adapters

If last week's FCC leak wasn't proof enough, the UK's Automated Home (via Gizmodo) has pretty much filled in all the details on an as-yet-unannounced networking accessory for the Sonos Digital Music System. The Sonos ZoneBridge BR100 will act as a wireless bridge between other ZonePlayers in the Sonos' proprietary mesh network. That's useful because the Sonos system requires at least one of its boxes to be tethered to a wired network connection. Previously, that meant one of the two included base stations of the Sonos system would need to be near an Ethernet port, or … Read more

Despite the dream of an "ultimate handheld," it's really hard to get down to fewer than two portable devices. A Treo may do it all, but you still want an iPod; an iPhone is great, but you still need a BlackBerry for work; you like to listen to your iPod while playing your PSP or DS; and so on. Even those who do manage to get down to one super smart phone often have a Bluetooth headset to go along with it. And traveling with two devices means taking two power adapters along. Or at least it did--until the Belkin Dual USB Power Adapter came along. … Read more

Five new high-tech features will be available on Volvo's S80, V70 and XC70 models by the end of the year, the company announced Tuesday.

The Swedish company joins the ranks of several automakers who are bringing high-tech features to even the most budget models.

Volvo's most interesting feature may be a new take on monitoring driver behavior.

Driver Alert Control, as Volvo calls it, uses a camera and sensors to monitor a car's general behavior in terms of speed and staying in lane, not the driver's behavior within a cockpit. If, through a combination of factors, … Read more

It's never easy living with a chronic disease--let alone one like diabetes, which constantly challenges patients' willpower and requires self-administered medications.

Amy Tenderich, who writes the blog DiabetesMine.com, is one of 20 million Americans diagnosed with the illness. In a post in April, Tenderich wrote an "Open Letter to Steve Jobs," hoping to appeal to the creative mastermind.

She asked him to come up with an innovative product that would enable diabetics to throw away their bulky gear--blood glucose monitors and insulin pumps--for trendier contraptions that would perform the same functions. Although Tenderich's plea got … Read more

Perhaps Justin Stangel's experience will inspire a future Top Ten list titled "The Top Ten Ways to Electrocute Yourself."

The head writer for the Late Show with David Letterman recently had a mildly shocking experience with the power adapter for his PowerBook G4. While at work in Manhattan last week, Stangel starting to smell something burning after firing up his PowerBook, and noticed that the cord was frayed near the adapter, giving off smoke and occasional sparks. Sensing a potential gag for the show, he had a producer tape him playing with the cord, moving it back … Read more

A couple of small--but I think somewhat serious--issues regarding the audio output of the iPhone have been percolating on the Web for the last week or so. The issues involve the iPhone's headphone/headset jack and the phone's ability to output stereo sound via Bluetooth.

Let's start with the headphone jack. In Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret's iPhone review for the Wall Street Journal, they state, "The headphone jack, which supports both stereo music and phone calls, is deeply recessed, so you may need an adapter for existing headphones." Why the port would be … Read more

One of the little-mentioned aspects of the iPhone is its recessed headphone plug, liable to render some earphones incompatible. If you've invested in a sweet pair of high-end headphones or earphones for your iPod, and you're feeling a little iffy about the iPhone sending you back to the stock Apple "mug me" earbuds, then Shure's new Music Phone Adapter might be just the thing. It's a cable adapter with a built-in microphone and a control button, allowing your existing set of earphones to be adapted for the iPhone. The product, to retail for $39.… Read more

The release of Apple TV is imminent--the first hands-on review has appeared, pre-orders have already begun shipping, and it should be popping up in Apple Stores by the end of the week. It's fair to say that Apple's first living room entertainment device is going to cause some major waves in the industry. At the same time, though, it's neither the first nor only product of its kind. Plenty of others--known as digital media adapters or network media devices--are capable of streaming digital media from networked PCs. And iTunes isn't the only show in town when it comes to digitally delivering premium movies and TV shows. So, as the Apple TV rocket leaves the launchpad, we thought it only fair to present a look at the alternatives.… Read more

Contrary to popular belief, we at Crave don't buy a new computer every month. In fact, our desktop is so old that it doesn't even work with Bluetooth. (It may have been made before we'd even heard of Bluetooth, come to think of it.)

So we read with great delight on Crunchgear about a simple USB device that can magically bring our ancient PC into the modern wireless world, finally allowing us to get a Bluetooth mouse or other peripherals of the 21st century. The best part of all about Trendnet's compact adapter is the price: $… Read more