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Author Archives: Jonas Review Editor

Playo Recordable DVD Discs

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Introduction

In order to store data on a disc, there are two essential ingredients: the optical drive, and the optical media. Many reviews focus on the optical drive, and how it performs writing a variety of media. We now have the opportunity to focus on the other component, the recordable disc. Playo products, manufactured by the Abcron Corporation have recently introduced their Playo line of discs. They include CDR, DVDR, and DVDRW (plus and minus) varieties. In this review we will focus on the DVD+R and DVD-R discs which are two of the popular discs that users feed their DVD rewritable drives. Other Playo products include flash media cards, flash card readers, and cases.

Methodology

Here at LIVEdigitally we have access to three of the current crop of DVD rewritable drives: the LiteOn 1693S, the Plextor 740A, and the Samsung WriteMaster. All are 16x burners that can write to both “plus” and “minus” discs. A good test of the media would be to see how each of the drives can write to it. The write time of each disc will be monitored. Each of the discs will be scanned in Nero’s CD-DVD Speed on my LiteOn 852S drive at 4x, which I’ve used for scanning duties on all my previous optical drive reviews. This will give us an idea of the write quality of the media with the drive. In addition, we will test that the discs play in a Sharp DV-S1U stand alone DVD player.
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The case of the stolen flash drive

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When Linda Cerniglia went back to school, it took her almost seven years to get through all the prerequisites, the labs, the research. And it took a thief just moments to grab her purse, with the only copy of her master’s thesis stored on a tiny jump drive inside.

For anyone who’s ever obsessed about a project but forgotten to back up the data, watched a computer screen fizzle just before a deadline or left crucial documents in a cab — here is a story about backing up, and moving forward.

It’s about how Cerniglia almost went crazy, then took a deep breath and thought like a crook, acted like a cop and ended up in a big trash bin — all in pursuit of her master’s degree.

The story goes on to describe the tale of this poor woman’s master’s thesis, on her flash drive. First it is stolen from her minivan in her purse. Next, she’s tracking the thief from the unauthorized use of her credit cards. And finally, in a dramatic climax, she’s diving into a dumpster to find her purse, and her flash drive. The moral of the story, ladies and gents, is to back up important data. Congrats to Linda Cerniglia on completing her master’s degree!

Logitech Wireless Headphones: Does Losing The Wires Make The Cut?

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Introduction

Audio plays a critical role in so many experiences today. From listening to an MP3 player, computer gaming, or watching the latest action movie on DVD, these tasks all demand high quality audio in order to be enjoyed. The included speakers on many computers could definitely benefit from some serious upgrades. This is even truer on almost all notebooks out there, even so called multimedia models.

A good set of headphones has become an essential accessory and a great solution when the audio is a personal experience. While a good set of speakers can really crank up the soundtrack; when the rest of the house is asleep, headphones can be a great answer to quality sound.
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Ridata Unbalanced SD Memory Card

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Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding an unbalanced Secure Digital memory card to its RIDATA line “Our unbalanced Secure Digital memory card is further indication that Advanced Media is dedicated to providing its customers the latest advancements in electronic storage media,” remarked Charlie Shiang, VP of Flash Products “This fast card enables users to store specific navigational or mapping information for use in a variety of mobile devices. It can also be used to hold trip details and highly detailed charts.”

The applications are unlimited, any type of digital content provider with the consideration of protecting the intellectual content while in need to be able to sell or populate the whole content will definitely benefit from the Unbalanced SD card, more examples include educational markets, remote learning education, automobile and defense industry ” added Shiang.

The uses for this product will be centered on two parts of SD memory formation: encrypted output control segment and accessible data segment. The data stored on the Encrypted output control segment is strictly prohibited for any kind of “check-in” (write data) or “check-out”(export data) activities with any other devices. Any form of the data movement is actually impossible.
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Power Companies Offering Internet Services

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The largest power utility in Texas is planning on offering internet services delivered over their power lines. This will benefit them in two ways. Firstly, it gives them a way to monitor the status of their power lines. Secondly, this allos them to generate an additional way of producing revenue.

This is likely a good move for consumers, as it should keep the monopolisitic phone and cable companies (traditional offerers of broadband) to keep their pricing in check. In my opinion, if this works out in “the lone star state,” look for this to expand into other areas.

Anyone for a “quadruple play?”
1-electricity
2-telephone
3-television
4-internet

No word on pricing or plans yet.

More info here.

Solar Powered Battery Chargers

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Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer
and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD
media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is
adding two photovoltaic solar powered battery chargers to its popular
RIDATA product line. Model SP 3900 charges cell phones and any
electronic device that has USB connectivity, such as Cell Phones, MP3
players, PDAs, GPS, hand-held games, radios, etc. Model SP 1300 charges
up to two AAA and AA batteries. Both will be on display in the Advanced
Media 2006 International CES booth, South Hall #35320.

“Solar power chargers may be the most important and most significant
addition to the electronic and battery accessories industries ever,”
said Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “They allow battery-operated
devices and batteries to be charged virtually anywhere in the world
without having to worry about a compatible electric outlet being handy.
Besides its convenience factor, solar power also is environment
friendly – clean, renewable – and absolutely free.”

Both RIDATA photovoltaic solar-powered chargers are lightweight,
durable, and waterproof. Each is as efficient as any current
conventional charger. The company believes individuals who are
concerned with energy costs as well as those who favor green energy
will be attracted to its solar chargers. Additionally, the SP 3900 will
find favor with travelers and campers, while the SP 1300’s attractive
design will also draw individuals to it.

The SP 3900 is a three-panel solar-powered charger with a 900mA power
bank. It will charge cell phones and any device with USB connectivity.
Typically, it will fully charge such items in direct sunlight in four
hours.

The SP 1300 charges AAA or AA batteries. It will fully charge two
AAA-size units in five hours in direct sunlight and two AAs in 10
hours.

One of the main pluses of solar power is the fact it is renewable. That
is, as long as it keeps shining, the sun will be an excellent source of
energy, and scientists believe that should be for at least another 4.5
billion years. It also produces no air pollution, little or no noise,
and requires no transportable fuels. Even on cloudy days, there is
still enough solar energy for these chargers to do their job, albeit
not as quickly.

For all those folks that need their batteries on the go, this will be a must have item. Any card carrying Greenpeace member will also want this in their bag of tricks. I hope this starts a trend of solar charging, as this will be convenient, and good for the environment.

Working For Google

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Free cafeteria food, annual ski trips to the Sierra and free laundry are just some of the fringe benefits of working at Google. Getting hired is the trick.

Every month, aspiring workers deluge the popular Mountain View search engine with up to 150,000 resumes, equivalent to a stack of paper at least 50 feet high. And the firm claims to read each and every one.

As one of Silicon Valley’s hottest companies, Google has become a beacon for job seekers. In just a few short years, the interest has helped the company amass an arsenal of what is arguably among the world’s top technology minds.

“I would argue that definitely they have the best talent,” said Joe Kraus, a co-founder of the Web portal Excite Inc. and who currently leads a startup, JotSpot, in Palo Alto. “They invest so much because the more great talent you have, the easier it is to attract even more great talent.”

Google hires nine new workers a day. In less than two years, the number of employees has more than tripled to 4,989.

The growth spurt is being fueled by a gangbusters-like online advertising market and Google’s boundless ambition, including new initiatives in everything from wireless Internet access to video downloads. The goal is to keep the production line of new products humming so that users spend more time on the Web site.

Getting rich is what drives some of the applicants. Many Google workers became instant millionaires at the time of the company’s initial stock offering in 2004. To this day, prospective employees are drawn by the promise of wealth, although, their chances of striking gold are a lot less now that the firm’s shares are soaring above $400, making stock options less likely to appreciate by large amounts.

I was disappointed to read on and see that the free laundry is really just the free use of laundry machines. However, a child center, dog friendly offices, and a doctor on-site are perks that most employers just can’t match (not to mention the one night annual ski trip). Now this is living digitally!

New Hi Gain Antenna

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The HWU8DD is designed to connect your desktop computer or laptop easily to any Wireless-B or Wireless-G network via a USB connection. Hawking’s award winning Hi-GainTM Antenna technology extends wireless connection distances by up to 300%. The HWU8DD is equipped with a new 8dBi Directional Dish antenna that provides more distance and better speeds than other wireless adapters on the market. The Hi-Gain Wireless-G Dish Adapter is the only wireless adapter to integrate the distance benefits of wireless Dish Technology with WiFi networking. The built-in LED signal strength indicators provide network signal information to pinpoint the strongest signal available within your area.

Read the original press release.

You've Got Mail…And More!

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Los Angeles County health officials have opened an internet website on which users can anonymously notify their sex partner of having been infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

The site, www.InSPOTLA.org, which opened on Wednesday, offers different types of electronic postcards to simultaneously e-mail up to six sexual partners of being infected with an STD.

“You’re too hot to be out of action,” reads one card, featuring the back of a handsome man covering his behind with a towel. “I got diagnosed with an STD since we played. You might want to get checked too.”

The site gives information about several of the most common STDs and how to prevent them.

Another card reads: “It’s not what you brought to the party, it’s what you left with. I left with an STD. You might have too. Get checked soon.”

The internet is all about bringing people together with common interests, but I’m not sure anyone saw this one coming. Who knows, perhaps this will catch on in other states as well. Leave it to California to lead the way!
From Doc To Doc.

Wireless USB

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Wisair is determined to take USB cables off of the personal computer. The company has taken another step in the Ultra Wideband (UWB) industry with the release of a Wireless Universal Serial Bus (WUSB) reference design.

The new reference design includes a WUSB PC dongle and a WUSB hub, providing consumer electronics and peripheral manufacturers with the means to offer customers wireless connectivity to existing USB-enabled devices.

Printers, scanners, remote hard disk drives, digital cameras and mobile phones are able to plug directly into the WUSB Hub and receive wireless connectivity to a PC. The WUSB Hub replaces any wireline USB connection with a wireless connection.

We had heard that wireless was the direction for the 3rd generation of USB products, but this is the first actual product I’ve seen. Between the omnipresent WiFi, and the sexy Bluetooth products, Wireless USB may be a little late to this wireless party. On the other hand, most of the Bluetooth gear is expensive, and most computers do not ship with a Bluetooth transmitter built in. If the USB folks could integrate their transmitter into their existing USB chips, and the new computers shipped with it built in, they may leap frog Bluetooth in this game. In the meantime, I look forward to not having so many cables around my desk!

See here, here, and here for more info.

Advanced Media Introduces USB Flash Drive / Laser Pointer Combo

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Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding yet another advanced product to its lineup of electronic storage media. Its new high-speed RIDATA Laser Pointer USB Drive features a USB 2.0 flash drive with a laser pointer. It is set to be shown at the upcoming 2006 International CES show.

“Our new, easy to use RIDATA thumb-sized portable USB flash drive with laser pointer enables users to securely exchange huge amounts of data between computers or notebooks with a USB port,” stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “Its plug-and-play simplicity makes connecting to any computer a snap, allowing access virtually anytime, anywhere. No power supply or external cables are required.”

The versatile USB drive also features four new useful functions:

Auto Login: This is a convenient application that automatically enters IDs and passwords from a database created on the USB Drive to Web sites. With Auto Login, users can carry all IDs and Passwords on the USB Drive.

Bookmarks: This feature saves the user’s own Web bookmarks to the device, allowing easy access to them from whatever computer that is connected to the device.

FLASH Mail: A small Email software program, that allows users to access email from the USB Drive.

Secret ZIP: Creates a Secret folder and a Zip folder. This allows users to zip a file by simply dragging the file to the ZIP folder, or a encrypted Zip file by dragging into Secret Folder.

With high storage capacity and blazing fast speeds, the handy RIDATA USB Flash Drive with laser pointer is an ideal choice to replace floppy disks, ZIP disks, and hard disks. This high-speed USB flash drive performs data transfer at a rate up to 19MB/s for read and14MB/s for write in dual-channel mode, and up to 10MB/s for read and 7MB/s for write in single-channel mode.

It supports multiple operating systems: Windows® ME, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, Mac TM 9.x or later, Linux TM Kernel 2.4 or later (no driver needed); Windows® 98 and Windows® 98SE (driver enclosed). It also comes with a security lock (Safety Zone); is shock proof; and has power-saver functionality. An advanced software package is included.

The class II laser pointer has an average wavelength of 650nm, and will make a 0.4-inch spot from approximately 11 feet. It meets TUV, FDA, and ROSH requirements.

The RIDATA Laser Pointer USB Drve is available in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB , and1GB capacity sizes. It has an MSRP of $69.99 based on 512MB capacity.

This sounds like a great idea for a combo item. I always carry a USB flash drive, having a laser pointer handy would be a plus. I’m also intrigued by the email and bookmark utilities included on the device as I see these flash drives making it easier for users to take their settings between computers. We’ll work on getting on of these in the lab for a full once over!