usb

British audiophile brand Arcam appears to be making a greater effort to go mainstream these days with products such as the Arcam rCube iPhone dock and now, an entry-level USB DAC/headphone amplifier (amp) combo.

Meant as a smaller (and cheaper) alternative to the rDac digital-to-analog converter, this model only has a single USB input, with an asynchronous DAC. Audiophiles tend to prefer asynchronous USB inputs on DACs for the more consistent audio quality they're supposed to provide as the device creates the clock signals and not the (sometimes ancient) USB controller.… Read more

Your trusty USB flash drive is much more versatile than you might realize, packing capabilities that go well beyond storing and transferring files.

These little-known tricks can be utilized by computer newbies and technogeeks alike to achieve anything from restoring a virus-ridden computer to launching and playing portable apps right from the drive.

Unlock our top-10 ways to use a USB flash drive with the guide below. Thanks to fellow How To blogger Ed Rhee, and the team at CNET, you'll be surprised to find that storing files might not be the best use of thumbdrives after all.

1. … Read more

USB devices can be hot-swapped, but their convenience is hindered by their need to be removed safely by using the Windows Safe Removal option. There's a policy for each USB device, however, that allows you to set them for quick removal, at the expense of a very minor performance hit.

Here's how to check to make sure that your USB device's quick removal policy is turned on:

Step 1: After you've inserted your USB device, launch Device Manager by hitting the Windows logo key, then typing "device manager" and selecting it from the search … Read more

I heard about the Wadia 151PowerDAC from my friends at Magnepan, who make some of my favorite flat-panel speakers. They loved the way the 151 brought their fourteen-inch tall Mini Maggie speakers to life. That's great news, because when I auditioned the Minis at the factory last year (before they tried the 151) the speakers were hooked up to a massive Threshold stereo power amp. The Threshold/Maggie system was, by a large margin, the best-sounding desktop system I ever heard. Using a monster amp like that wasn't a practical solution for most buyers, but now with the … Read more

What's in the next spin of the MacBook Pro? 0ne answer is obvious, others are guesswork.

The obvious? Intel's newest Ivy Bridge chip. The guesswork? A thinner MBP made possible by ripping out the optical drive, a la the MacBook Air. And here's some more wishful thinking:

Retina display: A Pro (or maybe a new Air at some point?) with a 2,560x1,600 resolution display? That's the resolution that Intel's Kirk Skaugen mentioned this week at an Intel conference in Beijing in connection with the upcoming Ivy Bridge chip. And he specifically used the … Read more

If you've been wondering when Thunderbolt is available for Windows, the answer is now.

LaCie, one of the two storage companies that participated in the introduction of the Thunderbolt standard, told me today that it will be showing off two Thunderbolt devices, the Little Big Disk SSD and the 2big Thunderbolt, at NAB Show 2012.

While these two devices are not new, this is going to be the first time they are demoed on both platforms: Mac and Windows. Up to now, Thunderbolt has been available only to Macs, exclusively. LaCie also revealed that the support for Thunderbolt in … Read more

Confession: I love flash drives. I have one on my keychain. I have one shaped like an Angry Bird. I keep a small box of them near my desk. Can a guest spot on "Hoarders" be far behind?

Okay, I'm not that bad, but I'm definitely a sucker for cheap storage. Hence today's deal: Newegg has the Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB USB drive for $16.99 shipped. That's after redeeming a $12 mail-in rebate (PDF).

Don't like rebates? That's cool. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you tomorrow.

The Voyager is … Read more

In Silicon Valley time, it's been eons but USB 3.0 support has finally landed in Intel chips.

Intel -- somewhat stealthily -- announced today that its 7-series chipset family is now available and "shipping in mobile and desktop OEM systems and motherboards worldwide...[and] they also integrate USB 3.0."

The new chipsets -- companion silicon to the main processor -- support both 2nd Generation Intel Core processors, aka Sandy Bridge, and 3rd Generation Intel Core chips, aka Ivy Bridge.

With today's announcement of availability, it's been roughly ten years since Intel announced support … Read more

A new generation of slim, lightweight laptops has taken the PC world by storm. These ultrabooks (to use Intel's trademarked marketing term) are exactly what many laptop shoppers have been longing for, a PC version of Apple's MacBook Air that runs Windows.

But despite very strong showings from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and others, there still is not an ultrabook on the market right now that really beats the MacBook Air in a head-to-head shootout. That's not because of price, processing power, or features -- the Air is more expensive, has about the same CPU horsepower, and lacks … Read more