May 08 - 05:25pm EDT   Sonnet has released three new Gigabit networking products for both older and new Macs: Presto Gigabit Pro PCI network adapter card, the Presto Gigabit PCIe Pro PCI Express network adapter card, and the Presto Gigabit Ethernet Pro ExpressCard/34 network adapter card. These Sonnet Gigabit Ethernet cards expand or add Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in any compatible computer, and offer enhanced performance through support for link aggregation with onboard Ethernet ports, and jumbo packet data transfers. Sonnet says the Presto Gigabit Pro network adapter cards deliver enhanced networking support as well as offer gigabit speeds over common CAT-5 cabling; they also support ... [full story]

May 07 - 03:45pm EDT   Complementing its TP HD home theater PC, Sony on Wednesday rolled out a new home server. The 1TB HS1 and its 1.5TB HS1S counterpart are some of the first VAIO extenders offered by Sony and are built expressly to share content automatically: PCs with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compatible software, as well as devices such as the PlayStation 3, can automatically find content from the HS1 and stream it over a gigabit Ethernet link. [full story]

May 07 - 02:45pm EDT   Austria's Many Tricks has released the first version of Leech, a download manager for Macs. Like most such apps the program enables the queing, pausing and resuming downloads, and entering URLs; users of Leech can simply paste lists of URLs into the window however, or drag the same onto the app's Dock icon. Addresses can be marked for download without automatically beginning, and users can also restrict the number of simultaneously transfers. [full story]

May 07 - 11:05am EDT   BT on Wednesday formally rolled out Total Broadband Anywhere, its own approach to merging Internet and phone service. The plan gives users both an 8Mbps DSL connection from the British carrier but also two phone offerings that promise to avoid the need for traditional cellphone or landline service. A home router known as the BT Home Hub provides the basic connection and creates a Wi-Fi connection in addition to including a cordless voice-over-Internet phone for making calls when at home; the feature allows much less expensive calling, particularly over long distances. [full story]

May 07 - 10:25am EDT   Matching internal leaks published in March, Fido today kicked off the launch of its UNO calling service. The feature closely mirrors T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home in the US and lets users save on cellular plan minutes and improve indoor reception by calling when within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Fido's implementation is likewise based on UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) and automatically bridges to or from the regular GSM phone network to keep calls active as the phone user roams into or out of coverage. [full story]

May 07 - 09:20am EDT   Comcast is evaluating a capping system that it hopes will pay for the cost of very heavy users without affecting most reasonable use, according to a tip sent to BBR. In the proposed plan, the provider would implement a clear 250GB monthly data transfer cap and charge users $15 extra per month for every 10GB increment past the limit. The effort would target the top 0.1 percent of users, or about 14,000 subscribers, who download well in excess of others but would still provide enough bandwidth for frequent use, such as video downloads. [full story]

May 07 - 08:00am EDT   Sprint and Clearwire today announced the unification of their two WiMAX Internet services into a single company that they hope will drive the 4G wireless standard. Simply titled Clearwire, the business will share the services of both the old Clearwire and Sprint's Xohm network in a single national WiMAX provider and is said to help promote the concept of an open wireless standard that allows any device and software to run; the combined build-out of the two should cover between 120 and 140 million Americans by the end of 2010, the involved companies say. [full story]

May 06 - 04:05pm EDT   HP on Tuesday announced a partnership with YouTube that will enable users of the company's HP MediaSmart connected entertainment products to view YouTube videos on their TVs, using nothing but a remote control. The company's MediaSmart products already make accessing digital media content from networked home PCs simple with one menu. In a similar fashion as Apple TV, the new alliance will bring full-screen YouTube videos to users' living rooms, requiring them only to log in to their YouTube accounts via the keyboard-less MediaSmart interface. [full story]

May 02 - 01:20pm EDT   Cisco subsidiary Linksys has released four new Wi-Fi routers, using designs which mark a significant departure from previous products. Whereas the company had typically used a signature box shape, often in blue or silver colors, the new routers are thin and curved, and almost exclusively shelled in glossy black material. Common features are said to include firewalls and 256-bit encryption, automatic push-button configuration, and MIMO antennas that improve reception and minimize dead spots. [full story]

May 01 - 03:45pm EDT   Parallels has released the fourth beta of its Server for Mac software. The program provides hypervisor-based server virtualization, which helps save costs by supporting multiple platforms through the same hardware. Beta 4 is notable for reintroducing Leopard Server virtualization, which had been temporarily removed. The upgraded beta means that Leopard Server can once again be run under a virtual machine on XServe systems, or any other compatible Apple hardware. [full story]