Darth Vader USB Hub

The Dark Hub of the Sith

Vader – once Anakin Skywalker, though that name no longer has any meaning to him – When we were just younglings, that breathy evil space-samurai used to give us nightmares. Now, though, Lucas has turned him into a simple misunderstood uberjedi with a few mechanical upgrades. Still, that lovable 7 foot-tall misanthrope is the coolest Jedi evar, and it was about time we turned him into a USB Hub.

480 MBps of digital connectivity in a simple four-port USB 2.0 hub sits on your desk, just oozing sithy malevolence. Plug in your flash drives, scanners, and other devices, and he’ll frighten you with those iron-lungs of his. HHHHHOOOOOOOO-PHERRRRRRR!

The Darth Vader USB Hub is here! Buy one now! The Emperor is not as forgiving as I.

Features

  • 4 Port Unpowered USB 2.0 Hub
  • Eyes glow, head turns, and Vader speaks when you insert a new USB device
  • Dimensions: 4″ x 4″ x 6.5″

Price: $49.99 at ThinkGeek.com


Futronic Technology Company Limited, a global provider of fingerprint recognition software and hardware products, announces the commercial release of FS25, a USB Fingerprint Mifare Card Reader and Writer. Together with its previously launched FS82 USB Fingerprint ISO7816 Smart Card Reader and Writer, Futronic is now supporting both contact and contact-less smart card together with Fingerprint authentication.

FS25 combines fingerprint “Match on Device” and ISO14443A Mifare card Reader and Writer into one compact device. It supports both 1KB and 4KB Mifare card and is perfect for real two-factors authentication, what you own(finger) is matched with what you carry(Mifare card), because fingerprint data can be stored to Mifare card.

At the time of authentication:
1. User shows the Mifare card and FS25 reads the fingerprint data stored in card.
2. Then put finger and FS25 scans the fingerprint image.
3. FS25 matches the scanned fingerprint with the fingerprint data read from the Mifare card.
4. The matching result is sent to PC for authentication.

This also eliminates any possible privacy issue because it is not necessary to store users’ fingerprint data anywhere in the system for authentication. Futronic provides full SDK to customers to make such two- factor authentication application.

Like other Futronic products, FS25 is with 16(W) x 24(L) mm crown glass finger scanning window which is ready for long time extensive usage. It also includes Live Finger Detection (LFD) function for spoof prevention.

Mr. YM Jiang, Futronic’s Vice President of Marketing said, “Fingerprint recognition and RFID are two most popular technologies for personal identification now. FS25 is the first USB product in market that combines both into one device. This shows our long-term commitment to provide high performance, secure but convenient personal identification solution to the market. FS25 can be used in various physical and logical access control application and we believe it brings extra value to our partners and customers worldwide.”

Source: Futronic Technology Company Limited


IronKey Enterprise Devices Protect Against Spreading Malware Threats and Data Leakage

IronKey Inc., maker of the world’s most secure flash drives, announced a new level of flash drive usage control that allows IT administrators to remotely restrict IronKey devices from being used on untrusted networks. This release follows the recent announcement of the IronKey Anti-Malware Initiative, a comprehensive program to protect portable and mobile media from viruses, worms, Trojans, botnets, crimeware and other malware threats.

Of recent concern has been the malware attacks witnessed within the U.S. Government that were believed to have originated from a removable memory device. NASA CIO Jonathan Pettus recently clarified his agency’s policy curbing the use of removable media, stating that the new policy dictates that employees not use government-owned removable devices on personal machines or machines that do not belong to the agency, department or organization. The policy also extends to banning the use of any unknown device on a government system. An additional feature of IronKey’s Enterprise managed devices, The Trusted Network policy, addresses these specific security concerns.

The IronKey Trusted Network policy restricts IronKey Enterprise devices from being used on systems outside specified enterprise IP addresses, preventing users from unlocking IronKey devices from home or in untrusted network environments. Government agencies can define policies to restrict IronKey devices containing classified information to only be used on computers in approved government secure networks.

Additionally, hospitals can define policies to allow doctors to carry patient information on IronKey devices for use on hospital and clinic computers. These policies can prevent doctors from using their IronKey devices from home or on other unsecure computers, thereby ensuring compliance with HIPPA data privacy regulations.

To learn more about IronKey devices and the IronKey Anti-Malware Initiative, please visit https://www.ironkey.com/anti-malware.


High-Quality, Silicon-Proven DesignWare IP Lowers Design Risk and Enables Interoperability with Hi-Speed USB Products

Synopsys, Inc. a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design and manufacturing, today announced that its DesignWare(R) USB 2.0 nanoPHY is the first 40-nanometer (nm) USB 2.0 PHY IP to successfully pass the USB Implementers Forum Hi-Speed USB PHY certification. Synopsys’ technology-leading USB 2.0 nanoPHY mixed-signal IP, now available in a native 1.8V architecture, meets the full USB 2.0 specification including 5V short tolerance for 24 hours and 3.3V operation. This architecture helps designers embed the DesignWare USB 2.0 PHY IP into system-on-chips (SoCs) utilizing the most advanced process geometries without compromising performance or long-term reliability.

The DesignWare USB 2.0 nanoPHY IP is designed for a broad range of high-volume mobile and consumer applications where the key requirements include minimal area, minimal dynamic and leakage power consumption. In addition, the DesignWare USB 2.0 nanoPHY IP has built-in tuning circuits designed to enable quick, post-silicon adjustments to account for unexpected chip/board parasitics or process variations, without having to modify the existing design. This allows designers to increase yield and minimize the cost of expensive silicon re-spins.

The DesignWare USB 2.0 nanoPHY IP is part of Synopsys’ complete DesignWare USB 2.0 IP solution consisting of, digital controllers, PHY and verification IP. Synopsys offers a comprehensive portfolio of USB 2.0 IP for 180-nm, 130-nm, 90-nm, 65-nm, 45-nm, and now 40-nm process technologies. The DesignWare USB 2.0 IP products have been implemented in hundreds of USB applications and are shipping in high volume production.

“Certification is important because it demonstrates that IP solutions meet USB-IF interoperability standards and are compliant to the USB 2.0 specification,” said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president and chairman. “The availability of Synopsys’ certified USB 2.0 PHY IP in the 40-nanometer process technology enables designers to quickly introduce next-generation Hi-Speed USB products including smart phones and mobile internet devices (MIDs) to the market.”

“As the leader in USB IP, Synopsys provides designers with comprehensive, high-quality USB IP solutions that are silicon-proven and certified,” said John Koeter, vice president of marketing, Solutions Group at Synopsys. “Being first to achieve USB 2.0 certification with a native 1.8V architecture is an important technical milestone, enabling the continued integration of USB 2.0 PHY IP using today’s 40-nanometer processes and future 32-nanometer and 28-nanometer processes.”

Availability

The logo-certified DesignWare USB 2.0 nanoPHY IP for the 40-nm process is available now. Please contact Synopsys for specific foundry support. The complete DesignWare USB 2.0 IP solution, consisting of PHY IP (ranging from 180-nm to 40-nm), digital controllers and verification IP, is also available today. For more information on DesignWare USB IP or to take a virtual tour of the Synopsys USB IP lab, please visit: http://www.synopsys.com/designware.

DesignWare IP

Synopsys offers a broad portfolio of high-quality, silicon-proven digital, mixed-signal and verification IP for system-on-chip designs. As a leading provider of connectivity IP, Synopsys delivers the industry’s most comprehensive solutions for widely used protocols such as USB, PCI Express, SATA, Ethernet and DDR. In addition to connectivity IP, Synopsys offers SystemC transaction level models to build virtual platforms for rapid, pre-silicon development of software. When combined with a robust IP development methodology, extensive investment in quality and comprehensive technical support, DesignWare IP enables designers to accelerate time-to-market and reduce integration risk. For more information on DesignWare IP, visit http://www.synopsys.com/designware

Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA), supplying the global electronics market with the software, intellectual property (IP) and services used in semiconductor design and manufacturing. Synopsys’ comprehensive, integrated portfolio of implementation, verification, IP, manufacturing and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) solutions helps address the key challenges designers and manufacturers face today, such as power and yield management, software-to-silicon verification and time-to-results. These technology-leading solutions help give Synopsys customers a competitive edge in bringing the best products to market quickly while reducing costs and schedule risk. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has more than 60 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.


Batteries Included Forever. Fill Stockings Not Landfill.

Recession Proof Power with Moixa USBCELL Re-Usable Batteries

Over 22,000 tonnes of batteries end up in landfill from when “rubbish after one use” Alkaline batteries are thrown away from toys and gadgets annually in the UK, creating toxic waste for hundreds of years.

Moixa Energy’s award winning USBCELL re-usable batteries help reduce this, as they can be re-used hundreds of times by re-charging in USB ports on desktops, laptops or games consoles. Saving money and planet. USBCELLs were recently a Good Housekeeping consumer awards finalist, and in September won the Barclays Commercial ‘Green Leaders in Business’ award. They were also the only British company to win an iF Gold Design award at Cebit earlier in the year as a top 50 world design (www.usbcell.com/awards).

Recognized globally as a sustainable product, this British invention is now stocked this Christmas at leading UK stores nationwide such as Morrisons, Halfords, Currys, and John Lewis, (see www.usbcell.com for details), and is helping councils and the UK reduce battery waste — now a legal requirement under the EU Batteries Directive which aims to reduce UK battery landfill by 25% by 2012.

Moixa Energy CEO, Simon Daniel comments, “Our USBCELL products aim to solve problems, save money and be sustainable. Why keep running to the shop each time the XBOX/WII/PS3 controller or digital camera or toys run out of power on Boxing day when you can simply swap over and re-charge USBCELLs on console USB ports, or recharge from laptops or desktops. We also believe USBCELLs, like solar energy, are a great example of recession proofing — buying green power solutions today (before banks/currencies lose your money!) will keep on providing renewable energy to devices and saving money, throughout a pro-longed recession.”





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