USB to Bluetooth

Trackstick is a new hot product that basically works as a GPS tracker.  It isn’t a real-time tracker, like in the movies where the police have their little radar screen and it shows a blip of where the person being tracked is.  This device basically logs all of the data and stores it on a built-in flash drive.  You can then take it and plug it into a computer and use Google Maps to see where you’ve been.

Its great for people that like to travel and have a log of where they’ve been.  I could imagine using it on a long hike and then seeing later on where I was.  It is also put to work by businesses who want to know where their employees are, and also parents who are a little on the paranoid side and want to keep close tabs on where their kids are.

When I say 3G for all, I don’t mean “3G for anyone willing to pay $60 a month.”  But at the same time I admit I don’t mean “3G for anyone regardless of anything.”

With 3G technology, information can be accessed from practically anywhere now as long as that candidate pays for a subscription from a cell phone company, such as Verizon or Sprint.  But with the advent of the mobile broadband router, you can actually share this signal with anyone you want that has wifi on their laptop.

The way it works, is the router accepts cards or dongles from your cell phone provider, converts that 3G signal into standard 802.11 wifi, and allows you to carry around a virtual hotspot.  Pretty cool, eh?

It would seem that USB has infinite capabilities since it is so popular.  With a 480 mbps data transfer speed and easy to use connector, there’s no wonder why its so universal.  The only problem many people run into when it comes to USB and other digital signals is its length limitation.  USB can only travel roughly 16 feet on copper cable.

You can solve this problem using baluns, or with an active repeater.  Baluns take the signal and send it over long distances over Cat5 or fiber cable.  That is a good option if you’re planning on going really far, like hundreds of feet.  If you’re planning on going a shorter distance you’ll probably want to use a repeater, or a usb extension cable, which has an active repeater built-in.  These typically allow you to extend your cable run by 16-32 more feet.

Many buildings and homes these days are opting for fiber optics.  How does it work and why are people switching, you might ask.  There are many reasons to switch, and it might not be quite as expensive as you think.

Fiber optic patch cable work much differently than the other alternative which is copper cable.  Instead of an electric signal which runs on copper, fiber optic sends data using light pulses.  In order to get the light to follow the curving twisting path of a typical fiber optic cable, the inside of the cable is essentially lined with a glass-like bendable wall that behaves much like a mirror does.  The light pulse carrying the information basically bounces off the walls until it gets from one end to another.

Since there isn’t any electrical current, there is no need for shielding because there won’t be problems with interference.  Fiber can typically transfer data much faster than copper cable as well.  Although fiber is typically a little more pricey than copper cable, it generally isn’t completely out of the same price budget.  It is also usually used for longer distance networking since fiber’s distance limitation isn’t as restrictive as copper.

Who cares about touch screen technology, anyway? After all, it’s only the cutting edge of the future of digital media and resolves a number of problems commonly encountered when utilizing conventional CPU setups in unconventional environments, such as industrial, manufacturing, commercial, and domestic environments.

Hm.. I guess we *should* care about touch screen monitors, after all. The difficulty with implementing this technology versus more traditional user interfaces has historically been the price: they’re just too darn expensive.

With the exponential surge in the miniaturization of touch screen optics, however, production and manufacturing costs have been driven downward and as a result, we, the end consumer, now enjoy a remarkably low price. What exactly does this mean? It means that for the first time since its inception, touch screen displays are finally within the reach of individual users, small businesses, and ambitious government agencies seeking to incorporate a more intuitive, user friendly interface for their customers, clients, and families.

If present trends continue, we’ll run out of valid reasons not to purchase a touch screen monitor… and maybe that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

HDMI was revised back in September of 2006 and is known as HDMI 1.3.  It wasn’t until the last 6 months or so however that the new signal has been making a strong showing in devices.  Is it worth switching out your expensive HDMI equipment for the new standard?  Let’s consider what’s changed:

1. The single-link bandwidth has been increased to 340 MHz for a total of 10.2 Gbit/s data-wise.
2. HDMI 1.3 now supports Deep Color for over one billion colors.  This is optional, of course.  Your media has to also support it.
3. Audio Video Sync is now automatic.
4. HDMI 1.3 also supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, which is upgraded from 7 channel surround in the old HDMI version.
5. HDMI 1.3 has also made available a new mini connector for devices such as HD camcorders.

If these changes are worth it to you, then you should switch to HDMI 1.3.  Speaking of switching, you’ll also need a new HDMI 1.3 compliant switch if you have more than one HDMI 1.3 source.  I’d recommend Gefen’s EXT-GEFENTV1.3-441, allowing for up to four HDMI 1.3 sources to be switched on one display.

There are many situations where finding a high-quality low-cost way to mirror and distribute one HDMI signal to multiple displays is crucial.  One popular application is in commercial settings where you have several different locations that require you to feed the same video simultaneously for entertainment, information feeds to the public, or even for quickly  distributing emergency notifications throughout an entire building or campus.

For small and simple jobs where you only need two displays, we recommend Gefen’s HDMI splitter / distribution amplifier with 2 ports, part number EXT-HDMI-142

Since the beginning of the computer age, engineers have been trying to invent ways to transfer data faster and more efficiently.  Today the most popular method is via USB, or Universal Serial Bus which can transfer data at a maximum speed of 480 mbps.  But what were the past interfaces?

There have been many advancements in data transfer and one of the earliest consumer methods since the conception of the electrical bus is GPIB, or General Purpose Interface Bus.

The electrical bus was a revolutionary and necessary advancement of itself, allowing multiple devices to be connected on the same electrical circuit, therefore allowing data to follow along copper wires going from one termination to another.  GPIB was created by HP (the interface was originally called HP-IB, or Hewlett Packard Instrument Bus) and was originally intended for automated machinery testing.  The interface was then adopted for some of the earlier personal computers, such as the Commadore.  The interface was used to connect peripherals like floppy drives.

Today in industrial settings, many machines that use the GPIB are still around.  Since it is expensive to replace these machines when technology advances, it makes more sense to make adapters that will communicate with these machines.

The USB to GPIB allows one to connect modern devices to these machines.  Since GPIB operates at around 8 mbps you won’t get the 480 mbps transfer speed of USB, but you’ll save a whole lot of money.  Generally speaking, these machines don’t require a lot of data to be transfered, so the difference is usually a non-issue.

Class 1 and Class 2 Bluetooth run at the same speed, the only difference is in the range. Class 1 Bluetooth has a much higher range, but must be used with another Class 1 Bluetooth device in order to work. Class 2 Bluetooth devices can be used with Class 1 devices, so long as the devices remain within Bluetooth Class 2 operational range.

Want to connect your PCMCIA Cardbus cards to your new ExpressCard-only laptop? Check out the USB to PCMCIA adapter, or the new ExpressCard to PCMCIA adapter!

Designed particularly for use over long distances, this USB Bluetooth dongle is the last word in Bluetooth connectivity. The Class 1 designation means that you can connect to other Class 1 devices at distances up to 100 meters, through walls or other obstacles. The adapter features an antenna and internal Broadcom radio, meaning that you get even more punch for your signal. Quality means that its going to be compatible with your devices. Period.