Cross yourselves, then cross the streams
Aug 6, 2008 USB, Uncategorized
I found today’s XKCD comic extra funny. Enjoy!
Click image for full size
Tags: ghostbusters, xkcd.com
10 Baffling Computer Gagdgets
Again from Cracked.com, The 10 Most Baffling Computer Gadgets Money Can Buy. I had heard of some of these before and thought to myself “what’s the point?” The ones I hadn’t heard of made me ask myself the same question while shaking my head. All but the Roll-Up Keyboard which I think is a useful gadget. I guess necessity isn’t the only mother of invention, though. For the list and a description of exactly what those things do, check out the full article.
Tags: Cracked.com, gadgets, USB
Connect two computers via USB
EETimes.com reports that FTDI Ltd., a company in Scotland, has “has developed a 2.5 meter USB-to-USB null modem cable (NMC) suitable for connecting to [sic] PCs together.”
Null-modem was developed to allow two DTEs to communicate through an RS-232 serial cable. The USB cable developed by FTDI has USB type A plugs at each end which contain a FT232RQ USB-UART converter IC and supporting components. The rate of communication between PCs is up to 3-Mbaud and the drivers work on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
One of my first questions to myself when I started learning about USB was “Why can’t we just run a USB cable between computers to connect them?” It seems FTDI has answered that question and solved the problem. Though, with the popularity and speed of ethernet connections nowadays, I’m not sure why they would want to research null-modem USB cables.
Technorati Tags: usb, null modem, pc to pc
Tags: EETimes.com, RS-232, USB