Everything USB... We Mean Everything!

The new Fedora 9 - an open-source Linux desktop OS financially backed by Red hat - now allows capturing an image of a user's desktop and then loading it onto a USB device, which will operate on any common x86 instruction set hardware. This can also be done without reformatting or repartitioning existing flash drives.

Creating a portable Linux desktop, according to Fedora project leader Paul Frields, opens up new opportunities for "low-heat producing, low-power consuming mobile devices..." that run off a comfortably on a 2GB USB drive. Another idea would be to install public kiosks in school or Starbucks where users can boot off their own Linux OS with all the familiar applications on a thumbdrive. Unfortunately, large footprint apps like OpenOffice and multi-language support, are off limits to this approach, but users can still combine small apps like AbitWord, email, calender & browser without taking too much memory.

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While not even one native Wireless USB peripheral has seen the light yet, that didn't stop designers from coming up new concepts. Touch360 believes the days that people have to plug in their flash drives to a USB port are over, and that we will soon be going unplugged. To materialize this idea, you need Wireless USB or other lower-speed PAN technologies; basically, this concept allows users to keep their drives in their pockets using aforementioned wireless standards while remaining connected to the host PC or making connections to another cordless thumbdrive. If this is to become a shipping product, there will also be a 'device' that is essentially a battery-powered RF module that provides a dock for the flash drive.

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Global regulatory approvals, increase in effective throughput & lower cost are essential to the success of Certified Wireless USB. Alereon's recently announced AL5350 Wireless USB chipset allows worldwide deployment with a single SKU model which means OEMs will be able to distribute the same hardware to customers regardless of their local regulatory emission requirement. In addition, the AL5350 - an in-house all-in-one solution integrating BBP/MAC, firmware, RF transceiver - should minimize risk in supply problem when working with multiple vendors. The two work together to further reduce the overall cost, which ultimately decides the fate of WUSB.

Also of paramount importance is the effective throughput; Alereon claims its chipset (the PCIe favor) now reaches 200Mbps at which speed end products can finally work reasonably well in native wireless mode. The Alereon's WUSB chipset is offered in reference designs for half PCIe miniCard, ExpressCard and peripherals like wireless monitor, docking station as well as wireless connections to HDTVs.

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Ultra-wideband (UWB) has been in the market since 2006, yet only a handful of consumer products based on Certified Wireless USB of WiMedia's UWB radio platform exist. In fact, there isn't even one native peripheral to date. The only application we've seen so far is some WUSB hubs plagued by sub-par performance. So, where is Wireless USB heading? IMS Research believes UWB and all the protocols that rely on the platform are at a cross-road, and 2008 may very well be pivotal year for them.

The key is in getting more first tier manufacturers to ship WUSB integrated with their notebooks, and this should ramp up the production, hence driving the cost down to below $5. (The UWB IC prices currently remain at around $10.) Even though Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo are getting onboard, the rest is skeptical about UWB future, and has expressed concerns that half of the eco-system has been disappointing. IMS Research isn't all pessimistic, reassuring that UWB market volume will increase eventually as portable electronics move on to wireless option whose only choice is Wireless USB.

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While everything surrounding U3 has stopped, here's a webmaster who keeps all the U3 apps coming. This guy - not affiliated with Sandisk and U3 - basically repackages high-profile software titles to U3-compliant software that allows users to run them on their U3 drives on the go. After checking the site out, you can find quite a large number of titles ranging from the latest OpenOffice (2.4) to FireFox beta (3.0), Safari (3.1.1), Microsoft Office 2007, PS2 Emulator, PhotoShop and even Halo Combat Evolved. Even though we don't know the reactions when the publishers find out their titles are being ported to unauthorized platform without permission, the website is indeed the most populous U3 community out there. If you are still interested in the whole U3 idea, check out MS' StartKey which is fundamentally based on U3 except MS will do all the hard work of making software portable.

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EVGA - the company that traditionally manufactures overclockable GeForce cards - has ventured into the low-end market with two external GPU-less USB video cards. Belonging to EVGA's UV Plus+ family, the stackable UV12 and UV16 DVI graphics adapters are based on none other than DisplayLink's USB video technology that also powers Samsung 940UX 19" monitor, IOGear USB VGA card and Kensington USB Video Dock.

The UV16 is the high end model supporting a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 (1680 x 1050 widescreen) while the low model UV12 tops at 1280 x 1024 (1440 x 900 widescreen). Like all other DisplayLink products, the UV12 & UV16 support Vista's Aero 3D and Apple Leopard. Both adapters will go for well below $100, at which price point should appeal to workaholics maximizing productivity across multiple monitors.

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CuPhone "Echo Free" USB Phone Adapter - available as platform independent - is for those who already has a preferred choice of their regular phone that they would like to use Skype with. In one end, there's a USB plug, and the two RJ-11 ports connect to wall jack and a standard telephone. Basically this lets you to accept both landline and Skype calls from the same phone. It can also automatically route incoming Skype calls to your cellphone or any pre-specified number, and supports three-way conferencing. Other similar products provides call-waiting feature for switching between Skype and landline calls, yet the CuPhone may lack this function.

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