the Korean company traditionally makes DAP now enters flash drive business is beyond us. While the UM1 may not be as interesting as the iAudio E2, it makes for a great flash drive gift. It's, however, doubtful we will see in the stateside.
Permanent Link

LAlarm Relies on USB Thumbdrives to Thwart Laptop Thieves

LAlarm (Laptop Alarm) program looks like a pretty serious attempt to be a poor man's version of laptop security. While you are running this program you are able to use just about every conceivable piece of hardware as a tamper alarm. You can rig up a USB drive's removal to trigger any of a number of alerts or countermeasures. You can play a loud sound file, lock your machine, launch programs or format your drive. You have the option of using other hardware devices as well. You can also use the fact that it's been unplugged from the wall or power supply to fire events. We would love to see the USB Missile System wired into this to defend itself upon tampering.

The most impressive piece of this software is the amount of attention has been given to its long term use. It monitors hard drive health and battery status to make sure you are alerted to any condition that might keep it from functioning properly. It can also make sure your laptop is not used outside of your defined network locations using IP address monitoring. Now unfortunately most of these defenses fail if you detach the battery quick enough and pop the hard drive out to get at the data via an external enclosure. You'll need to be doing disk encryption to cover yourself there. For quick alerts from conventional thieves (noobs) and FREE for personal use this can definitely give you an edge on keeping your laptop safe.
Permanent Link

DoubleSight Goes Small for a Change with USB Monitor

Bigger isn't always better. Sometimes a little extra desktop space is all you need. DoubleSight has been a trendsetter in the area of "more is better" for monitors. Now they are trying something new, "Small". They've launched a trio of USB powered monitors to add to their line of multiple monitor setups. The smallest is a 7" 800 x 480 all USB monitor, the DS-70U. Very similar to the Mimo line that came out a while back, this one is perfect as an attached photo frame, IM client or media player. They also ratchet it up a bit further with their DS-90U, a 9" version, which is basically the same as the 7" with a higher resolution. The DS-90U supports up to 1024 x 600, which puts it above many others. It's evidently one of the highest resolution all USB powered monitors we've seen. The 3rd DS-90UC is 9" as well, and handles 1024 x 600 but it adds a small webcam to make it a great video conferencing solution as well.

All three of these USB monitors are compact, and can be folded flat for easy transport. They have a built in easel-type stand which makes it a really convenient traveling companion. None of them need any sort of external power and all of them make use of DisplayLink's popular USB video chipset. Windows 7 beta drivers have been available for a few months now as well as Mac and XP. Even though a little late to the game, they are priced competitively at $129, $149 and $179 for the 7", 9" and 9" + camera versions respectively now at their e-Store.
Permanent Link

Best of September 2009 - Everything USB

USB 3.0 News

Gadget News

Permanent Link

Saturday, October 3, 2009

IT News HeadLines (Everything USB) 03/10/2009

No comments: