Hasta La Gadget!

Such a shame, no? As has become all too common in the uncertain world known as ASUS’ R&D lab, it looks as if yet another promising product has been canned before it ever had a chance to truly live. After the aforementioned company’s P6X58 Premium motherboard set the world ablaze just over a week ago, primarily due to the USB 3.0 sockets shown there on the left, the mainboard has reportedly been canceled for reasons unknown. According to a report over at The Inquirer, an ASUS spokesperson claimed that the mobo had been shelved “not for any particularly interesting reasons,” leaving us to wonder when we’ll ever see a motherboard equipped with that so-called SuperSpeed magic. Our true emotions are captured nicely in the video just past the break.

[Via HotHardware]

Continue reading ASUS kills USB 3.0-laden P6X58 motherboard for reasons unknown

Filed under: Peripherals

ASUS kills USB 3.0-laden P6X58 motherboard for reasons unknown originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve never pulled your weight during the wee hours of the morning (like, right now), you simply can’t understand what a godsend these things really are. The so-called Wink Glasses are little more than a USB peripheral that clips onto one’s spectacles when using the computer; if the wearer doesn’t blink every five seconds, the device begins to fog up your shades until you snap back into it. In theory, anyway, this acts to keep you awake and alert while computing for hours on end, but everything goes to waste if you simply detach it or remove your eyeglasses entirely. At any rate, it’ll ship in Japan (where else, right?) early next month for an undisclosed sum, and we’re already betting it’ll have great success in the gag gift market if nothing else.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Wearables

Wink Glasses fog up if you start dozing, keep you occupied during those graveyard shifts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already caught sight of a whole batch of Apple patent applications earlier this month, but it looks like the company still has a few more big ideas up its sleeve, which may or may not actually come to fruition. The most interesting of those is what’s described as a “Portable Device Capable of Initiating Disengagement from Host System,” or a “touch and go” system as AppleInsider calls it. That, as you may be able to discern, is essentially a touch sensor tied to a USB drive or other USB device, which would be able to sense when you touch it (or even when you’re about to touch it, apparently), and then disconnect the device from the computer before you’re able to cause any data corruption. Better still, the system could apparently also double as a fingerprint sensor in some implementations, and completely lock down the device if an unauthorized user grabs it.

[Via AppleInsider]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

Apple patent filing details “touch and go” USB devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You should be refilling that popcorn bucket right about now. While we thought the next round of the Pre / iTunes syncing fiasco would probably be something simple like Apple releasing another quick patch, Palm has stepped it up a notch by complaining to the USB Implementers Forum over what it sees is “improper use of the Vendor ID number” by the gang at Cupertino. What the company means is that when an ID is applied for, a form is signed that states:

“Unauthorized use of assigned or unassigned USB Vendor ID Numbers and associated Product ID Numbers are strictly prohibited.”

The implication here is that Palm believes Apple is violating this stature by disallowing certain Vendor IDs — namely, Palm’s — from using iTunes. So how’d Palm manage to “fix” that syncing hole Apple managed to fill? From the looks of it, by misrepresenting its own Vendor ID, so that the Pre now shows up as a iPod / mass storage device made by Apple (ID 0x05ac) as opposed to one by Palm (ID 0x083) — hence the complaint. Of course, lying about your own ID would seem to break with the aforementioned rule, too, so what we’re left here is some muddled grey area and Palm apparently being okay with fudging some data to correct what it sees is an injustice. If anyone’s curious, DVD Jon points out that the root USB Node is still identified as “Pre,” so we very likely could see another round of these shenanigans in the not-too-distant future.

Finally, now’s as good of a time as any to take a look at some of the peripheral casualties from this war of attrition. In an essay on his personal site that’s been circulating the interwebs, Marc Deslauriers outlines the pangs he and the Linux community have felt over the years trying to use iPods on the open source platform, surmising that Apple is intentionally and repeatedly seeking ways to block non-iTunes programs from syncing in any way with its devices. This story is far from over, and as ugly as it looks now, it’s probably only gonna get worse.

[Via Digg and Pre Central]

Read – Marc Deslauriers, “Goodbye Apple”
Read – Palm’s lodges complaint with USB IF
Read – USB Vendor ID application
Read – Palm Pre USB hack confirmed

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Palm complains about Apple to USB governing body, while Pre / iTunes sync “fix” is explained originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s sort of like Wite-Out(R). Or Mighty MendIt[TM]. Or sliced bread. Yeah — we just put quirky’s Split Stick on that pedestal. Rather than forcing users to carry around two flash drives just to keep personal and private files separate, this here double-sided USB drive gives you 2GB for each half of your life (on one single stick). Just think: left for loathly, right for, um right. The anodized device is available in orange, blue, pink, red, black, violet, grey, or green, while the onboard plastic button enables users to easily navigate between the two different sides of the drive. Go ahead and hit the read link with $19.99 in hand — you won’t be leaving that checkout page without an order confirmation number, we promise. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Split Stick double-sided USB drive keeps personal / private matters separate

Filed under: Peripherals, Storage

Split Stick double-sided USB drive keeps personal / private matters separate originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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