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We’ve seen awesome Tesla coil art many times before, and the latest addition to the catalog is no exception. With Christmas decorations, a vehicle anti-theft device and allied soldiers all getting the Tesla treatment, it was only a matter of time before the humble laptop entered into the realms of electrical greatness. Accordion-style USB drive actually solves a problem.

These USB gadgets are not exactly the most time-saving devices ever made. Whatever works for you, man.

Keep your desk spic and span with Mr. Gadget USB Vacuum Cleaner. The two attachments are ideal for cleaning your keyboard.

Something for a fresh-smelling workplace: the USB Ashtray and Deodorizer absorbs smoke through a fan that leads the air into a carbon filter.

Forget lost or misplaced USB drives. The Mr. Gadget 1 GB USB 2.0 Executive Watch keeps your data at hand. The watch is made of stainless steel and comes with a five year warranty.

With the USB Shaver, you don’t even have to go far to get a close shave. It is compact and has twin floating heads for precision.

And on top of that, the Toshiba G450 is a USB drive for 160 MB of data, too. Talk about multi-tasking. This 3G phone functions as a 3.6Mbits-per-second modem on mobile broadband. Unusual in design and function, the G450 automatically charges when connected to a laptop via USB. Like a regular mobile phone, it can take calls, send SMS and works as an alarm clock. The light and compact G450 had reviewers scratching their heads because of its tiny screen and the unique keypad layout, which takes a little getting used to. It comes in three colors: white, red and black.

They may not look fancy, but IronKey calls its USB drives the world’s most secure. And they are certainly the most sophisticated ones out in the market today. Read speeds reach up to 30 MBps and write speeds up to 20 MBps. IronKey employs AES hardware encryption and secure online backup for password recovery. It cannot be hacked, rendering other password manager software program on regular USB drives inferior. The drive is tamper-proof, housed in waterproof metal casing, and will self-destruct in case of physical attack. The interior components are sealed in an epoxy-based potting compound. IronKey works on Windows XP and Windows Vista computers without drivers or software. It is designed with business, military and government use in mind. IronKey comes in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB for Basic, Personal or Enterprise use, with prices starting at $79.

A portable CD/DVD disposal unit that plugs into the USB port. That’s what CD Destroyer from Vubest of Taiwan is. At the touch of a button, the device scratches circular patterns on CD’s readable surface rendering its contents useless in six seconds. It’s not very clear how the company’s claims that this is the eco-friendly and safest way to get rid of your optical media, but if you do not have the knack for physically snapping your CD into half or putting them into the microwave, this is your next best bet. CD Destroyer is light and comes with a USB cable and a leather carrying case.

Piles of slides and negatives can be quite costly to convert through an external service provider. Breathe new life into your old 35mm slides and film negatives by converting them into digital images with the Slide/Film Digital Converter, which connects to your Windows XP computer via USB 2.0 cable. One-touch scanning, three LED for backlighting and a 5MP CMOS sensor ensure that you will get aligned output, exposure control and color balance. The result: quality images up to 1800 dpi that you can edit with the included software. Turn negatives into positives, crop and resize as you wish. Your memories have never looked better.

Are your vinyl LPs and cassette tapes gathering dust on your music room shelf? Here are some USB powered solutions for converting your analog music into digital. ionAudio’s USB Cassette Archiver turns your audio tapes into CDs or MP3. It uses Audacity software and EZ Tape Converter, and is PC and Mac compatible. No drivers required. For your vinyl records, ionAudio also has a Vinyl Recording Portable USB Turntable for 11, 45 and 78 rpm records. It utilizes Audacity software and Vinyl Converter by MixMeister, reduces noise for quality sound output, and can be battery-powered on the go. The best part? They’re surprisingly affordable for such quality output.

The Japanese have long been known as the masters of invention when it comes to anything high-tech and loaded with robotics and many other electronics and gadgets. Now envision cook-ware that is plugged into your USB port as you prepare soumen? The noodle dish is a cold noodle dish that is prepared easy with the nifty cookware that you pour cold water into and plug into your USB port to induce the needed water flow for the noodles to get mixed and ste to the right temperature. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever been in a situation when you have the latest mobile or smart phone but there just doesn’t seem to be enough juice for you to get a clear call through? Then you would love one of these USB-powered cellphone antenna boosters that can add a couple of bars of signal to your drained cell. Most mobile phones have internal antennas today and with these hidden antennas come the risk of interference which varies depending on your location. Even as you get home form the store to get your iPhone 3Gs, you may find that you are in a dead-spot or an area that seems to have a lack of signal due to interference from the many electronic gadgets and gizmos we have in the home. Read the rest of this entry »

People who have laptops and many other types of portables may have high-end speakers and audio cards but for most, the sound they put out may not be enough. Short of getting a plug-in standard audio system, people who took advantage of the power that can be derived from powered USB ports, coming out with amplified speakers that may not bring out the 5.1 channel sound you’d like but it has more power than your built in speakers, enough for you to hear your favorite tunes in the cafe or while on lunch as you blog or browse the net. Read the rest of this entry »