I-O Data's HDPN-U500/V portable hard drive pulls video from your camcorder, plays it on your TV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I get it, Magic Trackpad. You don't want any gaudy cords messing up the smooth lines of your industrial design. But some of us prefer USB power over batteries—and we will not be denied. More »

Who needs George Hotz anyway? A USB modchip for the PS3 has emerged from the mists this morning, purporting to allow the dumping of games onto nearby storage -- the console's internal HDD and external drives are both a-ok -- as well as the subsequent playing of said games without the need for the original disc. Could it be the backup/piracy nirvana Sony loyalists have been awaiting for so long? Well, there's a video showing the little USB device apparently working, and the PSX-Scene team say they have personally verified that it does what it claims to do, but skepticism remains advisable here. The PS3 has been a fortress of hacker unfriendliness, so we'd rather kick back, relax, and wait for some braver souls than us to do the testing. For now, the video awaits after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading PS3 modchip claims to finally allow backing up games without invasive console surgery (video)

PS3 modchip claims to finally allow backing up games without invasive console surgery (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pogoplug, a device that lets you put any USB disk onto the internet, is getting a wireless adapter. Now you can have your disk anywhere in your house and still access it from the outside world. More »

Do you have files and folders on your computer that you absolutely don’t want anyone else to see? Or do you even carry important documents on those easy-to-misplace USB drives?

If the answer is yes, you should definitely download a copy of SafeHouse Explorer – it’s a free and incredibly easy-to-use file encryption utility that will hide all your private files from prying eyes in few easy steps. You may use the tool to password protect files that are residing on your computer’s internal hard disk or even on external USB drives.

Tutorial: Encrypt and Password Protect your Files and Folders

SafeHouse Explorer, in simple English, works something like this. It creates a hidden storage area on your disk to hold all the files that you want to protect. These files and folders are hidden from normal view and will only become visible when you enter the correct password.

Here’s a more detailed tutorial on how you can protect your files with SafeHouse Explorer.

Step 1: Download and install SafeHouse Explorer to your hard-drive.

The software works with XP, Vista and Windows 7 (both 32 and 64-bit editions). It is also portable so you may run it directly without installation.

Step 2: Once the installation is complete, click the “New Volume” button to create your hidden storage that will house your various files and folders.

You may either create one large volume to store all the “private” files or you can create multiple smaller-size volumes each corresponding to the type of files that they’ll store. For instance, you may have one volume for storing confidential documents and spreadsheets while another one could be for hiding those “personal” pictures and so on.

For step 2b, choose a volume size based on the size of the folders that you’ll be storing inside that volume. The “Pre-initialize Volume with Random Data” basically means that your virtual drive will be filled with random data if there aren’t enough files to fill complete that volume. Use the default “on” setting.

Step 3. Now that your volume is created, open Windows Explorer (Win+E) and you’ll see a new “virtual drive” under My Computer. Just drag and drop any of your folders and files into this virtual drive and they’ll instantly get protected using encryption.

Once you have added all the files to the “protected” volume, make sure you delete them from the original location as the original copy is unencrypted and therefore anyone can open it without requiring a password.

Step 4. Switch to SafeHouse Explorer and choose File –> Close Volume to lock up the files. Congratulations. You have successfully created your first encrypted and password-protected folder on your computer that you can only access after typing the correct password.

To access your protected files, simply navigate to the folder that houses your SafeHouse volumes and double-click the corresponding volume file to open it. Type the password and you should see all the files and folders under a virtual drive in Windows Explorer again.

Encryption is obviously a complex subject for most of us but what you’ll really like about SafeHouse Explorer is that it hides all the technical details from the end user.

Encrypt your USB Flash Drive and Email Attachments

The tool will also be extremely handy for people who carry around important and confidential files on USB drives and external hard disks.

Instead of copying files and folders to your external disk directly, first encrypt these files on the hard-drive (as explained above) and then copy the encrypted volume (the .sksk file) to your external disk. Now even if the drive gets misplaced, the finder won’t be able to read any of your files and, since the software uses 256-bit encryption, it will be nearly impossible for anyone to crack your password.

Similarly, you can add an extra layer of protection to your sensitive email attachments with SafeHouse. Encrypt the files, send them as email attachments and communicate the password to the recipient over another medium (like phone).

How to Password Protect your Files and Folders

     

Originally published at Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal.

It’s no secret that Snoopy is a flying ace, and now he can be a flying ace right on your desktop. The Snoopy USB hub features snoopy all dressed up in his classic pilot outfit, sitting in his plane’s cockpit. Just push a button and the plane’s propeller will spin and the plane will move. But if that alone isn’t enough to entertain you, you can always plug a usb device into Snoopy’s base, since it also works as a USB hub with three ports. Overall, this is quite adorable, but way too overpriced for $89.99.

We're guessing that the past six months have dragged on (or zipped by, depending on viewpoint) for the folks at Infinitec as they waited for this day, but the device we first spotted at the Engadget trailer during CES 2010 is finally up for pre-order. Hailed as the world's first "infinite USB flash drive," this ad hoc streaming device enables any two locally networked devices to send content to one another, and as of today, those who have longed for just this thing can get in line. The startup's also taking this opportunity to gloat about the "dual-WiFi" capabilities included (a video explanation awaits you past the break), which essentially enables an IUM-equipped laptop to connect to another device while retaining its live connection to the web. Hit the source link to part ways with your $129, and if you buy in early, you'll be gifted with gratis worldwide shipping come August 31st. And you can't beat that deal with a stick, USB or otherwise.

Continue reading Infinitec opens pre-orders for 'infinite' USB memory drive, touts dual-WiFi

Infinitec opens pre-orders for 'infinite' USB memory drive, touts dual-WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you aren’t already aware of this, Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty is a very talented solo artist in his own right and he also loves animals.  So Rob is kicking off his 16-city Sidewalk Angels Tour which will have proceeds going to his foundation. The Sidewalk Angels Foundation was established by Rob Thomas and his wife Marisol and not only helps animals, but people too. If you are one of the lucky ones to get to go to his concert this summer, you can re-live the LIVE concert experience with Rob Thomas’ Sidewalk Angels Tour LiveFlash USB Wristband. This reusable USB wristband will contain the audio from that night’s show. The USB wristband plugs right into any USB port and also comes with a Micro-SD slot. If you order it beforehand – once the concert is over you can pick it up later the show. The Sidewalk Angel Tour LiveFlash Wristband will retail for $40.00 and proceeds will go the Sidewalk Angel Foundation.

Timely, no? In concert with its HSPA+ expansion, T-Mobile USA has decided to come clean with that webConnect Rocket 2.0 that we peeked a few weeks ago courtesy of a leaked presentation slide. Said device isn't drastically different than the original, offering a mildly overhauled design and "a new rotating swivel USB form factor." The bigger news is the expanded platform support, with this bugger now playing nice with Windows 7, XP, Vista and any version of OS X since 10.4. It's up for grabs right now via the source link if you're in the mood for those so-called "4G speeds," with an on-contract stick costing absolutely nothing and a no-strings-attached version running $199.99.

Update: We've updated the post with a new image of the actual device, though it's not quite ready for primetime on T-Mobile's site just yet. When it hits, it'll run $49.99 on contract, with the 1.0 version going for zilch on contract.

T-Mobile webConnect Rocket 2.0 USB WWAN modem now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To cut a long story short, Onkyo's LPF10M01 is basically a netbook's screen sans (most of) the netbook. 10.1 inches of LED-backlit LCD get covered in a 1,024 x 600 pixel array and are backed up by 250 nits of brightness and a 500 to 1 contrast ratio. The big selling point here is the inclusion of an HDMI input -- still something of a rarity in picture frames -- which sidles up alongside a USB port, SDHC and Memory Stick card reader, and 512MB of integrated memory. We're fancying the flexibility of using it as a secondary display or as part of some truly minimalist desktop environment, but doubt many will be won over by the austere 140 degree horizontal viewing angle, which narrow down to a zany 110 on the vertical axis. Anyhow, it launches on August 6 in Japan for around ¥19,800 ($227).

Onkyo busts out HDMI-connected 10.1-inch picture frame originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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