Fabrik hit us up with a double dose of news today, so we’ll get right to it. First up is the firm’s new line of SimpleTech Pro / Duo Pro Drives ($229.99 to $799.99), which are aimed at digital media enthusiasts, prosumers and business users and come equipped with up to 2TB of storage space, eSATA and USB 2.0 connections. Next we’re looking at the outfit’s Ultimate Backup, which is hailed as “a simple, affordable and secure way to protect your most coveted content both offsite and online.” For under five bucks a month, the service provides users with “unlimited capacity to securely store important files and media collections remotely and automatically,” and moreover, all files are “encrypted with 128-bit SSL encryption while in transit, with an option for a private encryption key, to the company’s remote 448-bit Blowfish encrypted servers (in other words, it’s secure).” For more details, be sure and give the read links below a gander.

Read – SimpleTech drives
Read – Ultimate Backup service
from engadget

Evidently, loosing the DSM-750 Extender for Windows Media Center just wasn’t enough for D-Link, as the firm seemingly felt the need to give loyal (and to-be) owners of the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player a nice bonus. Starting today, buyers of the aforementioned digital media adapter will have access to “more than 200 online channels,” as the unit can now take advantage of active-TV technology. The service reportedly “allows easy access to internet video and entertainment sites with a remote control,” and it also uses a “content aggregator developed by MediaMall Technologies.” Some notable channels include Comedy Central, CinemaNow, Google Video, Movielink, ROOtv Music Videos, Akimbo, MTV, Musicmatch, Napster, VH1, ESPN and FOX Sports, and there’s also international content out there for those willing to branch out. The expanded DSM-520 should be shipping momentarily for $249.99, and existing owners can snag the update gratis on October 4th.

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from engadget

For those scouting a simple way to broadcast content from your PC onto a TV sans wires (and regardless of format), Addlogix is demanding your attention. The firm’s InternetVue 2020 Wireless PC2TV Receiver enables users to “mirror what is on their computer screen on projectors or TVs,” and it also features composite / component inputs and 802.11b/g compatibility. Reportedly, any content (read: pictures, movie clips, presentations, live streaming sporting events, etc.) can be passed on from your machine to your television without worrying over formats or codecs, and it’s said to be shipping out as we speak for $249.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]
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from engadget

Want to spring out of your Windows Media Center situation, but don’t have any good options? Well, you’re luck, because the good folks over at Linksys have whipped up a couple of wireless Media Center Extenders which might just do the trick… or wreck your home life. Feast your eyes on the DMA 2100 and DMA 2200 (pictured), two new offerings from the router-maker sure to please some of the people some of the time. Specs are thin right now, but what we do know is that the DMA 2200 sports an upscaling DVD player, both units have a “learning” remote, and the Extenders will be available sometime in November. For now, enjoy the photos, and your wild dreams of “sharing photos, music and movies” with friends and family.

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from engadget

D-Link and friends have been cashing in on “Xtreme” gamers and their lust for hardware for quite a few years now, and all that 802.11n floating around just means another shot at dipping into those pockets with aggressively styled hardware that works about as well as your mom’s router does. Luckily the D-Link DGL-4500 Gaming Router breaks that mold slightly, offering a convenient OLED display to for checking out the status of your network — a feature only found in a select few routers at the moment — alongside the usual “Xtreme N” hyperbole. There’s a USB port in back for sharing your flash drive with the network, along with “GameFuel engine” tech for improving gaming network performance, and some assorted security and range enhancements. Unfortunately, the DGL-4500 hasn’t been announced just yet, but with an FCC approval under its belt, store shelves shouldn’t be far off. And just in time for the holidays, imagine that. Check out an OLED closeup and a picture of the back after the break.

from engadget

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Intel’s announced USB 3.0 specification could push throughput beyond 4Gbps (300MBps) at the application level while introducing Quality of Service in support of HD video streams. Besides supplanting Firewire once and for all, a clear goal of the new “SuperSpeed USB” is to keep up with the transfer speeds of flash chips. “We don’t want to be the bottleneck in the system,” says Intel’s Jeff Ravencraft who is overseeing the 3.0 initiative. Intel, HP, Microsoft, NEC, NXP, and TI will present the initial spec for a design review in November with first silicon to be stamped in “early 2009.” While the new interconnect (pictured) will remain backward compatible with USB 2.0 and prior devices, new cables laced with an optical link and a max length of 2-meters will be required to take advantage of those high speeds according to a senior engineering manager with NEC. Meanwhile, a 1Gbps throughput is being targeted with Ravencraft’s other baby: Wireless USB 1.1. Sounds great, but with existing 480Mbps Wireless USB silicon only achieving about 40Mbps in practice, Intel would be wise to focus on efficiency, not theory. Of course, it’s all just a lot of smack-talk ’til they deliver, but with Apple running Intel inside now, Sony putting USB in their camcorders, and eSATA proliferating for external disks… well, Firewire’s days sure seem numbered.

[Via EETimes and The Inquirer]
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from engadget

It’s been nearly a year since we’ve heard from Sangean, but the company is hitting back with a swank new WiFi internet radio that’s shaped a good deal like its past units. The WFR-20 offers up “direct access to over 6,000 Internet Radio stations (and 21,242 on-demand streams) in 250 locations from 60 genres,” and you can organize your favorites in the My Stations folder. Additionally, it’s designed to operate with or without a PC, and if you have a networked computer nearby with Windows Media Player, you can have “full access to your digital media library using the UPnP Server.” Furthermore, you’ll find a three-line display, four alarms, an aux input, dual five-watt speakers, and a wireless remote to boot, but there’s no word on a price or release date just yet.

[Thanks, Larry]
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from engadget