USB - page 4

Ending Soon! Take Flight With The Micro Drone [Deals]

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CoM - Drone

“All work and no play makes Homer something something…”

Fans of The Simpsons will know that all work and no play actually made Homer go crazy, so to celebrate those brief times when we get to play, Cult of Mac Deals has a pretty sweet ride that will keep you entertained for hours. And (hopefully) keep you from going crazy.

This remote-controlled hyperspeed stunt flier is the most dynamic of its kind – and Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $49…but it is a deal that is wrapping up very soon!

Take Your Play To New Heights With The Micro Drone [Deals]

By

CoM - Drone

“All work and no play makes Homer something something…”

Fans of The Simpsons will know that all work and no play actually made Homer go crazy, so to celebrate those brief times when we get to play, Cult of Mac Deals has a pretty sweet ride that will keep you entertained for hours. And (hopefully) keep you from going crazy.

This remote-controlled hyperspeed stunt flier is the most dynamic of its kind – and Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $49 for a limited time!

Take Your Black Friday To New Heights With The Micro Drone [Deals]

By

CoM - Drone

“All work and no play makes Homer something something…”

Fans of The Simpsons will know that all work and no play actually made Homer go crazy – so to celebrate Thanksgiving – and the forthcoming Black Friday weekend – Cult of Mac Deals has a pretty sweet ride that will keep you entertained for hours. And (hopefully) keep you from going crazy.

This remote-controlled hyperspeed stunt flier is the most dynamic of its kind – and Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $49 for a limited time!

Neat USB Hub Almost As Handsome As Your MacBook

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In the age of tiny, efficient Thunderbolt and Lightning ports, stuffing a full-sized USB plug into a Mac now seems so very very old fashioned. Still, USB is still the oversized and awkward norm, and stuff them into our Macs we must.

Which is where Satechi’s “Premium 4-Port Aluminum USB 2.0 Hub” comes in.

Blue Microphones Releases the Spark Digital, Its First Serious, Studio Microphone for The iPad

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Just like Blue Microphone’s non-digital Spark, the new, Digital Spark microphone has been put together with an armful of we’re-not-playing-around components and features. Things like a beefed-up condenser capsule, a Focus selector that toggles between a low-frequency bias and a detail bias, and an adjustable desk stand with shock mount. But this Spark is built for iPads (or iPhones); though its USB connector means it’ll work just fine with your MacBook Pro, iMac, Sony Vaio, Samsung Galaxy Tab or anything else with a USB input.

Lightning To Micro USB Adapters Now Available From Apple For $19

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If you live in a house divided in the smartphone wars, where some members cling to their Androids while you relish the joy of your iPhone 5, you probably have a plethora of USB cables in your house that are completely useless to you. Apple now has a solution.

You can pick up a Lightning to Micro USB Adapter from Apple for $19 now. Use the adapter to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to a micro USB cable to sync and charge, or to a compatible micro USB charger to charge your device. The adapter is available online, or at your local Apple Store.

Apple Expected To Finalize Lightning Guidelines With Accessory Makers On November 7 [Rumor]

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Apple isn't the only one who can use the Lightning trademark.
Will we see third-party Lightning accessories before Christmas?

The iPhone 5 has been on sale for nearly a month now, but we’re still yet to see any official third-party Lightning accessories. It’s not that accessory makers are slow at producing them, it’s that Apple is yet to finalize its Lightning policies and give manufacturers the go-ahead to use its new connector.

Fortunately, this is expected to happen next month. Apple will hold a conference in Shenzhen, China, between November 7 and November 8 with its Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad (MFI) program partners to finalize its Lightning plans, according to a source “close to Apple’s accessory manufacturing partner.”

Tiny Dongle Turns Hotel Ethernet Into Hotel Wi-Fi

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You're in a hotel room, and you want to hook up to the in-room Wi-Fi. And guess what? It sucks, just like at every other hotel you ever stayed at. So Instead you dig out your MacBook and hook it up to the hotel's Ethernet cable, and use internet sharing to generate your own wireless network.

Wait… The newest MacBooks Air don't have Ethernet ports. But don't worry: you can pick up the $60 mySpot from Kanex, a little dongle which takes an Ethernet connector and turns its sweet network payload into a wireless cloud, ready for all your iDevices and your non-Ethernet MacBook Air.

What The iPhone 5 Means For All Your Accessories [Feature]

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If only all dongles could be this handsome.
If only all dongles could be this handsome.

With the announcement of a single piece of hardware, Apple has obsoleted thousands of iPhone accessories, almost overnight. Between the thinner, taller case and the new Lightning sync/power adapter, pretty much none of your old accessories (or any accessories you can currently buy) will fit the new iPhone.

Does it matter? Should you stop buying iPhone-specific accessories? Just how useful will these stop-gap adapters be? Find out with our iPhone 5 accessory guide.

iPhone 5’s New Dock Connector To Be Called ‘Lightning’, New Earphones Called ‘Earpod’ [Rumor]

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In today's forecast: Lightning!
In today's forecast: Lightning!

Wondering what Apple will call its new dock connector? No, it won’t be the “9-pin connector” — this is Apple we’re talking about, the company behind the Thunderbolt port. Instead, it’s expected to be labeled “Lightning,” and the kooky names don’t stop there. The Cupertino company is also expected to unveil a new set of earphones at its iPhone 5 event today, which will reportedly be called “Earpod,” along with a new iPod touch accessory called the “Loop.”

Some Apple Stores Now Use Special Dock Connectors To Stop iOS Devices From Being Stolen

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This dock connector will prevent iOS devices from being stolen from the Apple Store.
This dock connector will prevent iOS devices from being stolen from the Apple Store.

Apple retail stores are now installing special dock connectors to prevent iOS devices from being stolen. They look just like the regular USB cable that ships with every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but they feature a nifty anti-left lock that prevents them from being removed from the device — essentially tethering the unit to the table.

Textile Dock Cables Offer Retro Recharge

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This handsome retro-styled accessory is the Textile iCable from Eastern Collective, a dock-connector with its wire wound in cotton to make it look like an old-timey kettle lead or even a bicycle pump adapter. And if I wasn’t banking on Apple switching over to a new dock connector for all future iDevices (and if I didn’t already have a drawer full of white cables), I’d probably already have ordered a few.

It’s A Wrap: Cable Organizer Wrangles Tangles

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The Wrap Wrangles Tangles.

I’m totally against the wrapping of wires, ever since being shouted at on a movie location for over-enthusiastically coiling audio and power cables around my thumb and elbow. Apparently that’s not how it’s done by the pros, and the experience has made me wince every time I see somebody stretching their headphone cables around their iPod.

Still, I’m clearly in the (superior) minority, and the The Wrap proves it. It’s a plastic 3-D printed widget which wrangles your cable into order.

ChargeCard Is An iPhone Charging Cable That Fits In Your Wallet [Kickstarter]

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Meet the world's smallest iPhone charging cable.
Meet the world's smallest iPhone charging cable.

The ChargeCard is an iPhone charging that’s designed to live in your wallet, purse, or pocket. Shaped like a credit card and measuring just 2.54mm thick, this is the thinnest iPhone charging cable you can buy, and you can pull it out whenever you find a free USB port to charge your device. What’s more, you can finally say goodbye to carrying messy cables.

Going Camping? Take The BioLite And Charge Your iPhone With Fire

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BioLite should be the first thing you pack for your next camping trip.
BioLite should be the first thing you pack for your next camping trip.

I hate camping. I don’t see the appeal in sleeping in a cold, damp tent, with no access to a shower or electricity. Once your iOS devices run out of battery, what is there to do?

Well, with the BioLite, they won’t run out of battery, because you can charge them by burning almost anything you can get your hands on, including twigs, sticks, leaves, pine cones, or your best friend’s favorite book.

The Future Of Apple’s Dock Connector [Feature]

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If this was good enough for the iPod shuffle, why isn't it good enough for the iPhone 5?

In 2006, Apple released an iPod that, to this day, is unique amongst all of the iPods it sells in that it didn’t come with a standard Dock Connector: the iPod shuffle.

In order to save space in a design that was built from the ground up to be as tiny as possible, Apple jettisoned the traditional 30-Pin Dock Connector in the second-gen shuffle in favor of a clever implementation of USB that plugged in right through the 3.5mm audio jack.

For the last six years, Apple has favored this implementation of USB syncing and charging in its line of iPod shuffles, even as every other model of iPhone, iPod or iPad shipped with a much bulkier 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector.

As rumors have heated up that Apple will abandon the 30-Pin Dock Connector in the next iPhone for a slimmer 19-Pin Connector, a natural question to ask is, “why?” If Apple just wants to save space in the next iPhone, why not just adopt the time-tested iPod shuffle’s approach, which is about the most efficient and elegant implementation of USB ever designed?

The answer’s simple: while the iPod shuffle’s USB design is ingenious at syncing and charging, it’s really crappy at everything else that the 30-Pin Dock Connector is designed to do. But what does the 30-Pin Dock Connector do, why doesn’t Apple just use USB like most of its competitors, and why is 19-Pin — not 30 — the way to go?

How To Hack Your iPhone To Add Wireless Charging [Video]

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Look! No wires.
Look! No wires.

If you’re waiting for Apple to add wireless charging to the iPhone, you could be waiting some time. We’ve been hearing rumors of its introduction for a number of years now, but five generations in, it’s yet to arrive. If you’re a skilled solderer, however, you could always add wireless charging to your iPhone yourself.

That’s what Tanveer did. He took apart a wireless charging case for the iPhone and installed its components into the iPhone 4S. Now all he has to do to charge it is place it down on a USB charging mat.