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Inside CNET Labs Podcast 91: Your super, ultra, sonic move!

This week, we go on and on about incredibly difficult-to-pronounce product names, which is just every product Dong comes in contact with. No, I kid! Actually, no I'm not kidding. No, of course, I'm joking! Um, no, it's true, he really has a problem. Oh, come on, you guys fall for the easiest jokes. Seriously, he needs help.

Then, we talk about games. Dong's playing Starcraft 2 and brags about how he's beating beginners; and I'm knee deep in Super Street Fighter 4 and getting my hat handed to me.

Finally, power-line adapters and … Read more

Powerline technology to be standardized

A big shortcoming of powerline adapters is the fact that they tend not to interoperate across vendors. For example, the adapters made by Cisco are unlikely to work with products made by Netgear. This is because the powerline market has been fragmented and does not have a common standard. However, this is about to change.

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced Tuesday that an initial sponsor ballot was passed for the IEEE P1901, the working group that develops the global standard for high-speed powerline communications. This is an important step toward establishing a global standard for powerline (PLC) networking.

According to … Read more

Netgear announces new high-speed Powerline networking kits

Powerline networking adapters tend to suffer from slow speeds, especially when compared with regular wired Ethernet connections. However that's about to possibly change with two new products from Netgear.

The company announced this week at CeBIT two new HomePlug AV-certified Powerline kits, including the Powerline AV 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5001) and the Powerline AV+ 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5501).

Powerline networking kits allow you to expand your local network via the electrical wiring, sparing you from having to run network cable to a far corner of the house. This is especially helpful when the corner is so far away … Read more

Crave giveaway of the day: Belkin Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit

Powerline network adapters, which let you create an ultrafast entertainment network through your home's existing electrical wiring, may not seem sexy to everyone, but we sure like them here at CNET because that's just the sort of people we are. Up for grabs today: Belkin's Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit, which is about as good as it gets when it comes to powerline adapters.

Here's what Belkin has to say about today's prize: "Because of its high Gigabit speeds and consistent connection, Gigabit Powerline reduces online gaming latency and provides large bandwidth, making it … Read more

Crave giveaway of the week: Hercules ePlug 200 Duo

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're offering up the Hercules ePlug 200 Duo. The product is an Ethernet-to-powerline adapter set, and it's ideal for anyone who wants to extend a home network into another room of the house without running extra wires or setting up complicated wireless bridges. Just plug one of the ePlug units into the electrical socket near your router, and put the other one near the destination device (a game console, DVR, set-top box, or any other networked product), and you should be good to go.

Normally, this package would … Read more

D-Link DHP-303: PowerLine adapter goes green

If you want to take your network connection to a far corner of the house where the wireless signal can't reach, the best way to get this done is with a pair of PowerLine adapters. These little devices basically extend the network connection through the electrical wiring of the house and turn any power socket into a network port.

Generally, you need at least two adapters to make a PowerLine connection. Each adapter can be plugged into a wall power socket and each also has a network port. Once plugged in the wall socket, the adapters will have power … Read more

Netgear Powerline adapter comes with power socket

Powerline adapters generally don't work with power strips or surge protectors, needing to be plugged directly into the wall socket. This would be a problem if you have only one power outlet at the remote corner of the house where you want to put that home server.

This is why it's rather significant that Netgear introduced on Monday its new Powerline HD Plus Ethernet Adapter Kit that has a pass-through power socket. This really comes in handy in homes with a limited number of power outlets.

Other than that, the UPA-based Powerline HD offers network connections up to … Read more

Cisco Powerline adapters get a makeover

It doesn't matter how powerful your home wireless router is, there might still be some corner in the basement the signal can't reach. This is when you need an alternative solution, such as a pair of Powerline adapters. Powerline adapters basically extend the length of the network cable by using the existing electrical wiring--this means you can bring your network port anywhere in the house where there's a power outlet.

For that reason, it's pretty exciting that Cisco on Monday will announce its third release of Linksys by Cisco Powerline adapters. The new lineup includes both … Read more