This is not the first time a USB to DVI adapter had come down the pipeline, but the new Gefen adapter can drive an impressive 6 additional displays at 1600X1200 resolution. It is not great for larger monitors by any means, but at only $129 it could be a relatively inexpensive solution. Gefen also notes that it “uses little computer resources” which means that there is at least a chance that this thing won’t be a huge processor suck. Additional images after the break.

[Gefen]

Making flash memory USB compatible without a card reader seems to be the hot thing to do nowdays, and SanDisk is following up on the craze with their Ultra II SD card with USB interface. It’s 8GB, has a $99 MSRP, and can fold in half to reveal the USB connector that you can easily shove into the USB slot on your machine. Because if we have to carry around one more thing in our bags when making the mad dash to grab a seat at Macworld, we may just collapse halfway in and have to blog prone on our stomachs in the aisle. [BusinessWire via jkontherun]

The MD300 USB 3G modem doesn’t just look slick with its silver or black finish, it supports HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE or GPRS connectivity to keep you connected while you’re getting skin cancer outdoors. The device supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Mac OS X, something most people don’t usually do right out of the gate. There’s 850/1900/2100MHz HSDPA/UMTS and quad-band EDGE/GPRS, which means you can use this on the US 3G providers. Availability looks like Q1 2008, but no word on whether it’s Europe-only or if it’s going to be coming here as well. [Sony Ericsson]

The bad news is, we have discovered a Leopard-related issue that may very well throw a monkey wrench into your Time Machine. Anyone trying to use Time Machine with a previously PC-formatted drive could be at risk. The good news is, there is an easy—albeit none-too-obvious—fix. Here's the dilly-o:

After I upgraded my MacBook Pro to OS X Leopard, the first thing I did was grab a brand-new Maxtor USB drive and format it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility, just like I had countless times before. As soon as I erased the disk, Time Machine popped up as promised, and asked if it could use the disk for backup. I said yes, and was on my merry way. Only I wasn’t.

Time Machine ran for a bit, and then crapped out after about 10GB. I went into Disk Utility and saw that although the partition was formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), the volume itself still said FAT32. I clicked Erase to reformat the drive, and got the format failure error you see above.

I tried this with FAT-formatted drives from Seagate, Iomega and HP as well. Each time I saw the same thing. I could reformat the partition to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and Time Machine would recognize it. Get Info would say that it was formatted correctly. But Disk Utility showed that the volume was formatted for PC. Inevitably, if the Time Machine backup was greater than 10GB, there were problems. Worst of all, if I dared try to format the volume for Mac, I would get the dreaded error, and the disk would be temporarily unmountable.

Not only did I vary drives, but I tested the problem on various systems too. I tried it booting from the Leopard DVD, with the same results. Ditto when I tried it using my wife’s Leopard-upgraded MacBook Pro. (Yes, his n’ hers MBPs. You can insert your “awwww” here.) The end result was that I couldn’t break the FAT grip on these damn drives.

I made some calls, I talked to some people, and eventually here was the solution: you wipe the hell out of the drive by creating new and different partitions. So, do not head to the Erase tab in Disk Utility to prep a PC-formatted drive for Time Machine. Instead:

• Go to the Partition tab. Create two partitions. Under Options, select GUID Partition Table (what you would use to make a Mac OS boot disk) and click OK then Apply.

• Once your partitions are in place, do it again, reverting back to just one partition, but still keeping the GUID Partition Table option. Click OK and Apply again, and at this point you should be cool.

• To be safe, you can then go to Erase and set formatting for Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then format it once and for all. But when you get there, you will probably see that your volume is already formatted in the right way.

UPDATE: Some people have gotten this to work without creating two partitions. If you like, try creating just a single partition, but using the GUID Partition Table option. This may be all it takes to break the chokehold.

Using this method, I have gotten all of the disks to work just fine with Time Machine, and I don’t anticipate any problems in the future.

OK, I know, quite a bit of nerdiness, but I wanted to get out there and tell you about the problem I encountered, in case you are having the same troubles, or plan on getting there sooner or later. Also, this solution is actually a workaround of sorts. My hope is that Apple can update Disk Utility with a stronger form of disk erasing that doesn’t require so many manual steps, but if I am missing something obvious, I’d love to hear it. Please share any troubles you’ve had, or any better solutions you’ve cooked up.

Special thanks to Dorian and Ken!

No, it’s not a USB Squid stick. Unlike that monstrosity, this USB Squid is useful for more than a three second chuckle. It’s designed like the power squid, which means it takes one USB port and turns it into four for your convenience.

Since it’s arranged in a tentacle-like fashion, the your USB devices won’t be bumping against each other no matter how large they are. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Think Geek via Coolest Gadgets]

If you’re somehow stuck with a notebook that doesn’t sport a video or a D-Sub output but are feeling that multiple-monitor itch (for “productivity,” right?) as long as you’ve got a USB port, you’re in luck. The USB-RGB is a dongle that lets you add an extra monitor to your system via USB. The $87 price tag strikes me as a bit high, but I'm kind of a cheapskate—I'm good with one monitor per computer. – Matt Buchanan

Product Page [I-O Data via Akihabara News]

Sick of the other billionaires at the Yacht Club snickering at your silly plastic mouse? Yeah, me too. Earth-Treck has answered our needs and created a mouse wrapped in the luxurious brown or black leather. If you still haven’t impressed your peers, this mouse comes with a matching USB hub. That should woo over the billionaires in no time. I think the Akihabara News translators said it best: “How sweet is that ?” No word on pricing or availability. –Travis Hudson

Leather mouse and USB hub ? Why not ? [Akihabara]