With three monitors and numerous peripherals crowding our workspace, we're always searching for ways to minimize desktop clutter, so Evergreen's new multi-functional "USB egg" showed some initial promise at first glance. Besides the unconventionally-designed speakers, you're also getting a card reader and USB hub -- not a bad way to shed one or two items from your desk. Like most things, however, the devil is in the details with this one: its speakers can only muster a 2-watt output (and forget about a subwoofer), the "hub" sports but two lonely USB ports, and the reader's got SD, CF, and MS cards covered, but where's the love for xD? No word yet on pricing or availability, but we'll go out on a limb and assume that this is an egg only a mother hen could love, anyway.
posted Jul 24th 2006 1:05PM
xD? who the hell uses that?
Jeff: anyone who bought a Fuji or Olympus camera in the last three years.
I beg to differ -- I have a 3-year-old desktop at home that would be a perfect match for these -- we don't need a subwoofer, but we'd sure love to have a SDcard reader that's not ugly or easily lost. And looks pretty decent while giving back two USB ports? Bonus!
"but where's the love for xD?"
It's over there in the box, with Fujitsu.
Olympus and Fujitsu have *got* to dump xD and adopt CF or SD. Last time I was in the market for a new camera, I had to rule out everything they made (well, everything under about $700, anyway), because I already had SD cards and readers, and wasn't about to throw them out for xD.
There is no love for xD. xD has kept me from buying any of Fugi's
excellent digicams. Its lose lose - its too expensive and none of my
other devices (like my treo) support it. Go SD.
And, let's not forget: USB speakers use the CPU to generate sound, not your sound card. That means each note of that MP3 has to be converted to sound using processor ticks that would be better served to your spreadsheet. I had a pair of USB speakers once for my laptop. It took me a while to figure out why my computer was so much slower when I was at home. :)
...I have love for xD. My Fujifilm Finepix A350 is by far the finest digital camera I have ever laid my eyes upon. And it was damn cheap too. And excellent quality. Yes, my last two cameras used compact flash cards, but they were both crap and I needed more memory anyways. Fuji's cameras are so nice I know my next one will be one too, so compatibility isn't a problem....but I find compact flash cards only last a year or two anyways, and the image size increases so fast that you need a new, bigger card every time you upgrade the camera anyways.
xD's a great format.
...as for the egg....
it's worthless. I use 1 USB port but I have 8. I don't need a hub. My headphones are probably louder than those damn speakers. And my printer has a better card reader built in. It's useless.
I still dont understand. I have SD cards laying around my house that I can use in multiple devices. What benefit does xd offer that makes it worth being a proprietaty media at 2x the price?
Fugi makes a great camera, but the expensive proprietaty media is a turn off.
Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking. . . .
Mork from Ork