Items tagged with dock
If you are like me, the Aero themes under the Personalize menu in Windows 7 and Windows 10's minimalist design language are just not enough to give your PC a unique look. You want more than a new wallpaper, some icons, and simple color changes. There are utilities out there, both free and commercial, that will give you a custom desktop far beyond anything you can get from the Windows theme presets. You can go with the out of the box look, or customize things on your own with a little fiddling. Let's start with Rainmeter, an open source, free utility focused primarily on information display on your desktop. It can be especially useful if you have a multi-monitor setup. My Rainmeter layout covers...
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If there's one thing that the world at large is pushing for Apple to enter into, it's the television market. But long before those wishes became a reality, many were hoping that Apple would do for the automobile what it did for phones and MP3 players: reinvent the wheel, so to speak. There have been various reports over the years regarding the late Steve Jobs' ideal of changing up the motorcar, and while most every car company on the planet now offers some level of iDevice support, there hasn't been much done beyond surface-level integration. Now, however, Volkswagen is hoping to step that up a notch. While it's not exactly the iCar you may have been waiting for, the new iBeetle showcased at...
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Lenovo and HP both have found time to unleash loads of new gear in the past day or so, but this one in particular caught our eye. The new ThinkPad Laptop USB 3.0 Dock is a swanky looking device that's powered by DisplayLink and a DL-3900 Dual Head Graphics chip with integrated Gigabit Ethernet and Audio. According to Lenovo, it offers dual video connections (2xDVI), enabling multiple displays to be connected, as well as five USB 3.0 ports for peripheral expansion. One has to wonder how much use these things still have in a market of increasingly powerful laptops, but those who find it useful will be able to buy one starting May 15th for $180. ThinkPad Laptop USB 3.0 Dock Enabled By DisplayLink...
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It's a trickle right now, but it'll be a flood soon enough. Samsung has just introduced the first of their CES slate of products, with home entertainment getting the first push. The company just introduced a new line of audio dock systems that look ultra stylish, with one in particular being the first in the world to incorporate Samsung's s proprietary hybrid vacuum tube amplifier technology and supports a broad range of Galaxy S and Apple devices via both docked and wireless connectivity (model DA-E750). The Audio Dock for Galaxy S and Apple devices is a system that combines functionality with harmonized design, along with connectivity to both Samsung and Apple devices (model DA-E670). These...
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Apple's AirPlay service is definitely becoming one of the more popular protocols in the A/V space, and while it's certainly a long ways from being as mainstream as something like Bluetooth, the simple fact that Apple's name is on it is giving it serious mindshare. Harman Audio has just introduced a new JBL product, and obviously the key feature is AirPlay. For those looking to stream their iTunes library library wirelessly from their computer or iDevice, it's probably a solid option. The On Air Wireless AirPlay speaker dock has a fairly unique shape, with 360-degrees of audio able to fill an average sized room. You can pop your iPhone or iPod touch into the dock itself, and it'll charge; but...
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Are we seeing the next big (or even small) trend in mobile technology? Motorola recently shook up the space with their Atrix 4G, an AT&T smartphone that did something that no other smartphone had done before. Rather than shipping by its lonesome, the Atrix 4G shipped with an optional docking station, which is really a brain-less netbook shell. Pop the Atrix 4G into the dock slot, and suddenly you've got an Android-powered computer. What's funny is that this is history repeating itself all over again, but the timing may be better now. Palm's Foleo was similar to this, and it was spiked before ever coming to market. Celio's REDFLY was also similar, but sales were evidently lackluster. But now,...
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There are quite simply too many iPod speaker dock options to count. Everywhere you look, another company is coming out of the woodwork in order to introduce an iPhone or iPod dock. Most everyone who would ever want one probably already owns one, but for those who are getting ready to get their first iPod this holiday season, Yamaha has a great option. It's stylish, powerful and should look good in just about any bedroom. The TSX-140 desktop audio system also has a great feature for bedrooms: it can wake you gradually with the sound of your favorite music. It can fade in the music rather than simply blaring it out to jolt you awake. A nice touch! It's compatible with Apple’s iPod Touch and...
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A little old, a little new. Mix them together and you get Onkyo's newest. The Onkyo CS-V645 DVD/CD Mini AV system has a touch of retro style, but it supports one of the newest media players. By glancing at it, you may expect this unit to play back cassettes or records, but no, it's an iPod sound system. Designed to work in close quarters (dorm rooms, offices, etc.), the system has a built-in iPod dock, a USB connection, an HDMI output (for passing along HDMI content to a connected display) and a pair of two-way loudspeakers. Aside from the iPod, it can also play CDs and various other formats via USB, as flash drives and such can be plugged in with music files loaded on. The CS-445 CD mini system...
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Docking Stations have permeated corporate office buildings for as long as we can remember, and even today, many "business notebooks" ship with a gap in the bottom to connect to a first-party dock that's designed to be chained to one's cube desk. Workers simply haul in their notebook from home, slap it into the dock, and use a ready-made desktop setup.But Mac users have never really had that luxury. Apple has never made a Mac laptop with a built-in port that allowed for a nice, seamless connection to a docking station. Users have always had to seek out third-party "universal solutions" that never really worked right for one reason or another. Things have become somewhat easier over the years thanks...
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Speakal is no Apple, but it has certainly generated a name for itself due to its iPig speakers. Those USB wonders have sold like hotcakes, and folks needing a gag gift for the technology lover in their life have probably fallen in love with this here company. Just in time for this holiday season, Speakal is returning with an all new gift that's sure to make some of you giggle: the miSoccer iPod Docking Station Speaker. The company is understandably taking advantage of the fact that the World Cup is now on the minds of sports fans everywhere, and of course, the iPod has refused to leave anyone's mind. Essentially, what we're looking at here is what happens when an iPod dock and a soccer ball collide,...
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We've seen some pretty odd docking stations in our day. We've even netbook a docking station specifically made for netbooks, and now we're seeing one specifically made for MacBook Pro notebooks. The highly-stylish DeskBook Pro has just been revealed by Zenmo, and in case you couldn't guess, this portable docking station is meant to look as sleek as Apple's own computers do. Promising "unrivaled connectivity," the station is also introducing the company's own ModBay technology. ModBays enable the DeskBook Pro to support internal connection of hard drives, batteries and peripherals, and they're not only portable, but also provide convenient access to additional power for the dock when mobile. For...
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iLuv has been making iPod and iPhone alarm clocks for as long as we can remember, and so far as we know, they are about the best you can buy. The new iMM183 is taking things to the next level by being the world's first dual dock alarm clock with a weather radio. That's a lot of functionality in a small device, and if you've been looking for a great excuse to replace that aging alarm clock that has been beeping at your for decades, this is it. The advanced clock is designed to hold and charge up to two iPods and iPhones (with dock connectors), and it can be programmed to set off multiple alarms that play songs or stations from whatever iPod/iPhone you select. In other words, you and your spouse...
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Timing is a funny thing, isn't it? Just a few short days after Toshiba revealed its new universal docking station, along comes Kensington to give them a little competition. But Kensington's new pair of universal docks have something that Toshiba's doesn't: DisplayLink.The sd300v and sd400v are both designed to pass along video signals over USB, meaning that each of them have DisplayLink technology baked in. The USB docks allow people to connect their display, mouse, keyboard and speakers to any notebook PC though a single simple USB 2.0 connection, meaning that you don't have to connect nearly as many wires as with a traditional docking station. One thing that has generally held universal docks...
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Uh, okay? We have to say, we're all about taking risks, and we greatly appreciate it when companies deviate from the straight-and-narrow in order to take a chance. But it'll still take some time for us to get our minds around the latest two laptop speaker docks from Asus. The uBoom Series of compact notebook speakers are large docks that are powered via a USB 2.0 socket, which--if you have a netbook-probably means you'll be using half of your available USB ports to power these sound cannons. These devices are the first ever by Asus, with the uBoom and uBoom Q soundbars adding serious sound to notebooks, which generally boast lackluster audio qualities. There's even a bass reflex port for added...
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iHome has been pushing out iPod and iPhone docks for as long as we can remember. The company has to have literally dozens of options ranging from bottom-end to fairly nice, some of which actually double as alarm clocks. The company's latest, however, is uniquely upscale, with sound from Bongiovi Acoustics and a design that'll have anyone swooning.The iP1 is the first item in iHome's Studio Series, and the Bongiovi Acoustics Digital Power Station technology includes a processor that actively scans the recorded material and compensates for any deficiencies across the audio frequency spectrum, effectively restoring it to the sound the artist originally intended to be heard. The device outputs 100...
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Plug in two drives: Sharkoon has endowed its popular QuickPort with a second hard drive slot, now offering its docking station for externally housed mass-storage in the model "SATA QuickPort Duo".With the Sharkoon QuickPort, a 2.5" or 3.5" SATA hard drive can be quickly and easily connected to computers without permanent installation in an external enclosure. Now, a second HDD slot allows the QuickPort Duo to service two hard drives at once, irrespective of whether they are 2.5" or 3.5" drives. The two slots are covered by folding covers with small cut-outs for notebook hard drives. Both smaller and larger hard drives are held securely in place, and drives are removed through an easy-to-use release...
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Sharkoon SATA QuickPort:- USB docking station provides direct access to "naked" or uninstalled SATA hard drives, Compatible with 2.5" and 3.5" drives - Sharkoon presents a new hard drive accessory, the Sharkoon SATA QuickPort, which provides a direct connection to uninstalled SATA HDDs and makes pre-installation in an external housing unnecessary. The desktop docking station connects via USB 2.0, and allows hard drives to be quickly inserted into a slot in the docking station. A release button removes the drive from the docking station when no longer needed. An external power supply is included. The Sharkoon SATA QuickPort offers space for one 2.5" or 3.5" SATA hard drive. A locking mechanism...
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For about $90USD, you can add three extra(hot swappable) hard drives to your machine using the IcyDock MB453SPF-B Multi-Bay Backplane Module. In their latest review, PCStats checks to see if this new device is a handy piece of hardware, or just another electronic dud. "The IcyDock MB453SPF-B multi-bay backplane module is a box the size of a couple optical drives stacked on top of one another that stores a handful of serial ATA hard drives in compact, individually hot swappable drive caddy's. When internal hard drive space in a computer case is full, or if quick access to hard drives is called for, this box will allow you to add up to three...
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