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The last Switched On discussed Always Innovating’s Touch Book, one of the new hardware products introduced at this month’s DEMO conference and an entrant in the netbook category that trades compatibility for stamina by using an ARM processor instead of an Intel one.

Like the Touch Book, the Avaak Vue personal video network will be offered for $299 when it debuts later this year (in a kit that includes two cameras and a base station) and has no apparent service fees — at least not yet. Also, like the Touch Book, the Vue boasts outstanding battery life – so impressive, in fact, that the company claims its battery-powered video cameras should last a year under “normal usage” – the cameras use power only when they are being accessed remotely. This on-demand power consumption combined with a low-power mesh network enable Vue video cameras to be mounted practically anywhere and, like the Touch Book, Vue cameras take advantage of magnets, which is how they are affixed to and positioned around their small domed mounts.

The result is a networked camera system that is almost completely wire-free save for the base station’s connection to a home router and a power cable. However, unlike the Touch Book, which supports many open standards including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an array of USB ports (including two internal ports), the proprietary mesh network that links the video cameras is Vue’s secret sauce.

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By Andrew Liszewski

It turns out Mom and Dad were right when it came to their theory about sharing being a good thing. But they never said it would be easy, and if you’ve ever tried to share internet access on one computer with another without the benefit of a router or wifi network, you’ll agree. Thankfully Brando is now selling this USB dongle that easily connects two PCs via a 2 meter cable, allowing you to transfer data as well as share a network connection without having to install a single driver. The dongle supports Win2K, XP and Vista, and for just $29.99 it will probably reduce the amount of time you spend copying random files to and from USB flash drives.

[ USB 2.0 Data Copy and Internet Connection Sharing Dongle ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

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By Luke Anderson

Last year I found the perfect new apartment to move into. It was much larger than my previous abode, had a two-car garage, a pond view and the price was right. Unfortunately after I moved in I found that it wasn’t quite perfect. Despite the fact that AT&T had great coverage in the entire city, I was lucky to manage a single bar of service. I live in something of a valley surrounded by trees, which means I’m probably never going to get great service. They added a new tower and upgraded to 3G, but I’m still rarely able to get a decent signal. So do I move? Do I switch carriers and hope that I get a better signal (and give up my iPhone)? No, it looks like I’ll be able to (hopefully) get my hands on a femtocell and get a better signal.

If you’re not familiar with the term femtocell, it’s basically a small device that hooks into your router (or it is built into your router in some cases) and uses your internet to boost the wireless signal. AT&T has finally jumped on this bandwagon and announced the AT&T 3G MicroCell. Hook one of these up to a broadband connection and it will provide up to 10 phones a strong 3G signal. Of course only 4 of these 10 registered devices can actually be used concurrently. Pricing and availability have not yet been disclosed, but you can bet that I’ll be first in line to get one. I’ve been forced to pay Comcast a hefty fee for their crappy VoIP service, and I can’t wait to ditch it.

[ AT&T ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

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By Evan Ackerman

Most people don’t have homes that are wired with ethernet and A/V cables. This sucks if you need to move lots of data (say, streaming high def video) around your house. Yes, all kinds of wireless solutions exist, but they tend to be relatively complicated and slow compared to a physical cable. Luckily, you’ve already got perfectly serviceable wires connecting every room in your house, with electricity running through ‘em. HD-PLC (High Definition Power Line Communication) uses these existing wires and piggybacks high bandwidth data along them, turning every outlet in your home into an ethernet port. Just stick a transmitter into an outlet and plug your router into it, and then plug a receiver into any other outlet in your house and out pops the internet.

HD-PLC is an alliance of a bunch of companies, including Buffalo and Philips, who are working on improving this technology. They have a variety of products either coming to market or on the market, including surge protector routers, wireless network extenders, and even TVs with integrated power line HDMI receivers, which lets the TV access HDMI streams simply by plugging it into a wall socket (which you have to do anyway to turn it on):

Power line data transmission has a bandwidth of up to 100 megabits, which is easily enough to carry three concurrent 1080p video streams plus internet, all of it encrypted. You can use surge protectors and stuff with this technology, although you have to be careful not to use surge protectors that are too good, or else they’ll cut the power line data bandwidth. As far as prices go, you can find some of this stuff in stores (and on Amazon) now, starting at under $100.

[ HD-PLC ]

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We can’t say a device such as this was inevitable or anything, but given how limited the adoption of WiMAX has been thus far in America, it’s definitely a win for everyone involved. According to Sidecut Reports, Clearwire will soon unveil a portable WiMAX / WiFi router built by Cradlepoint (prototype pictured), which will utilize a Motorola WiMAX USB stick to enable WiFi-capable devices to gather ’round and surf on the delightfully speedy WiMAX superhighway. In other words, non-WiMAX handsets that have WiFi modules can tap into the WiMAX network (if they’re in a lit locale, that is) via this device, which — if we may say so ourselves — is a brilliant design move. There’s no word yet on when the box will ship nor how pricey it’ll be, but this could be just the thing you’ve been looking for to replace that painfully expensive cable modem at home.

[Thanks, Jeremy]
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