Technabob » storage

Acer Cloudmobile Smartphone: Android Livin’ in the Cloud

Range — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:30:11 +0000

Have you ever wanted a phone that would allow you to easily access your files stored at home directly on your smartphone, without too much of a hassle? The new Acer Cloudmobile might be the phone that you’re looking for, since it will be able to do so.

The Acer Cloudmobile was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress and it’s the first phone equipped with the Acer Cloud storage service. It’s meant to allow you to access media and documents stored on users’ home computers, even when the PC is sleeping. All photos taken via the phone are also automatically saved remotely onto your home computer.

The phone itself has a 4.3-inch HD touchscreen, and will run Android 4.1 on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and comes HSPA+3G network ready. The Acer Cloudmobile phone is slated for release in late 2012.

[via designboom]

Bumper Sound Finally Figures out How to Stow Your Earbuds

Technabob — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:00:07 +0000

What to do with your earphones when you’re not using them seems to be a problem that’s still in search of a good solution. Sure there are cases and gadgets which let you wrap them around your mobile gadget, but they still take up space, and make it difficult to cram your phone or media player into your pocket, and they still often end up a tangled mess when you undo them. The Bumper Sound concept seems to have solved the problem for good – assuming it ever gets made.

Korean designer Sang Hwa Lee came up with this ingenious concept which turns your headphone cable into a bumper for your gadget when not in use. By using a flat tangle-proof rubber ribbon cable for the headphone cord, they simply wrap around the perimeter of your device when not in use. The three layers of rubber even provide added protection when the cord is stowed. It’s not 100% clear from these images, but it looks like the earbuds themselves would be fairly low profile, and snap into a groove placed on the headphone line itself along the edge of the device.

I’m still not completely sure of how the cable would stay put, but that could probably be achieved by pairing the headphones with a matching case with clips built in to hold it. While it’s definitely not ready for production, the concept seems like it’s on the right track to finally solving this annoying and challenging problem. Kickstarter, anyone?

[via reddot]

The Hundehiet Is Like a Storage Locker – for Your Dogs

Hazel Chua — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:00:08 +0000

You’ve probably already seen those posters that warn you never to leave your dog alone in your car. The outside temperature may rise, or it may fall, but when your dog (or cat) is locked inside, well – I don’t even want to imagine what might happen to them. You probably don’t either. You can’t exactly just leave your dog outside either while you run your errands because someone might come and steal your pet away.

So what’s Norway’s solution to this? The Hundehiet, which translates to “Dog Den” in English. These are basically storage lockers where you can leave your dogs or cats in while you pick up some groceries. To rent out a space, it costs 10 Kroner (approximately $1.72), which is relatively cheap.

It’s better than leaving your pet in your car but I’m still not very comfortable with the storage lockers though, specially during the summer. But hey I suppose it’s better than nothing. Your dog, on the other hand, may have something different to say about it.

[via PSFK via Pop Up City]

Transformers 3 Flash Drives: Metal Head Robots

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:00:32 +0000

I am a big fan of Transformers – going all the way back to my childhood spent transforming/breaking random Hasbro toys when they were too complex for a child to operate. The films are a bit “meh” if you ask me, but I have seen them all anyway. If you are a Transformers fan too, check out this flash drive.

This isn’t the first Transformers flash drive we have seen, back in 2009, an official flash drive rocking Transformers’ looks surfaced, and then there were some cartoony Mimobot drives too. This new flash drive comes with either the familiar Autobot and Decipticon face logos on it, along with a “TF3″ logo that lights up when accessing data.

The face logos are made of die-cast metal, though the rest of the drive appears to be plastic. The USB connector retracts so there is no need for a cap, making for one less thing to lose. You can even flip the metal face up to find another Transformers logo underneath.

The Transformers drives are available on Amazon in 4GB and 8GB capacities starting at $33 (USD).

[via EverythingUSB]

Angry Birds Flash Drives Look More Cute Than Angry

Conner Flynn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:29 +0000

I would have thought that people would be sick of Angry Birds by now. I guess not, seeing as how these Angry Birds USB drives by EMTEC have arrived. As usual you get the various Angry Birds and pig to store your data with.

These drives have a 4GB capacity for anger/data and the USB drive itself is hidden inside the body of the bird or pig that you choose. If you love flinging birds at pigs with a slingshot, then you will probably love these drives.

You can score one for €19.99 (~$26 USD) from EMTEC. That’s not a bad price for a bird or pig USB drive. I think that yellow guy looks like Bert from Sesame Street, but more pissed off, which I didn’t think was possible.

[via Journaldugeek]

Oturakast Modular Cabinet: Sit on It!

Hazel Chua — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:00:11 +0000

When it comes to furniture, nothing beats functionality and versatility. It also helps if it comes in a clever design, too. Something that has all three of these? The Oturakast Cabinet.

The Oturakast Cabinet was designed by Rianne Koens. The cabinet is made up of separate drawer units that are meant to be stacked up, one upon the other. What makes the design even more unique is that each separate drawer has foldable legs underneath.

So if you happen to have some people over at the apartment but don’t have enough chairs and stools to go around, just unstack your drawers, pull out the legs, and gather every around in a circle.

[via The Design Home]

Flash Rods Mercedes SLS AMG Hard Drive is Way Cheaper Than the Real Car

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:15:37 +0000

I think one of the coolest cars to ever roll out of a manufacturing plant anywhere is the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This car has power and loads of style to set it apart from the normal Mercedes cars. The gull wing doors are one of the things that does it for me about this car. This is the car the hot British girl in the last Transformers drove.

The Flash Rods Mercedes SLS is offered in red, black, and silver colors. Inside the cool model with the working doors and hood that opens is a small portable USB HDD. The HDD has 250 GB of storage and is a small 2.5-inch unit you can’t see.

The only way you can tell this isn’t just a cool model car is the USB port on the back of the car. That is where you plug the drive in for power and connectivity. The HDD will cost you $250 if you want one. While the SLS AMG is awesome for gearheads like me, I think many geeks would have rather had Doc Brown’s Delorean Flash Rod.

[via EverythingUSB]

LockDown USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure: Swappable Secure Storage

Lambert Varias — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:20:43 +0000

Many modern portable hard drives already come with hardware encryption, but if you have extra 2.5″ hard drives, you can turn those into secure storage devices with the LockDown USB 3.0 enclosure from Satechi.

The LockDown has a touchscreen keypad and LCD screen to facilitate password entry. It uses AES 256-bit hardware encryption, and you can use it with any OS or USB-based device. Here’s Satechi’s setup video for the LockDown:

Turn on private browsing and head to Satechi’s website to order the LockDown. It sells for $99 (USD), which isn’t too bad considering it comes with a USB 3.0 cable, USB-to-DC cable and screwdriver for assembly. Note that the encryption will still protect the hard drive even if you take it out of LockDown, so you can make and swap out multiple encrypted hard drives. Just make sure you don’t lose the enclosure, or you’ll never access your data again.

Crypteks Flash Drive is as Secure as it Looks

Lambert Varias — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:24 +0000

Earlier this year, we featured a flash drive with a literally puzzling handmade casing, which requires the user to enter a 5-digit combination via a series of wheel locks to gain access to the flash drive itself. If you wanted to own your own modern cryptex but don’t have the skills to make one, this flash drive will make your inner investigator squeal.

(This article has been significantly revised because the whole “Cryptex” concept from The DaVinci Code flew over my head. My apologies. And now, we return to your scheduled programming.) The Crypteks USB drive doesn’t just have a mechanical lock like the DIY Cryptex drive. It has additional security features aside from the mechanical lock, like 256-bit AES hardware encryption, a read-only mode and the ability to set the number of wrong password attempts before the drive goes Men in Black and wipes its contents.

The Crypteks USB has already earned more than twice its target goal on Kickstarter. The fundraiser will still be up for 22 days, so sneak your way to its project page if you want to be one of the first to own a Crypteks USB drive. Those of you who want to play it safe with your money (but apparently not with your data!) can avail of the retail version when it drops mid-2012. My only complaint about this drive is that it’s USB 2.0-spec only, which is kind of disappointing considering the drive costs $130 (USD) for the 8GB version and $160 for the 16GB version.

[Crypteks via The Verge]

TARDIS DVD Bookcase Transports You to Any Place (in Your Movie Collection)

Technabob — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:17:11 +0000

You know me. Just slap a TARDIS on pretty much anything, and I think it’s cool. But this particular TARDIS is one of my favorite builds in a while. It’s a full-size bookcase made in the form of a TARDIS.

It was built by UK model-maker msmuse101 – with the help of her Dad – over the last few months, and it really looks great. When closed, it looks just like the iconic blue police box, but when the doors opened up, it conceals eight shelves for books – or in msmuse’s case – her DVD collection.

Unfortunately, she didn’t capture any photos during construction, nor any directions for making your own, but that’s okay. How many of you were really going to run out and start building one tonight anyhow? Check out more photos and discussion about the Tardis Bookcase over at The RPF. Great job, msmuse101 (and Dad!)

LEGO Recycling Bins for Giant Brick Builders

Range — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:54:44 +0000

These cool recycling and storage containers were created by the Italian design studio Flussocreative. They basically look like huge LEGO building blocks.

There are four different LEGO-style boxes in the series, two smaller onces in blue and green, which are supposed to be use for aluminum and glass respectively, and two larger ones in yellow and white, for paper and plastic. The models are specifically color-coded for the Italian recycling system, but they can be modified for a bunch of different uses.

Since they are based on the interlocking structure of LEGOs, they can be easily stacked in a variety of different configurations. My only question is this: with enough of them, could you build a house out of them?

[via designboom]

PS Vita to Require Memory Card for Many Games to Save Data

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:00:06 +0000

We already know all the specs about the PS Vita portable gaming console. We know it will be landing in Japan on December 17th and in the U.S. and EU on February 22, 2012. We also have known for a while that it would have memory card slots and that those memory cards use a special format that doesn’t work with any other gadget.

Today the fact has surfaced that those memory cards won’t just be for DLC. Some of the normal games that you buy will not save game data unless you have a memory card installed. This is despite the fact that the PS Vita has (a small amount of) internal storage.

There are a number of games that will require the memory card. There’s a list of titles and their storage requirements over at via Kotaku Japan (JP). Given that so many games will require the additional memory, it seems that if you want to buy the PS Vita you might as well get a memory card at the same time.

[via jin115]

The Secret to Multiplying Hard Drive Capacity is Salt, Not Pepper

Conner Flynn — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:00:53 +0000

We all love salt on our food, even though too much is not good for you. Salt makes everything better. Even hard drives apparently. And that’s good news given all of the things we are storing on our devices.

Scientists in Singapore are looking at a way to increase hard drive capacity by using salt. Plain old table salt in fact. Right now your hard drive works by spinning magnetic platters covered in random nanoscopic grains, which come in disorganized clumps of tens to form one bit of data. The latest drives hold up to 500 gigabits of data in every square inch. That’s not bad, but there may be a better way.

This latest idea gets rid of those random clumps and decides to instead make larger grains (ten nanometers, up from seven to eight nanometers), in regular patterns, which each store one bit. A spokesperson from Singapore’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering likens it to packing your clothes in a suitcase. The neater you pack it all in, the more it can carry.

They use an e-beam lithography process that produces fine nano-scale structures for the discs and when sodium chloride is added to the developer solution, they found that they could create nanostructures with a higher resolution: down to 4.5 nanometers half pitch, without overly expensive equipment. In the end, this salty process could allow for anywhere from 1.9TB to 3.3TB per square-inch, a substantial increase from today’s capacities.

[via Wired]

Fusion-io Unveils ioDrive2 SSD Card with Insane Data Speeds

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:30:36 +0000

If you are the sort that has to have whatever the fastest storage is on the market – be it in the business setting or at home, the ioDrive2 is among the fastest you will find. This is a little PCIe slot SSD that has new specifications to make a blazing fast storage class memory device. The drive can be used for applications that need really fast speeds and low latency.

The ioDrive2 is available in multiple capacities with up to 2.4TB of storage available. The device has almost symmetrical read and write access according to Fusion-io. It has 15 microsecond latency and 3 GB/s of bandwidth with 700,000 read IOPS and 900,000 write IOPS.

The drive also has a new self-healing feature that will rewrite data lost if one or more chips fails, the data can be written to other chips without interrupting use. With super fast performance comes a huge price. The 365GB version starts at $5,950 (USD). It comes in 785GB, 1205GB, and 2.4TB. I can only imagine that the high-end capacity would be super expensive.

iTwin USB Drive Gets Mac Support Via Update

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:57:49 +0000

We have talked about the iTwin USB drive before. When this thing first surfaced, it was for PCs only. The iTwin is now compatible with Mac computers as well and allows the sharing of files between both Mac OS X and Windows machines.

When connected together, it sets up a a 256-bit AES encrypted connection between the two halves of the iTwin, providing secure data transfer between devices. Once the connection is set up, the other half of the iTwin can be carried with you and plugged into any computer for a secure cloud-style connection for sharing files.

iTwin also provides a remote disconnect code so if the dongle is lost or stolen you can kill the connectivity between the devices. Another cool part about the device is that it will give you access on the road to any amount of storage that is connected to your computer. It’s like your own personal cloud system. For more info on the iTwin head over to their website.

Memory City Is a Fun Way to Keep Track of all Your Flash Drives

Hazel Chua — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:30:11 +0000

I currently have four USB drives in a tiny pouch in my bag. One drive is for work, one is for personal files, one is a backup of the projects during my final year in school, while the last drive is just for random stuff. Needless to say, teeny tiny pouches don’t really make for good USB storage cases because I’ve lost a couple of drives while in transit.

A novel and pretty presentable way of keeping a closer eye on your drives is with Memory City from Koziol. It’s a molded plastic case with slots where you can stick your USB drives and memory cards in. Once you’ve got enough drives on the thing, it will start to look more and more like a (you guessed it) memory city.

There’s enough slots for 3 micro SD cards, 3 SD cards, 4 USB sticks (just right for me) but just 3 USB lids (although you can just fasten the lid on to the bottom part of your USB drive.) Memory City goes for 9,95 € (~$14 USD), which is already inclusive of VAT and shipping. You can get one from Design 3000 or Made in Design if you want one.

[via Holycool via Oh Gizmo!]

Hitachi Intros 4TB G-DRIVE and G-RAID Drives: Fast for Macs, Slower for PCs

Range — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:00:22 +0000

While I agree that 4 terabytes of storage might seem like a lot to some users, it isn’t for others (me included). I’ve been delaying dealing with my hard drive capacity problems for about a year and a half and it’s gotten to the point where I’ll need a RAID array to serve my needs. Thankfully, Hitachi has just announced some new 4TB drives that will be released soon.

The 4TB hard drives will be part of Hitachi’s G-RAID and G-DRIVE lineup of external drives. Their perforated, all-aluminum cases look pretty nice. Matching the look of the Mac Pro tower, these drives are clearly targeted at Apple users. All models will come with Thunderbolt support, while PC users will have to be content with eSATA and USB 2.0 (sorry, no USB 3.0).

The drives will start shipping in October. Other hard drive makers will certainly release their own 4TB drives in the near future as well.

New Hitachi GST Single Platter 1TB HDD Brings the Storage and Power Savings

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:09:50 +0000

Hitachi GST has a new hard drive series that is a very thin and power-efficient. It crams 1TB of storage space onto a slim hard drive with a single platter. The drive is offered in other capacities and will be available in Deskstar and CinemaStar versions. The CinemaStar version is aimed at use in things like DVRs and more.

The mainstream Deskstar drives are made in 7,200 RPM style and the new 1TB platters are also found in Travelstar styles too with a 7mm z-height. The thin profile and high storage space means that notebooks, netbooks, tablets, and ultraportables will be able to get more storage without having to get thicker to do so.

Hitachi says that the single platter also makes the drives more power efficient and that the 7,200 RPM drives use 15% less power than previous models. Some versions are also aided CoolSpin technology for low power consumption. The drives have a 32MB buffer and connect to the 6Gb/sec SATA port. The Deskstar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B versions are available now and the Cinemastar version will ship this fall.

Transcend Wants to Make a 2TB Flash Drive: Yes Please!

Range — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:39:18 +0000

Apparently, Transcend is working on a 2 terabyte USB 3.0 flash drive. I think that’s about the best news that I’ve heard recently, because flash drives can never be big enough. The mythical 2TB drive will “be no longer than a human thumb and only a hair thicker than a penny”. Famous last words or will we see these soon?

Needless to say that this USB flash drive would be ridiculously expensive, but odds are after a few months, flash drives in the 500GB to 1.5TB sizes would hit the market costing less. If this happens, it’ll make a lot of sense to ditch USB hard drives for flash drives, unless you need to run a RAID array.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While Transcend thinks it’s possible, it might also take a while, as the biggest USB flash drives currently on the market only hold 256GB.

[via Computer World via DVice]

Iomega Mac Companion Expands iMac Storage, Ports

Range — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:18:34 +0000

While I’m sure that the iMac is a great computer for many users, there’s just something that irks me about a desktop that’s made out of laptop parts. That being said, they still look pretty good, and have decent specs. You can now augment your iMac with the Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive, which adds an external hard drive combined with extra USB and Firewire ports to help plug in your other devices.

The hard drive comes in 2TB or 3TB capacities and has 2 extra USB 2.0 ports and 2 Firewire 800 ports. It connects to your Mac via USB or one of the two Firewire 800 ports. It comes pre-formatted to work with a Mac out of the box, and it was apparently designed to fit perfectly on top of the base of your iMac or Apple display. It’s also got some LED lights showing the approximate amount of used storage, which is a nice feature.

The Iomega Mac Companion costs $195 for the 2TB version and $295 for the 3TB version.

[via CNet via Ubergizmo]