10 Daily Things

Tighten your seat belts. Data transfer is going into overdrive as the ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus, better known as USB, prepares to make a tenfold jump in speed.

That means the vast sea of USB devices — from HD camcorders to hard drives and music players — will be able to transfer music, video, photos and other data much, much more quickly.

The new standard, the first update to the USB specification in eight years, will also deliver greater power efficiency and the ability to recharge a wider variety of gadgets — and it will most likely mean the death of the competing standard known as FireWire.

To get a sense of the speed increase, consider this: Transferring high-definition video of 27 GB, the amount on a standard Blu-Ray disc, takes about 10 minutes with the current USB 2.0 standard. With USB 3.0, it will take just about a minute.

The new spec will support data transfers at 4.8 gigabits per second (Gbps), nearly ten times faster than the current standard’s 480 megabits per second and six times faster than FireWire 800. It’s also 400 times faster than the 12Mbps offered by the original spec, USB 1.0.

USB 2.0 is also known as “Hi Speed USB,” while USB 3.0 will have the confusingly similar moniker “SuperSpeed USB.”

The new USB 3.0 connectors and devices will be compatible with older USB ports (on devices using USB 2.0 and 1.0) but they will be limited to the older ports’ slower speeds.

The first USB 3.0 devices probably won’t show up until the end of 2009 or early 2010, say analysts. But users can get a glimpse into future devices sporting SuperSpeed USB as early as the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January.

USB 3.0 offers better specifications for power management. “We will move to an interrupt-driven architecture where your PC can ignore the connected device till the latter actually does something,” says Kleynhans. “That can really lower the power consumption.”

It also has better power output, 900 milliamps compared to 100 milliamps with USB 2.0. That means up to four devices can be charged from a single USB port and charged faster.

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Listen to conversations over long distances with a homemade laser listening device. All you’ll need is a laser pointer, tripod, old pair of headphones, photocell and a recording device. Your completed laser spy microphone won’t be the most practical recording setup you’ve ever used, but it’s an interesting bit of science and a great DIY project. The process involves a simple bit of soldering, but in all it’s very simple.

The first attempts to produce human speech by machine were made in the 2nd half of the 18th century. Professor of physiology Kratzenstein in Copenhagen succeeded in producing vowels using resonance tubes connected to organ pipes.

At that time, Wolfgang von Kempelen from Hungary had already begun with his own attempts that led him to construct a speaking machine. Von Kempelen was an ingenious person in the service of empress Maria Theresa in Vienna.

Von Kempelen’s machine was the first that allowed to produce not only some speech sounds, but also whole words and short sentences.

Called the “XO Move”, this scooter is “adaptable to user needs, can carry one or two persons and sports a variable wheelbase to make it more stable on the roads. It looks like a transformer and almost acts like one. The concept is that when parked it transforms and locks up for security. It is adaptable to user needs, can carry one or two persons and sports a variable wheel base to make it more stable on the roads.

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Sleek Audio’s Web site is peppered with reminders that it makes no sense to listen to your expensive MP3 player through a “$5 pair of earbuds.” I couldn’t agree more, and, at $249.99 list, the SA6 from Sleek Audio is certainly an upgrade! Sleek Audio, which started off as a hearing-aid manufacturer, takes an admirable step most companies don’t: The manual includes in-depth explanations of safe listening levels and hearing-loss risks. Also included with the earphones are treble and bass “tuning ports” that alter the audio output to suit different tastes and eardrums. These are not the most fantastic earphones I’ve heard, but for the price, they offer a customizable, fairly flat response. If you’re seeking a truly flat response, the best choice is either Etymotic’s $400 ER-4P or Ultimate Ears’ $900 custom-fit UE 10 Pro. If $250 is more what you had in mind, the SA6 can do battle with similarly priced Shure and Ultimate Ears models and is customizable in a way most earphones are not.

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