surge protector

The multitasking cross-shaped Power/Strip promises "comprehensive protection from evil, power surges, and AC contamination." And to think my surge protector only takes care of the evil part...

Alexander Pincus of Means of Production designed the cruciform surge protector, which has 12 outlets and can accommodate oversize adapters. Note to vampirephobes: the New York-based design studio has just completed prototyping for the device and hopes to get it into production by the end of the month and make it available by the holidays.

As for any other obvious jokes this product might spark, pray say what you will. … Read more

To kick off its partnership with HP on a new line of cable and power conditioning products, Monster is offering up the HP Monster Digital PowerCenter 800G w/ Green Power in our Crave Giveaway of the week.

Like Belkin's Conserve surge protector, instead of having your electronics sit there in standby mode and each sip a little bit of power, the Digital PowerCenter 800G lets you completely shut down components so power drain is cut to zero (you plug your computer or other electronic device into the "GreenPower Control" outlets). At the same time, it leaves certain … Read more

The idea behind Belkin's Conserve surge protector is pretty simple. Instead of having your electronics sit there in standby mode and each sip a little bit of power, the Conserve lets you completely shut down components so power drain is cut to zero. At the same time, it leaves two outlets active for those products that you indeed want to keep on (or leave in standby mode)--items such as DVRs, wireless routers, fax machines, and cordless phones.

Two models are available: a shorter strip with a total of eight outlets and a longer one with a total of … Read more

Water and electricity: that's a winning combination if ever we heard one.

Clearly Philips thinks it's a theme that has some legs--five of them to be precise--because it's created a mains extension socket it calls the "power squid."

Anyone with an encyclopedia would be able to tell you that a squid has 10 appendages--that's 8 arms and 2 tentacles, fact fans. The Philips SPR550BN also differs from aquatic reality in its color, which is black, rather than the more realistic white or slightly translucent skin tone of most squid.

Still, most real squid don'… Read more

This year still has several weeks left on the calendar, but it's not too early to look back at the past 10 months and evaluate how we've progressed on the consumer tech front. Rather than look at the best products of the year, however, I decided to focus on the ones that were the most cutting-edge. As such, I've looked back at everything we've covered this year, and I've done my best to winnow down the list and come up with 10 products I think are at the cusp of... something. They may not be fully baked, and they may be overpriced, but they're at the forefront of their respective categories. Of course, I've surely missed some worthy products, so feel free to agree or disagree and add your own selections in the comments section below. … Read more

CNET reader Chris writes:

My question is are expensive surge protectors even necessary? I see lots of other surge protectors in the $20-30 range that seem like they would be sufficient. Will an expensive surge protector really keep the "dirty power" out of my lines and give me better picture and sound?

That's a great question. If you listen to the companies selling the equipment, there's no doubt about it. Monster promises, "a more natural sound, increased dynamic range, and the most vivid video images possible," and includes a highly suspect comparison to back … Read more

You'd think that the design for power strips and surge protectors would be pretty much played out, but Belkin has actually done some pretty interesting things with them in recent years: clamp-on models, ones that hide all of the wall warts, and even the forthcoming Conserve, an eco-friendly model that truly shuts off connected devices at the touch of a wireless remote.

The company is taking that spirit of innovation on the road with its latest power product: the Belkin Mini Surge Protector. The travel-friendly model packs three grounded three-prong power outlets and two powered USB ports into its … Read more

Everyone knows to use a surge protector for their computer. But which one? How do you choose? Welcome to surge protector school.

As their name implies, surge protectors prevent voltage spikes from entering a computer (or whatever else is plugged into them). They are available in a variety of types and, to paraphrase the manual that came with a Dell server, usually provide a level of protection commensurate with the cost of the device. In other words, you get what you pay for.

A surge protector is not a power strip, although a low end model may look like a … Read more