1-2 KNOW: Keep intruders at bay

By Edwin Kee

WITH the spate of robberies going on, the general public perception these days is that shopping malls and streets are not safe anymore, especially for women.

Even at home, you need to take the necessary precautions as well, as you never know when a perpetrator lurks in your backyard. This is where the US$49.99 (RM159) Swann Audio Warning Security Camera may prove to be an effective deterrent.

It offers a unique combination of a day/night video surveillance camera complete with a motion-triggered audio and visual alarm. When triggered, it will blast a warning message that is 50dB loud, saying: “Warning. You have triggered the alarm system. Your movements are being recorded.”

To dramatise the situation, you can opt for the camera’s blue and red warning lights to flash upon motion detection alongside the verbal warning. Details at www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product>1311

Cloud entertainment

THESE days the word “cloud” takes on a different meaning. In fact, cloud computing is the new industry buzzword and Google’s latest Nexus Q hardware certainly takes the digital cloud very seriously. This little device can merge the power of Android and Google Play in order to let you stream music and video at home, and all of them can be controlled using a smartphone or tablet that runs on the Android operating system (Android 2.3 Gingerbread and above only).

Designed and engineered by Google, the Nexus Q is a thing of beauty. It can be plugged into your home speakers and TV, becoming the first social streaming device in the market that functions as a cloud-connected jukebox.

Basically, anyone who drops by your place with an Android smartphone or tablet can play their favourite tunes there and then, without having to lug around stacks of CDs or individual files stored on a physical drive, since everything is streamed from the cloud itself.

Connectivity options include Ethernet, micro HDMI, microUSB and optical audio. The Google Nexus Q will be powered by dual ARM Coretex A9 processors, carry 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory and runs off Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Nexus Q is expected to arrive in the US from mid July for US$299, with other countries to follow after. Details at www.google.com/nexus/#/q

Data transfer in a jiffy

USB flash drives — do you actually bother to purchase one or do you already have a sizeable collection from all the roadshows that you have attended? For those who have yet to settle on the “perfect” USB flash drive, SanDisk with its new SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive may interest you.

Thanks to the latest USB 3.0 protocol supported, the model promises super fast data transfer speed and it is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports on legacy machines. We are talking about a blazing data transfer speed of up to 190MB/s, making it a snap to transfer large files from your computer and vice versa in a blink of an eye.

For example, a 3GB file is moved in just 20 seconds, or it will take a mere four minutes to send a 40GB file over. The SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive comes with a lifetime limited warranty and in various capacities, from 16GB to 64GB. Prices from US$64.99 to US$159.99. Details at www.sandisk.com/products/usb-flash-drives/

The security camera boasts audio and visual alarm

Stream music and video with Nexus Q

The SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive

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1-2 KNOW: Keep intruders at bay

WITH the spate of robberies going on, the general public perception these days is that shopping malls and streets are not safe anymore, especially for women.

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