Technology - USB, Cardbus, PCMCIA, Express Card and More

Although USB is one of the fastest transfer methods for consumer data transfer, it has one crippling limitation: distance. USB can only travel 16 feet. For most consumers, this isn’t a problem. Perhaps the most common use for USB these days is to connect a mouse, iPod or some other peripheral to a computer which only requires a maximum of 6 feet of cable.

There are many reasons for needing to connect USB to a distant location. If you are reading this article, you probably already know that there are many commercial and industrial situations that require this.

Perhaps one of the most economical ways to extend USB is over Cat5. Cat5 cable is cheap, skinny, and easy to install in a wall. But how do you run a USB signal through a Cat5 cable you ask? We recommend the EXT-USB-2.0 by Gefen. It is a simple Sender/Receiver package where all you have to do is provide the Cat5 cable length of your choice. This extender will send your USB signal 150 feet max. over Cat5.

If you don’t need to go all that far and you want the most economical way to extend USB, you should probably check out the USB extension cable.  This has an active repeater attached to the cable that

There are so many types of connectors out there that transfer different signals of obscure origins, but its fun to hear a learn about them.  One of them is the GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) specification that is known officially as the IEEE-488.  It was originally developed by Hewlett Packard to use with automated test equipment, but has branched out into many different uses, mostly industrial.

The signal has been in use for roughly 30 years already.  It wasn’t intended for use with consumer end personal computers, but Commodore (remember those?) adopted the connector to connect peripherals including disk drives.  HP and Tecktronix also eventually adopted the connector for the same purpose in their 8-bit machines.  In the 1980s HP also adopted the interface for use with certain calculators.  Because it utilized a simple parallel electrical bus, it could share the same electrical signal with computers, controllers, industrial equipment, and so forth, making it a natural choice for universal data sending and receiving during the dawn of mass networking.</p><p>

In many industrial and commercial settings the GPIB connector is still very much in use, although modern computers have long since lost the interface.  To universalize the GPIB interface, products such as the usb to GPIB controller have allowed this legacy connector to live on and operate with today’s computers.

Data backup is important for everyone that uses a computer to know about, especially if you have valuable information saved. I learned the hard way. At the time, I was going through a very extensive application process for Graduate School. It was just a normal night like every other night before that when my computer crashed. Everything I had saved was gone. I had to start from scratch. Now, I know how important it is to backup your data. Also, if you can save your data on more than one source, the more secure you will feel.

Dropship provider dropshipdesign.com just updated their menu adding new features that make it easier than ever for members to sell products.  One of the coolest things about their service is the way you can post items to your eBay store in a single click.  It’s perfect for anyone who’s looking to provide more products to their readers and shoppers.  Also the products displayed can be tailored to fit the individual needs of each site.

Whether you want to include multiple categories, or if you want to cater to one specific type of consumer you should be able to find exactly what you need.  With the holidays approaching quickly the demand for inexpensive merchandise online is greater than ever, it’s the perfect time to look into making some extra money on the side.

Since we’ve mentioned so much about risk management software I just found a cool article about NextPage.

What’s interesting is that the demand for a product like this is continuing to grow ever since the whole Enron, Arthur Anderson trial.  And yet there really aren’t any other companies stepping up to provide consulting firms with the protection they need.

Maybe once these firms get it this kind of software in place in their companies we’ll see less of the corporate scandals we’ve gotten used to in the last few years.

In reference to the previous post, I read about a company that was awarded the Best Document Management Solution in the Software and Information Industry’s 2007 Codie Awards. This software is designed to enforce risk management policies in business with less effort and time from employees.

We all know the importance of remote backup for our PCs (well, hopefully). If not, you may just learn about it the hard way…like this poor gal. As a society we have become so electronically dependent, that often our whole lives are contained within one little hard drive; pictures, music, financial records, and so on. Losing such crucial documents and information can be a crushing blow for anyone.

Well, if you’re a fan of remote backup, you are going to like love this. A Filipino company will soon be launching the first ever remote backup for mobile phones. The service will remotely backup data stored on cell phones, including video and audio files. As mobile phones become more robust and capable to support electronic media, users are storing more and more information on their phone, so it only makes sense that such a backup service would be introduced.

Pretty cool, huh? Read about it for yourself.

If your company uses documents, you might want to consider getting new software to help manage those documents. Like most companies, you probably have documents stored on desktops, through email, and on removable devices. Record management software can help you track when documents are sent, changed, and saved through all of the above mentioned methods. This can save time and frustration when working on a document. It also makes it easier to find the most up-to-date document and save it on the central server so everyone can find it. Who wouldn’t want an easier and more efficient way to do business?

For all those who sell their tech inventory online, I’d really suggest using the Google Products service. After exporting your items to a format like CSV, you can upload them to Google to reach a larger online audience. I tried it recently and I’ve seen a decent spike in sales over the last month. I’d suggest you monitor it regularly however, because my feed got kicked out after being initially accepted because I was missing one of the required fields specified during the upload process.

Want the latest IP telephony technology for your business?  Uinta Now is a certified Avaya business partner, specializing in the latest and greatest technology and products from the industry’s telephony solutions leader.  Whether it’s the Avaya IP Office, the Avaya 5420, or the new IP 500 office system, Uinta Now has some of the best products at the lowest prices.

I suppose this sounds like an advertisement, but it’s only because I am biased, a loyal customer of Uinta.