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Lindy SPD USB Charger + Socket  

While all the tips that fit into the notebook from the power brick are various sizes and voltages they are only one of two shapes from the lead that runs from the 13amp plug to the power brick, figure of eight (two holes) or clover leaf (three holes), Lindy do a device for each such device.

With almost every laptop/notebook/ultrabook using different sized connectors and most with different voltages one way would be to have the surge protector in the plug but that assumes everyone only travels around the UK. The solution Lindy has is to provide a second brick so figure of eight in and figure of eight out etc.

In fact the top of their power brick is a multi region plug and the side two USB ports. It comes with a 12cm lead.

The total added weight is 122grams and it is 26cm long 10x4.5x2.5cm with the 12cm lead hard wired into it. This means one socket can provide power for your notebook as well as power for two additional USB devices.

The multi region plug on the top means that you can still plug in devices with the original lead without extra adapters. Best of all everything in this chain and that could include say an iPad on charge is totally protected.

It comes with LED indicators on both the multi region socket and also on the two USB sockets on the side of it.

While I tested the clover leaf design I am assured that the figure of eight unit works exactly the same way both have a 6.3amp built in fuse. Either unit 73310 (figure of eight) or 73311 (cloverleaf) come with a two year guarantee.

It is available from the link below for £25.99.

http://www.lindy.co.uk/shop/showProductDetail.do?orderNumber=73311&source=search

USB3 to SATA from Brando

A small device that can enable any USB port to hold any SATA device the most obvious is an internal hard drive.

A small solid case is provided so any hard drive – suitable for a notebook – can be inserted and lead a new life.

The connector is 4.5x5.2x1cm. Some USB ports when two are side by side may be obstructed so you may review a small extension cable (not supplied). The case supplied is 10.5x7.5x1.5cm and is a simple slip in case.

For anyone with IDE drives the possibility to insert a SATA drive is not normally possible inside your PC case.

It may be possible to insert a USB3 card into a standard slot and thus an otherwise very outdated PC can be brought into the 21^st century. Even using USB2 ports will work. I transferred 6GB of files very quickly using this device.

My next test was to transfer the contents of an 80GB hard disc to an externally connected drive using cloning software this completed in just over half an hour again this was done using the USB to SATA connection using USB2.

While everything will be a great deal faster using USB3 most recent motherboards have SATA drives and can be done by anyone with a little knowledge. If however you do not want to open the case this is ideal.

The USB3 to SATA connector can be purchased from the link below for $12.99 (US) + $3 (US) P&P.

http://usb.brando.com/usb-3-0-to-sata-adapter_p03023c042d015.html