extended

Hack your old Mac's ADB keyboard to bring it up-to-date

If you are a longtime Mac user who simply could not bring yourself to throw away your old systems, then you may still have an old Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) keyboard such as the Apple Extended Keyboard II lying around. Despite being an older style, many of these keyboards were quite well-made and if only they had USB connectors instead of their ADB connections they could be put to good use on modern systems. It turns out, this is quite doable.

Recently tech hobbyist Scott Vanderlind found that by adding a small USB controller to the keyboard, he could tap … Read more

Five-deal Friday: $199 Xoom, $399 ultrabook, and more!

For anyone who's actually trying to save money (what a concept, right?), today is going to be a tough one. I've got five -- count 'em, five -- deals, each one better than the last.

As always, these are available while supplies last -- and supplies don't always last long. They're in stock as of this morning, and the prices are accurate as of this morning. That is all.

1. Acer ultrabook So I'm thinking about a new laptop. The one I'm using now is OK, but has a smaller screen (11.6 inches) … Read more

Amped Wireless intros 802.11ac range extender, USB 3.0 adapter

LAS VEGAS--Amped Wireless has invested a lot in the new 802.11ac standard.

In addition to its first 802.11ac router, the RTA15, shown here at CES 2013, the company also showed off its first USB 802.11ac adapter and range extender, which may be the first 802.11ac range extender on the market.

The ACA1 High Power Dual Band AC Wi-Fi USB Adapter is designed to add long-range 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity to Windows or Mac computers. Amped Wireless says it features two high-gain, dual-band antennas and four total amplifiers to maximize performance. The adapter supports USB 3.0 … Read more

Netgear unveils true dual-band range extender with support for Apple's AirPlay

LAS VEGAS--Netgear announced at CES 2013 its first wall-plug dual-band Wi-Fi range extender, the Universal Dual Band WiFi Range Extender Wall-plug Edition (model WN3500RP).

You plug it into a wall socket within the range of an existing Wi-Fi network to help extend its range. It's also the first Wi-Fi range extender that can be directly connected to speakers for music streaming using AirPlay, via its standard 3.5mm audio jack, or the USB speakers via its USB port.

The new can simultaneously extend both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands, making it best suited for a dual-band home … Read more

Are TV extended warranties worth it?

An extended warranty on a TV appears, at first, like a decent idea. After all, TVs are expensive, very high-tech, and pretty complex, right?

However, dig a little deeper and you'll find that extended warranties are almost always a waste of money.… Read more

Top car technologies that will save you gas now. CNET On Cars, Episode 4

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Sure, you can save a ton of money on gas by purchasing an electric car or plug-in hybrid, but that's a bit of a lifestyle makeover. If you want to pare back the outrageous cost of fuel and still have gas pump convenience, we've got the Top 5 technologies to look for in showrooms now.

The Paris auto show just wrapped up as we published this episode, so we take a look at the cars -- and one non-car -- that … Read more

AirParrot offers an AirPlay alternative for those with older Macs

AirParrot lets you mirror your desktop, specific apps, and even lets you extend your screen on to a big screen via Apple TV, but it isn't perfect.

Particularly compelling just after the release of Mountain Lion, AirParrot lets Mac users with machines running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later mirror their desktops (Mountain Lion's AirPlay Mirroring only works on Macs made after 2011). The app creates a Menubar item where you'll be able to mirror your desktop on a big screen via a second- or third-generation Apple TV. Once you're on the same … Read more

Time to target those rich Mac users

Today's headline roundup will have you worried about Terminator cats targeting rich Mac users via their Facebook email addresses:

The engineers at the super secret Google X lab have created the self-driving car and the augmented reality Google glasses. This time, while trying to push the limits of technology, they may have started to create Skynet. Google engineers strung 16,000 computer processors together, and then set the network free on the Internet. The New York Times explains that the system began to learn... about cats. Google engineers never told the computer what a cat was, it just picked … Read more

Mophie gets tough with Juice Pack Pro iPhone 4/4S case

Think of Mophie's new Juice Pack Pro as an Otterbox case that's packing a 2,500 mAh battery that more than doubles the battery life of your iPhone 4 or 4S.

Mophie would probably argue that the Juice Pack Pro is actually tougher than an Otterbox case. It's touting its first ruggedized battery pack case as exceeding military specification MIL-STD 810G, which is pretty tough.

That said, the case is water-resistant but not totally waterproof (it can't go underwater). It has a built-in screen protector and comes with a rotating belt clip. According to Mophie, that … Read more

Mozilla readies Firefox 3.6 for the grave

Mozilla has announced that after more than two years of support, Firefox 3.6 will no longer receive updates as of April 24. The legacy version of the browser is notable for being the final version before the company embarked on a radically different production path in 2011 with Firefox 4.

Barring any last-minute security patches, last month's Firefox 3.6.28 will be the final update that the 3.6-branch receives. Organizations like businesses and universities are being encouraged by Mozilla to switch to the Firefox Extended Support Release, which will allow them to update annually. The current … Read more