Digital Innovations

New Card Standards
Belkin's (www.belkin.com) PCI Express Cards increase the amount of available computing bandwidth to offer four-times-faster data transfer than standard PCI (see "PCI Meet Your Replacement"). PCI Express Card adds expansion ports to your computer using the new PCI Express technology and lets you future-proof your computer to support new bandwidth-intensive applications. Cards available include: FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 PCI Express Card ($159.99); FireWire 3-Port PCI Express Card ($89.99); SATA II RAID 2-Port (1 Internal/1 External) PCI Express Card ($79.99); SATA II RAID 2-Port PCI Express Card ($69.99); and USB 2.0 5-Port PCI Express Card ($69.99). The Cards are designed to take advantage of the additional bandwidth and new features provided by the PCI Express I/O interconnection standards that allow you to simultaneously edit high-resolution photographs, convert music to digital formats, watch streaming video, and support future bandwidth-intensive applications. I installed a USB 2.0/FireWire card in the Dell in the Tortuga Testing Lab that I use to test printers and it works great.

iPod Style
I am the only person on the planet who does not own an iPod, but if, like Mary, you have one of the new nano models you'll be glad to know Belkin has three stylish leather cases that are designed to reinforce the nano's minimalist design. The Carabiner Case's form-fitting design and leather construction keeps your nano handy while providing access to all ports and featuring a carabiner clip with hands-free carrying. The Flip Case offers quick, easy, and convenient storage with built-in cable management and is designed with a multi-mount clip and hook. The Folio Case secures comfortably around your wrist with a convenient lanyard strap and features a form-fitting design.

Photoshop Action Of The Month
Our old friend Panos Efstathiadis is at it again. His new Vintage Photo set of Photoshop Actions is designed to give your images that old-fashioned look with a number of different effects that will make it hard to believe the final product originated with a color image! Everything is programmed to allow you complete control over the final image's look and each effect is placed on its own layer, with dialog windows allowing you to determine the effects of each filter applied. Vintage Photo costs $9.99; Efstathiadis' website (www.PanosFX.com) features free and inexpensive commercial Actions.

PCI Meet Your Replacement
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots are the standard way to connect sound, video, and network cards to a motherboard. As processors, video cards, sound cards, and networks have gotten faster and more powerful, PCI's fixed width of 32 bits limited it to a maximum of five devices. PCI Express (PCIe) provides more bandwidth and is compatible with existing operating systems. It's a high-speed serial connection that operates more like a switch controlling several serial connections leading to where the data needs to go. Every device has its own dedicated connection, so devices don't have to share bandwidth, speeding up the entire process. What does this mean to you except some new buzzwords? A single PCI Express lane can handle 200MB of traffic in each direction per second and move data at 6.4GB per second in each direction to handle an Ethernet connection as well as audio, storage, and graphic adapters. And that's a good thing.