Buffalo USB Hub can Reduce Carbon Footprint

This rather industrial looking USB hub distances itself from designer quality counterparts such as ones from LaCie. The latest Buffalo ‘expansion bar’ provides four USB ports, whose power can be controlled individually by a switch. So, if you don’t need that peripheral to operate 24/7, you can save some power and hence reduce some carbon footprint by turning off the device. This comes in very handy for those novelty USB gadgets without a power switch so you don’t have to unplug it every time you want them to stop humping.

source: EverythingUSB

Diatec’s $50 USB Multi-touch Pad for PC

Just because you don’t own any of the Apple iPhone, iPod touch or MacBooks doesn’t mean you have to miss out all the fun that multi-touch offers. The Diatec SmartTrack Neo USB trackpad straight from Japan can now add this functionality to a desktop PC, and it might arrive just in time for testing on Windows 7 – the first MS’ OS with integrated multi-touch tricks.

The mini-pad measures at 3″ by 1.8″, comes with 2 buttons, and supports pretty much the same gesture controls (e.g. pinch, swipe, two-finger rotation) heavily advertised by Apple. The multi-touch USB pad is also meant to be used with both hands. We also need to remind you this is purely for PC, specifically Windows. So, if you have a PowerMac or Mac Pro, you may need to wait for Apple to release something similar or until someone convinces Diatec Mac support for the pad could be wholeheartedly welcomed by owners of pre-2007 Macs.

MingleStick

Life is fast paced. Every day we meet lots of people, but then wave and say goodbye. We miss many opportunities to connect. Sometimes we trade business cards, but they can get misplaced or even lost. We want to stay connected, but don’t want any hassles. We need something better. We need something simple and easy . . . yet stylish. Introducing the MingleStick. A small, inexpensive keychain device that allows people to exchange identity information with a simple click of a button.

Two users point their MingleSticks at each other and click the button to create a successful connection. At the end of the day, the user takes their MingleStick and plugs it into their computer. The Mingle360 website automatically launches and the user logs into their account to view the number of connections they made with the MingleStick.

More info: mingle360.com