Hasta La Gadget!

A couple of years back, AOC released a compact USB-powered secondary display which could be easily used to extend your computer’s desktop. The $130 display was a pretty good deal then, and now AOC has improved a few features of the original with its recently released e1659Fwu portable display.

The updated display measures just 0.9″ thick vs. the 1.4″ thick original. The new model has a smartly-designed folding stand which lets you use it in either portrait or landscape modes in a snap. It’s also got standard VESA mount holes this time around. In addition, it transfers data to the screen via a fast USB 3.0 connection, vs. the USB 2.0 connection of the original.

The 15.6″ display still offers 1366×768 resolution though, and I was hoping they might bump it up to HD resolution this time. Still, it’s a handy thing to throw in your bag if you need extra display space, or if you want to mirror your primary display for presentations. To use it, simply connect it to your PC’s USB port and it works like an extra display. Mac users will need to install the latest DisplayLink driver to make it work though.

You can find the AOC e1659Fwu portable USB-powered display over at Amazon for $129.99(USD). If you don’t mind the added thickness of the original, it’s available for just $90 now.

It’s a hard pill for the alarm clock industry to swallow, but the fact of the matter is that we don’t really need them anymore. Smartphones have been reliably waking us up for years now, and they do so much more. So kudos to the folks at Idea International for finding the perfect feature that keeps this bedside alarm clock relevant: a pair of USB ports to charge our phones and tablets.

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The USB 3.0 standard has been around for a fair number of years now, where it experienced a quantum leap when it came to data transfer speeds between USB devices compared to USB 2.0. Well, after some time, things do age and one ought to look forward into the future and roll out an update. What comes next after USB 3.0? USB 4.0? Apparently not, as we now have heard that USB 3.1 is in the pipeline, as the new specification has just been approved by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. One of the main improvements from USB 3.0 to USB 3.1 would be the data transfer speed, where we are looking at a theoretical maximum data transfer speed of 10Gbps on USB 3.1, making it double the theoretical limit of USB 3.0 connectivity.

While it is not a 10 times increase in speed, it is still something worth mulling over – 10Gbps is no laughing matter. Now, all we need to do is for USB 3.1 to be officially approved and released before manufacturers start to flood the market with USB 3.1 compatible devices. You will be glad to hear that backward compatibility is maintained with older devices, meaning you can still plug a USB 2.0 flash drive into it, although the maximum data transfer speed would be capped according to USB 2.0 standards.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | USB 3.1 Said To Hit 10Gbps Speeds original content from Ubergizmo.

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group—honestly, there is such a thing—has finalized the next iteration of Universal Serial Bus, and it’s going to run at a lightning fast 10Gbps.

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If you’ve ever wondered if plugging your smartphone in to one power outlet was charging it up to full power faster than another, there’s a tiny device made by a fellow named David Toledo that’ll get you thinking. What you’re seeing here is a sort of half-way point between a USB port and your USB-based power cord. What the Practical Meter will do is show you a number of lights depending on how fast your device is powering up. With this information, you’ll be able to find the most optimized power source and charge your device up as fast as possible.

In the setup Toledo has created, he’s also made it possible to connect to your microUSB, mini-USB, and iPhone 4S-and-older iOS devices with a single cord. This cord works with a three head system, each of them with their own built-in circuit that Toledo suggests will optimize charge rates once again.

It’s quite simple, really. Each of the bars – the lights, that is – represent another measure of time that will be knocked off your charge time. One bar represents at least 8 hours of charge time before your device is all the way up to full power. Ramping up to 5 bars will bring you to just 1.5 hours of charge time – and that’s just in general. If you’ve got a device that has a battery capacity smaller than the average phone, you may very well be moving quicker than this chart – this chart bing based on the iPhone 4.

Note here that the meter itself doesn’t actually speed your charging up – it only tells you the power being pushed through it. If you’re plugged into a wall socket, you’ll get more lights than if you plug into your average laptop USB port. Sound like a device you’d like to toss into your pocket? Have at it!

Thanks for the tip, Frank!

VIA: Practical Meter

The Practical Meter aims to tell you how fast your phone is charging is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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