3D Printing has been getting a lot of focus lately…

Here is another potential use for the 3D printer, body part replacements! Referred to as Bioprinting, the process is used to make biological tissue such as skin, bone and cartilage. 3D printing has been around for over twenty years but researchers recently began using it to create biological structures. The idea is to make custom designed tissue and organs from a patient’s own cells which may in turn eliminate the need for donated organs. While the research is ongoing there has been some interesting research being done at the Medical University of South Carolina by Vladimir Mironov who is the director of the Bioprinting Research Center at the university.

Dr. Mironov MD, PhD explains that Bioprinting is a mixture of both Art, Science and Technology. In his mission statement titled: On Art and Science: Bioprinting & Pygmalion’s Dream? he discussing how his vision of this science was born from his artistic beginnings. He talks about how in the scientist’s everyday life they are constantly using art to describe and show their ideas, whether it is through description, drawings, photography, or modeling they use artistic methods to present their ideas to others.

Their Roadmap shows the starting with creating blood vessels to carry blood and nutrients to the cells in the tissue that they want to create. This is the first step in creating the infrastructure of the organ replacements. It certainly is an exciting time to be alive and it will be interesting to see how this research progresses in the years to come.

So you want to access your Skydrive Storage on your Android device

Microsoft hasn’t written an app for this yet but there is a beta product available for your android device called Sorami that will give you access to the 25GB’s of free space that is available from your Microsoft Windows Live SkyDrive account. If you haven’t set one up yet click here! I have always been a little partial towards Dropbox but you only get 2GB’s of free storage. What I like best though is the ability to synchronize the files between all of my devices. SkyDrive is a cloud based storage area that allows you to use Microsoft’s Cloud applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) and store the documents that you create from these applications in the cloud for access from any of your computers. You can also use your desktop Office Apps to store documents to your SkyDrive account and use that to provide access using other devices as well.

The Sorami program can be downloaded from the Android Market which has the following Description of the Application:

DESCRIPTION

sorami is skydrive client.

sorami is SkyDrive client App.
You can download and upload your files.

If authorization failed, create new Windows Live Account.

* You can't access [Photos] and [Favorites].
So, put your file in SkyDrive [My Documents] Folder.
* Don't put your file on root dir.

Tested
- Galaxy S
- Android Dev Phone 2
- Android Emulator

Artistic tendencies? You may want to consider adding this stylus to your iPad hardware…

While this brush stylus was specifically designed for iPad, it should also work with other capacitive screen devices. Artist and architect Don Lee designed the Nomad Brush that has capacitive fibers in the brush to allow artists to make lifelike brush strokes in painting applications.Lee says that the brush has an extremely responsive feel to it. He added that this makes the “brushstrokes immediate and effortless”. Priced at $24. They were currently on backorder when I wrote this but if you want the brush make sure that you get your order in.

Here is what Don Lee has to say about his creation:

I am an architect and an artist.  I love to sketch and paint, and like many of you, I found the iPad to be a great digital sketchbook and canvas. However, I found that drawing with my finger was awkward. After trying out many styluses, I failed to find a suitable one…so I invented the Nomad Brush. Each Nomad Brush is carefully handcrafted and made with exceptionally conductive materials. This allows the brush to be extremely responsive, making brushstrokes immediate and effortless on any capacitive touchscreen device.

This device makes me wish that I had some artistic talent like my daughter Morgan. So if you are a artist or want to dabble a little in painting without dropping a bucket load of money on art supplies, this little $24 stylus brush and a program like Sketchbook Pro might be just the thing to get started. The people at Nomad Brush suggest a few other applications for your iPad: Artrage, Brushes, Auryn Ink and Zen Brush.

Nomad Brush in action:

Nomad Brush in action…

Microsoft releases Service Pack 1 for Window 7

February 22nd began delivering Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1for public consumption. Make sure that you uninstall and pre-releases of SP1 before installing this RTM (Release to Manufacturing) version on your machine. You can get the downloads here. During the process of downloading the update you will have to validate your version of the software.

Overview

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Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level. It also provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback. This enables organizations to deploy a single set of updates.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will help you:

• Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
• Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
• Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
• Meet your users' demands for greater business mobility
• Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
• Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

Thunderbolt Technology-Intel’s new high-speed PC Connection Technology

Press Release:

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of Thunderbolt technology, a new high-speed PC connection technology that brings together high-speed data transfer and high-definition (HD) display on to a single cable. Running at 10 Gbps, Thunderbolt technology can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds. This Intel-developed technology is coming to market through a technical collaboration with Apple, and is available first on Apple's new line of MacBook Pro laptop computers.

Thunderbolt technology formally known as Light Peak, is envisioned as a technology to move media faster between devices and simplify device connections. It will combine high=-speed data and HD video connections onto a single cable. Thunderbolt will be used to connect PCI Express for data transfer and DisplayPort for display systems.

PCI Express has the flexibility to connect to almost any type of device, and DisplayPort can drive greater than 1080p resolution displays and up to eight channels of audio simultaneously. Thunderbolt technology is compatible with existing DisplayPort displays and adapters. All Thunderbolt technology devices share a common connector, and let individuals simply daisy-chain their devices one after another, connected by electrical or optical cables.

What is Thunderbolt technology and how does it work

Developed by Intel (under the code name Light Peak), and brought to market with technical collaboration from Apple. Thunderbolt technology is a new, high-speed, dual-protocol I/O technology designed for performance, simplicity, and flexibility. This high-speed data transfer technology features the following:

• Dual-channel 10 Gbps per port
• Bi-directional
• Dual-protocol (PCI Express* and DisplayPort*)
• Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
• Daisy-chained devices
• Electrical or optical cables
• Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization
• Uses native protocol software drivers
• Power over cable for bus-powered devices

Intel's Thunderbolt controllers interconnect a PC and other devices, transmitting and receiving packetized traffic for both PCIe and DisplayPort protocols. Thunderbolt technology works on data streams in both directions, at the same time, so users get the benefit of full bandwidth in both directions, over a single cable. With the two independent channels, a full 10 Gbps of bandwidth can be provided for the first device, as well as additional downstream devices.

And all Thunderbolt devices share a common connector, allowing users to daisy chain devices one after another with interoperable cables.

What Thunderbolt means to users

Thunderbolt technology enables using the thinnest and lightest laptops and connecting to the extra power and performance of other devices when needed, using a single cable. Adding new performance devices is simple and easy—just plug and play—making Thunderbolt technology powerful and flexible.

Thunderbolt technology was specifically designed with professional audio and video applications in mind, where the inherently low latency and highly accurate time synchronization features play a crucial role.

Workstation performance expansion, now with a laptop

With Thunderbolt enabled products, video editing and sharing using Intel® Quick Sync Video technology is even faster and easier.

Data transfers for backup, sharing, and editing are tremendously accelerated using Thunderbolt products, significantly reducing times to complete these tasks.

And Thunderbolt enabled products are compatible with existing DisplayPort devices so you don’t have to go buy a new display to take advantage of a Thunderbolt technology enabled computer.

What does Thunderbolt technology mean for the PC industry

By tapping into the performance and protocols delivered over Thunderbolt technology, designers are free to innovate new PC products and configurations, no longer constrained to the boundaries of the chassis walls. Thunderbolt technology enables engineers to:

• Design standalone performance expansion technologies commonly used in desktops and workstations, using existing native device drivers and interconnected by a single cable.
• Introduce thinner and lighter laptops, expandable through Thunderbolt technology and its miniature connector designed for mobile applications, without sacrificing I/O performance.
• Extend to reach other I/O technologies by using adapters that use widely available PCI Express controllers. It's simple to create a Gigabit Ethernet, or FireWire, or eSATA adapters using existing device PCI Express drivers.

Thunderbolt products require a controller chip supplied by Intel and a small connector that would be included in platforms supporting this technology. The Thunderbolt controller chip provides protocol switching capabilities to support the two protocols over a single cable. Intel is making its controller chip available to the industry, and is working with other component manufacturers to deliver the Thunderbolt connectors and cables.

Looking for Production Scanner for your Medical Office?

Epson’s WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Duplex Scanner might just be the right product for you. Below are some Epson demo videos describing the Epson GT-S50 scanner product. Priced at $399.99 this is a great product for your individual desktop production work. This is a 25ppm scanner capable of 50 images per minute because of the single-pass duplexing. Its daily duty cycle fo up to 1200 sheets and a 75 page feeder it is ready to handle most any entry level scanning situation.

Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Speed Shoot Out

Getting Organized with the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50

Great Image Quality with the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50

Productivity with the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50

How to set up Exchange Email on a Droid Phone

Our Scott Wiltshire submitted this quick checklist on how to setup your Exchange Email on a Droid Phone. Hopefully this will help you with your setup:

• Go to Email it will be either on the front screen or under ‘apps’
• If no accounts have been set up it will ask you to Put in user name and pass word
• Manual Setup
• Pick Microsoft Exchange Active Sync
• Domains user name
• [DOMAIN]/[USERNAME]
• (Please note this is my email just to show you how it has to be put in, please replace with your username and domain)
• Password
• ***
• Exchange server
• OWA.[DOMAIN]
• Check ‘use secure connection’
• Check ‘accept all SSL certificates’
• Click ‘ok’ on the next activation Screen
• Done
• You should now be able to get in to the account
• Setup options
• Once in the account hit the menu button (very left button at the button of the droid)
• Click the ‘more’ option
• Click ‘Account settings’
• From here it’s pretty easy to go through each option.
• I would suggest you keep email size at 2kb this will save on data usage.
• These are my settings for Sync Schedule, you may find you wish to change some of them, but for a work week this pretty much works perfectly.
• Sync Schedule
• Peak Schedule
• Push
• Off Peak Schedule
• Push
• Peak days
• Mon,Tues,Weds,Thurs,Friday
• Peak Start time
• 08.00
• Peak end time
• 17.00
• While Roaming (* very important you pick Manual otherwise when roaming you will be racking up data charges)
• Manual

Apple's subscription plan: Time for an app work stoppage | ZDNet

Thought that this was an interesting article about how Apple’s “greed” may get in the way of their keeping their current high market position in the smartphone/tablet world. If they have companies like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu pull their apps from iTunes then they will begin to miss a large part of the entertainment market when it comes to streaming media. This might not be as big a problem for the iPhone but the iPad may see some serious fallout to the android tablets that will soon be plentiful. The sooner that these new tablets are out and provide and alternative the the Apple monopoly the sooner they may see this happen. I would hate for my sake, since I own an iPad to lose these streaming services because I do use them on my tablet but it isn’t my only use of it. If I have to go back to my PC or grab a new device I will probably do it.

Apple's subscription plan: Time for an app work stoppage | ZDNet

Sharing Files between all of your devices

I would be interested how you share information between all of your devices. If you are like me you may use more than one device on a moment to moment basis and you may be generating information that you need to share or have access to no matter what device you current have at hand.

I use primarily five devices on a weekly basis. I have desktops at home and at work, a netbook in a backpack to keep me mobile, an iPad and an iPhone. I also have a Kindle that I have used but it isn’t one of these primary devices that I use to share information for personal or company business. When I look at a service or application that I am thinking of using on any one of these devices the first thing I look at is how device independent is it and how available is the program/data that it works with to all of my devices. I have come up with a few that I have found indispensible and I would like to share them with you.

Note Taking – EVERNOTE is my application of choice for this that I use to share information between my iPhone. iPad and computers. I use OneNote a lot on my computer but until recently it was only available on my PC’s and that wasn’t quite flexible enough. Recently Microsoft released an iPhone version of OneNote that can access notebooks that are stored in the cloud (SkyDrive). While this is interesting it isn’t quite as useful as Evernote is for me. The iPhone OneNote application isn’t as functional as the PC version and leaves a lot to be desired. In a pinch it has some use though. If they come out with an iPad version with more of the PC version’s capabilities then I might consider jumping back to this program for more use.

When I am sitting down with a client I am using a program called FastEver XL that allows me to quickly and easily type in text that can be saved to my Evernote account. I then save it and it becomes available no matter which device that I am currently using. So when I am out on the road collecting information at a client’s site that I will need at my desk later on, I am typing that info into FastEver XL and before I get back to the Office it is already waiting for me at my desk.

I have also been playing with an application called aNote (Awesome Note) that also integrates with  Evernote. It synchronizes with the Evernote folders so that you can use it’s capabilities It is meant to be used as a To-Do List manager with hooks to both Google and Evernote.

Document Access – I store many of the documents that I need to have access to using either Microsoft’s Skydrive or Dropbox. Skydrive gives you 25GB’s storage for free and this is where I put data like my OneNote Notebooks so that they are synchronized between all of my systems. However, Dropbox is the storage are that I primarily use because it is compatible with many iPad/iPhone applications for document storage. A Dropbox account comes with 2GB’s of storage for free and you can purchase upgrades to the service as you necessary. I have increased my storage to 50GB’s at a cost of $99/year and you can increase that to 100GB’s for $199/year. I also have storage over with mobileme and Google docs so there is plenty of places I can drop a file and have it available. I opened up my subscription to mobileme only because I decided to play with Pages and Keynote which are Apple applications that I am using on the iPad. I am not a big Google docs user but I know that it is there if I need it.

So what kind of information do I store in Dropbox. Most of it is temporary but some of it includes documents that I am constantly sharing with my clients. Things like product brochures can easily be shared through email on the fly when I am at a client’s site. I also create and store reports that I use when I am at a client’s site. This gives me instant information wherever I am. I will also store an office document here if I need to continue working on it from home. That way I can pick up right where I left off without having to save it off to a flash drive. I seem to be constantly losing those anyway. I have also stored program files here so that when I go to a customer’s site I can download those onto their machine quickly and easily. There is no concern of malware contamination because I’m not using hardware to transfer between systems.

Research – I use Instapaper quite a bit as I am going through my RSS feeds and from my internet browser. If you haven’t used this internet service before you will really love it once you do. One of the biggest benefits is that it will strip out most of the unwanted material from the website that it is pulling the article from and makes it much easier to read. I can access this information from my iPhone, iPad or any of my computers. It is easy to organize and I do this mainly from my computers. The browser based controls are much easier to use to organize my captured documents and once I have them there they are very easy to share with others as well. One of the ways that I am using this is to allow me to collect information from different photography blog sites that I am putting together as a self-help guide in MS Word. I have set it up with a table of contents and then saved it as a PDF file. I then send it up to my iPad and store it in the iBooks application. The articles in the document are then accessible using the table of contents to jump to the page that it is located on in the document. This makes it very easy to move around in the document using either the TOC or using the search feature to find keywords about something that I am searching for.

Photo’s -  If you have been following me at all on any of my blogs, you know that I love to take photos. The one thing that a photographer loves better than the taking of a photograph is the ability to share it with someone. I do this in a number of ways but the two primary ones are using my iPad as a presentation device and a website called SmugMug as my online gallery. SmugMug is accessible from most any device that has internet access and allow you a pretty large number of choices to separate you pictures and to be able to document them. It’s a great way to backup your pictures from your local storage and it allows you setup several layers deep of gallery settings. But the ability for me to point friends and family to this site easily and for them to self navigate makes for a great experience for them or for me when I am showing them using my devices as well.

I hope this article has given you some ideas of how you can set yourself up to be as productive and satisfied with all the programs and data that you want at your fingertips when you want it.

Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections | ZDNet

If you are still using Windows XP/Vista you may notice that the AutoRun function will stop working on removable media like flash drives. It will still work with CD’s and DVD’s but in an effort to help cut down on malware infections caused by the AutoRun attacks.

According to Microsoft, Win32/AutoRun remains the most popular method used by malware families of software. Microsoft suggests that XP user are more likely to be infected as compared to Windows 7 users.

A similarity all of these worms share is a common propagation method. They all abuse the autoplay feature of Autorun, many by creating or manipulating Autorun.inf files on network drives and removable media, so that when a user connects, the malware is automatically executed on their system. On average in 2010, about 9% of Windows 7 Security Essentials users reported seeing one of these families at least once per month in comparison to 13% of Windows XP users. In other words, a Windows XP user was 43% more likely to report one of these Autorun detections in any given month in comparison to a Windows 7 user..

Here is a good article on how Autorun.inf works and what it is used for.

Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections | ZDNet

Good Reason for putting up Video Surveillance Cameras

Chicago Surveillance expert catches neighbor stealing his shovel and takes revenge on her.

States that he would have gladly loaned her his shovel but she didn’t ask and walked away with it after using it to dig out her car. I’m not sure that I would have posted it to YouTube but it does satisfy some dastardly inner feeling to get even when someone does steals from you.

InFocus also makes LCD Thin Industrial Grade Panels

If you are putting together a meeting room and are deciding to for go the typical projector/projector screen setup, you may want to consider InFocus’s line of industrial grade panels. Business Class LCD Screens provide you with a  product that is designed from the ground up to support the type of use you will need in a heavily used product.

These screens are built thin to take up less depth in your room, with metal frame construction to help protect the unit. Even the connectors are made of metal instead of plastic to withstand constant plugging and unplugging that occurs with daily use. These screens contain 5 times more PC and video modes than most consumer TVs, so you can be assured that it will recognize your device’s output and fill the screen automatically.

InFocus thin display advantages

• Automatically syncs to your device’s resolution and fills the screen
• 70+ data and video modes – up to 5X more than consumer flat panel TVs
• Saves valuable meeting time

Consumer TV disadvantages

• Not really designed for computer input
• 3-10 modes -- mostly for video, not data
• Wastes time to manually adjust your computer settings to fit the TV

Durable For Shared Use - A consumer TV's weak warranty, plastic parts, and cheap components can't stand up to the multiple users, long hours, and frequent connecting that occur in meeting rooms every day. InFocus thin displays are built for business

InFocus thin display advantages

• Metal construction stands up to multiple users in a shared meeting room
• Commercial-grade components handles frequent connecting and disconnecting
• 3-year limited factory warranty and extended warranty options
• Industrial strength power supply

Consumer TV disadvantages

• Plastic construction not designed for use in shared spaces
• Lower-quality components designed to be hooked up once and left alone
• 1-year warranty that may be voided if TV is used in a business setting
• Low-grade power supply, which is often the first component to fail

With InFocus’s accessories and these displays you are sure to have a great result!

Download Brochure…

Meeting Room Size Constraints–InFocus has a Solution!

InFocus  has long been known for being a leader in projector technology. February 7th they announced a new product the IN146 short throw projector that will allow you to display a 60-inch image from as little as 2.5 feet away. This projector has native WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution and  2,700 lumens brightness. With the projector placed close to the wall, shadows caused by tabletop objects or presenters are virtually eliminated. Priced at about $825 this is an affordable portable projector that will meet many situations.

InFocus Press Release

Trojan horse called “Trojan Horse Agent_r.XT

Our Service Department has come across a Trojan horse called “Trojan Horse Agent_r.XT” and AVG and MalWareBytes will not get it.

The fix is coming for Kaspersky Labs and can be found here: http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/solutions?qid=208280684

The utility TDSSKiller.exe supports 32-bit and 64-bit operation systems.

Disinfection of an infected system

• Download the file TDSSKiller.zip and extract it (use archiver, for example, WInZip) into a folder on the infected (or potentially infected) PC.
• Execute the file TDSSKiller.exe.
• Wait for the scan and disinfection process to be over. It is necessary to reboot the PC after the disinfection is over.

Good Luck!

QNAP adds iOS streaming via WiFI and 3G

While this is the headline streaming through the technology blogs, QNAP (Quality Network Appliance Provider) has a great inventory of products to choose from for your network storage needs. While this announcement highlights some of the neat features in their latest home designed appliances that provide digital media streaming to more of your devices in your home, they are much, much more than a home media streaming company.

The QNAP TS-x12 Turbo NAS Product line provides an All-in-one NAS Server with iSCSI for SOHO and Home Users. The TS-412 appliance supports a 3-bay hot swappable  system with RAID 0/1/56/5+Hot Spare and JBOD. It also supports both 2.5” and 3.5” drives as well.

If you are looking for a repository for all of your Home Entertainment needs to share Photos, Music Movies and Videos, you can do worse than this device. With support for PS3, Xbox 360 or other network media players you will be able to stream full HD 1080p movies to your TV or Projector. You can even provide access to your digital media over the Internet by web browsers or iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android mobile devices.

Of course you will have file share and backup of all your network devices as with most NAS compatible devices. With DLNA and iTunes Server support.The NAS features high-speed data transfer of exceeding 70MB/s, fast enough to support multiple 1080p HD streams. The whisper-quiet design brings you the best cinema-grade home theater experience right in your living room.

QMobile is an application dedicated to iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android users. You can view and play Terabytes of photos, music, and video files on the NAS by QMobile from anywhere regardless of the actual storage size of your mobile devices. You can also upload photos to QNAP NAS straightway from your iPhone for instant sharing.

If you are using a Surveillance system at home you can easily use this NAS device as a central storage area for your IP cameras. The Surveillance Station of QNAP NAS enables you to connect to multiple IP-based security cameras for real-time monitoring, recording, and playback. It supports leading network camera brands such as AXIS, D-Link, IPUX, LevelOne, Linksys, Panasonic, and VIVOTEK. By using particular models, you can use two-way video and audio monitoring and recording, and smart PTZ control to control the monitoring direction of the IP cameras by a web browser.

Versatility seems to be the watch word with these new devices by QNAP.

Art Project, powered by Google

I saw this information from several different sources today and decided to take a quick gander at the Google Art Project site. Currently Google has 17 museums from around the world available to view using the same basic techniques used in Google’s Street View. You can use the controls to walk around the Museum of your choice to give you a feel of how things are laid out, and where the various pieces of art are located in the Museum. You can then look at individual paintings in high resolution and a lot of detailed history about the painting or the artist. You can easily jump from museum to museum easily or from room to room within any one museum. You can even create your own personalized list of pieces that you are interested in.

Here is the Visitor Guide on how to use the site:

Art Project–Visitor Guide

I have had a great deal of fun looking over this site but I am sorry to say that it requires a flash player to work properly and will not work on your IOS devices. Darn Apple! But it works well on my desktop and that is at least something.

Art Project, powered by Google

Lenovo Redefines the IdeaCentre All-In-One PCs

January 4th Lenovo unveiled four new IdeaCentre and Lenovo all-in-one (AIO) desktops at the 2011 CES. We have had a couple of the earlier C200 systems in this month and we are very favorably impressed with the capabilities of the unit for the money.  Priced below $500 you get a futuristically designed system that has all the components that you need in most simple home environments. It all starts with a 18.5 inch screen

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

• Intel® AtomTM D510 Dual Core processor
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 bit
• Large 18.5 inch high-definition 16:9 widescreen display
• Integrated stereo speakers
• Integrated Intel GMA 3150 graphics
• DVD reader/writer
• 6-in-1 card reader and USB2.0 connectors
• Integrated Wi-Fi
• An integrated Lenovo High-Sense Web camera built into the top of the screen provides clearer video chats.

BREAKTHROUGH STYLE

• Space-saving, stylish design fits anywhere in the home
• Easily adjustable stand (-5° to +25° viewing angle)

REST EASY

• Designed as a basic family home computer, with affordability and reliability in mind
• OneKey Rescue System for quick and easy data recovery

I was surprised at its speed for the atom processor and it’s convenient design. If all you need is a simple Internet access machine this might just be the ticket!

FastMac U-Socket now shipping

For those of you that have energy hungry devices that charge using a USB port, here is a great product that might make this more convenient. I saw this initially this summer and have been hardly holding my breath waiting for it to finally come to market. I originally saw this in an engadget post and now engadget is telling us that it has seen emails that the first orders for these wonderful devices are finally shipping.

The U-Socket is a duplex AC receptacle with built-in USB ports that can power any device that is capable of being charged via a 5V power adapter, but without the power adapter! It is compatible with the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Nintendo, PSP, Bluetooth Headsets, Digital Cameras, GPS & more!

When a U-Socket replaces a traditional 3-prong AC wall socket, you can eliminate the clutter of AC Adapters that stick out & take up space in your home or office. Everything stays neat & organized. In addition, U-Socket's energy efficient design only outputs power through the USB port if something is connected to it. This can save you up to $25 per year in reduced energy costs. Good for you, good for the environment and with our great prices, good for your wallet too!

Born in the USA

A quality product made right here in the USA ensures that your U-Socket is constructed with care and precision. Our workers test each and every U-Socket to the highest standards before they are shipped out.

Their site still states that you need to pre-order but says it is shipping in January. I would contact them direct to see if you can place your order now. I don’t have an exact price but the posts I am seeing says that it is under $20.

I never did like AOL!

I was never one for the amount of control that AOL’s interface held you to but I could see the benefit for some people. If you were one of the people that signed up early for AOL and their phone dial up service got used to this type of thing. When broadband became available many of these people kept their accounts with AOL even though the signed on through their new broadband connection. What they didn’t realize was that they didn’t have to keep paying for that AOL account!

Nicolason Carlson from Business Insider found out that the majority of AOL’s business comes from selling the dialup internet access to people who already have internet access:

In his big New Yorker profile on AOL this week, Ken Auletta explained that 80% of the company’s profits STILL come from AOL’s subscription business.

What’s troubling about AOL’s subscription business is who the subscribers are and why they may be sticking around – in Auletta’s words, “older people who have cable or DSL service but don’t realize that they need not pay an additional $25 a month to get online and check their email.”

A former AOL exec explains that this is AOL’s “dirty little secret” – “that 75% of the people who subscribe to AOL’s dial-up service don’t need it.”

This is the sort of practice by companies that just infuriates me. I hate seeing people being taken advantage of just because they haven’t the knowledge to know what they are paying or need to be paying for. So hopefully this article will open your eyes and make you aware that you don’t need to pay for something that you don’t receive any benefit from. I remember how hard it was to cancel my account and over the years how hard it has been for our customers to do so as well. Good luck!

You want more information visit the Audio recording here or download the recording by clicking here, with Ken Auletta and his full article is available in The New Yorker January 24, 2011 edition p. 32.

Intel recalls Sandy Bridge chipsets

Intel Identifies Chipset Design Error, Implementing Solution

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2011 - As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel® 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives. The chipset is utilized in PCs with Intel's latest Second Generation Intel Core processors, code-named Sandy Bridge. Intel has stopped shipment of the affected support chip from its factories. Intel has corrected the design issue, and has begun manufacturing a new version of the support chip which will resolve the issue. The Sandy Bridge microprocessor is unaffected and no other products are affected by this issue.

The company expects to begin delivering the updated version of the chipset to customers in late February and expects full volume recovery in April. Intel stands behind its products and is committed to product quality. For computer makers and other Intel customers that have bought potentially affected chipsets or systems, Intel will work with its OEM partners to accept the return of the affected chipsets, and plans to support modifications or replacements needed on motherboards or systems. The systems with the affected support chips have only been shipping since January 9^th and the company believes that relatively few consumers are impacted by this issue. The only systems sold to an end customer potentially impacted are Second Generation Core i5 and Core i7 quad core based systems. Intel believes that consumers can continue to use their systems with confidence, while working with their computer manufacturer for a permanent solution. For further information consumers should contact Intel at www.intel.com on the support page or contact their OEM manufacturer.

Intel is suggesting that the problem is restricted to a performance issue and cannot cause data loss. If you have either of the P67 or H67 “Cougar Point” chipsets you should contact your computer manufacturer to obtain a fixed system.

The chipsets that are in question are no longer being shipped by Intel and the company has already started manufacturing the updated versions. These should reach customers by the end of February. Intel estimates that this issue will cost them around $700 million where $300 million of that was incurred during the first quarter production interruption.