Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Steve, who seems to be proving the College Stereotype wrong in a big way. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m a college student and we are updating our intranet / network capabilities at my fraternity. One idea is to create a network drive for backups for each member living in the house. We already have a network drive accessible by everyone wired in (about 40 people via Ethernet cable), so the raw storage and infrastructure is there. What is a good backup software that is cross-platform (Mac and Windows) and free or relatively cheap? Moreover, once the backup software is in place, what steps should be taken to ensure security of each members data? Thanks!”

Any software junkies (or frat admins) out there care to chime in? Seems like a common problem, actually, and we’re more than confident that someone sticking to that 4.0 GPA has an answer. Toss yours in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best network backup solution for multiple computers? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This wouldn’t be the first time a company repackages old routers for the new year, but to be fair, there haven’t been many technological advances recently for them to do much else. Belkin happens to be one such company, which has just announced five N-series 802.11n WiFi routers ranging from $39.99 (N150 at up to 150Mbps) all the way up to $129.99 (N750 at up to 450Mbps with dual band and USB). Frankly, a quick glance at the specifications doesn’t show much of an improvement from last year’s models, and that “exclusive” MultiBeam range-extending technology seems to be just a fancy name for MIMO. Still, you gotta give it to Belkin’s designers for the new chassis design — we much prefer this rounded look to the previous boxes. You can now grab an N150, N300, or N600 DB in the shops, whereas the N450 and flagship N750 DB will be showing up in mid-May. See press release after the break for the full details.

Continue reading Belkin repackages old wireless routers for its new N-series lineup

Belkin repackages old wireless routers for its new N-series lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why can’t our refrigerator fire off an urgent email when the milk has gone lumpy? And the toilet paper dispenser warn us it’s empty – before we sit down? And when will our microwaves run BitTorrent? EUREKA, the European R&D network, knows how badly you crave networked objects, and rather than mock you, it’s moving to help. To that end, it has developed small, inexpensive, battery-powered sensors able to link everything from consumer electronics to environmental monitors to factory robots – creating the much-anticipated “Internet of Things.” But unlike the over-hyped RFID, it’s technology you’d actually use. Instead of knowing whether your keys are indeed on the RFID reader, the network could gently remind you that you left them in your car, which is now 100 miles away with someone else at the wheel, but, luckily for you, low on gas. Gaze into the so-called future of things with EUREKA’s press release, conveniently embedded after the jump.

Continue reading European R&D advances ‘internet of things,’ hastens our Phildickian future

European R&D advances ‘internet of things,’ hastens our Phildickian future originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like Google’s web search, Twitter started off life doing one single thing and doing it very well. And, just like Google, it’s kept adding subtle little enhancements along its way to becoming a mature internet tool. Today, its own famously simplistic search functionality has take a turn through the makeover booth and has emerged shinier, happier, and much smarter on the other side. No longer do you need to have, for example, the specific names of your favorite smartphone jailbreak artists, you just search for the general term and Twitter will do some actual searching for you instead of merely matching your query to usernames. You can even step up to an advanced search, where adding the “:)” and “:(” operators determines whether you’ll get happy or downbeat tweets on the topic. Come to think of it, that is pretty advanced. Yo Google, where are your emoticon operators?

Twitter finally gets a legitimate search function, lets you filter tweets using smiley faces originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new Logitec (not Logitech) LAN-WH450N/GR offers four Gigabit Ethernet ports, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking that maxes out at a theoretical 450Mbps, and just about the wildest router design we’ve yet seen. Yes, it’s justified by improved wireless throughput as a result of having three antennas sprouting out of the thin-bodied device, but who is Logitec trying to kid? It’s a futuristic, desktop-straddling robocopter and everyone at that company knows it. Should you or the geek in your life be interested in obtaining one, the new routers are going on sale in Japan in mid-April for ¥19,000 ($230).

Logitec’s new wireless router is crazy-looking, crazy fast originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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