Authorize your USB drive

Flash drives have already become the media of choice when one needs to transfer files in a hurry. However, its small size also means the chances of one being lost or stolen is high.

While some USB drives have gone down the password route and others opt for a fingerprint sensor, Elecom's solution is a little more drastic. Its latest flash disks come with Password Authentication Security System (PASS) which allows only authorized machines to read the contents. We do hope that there is a workaround if the only PC it's paired with goes bonkers.

Storage capacities goes up to 16GB with no mention of price as yet. Unfortunately, this highly secure USB drive is available only in the Land of the Rising Sun for now.

Ultraportable Apple notebook for Macworld?

The long-rumored mini notebook from Apple could be making its debut relatively soon, the AppleInsider blog is reporting.

Citing "people familiar with the matter", AppleInsider says the latest notebook form factor from Apple will be introduced at January's Macworld Expo, held every year in San Francisco. Over the past year, several clues have pointed to Apple developing an ultraportable to round out its notebook lineup.

The report says the computer will have a 13-inch LCD screen, which will be lit by LEDs (light-emitting diodes) like the current MacBooks, and weigh 50 percent less than the current model 15-inch MacBook Pro. AppleInsider also says the ultraportable will use flash memory instead of a traditional mechanical hard drive. What it won't have, is equally notable: apparently Apple nixed an optical disc drive to maintain an ultraslim design.

Via Crave CNET | Photo credit: US Patent and Trademark Office

ASUS Eee concept possibly coming to desktops

The US$399 ASUS Eee PC, the surprising popular Linux-based ultraportable laptop, will have a desktop cousin next year, according to a report in DigiTimes. The 7-inch laptop, which sports a 4GB solid-state hard drive and weighs only 0.92kg, scored high marks with us for its simple user interface, low price, and decent performance.

Reviewers and the mainstream press both lavished the recently released laptop with coverage, and ASUS claims worldwide shipments have already reached 100,000 units.

No price or spec details on the proposed desktop are available, but the "Eee" in the system's name stands for "Easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work," so you can expect the same tab-based desktop layout, with preloaded software, such as Firefox and Open Office, taking the place of their Microsoft counterparts.

Via Crave CNET

Surf the Net on your bus ride home

You may be able to get free Wi-Fi almost anywhere in Singapore with the Wireless@SG initiative which aims to wire up the whole island state, but that is surely insufficient for the true Internet junkie. For up to two hours each day when traveling on a bus, a Net addict has to undergo cold turkey as his notebook becomes nothing more than a slab of plastic and silicon without wireless access. Well, a fix has been found. Nokia has brought Wi-Fi onto 12 buses in Singapore so that commuters can surf for free when riding them.

This feat is achieved by using the existing cellular HSDPA service. The best thing is that users don't need a HSDPA-enabled phone or modem as the equipment dishes out the access using regular Wi-Fi within the bus. So, this moving hotspot will give you your YouTube and Facebook fix as long as the cellular network is healthy along the bus route.

Unlike Wireless@SG, you don't have to sign up for an account to use Nokia's Wi-Fi Zone service. The unsecured network just requires you to agree to some terms of service and after that, you're good to go. Nokia says this is a trial for now and that it will review the service in a few months time. It's a first from the company, so you won't find it outside of Singapore at this point.

There are only 12 buses plying 12 different routes at this point--so chances of hopping on one even if you use the particular bus service is not guaranteed. If you are truly and hopelessly hooked to the Internet, we suggest getting your own HSDPA modem and an unlimited plan--that will work on any bus.

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Sony FZ notebook turns tree hugger

Going green is the new trend, and Sony is not going to be left out. Its new VAIO Graphic Splash Eco Edition notebooks, based on the FZ series, uses design to remind us all just how fragile the earth it.

Though all Sony's FZ models are RoHS compliant (which means they do not use toxic chemicals in its components) and use easy-to-recycle materials, the Eco Edition goes the extra mile by making the package recycle-friendly too. Moreover, one percent from the sale of every Eco Edition laptop goes to grassroots environmental groups for their fight to save the environment. Unfortunately, the program as well as these notebooks are currently available only in the US. But with more Asia-Pacific markets keeping an eye on the green movement, we may be seeing an increasing number of such initiatives coming our way in the future.

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