Recently Filed in Networking and Communication

Q. Are there any items that will let me send music from my laptop to my receiver, wirelessly, using some type of USB connection? A. Robert Archer of CE Pro weighs in: There are a couple of solutions that address this scenario. The first is an affordable solution from Apple called Airport Express. This $99 device goes into your wireless network and connects to your audio system via a digital optical cable or analog RCA cable. The other solution is more expensive, but it combines… View this story
Networking and Communication • Computer Accessories • Ask a Pro

Almost everyone by now knows the long-term benefits of a smart grid: It will displace much of our country’s oil imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But arriving there could take decades. Even arriving at a workable smart grid is a massive undertaking, necessitating the establishment of hundreds of standards so the grid’s many pieces and parts can work together in a reliable and secure way, according the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in its draft of a Framework and Roadmap for Smart… View this story
Home Control • Industry • Networking and Communication • Power Management • Green Technology • Info and Answers

In our smart grid future, we’ll see smart appliances that can shut off when an electric utility reaches peak capacity. That will save us money on increased time-of-use rates. And this will happen. But what about even smarter appliances that give us options, like whether to delay that dish washing until later at night when the rates go down, or still dry your clothes, but at a lower power level? GE says it could bring such appliances to the market by the end of the… View this story
Appliances • Refrigerators • Industry • Networking and Communication • Routers and Switches • Power Management • Green Technology • Info and Answers

What will a green home network of the future look like? The ZigBee Alliance would like it to look like wireless mesh-network of ZigBee products. It’s planning to introduce a ZigBee Green Power feature set that establishes a global standard for self-powered devices. That means small, networked devices that capture or harvest energy via solar, ambient temperature, or mechanical action (kinetic energy), such as power gained from pushing a switch, says Kevin A. Schader of Global Inventures, a standards development organization that is working with… View this story
Home Control • Networking and Communication • Green Technology • Info and Answers

Q. I tried to uninstall Move Media Player from my PC because it takes up 44.4 GB. When I try to uninstall the application, it tells me that I do not have sufficient access to uninstall and to contact my system administrator. But I am the owner of the computer and I am signed in as administrator. - Arkansas A. I have a possible fix for this problem. I have had success before with this method for uninstalling an application that was giving that same… View this story
Networking and Communication

Apple released its much-awaited iPhone 3.0 software update today, overhauling the operating system (OS) with more than 100 new features. The update, which is free to all iPhone users and $10 for iPod touch users, is available through iTunes 8.2. The update is a great deal for iPhone 3G users who don’t want to shell out the money for the new iPhone 3G S, which is scheduled to be released Friday, or are still locked into their contracts. The software updates should eliminate several gripes… View this story
Networking and Communication • Cell Phones • Internet • Software • Product News

Google’s energy monitoring PowerMeter software is one step closer to reality, as the company is partnering with eight power utilities and smart meter maker Itron to test the technology. Partner companies include San Diego Gas & Electric (California), TXU Energy (Texas), JEA (Florida), Reliance Energy (India), Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Wisconsin), White River Valley Electric Cooperative (Missouri), Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited (Canada), and Glasgow EPB (Kentucky). “For now, Google PowerMeter is only available to a limited group of customers, but we plan to expand our… View this story
Networking and Communication • Power Management • Green Technology • Info and Answers

Until recently you had two options for setting up a computer network in your home - wired or wireless. First on the scene was wired networking. The upside is clear and reliable connections between your computers and all the devices attached to your network - printers, external storage, etc. The downside: unsightly wires everywhere. Then along came wireless technology. No more wiring clutter. All your networked devices could “talk” to each other throughout your home without stringing wires across the floor, over doorjambs and around… View this story
Networking and Communication • Powerline • WiFi • How To • Networking • Info and Answers • Research

I just installed Netflix on my S1Digital Media Center. It wasn’t showing up on the Start screen—Microsoft says it’s been uploaded to their servers but it could take 24 to 48 hours to be pushed out into the field—I pushed it out manually. Here’s how: From the Start screen: Tasks > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options > Download now. That took about 20 minutes or so and then, voila, there was Netflix sitting in my TV+Movies tab. Now I’ve given it a shot… View this story
Networking and Communication • Digital Media Servers • Networking • Info and Answers

It’s great to have software that can run the electronic devices in a home, but the big-sell to consumers is usually the device used to transmit commands to those devices. Many home control manufacturers design their own styles of handheld remotes, keypads and touchscreens to do the job, but there are some that focus solely on software and contract with other companies to develop the interface. Borg Displays is such a company. It has developed two new touchscreens, the Protege8 and the Protege15 for in-wall… View this story
Networking and Communication • Remote Controls • Home Control • Product News

Q. It seems that every time I get a new consumer electronics device, I’m supposed to install a firmware update. Should I? A. In the last few years, we have noticed a trend in home electronics. Most manufacturers have added capacity to “update” equipment in the owner’s home. These “firmware updates” allow access to new features or improved performance without having to replace or even disturb the component. With cable or satellite set top boxes, upgrades are accomplished behind the scenes, without anyone required on… View this story
AV Components • Networking and Communication • Ask a Pro

It is a fact that the release of USB back in the 90’s, has highly impacted our way of interacting with computer devices, while also replacing obsolete RS232 and Parallel connections. Today it’s the most popular way to interface any kind of peripheral, from the well known USB memory sticks to more complex devices such as HDTV tuners or audio and video processing devices. Are we experiencing a new era in communications - the “Maxwell wireless fever”…? That’s right, we are saturating the spectrum with… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Networking and Communication • Computer Accessories • Reviews • Networking • Product News