Tag: external
Turn your old laptop SSD or HDD into an external drive with this £6 enclosure
Here’s an idea! You know that 2.5-inch laptop drive that you have sitting around ever since you upgraded a year or two back? How about repurposing it as a portable SSD or HDD with this USB-C enclosure? For £6, you can give that drive a new lease on life. Your new drive will be useful too, ideal for backups, moving video files to your TV or just moving game directories between PCs.
n.b. Face in image above is unrelated, I just wanted to fill out the space without drawing attention to the USB cables that stop at the edge. Thanks to my pal Ross for the illustration.
Apple Headset to Use ‘New Proprietary Charging Connector’ for External Battery
Most AR/VR headsets on the market have an integrated battery, but reports suggest that Apple’s headset will connect to a separate, external battery that is worn at the waist, which allows the headset to be lighter and more comfortable.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman revealed that the charging cable that goes from the battery pack into the headset has a round tip that inserts magnetically.
According to Gurman, the round tip must be rotated clockwise to lock it in so that it doesn’t fall out during use, while “the cable itself connects to the battery pack, and those two pieces aren’t separable.”
The external battery pack is said to look like an iPhone MagSafe battery pack and is “about the size of an iPhone but thicker,” reports Gurman. It is designed to be charged via USB-C, and can be powered up using the same adapter included with the MacBook Pro.
The battery will power the headset for approximately two hours, and it will be able to be swapped out for continuous usage while a second battery charges. Given the short battery life, the presumption is that Apple will offer additional battery packs for sale separately.
Apple’s headset is rumored to be called “Reality One” or “Reality Pro” and is expected to debut at WWDC in June, along with xrOS, Apple’s new mixed-reality operating system. For more information on the purported features of the headset, be sure to check out our most recent breakdown.
This article, “Apple Headset to Use ‘New Proprietary Charging Connector’ for External Battery” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple’s mixed-reality headset may come with a magnetic cable for its external power supply
At the start of 2023, Bloomberg’s Gurman reported Apple’s forthcoming mixed-reality headset would feature an external power supply. At the time, he said the company made the decision to offload the battery for a few reasons. Apple was concerned about the device overheating. It also wanted to make the headset lighter and thereby more comfortable to wear.
Ahead of WWDC 2023, the venue where Apple is expected to announce the headset, Gurman has shared more information about what to expect from the wearable’s external battery. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, he says the device, rumored to be named “Reality Pro” or “Reality One,” will feature two ports: a USB-C interface for data transfers and a “new proprietary charging connector.” Judging from Gurman’s description, the latter is reminiscent of Apple’s recently reintroduced MagSafe power port. The included power cable reportedly features a round tip that magnetically attaches to Apple’s headset. After inserting the cable, Gurman says you rotate it to lock it into place.
As for the power supply, it’s about the size of an iPhone and looks similar to Apple’s own MagSafe Battery Pack (pictured above). The component can reportedly power the wearable for up two hours on a single charge. Recharging the pack involves a USB-C cable connected to a MacBook Pro power adapter. Gurman speculates Apple will allow customers to buy additional packs separately since a single one provides so little uptime.
More than anything, Gurman’s latest report underscores how much of a first-generation product Apple’s headset will be when it arrives later this year. With the device employing such a cumbersome power delivery method and coming in at a rumored $3,000, it’s hard to imagine the average consumer running out to buy Apple’s latest gadget.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-mixed-reality-headset-may-come-with-a-magnetic-cable-for-its-external-power-supply-171341879.html?src=rss
Rode’s Streamer X combines an audio interface with an external capture card
When Rode began offering gaming-specific audio equipment at the end of last year, two of the three products the company announced, the XDM-100 and XCM-50, repurposed existing designs. Its newest Rode X device, the Streamer X, offers something different. It combines an audio interface with an external capture card.
You can connect XLR and line-level microphones and headsets to the Streamer X, with a built-in Rode Revolution preamp offering all the power you need. At the same time, the device can capture and stream footage at 4K and 30 frames per second or 2K at 60 frames per second. It also offers video passthrough at up to 4K and 60 frames per second or 2K and 120 frames per second.
The front of the console features a set of four customizable buttons you can set up to trigger specific sounds and actions on your computer. A pair of USB-C connections allow you to connect the Streamer X to two separate PCs at the same time. Out of the box, the device is fully compatible with Rode’s suite of software tools, including Unify, Rode Central and Rode Connect.
Separately, Rode also announced the Rodecaster Duo, a new audio interface that brings together all of the features found in the company’s Rodecaster Pro II but puts them into a more compact package. That means it should be able to drive even the most power-hungry mics without the need for an in-line signal booster, and offer Bluetooth connectivity for audio monitoring. Rode did not announce pricing details for the Streamer X and Rodecaster Duo, but said both devices would arrive in the coming weeks. Engadget has reached out to the company for more information, and we’ll update this article when we hear back from it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rodes-streamer-x-combines-an-audio-interface-with-an-external-capture-card-221321424.html?src=rss
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Digital Hoarders Rejoice, Western Digital’s My Book External Drives Now Max Out at 44TB of Storage
For those whose internet access isn’t reliable enough to stick everything on the cloud, or for those who simply don’t trust their data to live anywhere but on their desk, Western Digital has updated its My Book and My Book Duo external drives with significant storage boosts so users may never have to delete a file…
Western Digital’s My Book external drives now come in 22TB and 44TB sizes
Western Digital has managed to cram even more space into its My Book external drives, this time with a 22TB version and up to 44TB for the chonkier Duo model (via AnandTech). The company says the new models are available now at retailers, perfect if you’re constantly recording 8K footage on a Samsung phone and need to store about 1,222 hours of footage somewhere.
WD’s previous My Book drives maxed out at 18TB / 36TB (Duo). The company is selling the new My Book with a single 22TB drive inside for $599.99. The new behemoth in Western Digital’s lineup, the My Book Duo 44TB, costs $1,499.99.
If you need an indicator of how far hard disk capacity has come, Western Digital’s largest My Book in 2017 was a 20TB Duo, and it retailed for $849 — a…