usbwarez.com

USB 2.0 Mini Rotating Hub

2007-01-10T19:42:00.000-06:00

Unique, Stylish, and Functional

Turn the computers around on any ThinkGeek computer and you will witness a tangled knot of cables the likes of which would make an Eagle Scout cry. See, while USB is great, sometimes those pesky cables and plugs just don't line up like you want them to.

Rota Rota to the rescue!

This 4 port micro hub, barely larger than two packs of matches, features a male plug that swivels around 360 degrees, and 4 female ports that fan out 180 degrees, allowing for any device, slim or bulky, to happily coexist - sharing 480Mbps of Universal Serial Bus goodness.

Product Features

180 degree rotatable
4 flexible hi-speed ports
Fully compliant with USB 2.0 specification
Backwards compatible with USB 1.1
Support data transfer rate at 1.5/12/480 Mbps
Individual port over-current protection
Friendly and ergonomic design
Plug and play
LED indicator
Support windows 98/2000/Me/XP or Mac OS 8.6 or above
Dimension: 31x48x30mm
Weight: 43g

Buy it at ThinkGeek.com

USB Beverage Chiller

2006-12-21T19:40:00.000-06:00

Keep your Bawls cool with USB

The USB Beverage Chiller is the only way to keep a drink cold while you're at your computer - and it looks cool on any desktop. With the USB Beverage Chiller at your side, you can keep your beverage chilled and stay at your computer longer. This translates into greater work or gaming productivity - and what geek doesn't enjoy increasing their efficiency.
Just seconds after plugging the chiller into a USB port (no external outlet needed), the coldplate chills to 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the perfect temperature for helping keep your beverage cool.

Connection via USB
Coldplate chills to 45°F
Helps keeps your beverage cool
USB cable length: 5 feet
Dimensions: 5.25" x 3.25" x 1.4"
Bottle of Bawls not included

Buy it at ThinkGeek.com

Surround Sound USB Audio Adapter

2007-01-17T19:22:00.000-06:00

Unleash the audio from your PC or laptop

The Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro is a portable USB Audio Adapter with both digital and analog outputs that incorporates a surround-sound simulator for creating an immersive listening experience on standard headphones or stereo speakers. Whether you're listening to a DVD on the road, or piping 5.1 surround sound to your Home Theater System, the Audio Advantage Micro is the perfect way to get the most out of your listening experience.

Easy install and use, just plug in your headphones, and plug the Micro into a USB port, and you've instantly got better sound! Listening to music, movies, and games on the road or at home 'after hours' is enhanced, no matter what you're listening to.

The included Digital Audio adapter allows you to easily digitally connect to home theater or recording equipment. Just plug the adapter in to the Audio Advantage Micro, then connect your equipment via an optical digital cable. You can even pass through Dolby Digital and DTS signals to your home theater receiver to enjoy full-blown digital surround sound!

Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro

Works with USB port on any PC or Laptop
Stereo analog output- Connect headphones or powered speakers to your PC or laptop.
Provide a second audio output source or additional headphone output so you can stop fumbling around the back of your computer just to switch from speakers to headphones
S/PDIF optical digital audio output- Connect your PC or Laptop to the latest high-tech home entertainment equipment with a pure-digital, distortion-free signal, for highest fidelity, low noise audio reproduction.
Send Dolby Digital and DTS multi-channel DVD sound to A/V receivers or digital speakers. (DTS pass-through is only available in Windows 2000/XP)
Listen to stereo digital music or movies with the simulated sound of a multi-speaker, surround-sound system using ordinary stereo headphones or stereo speakers.
Virtual 5.1 Surround Sound with stereo music and DVDs
Simulated 3D audio effects with games
Enhance music playback with simulated "big room" effects such as concert hall, hallway, stadium, and more
Multi-band equalizer with user-defined presets
Powered by USB bus- No external power supply is required, so it's convenient to carry around with your laptop
Full functionality requires Win98SE/ME/2000(SP-3 or higher required)/XP
Mac OSX users can enjoy Analog and Digital audio output capabilities, but cannot use the included software, or enjoy simulated 3-D effects
Includes Optical SPDIF adapter, USB Extender Cable
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year

Buy it at ThinkGeek.com

Fly Fan USB Fan

2007-01-17T19:11:00.000-06:00

Need a little fresh air?
Stuffy meetings, crowded airplanes and even taxis in Texas won't wilt you anymore. The FlyFan plugs into a USB port to provide a steady stream of cool air -- without draining your laptop battery.

Kensington FlyFan

Convert a USB port on your laptop into a source of cool air.
No batteries required for use; uses less than five minutes per hour of notebook battery charge.
Compact and feather-light, the FlyFan goes anywhere and fits easily inside your notebook case
No switches to operate
Virtually indestructible
Soft nylon blades are safe, and won't cause injury
Quiet motor will not disrupt you when working
Flexible neck lets you position it any way you like
Small enough to take anywhere
Dimensions: 2.6" X 11" X .5"
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year

Check it out (read: buy it) at ThinkGeek.com

The ThinkGeek USB Snowbot

2006-12-24T19:07:00.000-06:00

We welcome our Snowbot Overlords...

Color changing scan, eerie Snowbot sound, articulating arms...a ThinkGeek exclusive...

Last December, as we were settling down for a long winter's nap, we were visited by two robots from the future! They spoke to us and now it is time to share their message. There's good news and bad news. The good news is there are tons of really cool robots in the future. The bad news is they are divided into two factions, are waging war against each other, and have "downgraded" humans to pretty much servants and food. We quickly smashed the robots with hammers, and swore to devise a way to save humanity.

Before we destroyed the robots, however, we were able to learn two things. 1. Each army of robots uses a different color scanning light (red or blue); 2. We have no idea which side is in humanity's best interest to win. So we built the Snowbot - a small, winter-themed beacon…and perhaps our only hope. Powered by a simple USB port, the Snowbot has a scanning light just like the robots from the future. You can change the speed of the scan, turn on/off the scanning noise, and (for future protection) change the scan color (red or blue). So no matter which robot army storms your home or office, a quick flick of a switch and you are rooting for the invader's color. Hopefully then the robots will just make you a servant and not an appetizer. Good luck and happy holidays.

Click here to check it out at ThinkGeek.com

Pertelian External LCD Display v4

2007-01-13T13:53:00.000-06:00

Personal Assistant for Your Monitor

The Pertelian is your monitor's best friend. All day WOW sessions don't leave much time to display essentials like e-mail messages, or stock quotes. This handy backlit LCD display plugs into an extra USB port and gives you all kinds of useful data nuggets while your main display is busy with boring essentials like 3D graphics. Now the revised V4 model offers some incredible new features like monitoring of eBay auctions, streaming IRC chat and updates on the latest posts in your favorite forums. Plus if you've got some programming talents you can even code your own custom apps for Pertelian... and hey it looks great nestled between your quad flat-screen gaming setup.

The Pertelian Display has a budding homebrew community. Visit Pertelian.com for more information on writing custom Pertelian applications for Windows and Linux.

With a single keystroke, PertelianTM Monitor for eBay gives users continual access to eBay item listings. Pertelian displays current bid amounts, remaining time, and highest bidder without the user’s effort. This brings a new edge by providing a centralized item listings manager, complete with options to instantly display outbid and time remaining alerts.

Forum Watcher brings all of your forum threads into one application and gives users the ability to receive alerts when there is a new post or change. This feature assures the only time users check a thread is when there is new content. It also allows users to bring up selected threads instantly via hotkey.

Pertelian’s IRC Support feature will allow users to connect to one of the most widely used methods of chat, Internet Relay Chat. Favorite IRC channels are now accessible without the use of multiple windows and interruption of other applications.

Standard Features

POP email checking and reading email headers
Unique IM interface to reply to messages while inside a game or other application
Full control of supported media applications plus:
Sophisicated song search by title, artist, or track number for supported media applications
UltraSeek feature which automatically previews tracks in the middle of the song
Audio volume adjustment for system and supported media applications
Sports Scores– giving you real time sports scores
RSS feed aggregate
TeamSpeak Support - Finally see who's talking
Real-Time Stock Ticker with detailed stock information
Real-Time Network bandwidth usage
Expansive system information (CPU usage/Memory usage/IP information/Disk drive usage/Processes and thread usage/Uptime, and TONS more)
World-wide weather information and 10-day forcast
Quick Memo
Customizable hotkeys for quick and easy control

Supported Media and Communication Software

Winamp 2
WInamp 5
Apple Itunes
Windows Media Player 9
AOL Instant Messenger
ICQ
Yahoo Messenger
GAIM

General Requirements

Windows 2000 or Windows XP
Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
Microsoft .NET Runtime 1.1.4153 or later
800x600 or greater screen resolution

Hardware

Hitachi HD44780 based LCD character display
LCD inside a compact 4.5" x 2.5" x 0.85" enclosure
New larger LCD display sporting 20 columns by 4 lines text display with font size 5x7 dots
Built in characters plus 8 user defined characters
Electroluminescent light green backlight
Also includes Velcro attachment
Includes custom stand
USB 1.0+ interface
Communicate over USB interface with attached 6' cable

Click here to buy it from ThinkGeek.com

Firepod - USB and FireWire Power in your Car

2007-01-11T13:35:00.000-06:00

Enjoy the convenience of powering your iPOD in your car and the ability to use a single charger for many FireWire powered devices. Also, the convenience of charging cell phones, PDAs, other USB MP3 players and even Gameboy Advance SP on the road with a USB charger.

The USB port of the Firepod is regulated to the strict standard of USB power specification; works with popular bus-charging devices such as USB link cable for popular portable devices (PDA, cell phones, etc). The FireWire port of the Firepod outputs a steady and regulated current that is identical to your Apple FireWire port, so you don’t have to worry about battery-butchering power surge from accelerating and braking in everyday commute. Firepod is also bundled with the fireCable, a unique cable that provides universal FireWire bus-power without occupying any precious FireWire data port, great for PC iPOD user who is currently using a 6-to-4 Pin FireWire adapter.

The Firepod also has these great features.

Designed to match with your iPOD
Provides FireWire bus-power and USB bus-power
USB port works with iPaq USB charger, cellular phone USB charger, PDA USB chargers
Simultaneous usage for both USB and FireWire
Fits into any 12V automotive DC power source
Triplet LED to indicate power source, and bus-power usage
Computer-tested and regulated electrical voltage/current, for both USB and FireWire; prevent battery-life reduction
Fuse protected against over-current protection
Bundled with FireCable, Universal FireWire Power System

Click here to purchase this at ThinkGeek.com

USBCell - USB Powered AA Battery

2007-01-17T13:31:00.000-06:00

APPLY DIRECTLY TO USB PORT!

Rechargeable batteries are great! They power all our favorite gadgets. Without them, we'd be tossing all these alkaline batteries and their caustic chemicals back into the environment, and that's a recipe for bad times.

The problem with rechargeables is the myriad plugs, ports, sockets and bays you need to have around to keep them filled with electrons. Oh, the battery's dead, but where's that dang recharger? Sound familiar? Then, one day, an enterprising geek built the charger into the battery. Not just any charger, mind you. They used a standard USB port built right into the battery.

Now, when your batteries are flatlining, pop the cap, and jam 'em into your nearest ubiquitous USB port. Whether it's on your computer, laptop, monitor or powered USB hub, all you need is 250mA of juice from your universal serial bus, and a little patience. In just a few hours, you'll have 1300mAH of power!

Two AA batteries per order.

Click here to order from ThinkGeek.com

USB Microscope - QX5

2007-01-17T13:23:00.000-06:00

This computer microscope allows you to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary for hours of fun and learning. View specimens collected around the house, backyard, your desk, or the fridge. Look at the micro-printing on a dollar bill or examine the traces on your motherboard. This microscope provides you an easy way to zoom in on a wide variety of objects to satisfy your curiosity of the world around you. Ever wondered what lint looks like or the mold growing on your week-old bagels? Now you can find out.

Simple plug and play operation with included software that allows you to magnify objects and view them on your PC up to 200X and take snapshots and time-lapse movies. You can also manipulate images with drawing and painting tools. The QX5 microscope is detachable from the stand to allow you to get closer to large objects.

The USB Microscope QX5 has these great features:

Take snapshots, video, and time-lapse movies
3 magnification levels - 10X, 60X, and 200X
Super-brite LED lighting for bright top and bottom illumination
Video playback at 15 frames/sec
Resolution of 640x480
Software works with Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP
Handheld mode allows for expanded viewing possibilities
Comes with: Microscope, USB cable, Stand, Specimen Jars, Sample Slide, Tweezers, Eye Dropper, Slide Clip, and Software CD-ROM

Click here to buy it at ThinkGeek.com

Restoration - Undelete your files safely and for free!

2002-06-04T07:53:00.000-05:00

This is another portable app that I carry with me on my USB drive. It consists of an EXE and two DLLs, so it is best to keep it in its own folder. Total file size is about 413KB, unzipped.

The purpose of this program is to help you recover or restore files that have been deleted. It works on Fat12, Fat16, Fat32 and NTFS (compressed NTFS too). It will not work on encrypted NTFS.

Click to Enlarge
The very best part of this program is that it works without needing to be installed. If you accidentally deleted a file, you don't want to go installing software on your hard drive as this will lessen your chance of recovering your lost file(s). This program can run straight from your USB drive and restore things from just about any drive mounted in your system. I even used it to undelete pictures deleted from my camera. The camera (a fuji s5000) was plugged into my computer via its usb cable and it was showing up as a drive under "my computer" I just ran Restoration, pointed it to my XD card and voila! The picts that my nephew deleted were back.

The newest version of this program that I've been able to find is 2.5.14 and I can't seem to find a publisher's website for it. The program is downloadable here (161KB).

Security- TrueCrypt Part 04

2006-10-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

TrueCrypt Part 04

Below is the formatting screen displaying the progress of the formatted file in my case.

Formatting...
Click to Enlarge

Now the results from the format.

Results.

The next dialog screen completes the formatting process.

Volume created.
Click to Enlarge

This ends Part 04 tomorrow Part 05

TrueCrypt website is here

Part 01 here
Part 02 here
Part 03 here
Part 04 here

Security- TrueCrypt Part 03

2006-10-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

TrueCrypt Part 03

Just for the heck of it I took a snapshot of the passwords.

Encryption selections.
Click to Enlarge

Yes I know the passwords are too short... But for this application that is fine.

Encryption selections.

Now you are preparing the formatting of the file space. Move your mouse around the dialog box any which way and every which way. Make this movement as random as you can get to give the application a truely unique key.

Encryption selections.
Click to Enlarge

This ends Part 03 tomorrow Part 04

TrueCrypt website is here

Part 01 here
Part 02 here
Part 03 here

Security- TrueCrypt Part 01

2006-10-04T17:43:00.000-05:00

TrueCrypt Part 01

Found an awesome program that will work well on a flash/USB drive. I have often been concerned to inadvertently loose my flash drive. That is why I have not put any files of a sensitive nature on it. Well no more. TrueCrypt changes all that.

This is going to be a several post thread. I have got all the screen shots made and am writing up the content.. There are some nuances in the creation of the security file that I ran into that would have made it a lot quicker set up if someone had walked me through the process, which is what I hope to do here.

Below is a snippet of some of its feature set

Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.

Encrypts an entire hard disk partition or a storage device such as USB flash drive.

Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.

Provides two levels of plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password:

1) Hidden volume.

2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (volumes cannot be distinguished from random data).

Screen shots follow

After installing TrueCrypt (yes in you can run it without the install after file creation) launch the application and the following screen will appear.

Start here
Click to Enlarge

Next select the Create Volume button and the following screen appears. For this tutorial I will be creating a standard volume and then after that is done adding into it a hidden volume. It took me a while to figure all the key strokes and getting the light to go on in my head when it did not show up. DUH its hidden. Its not supposed to... Anyway.

Create a standard TrueCrypt volume
Click to Enlarge

Click Next and get to the following screen. On this screen input where you want TrueCrypt to do its magic. In my case I chose my flash drive which was conveniently labeled F drive. I chose an innocuouss looking name test.ppt as the TrueCrypt repository file space. Hey most everybody has seen the powerpoint extension, and if anybody does try to run it and it will bark that it does not work then hopefully they think it is corrupted.

Choose Volume location or file.
Click to Enlarge

This ends Part 01 tomorrow Part 02

TrueCrypt website is here

Security- TrueCrypt Part 02

2006-10-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

TrueCrypt Part 02

In the following caption I just basically left the defaults... For now I was not going to worry about getting fancy and I do not have a handle on all the different cryptology methods so I just went with what TrueCrypt suggested.

Encryption selections.
Click to Enlarge

Pretty simple here I choose a reasonable size for the file size knowing I would use most of it for the hidden partition.

Volume size.
Click to Enlarge

Next choose your main "Normal" password. This is the password you will use to put regular non critical but critical looking files so as to throw off any bad guys should you be forced to give up your password.

Password setup.
Click to Enlarge

This ends Part 02 tomorrow Part 03

TrueCrypt website is here

Part 01 here

Portable Applications - USBWarez Collection

2006-05-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

Just in case you're wondering what we're calling a "portable application," check out this post for a description.

Here's a list of portable apps that we've reviewed:

Pstart

Notepad ++

Wild Rename by Cylog Software

ColorSchemer ColorPix

HTTrack - Website Copier

CyberShredder - Be sure your files are deleted!

Restoration - Undelete your files safely and for free!

Pstart

2006-09-19T12:50:00.000-05:00

Pstart
I have been getting my usb flash stick in order. Doing some clean up and consolidation and also was looking for more portable apps. Well I found a really neat one. It is called Pstart by Pegtop software.

I found it here at PortableApps.com

Basically what this is a small portable application that resides on your flash drive and is sort of "ATC - Air Traffic Control" for your apps.

It comes in 2 versions an install and a portable USB one. I obviously choose the USB one called PStart U3 that was listed on the download page.

Pstart

Pix follow

General

Tray

Items

Search

Notes

Mouse

Design

Miscellaneous

Here is some data from the Pegtop Pstart site

The portable installation has to be used if you want to install PStart to a removable device. There is no uninstaller, you have to remove all (currently two) files manually, if you don't want to use Pstart any more. Settings are stored for exactly this installation, so if you need more than one configuration (for multiple accounts), you have to install PStart several times to different folders. You can use the portable installation for your hard disk, too, but it's treated just like a portable installation (no uninstaller, autostart has to be created manually...).

This nifty litte application sure does make it easier to have in one spot a place to launch all your favorite tools.

Give it a shot. You probably wonder how you got along without it.

The website is here.

Review: USB Copy Cruiser Plus from Aleratec

2006-04-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

The USB Copy Cruiser Plus is a USB copy device with the additional convenience of an 8-in-1 card reader. The unit will copy from one memory device to another or from one memory device to a USB flash drive without the need of a PC. This OTG (On-The-Go) USB technology is very useful and the USB Copy Cruiser Plus proves to be just that, useful. For the small foot-print and compact size, just bigger then your palm, the product performs well, is easy to use and provides clear and precise feedback.

When I received the USB Copy Cruiser Plus I was surprised at how small and light the unit was - add three AAA batteries and I was off playing and testing. The feel of the USB Copy Cruiser Plus is nice, fits well in your hand and custom push-button navigation setup is easy to use and has a nice tactile feel. The LCD is a 4x20 display which is easy to read in medium or low light, bright light might prove to be a little challenging, but expected for LCD without back lighting.

The memory card slots are on the top left of the unit which can be accessed via the top-side of the USB Copy Cruiser Plus. There are three USB ports on the bottom left side where by two ports are used to connect to standalone devices such as MP3 players, cameras, flash drives and other mass storage devices and a third USB port is used for PC connection.

The USB Copy Cruiser Plus is USB 2.0 High Speed compatible when connected to a PC/MAC and being used as a card reader. I noticed you cannot access USB devices through the USB Copy Cruiser Plus when connected to the PC, during this operation only the card reader is functioning and at 2.0 High Speed. Often times there are limited USB ports on laptops and it would be nice to use not only the card reader ports, but also access USB devices through the Copy Cruiser when connected to a host computer. The card reader supports Compact Flash Type I/II, MicroDrive, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Multi Media Card and Secure Digital cards. The USB Copy Cruiser Plus will support and recognize all FAT file systems (FAT12, FAT 16 and FAT32) but not NTFS, which makes sense since FAT files systems are universal and NTFS is only Windows compatible.

The USB Copy Cruiser Plus performed as expected. The menu screen is very easy to read and navigate. The display will immediately tell you when a memory card or USB device is connected via logos on the top of the screen. From this point, the arrow keys are used to navigate into a device and once there, the top logo turns solid color to indicate the device is selected. Next you arrow 'right' to enter the device, then easily select files or folders to copy via the center circle button, which is the enter key. I believe the user interface is very logical given all the requests and commands needed to perform a task. Once started, the USB Copy Cruiser Plus displays the exact file being copied and a time-bar indicating when that specific file will be complete, then moves on to next file to be copied. Upon completion the device will display "Finished." To copy from memory card to memory card you must use the "duplicate" command rather then the "copy" command which is used when copying to a USB flash drive.

The data transfer speeds where again, acceptable and good for the right application and use. Since the USB Copy Cruiser Plus is not USB 2.0 High Speed when transferring from memory device to memory device I saw the following during our informal testing: Memory Stick to USB flash drive; 321Kb/sec, Compact Flash to USB flash drive; 296Kb/sec and when connected to a PC transfer rates where in the neighborhood of 2.2MB/sec. I did see a significant slow down when copying from memory card to memory card, for example from Memory Stick to Compact Flash, transfer rates dropped to 4.6Kb/sec. Although speed is not the first priority with this product, it is clear that convenience and ease-of-use is a priority and Aleratec has succeeded in that endeavor.

The USB Copy Cruiser Plus is a good product for someone on the go. It's ability to copy from numerous USB devices to flash memory, or visa versa makes for a "must have" for professionals on the go. The copier simplifies the process for many tasks including photographers looking to off-load data from their digital camera, quickly share data between people without booting up a computer, or use as a one-to-one USB flash drive duplicator.

In conclusion, if you are going to invest money into a memory card reader you should spend a little extra money and purchase the USB Copy Cruiser Plus from Aleratec. Along with the fast USB 2.0 High Speed card reader, the USB Copy Cruiser Plus also provides a host of copy and duplicating features which you will quickly find to be a valuable tool. Ideal for the professional on the go and price right at around $65USD, this small USB and memory card copier and reader is a good investment to your office arsenal of digital products.

Reviewed by: Gmo April 9, 2006 permalink with images: http://getusb.info/?p=175

Gmo runs the GetUSB.info website which is a USB News and Information website focused on USB products, USB gadgets and developments using the USB (Universal Serial Bus) technology.

ColorSchemer ColorPix

2006-06-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a nifty utility that really helps when you need to get a specific color quickly. Usually I am looking around, as we all are, on the net and find a site that has a really cool color. "What is that color?" Well, with ColorSchemer you can readily snip that color with all its data. Any of the color models, RGB, HEX, HSB or CMYK, information can be gleaned from the pointed to color.

From their website:

ColorPix is a useful little color picker that grabs the pixel under your mouse and transforms it into a number of different color formats.

You can use the built-in magnifier to zoom in on your screen, click on a color value to copy it directly to the clipboard, and even keep ColorPix on top of all other apps and out of the way.

And what's really cool and fits along the line of this site. It does not need to be installed!

Here is the link to download to the application.

Compact

Expanced view

Give this app a shot, I think you will come to find "How did I ever get along without it!!"

Notepad ++

2006-07-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a great application that replaces the traditional notepad that ships with your OS. Its called Notepad ++ or Notepad PlusPlus. This handy app has become my default editor for most of my coding, as well has some of my friends.

Bookmark
Click to Enlarge

More pix follow

Brace Highlighting
Click to Enlarge

Find All
Click to Enlarge

HTML
Click to Enlarge

Multi_view
Click to Enlarge

Listed below are some of the useful features included in Notepad ++

Syntax Highlighting and Syntax Folding

WYSIWYG

User Defined Syntax Highlighting

Auto-completion

Multi-Document

Multi-View

Regular Expression Search/Replace supported

File Status Auto-detection

Bookmark

Brace and Indent guideline Highlighting

And lastly here are the instructions that allow you to replace your current notepad with Notepad ++.

...
Installation Instruction:

Backup your original Notepad.exe (we never know...).
Copy notepad.exe which comes with this package into 3 directories (in given order) :
c:\windows\system32\dllcache
c:\windows\system32
c:\windows

When you replace notepad.exe in c:\windows\system32 and c:\windows, a "Windows File Protection" message box appears, click Cancel. Then another message box appears, click OK.

Modify you registry (if you use installer to install your Notepad++, you don't need to do this step): Create key \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Notepad++, then add your Notepad++ full path as the default value of this key. In my case, it's C:\Program Files\Notepad++.
Now Notepad++ is your default Notepad.

...

Notepad ++ home page
Give this app a shot I think you will be very impressed

Wild Rename by Cylog Software

2006-06-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Heres a cool little application that does not require installation. Just chuck it on your usb drive and lett'r rip. WildRename by Cylog Software.

Finally a better application that really is missing from Windows. Here is a multiple file rename utility with tons of customizations.

With Cylog's WildRename you now have the ability to:

Rename a group of files all at once

Create or undo files

Recurse into directory tree, rename directories

Convert filenames to lower and UPPER case

Insert/delete letters from filenames

Regular Expression support

Ability to de/activate jobs

Home page of WildRename
Download WildRename here

Pix follow

Main screen shot
Click to Enlarge

Shot #2
Click to Enlarge

Check it out, its a keeper..

What's a USB Hub?

2006-04-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

Since the mid 90's we have seen the birth and growth of a connective technology called Universal Serial Bus (USB). Originally designed to connect computers and telecoms equipment, it has slowly become the primary means of connecting a whole host of other devices and has made significant contributions to today's IT world.

The sheer number of USB products on the market today is just staggering, from mice and keyboards, modems, external hard drives to USB fans, lights and coffee cup warmers! Most external computer related devices today connect to a computer via a USB port. So it's no wonder that before long, most computer users find themselves wondering what to do when the USB ports (sockets) on their computer are all used.

There are two solutions to the problem, constantly plug and unplug connectors when swapping between USB devices, or invest in a simple, low cost device called a USB Hub. A USB Hub is a small unit with two or more USB ports, which plugs into an USB port on your computer, allowing you the freedom to connect more USB devices without disconnecting others. Expanding the number of USB ports of your computer in this way not only saves wear and tear on your USB ports and connectors, but also puts and end to all that clambering around behind your PC! Generally speaking, there are four types of available:

1. Internal USB PCI Card
An internal PCI USB Card needs to be installed by opening up the case of your PC and inserting a card into a vacant PCI slot on the motherboard, this type of USB expansion is not advised unless you are familiar with working with and inside computers. If you have the older USB1.1 and upgrade to USB2.0, your version of Windows will also need to be updated so that your PC can support USB2.0 functionality.

2. USB Hub (Non Powered)
An external non-powered USB Hub is a cheap and simple device that plugs directly into one of your computer's existing USB ports and that's all there is to it. These are usually very compact and so make ideal solutions for mobile users with laptops and for desktop users.

Be aware that some USB devices require a small amount of power through the USB port, usually mechanical devices such as printers, scanners, digital cameras and so on. This type of USB Hub may not be able to supply adequate power to these devices especially if you are using a few USB devices together.

3. Powered USB Hub
An external Powered USB Hub is also compact and plugs directly into one of your computer's existing USB ports, so again there is no need to open up your computer to install it. The only difference is that the Powered Hub comes with a separate power supply that must be plugged into the mains socket, supplying the power to all the USB ports on the hub allowing ANY type of USB devices to function properly.

Most Powered Hubs come with a sensible length of USB cable allowing the Hub itself to be positioned in a more accessible place e.g. on top of your computer or on your desk, making plugging and unplugging USB devices much easier. This makes the Powered Hub the all round best solution for desktop computer users.

4. USB PC Card
If you use a Laptop and are on the move, you have an additional choice to the USB Hub, the USB PC Card also known as the PCMCIA USB Card. This device slots into the PCMCIA slot/port found on the side of a Laptop and instantly provides two extra USB ports without using up any of your existing USB ports on the Laptop.

This is the most popular solution for mobile Laptop users. When buying a suitable external USB Hub, consider the location of your computer's USB ports. If they are located at the back of your computer or in an awkward position, you can make your life so much easier by using a USB Hub that comes with a USB extension cable, or by buying a separate USB extension cable. This allows the USB Hub to be positioned to a more accessible place for plugging and unplugging your USB devices.

Article by Iggy Quazi director of Ecommerce business Mouse2House based in Essex, England stocking a wide range of digital imaging devices. For more info see http://www.mouse2house.co.uk for the latest digital media products. For Flash Memory Cards visit http://www.mouse2house.co.uk/index.php?CatURN=637.

5 Tips For Buying An External Hard Drive

2006-05-23T11:08:00.000-05:00

So you've finally decided to buy an external hard drive as a backup option for your computer. This is a great choice for you because you're making backing up your data faster and easier than you could ever have imagined. You're also making your data far more portable in larger quantities than before.

You'll no longer be limited to storing a few hundred megabytes or even several gigabytes. Nope. Now you can look forward to portable and reliable storage capacities ranging into terabytes. That frustrating desktop computer or network file server backup job just got a whole lot easier.

If you've never bought an external hard disk before then there's a few pointers here that may help to have on your shopping list before you go and make that final purchase.

1. Buy A Brand
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a brand name that you easily recognize. Sure these may cost a little more than brand x but with computer accessories like this you really do get what you pay for. If a Western Digital 100GB external drive costs $200 and another brand x 100GB drive costs $80 why do you think that is? Because the company likes you? Because they like making smaller profits? No it's because it's a cheaper drive made with inferior parts that's going to break a lot sooner than you might expect.

The other aspect of sticking with a brand is your warranty. For example Maxtor, Western Digital and Iomega are all reliable companies and well known for their external hard disks. If something goes wrong with your drive you can have it fixed. With brand x you'll probably not even be able to find an email address that you can contact the parent company on. Is saving a few dollars worth that risk?

2. Google It
Whatever brand or model you decide on make sure you do some research before purchasing. Always, always Google the exact brand and model of the drive you're considering buying. Look for reviews and especially any feedback on how reliable a drive is. You'll be very surprised to find that some companies have particularly bad reputations in terms of equipment reliability and what's known as the "click of death" in the external hard drive industry.

Spend time in Google checking out your prospective purchase. You'll be glad that you did.

3. Connectivity
When it comes to external hard drives you'll need to choose carefully when selecting your connection types. Your external hard drive will support either USB or Firewire. Firewire is the fastest option available at the moment but your computer may not support this. The vast majority of modern computers will, however, feature a USB port.

The next question now is what type of USB port do you have - USB 1.0 or 2.0? If your computer only has a USB 1.0 port then your external hard drive is going to transfer data VERY slowly. USB 2.0 is the minimum you should consider as connection options for both your computer and your external hard drive. If you don't have a USB 2.0 port (also called HiSpeed USB) on your computer you may need to get a USB 2.0 card fitted.

4. Speed
Now of course we need to talk about speed. The faster your hard drive operates the faster data will get transferred to your computer and vice versa. Without boggling you with comptuer jargon there's a couple of technical things you need to include on your shopping list.

Seek time - this needs to be 10ms (milliseconds) or less

Buffer size - more is better. Get a drive with at least a 4MB buffer.

RPM - higher is better. 5400rpm as a minimum. 7200rpm being preferred.

Stick to the above basic pointers and you'll do just fine.

5. Size
This is the simple part of the whole "buying an external hard drive" equation. Buy as much as you can afford. If you can afford 100GB then get it. However if you can afford 200GB then get it. Then again if you scraped together a few dollars more you could afford 300GB then do it.

This isn't a sales pitch. Far from it. There is simply no such thing as having too much data storage space. The 160GB drive that I have here was filled up in a little under a month. Currently a terabye option sounds good for my future needs.

Always add 50% to your data storage requirements. Honestly. You'll thanks yourself within the first 90 days of buying your external drive.

Hopefully now you'll be better prepared for purchasing your new external hard drive. It's one of the best purchases you'll ever make.

Looking for the best external hard drive? Visit BackupAdvice.com for more information on your options.

Iggy Discovers USB Networking

2006-03-19T13:16:00.000-06:00

My new laptop is fantastic, with it's nice new squeaky-clean operating system it runs like a dream. But it wasn't long before I had to face the technical challenge of getting all my old data from my old desktop computer (which was bursting at the seams with data!) onto my new laptop.

I was also intending to format and give away my old computer, so I could not afford to lose any of this data in the process.

I sat down at my old computer and listed all of my important files to assess exactly what and how much data I needed to transfer over to the new laptop.

Including my pictures, MP3's, Office documents, work backup's and so on, I was looking at transferring about 20 Gigabytes worth of data, it seems to build up so quickly! Thank goodness for my new laptop's 100 Gigabyte Hard Drive, which will allow me to transfer all of my data to it and still have room for a lot more. I know that the main application programmes (Word, Excel and so on) from my old computer will all have to be reinstalled on to the new laptop from their original install disks, but how do I get all the rest of the data over to the new laptop?

Floppy disk? - no way, even if my laptop had a floppy disk drive I would need about 14,000 disks!

CD or DVD? - Both my new laptop and my old computer have CD ROM drives, to get all my data over using CD's I would need about 30 disks as well as some software to package all the data up nice and tidily across the 30 disks, viable but a lot of work and time needed. DVD's would be better but my old computer does not have a DVD drive! There must be an easier way.

USB Memory Stick? - Not really a viable option, the maximum capacity of the USB Memory Stick that I can afford is 512MB, so this would require about 40 swaps from the old computer to the new and as my old computer is only USB1.1 which transfers at 1.5 mega bytes this process is going to be possible but really slow.

Networking? - Apparently I could network my two machines together with a "Cross Wired Network lead" and a copy of "Networking Computers for Dummies", but unfortunately my old dinosaur of a computer does not have a network card! Network cards are cheap enough but I still don't want to spend any money on this old computer and really don't fancy fiddling around inside the desktop. Although it does sound good to be able to connect the two computers together and transfer the data through the cable.

This is when I came across a very handy cable called a USB Data Link Cable. Apparently I can just plug one end into the USB port on my old PC and the other end into the USB port on my new laptop and then as if by magic, I should have a USB Network between both computers. Now this sounds more like it! Both my computers have USB ports and even though my old computer is USB1.1 and my new laptop is USB2.0 the cable should work anyway, although the transfer rate will only be at the lower USB1.1 speed.

After finding more about this cable on the Internet I found out that it is also known as a USB File/Data Transfer Cable. Once connected, the transfer of data is done quickly and effortlessly by simply dragging and dropping files from one window to another, just as you normally would when moving files around on your system. So I ordered one online right away.

The USB Data Transfer Cable arrived the next day and I got down to the business of getting the thing to work, the hardest part was working out the blatantly "translated" instructions. All I had to do was install the included software from the CD, once only on each of my computers, then plug the cable into a USB port on each computer and run the software. Two Windows Explorer type windows appeared, one showing files on the laptop and the other showing files on the PC, then I simply dragged and dropped files between the two computers.

I was amazed, this USB cable solution was fantastic. It was so easy to set up and turned out to be the cheapest option by far at only £15 and much less hassle than any other option, almost too good to be true, magic!

Article by Iggy Quazi director of Ecommerce business Mouse2House based in Essex, England stocking a wide range of digital imaging devices. For more info visit the Mouse 2 House company website at http://www.mouse2house.co.uk where you will find the latest in digital media products.

What Is Memory Card Speed?

2006-05-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

In a few short years since the launch of the first 4Mb flash memory card, the number of flash memory cards available for digital cameras and other devices has exploded with a number of different formats and speeds of memory card. It's no wonder the average person is totally baffled by this plethora of memory cards.

Not only are there different shapes (the format) and sizes such as Secure Digital (SD) Compact Flash, Memory Stick etc, but also different speed ratings.

Memory card speed is the card's performance with regard to how quickly data can be transferred to or from it. The card speed is often stated in 'Times' ratings i.e. 12X, 40X etc (just as the speed of recordable CD's and DVD's is measured), and sometimes more specifically in megabytes per second (Mb/s). By today's measure, sub 20X represents a standard speed, 20X to 40X is mid-high speed and over 40X is high speed. The chart below shows the relationship between the two figures.

8X = 1.2 Mb/sec
12X = 1.8 Mb/sec
20X = 3.0 Mb/sec
25X = 3.8 Mb/sec
30X = 4.5 Mb/sec
40X = 6.0 Mb/sec
60X = 9.0 Mb/sec
66X = 10.0 Mb/sec
80X = 12.0 Mb/sec
90X = 15.0 Mb/sec
133X = 20.0 Mb/sec

Why do we need different or higher speeds cards?
This is mainly due to the advancement of our digital devices, especially digital cameras, camcorders and music devices. As manufacturers develop higher and higher spec devices (i.e. higher resolution cameras and more intense multi-media functions), they are creating increasingly larger amounts information to store pictures, movies, music and so on. This in turn takes longer to record onto the memory card. For example if you have ever used a high megapixel camera with a standard speed card you may have noticed the time lag between pressing the shutter button and being able to take the next picture. This lag or delay, in most cases is caused by a slow write speed, similarly copying your photos to your PC could take time too and is caused by a slow read speed.

So who really needs high-speed memory cards?
Professional photographers and enthusiasts using professional grade cameras such as digital SLR's should use high-speed memory cards of at least 40X speed. If you own a camera with a megapixel rate above three million pixels, you will certainly benefit from a card with a higher speed rating. If you're like most of us using a compact camera under 3 million pixels, you'll get great performance from standard cards with 12X or more.

Those using digital camcorders and devices recording MP3 music or video will also benefit from higher speed cards. It used to be the case where very few people would actually benefit from very high-speed cards, typically only professionals who used expensive, specialized products benefited, but it's fast becoming a requirement on many of the latest PDA's, Cameras, phones and other mobile devices to make use of the extra speed made available by high speed cards.

People using high speed memory cards with equipment that has been on the market a while may not notice any difference in performance, but this has more to do with the limitations of the device than the flash card itself. This is because not only does your memory card have a maximum speed rating, but your camera or mobile phone will also have its own speed rating. When these products are combined, they'll work at the "slowest common denominator" e.g. if you use a 12X flash card in a camera with a designed for a maximum of 8X speed, you'll be transferring data at the slower 8X speed.

You should always check the capacity of your device before splashing out on mega fast cards, but determining the speed compatibility of your device can be tricky. Most manuals just don't tell you what speed of flash card you should use, now that would be far too easy, but they do tell you to buy their brand, which isn't much help! So a general rule of thumb, if your camera is less than three megapixels the speed rating of the flash card doesn't matter much. Most modern cameras have the ability to support far higher speeds than the cards available to purchase today, therefore, if speed is of importance, go for a faster card. Most mobile phones, PDA's and Satellite Navigators are fine with standard speed cards although some newer models will benefit from higher speed cards but not generally over 60X speed.

The internet is a good resource to find out about your device, but in our experience the device retailer and forums are not always the best source of information, you would be better to seek information from the manufacture's website or from dependable review sites.

If you are in any doubt about the card you require or even desire, you can always call us at Mouse2house.co.uk on 0845 257 2088 and we will do our best to guide you in the right direction.

Article by Iggy Quazi director of Ecommerce business Mouse2House based in Essex, England stocking a wide range of digital imaging devices. For more info see http://www.mouse2house.co.uk for the latest digital media products. For Flash Memory Cards visit http://www.mouse2house.co.uk/index.php?CatURN=637.

3.5" FDD (Floppy Disk Drive) is Dead! Long live the USB Drive!

2006-05-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the last time you used the FDD drive of your computer, and for what? Chance is if you have used it then it would be for some emergency booting of the computer, or for recovery of your broken OS. Meaning you would have not used it for data transfer using this medium.

Currently this magnetic medium is fast getting replaced by the “flash Rom” drives that we also know by Pen Drive or USB Drive. This new medium is killing the old magnetic medium for its reliability, speed and ever growing capacity.

Historically the secondary storage is always in the realm of change. Technology and needs are always pushing the medium smaller, faster, more reliable, secure and of expanding capacity. Just like some 10 years back the 5.25” dives were replaced by this 3.5” drives for smaller size and larger capacity.

History

History of secondary storage is quiet interesting, as it has seen the use of papers to silicon to optical medium. With each generation it gets better, faster and smaller is size and always increasing the storage capacity.

Paper Punch Card
Paper Punch cards used initially as the first external storage device. It used paper card/roll with holes as data. Meaning a hole was zero, and no hole was one. Programmers used to punch the card for providing input. Card printers were there to punch the output for storage.

Floppy Drive (8”)
Once the magnetic media started to be used for storage, paper media was quickly made obsolete. Magnetic disks of round shape emerged as the standard for secondary storage device. It became very popular as it was more robust and handy than the paper roll, and could store more data.

Floppy Drive (5.25”)
Further advancement in the material and magnetic technology provided better density and provided much higher storage capacity in smaller area. Now the disks also started to become double sided providing even more data storage area in the same size disks.

Floppy Drive (3.5”)
This media peaked with the 3.5” FDD that was small and sturdy enough to be carred in the jeans pocket. Its case also provided cover even for the area that is used for reading, resulting in more protection from dust and humidity even when the floppy was not in any cover.

Zip Drive
This drive released in 1994 by a company called Iomega was capable of holding 100MB of data. This also uses the magnetic coating like the regular floppy disks, but of higher quality and of superior technology. Due to this it needs specialized drives for reading and writing on this media. This made it a good backup drive (like tape drives), but not good for using it on any machine. Currently generation of Zip Disks can hold upto 250MB of data.

Flash Drive (USB Drive)
Also known as Pen Drive is the next revolution in secondary portable storage device. Initially emerged with couple of MB storage capacity, it quickly gained attraction due to its solid state rugged construction and its capability of being used on any computer equipped with USB port. Initially it needed a specific driver to be installed on the earlier OS in order to be used, but later, due to its universally open standard and rise in use of the USB port, its support was provided natively in the OS. (Windows/Macintosh/Linux supports it natively out of the box).

So now virtually nothing more is needed for this drive to work if you have a computer with a standard USB port. Though the manufacturers are also providing additional features to the hardware like encryption, but these features generally requires additional software/driver to be installed in order to be used. And since there is not much standard for these features yet it is mostly device specific and is largely ignored for its lack of compatibility.

This standardization of protocol has lead to not only popularity of the USB flash drives, but has also provided a common way for other media to act as drive via this protocol. So now there are storage products making use of this standard to become USB drives (also called USB Mass Storage). Example includes:
- USB Hard Disk Drives
- Zip Drive with USB interface
- digital camera acting as an USB drive for accessing the photographs directly on any computer
- PDAs like Palm that already connect to the computer using USB acts as a USB drive for accessing the data stored in its memory and SD/MMC Card
- Mp3 players that doubles as USB drive!!

The list of applications are getting bigger and bigger, ultimately making this drive a very popular and successful.

Currently 1 GB USB flash drives are available, and bigger drives are on the horizon.

Portable USB HDD
As mentioned above this medium is also getting popular and is popular mainly for higher speed and capacity than what is currently provided by the USB flash drive. On the flip side it is still fragile (as having moving element) and bulkier than the flash drive.

Holographic Drives
Last but not the least is this future product. This is the media of the future that uses technology that is still in its infancy - holography. Though holography and holograms are not new and was discovered in the late 1940s, but its application for data storage is something very new. A company called InPhase Technologies is one of the forerunners in this field that has prototyped disks that can hold 200GB to 1.6TB of data. This technology uses lasers for reading and writing the data.

Why FDD is dying
Using this 1.44MB floppy disk drive was always bit unreliable. We can all recall the "Sector 0 Bad" error, and myriad number of utilities supporting various recovery and advanced modifications like:
- One marking sectors bad (NDD - Norton Disk Doctor and its surface scan (ultimately acquired by Symantec and is part of its Norton Utilities Toolset right now).
- Another very popular utility was to create another zero sector if the actual one was gone bad.

So what is remaining in the way of death of this magnetic medium? Only time!

As of now few features still needs the magnetic floppy disk drive, like for booting for the first time, or for upgrading BIOS of the motherboard etc. This is due to it’s (FDDs) easy of programming at the lower level and more importantly for its inbuilt support in the BIOS program. So as soon as the modern BIOS start supporting the USB drives (motherboards have now started to come with this support) the floppy days are numbered.

Current Support of USB Devices by the Motherboard/BIOS
The current motherboards and BIOS have started the support of USB drive as boot device. Meaning you can have your whole operating system on this device, or simply use it as the bootable floppy (imaging carrying your whole work including the programs and applications on a small keychain). Depending on the mode of usage resources are available on the Internet for configuring your USB drive. Please checkout the links provided below where it provides tips and tricks of doing so.

Speaking of easy of use of using this feature, the problem lies with the (Windows) OS right now that does not support making the USB drive bootable. It does allow you to format the USB drive and choose the file system format, but Make Booteble option is not present at all. Never mind as there are lot of tools and utilities available (for all popular OS) that supports making it bootable, though you will have to struggle a bit.

Future
As you see there is very little need of Floppy Disks for any use/operation and is getting replaced fast by the USB drives. Already major computer vendors have made FDD as optional feature. Now the time has come of the USB flash drive over the demise of the FDD.

By Akhilesh Singh

Visit author's site for more information about the author as well as get access to more articles on various topics. http://www.akhilesh.in.