Everyone has that shoebox: The one on top of the closet, behind your old comforter, but in front of those books from college. Inside the box? A gang of photos from the pre-digital era, with millions of negative strips to match. You know the ones you have to hold up to the light to see, while careful not to ruin with thumb prints? Yeah, those. The question is: Why do you still have them? Maybe because you hoped Veho would create a USB Negative Scanner ($99). Well, guess what—they did!
Veho allows you to take your 35mm negatives and run them through a scanner to produce digitized high-quality images. After installing the software and drivers, simply plug the scanner into your computer port and manually insert your negatives onto a slide and push them through to the other side. Within seconds, you will have JPGs or TIFs equivalent to a 5-megapixel digital camera. After a few quick edits, crops and color enhancements, you can easily save, print and share. The compact scanner finally gives you a reason to throw the contents of your hidden shoebox away, to now make room for all your digital picture CDs and memory cards. Visit Firebox to purchase that one gadget you never thought of but soooo need.
Shirea L. Carroll is a journalist and online TV host based in New Jersey. Follow her on Twitter.