iTwin Connect updated with Mac support, offers inter-OS personal VPNs

iTwin Connect updated with Mac support, offers inter-OS personal VPNs

Back in 2009, we might have been a little, well, acerbic in our reaction to the initial iTwin. Yet here we are in good ole 2013, and the plucky USB networking key is alive and well. In fact, it was CES when we saw its latest incarnation -- iTwin Connect -- arrive offering (somewhat more useful) private and public VPN services. At the time this was for Windows only, but that's now changed. Mac users can get the same remote desktop, file access and aforementioned VPN functionality, that will also work between machines of both creeds. If you're on the fence about that $199 price tag, remember that comes with access to iTwin's own public VPN servers, and no subscription fee.

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Source: iTwin

Google lets users connect Drive-enabled Chrome apps alongside its own

Google lets users add Driveenabled Chrome apps into the main UI

There was a time when cloud storage was more or less just that. A digital locker for those files you need on the go. As more and more apps and services fold this functionality into their general operation, the cloud part needs to be increasingly transparent. Something Google is tackling with the latest change to its Drive service. Starting today, you will be able to connect Drive-enabled apps to the main interface. So, next time you want to create something with Pixlr Editor, or Ujam, or want to open a file in such an app, you can do that right from the comfort of your Google account page. Not only does this mean that your favorite Chrome tools can be brought right into your workflow, Google clearly hopes it might inspire more developers to "elevate" their apps with the same functionality. Apps already sporting the integration, however, should be available to connect immediately.

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Source: Google Developers Blog

iTwin Connect turns a humble USB stick into your own VPN (video)

iTwin Connect gives you a hardwarebased VPN for your virtual files

Passing files over the internet using iTwin's 256-bit AES encryption's all well and good, but wouldn't it be nice if you could use that connection for other things? Luckily for you, that's just what the iTwin Connect was designed to do. In addition to the usual file-sharing jiggery-pokery, the new hardware can let you surf via your domestic internet connection, control devices on your home network and play with your desktop from afar. Even better, the company is throwing in US, Asia and Europe-based VPN servers of its own, so you can still catch that episode of Duck Dynasty on Hulu if your primary machine's turned off. Despite the raft of new features on offer, the company isn't charging a regular subscription, so all of that will set you back a rather meager $130.

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Pogo Connect iPad Pressure Sensitive Stylus Price and Release Date Announced

Styluses aren’t just for Samsung devices, there are plenty available for iPads and iPhones. While most of them are pretty crappy, the most interesting are the ones that can connect to your iPad via Bluetooth and convey pressure sensitive information.

pogo connect lap stylus ipad drawing

Ten One Design’s Pogo Connect will start shipping this October. You’ll get months of battery life from a single AAA battery, and thanks to Bluetooth 4.0, there’s no need to turn it off. It uses solid state pressure sensing, offering hundreds of levels of sensitivity with no moving parts. Unfortunately, the stylus still has to have a relatively fat 7mm tip in order to work with the iPad’s capacitive screen.

If you don’t have the new iPad, there will be an app available that will allow you to make the Pogo Connect work with the iPad 1 and 2 as well – but this requires access to an iPhone 4S (or the upcoming new iPhone 5) to act as a Bluetooth 4.0 bridge. The Connect relies on third-party app makers to build support for it, as Apple doesn’t offer any system-level protocol for dealing with pressure sensitivity over Bluetooth. However, there are already a number of apps, including Paper, Procreate and Sketchbook Pro, which will be compatible with it.

pogo connect stylus ipad drawing

The stylus retails for $79.95(USD), and if you’re one of the first 2,000 pre-orders, then you’ll get custom laser engraving on the pen as well.

pogo connect stylus ipad drawing paper

[via TechCrunch]


Best Buy Connect no longer accepting new activations, service to end June 1st (update: confirmed)

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Remember Best Buy Connect? If so, you'll soon have a few more megabytes of humanized DDR3 freed up, as it appears that the retail giant is ready to put the kibosh on its own branded mobile broadband service nearly two years after it was first unveiled. According to the internal memo shown in the above screenshot, new activations are no longer allowed effective immediately, and the service for legacy customers will be cut off on the first of June.

So why the change of heart? Apparently Connect is the victim of a reshuffling of priorities, and the company determined that it "can achieve greater growth by delivering mobile broadband support in ways other than an exclusive Best Buy-branded service." Of course, this is bound to upset more than a handful of folks who have been relying on Connect for their data needs, and the retailer isn't leaving them completely in the dark: to help smooth out the transition, all Early Termination Fees will be waived, and all customers will receive a $125 or $150 gift card via email to curb the cost of moving to a different carrier. WiMAX Connect users, additionally, will also be given the option to switch over to Clear service. We're still awaiting official confirmation from Best Buy -- as of this moment, the official website remains up and running as if it's none the wiser -- but we'll update as soon as we hear more.

Update: Best Buy has now officially confirmed to us that the service will indeed be shut off on June 1st.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Best Buy Connect no longer accepting new activations, service to end June 1st (update: confirmed) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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