Mar 06

Apple Updates Old Time Capsule and Airport with Web Sharing Functions

Posted in: Apple, networking, Today's Chili, Wireless

Time_machine
One neat feature of Apple’s new Time Capsule and Airport Extreme base stations is the ability to access them remotely via Mobile Me’s Back to My Mac service (stop sniggering at the back — we know Back to My Mac doesn’t work, even with hard-wired drives).

Previously, Back to My Mac would only fail to connect to drives hooked directly to the Mac. The new hardware allows you to fail to connect to USB drives hooked up as network attached storage (NAS).

Now, a simple software update from Apple allows owners of the old Time Capsule and Airport Extreme to do the exact same thing, enabling "remote access to compatible USB connected drives via Back to My Mac (except on AirPort Express)".

Ah, yes, Airport Express. One of the neatest, handiest little gadgets in the Apple line-up, except that you can’t hook up a USB drive and use it over the air. This update still applies to the Express, but it only fixes a few security holes, and the USB port on the side remains completely useless unless you have a printer to plug into it.

The update is available now. Rumors that Apple is working to fix Back to My Mac are unfounded.

Product page [Apple]

No Comments | Tags:
Mar 05

Researchers Create Flying Wi-Fi Robots

Posted in: networking, Robots Robotics, safety, Today's Chili, Wireless

Quadchopper_Engadget_Germany.jpg

Emergency personnel need the latest in radio, GPS, wireless, and cellular connectivity to do their jobs. Now researchers at the Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany have developed flying quadcopter robots that join and assemble an ad-hoc wireless network in the event of a disaster, Engadget reports.

When joined together, the robots can offer both Wi-Fi and cellular access to emergency people on the ground. They’re built with off-the-shelf parts, including a GPS radio and a VIA chipset, and come in a kit that includes everything but the battery for about $380 each, the report said.

The battery is a killer, though—it costs about $1,200 and only lasts for 20 minutes of flight time, although once the thing finds a place to land, it can work for hours after that on the same charge. A robot will be on display in FutureParc hall at CeBIT, according to the report. This is easily the coolest thing I’ve seen all week.

No Comments | Tags: ,
Mar 04

Eye-Fi, Now With Added Video

Posted in: gps, networking, Today's Chili, video

Videoimg_2
Eye-Fi, makers of the auto-uploading Wi-Fi SD cards, has added some video to the mix. The new cards also double capacity to 4GB.

Named “Eye-Fi Share Video and Eye-Fi Explore Video”, the cards work in the same way as the regular photo cards — they connect to your wireless network and automatically send pictures up to your online site of choice. Right now the video versions will send footage to either YouTube or Flickr.

The Eye-Fi Explore Video will also use the Wi-Fi networks to triangulate your position and add the geo-location data to the mix. Both are available for pre-order now for $80 and $100 respectively. And don’t worry — both cards still work with photos, too. If only the folks at Eye-Fi would sell these outside of the US. We take photos too, you know.

Press release [Eye-Fi]

Product page [Eye-Fi]

See Also:

No Comments | Tags:
Mar 03

Time Capsule and Airport Extreme Get Sociable

Posted in: Apple, networking, Today's Chili

Timemachinedvdcover
Apple has introduced a new Airport Extreme and Time Capsule, and they like to share. Normally, mean old routers keep themselves to themselves and grumble when any strangers try to join in, but two smart new features make it easier for folks to get along.

First is “Simultaneous Dual Band Wi-Fi”, which runs two networks at the same time. Thus you can run a speedy and long-ranging “n” network for all your computers and a separate “g” section so that your iPods and iPhones don’t slow things down. This alone makes the rather expensive router pretty appealing as it means you don’t need to run two separate networks.

The other new trick is called “Guest Networking”, and lets you break off a small piece of your network for friends to use when they come to stay, getting them online without letting them access your adult video collection. At least that’s the official line.

We see this as a tool to help you be a good neighbor. Many people would share their Wi-Fi if not for security concerns. Assuming Apple has done this right, it means you could leave a part of your network open for anyone to use. The blurb on the page is unclear, but it would be great if you could also limit the bandwidth so greedy passersby couldn’t soak up your entire connection with BitTorrent.

The new Airport Extreme is $180 and the Time Capsule is $300 for 500GB and $500 for a Terabyte.

Product page [Time Capsule]
Product page [Airport]

No Comments | Tags:
Jan 29

Netgear’s Coax-Ethernet Adapter up for pre-order

Posted in: adapter, networking, Today's Chili

Netgear quietly introduced us to its MCAB1001 MoCA Coax-Ethernet adapter (among other things) at CES this year, but the curiously useful device has just now set itself up for pre-ordering. Put simply, this is the device to get for those who both loathe wireless (and all those inexplicable dropouts) and can’t pony up the courage / fundage / willpower to wire their home with Ethernet. By enabling users to extend Ethernet signals over existing in-wall coax cabling, you can easily pass along web content, Blu-ray / DVD material or practically any other digital signal over the coax network that’s (hopefully) already established within your domicile’s walls. Yeah, $229.99 is a bit pricey, but go price out a house full of Ethernet and then reevaluate.

[Thanks, Matt]

Filed under:

Netgear’s Coax-Ethernet Adapter up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Dec 30

Study: Interest in Network-Enabled Electronics on the Rise

Posted in: camera, networking, Today's Chili, Wireless

Smartpants_SPX8WF.jpg

A new study has found that consumer demand for networking features could drive the next wave of consumer electronics purchasing, particularly for imaging and mobile devices such as digital cameras, photo frames, and mobile phones.

International research firm Parks Associates found in the survey, entitled Digital Media Evolution, that almost half of U.S. broadband households want a network-enabled digital camera, and 40 percent want a network-enabled digital photo frame. That’s because consumers are seeing more value in, say, transferring a photo or music track between devices, or transferring a call from a cell phone to a landline while it’s in progress. (Good luck with those DRM-encrypted music and video files, though.)

“We’re entering a new stage in home networking, where interoperability between fixed and portable devices defines new user experiences,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst of Parks Associates, in a statement. “This trend will guide the development of powerful but energy-efficient networking solutions and the design of middleware and user interfaces that can be implemented on multiple devices running a variety of processors and core software.”

No Comments | Tags:
Dec 29

Bestmodo 2008

Posted in: Apple, att, cellphones, dslr, feature, nas, networking, Sprint, storage, t-mobile, Today's Chili, top, Toys, verizon


Here’s a list of the very best gear we’ve seen this year. It’s more bragger’s guide than buyer’s guide—if you have any of this, you can officially tell your friends to suck on it.

The year winds to an end and every product worth a damn has already hit store shelves—there’s not going to be any new shiny coolness until next month’s CES. We were lucky enough to have a look at most of the best gear out there, and we’ve passed judgment on all that we saw. Here’s a complete list of great products, yanked from our first looks, reviews, and epic Battlemodos:

TV & HOME THEATER
TVs:
Panasonic 65VX100U Plasma
Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD Plasma
Sony Bravia XBR8 LCD
Panasonic PZ850 Series Plasma
Samsung 650 and 750 Series LCD
Honorable mention for value: Toshiba Regza RV535 Series LCD

Surround Bar:
Yamaha YSP-3050 Sound Bar

Blu-ray Player:
Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD
Samsung Netflix BD-P2500
Sony PlayStation 3

Blu-ray Movies (with iTunes/WMV Digital Copy):
The Dark Knight
Wall-E

CAMERAS & CAMCORDERS
DSLR Cameras:
Nikon D300 and D700
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with HD video
Nikon D90 with HD video
Canon Rebel XSi and Rebel XS
Honorable mention for value: Sony Alpha A900 and Alpha A300

Point and Shoot Camera:
Canon SD790

Crazy Hybrid Camera/Camcorder:
Casio Exilim EX-F1

Mini Camcorders:
Kodak Zi6 HD
Pure Digital Flip Ultra

COMPUTERS & ACCESSORIES
Laptops:
MacBook/MacBook Pro
Lenovo X300
MSI Wind

All-In-One PC:
Vaio LV

Routers:
Linksys WRT610N Dual N-Band Wireless Router

Router/NAS:
Apple Time Capsule

NAS:
HP MediaVault mv2120

Mouse:
Logitech MX 1100 Mouse

Keyboard:
SteelSeries 7G Pro Gaming Keyboard

iPod/iPhone USB Dock:
Griffin Simplifi iPod-iPhone Dock/Card Reader/USB Hub

PHONES & PORTABLE DEVICES
Phones:
Apple iPhone 3G @ AT&T
Sidekick 2008 @ T-Mobile
Samsung Instinct @ Sprint (after firmware update, it’s officially better than Verizon’s LG Dare)
LG Decoy with docking Bluetooth earpiece @ Verizon
Sony Ericsson W890i @ Europe only; unlocked may be available

Phone Stereo Headsets:
Maximo iMetal iP-HS2 Isolators
Shure Music Phone Adapter to use with your current earphones

In-Ear Headphones:
Etymotics hf5
Shure SE110
Ultimate Ears metro.fi 2

Pico Projector:
Aiptek PocketCinema V10

GPS:
Garmin Nuvi 785T with lane guidance
Garmin Nuvi 880 with speech recognition

ASSORTED CRAZY STUFF
Flashlights:
Wicked Lasers Torch Flashlight
Duracell Daylite CR123

Toy Robot:
U-Command Wall-E

Cheap Night Vision Goggles:
Jakks Pacific EyeClops

Unmanned Vehicle:
Draganfly X6 UAV

Spy Gadget Book:
Spycraft by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton

Water Guns:
Super Soaker Sneak Attack 4-Way

—With reporting by Erica Ho

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,