Linksys adds two more Smart Wi-Fi routers to EA series

Linksys announced today that two more Smart Wi-Fi routers have been added to its EA series. This is the company's first product announcement since it was sold to Belkin by Cisco last month.

The two new routers are the Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1200 Advanced Multimedia (model EA6300) and the Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1600 Video Enthusiast (model EA6400).

Both of these routers are true dual-band and support the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard on the 5GHz band. Late last year, Linksys began shipping the Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro (model EA6500), and it's still the … Read more

Toshiba ships Canvio Connect portable drive with Pogoplug

Many portable drives come with a limited amount of free online storage included. The Canvio Connect, which Toshiba introduced today, offers that and more.

The new USB 3.0 portable drive comes with 10GB of free online storage space. When you plug it into a computer, you can access its contents, as well as those stored on another computer, be it a Windows or a Mac, via the Internet.

This is because the Canvio Connect comes with a lifetime subscription to the Pogoplug PC cloud engine, a software product that works similarly to the Pogoplug Series 4 adapter, which makes … Read more

WD ships first 5mm hard drive and SSHD

Western Digital announced on Tuesday the availability of its first solid-state hybrid drive, the WD Black SSHD.

SSHD is the new name for hybrid drives that combine both solid-state storage (used in solid-state drives) and regular platter-based storage (as found in regular hard drives) in a single standard box.

The WD Black is not the first SSHD on the market, but it's very different from the Laptop Thin SSHD that Seagate released just last month.

For one, the WD Black SSD is ultraslim, just 5mm thick (compared with 7mm for the Seagate drives), making it almost half the thickness … Read more

Home networking explained, part 6: Keep your network secure

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories section below.

If you were concerned after reading CNET's recent report that most home routers can be easily hacked, I don't blame you. The study did sound ominous, but the good news is that your network is likely far less susceptible than the report suggests. And more importantly, there are things you can do to make sure it's secure.

Two things are vital to keeping your network safe: proper settings and prudence. The first step is easy; you … Read more

Multi-deal Monday: Cheap Roku, free CrashPlan, and affordable printing

Quick housekeeping note: Last month I told you about DietBet, an intriguing site that links you with others for a fun (and potentially profitable) weight-loss contest. I set up a game with a $25 buy-in, then waited to see what happened.

Twenty-eight days later, the contest is over. Exactly 400 people signed up, for a pot total of $10,000. Your Cheapskate is now 8.5 pounds lighter. And in a couple days I'll know how many others will join me in divvying up the pot. Bottom line: This was a huge success for me, and whether or not … Read more

Top five power line adapters: When Wi-Fi fails you

In home networking, the fastest way -- in terms of data speed -- to connect devices together is via network cables. However, running cables properly, which involves making networking ports and connector heads, is no easy task. This is part of the reason the wireless network (Wi-Fi) has become so popular. But chances are, there's a spot in your home that the Wi-Fi signal can't reach, because of distance or thick walls. This is when a power line connection can be a useful alternative.

Power line adapters basically turn the electrical wiring of a home into network cables for a computer network. You need at least two power line adapters to form the first power line connection. The first adapter is connected to the router and the second to the Ethernet-ready device at the far end. There are some routers on the market, such as the D-Link DHP-1320, that have built-in support for power line connectivity, meaning you can skip the first adapter. After the first connection, you just need one more adapter to add another Ethernet-ready device to the home network.

Apart from the ability to bridge the network through thick walls, power line connections are also a lot more stable than Wi-Fi signal and have as low latency and a regular Ethernet wired connections.

Currently there are two main standards for power line networking, HomePlug AV and Powerline AV 500. They offer speed caps of 200Mbps and 500Mbps, respectively. The following is the list of top five power line adapters on the market. This list is sorted by the review date, starting with the most recently reviewed. It will be updated as more devices are reviewed.… Read more

Get a 3-in-1 sync/charge cable for $6.99

Someday, all syncing and charging will be done wirelessly. (The syncing is pretty much there, actually.) Until then, we remain slaves to cables.

This is especially hassle-tastic if you have different kinds of mobile devices -- say, an iPhone, a Kindle, and a Bluetooth headset -- with different kinds of connectors. That means you have to deal with three separate sync/charge cables.

Or not, if you grab today's deal. For a limited time, and while supplies last, Groupon has the Nextware Trio 3-in-1 Sync and Charge Cable for $6.99, plus $2.99 for shipping. (Order three and … Read more

Trendnet ships 802.11ac USB 3.0 adapter

You now can officially upgrade your Windows computer to the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard .

Trendnet announced today the availability of the AC1200 Dual-Band Wireless USB 3.0 Adapter (model TEW-805UB). This is the networking vendor's first AC adapter, and one of a very few on the market.

The TEW-805UB supports USB 3.0, which is a must if you really want to get the speed of 802.11ac. Although the device is compatible with USB 2.0 as well, that connection caps at just 480Mbps, while the new Wi-Fi standard peaks out as fast as 1,300Mbps. The TEW-805UB … Read more

Crucial M500 brings SSD pricing to a new low

The dream of a solid-state drive that offers near 1TB of storage space without breaking the bank has just come true.

Crucial today announced the availability of the M500 SSD, its first terabyte-class drive, which comes in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities and costs $129.99, $219.99, $399.99, and $599.99, respectively.

This is the first SSD on the market to offer close to 1TB at a cost close to that of most existing 480GB to 512GB SSDs.

According to Crucial, the M500 uses Micron's 20nm MLC NAND flash and Micron's custom firmware to deliver … Read more