Articles about USB-A

So, you need a docking station for your laptop, eh? OK, cool. If it has Thunderbolt 3/4, you should buy a Thunderbolt dock. If not, you should cop a USB dock instead. It's not complicated, folks. With that said, it can be a bit confusing when trying to pick a make and model. After all, Amazon is littered with so many USB docks and docking stations. My advice is to stick with a known company.

Well, VisionTek (a very reputable brand), has a new such product that looks rather impressive. Called "VT4510," it is a Dual Display 4K USB-C Docking Station with 100W Power Delivery. This means a single cable can connect the dock to your laptop while charging it (up to 100 watts) at the same time. It can even simultaneously push two 4K monitors at 60Hz. If you use just one DisplayPort connector, a single 5K display can be used at 60Hz. And yes, both a USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cable are included in the box.

Continue reading →

Tripp Lite is a company that I am very familiar with -- for high-quality power strips and surge protectors. When someone asks me what brand of surge protector they should buy to protect their picey desktop computer or other electronics, I usually recommend Tripp Lite. Are its power products a bit expensive? When compared to some other brands, I suppose so. With that said, that company's gear is typically well worth the premium.

Apparently, Tripp Lite also akes other types of computer accessories these days, including an all-new Thunderbolt 4 hub. Called "MTB4-HUB3-01," it will turn one Thunderbolt 3/4 port into three Thunderbolt ports and one USB-A port. This hub can even charge your laptop with up to 60W of power. While not the first such hub on the market, its slim body does look quite elegant.

Continue reading →

Solid state drives make wonderful internal boot drives for computers, but they are also great options for external storage too. Not only are they smaller than mechanical hard disk drives, but they use less power and are much quicker as well. Quite frankly, if you are someone that needs to transport data on a portable drive, you'd be crazy to still use HDD in 2021.

Today, KLEVV announces a pair of external solid state drives. Called "R1" and "S1," both drives connect using USB-C, but they can interface with USB-A ports too. While both SSDs are very fast, the S1 is faster than the R1. The former uses USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, while the latter relies on the slower USB 3.2 Gen 2.

Continue reading →

Portable hardware authentication dongles are pretty darn cool -- they can be a great way to secure access to various devices, applications, and services using hardware. Google offers its own Titan security keys, for instance, but the search giant likely isn't the first company that comes to mind for these products. Actually, Yubico is probably the name most associated with authentication dongles.

Believe it or not, Yubico's popular YubiKey devices have not yet been offered with biometric support. Thankfully, this changes today. You see, the all-new YubiKey Bio features a fingerprint reader for an added level of security. Not only must you physically have possession of the YubiKey Bio to use it, but you must prove you are its owner by scanning your finger.

Continue reading →

Google's Titan Security Key dongles are a great way to secure accounts using hardware rather than only relying on software. The search giant has offered these little devices for years now with USB-A, USB-C, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Back in 2019, Google discovered a vulnerability in its Bluetooth-capable Titan Security Key that lead to a recall. With that said, it is not surprising that in 2021, the search giant is dropping that wireless connection option entirely. You see, starting tomorrow, the Google Titan Security Keys are ditching Bluetooth to instead rely on NFC -- in addition to USB, of course.

Continue reading →