It's Thanksgiving, and the rest of the holidays are fast approaching. Families are getting together, parties left and right, and trips to wherever are all in the general to-do list. Capture and save all the precious memories you'll get these holidays in an 8GB Lexar Platinum II Memory Stick PRO Duo. That's a lot of memory for your memories.

If you're looking for more memory sticks for your PSP with which to download PS1 games from the PSN Store, it might be food to know that Frys.com is having a sale on memory sticks.

Want to find out more about this deal? Head on over to the full article.

FRYS.com has further lowered the price of their Lexar 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, knocking US$ 5 off the previous after-rebate price of US$ 39.99. Those of you looking for a new memory stick can get one now for US$ 34.99. Judging by the screenshot below, that's the actual price. No rebates needed this time. Then again, I never could understand the whole rebate thing.

Opinions are divided among PSP owners as to how reliable Lexar's memory sticks are. Now, I personally haven't used a Lexar before since I'm still using an old SanDisk, but if you need second opinions before you buy one, drop by our PSP forums and ask around.

Yeah, Sony bumped up to the 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, but if the price is still too high for you (it will cost roughly US$ 326), then thank heavens for 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo deals. QJ reader Akaikishi informs us (thanks for the tip!) that Lexar's 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Platinum II is selling for US$ 39.99 after rebate. Check out the screen cap if you don't believe us.

The deal over at FRYS.com can be accessed via our Read link below. Originally priced at US$ 64.99, you could snag it for 40 bucks after rebate. So if you're not swimming in pools of money and you can't buy an 8GB memory stick, don't feel sad because more deals like this is sure to come our way.

Here's something nifty for the new PS3 owners in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Well, another flash memory player has entered the scene - Lexar Media Inc. and they timed the launch of their Gaming Edition cards to coincide with the PS3 launch in Europe.

The Lexar Gaming Edition SD cards are available in two versions: 1GB and 2GB. Their Memory Stick Pro Duo cards range from 1GB, 2GB and 4GB variants. Of course, the cards are also capable of storing data that aren't gaming related like photos, videos, music and other files. They are also designed for compatibility (and/or use) with other electronic devices.

According to Lexar's senior product manager, Fraser MacDonald said:

The gaming industry is extremely important to Lexar and we are committed to providing this growing market with the advanced memory products needed for maximum compatibility, user convenience, and flexibility. We’re delighted to offer a full range of high-capacity gaming storage cards throughout Europe, allowing the European gaming community to enjoy a smooth and enjoyable experience with current high-tech gaming systems, including Sony PlayStation 3.

But apart from the PS3, these memory cards can also do some neat service for both your PSP and Wii. That's all-around service for you, eh?

Love PSP icons? We do, too. Well check out what we got here! Actually, they're just tons and tons of black, white and pink PSP icons, Sony, SanDisk and Lexar MemoryStick Duo icons and UMD and Camera icons -- all available for your PSP design and coding needs. ColombianCartel (CC) gave us the heads-up straight from the QJ forums -- a big thanks to you!

The Crappy PSP Icon Pack R1 comes in 64x64, 128x128 and 256x256 in ICO and PNG formats. There's a total of 73 different icons and 219 icons and PNGs, and the file size is 13.8 MB in all.

To install the downloaded file, first open the "cpspi10.zip" with a program such as WinRAR or WinZip. Then, copy the "autorun.inf" file to the "ms0:" directory of the MemoryStick. Choose an icon you wish to use but do not use a *.png image. Copy the icon you have chosen to the "ms0:" directory of the MemoryStick. You can either rename the icon to "psp.ico" or change the name under "icon=" in the "autorun.inf" file. To see the icon and label take effect, eject the drive from the computer then plug it back in.

Download: [Crappy PSP Icon Pack R1]
Discuss [Forum Release Thread]

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall of about 66,000 Lexar JumpDrive Firefly and 1GB Secure II USB drives because of potential fire hazards (!). The CPSC has said that some units may overheat and injure users and cause property damage as well. No injuries have been reported so far, but the CPSC is playing it safe by advising consumers to stop using the products immediately and contact Lexar to get free replacement units.

The recalled drives are high-speed flash drives used to store, transfer, and carry data from one computer to another. JumpDrive Firefly units were sold at several online retailers and brick and mortar outlets between April and May this year. On the other hand, the JumpDrive Secure II 1GB drive was sold exclusively at Fry's Electronics in May 2006.

So if you've one or more of these units, better turn them in double-quick before they live up to their name...

Lexar's JumpDrive Mercury is the company's third flash drive to use the streamlined bow-tie shape used by the JumpDrive Secure II and JumpDrive Expression. It sports a silver body with black racing stripes down the sides, a cap that clicks into place, and a hole for a lanyard. The backside of the Mercury reveals a thin white strip for labeling purposes. A capacity meter replaces the huge Lexar logo that once occupied the front. The meter shows off the remaining space available on the drive, a very useful feature that has been overlooked by other manufacturers.

The best feature of the meter is its high level of contrast that allows visibility even in direct sunlight. It requires no power to run it. Markers are in 20% increments for quick reference. If you've been proud owners of previous JumpDrives, you'll notice that a smaller Lexar logo now takes the place of the once visible square LED. The great thing about the capacity meter is that it's platform-independent. So, it doesn't matter if you're using a Mac, a PC, or a Linux computer.

The Mercury comes with the Secure II Dashboard software that enables your files to be encrypted, even shredding them to make sure they aren't recoverable.

Everything USB has an in-depth review of the JumpDrive Mercury, here's a recap of its performance:

The JumpDrive Mercury has close read speeds to those of the JumpDrive Secure II, however its write speeds are about 50% slower. While still fast enough for the average user, I was a bit disappointed to see Lexar's newer (and slightly more expensive) offering with half the speed of its predecessor. Average read and write speeds for the 64MB test were 9.6MBps and 4.3MBps respectively. When using the encrypted vault, these speeds were reduced to 6.4MBps and 3.2MBps, about a 33% performance drop well within reason.

Overall I am quite pleased with the Secure II drive. Although the write speeds are half those of last year's Secure II model, the capacity meter is a welcome addition for anyone with multiple flash drives and the cross-platform encryption software is second to none. With a MSRP of only $10 more than the Secure II and a street price $50 less than a competing flash drive with a capacity meter, the JumpDrive Mercury is highly recommended although speed freaks should look elsewhere.

You may have read our article on Lexar's secure USB flash drive in development, and thought of the exciting possibilities with it, thus making you want secure data right now. Artemis Solutions Group announced today the immediate availability of the latest in secure USB drive technology - the BioCert ClipBio Pro 1GB Secure Fingerprint Flash Drive.

Fingerprint technology is a technology of the present, not the future, and the BioCert ClipBio Pro 1GB biometric flash drive shows this by providing consumers with the latest in biometric technology to secure data, while allowing the user to securely control access to their private data with a touch of their fingerprint. The newly redesigned ClipBio Pro with 1GB of storage is attractively priced at $129.95 through the company's website.

If you want to secure your data without having to wait for Lexar's secure USB flash drive, then the BioCert ClipBio Pro 1GB Secure Fingerprint Flash Drive is the only solution. Fingerprint technology should keep all those data thieves at bay. And even if you don't need data security that much, fingerprint technology is always cool to play around with!

 

Popular peripheral manufacturer Lexar have announced that they are currently developing a so-called "secure" USB flash drive. USB flash drive security has been a hot topic since the growth of the portable storage devices, with some companies going as far to ban the devices from offices, with the fear of sensitive data being left on them; and the devices being stolen.

Lexar's secure Flash Drive will feature protection against unwanted use of or access to the flash drive, by only displaying the contents when it is put into an authorized computer. This technology is possible by using Microsoft's Bitlocker encryption, designed for use with Windows Vista.

No pricing or release information has been released for Lexar's secure USB flash drives, but considering it is designed to function specifically with Windows Vista, I wouldn't count on seeing it anytime soon.