Tag Archives: USB

40GB USB 2.0 MP4/MP3/JPG/DIVX Digital Media Player Geek Kit - Store & Play Videos, Photos & Music Anywhere!


40GB USB 2.0 MP4/MP3/JPG/DIVX Digital Media Player Geek Kit - Store & Play Videos, Photos & Music Anywhere!

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Features:

  • 40 GB USB 2.0 MP4/MP3 Digital Media Player Geek Kit
  • 3.5-inch USB 2.0 MP4/MP3 Media Bank Aluminum External IDE Hard Drive Player Features:
  • Aluminum black design USB 2.0 interface
  • Accepts a 3.5-inch IDE hard drive with up to 500 GB capacity (includes a 40 GB hard drive)
  • Movie player

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    Kingston, DTS/4GB USB Flash Drive (retail)


    Kingston, DTS/4GB USB Flash Drive (retail)

    List Price: $120.99 Publisher: Kingston Digital, Inc.
    Our Price: $109.95
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    Features:

  • Capacities1 - 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
  • Secure - utilizes 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware-based encryption (privacy zone)
  • Waterproof - protects against water damage2
  • Fast - data transfer rates of up to 24 MB/sec. read and up to 10 MB/sec. write3
  • Guaranteed — five-year warranty

    Customer Reviews:
    A good, secure, USB flash drive
    Solid feeling drive, bulkier than most, supposed to be water proof (have not had the desire to test this yet) easy to setup, and nice security features (hardware 256 AES encryption, and drive lockout after 10 failed authentication attempts which defeats brute forcing. (lockout = reformat of drive, but your data stays secure, this is nice peace of mind and makes the product well worth the price.

    I have 1 complaint, which depending on the user may be of value or seem foolish. I tried out the drive by locking my system, then reauthenticating (no reboot). Apparently once the drive has been authenticated in a user sesion, even if the host is locked (ctrl-alt-del) then is logged back into, the drive remains open. I was hoping the drive would require the user to reauthenticate to it as well. I have not tried it, but makes me think if someone was to RDP/VNC in to your box while the drive is authenticated (NetAdmin) then they would have access to your data as well. This may be an issue with WinXP if User quick switching is enabled and is certainly the case if you share user login/passwords on the same box. (I purchased the drive for someone who practices poor data security and was hoping this drive would force good behaviour).

    Data throughput is slower than other USB drives / the drive weighs more than most plastic USB thumbdrives.
    Data throughput is slower than other USB drives / the drive weighs more than most plastic USB thumbdrives.

    You don’t have to buy this to get free and seamless encryption for jump drives if you are using XP, Vista or even Windows 2000.

    There IS NO SOFTWARE INSTALLATION when you insert the drive, instead the DTSP_Launcher.exe applet will autorun (if enabled) and walk you through the password setup process, and create a custom hint.

    If you fail to enter the password 10 consecutive times, the disk will destroy the protected data with a thorough wipe, we couldn’t restore the data with Sysinternals Disk Commander or SmartUnDelete.

    Data transfer from the encrypted partition is slower than other jump drives we use, it seems comparable to the latency we encounter when using NTFS EFS formatted disks.

    The disadvantage to NTFS EFS is you have to import the decryption certificate / key onto any system you wish to read the encrypted data, unless the key is deleted when done then any data encrypted and stored anywhere can be read by the importing computer.

    Titanium casing is plastic hybrid and has some noticeable but not necessarily arduous weight, if you are used to carrying it inside your pocket you’ll notice if it falls out.

    ——— Management ———

    Inside Win32 DiskManager the drive appears as multiple partitions, the first is a virtual CD-ROM about 6MB in size, this contains the DTSP_Launcher.exe, the encrypted partition will appear as a Removable Disk.

    The DTSP_Launcher.exe applet remains resident in the application bar tray and can be dynamically unloaded.

    Overall, we recommend it because it is straightforward to use, doesn’t install software onto your computer and thoroughly destroys the data when necessary.

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    Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Blue)


    Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Blue)

    List Price: $399.99 Publisher: Canon
    Salesrank: 195
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    Features:

  • Capture video to SDHC cards
  • 48x Advanced Zoom; image stabilizer
  • Widescreen HR recording
  • 2.7-inch widescreen LCD
  • USB 2.0 compatible for fast file transfer

    Customer Reviews:
    Great size and value!
    Good Camera, for the price. Palm size is very comfortable. Get a 16 Gig Card and you are good to go. No complaints with a Canon. Would recommend to all real dads who want save kid memories.

    1st Review
    I am very pleased with the size of this product and the easy use for talking stills and movies

    Problems solved
    I bought the Cannon FS100 (blue) even after reading all the reviews about the problems with the .MOD file extension. After receiving the camera and playing with it for a few hours it was really symple to save the movies. I took two videos, changed the file extension to .MPG. Opened Windows Movie Maker. I imported the two movies and clicked save to my computer. Then enter the file name, choose a place to save, click next and go to other settings. Choose (High Quality Video-large) Once the movie is joined the quality is excellent. I have no problem with saving, using this method. I’m really happy with this camera. I hope this helps.

    Some things no one else mentioned
    I’m a beginner with video, so I’m not one to judge the quality of the image. After reading other reviews, I thought it would be better than it is though. You have only the small LCD screen to use to make adjustments such as exposure or white balance or manual focus, and LCD screens are notorious for looking different at different angles. The screen swivels for ease of use, but where do you set it to know you are seeing what the camera is seeing? Once I put some video onto my computer, it was easier to view, but several shots taken of a marina on a cloudy day had vague purple stripes in the sky. The still images are awful, with lots of purple fringing. The stabilization is electronic and only applies to the video mode, so the camera portion is almost worthless.

    I took some video of some real estate to show my family, and the microphone picked up my footsteps in the grass much better than my voice. The windscreen hardly works at all. I shot some video at the beach and didn’t even notice the breeze until I heard it on the video. (and despite what another review said, there is no audio gain control — there is an audio level indicator but you can’t control it)

    A big surprise for me was the noise of the buttons. The microphone is up front, but the buttons on the LCD are right there too. There are only a few things you can change while recording (exposure, manual focus, mini-light, backlight compensation, zoom), but all the buttons make noise that is recorded and make it difficult to hold the camera steady. Other features such as white balance, scene type, digital effects, and a few other settings must be chosen before recording starts.

    I haven’t tried the included software. I can easily copy the files to my computer by plugging the camera in with the USB cable. I tried putting the SD card into my built-in card reader, but half the time it worked and half the time it locked up my computer. I think that’s probably a hardware issue and has nothing to do with the camera. But the first few videos I took were strange because sometimes playing them (in Windows Media Player) sometimes hung the program and sometimes they played fine.

    If you shoot video at eye level, the standard grip that the camera is built for is OK. I have fairly average sized hands, but I have to put my hand at a tiring angle to keep the camera level. My boyfriend’s larger hands have no problem with this (it fits better), but he has a hard time hitting the record button with his thumb - he has to use the middle of the thumb since it’s so close. Trying to hold the camera any other way, it’s difficult to keep it level and steady.

    Great little unit with some minor annoyances, but overall pleased for the price
    Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Garnet Wine)

    This is my 6th Canon digital video camcorder, having owned a ZR30MC, ZR50MC, ZR90, Optura 20 and Elura 100 before this one. My main objective for purchasing the new flash-memory based camcorder was to get away from the dreaded motor noise from most of these units. Out of all 6 previous models, the Optura 20 had the best video sensor CCD size (1/4″), followed by the Elura 100 (1/5″). The other models, including this FS100, use a sensor CCD size of 1/6″, so I was expecting the video quality to be a bit more grainy (especially from reading all these reviews).

    Right out of the box after charging the BP-808 battery, the unit starts up very quickly, however, the LCD is a bit grainy even in moderate lighting. Don’t be alarmed though, this granularity image is not transferred to video, it’s just the nature of the 123K pixel color LCD (my Powershot SD750 has the same problem with its LCD but still takes great pictures). But the biggest test of this new unit was to see how the audio sounded from a camcorder with no moving parts/motor. I am pleased to report the sound is great, and even better (good bass) when hooked up to my 55″ projection TV.

    Now for the video quality, it is true the video is very grainy and noisy in low-light settings, but I am much impressed with how well the unit retains its focus in these situations. What I am very much disappointed in is the unit only uses electronic stabilization and at max. telephoto, I can’t get a steady shot with the IS on no matter how steady my hand. And I am not sure what to think of the advanced 48X zoom, the picture tends to pixelate at you approach the 48X, so I may just stick with the 37X optical zoom (I never owned a camera with a zoom bigger than 22X on the older ZR models). Now I haven’t had the chance to video in bright sunlight, but I do feel the single LED video light works very well to help out in low-light situations.

    The record, photo and playback menus are excellent on this model, since you are recording to the SD card (I use 8GB Transcend card with included USB reader) and you can never accidentally erase footage and you can choose scenes and playback with a few touches of a button. The joystick on the LCD is placed in a comfortable location and is very responsive. One major complaint I have is why does Canon insist on the user having to press buttons to activate the faders/digital effects? Every model I have owned has this same problem, and yes the mics will pick up on you having to press button to activate you fade-to-black for ending your current recording in progress. I know for a fact on older Sony 8mm units, once you activate a fader, it will remain active for every scene you shoot until you turn it off. Canon needs to do this on future models.

    Still photo quality is surprisingly good on this model (as compared to experience on previous models), but it is a function of lighting available to you.

    I use iMovie ‘08 and the software/Macbook has no problem recognizing the files. I don’t like the fact you have to use AC power to transfer your files/photos to your computer, but I bought the USB card reader to get around this. IMovie HD will not recognize these files, so you’ll have to upgrade to iLife 08 and you need an Intel Mac for this to work. iPhoto immediately recognizes the camera if you have any still images to transfer.

    In summary, the unit is very light and easy to hold, very responsive to start recording in about a second, and the electronic lens cap is a nice little feature. Here are my PROs and CONs:

    PROs:

    - Sleek, lightweight and colorful unit that is easy to hold and the major user features to operate it are well placed

    - Focus in excellent and very responsive even in low light settings

    - Very bright LED video light that helps in low-light recordings

    - Very good video quality in very well-lit surroundings, and audio is great with no motor noise!

    - Excellent menu hierarchy with quick, easy playback of your scenes

    - Flash memory is great and very reliable, but pick up extra cards (8GB Class 6 or higher) especially with the good prices here at Amazon.com. I recommend Transcend from experience with this unit.

    - Many manual controls I have not yet explored

    - NO MOTOR NOISE, did I mention this?

    - Quickstart standby mode is great and really helps to conserve battery power.

    - Intelligent battery meter a great addition to help you gauge remaining battery life

    CONS:

    - Low light performance on this unit is very poor, but video light does improve video quality and I’m sure Shutter priority and other manual settings could even help out more.

    - Electronic stabilization is not at all useful at maximum telephoto and even pixelates the image while producing a really bad shake even with steady hands.

    - I am not impressed with the advanced zoom to gain an extra 11X from plain optical zoom. Video quality will suffer at maximum telephoto.

    - You have to use the joystick to activate faders and digital effects during your recordings, so expect to hear the button-pushing on your video footage.

    - Have to plug in the unit to AC power to transfer video/photos to your computer.

    So as you can see the PROs outweigh the CONs and I am happy with this unit in overall performance and value for its price (I got mine in a bundle pack at [...] with the unit, extra OEM Canon battery and a carrying case, sorry Amazon!) This camera is a definite keeper for me for a while (until I get HD TV and home theater systems), and then I’ll probably upgrade to the equivalent HD model the HF100.

    I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting a new standard definition unit, but be sure to invest in several SD memory cards to support your video needs. As you can see I am a loyal Canon consumer for both my camcorder and digital camera needs. Nice job overall, Canon, on this FS100 model.

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    Kid-Tough Digital Camera Case - Blue


    Kid-Tough Digital Camera Case - Blue

    List Price: $16.29 Publisher: Fisher Price
    Salesrank: 1210
    Released: 2006-06-12
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    Features:

  • The case makes taking the camera on-the-go a snap with plenty of space and a separate compartment to organize
  • The Kid-Tough Digital Camera Case is portable and lightweight, making it easy for preschoolers to take their camera along on all of their adventures
  • The Kid-Tough Digital Camera Case is an easy way to tote the Kid-Tough Digital Camera and all of its components

    Customer Reviews:
    Camera case
    I purchased this to hold and protect my sons camera. It is good and easy too use. He is able to open and close it with no problems. I agree with the others though that it needs a handle. He has to carry it with both hands because thre is no handle on it.

    Not bad, a custom case for the Kid Tough camera, but you get what you pay for
    This is an adequate impulse item for those buying the Kid Tough Camera as I did for a 2007 Christmas present. The pink case is a very light shade of pink, almost not pink at all. Lack of a handle costs it a star, but form-fitting to the camera and an internal pocket for the USB cord or extra batteries is handy. Though it’s a light case, which will not prevent crushing damage to the camera, it does keep dust off the lens and camera controls. $14.97 at Wal-mart as of this writing.

    Sturdy case.
    I think this case is great for the Kid Tough camera. I like that it teaches my son that things should be put away safely, and as tough as the camera is, it should still be protected because it is important to him. It makes it easier to put it on a shelf or bring it with, protecting from dust, dirt, etc. However, I took one star off of my rating because rather than a handle, it has a small tab. When trying to teach my son to keep his camera safe to take it with us, it works against me because he cannot easily hold on to it. Because the camera is a good size, it usually means he uses both hand to hold it. Not convenient or practical. Fisher Price should add a common sense handle!

    Cute but not necessary
    First I must say that you need to watch what you pay for this. I got mine at Walmart for $[...]. That is ALL it is worth. Please do not pay more.

    Back to the product. This is a cute, “foamlike” case for the camera. It fits the camera very well and comes in colors to match the camera. I don’t think it offers much protection because it is a bit flimsy and the camera is pretty tough on its own. For kids who insists that their camera needs a case just like mom’s then it is prefect. I would recommend going with the blue one rather than the pink because it can get scuff marks very easily and the the pink shows up way too much dirt.

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    BTC 9019urf Wireless Multimedia USB Keyboard with Joystick Mouse


    BTC 9019urf Wireless Multimedia USB Keyboard with Joystick Mouse

    List Price: $49.95 Publisher: BTC
    Salesrank: 4108
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    Features:

  • Special Combination Joystick and Mouse Function, User friendly Control for Most PC Game.
  • Instant Access Internet and Multimedia Hot Keys.
  • Long Wireless Distance & Easy Launch
  • Space-saving Layout

    Customer Reviews:
    High quality yet inexpensive
    This keyboard is solid and responsive with robust functions and limited programmability. The handles are sturdy and contribute to the overall solidity of the device. The keys feel solid, but not stiff. The keypad is not without its quirks however; the num lock key must be *off* in order to use the letters “UIOJKLM” as letters rather than numbers. The sleep button is the only one that cannot be programmed (although the behavior of *all* sleep buttons can be set in Windows Vista). The cursor buttons are well proportioned and the joystick is rugged (although users may need to boost the track speed on high-resolution systems, i.e. HTPCs). The bundled software is primitive but functional. There is a driver for Vista 64 bit, which is critical due to Microsoft’s rejection of all unsigned drivers for 64 bit Vista versions.

    perfect for what I needed
    The first thing I noticed, that it came with batteries. And not just that, they were brand name AA batteries. Wow, how nice. I will have to say that is a first for me getting name brand batteries with electronics.

    I plugged this thing in my Quad Vista 64bit SP1 machine, and bam, went right to the internet, got the drivers and started working. HELLO! I never used the disk, but all of the functioned seem to work with the drivers Vista downloaded. I was pleased it recognized it right away.

    I would recommend this keyboard, it is affordable. I have only had it for a few months with light use, so I don’t know about the durability yet. But, so far overall I have had no problems. I can even use my regular keyboard, this keyboard, a wired mouse and a wireless mouse all at the same time, with no issues. Not to mention my infra red- remotes for the PC. Yes, as you guess I am running media center….

    The joystick makes all the difference!
    This will not be your deskop keyboard replacement, there are much better (although more expensive) options for that. To control the PC in your living room, however, the one that you have connected to your TV to watch all those torrents on a large screen while mindlessly reclining in your lazy-boy there is simply no better option.

    First there is the pointing device: obviously mice don’t have a place in the coach, and trackballs and touchpads have to be “cranked” a number of times in order to get the pointer from one end of the screen to the other; with a joystick it is just a matter of pushing once and letting the device do its thing until you reach the desired icon or widget. Then there is the keyboard: you need something reasonably comfortable to enter URLs and search terms, type the occasional credit card number or answer your email, but you probably won’t try to do word-processing, 3D-modelling or serious video gaming in-between your video clips. And last, but not least, there is wireless: unlike products from software monopolists become hardware ergonomists, this keyboard will actually connect from your lap to its base on the stereo rack 8 or so feet away. As a bonus, the packaging looks and feels sturdy enough (but I haven’t subjected it to the kids-and-dog sress test) and the multimedia keys work with iTunes in my Mac … Can’t beat all that convenience anywhere else at that low price point!

    Good for PC bad for PS3
    This keyboard was designed for the living room or classroom. The keyboard is compact and sturdy. It is strong enough to sit on your lap or grip with two hands to the side. What I like is the very responsive keypad. The mouse pad is convenient and is like a game console controller joystick. I returned this after the compatibility issues with the PS3, but it worked fine on a PC. For the PS3 I loose signal after exiting the PS3 web-browser and have to reset the keyboard many times. There are trigger buttons in the front.

    There are also Bluetooth rechargeable keyboards from Logitech. The RF range on this pad is good. It is at a great price, but need to be more compatible with the PS3. Interlink’s Versapoint is a similar product. Its cost twice as much but it works on the PS3 and PC. Sadly, its mouse is not as good as this one.

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