Friday, December 16, 2011

The 5 Most Innovative USB's You Will like to Own.




Right from its inception in the mid 1990s, the 3 inch long device popularly known as USB or Universal Serial Bus has gain wide acceptance, on the context of its usability, data reliability and most importantly portability. Seven giants IBM, Intel,Compaq, NEC, DEC, Nortel and Microsoft came together in 1994 for the development of its first USB 0.7. Since then the device has gone a huge upgradation from USB 1.0 supporting 1.5Mbit/s to the most  recent USB 3.0 which gives a maximum data transmission rate of 5Gbit/s.

An estimate says that till 2008 6 billion USB devices have been sold and about 2 billion USBs are being sold each year. With this increasing demand, definitely more addons are expected in the drive. Here is our attempt to list the top 5 most innovative concepts which will change the way you look at an USB. 

5)  USB/Battery duo Avatar

A rechargable AA battery which pop out as an USB connector and can also be used as a battery. Though the concept proposed by Wonchul Hwang is one of its kind but it raise a very basic question as; what will happen to the data if the battery gets overheated while charging.... 




The product is in concept development stage, and we can expect that many such issues will be addressed. Till that time lets move on...

4) Mnemosyne a $10,000 USB drive

Memnosyne is a cube measuring 72mm on each side; having 5 polished silver pieces housing a black piece, which is the real USB. The manufacturer claims that their USB is more of a puzzle which needs to be solved to reach the storage device inside it. So, even if your cube gets stealed, the thief has to be smart enough to solve the puzzle and get your data.




OK for the people who like solving Rubik's cube may find it interesting to solve and build the cube each time they transfer the data. But with the price tag that it has... it is definitely gonna be a status symbol than a peripheral.
If you feel like buying check more at Mnemosyne.


3) Clap the USB Camera Device

We are all snap happy people. Clicking photos, sharing it on social network has became our hobby. Though we can use our mobiles to click random photos and directly upload it on internet, but still I feel it is in no substitute to a camera, when we want to click some good quality images.
But transferring images from camera to our computer is a tedious job. Remove memory card, find a card reader,or sometimes find the data cable to directly connect the camera. Uuff... a lengthy process. And it becomes more annoying when we cannot find the data cable when we are desperately searching for it. 


Thank God, somebody has paid heed to this problem and we have now a solution in the form of a built in USB inside a camera. The CLAP camera, as it is said is a tiny 2 megapixel camera with image resolution of 1280 x 1024 and an ISO of 100.


It is capable 
of supporting
16 GB memory card, and the pictures can be directly uploaded via the USB 2.0.

Yes I can understand that it is of merely 2 megapixel, and the mobiles available now a days provide us with a better resolution, but lets not forget that it is a very new concept and with this size a new generation of camera or you can say USB technology is getting evolved.
Check out this video for a better overview.



2) Worlds most secure Flash Drive

The military grade AES-256 encryption, only FIPS 140-2 Level 3 flash drive (validation required to be used in government agencies), waterproof, tamper-resistent, built in malware protection, secure browser are some of the unique selling point of Ironkey USB flash drives.


IronKey validation covers not only the cryptographic module but also the circuit board, memory, and authentication system. It also provide you with the option of  remote disable or deny features. If this is not enough it can also self destroy itself giving an extra security assurance. So if you are feeling to buy one, your options will be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16Gb. Get the full specification from the PDF.

1) iTwin

The first thing which comes to our mind is Oh!! another Apple product in the market...  :) No, it is not an Apple product. Don't get confused with that small "i". 
 iTwin is a USB dongle which is a blend of innovative idea and futuristic design.



We all have realized the problem of large file transfer especially media files. Suppose we want to share a media file with our friend who lives in some different state. Then the usual way is to upload the file to some free uploading site and then we can share the URL, from where he can download. A very time consuming process.

It is this issue which iTwin addresses. The manufacturers of iTwin promises that there device is capable of transferring any data to a person any where in this world.

All you need to need to do is you will have to connect the double ended USB dongle to your PC. The device will autorun its software and will share an encrypted key. Now you detach the USB into two parts and take any half to any where in this world. The only thing you would require is an Internet connected in both the PC to make the transfer possible.

But what will happen if you lost one part! Will any one have the access to use your data. Don't worry,  your data will be secure. The reason is when a connection is established the owner will be sent a remote disable code by email. This code can also be used to break the connection between the two iTwins. 
This device has won many awards in the innovation and design category. Click here for the Official website of iTwin.

 
Would you like to see how an USB is manufactured. Then check out this video. Taken in the factory of Kingston.


Liked this article!!! Leave your footprints behind with a comment.  It will make me feel happy.


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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Get Inspired: Opportunity... written by Berton Braley


     With doubt and dismay you are smitten
        You think there's no chance for you, son?
    Why, the best books haven't been written
        The best race hasn't been run,
    The best score hasn't been made yet,
        The best song hasn't been sung,
    The best tune hasn't been played yet,
        Cheer up, for the world is young!


    No chance? Why the world is just eager
        For things that you ought to create.
    Its store of true wealth is still meager
        Its needs are incessant and great,
    It yearns for more power and beauty
        More laughter and love and romance,
    More loyalty, labor and duty,
        No chance--why there's nothing but chance!


    For the best verse hasn't been rhymed yet,
        The best house hasn't been planned,
    The highest peak hasn't been climbed yet,
        The mightiest rivers aren't spanned,
    Don't worry and fret, faint hearted,
        The chances have just begun,
    For the Best jobs haven't been started,
        The Best work hasn't been done.

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Friday, May 13, 2011

The 4 Most Easiest Ways To Have An Impressive Avatar.


Are you bored of your profile pic? Do you spend most of your time searching net to find an avatar that defines you? Then you will be soon breaking your habit, as I'm gonna tell you the 4 simple ways to edit your photo and form a splendid avatar.

Let us start with the Photoshop. To cartoonize yourself,
Open Photoshop >open your image (try your picture).
Then all you need to do is Go to Filter > Blur > and Gaussian Blur. Increase the radius as you wish.
Then once you are done; click on Edit > Fade Gaussian Blur. Select Darken in the drop down button, and adjust the opacity. Once done your image is ready. You can also choose among many different effects.




You may also give a pencil sketch effect to your image, and it will replicate as if you have created the sketch. The steps may seem to be a little long but don't worry only few minutes of patience will pay off ;) 
 
Just follow this simple steps.
Open the Image > In the layer palette create a duplicate image.
Then in the layer palette from the drop down menu change the Normal mode > Color dodge.
Now go to Image >Adjustment > Invert
Once you are done; go to Filter > Blur >Gaussian blur.
You might be getting an ugly image. But don't worry as pencil sketch is always black and white we need to change it to gray scale. To do this click on Image > Mode > Grayscale.
A dialogue box will open click on Flatten image. Again go to Gaussian Blur and increase the radius to 3. Then go to Edit > Fade Gaussian Blur> Select Darken in the drop down  menu button in place of Normal.
Now adjust the opacity to have a nice effect.What I have created is the picture below...



But if you don't have photoshop or you don't want to trouble the right lobe of your brain with it, but still want to have a fabulous image no need to worry there are some websites which provide a simple interface for photo editing and the best part is, they are free.



One of the most useful website to do photo editing and to cartoonize yourself  is befunky.com. All you need to do is upload a pic, edit it as you wish, see the preview and download it whenever you are satisfied. If this is not all, the website also gives you the flexibility of drawing mustaches, create canvas effects speaking bubbles and many other art effects which you will love to explore. 



Another website is cartoonize.net where all you have to do is upload a pic and download it. Just two simple steps and nothing more. So have a great time editing.


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