Business

Next-Gen Wireless USB Will Include Touch-and-Go

Oct 2, 2007   2 pm
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usbpendrive_mount Version 1.1 of the Wireless USB specification will include “touch and go” capabilities, which will allow devices to be brought into close proximity with the host, allowing them to be instantly associated, without the need for manual setup.

The Wireless USB specification, version 1.0, is slowly rolling out as part of wireless devices. Both IOGEAR and Icron have announced their own Wireless USB hubs, although both are pricey: $395, in the case of the Icron hub.

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Business USB Flash

USB 3 in 2008, 10 Times as Fast

Sep 19, 2007   1 pm
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usb_logo Intel and others plan to release a new version of the ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus technology in the first half of 2008, a revamp the chipmaker said will make data transfer rates more than 10 times as fast by adding fiber-optic links alongside the traditional copper wires.

The current USB 2.0 version has a top data-transfer rate of 480 megabits per second, so a tenfold increase would be 4.8 gigabits per second.” This should make USB hard drives easier and faster to use.”

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USB Flash Vista

Windows Vista & ReadyBoost: Does it Make a Difference?

Aug 26, 2007   4 pm
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windowsvistalogo It works better for older system with less than 512MB ram than the newer ones.

PC Stats has an interesting six page review regarding Microsoft Windows Vista’s ReadyBoost feature. ReadyBoost is supposed to allow the user to plug in a fast USB stick into their system to speed up work the OS needs to do and effectively improve the computer’s performance by storing non-essential information on the drive. The review concludes that this is not the case with current USB keys on the market. Although ReadyBoost does improve overall performance on the system, it is not enough to make a significant difference or to raise some eyebrows. It seems that on older computers with little memory (512MB), ReadyBoost can help out much more than on newer systems - probably the systems Vista would be installed on anyways. Surprisingly enough, however, ReadyBoost did make a slight mark even on video game performance and system startup time.

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USB Flash

Corsair releases "Flash Padlock" PIN-based flash drive

Aug 18, 2007   3 pm
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corsair_flash_padlock_drive Innovation in the flash drive sphere seems to be limited to bringing the price down, and adding on new security features. Corsair’s new “Flash Padlock” flash drive seemingly does both. By retailing at $29.99 and $39.99 in 1GB and 2GB variants, and tacking on a PIN based security system that limits who can access the drive. The benefit to the Flash Padlock is that its security solution is entirely hardware based, so it’s supposedly working under all systems as well as impervious to hackers and crackers and other deviant folks.

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