connection

The world is a bit smaller than we thought.

In a continuation of the concept of "six degrees of separation," Facebook and the University of Milan announced tonight they had determined that the average number of people who separate any two individuals in the world is actually 4.74.

While Stanley Milgram's 1967 "small world experiment" drew on 296 volunteers and pegged the average number of people separating two individuals at 5.2, or six "hops," Facebook's findings were extrapolated during the course of a month from all of Facebook's 721 … Read more

If you think a car is high tech because it has Bluetooth and an iPod connection, you're in for a big surprise.

Yes, a "high-tech car" used to mean an iPod connection, hands-free calling, and GPS navigation. Now, that's almost quaint. Cars are getting connected like every other device in your life: wirelessly to the Internet. Navigation, communication, entertainment, and telematics all get better, but there will be some bumps along the road.

In this episode of Device & Conquer, we'll show you a sampling of how connected cars work and get you ready to … Read more

Ford is partnering with Azure Dynamics on a five-seater station wagon version of its Transit Connect all-electric vans.

Both companies announced the project Wednesday in time for the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Ford Transit Connect Electric Wagon will be available in North America immediately, with plans to eventually sell it in Europe as well.

The Transit Connect vans, which went into production in 2010, are already in the fleets of AT&T, DHL, FedEx, and Post Norway, to name a few. The vehicle won the 2010 North American Truck of the Year award, to the surprise of … Read more

If Qualcomm Atheros President Craig Barratt had his way, the whole world would work like his house in Silicon Valley.

Barratt lives in the ideal vision of the connected home. He has precise control over things like temperature, energy consumption, the TV, stereo, and security system--all accessed remotely through his laptop. There's no remote control at home; he and his family can switch on the lights, open and close the curtain, and make sure the lawn is watered by using a connected iPod Touch.

Of course, it helps that Barratt actually wrote the software that powers everything in the … Read more

Sprint Nextel is working with Apple to figure out the connection issue affecting some iPhone 4S devices on its network, but doesn't yet have an answer for the problem.

"We're taking the reports of problems from a small number of customers seriously," Fared Adib, head of product development for Sprint, said in an interview with CNET today. "There's nothing of significance to report yet."

Some Sprint iPhone 4S users have reported suffering dramatically slow connection speeds--an issue that sprung up almost immediately after the device hit stores. The problem remains a top topic … Read more

Some Android browsers deliver all the content, while others cut back for faster browsing. Choosing the correct browser for your connection type each time can become tedious--but there's a quick fix.

With Smart Browser Chooser, a free app on the Android Market, you can decide which browser is used based on your connection speed. All it takes is a couple minutes of setup and whether you're on Wi-Fi, 3G, or 2G, your Android device will know which browser to load for the best user experience.

Note: In order to use this app, you need … Read more

Today, Sprint introduced the Motorola Admiral, the newest addition to its Direct Connect portfolio.

Joining the previously announced Kyocera DuraMax, the Admiral supports Sprint's next-gen Direct Connect push-to-talk service, which operates on the carrier's 3G CDMA network instead of Nextel's iDEN network. The advantage of the new service is faster data speeds, and Sprint plans to phase out iDEN in 2013.

Running Android Gingerbread, the Motorola Admiral offers a 3.1-inch VGA touch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass and a full QWERTY keyboard. The rugged handset also meets Military Standard 810G specifications, so it can withstand dust, … Read more

The Dolphin browser has long been regarded as one of the best alternative Android browsers for its support of gestures, add-ons, Webzine, and swipe-to-switch tabs. Released today, Dolphin HD 7 (download) adds synchronization to that list. Like Firefox for Android and Opera Mobile for Android, which were the first Android browsers to gain syncing powers, the feature leverages data hosted in the cloud. Called Dolphin Connect, it lets you line up identical browsing preferences, bookmarks and gestures on all your Android devices running Dolphin.

Unlike Firefox, though, there's no desktop counterpart for Dolphin. Also, Dolphin Connect won't work … Read more

Here is an essential set of CNET videos to introduce you to what's happening in the connected car space. It's taking place on many fronts, so this is just a snapshot and can't possibly be complete so stay on top of all the latest in connected cars at Cars.CNET.com.

Toyota Entune shows a smart way of prepackaging a suite of apps so car owners don't have to manage them.

Cadillac CUE will debut in 2012 with a lot of cues from the smartphone home screen and computer desktop.

The GM OnStar Mobile App is … Read more