It's best to use the router's Web interface to configure its settings. This is the Web interface of a router from D-Link.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)You finally received a wireless-N router as a Christmas present and are now ready to move on to the new and faster standard. (And even if you didn't, I would recommend that you go get one yourself.) Now that you have some relaxing time, let's go through the basics on wireless networking and how to generally set up your router like a pro.
Wireless-N router basics
The year 2009 is a very significant year for wireless networking as the N standard (or 802.11n, which offers speed up to 300Mbps and higher) was finally ratified in September after seven years of being in draft. However, chances are, your new router is still based on the latest revision of the draft N. As far as I know, there aren't any final N products on the market yet, though there will be soon.
Nonetheless, as long as has been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, it's guaranteed to be interoperable with N products when they come out. Even if it's not certified, it's likely that it will still work, and all existing draft N wireless routers can be upgraded via firmware to be fully compliant with the final N.
As some of you might not know, routers are platform-agnostic. It doesn't matter if you run a PC or a Mac, your new router will work. In other words, if you just upgraded to Windows 7 and your router's says it's "Vista-ready," you will not need a new router. That kind of labeling is just for marketing purposes. All wireless routers work with all consumer operating systems.
Wireless-N is backward compatible with previous standards of wireless networking including wireless-G, which caps at 54Mbps and is currently popular in mobile devices like smartphones and Netbooks, and the now obsolete wireless-B standards. This means clients (computers, phones, handheld devices, etc.) that use the old standards can connect to a wireless-N router and vice versa; the wireless-N clients can also connect to a wireless-G routers.
However, the cap speed of a mixed connection is that of the slowest standard. Most wireless-N routers are capable of delivering the slower speeds to clients of old standards while maintaining the high-speed connection to N client at the same time. So upgrading your router to an N one will not require changing the adapters to your computers, unless you absolutely need the faster speed.
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The XO-3 is thinner than an iPhone.
(Credit: OLPC)
A dual-touch-screen XO-2 laptop was a fantastical concept. But it's nothing on One Laptop Per Child's XO-3, a dream of a tablet.
The concept design, via Fuse Project, is all semi-flexible plastic, multitouch, and backlit. It functions as a color-screen e-reader and a camera. It's thinner than an iPhone, waterproof, and $75.
The tablet features a camera.
(Credit: OLPC)In other words, it's everything people have been fantasizing about in a tablet--durable, thin, multitouch, and multiple-screen modes for computing and reading--but for just $75.
Nicholas Negroponte, head of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child, wants it by 2012.
Remember, this is the organization that didn't just scrap the XO-2, but couldn't even tack a touch screen onto the current XO-1 laptop, which isn't anywhere near the $100 that Negroponte once dreamed of. (Hey, at least they gave up on the dual-touch-screen idea.)
This may say everything about the likelihood of the X0-3 ever happening. "We don't necessarily need to build it," Negroponte told Forbes on Tuesday. "We just need to threaten to build it."
The concept tablet includes a touch-screen keyboard.
(Credit: OLPC)This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
On Thursday, Sprint revised a tweet it sent out last week regarding an Android update for the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero. Both smartphones won't be getting an Android 2.0 update; instead, they will get Android 2.1. (Pause for applause.)
The carrier made the announcement via its Twitter account, but unfortunately didn't provide any more specific details as to when the updates might be rolled out other than it would be sometime in the first half of 2010.
Currently, only the Nexus One is running Android 2.1. While features of this version of the operating system are still largely unknown, some people have spied enhancements including a Palm WebOS-like Deck of Cards feature, more home screen panes, and additional 3D items in the app tray.
(Additional sources: Engadget Mobile, Gearlog)
The Coordinates feature makes longitude and latitude coordinates a destination that can be sent to others via e-mail.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)If you haven't purchased a GPS app for your iPhone 3G(S), now's a great time to do it. Wednesday, TomTom slashed the price of its app to just $50, and today Navigon followed suite with a price reduction and more.
The company released the fourth major upgrade to its iPhone navigation app, the MobileNavigator. Version 1.3 added essential features such as Live Traffic; version 1.4 adds features that, though not essential, significantly enhance the navigation experience with the app.
Navigon's iPod Mode now has a very well-thought-out Audiobook mode.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)Among the new features, my favorites are the Audiobook Mode, Direct Help, and Coordinates. I tried them out and found them to be very useful.
Originally, Navigon was one of the first iPhone GPS apps to offer iPod control features within its GPS app, which allows users to control their music playback without having to exit out of the app. Now with the Audiobook Mode, this feature automatically rewinds a second of the book while the audio-driving instructions are given and resumes playing when the instructions stop.
Direct Help allows users to quickly access local help in an emergency situation. It comes with four predefined categories, including roadside assistance, police station, hospital, and pharmacy. Though you will, of course, wish you would never have to use it, this could be a life saver when you are in an unfamiliar area.
The Coordinates feature uses precise longitude and latitude coordinates as a destination and allows you to send the coordinates via e-mail. The recipient of the e-mail can launch that location either in Google Maps or start navigating to it if he receives the e-mail on an iPhone with the MobileNavigator installed.
The new Direct Help feature could be a life saver in an emergency situation.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)Other than that, the 1.4 upgrade also includes these new features/changes:
- Google Local Search and enhanced pedestrian mode.
- Turn-by-turn route list provides a detailed list of directions, which update automatically during navigation.
- Favorites displayed in map: Destinations marked as favorites by the user are now displayed on the map in a named flag icon.
- Swipe screen integration for traffic messages: Users can now browse Traffic Live messages with the flick of a finger.
- Contacts as interim destinations: One-tap sets contacts as an interim destination. Using contact groups in the phone book as interim destinations is now also possible.
- GPS display enhancements: If the iPhone GPS signal becomes too weak during navigation, indicated by a red bar on the top of the display, MobileNavigator now calculates the approximate position and shows the estimated position in the map to provide better orientation. Active route guidance remains switched off but continues normal navigation until a valid signal is available.
- 3D map zooming: Users can zoom in on the map section, both in the 2D and 3D displays, using the iPhone's fingertip control.
- Country information: When the user crosses a country border, this points out the country's most important traffic regulations, such as the maximum permissible speeds or alcohol limits.
The best thing about this new update, however, is the fact that Navigon, for a limited time from now until January 11, has reduced the price of the app to just $60, down from the regular $90.
With this update, Navigon's MobileNavigator is now by far the most comprehensive GPS navigation application for the iPhone. I can't think of any features any other similar apps offer that it doesn't.
The 1.4 update is available now via the App Store. Make sure you use a broadband connection to download it as it's about 1.5GB in size.
I'm not a big fan of small speakers or subwoofers.
They tend to sound, well, small, and most of them squash the life out of films and music.
Thing is, people like tiny speakers and subs, so lots of speaker companies make, and sell tons of iffy-sounding 5.1 systems.
The Definitive Technology ProCinema 600 system.
(Credit: Definitive Technology)But they're not all bad, I've cherry-picked three truly exceptional alternatives from Definitive Technology, Energy Speakers, and Mirage. My complete reviews are all on CNET, but I'll run down the highlights here.
The Definitive Technology ProCinema 600 System is a six-piece package with four 7-inch tall satellite speakers, one 10.5-inch wide center speaker, and a minisubwoofer. The injection-molded mineral-filled polymer cabinets have more of a high-end feel than your typical plastic or fiberboard cabinets. Can you say "rock solid?"
The subwoofer is a conventional, matte-finished medium-density-fiberboard box. It measures 13 by 10.3 by 13 inches. Its side-mounted volume control is a convenient design touch.
The satellites are two-way designs with a 1-inch aluminum-ceramic dome tweeter and a 3.25-inch midrange driver. Ah, but the midrange driver is acoustically coupled to a 3.25-inch pressure-driven planar low-frequency radiator on the top panel (so when the midrange driver moves in, the passive radiator moves out, and vice-versa).
The passive radiator effectively doubles the bass radiating area of the tiny midrange driver. The same technique is employed on the center channel speaker; it has a pair of 3.25-inch midrange drivers flanking a 1-inch tweeter--and there's a 3.25-inch radiator on each side of the speaker.
The subwoofer's 8-inch polymer cone woofer is acoustically coupled to a bottom-mounted 8-inch passive radiator. The combined radiating area of the driver and radiator is almost equivalent to a single 12-inch woofer. This little sub kicks butt!
... Read more
(Credit:
Targus)
For today's giveaway, we have the Targus Crave laptop bag. (The "Crave" moniker is just a happy coincidence--it's not related to this blog in any way.) The model in question is the TSB158US laptop backpack, which can accommodate laptops with wide screens up to 16 inches in size. The bag also sports a water-resistant cover and bottom, as well as double foam padding along the laptop compartment for maximum protection.
So, how do you try to win this Targus Crave laptop bag? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
- Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
- Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
- Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
- The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Targus Crave TSB158US laptop backpack. Approximate retail value is $50.00.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, December 9, at 6:59 a.m. EST.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 6:59am ET on December 9, 2009. See official rules for details.
Good luck.
We spend most of today's show covering holiday gifts you won't want to stuff in the stocking of someone you care about... and a few that you might.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 164
Necktie for music-loving commuters
Blacksocks — the Sockscription ™
Passive aggressive gifts for tardy geeks
My DNA Fragrance lets you smell like a celebrity
... Read more
Motorola Cliq
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)T-Mobile and Motorola have begun pushing a software update to the Moto Cliq. Google Android release 1.1.31 will offer the following changes. Motorola offers more information about the update on its support page.
- Longer battery life
- New battery management Feature
- Better Bluetooth
- Touch-screen accuracy
- TTY option
- Better business connections
- Improved caller connectivity
- Quick Office 2
- Accelerometer enhancements
(Credit:
Panasonic)
For today's giveaway, we've got the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 digital camera. When Josh Goldman reviewed it just a few weeks ago, he praised this 12-megapixel megazoom for being simple to use and for delivering excellent performance and photo quality. Normally, the camera goes for between $230 and $280. But the folks at Willoughy's have supplied us with one to give away to our readers for free.
So, how do you try to win this Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
- Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
- Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
- Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
- The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 digital camera. Approximate retail value is $279.95.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, December 2, at 6:59 a.m. EST.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 6:59am ET on December 2, 2009. See official rules for details.
Good luck.
On Sale Now: $227.88 - $279.99
View the latest prices for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 (blue)
(Credit:
Vizio)
For today's giveaway, we've got the Vizio VOJ320F1A. It's a 32-inch LCD HDTV, but unlike most models at this size, the resolution is full 1080p. And the VOJ320F1A eschews basic black, going for a more unique java (brown) coloring. Normally, this set goes for between $519 and $569. But Vizio is giving you the chance to score it for free. (Thanks to the folks at Vizio for supplying the product.)
So, how do you try to win this Vizio VOJ320F1A? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
- Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
- Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
- Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
- The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Vizio VOJ320F1A. Approximate retail value is $519.99.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, December 1, at 6:59am EST.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 6:59am ET on December 1, 2009. See official rules for details.
Good luck.
On Sale Now: $439.00 - $553.22
View the latest prices for Vizio VOJ320F (java)
