So i sold my lenovo s10 awhile ago but have been thinking about getting another netbook, Verizon Wireless has their mobile broadband services available as an embedded device. Ive also been looking at an express card with the pcmcia adapter instead so i could just use my mac… choices lol anyways leave comments people!!

This is a good hint if you want to work on a very fast drive.  Click here to find out.

After our adventure in figuring out the particular ExpressCard version of the StarTech USB 3.0 adapter, here’s Buffalo joining the fray and, naturally, there’s zero indication about whether this is an ExpressCard 1.0 or 2.0 device. The difference is that with the latter you can get all the way up to 5Gbps theoretical throughput, which is just above the USB 3.0 max rating of 4.8Gbps (typically advertised as 5Gbps), whereas the former hardware will get you only up to 2.5Gbps. Considering there’s a pair of USB SuperSpeed ports on there, you’ll want to make doubly sure you’re getting what you think you are. Or, given that early bird UK e-tailers are listing it for £35 ($57; no stock yet), you could just order one up and pray to Cthulhu that you get the maximally awesome stuff.

Η I-O Data παρουσιάζει καινούργια σειρά προΐόντων USB 3.0. – TheLab.gr

Η I-O Data καταδέχτηκε το USB 3.0 Express με μεγάλο ενθουσιασμό και ήδη ανακοίνωσε τρία προϊόντα που υποστηρίζουν το καινούργιο πρωτόκολλο, έναν εξωτερικό δίσκο, μία κάρτα επέκτασης PCI-Express και μία ExpressCard.

 

Ακούγοντας στο όνομα HDJ-UT ο USB 3.0 HDD είναι διαθέσιμο σε χωρητικότητες του 1TB και 1,5TB και είναι συμβατός και με συστήματα USB 2.0. Με βάρος 1,6kg ο δίσκος αγγίζει ταχύτητες μέχρι και 139 MB/s όταν είναι συνδεδεμένος σε USB 3.0.[next]

Más noticias desde elIDF de Intel, tras la presentación de la“primera webcam” USB 3.0, llega el turno de lo que seguramente es el primer accesorio real que se muestra, capaz de manejar el nuevoUSB 3.0.

Fresco Logic ha desarrollado la primera tarjeta ExpressCard con un solo puerto USB 3.0, seguramente parece bastante arriesgado lanzar un producto de estas características, pero son los primeros en hacerlo.

La tarjeta ExpressCard de 34 pines tiene un espacio para un segundo puerto USB, pero por alguna razón no esta puesto.

Bringing HD to netbooks is a big thing right now and Nvidia started it out with their Ion graphics. Another company plans to bring HD to netbooks [and notebooks] without the need of an internal graphics chipset. At IFA, FaceVision has shown off that they can bring 1080p HD to netbooks with an ExpressCard slot.

“Quanta subsidiary FaceVision is launching a card that you can plug into a notebook or netbook that will add the ability to play 1080[p] videos in the H.264 format.” We don’t know when this will launch and we also don’t know the price, so in the meantime you’ll just have to check it out on video below.

[Liliputing]

Verbatim continues its push in Flash memory with this tiny and tough USB drive

You’d be surprised what an old storage company like Verbatim – which started by selling data cassettes 40-years ago – can bring to the rapidly changing flash memory market.

For Mark Rogers, the company’s marketing manager for its 6-year old Flash business, it’s all about:

1. Lifetime warranty on all Flash products (both cards and USB drives); replacing any faulty devices, no questions ask. Kingston also offers a lifetime warranty on its Flash memory cards, but only 5-years for its USB drives; for Sandisk its 2-years and just 1-year for PNY;
2. A standard password protection feature (for Windows only, not Macs) available on most of Verbatim drives;
3. Enough performance to speed up Windows, thanks to the USB keys “ReadyBoost” compatibility;

And in conjunction with this week Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, Calif., Verbatim introduced new USB keys – the TUFF-’N'-TINY line – that are among the smallest and sturdiest in the market.

Mobile phones are main driver of Flash memory cards sales

However, despite being the fourth top selling brand of USB flash drives in the U.S., Verbatim is yet to ship a solid-state drive (SSD) that would compete with the likes of Intel/Kingston, STEC, etc.

“But we’re in the process of launching an ExpressCard SSD [announced at the Consumer Electronics Show last January and already shipping in Europe] which is based on a removable form-factor. Verbatim is in the removable media business and we chose to start our entry in SSD in that manner ,” said Rogers.

More on our exclusive interview with Verbatim in the video below:

Apple’s new/refreshed MacBook Pro 13″ and 15″ models each come equipped with an SD Media Card reader slot, but in the case of the 15-incher, this has required elimination of the ExpressCard/34 expansion slot that had been in every 15-inch MacBook Pro since the get-go, back in 2006. This has led to a crescendo of protest from certain classes of MacBook Pro users who depend on the expansion interface, even though an ExpressCard/34 slot is still offered on the 17″ MacBook Pro.

Does this move represent wise decision-making, or is it a blunder on the scale of the misbegotten elimination (now thankfully rectified) of FireWire support from the first revision 13″ unibody MacBooks? I think the ExpressCard/SD Card tradeoff makes some pragmatic sense. It would be great to have both formats, but for most users, SD Card support will be more functionally useful. Apple CFO Phil Schiller was quoted on Monday saying that surveys had determined only 10 percent of MBP owners ever used the ExpressCard slot.

As much as I like the idea of having ExpressCard capability in my laptop, I’m doubtful that I would miss having it on any machine that has built-in FireWire. I did make a fair bit of use of the PC CardBus slots in my G3 PowerBooks back in the day, and still do use the one in my “road” Pismo for a Buffalo G54 802.11g adapter card I use in conjunction with OS X’s AirPort software to log onto Wi-Fi hotspots. However, built-in AirPort has been standard on even the cheapest Apple notebooks for about five years now. On the other hand, an SD Card slot would be very useful for transferring image files from my digital camera. (Alas, my 13″ unibody MacBook has no slots and no FireWire.)

However, there are a minority of users who depend on the ExpressCard slot — for example, 3G cards for Wi-Fi connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet cards to provide a second network connection, or cards to provide extra FireWire ports on their own dedicated bus operating at full speed instead of daisy chaining devices. There are also ExpressCard-based PCI expansion options used by audio and video pros, and they work with ExpressCard interfaces. ExpressCard-based eSATA interfaces are also available for data transfer faster than FireWire 800 can support, and some folks, of course, use ExpressCard-SD card adapters or a variety of other media card readers such as 7-in-1 readers or 12-in-1 readers that can read much more than just SD cards. With an SD Card slot, you can only read one type of card.

All that said, Apple’s director of portables, Todd Benjamin, told PCMag’s Mark Hachman in an interview this week that the ExpressCard 34 slot was dropped from the 15″ MacBook Pro because the “vast majority” of owners use USB connectivity, and that Apple opted for a SD Card slot because that format has become “ubiquitous.”

The obvious solution, if one absolutely requires ExpressCard support, is to get a 17″ MacBook Pro, which at least is now more reasonably priced at $2,499, and most professional notebook users should find that affordable. The 17-incher is a bit larger and heavier to lug around, but having the bigger display is no hardship, and as a 17″ PowerBook owner myself, I would say that the diminished portability aspect is often exaggerated. I’ve found mine a surprisingly tractable road warrior-ing machine.

So, which would you prefer: ExpressCard 34 or SD Media Reader?

Although the new 15-inch MacBook Pro has the word “Pro” in its name, Apple removed its most pro-level feature: the ExpressCard/34 slot. The fastest interface on the machine, the ExpressCard slot passed data to the system at up to 2.5Gbps through its direct connection to the system bus, enabling blazing fast speeds and almost unlimited expansion capabilities. Compare this to a maximum speed of 0.36Gbps for an SD card slot, which could have been added for a miniscule cost with an ExpressCard adapter anyway. Professional videographers and photographers depended on the ExpressCard slot to connect eSATA drives (whose theoretical speeds could reach 3.0Gbps, while real-world usage usually hovers around 1.5Gbps), to add extra FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports onto their own dedicated buses without interruption from additional peripherals, and to add comprehensive card readers that could read dozens more types of cards than just SD. We hope that Apple brings back the ExpressCard slot to future 15-inch MacBook Pros. In the meantime, perhaps Apple should rename this machine the MacBook Semi-Pro.

Apple revamped its entire laptop line yesterday, and made a very foolish decision which affects all 15″ MacBook Pro owners in a NEGATIVE MANNER. After you read this blog posting, I strongly urge you to complain to Apple on their feedback page here.

Yesterday, Apple decided to REMOVE the ExpressCard slot from all 15″ MacBook Pros and replace it with an SD Media Card reader instead.

This is the equivalent of bulldozing an entire wing off your house and giving you a little pup tent to sleep in instead.

It’s not like Apple replaced this ExpressCard technology with something better or equivalent… they have just removed this technology altogether! Apple has NOT provided us with an equivalent solution to replace the absence of this ExpressCard slot.

Instead, Apple wants you to purchase their bulky and unwieldy 17″ laptop if you want to get your ExpressCard slot back, but my clients and myself do NOT WANT to purchase a bulky 17″ laptop just to get this ExpressCard slot back. Apple has taken a major step backwards by removing this incredibly important feature.

The 15″ MacBook Pro is supposed to be a professional machine, not a consumer machine. That is why it needs professional features like the ExpressCard slot.

On the other hand, an SD Media Card gives you — um, absolutely nothing except SD Media Card reading. Which, by the way, was completely unnecessary because all digital cameras could plug in via USB to the Mac or (with select hardware) could connect wirelessly to a Mac.

This is the #1 liability of being a Mac user. Since our entire computing world revolves around ONE VENDOR and ONE VENDOR ONLY for our hardware, we are at the whims of Apple’s engineering decisions, even when those decisions hurt the user. It is times like this when one can understand the desire of PC users to stick with the PC.

Much of the time this hardware lock-in is just fine because Apple makes the highest-rated, most reliable, and best-designed hardware in the entire computing industry. But every once in a while, such as yesterday, Apple makes incredibly poor decisions that affect us negatively, and you & me have to stand up and shout at Apple to reverse course.

Apple has a history of doing this, by the way. Apple makes dramatic negative changes and then waits to see if enough people complain about it. If so, Apple will reverse course. Just yesterday, Apple added the missing FireWire ports back onto all their 13″ MacBooks again (now rebranded as “MacBook Pros”), after 8 months of complaints from consumers like you & me. They also reversed course on some bad design decisions in Safari 4 after receiving hundreds of complaints by putting Safari 4’s tabs back in their rightful spot again. They did this with iMovie ‘08 and iMovie ‘09, too. And they did this when Leopard came out and they removed hierarchical folders from the dock… only to put them back later after mass outcry from the public. I have dozens of other examples like this as well. So it is important that we SPEAK UP NOW to Apple.

As most of you reading here are aware of, Apple’s big WWDC, or Worldwide Developers Conference was kicked off today with their usual first day keynote.  While in the past this event was even on most people’s radars, it has now become an event under much scrutiny, most famously due to the initial iPhone 3G unveil at WWDC ‘08.  This year, the event was filled with announcements covering everything from Snow Leopard, to a refresh of their laptop line, and most importantly, a new iPhone.

Update: Video of the keynote can now been seen at Apple’s website.

Snow Leopard

I guess I should begin my analysis of Apple’s WWDC presence with Snow Leopard.  For those of you who aren’t too familiar with the Macintosh platform, Snow Leopard is the technical successor to arguably Apple’s best operating system, Leopard.  Snow Leopard, much like Windows 7, is mostly a performance upgrade, with most of its focus on those upgrades, as compared to visual changes.  In addition, the upgrade to a 64-bit operating system, as opposed to being 32-bit, will bring out some across-the-board speed improvements, including opening files such as JPEGs and PDFs much faster.  This is by far the most welcome addition to Snow Leopard and a commendable move on Apple’s part.  By doing this they’ve managed to leapfrog Microsoft’s compatibility issues they currently have between different versions of Windows by making every system they sell 64-bit standard.  Smart move, Apple.

In addition to being 64-bit, Snow Leopard will include Safari 4 and Quicktime 10 out of the box.  Safari 4 will have 50% faster Javascript performance, as well as “crash resistance.”  Now, in practice, this essentially boils down to overall faster performance and single crashed tabs not bringing down the whole browser.  While this is basically a clone of Google Chrome’s most innovative feature, its certainly a welcome addition.

Quicktime 10, the next evolution in Apple’s native video and audio player, will sport a brand new interface that is very similar to the current iTunes.  Its main new features include hardware acceleration for smoother video playback, as well as support for quick and simple video editing.  This sounds good on paper, but it’ll hopefully be even more impressive in action.

Microsoft Exchange support in Mail, Contacts, and iCal is yet another improvement in Snow Leopard.  This will most certainly please those in the business world and corporate environments.  However, the most ironic and hilarious part of all of this is that unlike Windows, which is Microsoft’s OS, Snow Leopard will include Exchange support for free out-of-the-box.  This is certainly much appreciated during times of economic trouble where businesses can’t afford to pay for extraneous company apps.

Some minor things to note regarding Snow Leopard include a 45% faster OS installation and an overall system footprint that is 6GB smaller.

While most operating systems are most surely faster and more powerful than their successors, how many can say that they are 6GB smaller?  This tidbit in particluar, while not very important, is great news for those wishing to “Hackintosh” netbooks with small SSDs, or Solid State Drives.  However, considering the rumors of a possible Apple netbook/tablet, that may not be all that necessary.  In addition to the above improvements, Snow Leopard will also include a new Exposé which is now more tightly integrated with the dock.

Now get ready folks, Snow Leopard’s price will have you floored.  For an upgrade license from Leopard, Apple is only charging $29 for a single user and $49 for a multi-user “family pack.” For those looking for a standalone copy, SL will cost you $129 for an individual license, with a $149 price tag for the family pack.  Overall, I’m both extremely surprised and pleased at such a cheap and affordable price.  It almost seemed as if a certain other popular operating system had set a standard of increasing the price of an OS over multiple generations, but Apple has gone against this trend with the pricing of Snow Leopard.  This is a genius business move that will be sure to place Snow Leopard on almost every Apple machine out there.  Good move, Apple!

A New and Improved Laptop Line

Going into WWDC, everyone thought that the opening keynote would simply focus on Snow Leopard and the iPhone.  However, we were all blown back when Apple announced an almost complete refresh of their MacBook family of products.

The first thing Apple announced was across the board price cuts for all of its laptops.  The MacBook Pros received a significant cut, with the starting price now dropped to $1,699.

Another thing to note is the rebranding of the current 13 in. unibody MacBook to the status of MacBook Pro.

Now, what constitutes this as a “Pro” device is beyond me, but that’s Apple’s branding decision.  It may just lie in the fact that, much to the relief of those who can’t afford the higher-end MBP models, the 13 in. “MacBook Pro” will now include a FireWire 800 port for all of your video transfer needs or networking solutions.  That’s actually surprisingly big news, despite what it sounds.

Another big change being applied to the entire MBP lineup is the addition of the previous 17 in.’s built-in battery.  This will increase both battery life, as well as the overall life-span of the battey, which is a welcome addition in my book.  While some bemoan this new feature due to the inability to hot swap batteries, I for one believe that a built-in battery increases the battery life significantly, it may end up reaching a point where it eliminates the need to carry a backup battery altogether, therefore making it much more consumer friendly.

Finally, a surprising redesign of Apple’s notebooks now means that every MacBook Pro, excluding the 17 in., will now include an SD Card slot on the side instead of an ExpressCard port.

This is a brilliant move in that it satisfies casual consumers who would just by an SD card adapter for their old MacBooks to access their digital cameras, and would rather have support built-in.  However, it also satisfies sophisticated power users of the 17 in. model who prefer to have the decision between an SD card slot or other accessories, such as an EVDO card.  Overall, this seems like a great move on Apple’s part.

iPhone OS 3.0

Last but certainly not least in their keynote, Apple focused on the iPhone platform.  They began by showing off some key additions in the iPhone 3.0 software update, the first of which being tethering.

What this will allow iPhone users to do is to hook up their device to their Mac or PC laptop via USB or Bluetooth and access the internet through their phone’s data connection.

Their will be 42 partners of Apple supporting this at launch, with AT&T supporting the feature “later this summer.”  In addition, MMS photo messaging will not be supported by AT&T at iPhone OS 3.0 launch.  C’mon AT&T, it’s 2009!  Get it together, man!  My crappy old Nokia junker from 2004 does MMS, and that’s a dumb phone!  If you’re gonna go around and act like you’re the nation’s best network, hurry up and support iPhone MMS already.  It’s currently supported for almost every other device you sell.  What makes the iPhone so hard to handle?  Let’s go!!!!

Moving into a more positive light, Apple highlighted an impressive new service for users of MobileMe called “Find My iPhone.”

By using Wi-Fi location and GPS, you will now be able to locate your iPhone on a map wherever it may be.  In addition, you will be able to send the device a message to those that may be looking for it, as well as have it make an audible noise in order to locate it, even if the phone’s in silent mode.  Overall, it sounds very impressive and I’m very anxious to see it in action.  While I’m disappointed in that the service requires MobileMe, it’s not a money grab by any means, probably requiring a lot of resources and money to maintain.

After various on-stage application demos, Apple got to announcing the release date for iPhone OS 3.0.  They announced that it will be free for all iPhone customers and $9.95 for iPod touch owners, and will be available worldwide June 17th.  In my opinion, the sooner the better!

iPhone 3GS

I think I can agree with you all that the new iPhone hardware announcement was by far the biggest news of the show.  Although there were many false rumors concerning the iPhone 3GS, some of the speculated features were front and center.

First of all, the S in iPhone 3GS stands for speed.  That’s because, although no technical specifications were released, Apple promises an “average 2x speed increase” across the board for the device.  This means that tasks like launching messages, games, and webpages will occur much faster.  This sounds very compelling and like something that I’d most definitely want to check out in person.

In addition, the iPhone 3GS will now include a new and improved 3 megapixel camera.  This is a welcome improvement to the current iPhone 3G’s decent, albeit mediocre 2 megapixel camera.  In addition to a higher megapixel count, the camera now supports both manual and auto-focusing of the camera.  However, the most welcome addition is video recording.

In addition to recording, however, the video can also be edited on the iPhone 3GS on the fly and uploaded directly to YouTube.

The video recording is not 100% new, though.  Jailbroken iPhone users like myself have been enjoying the immensely useful Qik and Cycorder applications that allow for live streaming and native recording of iPhone video, respectively through the famous Cydia application, which is the App Store for jailbreakers.

Examples of these vidoes can be seen below.  Admittedly, they were not shot under ideal lighting conditions; my apologies.  There is audio towards the end, just to let you know.:

Although the quality of the video is most certainly improved in the iPhone 3GS, what I have issue with is the fact that they are acting like this is the first time that it is possible.  Although it is indeed the first time it is supported natively, it’s certainly not a new feature to those brave few Jailbreakers like myself.  However, I do believe that while jailbreaking does open brand new doors for iPhone owners like NES emulation that would never be supported by Apple, it shouldn’t be necessary for key features like video recording.  Therefore, I’m glad that this is included in the native OS.

Another added feature to the iPhone 3GS is voice control.  Users can now voice dial and control iPod music playback simply by using their voice.  This is most certainly a welcome feature.

Some more minor additions to iPhone 3GS include enhanced accessibility settings, Nike + support for fitness buffs, and hardware encryption.  For those who may be concerned, I’m sure that these are all welcome updates.  In addition, increased battery life is definitely a plus.  Maybe I’m just a heavy data user, but I often find myself firmly attached to my car’s power charger when on long road trips, so any increase in battery life is most certainly welcome.

The iPhone 3GS will be released on June 19th for $199 and $299, in 16GB and 32GB flavors.  The choices of color include black or white for both capacities.  However, by far the biggest announcement of the show was that the rumored “budget iPhone” will actually turn out to be the current 8GB iPhone 3G, which will be sold for only $99 starting today.

Personally, I’m mid-contract with the iPhone 3G and on a budget, so the iPhone 3GS is on my shopping cart.  The speed seems nice, and native video recording and improved an improved camera would most certainly be an improvement over the current jailbroken alternatives, but I simply cannot afford it.  In addition, I’m anxious to see whether or not AT&T will carry the Palm Pre when my contract expires next year.  Ultimately, it seems like an even less compelling upgrade than going from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G.

However, if you’re out of contract or can afford it, the iPhone 3GS will most certainly be worth it.  Whether or not it’s worth the upgrade for current iPhone 3G customers is for those people to decide.

Now the price cut on the iPhone 3G, however, is huge.  This is going to propel the iPhone into popularity levels it never dreamed.  I can even see it being the next Razr.  If you think the iPhone as it is right now has hit the mainstream, you just wait until this thing hits.  It’s going to be a massive success for Apple.

*Pictures used are copyright and owned by their respective owners.  All attribution goes to gdgt, Engadget, and Gizmodo.

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Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC

Dell nos presenta la primera Tablet PC con pantalla multitáctil, la Dell Latitude XT2. Esta pequeña Tablet PC de 12,1″ y resolución de 1280×800, cuenta en su interior con un procesador Intel core 2 Duo a 1,4 Ghz, soporta hasta 5GB de memoria RAM y dispone de tarjeta gráfica integrada GMA 4500MHD.

En el apartado de almacenamiento, podemos elegir 3 opciones posibles, tanto un disco duro mecánico de 120GB, como un disco SSD de 64 o 128GB. Por lo demás, contamos con 3 puertos USB 2.0 – uno de ellos es comobo eSATA – puerto FireWire, salida VGA, puerto Ethernet, salida/entra de audio, slot ExpressCard 54, ranura para tarjetas de memoria en formato SD y una batería de 4 celdas.

La conexión WiFi que viene por defecto es b/g, aunque podrás elegir que también tenga el estándard Draft N. Si seguimos con las opciones, también nos encontramos con una grabadora de DVDs y una batería de 6 celdas que alargará la autonomía de la Dell Latitude XT2 hasta las 11 horas de trabajo contínuo. Ya está a la venta y su precio parte desde los $2399/1857€.

Más información: Dell
Vía: Gizmotika

Universal Audio today announced the creation of the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop™, a compact ExpressCard™ version of their successful UAD-2 SOLO DSP Accelerator card. The new SOLO/Laptop DSP card brings Universal Audio’s world-class analog emulations—authenticated by Neve®, Roland®, SPL®, Moog®, and more—to laptop DAW users. The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop enables large, professional mixes on laptop DAWs without the need for cabling or power supply.

The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop supports VST, AU and RTAS plug in formats on both MAC and PC. The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop will available at UA dealers worldwide in early Q2.

The SOLO/Laptop includes studio staples like UA’s 1176SE Compressor/Limiter, Pultec EQP-1A Equalizer, RealVerb Pro Room Modeler, and CS-1 Channel Strip, and offers access to the entire Powered Plug-In library.

About the UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Card
The UAD-2 is the ultimate sonic upgrade for DAWs. At the heart of every UAD-2 DSP Card & Powered Plug-Ins package is the potent Analog Devices SHARC® floating-point processor(s). The UAD-2 Solo/Duo/or Quad can track, mix and master at sample rates from 44.1 to 192kHz. The UA Powered Plug-Ins Collection delivers world-class emulations from the past 50 years of audio to digital audio workstations; including vintage equalizers and compressors, superior precision mastering tools, lush reverbs and officially licensed classic hardware emulations.

For more information, visit their web site at www.uaudio.com.

Echo Indigo DJx è la soluzione ideale per il DJ digitale di ultima generazione che lavora con un computer portatile con slot ExpressCard. Echo Indigo DJx permette di avere un ingresso e due uscite stereo analogiche indipendenti con supporto di risoluzioni fino a 24/96, potenziometro per il controllo del volume e amplificatore per cuffia. La doppia uscita stereo consente al DJ digitale di avere completa operatività in fase di preascolto.

Caratteristiche principali:

• 1 IN analogico
• 2 OUT analogici
• ExpressCard slot (34 mm o 54 mm) richiesto
• Controllo volume via potenziometro
• Ampli per cuffia
• Driver ASIO 2.0, GSIF 2.0 CoreAudio

Echo Indigo I/Ox è una scheda audio per slot ExpressCard da 34 o 54 mm che permette di avere su un laptop un ingresso e un’uscita stereo analogici con supporto di risoluzioni fino a 24/96, potenziometro per il controllo del volume e amplificatore per cuffia. Una caratteristica unica della Indigo IOx è l’utilizzo delle uscite “virtuali”. Indigo IOx viene vista dal software come un’unità con otto uscite separate, rendendo la scheda compatibile con tutti i principali software multi traccia.

Caratteristiche principali:

• 1 IN analogico
• 1 OUT analogico
• ExpressCard slot (34 mm o 54 mm) richiesto
• Controllo volume via potenziometro
• Ampli per cuffia
• Driver ASIO 2.0, GSIF 2.0 CoreAudio

As most people should know by now, laptops are not really suited for games, even if the stores and manufacturers beg to differ. Sure, a laptop can handle some games, but a good gaming laptop from today will probably not be able to handle the games of 3-5 years from now. The glorious day, when laptops become easier for the consumers to upgrade, is the day I’ll make out with a guy who looks exactly like Tobey Maguire, because that would be a blessed day indeed!

Why I’m mentioning this, is because my desktop computer’s ready for its retirement after 7 years of good use. Because of this, I haven’t been able to play games with my poor darling, so little Tiny’s all I’ve got. Unfortunately, Tiny’s a laptop and is therefore not suited for games that require plenty of graphic memory, like The Sims 2. Sure, The Sims 2 doesn’t demand much alone, but if you install every single expansion and stuff pack for it along with it, you get a really massive game that requires more than the required performance requirements say on the box. It’s a miracle that I can run the game at all, I tell you. It’s using up around 50-100% of the CPU!

After some searching, I think I’ve found a solution to this problem. As every laptop-owner should know, every laptop has a PCPMCIA-slot (or ExpressCard-slot) on its side. PCMCIA-cards and ExpressCards are used to add hardware that the laptop may not have built into it, like soundcards or modems. Even graphic cards can be created to use this slot, but those cards have not been manufactured for years and it seems like they won’t be manufactured again any time soon. But a company called Magma has a different solution to the problem, even though it may not be the best solution for a person who takes the laptop everywhere. It’s an external expansion box with PCI Express-slots, which you can connect to the computer via the ExpressCard-slot. Inside the expansion box, you can install any card that fits into a PCI Express-slot and then use it with the laptop! Unfortunately, this expansion box doesn’t seem to exist in Swedish stores, which makes it harder for me to order it and try it out. Oh well, with time comes new technology. Who knows, someone might try to make a graphic card that fits into the ExpressCard-slot someday. In the meantime, I’ll have to run my games with what I’ve got. They won’t run the way I want them to, but they work – well, most of the time…

VPost is offering a 15% discount now off shipping charges (UOB Card Holders have a permanent 20% discount for shipping charges over $40). The loot I ordered recently has beaten Joelle’s Amazon package back to Singapore – she twittered to alert me of the arrival of several of my packages in the lab.

But do your calculations well and read VPost’s explanation – e.g. there is a base charge that can be shared, take into account delivery time. And you do have to mathc your invoice to packages that arrive in VPost’s Portland PO Box. That can some get messy and I’m thankful for Google Spreadsheets.

I use VPost when purchasing from an Amazon reseller who will not ship to an international address – over the years this has included a Saint Jack DVD, Spider Boys (a story set in Singapore), an out of print crab anatomy book, used DVDs and books (at otherwise very costly first hand prices) and an ExpressCard USB hub that unavailable in Singapore.

A companhia de nome impronunciável, Kojinsha, apresenta novo dispositivo batizado com outro nome difícil de lembrar, SX3KP06MS. Apesar de a primeira vista tratar-se de um Tablet PC, a companhia decidiu incluí-lo no segmento UMPC.

Em seu interior temos um processador Intel Atom Z520 de 1,33 Ghz, 1 GB de RAM, 60 GB de disco rígido e uma tela de 8,9 polegadas tátil com resolução WXGA que poderemos girar e utilizar, como já dissemos em modo Tablet.

É curioso, mas teremos 2 câmeras web, uma frontal para videoconferência de 0,3 megapixel e uma traseira para tirar fotos, de 2 megapixels. Em relação às conexões, dispomos de uma porta Ethernet, WiFi e bluetooth, além de um leitor de cartões 4 em 1 e slot ExpressCard.

Por último e o que o diferencia do mercado atual, é que o Kojinsha SX3KP06MS dispõe de uma unidade óptica de DVD em uma de suas laterais, sendo assim, ele é um dos equipamentos mais completos do mercado. Atualmente está sendo vendido a um preço de US$ 1.299

Via Gizmótika

If you’re not familiar with “netbooks”, you’re missing out on a potentially great little web-working tool. And I do mean little as these are small, fully-functional notebooks that are easy to use on the go. They tend to offer long battery life as well, due to low-voltage processors and small, LED backlit displays.

There’s a new functional trend emerging with these portable productivity tools now that Asus is starting to offer integrated wireless broadband in the product line.

But that begs a question about wireless connectivity: do you go with integrated or opt for a plug-in solution?

The answer is a personal choice of course, but there’s a key factor involved: do you plan to web work on a single device or will you be using several? If you’re going to work mainly using just one device, an integrated solution ought to work just fine. There’s a wireless radio inside the device, similar to a WiFi or Bluetooth card, and you can seamlessly connect to the web anywhere your provider offers coverage. It’s as simple as using WiFi to connect to a hotspot: it just works.

Using more than one device though? Here’s where it gets sketchy because that wireless broadband card in your notebook only offers fast Internet service to that notebook. There are software solutions to share that connection by essentially creating a WiFi hotspot, but that means you have to have the computer with you. At that point you might as well use that one in lieu of any other that doesn’t have wireless broadband, right?

Multiple device owners are better served with a card or dongle that offers the same 3G capability. You can find them available in a number of form factors: PC Card, ExpressCard and USB.

I opted for this small USB device shown which works with every one of my PCs and Macs. This allows me to be connected to the Internet wherever I am and with whatever device I have with me.

Remember, these wireless 3G plans can set you back around $60 a month: why limit the plan to just a single device if you have many that can use it?

Nice…

I use the previous one (non Pro) and have had issues with it recognizing one of my SATA2 external drives. But I have always wondered if the problem has been with the drive’s casing, hmmmm. That and if I eject the Sonnet Tempo without powering down the Sonnet then the WiFi goes down and stays down until I restart the MacBookPro, double hmmmmmmm. Thought 10.5.4 would have fixed this, wondering if 10.5.5 will, triple hmmmm.

Anyway, Sonnet Tech has announced this new card that is suppossed to 140% better/faster, ooooooo, that is very useful when editing.

“Sonnet Tempo™ SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 Sets New Standard for Performance in Mobile Capture/Edit Work”

http://www.sonnettech.com/news/pr2008/pr0910208_tsataproec34.html

At $299.95 it is not in my ‘Video Enthusiast’ budget at the mo.

Kevin recommended the first two and the third I found after a little surfing:

• SanDisk’s MultiCard ExpressCard Adapter – Kevin’s review – and now only $11.36 on Amazon – a no-brainer and Kevin just vouched for its download speed.
• Mainnav MG-950D Sport Bluetooth GPS Data Logger / Cycle Computer – link – The cycle computer is tempting but an unlikely purchase – not enough offroad rides to warrant that since Bikely takes care of my road route plots nicely.
• ?Locosys Genie BGT-31 Waterproof Sport Bluetooth GPS Data Logger with SD Expansion Slot – link – might be just what I need for my field trips – no Mac OS X support indicated but I think as long as it provides NMEA data, I can convert that for use by Google Earth.