External Device Reads HDDs, Memory Cards
Scythe's revised Kama Connect multi-adapter received a few new features.
The European arm of Scythe Co. Ltd. has released an upgraded version of its universal S-ATA and IDE multi-adapter, the new Kama Connect Plus. This device will connect various storage solutions via a USB port at the same time including 2.5-inch, 3.5-inch, and 5.25-inch S-ATA and IDE devices. It will even allow for simultaneous operations of one S-ATA drive and one IDE drive.
"Kama Connect Plus is compatible with the Big Drive standard and supports HDDs up to 2TB as well as optical drives such as Blu-Ray and DVD devices," the company said.
New to this model are two additional USB ports and a multi-card reader. This is ideal for transferring files to and from USB drives, media cards, and other devices not supported in the previous model. The company added that Kama Connect PLUS is Plug-n-Play compatible, and supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 standards. It is also compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
Scythe's Kama Connect Plus measures 2.44-inches (W) x 3.98-inches (D) x 1.18-inches (H), and is now available in the US for $39.99, and in Europe for 29.35 EUR.
Lolwut? I saw the title and thought "ah ok, some kind of dock that reads hard drives and memory cards". Maybe that was just me.
I never tried using SATA and IDE at the same time but its cool that it supports it.
That said, this could be useful for the computer repairman who wants one device to read and write to just about any digital storage medium and doesn't care about doing so at blazing fast speeds.
Same!
This device is designed for the "repairman" type use, not the "hook it up to a Netbook" type use. Though hooking up a DVD drive through a $40 multi-used device deserves a "Frugal Computing" award since it is cheaper than buying a new USB DVD drive. Many of us have an old DVD drive lying around already or you can buy one used for a few bucks.
When I checked Newegg this morning they didn't have this product. I sent an e-mail suggesting they carry it. Can't wait to pick one up for less than the $40 MSRP which IMHO is reasonable. This device may not have been released in the US yet.
What is new about this device is that it handles BOTH drives AND cards AND has extra USB ports.
If you've never checked out Scythe's product line do so. I just spotted this interesting item:
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/069/sda1100_detail.html
It is an amplifier that fits into a bay on your case. They also have speakers that fit into bays in your case. And a drawer. And fan controllers.
I'm not into gaming so all this stuff is new to me. It is amazing what is out there.