Remember how cool flash drives were when they first came out a few years ago? As the storage capacity of the drives gets bigger and the technology needed to make one gets more miniaturized, there is now room for adding more features to the standard pocket-sized driver.

Enter eNECESSITIES, a company that will brand your slogan or message to their line of products so you can hand them out as company Christmas gifts to the employees or tech swag to clients that visit your firm’s convention booth. eNECESSITIES’ latest novelty is the USB Sound Flash Drive, a little innovation that could drive you insane if it falls into the wrong hands. Plug this USB into your computer and an audio message (up to 20 seconds) is played from the unit’s integrated speaker. Some people will load on their favorite song or a cute message …

This tiny 1 inch hard drive is interesting to see in light of recent industry advances in flash memory, since the Pocketec Nano is actually a spinning hard drive.

The small USB 2.0 device is powered and transfers data through a USB interface and saves data onto the tiny plates of a hard disk at a rate of up to 480Mbps. The HDD has a capacity of 12GB and is in an enclosure measuring only 38mmx38mmx15mm. The tiny USB interface drive is compatible with Window 98/SE/ME/2000/2003 server/XP/Vista and MAC OS 8.6.

More information can be found about the Pocketec Nano at the Korean Pocketec website, and will be retailing for around $210 USD.

Source: Aving via Engadget

This IDE to USB adapter from Vantec is a really handy tool. Whether you are trying to retrieve data from a hard drive or looking for some simple external storage, this makes the connection very simple.

The IDE to USB adapter had a 140cm cable that has an IDE interface on one end and a USB 2.0 interface on the other; pretty simple. The IDE interface is a 3.5″, but the device has a small adapter that brings it down to the 2.5″ models as well. When the cables are connected and the hard drive is powered up, the computer automatically detects the external HDD hardware and you can start transferring files. No software is needed for Windows XP or 2000, and the device is compatible with Windows 98/ME/XP/2000 as well as Mac OS 8.6 and above.

Powering the …

It’s a well known secret; I guess then that it’s not really a secret, that you can get HDTV broadcasts over the airwaves. That’s right; if you have an HDTV tuner you can pick up many of the local stations that broadcast in High-Def. If you’re a mobile type and travel a lot and you want to watch HDTV broadcasts anywhere with an HDTV signal, you are in luck. AutumnWave’s OnAir HDTV-GT lets you connect an HDTV tuner to your laptop or PC with a USB connection.

The HDTV-GT features a remote control and DVR features so you can record and watch your High-Def shows any time you want. A rather surprising feature is that the HDTV-GT allows you to receive QAM signals, the unencrypted cable signals that cable companies sometimes use to broadcast local stations. …

Buffalo is a worldwide company that provides network solutions for home and work, including wireless networking and storage to memory and multimedia devices.

The company recently released a wireless LAN adapter to improve WiFi signals for your PC. The wireless adapter is designed for use by PC’s that do not currently have WiFi built in, or in situations where the wireless signal is poor due to distance.

The WiFi adapter from Buffalo connects to a PC via USB 2.0 and states that in improve signals up to 210% of the average WiFi adapter at distances up to 170 meters (about 1/10th of a mile). This adapter could be a good solution for working with a notebook outside your home, or in a motel or conference center in places with weak WiFi signals.

The downside is that the non-direction antenna is not very small…or particularly attractive. …

LaCie announced the release of its new external Blu-ray capable DVD Burner. Named the “LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive,” it supports external connection via either USB or FireWire. LaCie made the announcement at CES 2007. The company is claiming that the d2 is one of the first of its kind.

The d2 is capable of writing 25GB of data to a normal Blu-ray disk and 50GB of data to a dual layer disk. There is also built in capabilities to burn DVD’s and CD’s. Burning speeds for Blu-ray are 2x, normal DVD at 8x, CD-R at 24x and CD-RW’s at 16x.

The unit is compatible with either Mac OS X or Windows XP. Support for Vista hasn’t been announced at this time.

The unit comes bundled with Easy Media Creator 8.2, Cineplayer 3.4 (HD playback) and Toast 7.1.1 …

This 4-port USB hub is split into 5 different sections that each rotate independently 180 degrees to help avoid tangled up cords, and allows multiple items to be plugged in that may otherwise cover up adjacent ports.

The USB Twister Hub supports USB 1.1 and 2.0, and has an optional AC adapter (extra $4) to increase power output to high power consumption USB devices such as printers. Transfers speeds are up to 480Mbs.

The Twister Hub is cased in aluminum, weighs 46 grams and is 106mm long. The hub is available from Brando for $22 USD.

For those mobile entrepreneurs who still need the dreaded conference call, the conference room just got a little more mobile. No need to schedule out a conference room weeks in advance just to make sure you have access to the good speaker phone. Find a quiet room anyplace with an internet connection and you’re good to go. You just plug the Bluetooth adapter into a USB port on your laptop and an instant conference center is at your disposal.

The phone has its own batteries so you don’t even need A/C power if you have a laptop. The battery on the unit can be recharged from your laptops USB port.

This kit includes full support for Skype with built in Skype features like SkypeOUt and SkypeIn.

A headset may also be used with this device. The unit has built …

Now this is a memory stick. This memory stick is made for anyone looking to commune with nature, play fetch with their dog, or just bring a little taste of the outdoors into their cubicle.

The memory sticks are a creation from the Oooms Design Studio based in The Netherlands. The sticks were “made to stand out against its natural environment of computers and offices.”

The sticks are handpicked from the woods based on their beauty and uniqueness. Then they are handmade into a USB 2.0 memory stick. The sticks are available in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB sizes.

This certainly brings new meaning to the term “memory stick”. This is a nice break from the utilitarian design of most personal storage devices. Be warned, you might get a few double-takes around the office wearing one of these on a lanyard around your neck….

SanDisk is not the first to offer an SD card with USB, but I have to say I like this design a little better than the A-Data version simply because the removable portion of the card is hinge connected instead of being a part that is removed and can be lost.

The real feature here is that you are getting a USB interface built right into your SD card. Normally you would need some sort of SD card reader to insert your card into and transfer the data through a USB or other port. With the SanDisk Ultra II SD plus USB you do not need a reader since you can use this SD card in your camera, PDA or any other device that uses SD cards, and then remove it and connect directly to a USB port.

The …

The Proporta Travel Survival Kit includes some essential gear that you should bring with on your next trip to ensure all your gadgets have power. The Proporta Device Charger is also great as an emergency charger which can be recharged from any USB port.

The Kit includes the popular USB Mobile Device Charger, which is a USB Rechargeable Battery that ensures you always have extra power with you on your flight, on the train, in the airport, at a client - so you always have a backup. Just plug your USB-powered mobile device such as a smartphone, iPod, or digital camera into the battery’s standard USB port to recharge. The charger is very compact and light - measuring 3.9″ x 2.4″ x 0.6″ and weighing 4.2 oz. The charger holds as impressive 3400 mAH storage, or enough juice to recharge your devices several …

Getting over being afraid of it is the first step. After that this unique looking USB and FireWire hub can provide some extra ports and maybe keep some cords in some type of order.

In the alien-looking LaCie Huby design, you get 8 cables that are all flexible and twistable to avoid binding and tangling. It has 5 USB 2.0 cables and 3 FireWire 400 cables, but that is not all. Once you connect it to your PC or Mac, it also powers a little USB fan and a small USB light. This package also comes with 2 extension cables, one for USB and one for FireWire.

Catalog Page [Lacie]

Numerous times throughout the course of a normal week at work, a self destruct button like this could seem all too appropriate. Make sure someone else holds the key to ensure that more than one person is involved when the decision is made to “pull the trigger”. If nothing else this self-destruct gadget would make for a cool conversation piece or stress reliever on any desk or meeting room.

For functionally the device acts as probably the most unpractical 4-port USB hub ever, but aside from that it has a key switch, light, toggles and a big red cover-protected self destruct button that gives audio messages through your PC speakers when pressed (example in video below).

Once you get it plugged in, you can flip on the two toggles, switch on the key which activates a red light, and then flip open the safety cover …

Many times I have been sitting in a room working away on my PC wishing my feet were not so cold. If only there were a way to warm them up, maybe with electricity that I don’t have to plug into a wall outlet? Maybe with electricity from my computers USB port?!?!

Well, after intensive searching I’ve found my solution. These USB slippers are the answer to the cold feet problem of computer geeks everywhere. They are two independently adjusted foot warmers that plug into the USB port on your computer and heat up to the desired setting to keep your feet warm. No electrical outlet needed.

The cords come at 118cm in length, but any USB extension cable can make them longer, and you can adjust the heat and power on/off for each slipper with an inline control. The heater portion is zipped …

The TEW-445UB 108Mbps High Power Wireless USB 2.0 adapter is the latest USB adapter from TRENDnet. This adapter combines high output power with dual band 802.11b/g network compatibility to give you reliable WiFi connectivity to a variety of home, business, and 802.11 b/g hotspot locations at much greater distances.

The design of the TEW-445UB includes an extended cable connected to a high-powered, detachable antenna base. The base is installed and positioned to provide connectivity for any desktop or laptop PC giving you a range of up to 50-100 meters indoor or 150-300 meters outdoors (depending on the environment).

The device supports high output power up to 23dBM for network coverage and uses Atheros eXtended Range (XR) Technology to eliminate dead spots. Supporting advance power management, the adapter’s detachable antenna can be replaced with a higher gain antenna for an even farther wireless …