LAS VEGAS--If you're not so happy with Cisco's first 802.11ac router, the Linksys EA6500, there are now more options.

The networking vendors announced today at CES 2013 three more routers that all support 802.11ac. All of them belong to the same Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router series and share similar features as well as physical design as the Linksys EA6500. These new routers include:

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro, EA6700: This is now the new top-notch Smart Wi-Fi Router in the Linksys portfolio. The AC1750 is designed for homes with 10 or more … Read more

LAS VEGAS--There might be a real solution to your online gaming at home after all, thanks to D-Link.

The networking vendor announced today at CES 2013 the first 802.11ac-based router designed specifically for gamers, which it aptly calls Gaming Router (model DGL-5500). In a way, this is the first major upgrade to the first router of this type, the DGL-4500 GamerLounge, that D-Link released more than four years ago.

And this seems an upgrade that's worth the wait.

Intelligent Internet management The DGL-5500 is the first router on the market to support the new StreamBoost technology that Qualcomm announced just a few days ago. … Read more

Two months ago, I called Promise's four-bay Pegasus J4 Thunderbolt storage device unconventional for its lack of RAID 5 support. Soon after that, at CES 2013, LaCie made the omission of RAID 5 a little more conventional with the introduction of the five-bay 5big Thunderbolt.

The new 5big Thunderbolt is the first multiple-bay storage device from LaCie that only supports RAID 0 or RAID 1. (Find out more about RAIDs here). In return it's a lot more affordable than a RAID 5-capable storage device of similar configuration.

The new 5big Thunderbolt is far from budget-friendly, however, with the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--LaCie showed off today at CES 2013 its latest high-end network attached storage (NAS) server, the 5big NAS Pro, which is a major upgrade to the company's previous 5big Network 2.

Powered by a dual-core 2.13GHz Intel 64-bit Atom processor and 4GB RAM, the 5big NAS Pro is a five-bay server that offers a massive amount of storage space (up to 20GB), and promises data rates up to 200MBps via its two Gigabit Ethernet ports.

The most prominent feature of the 5big NAS Pro, however, is its totally new novice-friendly SimplyRAID mode and cloud features

A new … Read more

LaCie's 5big NAS Pro is a major upgrade to the company's previous 5big Network 2. The new server is now significantly faster while retaining the excellent physical design of its predecessor.

The 5big NAS Pro does have some shortcomings, however, including a spartan feature list and the lack of customization options. The sever also doesn't provide a way to quickly set up its hard drives into a RAID configuration.

All things considered, at the current price of some $500 (disk-less version, or $1,100 and $2,000 for 10TB and 20TB, respectively) it's an excellent choice … Read more

It's frustrating when you share the Internet between multiple devices and some of them hog all the bandwidth, leaving the rest crawling. Qualcomm has something that could potentially ease this pain.

The mobile chipmaker today introduced its StreamBoost technology, which is designed to "optimize performance and capacity of home networks" by enabling the home router to intelligently manage the broadband connection. Qualcomm says the new technology allots to each connected device and each application the bandwidth it needs, and no more, to ensure the best possible experience on all connected devices.

It's important to note that … Read more

The Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, aka WiGig, announced today their agreement to consolidate WiGig's certification and development under Wi-Fi Alliance. This is the result of longterm collaboration between the two organizations, since they reached an agreement on the standard of multigigabit wireless networking in May 2011.

While the Wi-Fi Alliance is a popular organization that tests and certifies Wi-Fi devices to guarantee their interoperability, WiGig is a lesser-known entity that develops the 60GHz-based WiGig technology specifications. The Wi-Fi Alliance, however, initiated the work to develop an interoperability certification for 60GHz products.

The WiGig standard, also known … Read more

Facebook has been quietly testing a new Timeline design, the company has confirmed.

The world's largest social network yesterday confirmed to ABC News that it's testing a new Timeline design "with a small percentage of people." The move, the spokesperson told ABC News, is to "make navigating Timeline even easier."

According to ABC News, which tested out the new Timeline, the design includes a tabbed look, allowing users to switch between friends, photos, and a person's About page. In addition, Facebook's current method of displaying Timeline updates by placing them in two … Read more

Google's Blogger platform now comes with a way for writers to link to a friend or company's Google+ page.

When typing out a post in Blogger, users can now input a "+" before a person's or brand's name. Upon choosing the right profile, a link will be displayed in the published post, allowing readers to go to the subject's Google+ page or profile. Hovering the mouse over the link displays a card showing a profile picture and a little more information on the person or brand.

Google+ has been the subject of several updates … Read more