Wireless

Regular data backup is no longer a choice, but a growing necessity, in our digital lifestyle. Unless you want to suffer eternal pain from a data loss, you'll need something as simple as an external hard drive or a safer RAID1. Configuring a RAID might not be for everyone so Western Digital makes it easy for the uninitiated with its latest My Book Mirror Edition, which is essentially the downscaled version of the dual-drive Studio and World Edition. Inside the slick looking case is a pair of 1T...

That odd purveyor of USB gear, Thanko, is back with its latest strange device of questionable usefulness. This time it's a rehash of that exceptionally ugly USB powered necktie fan from last year. Last year's tie was made from a plastic material and the fan intake was very obvious to anyone walking by (it's not like they wouldn't notice the USB cable running from your tie anyhow). This year's USB Necktie 2 is very similar but made from fabric rather than plastic. It's ever so much more attractiv...

Filed under: WirelessIf you haven't made the leap to 802.11n (or, even better, 5GHz 802.11n), you might want to start holding on to that loose change -- you'll probably have enough by the end of the week to pick up D-Link's new DIR-628 router, which has an official MSRP of $119, but will sell at Best Buy for just $79. The dual-band router obviously isn't the most feature-packed unit out there, but in terms of straight connectivity, it'll get the job done as long as the firmware is reasonably sta...

It's good to know the latest FireFox 3 has already been packaged by the good folks at PortableApps.com into portable USB edition, which allows you to carry around the the latest browser on your flash drives and additionally to allow you to test all the latest features of the new browser without messing around your current perfect FireFox installation. Based on the Gecko 1.9 rendering platform, FireFox 3 is reportedly 3 times faster than its predecessor and offers more than 1500 improvements, inc...

Filed under: GPS, WirelessLooks like that sale at Amazon's turned into a full blown price cut -- Dash has officially lowered the price on the Dash Express from $400 to $300 (not including service, of course). Of course, this can be interpreted one of two ways: they're selling so well that economies of scale have kicked in, and everyone saves money buying the GPS -- or, the fresh-faced company's sole product isn't doing very well in the marketplace, leading to this second price drop so far. We're...

Filed under: Cellphones, WirelessEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainmentThe first iPhone arrived at a time that suggested Apple needed to protect its iPod franchise -- but Apple delivered something that was much more than an MP3 player that could make phone calls. You probably won't be editing any iMovies on it for some time, but in the iPhone Apple has essentially delivered Macintosh 2.0. It's portable. It's affordable. It's...

Filed under: Transportation, WirelessHis preeminence, oh lordship, oh liege, (uh hem) Walt Mossberg, just returned from a US test flight on a small business jet equipped with Aircell's new Gogo WiFi service. He tested multiple devices including Dell and Apple laptops, a Blackberry, iPhone, and WinMo-based cell and found them to all perform flawlessly, albeit, at speeds ranging from 266Kbps to about 1.4Mbps. Typical speeds clocked in at 500Kbps to 600Kbps -- upload speeds were a more modest 250Kb...

Filed under: WirelessSprint CEO Dan Hesse spoke at NXTcomm08 today, and he let it slip that Sprint is planning on launching its first commercially-available WiMAX network in Baltimore in September, and expanding the trial service currently operating in Chicago and DC by the end of the year. We're assuming that means Clearwire and not Sprint itself, of course, but Hesse also touched on the carrier's WiMAX-based 4G strategy, saying that consumers "can't seem to get enough data" and that devices li...

For security experts and the truly paranoid (and the crossover between the two groups): the GoldKey USB token would like your attention. The "gold" plated drive (which appears to be skinned in some sort of titanium alloy) includes all kinds of security features, like heavy-duty 256-bit AES encryption that automatically protects any file put onto the drive; user tokens, a PIN, and an optional finger print scanner for a triple layer of access control; administrative management features that separ...

With laptops fast replacing the desktop computers in business environments the demand for mobile broadband service is growing swiftly. Many laptops still don??™t come with mobile broadband modems built-in to the machines by default. This has lead to a proliferation of USB mobile broadband modems. Sony Ericsson announced two new mobile broadband modems today that are designed to operate on HSPA networks providing the capability for downloads of up to 7.2Mb/s and uploads of 2Mb/s. The two modems a...

Wireless USB hubs haven't proved themselves to be that useful without USB audio support and adequate transfer rate. After all, printers and hard drives have gradually moved on to wireless one way or the other. Cutting the cables of a USB sound card or a pair of existing wired USB speakers is still an interesting niche advantage WUSB hubs offer. So, that's what WiQuest gives us today - Windows Isochronous USB Audio support over WUSB. This is absolutely essential not just for completing device ...

USB switch has been around for quite a while, yet there's still a huge demand for peripheral sharing devices. After all, who would want to buy the same scanner for each of the 4 PCs in the household? The idea of Kensington's ShareCentral isn't new, but it's perhaps the most innovative (low-tech speaking). The switching is exclusively handled by hardware - no software installation. At the press of a button, USB device access is instantaneously handed over to the other PC. The ShareCentral all...

Well, it looks like Philadelphia's on-again, off-again WiFi network won't be going dark for good quite just yet, as The Philadelphia Inquirer is now reporting that a group of local investors are stepping in to keep it aloft. While complete details are a bit light at the moment, the new company is apparently at least considering going with an advertising-supported business model that'd provide free access wherever the network is available, as opposed to the $20 a month Earthlink was charging for...

If you are in a desperate search to find yet another phallic symbol of your geekiness to place alongside your plasma tube you are in luck. Brando has a new clock that screams geek to anyone who walks by your cubicle, desk or your bedroom in your mom's house. The USB Tube clock is just what it sounds like, a USB powered clock that has a digital display with each digit sealed inside of old school looking vacuum tube. Details are sketchy but the clock counts down the hours, minutes and seconds in r...

Those of us tied to our computers all day may find that a convenient excuse to not get any exercise. Despite the fact that you have to get work done you can get some exercise without having to leave the computer. This may be bad news to some of your computer jocks out there, but a new device called Gamercize PC-Sport promises a workout while at the computer. The device connects to your PC via USB and is basically a small stepper that can burn up to 400 calories per hour. To put it in numbers y...

AMD and nVidia claim that Intel is holding back on the specifications for the open host controller for USB 3.0. Intel denies that it is withholding the specification and says that the reason it hasn't provided the specs to rival CPU and chipset makers is that they aren't done. nVidia and AMD maintain that Intel has working silicon for the host controller, and that means the specs are done. Intel posted a blog last week to try and clear the situation up a bit. Today nVidia announced that SiS has ...

When the original Das Keyboard hit market it was most notable for lacking any labels for the keys on the keyboard. If you weren??™t very comfortable as a touch typist it was far from the ideal keyboard. One of the other notable features of the keyboard was that it came with the old school IBM model M-style mechanical key switches. These mechanical switches were preferred for their tactile feel by many users. In July, the Das Keyboard line will get an update with models featuring markings on the ...

There won't be the day when the Japanese stops toying around with mice. Now high-profile companies like Canon which should mind their own camera business is now having fun with cutting a perfectly normal 2-button mouse open and adding a calculator inside. The calculator complete with rubberized numeric pad and a 10-digit screen can even send the results back to the computer if needed. After closing the flip, the mouse is back to itself again, with an optical sensor boasting 1000 dpi resoluti...

According to ComputerWorld not all flash drives are created equal, despite wearing the USB 2.0 logo and using flash memory to store data. While the main differentiator to many users is the storage capacity, the average users fails to consider the performance and durability of the flash drive they are buying. ComputerWorld points out that there are two types of flash memory, SLC (single-level cell) and MLC (multi-level cell). The main difference between the two is that SLC is about twice as fast ...

The Nexcopy USB200PC is a PC based USB duplicator and the device has some specific advantages over the standalone duplicators we've mentioned. For example, the standalone system works from a bit for bit copy function and if a master USB device is 512MBs and the slaves are 1GB size - the bit for bit copy function will turn those 1GB drives into 512MBs. Ouch - that's a costly mistake! There are other issues, but lets consider six key advantages of the Nexcopy PC based USB Duplicator which stand...

Everything is getting smaller these days from our notebook computers to our flash drives and disappointingly our spendable incomes. Small flash drives used to give up storage space for the sake of a compact design, but a new crop of tiny flash drives offers the best of both worlds - small size and lots of storage. The latest flash drive maker to jump on the small drive bandwagon is OCZ with its Spyder flash drive. Despite the small, cap-less design the Spyder is available in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB ca...

Earlier this week we reported on allegations from AMD and Nvidia that Intel was purposefully delaying the release of the open host controller specifications for USB 3.0. For AMD and Nvidia's part they claim the delay is a purposeful attempt by Intel to give itself a market lead of 6 to 9 months for USB 3.0 hardware. Intel's Nick Knupffer has made a blog post this week claiming to dispel these myths surrounding USB 3.0. Knupffer points out in the blog that Intel is not developing the USB 3.0 spec...

It's not exactly a surprise that Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have some pretty big plans for their newly-merged WiMAX network, but a recent FCC filing has now revealed some tantalizing details about exactly just what they have in mind. As Ars Technica reports, the two companies foresee the "New Clearwire" WiMAX network as being nothing short of a true "third pipe" into the home, and a fully open one at that. That would let users use any "lawful device" on the network so long as it's "compatible ...

Filed under: GPS, WirelessEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment The last Switched On discussed the traffic-fighting prowess of the the Dash Express, now available for only $299. Its leading ad hoc local information querying and traffic-finding capabilities represent the best potential to transform the portable navigation device from a product used primarily for unfamiliar terrain, to an everyday tool to expedite getting to...

Anyone who lives in an crowded city apartment building can tell you that wireless networking on the 2.4GHz band is almost useless -- but the 5GHz band is wide-open, so those of us who've switched over are wire-free and living it up once again. The only problem is that most devices don't support 5GHz, particularly game consoles and other entertainment devices that could benefit from streaming data at high speeds, but Buffalo's got you covered with the new Nfiniti Ethernet Converter. The black bo...