network

Universal Network Cable

If you’re in IT you’ve probably uttered the phrase “Where’s the crossover cable?” a few times or perhaps you’ve grabbed a cable and visited the datacenter which takes 20 minutes to get into due to the security constraints only to realize you grabbed the crossover cable instead of the straight-through cable.

The Universal Network Cable provides 5 cable types in one connector including the elusive crossover, standard straight-through, Cisco ‘this is how I Roll’, tactful T1 and the loopy ATM Loopback cable. You simply need to select the proper cable and you’re golden! Even someone that still believe Al Gore created the Internet can use the Universal Network Cable.

Buy now!
Price: $29.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Vizit photo frame connects directly to cell network, pulls photos down from secure website

isabella vizit photo frameNetwork-connected photo frames are nothing new, but this new one called the Vizit from Isabella has some cool new features. It hooks up directly to AT&T’s cellular network, and you can ‘send’ photos to it via e-mail, SMS text messages, Flickr, and Web browser.

What it does it pulls photos down from the VizitMe.com site where you set up an account ($5.99/mo) that gets tied to the frame you have. You can allow people to send photos to your account, where they are stored by Vizit. A useful application of this model is to give a frame to your non-tech-savvy family members and you can control their frame and what photos they see. Think: great for surprising them with the latest baby pictures.

The frame itself is a 10.4″ LCD-backlit touchscreen with a 800×600 resolution, and also has USB 2.0 and SD Card slots. It also comes in a variety of colors and finishes.

As much as I love the idea of hooking it up directly via a cellular network, I’d still like to see it come with an Ethernet jack.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $279.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

CES 2010: Sony, IMAX and Discovery Teaming Up to Launch 3D TV Network

Sony, Discovery (Channel) and IMAX are teaming up [press release] to launch a 3D TV network in the US, but not until 2011.

It remains to be seen whether the actual 3D programming will be limited or not. After all, it’s not like IMAX productions number in the thousands. On the other hand, we’re suprised at how quickly home 3D technology and content seems to be taking off.

Netgear Stora – store, backup, share and stream your music, photos, video and data

As consumers generate or collect an ever-increasing amount of digital content in the form of photos, music and especially videos, home storage solutions are growing in popularity. But what’s also becoming more important is that this content is accessible from anywhere and not just in the home. Netgear is one of the companies trying to solve this problem, and one of such product that fits the bill is the Stora MS2110.

The Stora has a very consumer-dedicated website that shows off all of its sharing and streaming capabilities, such as:

  • share your photos and videos with your friends
  • access your files from the Internet
  • stream music to your phone
  • push photos to your Facebook or Flickr accounts
  • Back-up your PCs and/or Macs

The Stora can hold 2 SATA hard drives, so you can mirror the data if you’d like for more protection. It ships with one 1TB drive for lots of initial storage.

Just one word of warning. Some of these features, particularly the sharing/access-over-the-Internet is only possible with a premium $20/yr service via Netgear’s Stora service. See the differences in features here.

Buy now!

More info from the manufacturer
Price: $199.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

LaCie d2 Network File Server

Lacie d2 Network File Server

LaCie have long been a provider of top hard drive solutions and the d2 is no exception – this is a professional file server built for office use as it allows up to 50 users to be connected, with a maximum of 15 being able to use it at any one time. Available in 500GB, 1TB or 1.5TB  – Amazon appears to have a 2TB version also, but LaCie confusingly doesn’t display this on their website. This should see any small office run perfectly and would also be suitable for the power home user that wants more storage and flexibility in their wireless network.

The d2 supports Windows, Mac and Linux users alike and supports multimedia playback through iTunes and other DLNA multimedia devices. Naturally, TimeMachine is supported for Mac users. Two (2) expansion ports on the back allow for additional storage to be connected to the d2, as well as data imports and external backups all via USB 2.0 or eSATA. A nice touch is the inclusion of a BitTorrent-compatible torrent server.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer

Price: $243.99 (1.5TB model)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite EVA9150

Netgear hasn’t given up on their networked multimedia devices, even after a somewhat shaky start with their EVA700. One of their latest models, the EVA9150 features video, audio and photo streaming from your PC or Mac or even your NAS to your (HD)TV.

It includes an HDMI port and can upconvert to 1080p, already support WiFi-N, and includes 500GB of storage. It can also reach out directly to the Internet and pull back Flickr images, RSS feeds, YouTube video (of course) and Internet radio.

Among the multitude of formats it supports: AVI, DivX, MP3, MPEG4, MKV, FLAC, AAC and WMV.

Would have liked to see GB Ethernet, but hey, that’s what the next model is for, right?

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $399.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Netgear Network Storage Device – 500GB/1TB external hard drive

Netgear Network Storage Device

Wireless networks between computers and devices around the home, and office have become very popular recently, and this is a must-have addition to anyone’s network: the Netgear Network Storage Device. Featuring either 500GB or 1TB of hard disk space (depending on which one you go for), you have plenty of room to store high quality multimedia files and share them between everyone on the network. There’s also the option to extend the amount of storage available by adding another drive, which can also be used as a back up for the files on the original drive (RAID 1 for you power users out there).

These Netgears have built-in web interfaces to manage the files that are shared. It should also make it pretty easy for most folks to use. Furthermore, to ensure speed, you will find 256mb of RAM built in to the tower. The compatibility with other machines that you may have seems endless; media can be streamed to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and even DVD players. Even printers can be connected.

Buy Now! – 500GB Version

Buy Now! – 1TB Version

More info from the manufacturer

Price: $359.99-$569.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Socially Speaking

Two new services have been launched recently you may find interesting. The first is 123people, a real time people search tool, you can read more about in Who Are You? Find Out With 123people. If you are trying to find a friend, or simply want to find out what information exists about you then this a great place to start.

The next is Tagggit, the location-centric social network which allows you to tag places, search for tagged places, rate them and share them with your friends and community. Read more about it in Bring Your Social Network Into The Real World With Tagggit. One of the great new features of Tagggit is a mobile application allowing the tagging and searching of tags directly from your mobile device.

Don’t forget – we recently launched the new Befriend A Monk page on Monk And His I.T. Junk technology cartoon – pop on over and say hello.

MvixBOX WDN-2000: NAS Media Server

Mvix has a new NAS box on the market. The MvixBOX WDN-2000 is a 2 drive box that can 2 1TB drives either in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration (either 1 or 2TB net storage). That’s a lot of storage.

But that’s barely the start of it. The MvixBOX sits on your network and offers up network storage via CIFS, AFP, NFS, & WebDev protocols over a GB NIC. You can drag and drop files to your MvixBOX using your computer, and access it in a myriad of ways.

The MvxiBOX comes with an Apache web server, as well as PHP and MySQL capabilities, so you can run a little home website if you wanted.

Gimme!

Price: $289.99 (without drives)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

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