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Podcast: Turn any external drive into a NAS drive

LAS VEGAS--Network-attached storage for the home has been around for a while. It typically consists of an external disk drive surrounded by technology to connect it to a router so it can be accessed anywhere on your network or, via the Internet, from anywhere in the world. At the Consumer Electronics Show here, Daniel Putterman of Cloud Engines showed off a new device that allows you to inexpensively turn any external drive into a network-attached drive.

The $79 Pogoplug is a small plastic box with an Ethernet plug for your router and a USB plug for an external drive. With more

Podcast: Night vision for your Jetta

LAS VEGAS--You've seen the grainy "night vision" thermal imaging pictures from Baghdad, and now you can see them on the dashboard of passenger cars. At the Consumer Electronics Show, Larry Magid talks with Andrew Teich, the president of Flir Systems, which makes thermal imaging devices for both military and personal automotive use.

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See our complete news coverage from CES here

Podcast: Skype wins in a sinking economy

LAS VEGAS--At the CES show here, Skype Chief Operating Officer Scott Durchslag tells Larry Magid how the bad economy is actually good for Skype as people flock to value. He also talks about new Skype software and the explosion of video over his company's service.

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Related stories:

Skype thrives amid tough economy

Skype Lite landing on Android phone, others too

See our complete news coverage from CES here

Palm's Pre arrives on smartphone scene

A correction was made to this story. Read below for details.

One of the biggest surprises of CES was Palm's Pre smartphone that some are calling an iPhone killer. While I don't expect this or anything else to kill the iPhone, it does appear that Palm could again become a major player in the smart phone market.

As a product reviewer I will reserve final judgment until I can carry one around and put it through its paces, but based on the few minutes I got to use the phone at the Consumer Electronics Show, I am very more

Podcast: Walt Mossberg on Palm Pre, Yahoo TV

From the Consumer Electronics Show, Larry Magid talks with Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Mossberg about Palm's new Pre cell phone and Yahoo's new Internet TV. Both Mossberg and Magid were impressed by the Palm phone, and Mossberg had some good things to say about Yahoo's TV initiative.

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Today's stories:

Palm calls it a comeback with the Palm Pre

High hopes at Yahoo, Intel for Internet-enabled TV

Podcast: Talking the Pre with Palm CEO

LAS VEGAS--Palm, the pioneer in personal digital assistants and the developer of the once popular Treo smartphone, has fallen behind Apple and Research in Motion in recent years. But its new product, the Palm Pre, could bring the company back to life.

The new phone, introduced Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, is at first glance extremely impressive. Like the iPhone, it features a touch screen with a multitouch interface that lets you move from screen to screen by flicking your finger, or zoom into a picture or Web page by pinching. But it also has a pull-out keyboard. And more

Podcast: Conversation with CEA President Gary Shapiro

On the eve the Consumer Electronics Show, Larry Magid, CNET editor at large, sat down with Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President Gary Shapiro. CEA is the sponsor of CES. The economy, said Shapiro, could actually be good for the consumer electronics industry, because it might cause people to "cocoon."
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Interview with Lenovo's Matt Kohatt

Lenovo, which, as a result of buying IBM's PC group is a pioneer in notebook PCs, is at CES with some innovative new products including a unique notebook PC with two screens, a desktop PC with a remote that dubs as a phone and a new netbook. CNET's analyst Larry Magid talked PCs with Lenovo's Matt Kohatt.
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Gimmicky gadgets at CES

Based on some of the things I've seen so far at the Consumer Electronics Show, 2009 might be remembered as the year of the gimmick. If gimmick is too strong a word, perhaps we can settle for "incredible technology in search of a practical purpose."

Take Casio's new EX-FS10 compact camera. The camera itself is marvelous, but the use case seems a little weird. Like a couple of larger SLR cameras Casio introduced at last year's show, this smaller consumer camera is capable of taking still pictures at up to 30 frames per second.

Now, that can more

CES plan: Damn the calories, pass the egg rolls

The first event at the Consumer Electronics Show, called CES Unveiled, actually takes place a couple of days before the show officially opens. The press reception, which is sponsored by CES' host organization, the Consumer Electronics Association, is an opportunity for a small group of exhibitors to preview what they plan to show at CES.

As usual, products range from somewhat wacky to actually practical. One of the more unusual products was a 3D Webcam from Manchester, U.K.-based Promotion & Display Technology.

The Minoru 3D Webcam has two lenses, which makes it look a little like a cute more