Over the past week or so, there has been a bit of press about PC motherboards with USB 3.0 hardware support built in. We mentioned it briefly back in May this year, but at last there's more useful information about and now some hardware is a reality. 

Here's the promotional video from USB-IF, the governing body for USB:

SuperSpeed USB from USB IF on Vimeo.

So - on to the details:

Friday funny... It pays to be conscious of all your design elements.

Sent in by a colleague. Source unknown.

Over the past couple of years, there has been a lot of fuss about HDMI cables and the sometimes extortionate prices charged for them. 

Anyone who has been in a business where cables are sold as an add-on knows that it's usually a profit-increasing scam that is employed to catch the customer at the time of the sale of the printer, tv, plasma, LCD or any device needing cables. 

About twenty years ago, I worked in the retail computer business for a major chain. We had to sell parallel printer cables with every printer sold. The printer would be sold very, very cheaply but the cable was a flat $25 and could not be discounted - on orders from the management. The truth of it? Scam. They were buying the cables in massive lots from the supplier for around $2 each. The 'purchase' was made by the warehouse. The warehouse sold the cables to the stores for $20 each. The warehouse nets a profit of $18 per cable. The store nets $5. A money shuffle scam without a doubt, wasn't it? They weren't the only ones doing it - other IT sales guys I have known over the years had been part of similar schemes where the customer was over-charged unreasonablyfor cables and other necessities for getting their new equipment going.

Recently, Choice Magazine ran a comparo about HDMI cables and concluded generally that there wasn't a big difference in the visual quality between the most expensive and the least expensive. 

That's all about to change.

In an article on news.com.au, it has been said that "download services could replace DVDs". It's another one of those "[insert physical media type here] is dead" type articles.

While the author and the parties interviewed or at least referenced in the press releases which were used in the article have some good intent, sadly they're guilty of over-obsessive 'futurism'. While the business model and the distribution model have potential, they both have limited practicality and are likely to be under-subscribed. 

Of course, the studios involved are rather keen as it's a shorter distribution channel and involves only receiving licence fees. Paramount, who is part of this deal, is also involved in a deal with Kingston in a similar venture involving USB drives.  It's all part of the investor's wet dream - own it, sell it, still own it and sell it again. 

The fundamental objections that some customers will have to the model are tied to the delivery vector. Namely, the internet.