Hasta La Gadget!

Got any spare sympathy for Cisco? The company just can’t catch a break with its various hardware schemes, and now it’s getting aggro from an unexpected direction: users of its generally reliable Linksys routers. Owners of E2700, E3500 and E4500 models recently discovered that their router login credentials stopped working following an automatic firmware update, and instead they were asked to sign up to the new Cisco Connect Cloud platform to regain access. If they sought to avoid this by rebooting the router, they reportedly lost control over their advanced settings, which led to a sense of being cajoled.

To make matters worse, the Connect Cloud service came with a supplemental privacy policy that explicitly allowed Cisco to peek at a user’s “internet history,” “traffic” and “other related information.” If Cisco discovered you had used your router for “pornographic or offensive purposes” or to violate “intellectual property rights,” it reserved the right to shut down your cloud account and effectively cut you off from your router. Now, much as the world needs moral stalwarts, in this instance Cisco appears to have backed down and removed the offending paragraph, but not before alienating a bunch of loyal Linksys customers like ExtremeTech‘s Joel Hruska at the source link below.

Cisco backs down over right to see your internet history originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco announced the new Linksys EA6500 today, its first 802.11ac router with up to 1,300Mbps data rate on the 5GHz and 540Mbps on the 2.4GHz. The announcement of the EA6500 also comes at the same time as does the Linksys AC Universal Media Connector featuring 802.11ac connectivity to a maximum of four ethernet devices. Both the Media Connector and EA6500 router should be available in August or September.

Another big announcement Cisco made today was the availability of Cisco Connect Cloud for Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers–a software platform that allows you to remotely manage your home wireless network from your computer, Android or iPhone. It works with new Cisco EA series routers and existing EA routers with updated firmware. After setting up an account, Cloud Developers can also write and create apps so that other devices can be managed when connected to the home network.

Six developers have been set up already for the start of a new Linksys Developer Community, which was launched to encourage more apps for people that need help managing their home networks. The community will offer resources like SDKs, tutorials and samples. Cisco has also joined up with major appliance companies like Whirpool to help create a home environment with more devices supported by Wi-Fi connectivity.

This could definitely be the start of a completely connected home in which all appliances and major devices are entirely automated through the home Wi-Fi network.

Cisco announces Linksys 802.11ac router and Cloud Connect platform is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It was over a year ago now that we heard about the WiFi Alliance‘s intention to certify hotspots and simplify the potential for mobile handovers. Now, it’s just announced hardware testing of its WiFi-CERTIFIED Passpoint program, which promises to let phones and mobile devices automatically discover and connect to compatible networks. The specification used is the result of cooperation between service providers and equipment manufacturers, with the aim of creating an industry-wide solution for shared WiFi access and roaming agreements. Already hardware from the likes of Cisco, Intel, MediaTek and Qualcomm has received Passpoint certification, leaving the ball in the court of service providers, once testing is complete.

Continue reading WiFi alliance begins hardware testing on Passpoint cell-to-hotspot roaming program

WiFi alliance begins hardware testing on Passpoint cell-to-hotspot roaming program originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Usually the trumpets blare when a new Android-based slate hits the town, but the IT-friendly Cisco Cius isn’t really the type to get all hot and bothered over. We’ve had plenty of signs that this deceptive looking not-a-video-phone was coming to Big Red’s Enterprise accounts and official word from the operator means your side of the cubicle will be getting some locked-down, Angry Birds-less tablet love later this summer. There’s a whole bit of 4G LTE buzz buzz buzz in the release, but we have to stress that it’s mobile hotspot only — meaning this WiFi-equipped pad isn’t the full office-on-the-go you might’ve hoped for. Out-of-context Moses and the Greeks PR allusions after the break.

Continue reading Cisco Cius headed to Verizon late summer, IT departments celebrate

Cisco Cius headed to Verizon late summer, IT departments celebrate originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 01:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoa, Nelly — this one’s not going to sit well with a certain sect. While the Chinese city of Chongqing has been planning this initiative for some time, we’re just now starting to understand the sheer magnitude of what’ll be built over the next two to three years. Cisco and HP — two names that are no doubt familiar to those reading this page — are apparently in cahoots with the nation in a way that overshoots prior expectations by some amount. According to figures gathered by The Wall Street Journal, a whopping half-million surveillance cameras are being shipped over to keep watch across the city, with the awkwardly-named Peaceful Chongqing project giving the government unprecedented views of its citizens.

Critics are wondering why Cisco and HP aren’t being held responsible for whatever China ends up doing with this equipment, but the loophole here is a fairly obvious one; while it’s definitely not kosher for US firms to ship fingerprinting equipment to China, shipping everyday technology like cameras isn’t taboo. Yet, anyway. As you’d expect, both Cisco and HP seem confident that it’s not their responsibility to pay attention to what happens to the devices they ship, and if it’s something you’d like to immerse yourself in, those links below are there to help.

500,000 surveillance cameras to oversee Chongqing, China originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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