Virtuity Backstopp Makes Laptops Self-Destruct

Virtuity Backstopp
British company Virtuity, recently announced their new spy movie-like technology -- Backstopp. Backstopp has the capability of monitoring the "heartbeat" of your laptop. Simply said, you set a zone where you put your precious laptop. The moment it gets moved from that space, the software automatically starts disintegrating sensitive data. Nifty. There's also been some talks of putting a camera in to start snapping pics of the culprit. Just make sure your pet won't get to your laptop, lest you want to be blaming an innocent playful little animal for a false alarm. Backstopp is available for US$20 per laptop per month.

XiaoClef2 USB Stick with Fingerprint Security

USB Stick
Princeton Japan has recently released a USB stick design geared towards data security and protection. Others of the same aim take the password, data encryption, and physical security (by filling the USB stick with glue). Princeton took another route and went a notch higher. Called the XiaoClef2, this USB stick comes with integrated fingerprint reader. And since no two people on earth have the same print, you're sure to protect your data. The XiaoClef2 is available in Japan in various storage sizes: 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB.

Movies on a flash drive

flash drive
Earlier this month, we disagreed that HD movie downloads would trump HD DVD / Blu-ray disc purchases in the not-too-distant future, and now we've got yet another clever alternative on deck that just doesn't have the makings of a winner. While it seems that consumers still prefer something tangible when purchasing movies, we can't help but agree that flicks on flash drives just wouldn't work. Aside from the prohibitive cost to pop out a standard DVD on a flash chip versus a disc, the idea of having customers flock to some sort of movie download kiosk to refill memory cards with new releases just seems absurd. Sure, we understand how this could sound marginally appealing from the sidelines, but we just can't imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon.