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Great laptop cooler/stand for notebook computers

We received the USB 3.0 version of the CM Storm Strike Force SF-19 laptop cooler…
Until it’s removed from the box, it’s not apparent how sturdy it is!  Made of plastic, metal mesh, and thick rubber…I expect this can take a beating.
Notebook computers of up to 19-inch notebook can fit on it.  The SF-19 is 1 foot 7 inches wide at its top.  On the left side is a “LED ON/OFF” switch, a “MULTI-LIGHT SHADER” switch…and a speed control for the fans, which can also turn them off.  On the right side is:  the 12 volt power socket, four USB ports, and a port for the the UBS 3.0 cable.  The USB 3.0 cable is supplied to connect the cooler to a computer.  The cable is 3.5 inches long, has a Type A plug at one end, and a Micro-B plug at the other.
Installed in the unit are two 140 mm fans, which can be replaced with 120 mm fans.  Air is blown upwards towards the computer.  To access the fans, turn the SF-19 upside-down and open the access door located on the bottom.  Inside are four power connections for fans, two on each side.
An AC-to-12 volt power adapter is included.
The “MULTI-LIGHT SHADER” switch allows for the activation of seven LED colors that illumate at four locations on the bottom. (Not being an art student I can only identify:  red, green, blue, purple, and what appears to be aqua).
The rubber components of the SF-19 keep computers from slipping off, absorbs shock to protect it from damage, and are designed to assist with cable management.
Often I have complained about how flimsy other laptop platforms for notebook computers are.  The SF-19 is the ultimate solution.
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The Starbucks Digital Network is now active!

“Starbucks today announced the launch of the Starbucks Digital Network, in partnership with Yahoo!…Serving up a collection of hand-picked premium news, entertainment and lifestyle content along with local insights and events, the Starbucks Digital Network, is powered by free Wi-Fi and available only in Starbucks stores. Developed for screens big and small, customers with Wi-Fi enabled laptops, tablets or smartphones can visit the network while in line or while enjoying their favorite beverage in the cafe.

“…The digital network’s hand-picked premium content spans six channels: News, Entertainment, Wellness, Business & Careers, My Neighborhood and Starbucks. Newly signed content providers include Bookish Reading Club, Foursquare, GOOD, LinkedIn, New Word City and The Weather Channel.

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Free software to convert PDF files

We here at TechtalkRadio always love to pass along Free Software or Links when we can, especially if it can save you a few bucks! Until October 21st of 2010 visitors to the website at http://www.pdftiger.com/giveaway.html can grab a copy of the software that will  PDFTiger converts files to PDF formatted files, PDF files into editable file formats and according to the Documentation on the website also handle task such as:

“Word To PDF Converter and PDF To Word Doc Tool that quickly and accurately create PDF documents from Word, Excel, Powerpoint, txt or Images. PDFTiger can also convert PDF files into editable MS Word Documents, Rich Text Documents, Plain Text Files, Images, HTML Files, and Shockwave Flash SWF Files.”

To view all the available format conversions, visit http://www.pdftiger.com/giveaway.html Also, remember that this is only till October 21st 2010. As with all Downloadable Software and Links, make sure your system is backed up and protected!
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USB 3.0 Flash Drives exist, Kingston Technology has them…

Photo of the Kingston Data Traveler USB 3.0
Kingston USB DTU 3.0 Flash Drive

It was a few weeks ago that TechtalkRadio recieved some USB 3.0 adapters from our friends at TrendNet so we could test out and experience the glory that would be USB 3.0. Seriously, the idea of transfering large files to external drives,  flash drives or even broadcasting or playing back video in HD is possible with the sysem specs of USB 3.0

Andy Taylor of TechtalkRadio made a few calls and reached out to manufacturers for external USB devices and connected with Kingston Technologies. The Fountain Valley California sent us a DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0.

To give you an idea why we were so excited with the concept, The specification for USB 3.0 with the data traverller from Kingston allows for data transfers as fast as 80 MB per second when being read from the drive, and up to 60 MB per second when being written to the drive…up to ten times the rate as USB 2.0 (which is 30 MB per second to read from, and 30 MB per second to write to, those types of drives).

To transfer a 265,441 MB file via a USB 3.0 connection to the drive took about 10 seconds.  Tranferring the same file via USB 2.0 to the drive took about 15 seconds. On the Kingston website it was noted  “During internal testing, a 1 hour 44 minute movie (3.9GB) was written to the drive in 1 minute 13 seconds. Similarly, a 2 hour 23 minute DVD (4.4GB) transferred to the drive at a fast 1 minute 23 seconds.”

I took the Beefy USB DataTraveler out of the packaging and began with the idea of formatting the FAT32 device to NTFS. I then tried a write of a  4.05 GB file:  it needed about two minutes via USB 3.0.  At USB 2.0 it took nearly 4 minutes to complete. Happy indeed was I and I could imagine how time saving this would be moving large amounts of small files.  The product we looked at was the 32GB Model.

The DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 is available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.  For use with some USB 2.0 ports, a Y-cable…that has two Type A plugs, and one Type A receptacle…is included.

Slick

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ChicBoom Products to promote Breast Cancer Awareness

Comfortable and Stylish
ChicBuds Portable Earphones

Slick and Andy from TechtalkRadio have had the opportunity this month to take a look at some new products which help promote awareness of Breast Cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) and many campaigns are in progress throughout the month to heighten the awareness of issues relating to breast cancer.  One company that is making a difference is ChicBuds, the stylish designers of comfortable technology accessories  is donating 10% of all PINK product proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  A few of the products that TechtalkRadio took a look at include The Watermelon ChicBuds Earphones, The Fauvette Earphones and a very cool little portable speaker  called the ChicBoom. 

Read our Full Review at http://www.techtalkradio.com/hardware/chicbuds.html from Slick