Designer Ma Yi Xuan may have finally solved the issue techies around the world face all too often — not enough (or the wrong kind of) USB cords. Similar to the Flipper USB plug, Xuan’s double-sided USB cord allows both male and female connectors on either end thanks to some unique (and fairly complex) engineering underneath the hood. All you need to take away is this: Never again find yourself wishing you had a different type of USB connector.
Because we have a small large army of mobile devices floating around GS headquarters, finding the latest charging solutions and next-gen batteries is always at the top of our list. And while we do have at least half a dozen battery packs in different sizes and shapes, we find the “Continuance” USB battery designed by Haimo Bao, Hailong Piao, Yuancheng Liu and Xiameng Hu everything we could possibly want in a battery — small, compact and expandable (via USB). Of course, there would have to be some crazy new age battery tech within the cylindrical walls considering we’d be hooking up some rather thirsty gadgetry that would deplete a typical cell of this size in no time flat. But hey, if we’re going to dream…
Introducing the ultimate play on words: “Charging Tap” (designed by Qi Weijia). Plug in your gadget of choice and turn on. Those standard USB outlets are soooo first quarter 2011…
Thinking of picking up one of T-Mobile’s fantastic webConnect broadband USB sticks for web action on the go? You may just want to cool your jets for a week or two. Documentation received by TmoNews shows verbiage pointing to a March 12th revamp of said plans. Specifically, the webConnect broadband plans will be completely revamped and pricing structure changed. On top of that, there is also information detailing a new 20% discount on webConnect plans when attached to an account with a qualifying voice plan.
Of course, the phrase “current webConnect plans will be grandfathered…” leads us to believe we could see a price increase and or data allotment decrease — far from an ideal scenario. In that light, we’d say hurry up and pay your way in to lock out any immediate price changes. Stay tuned…
- February 11, 2011 6:30 pm
Cheaper, more generous options and AT&T aren’t usually said in the same sentence. Generally speaking, AT&T has a habit of charging more for less. But an upcoming change to their LaptopConnect plans is a song of a different tune. “A well placed source” of BGR says the current $35/200MB and $60/5GB plan are being replaced with a $30/3GB and $50/5GB offerings. It’s still insanely overpriced for a pittance of data, but it’s better nonetheless. Now if only we could see some carriers be so generous as to give us *Gasps!* 10-20GB of data for an affordable price (read: ~$30-$40 per month). We can dream the increasingly impossible dream…
Look for the new changes to drop this Sunday or Monday according to the source. Anyone enticed by the new plans and pricing? Or is it still too much of the same?
- December 20, 2010 6:45 pm
Some may question the need for yet another LTE modem running on Verizon’s network, but we here at Gadgetsteria say “the more the merrier”. On that note, this particular Novatel USB551L LTE modem stands out from the current of modems offered by LG and Pantech by not only supporting Windows machines, but Macs as well. Finally, OS X users can enjoy the super speedy bits that LTE provides. One other, less boast-worthy feature is still an unknown at this point, though is nonetheless worth a mention. All we’ll say is that the flyer above makes no mention of backwards compatibility with older EVDO/3G networks. If the Novatel is in fact LTE-only, it will leave you with quite the tie-breaker — Mac support or wider coverage with 3G/4G capabilities? Decisions decisions…
Since October, an ongoing thread in Apple’s Discussion Forums has drawn light to a potential hardware issue affecting Apple’s 27-inch Cinema Displays. The issue according to over 200 hundred responses thus pertains to audio — specifically USB audio, as newer Macs which send audio to the display via mini-Display Port aren’t affected.
At this point, it’s unclear whether the audio problems are caused by a software issue or hardware issue. For what it’s worth, Windows users have reported the same audio problems as well. But honestly, cross-platform audio problems can be caused by both software and hardware.
Either way, Apple is aware of the issue. Though as is common, they have yet to announce any official plans to recall the affected units. With that said, if users make a warranty call, Apple will replace the displays. But be forewarned, the same thread is claiming that even new replacement displays show the same audio problems.
At this point, you might as well hold on to your CInema Display because something isn’t right whether it be hardware or software. Hopefully Apple can get to the bottom of this quickly. There’s nothing like unwrapping a brand new piece of gadgetry only to find that it’s tainted.
- November 17, 2010 3:07 pm
Every now and then, you come across a story that is so outlandish, so crazy, that you don’t believe it’s real the first time (and sometimes even the second time) around. This story is one of those stories. Though verifying it is proving to be quite difficult. So here it goes — a Brazilian evangelical group has banned all USB devices from members’ homes. Supposedly, the USB symbol looks too much like Satan’s trident. Excuse while I roll my eyes…
From the Guardian (Translated from Portuguese):
The evangelical cult “Paz do Senhor Amado” (“Peace of the beloved Lord”) in the interior of Brazil forbids its followers to use any USB technology by contending that it uses a symbol that shows sympathy for the devil.
According to its founder, the “Apostle” Welder Saldanha says that this is just another symbol of Satan, which is always present in all Christian homes.
“The symbol of that name (a name which he doesn’t even like to pronounce) is a trident, which is used to torture souls that go to hell. Use only a symbol of those shows that all users of that vile technology are actually worshipers of Satan” – explains the” Apostle”.
Measures were taken so that all the USB connections of his followers were exchanged for common connections and even the Bluetooth (sic), which according to Saldanha Welder is permitted, for “Blue was the color of the eyes of our savior Jesus Christ”.
Some people really need to get a life…
- November 15, 2010 12:48 pm
Floppy disks are pretty useless these days unless of course you’re looking for a relic of a paper weight or holding on to them for future value. There is a third, much more useful option however. Replace the guts with a USB drive like this guy Charles did. It’s a tad thicker than a single floppy because he had to use two disks stacked together so it everything would fit. Though he managed to get the flash drive’s activity light to light up with the floppy’s old lock switch cutout. Pretty nifty.
