USB 3.0 Spec coming Nov 17th

Intel and others having been working on a new specification for USB for quite a while now. I recall several months ago reading an article about some of the delays and setbacks for getting this new spec completed. All that waiting will pay off on Monday November 17th, 2008 when the official spec will be released.

The new USB 3.0 plugs and devices won't be available anytime soon but maybe by Q3 of 2009???

The really good news is that the plugs are exactly the same size and design and that the USB 3.o plugs will work with current USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices so the overall majority of devices will work fine. However if you have a USB 3.0 device plugged into a USB 3.0 plug you can expect throughput speeds of around 4.8 Gbps. Here is how Intel shows the increase.

A brief performance comparison sample for data transfer of a 25GB HD movie:

USB 1.0: 9.3 hours
USB 2.0: 13.9 minutes
USB 3.0: 70 seconds

The first things I've read say that Microsoft isn't promising native support in the new Windows 7 that is due out in late 2009 or 2010 depending on who you ask. That means it will have to come as a service pack or update later on. I couldn't find the news on Mac's but you can bet they will adopt pretty early on.

E-Waste Recycling and Ethical Recycling

As our digital age starts to age we are seeing a complete turnover of electronic equipment at a pace that is astounding. We get asked regularly about recycling computer and equipment. To date we have found a few companies that offer that service but you never know what is happening once they take it from you.

After doing some reading and watching this episode from 60 Minutes you start to ask yourself do I know for sure our recycling was done properly or was it sent to some other country like China where the people doing the work are being exposed to hazardous things because the money is good for them??

Most E-Recyclers will charge a small fee to take your electronics but isn't that worth it to know your waste was handled properly and all the metals & plastics recycled while the hazardous chemicals are dealt with properly.

The Basel Convention was formed to stop industrialized countries from dumping their toxic waste on 3rd world countries.

The website www.ban.org is to create awareness and keep a list of certified e-recyclers who have passed requirements of how they treat the waste.

While most of these charge a few to drop off equipment, the fee is normally small and worth the price to know we are not polluting impoverished nations to satisfy our lust for new electronics.

Our local Utah recycler is Guaranteed Recycling Xperts (GRX) and their Utah location is in Clearfield at the Freeport Center. Here is their contact info and I hope we will all start to use these certified companies and ask other recycling companies to get certified.

GRX - Salt Lake City
Eric Anderson
Freeport Center
P.O. Box 160127
Building E 16
Clearfield, UT 84016
Phone: (801) 386-2533

Vista Snipping Tool

Those who are Vista pros might consider this a little silly but FINALLY Microsoft has created a useful tool for screen capture. Just recently I figured out what it was and it was actually useful.

You can type Snipping into the start search bar or go to 'All Programs’ then ‘Accessories’ then ‘Snipping tool’

With this tool you can cut blocks from the screen or even do a free form draw with the mouse. While the tool is modest and simple and there are better tools out there you can buy, this is a cool new tool that is free is all versions of Vista but Home Basic (that is another gripe story for another time).