Ethernet

Cisco on Wednesday released a new network architecture that promises secure wired and wireless communications, energy management, and optimized video-application delivery -- all at a lower cost. Dubbed Cisco Borderless Access, the latest version of the company's Borderless Networks architecture includes a new series of fixed-switching product lines: the Catalyst 3560/3750-X Series and 2960-S Series. The new lines come with lower prices than traditional Cisco switches.

Just days after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the highly anticipated iPad, a Chinese company says the Cupertino, Calif.-based company copied its P88 tablet. Apple's iPad is a replica of Shenzhen Great Loong Brother's tablet with similar functions, Wu Xiaolong, the company's president, told El Mundo, a Spanish newspaper.

The iPad is a mix between a laptop and a smartphone with functions similar to Apple's iPhone, but on a larger scale.

Xiaolong is threatening legal action against Apple if it attempts to sell the iPad in China.

Some Key Differences

Network-attached storage, or NAS, may be one of the best-kept secrets in personal technology.

"It is one of the fastest-growing categories of data storage, but most consumers still haven't heard of NAS," said Seema Lindskog, director of product marketing at Western Digital, a hard-drive manufacturer that also sells NAS products. "Most people are still using external hard drives for backup."

The idea is simple: exchange data among computers and other network-ready devices using the existing electrical wiring in your home. The method is known as Powerline and it's one of the solutions to in-home networking being touted by networking equipment makers today.

A Powerline adapter features a conventional plug on one side and an Ethernet port on the other side to bridge the short distance between adapter and PC. Powerline is considered foolproof, but it can bring some problems of its own.

Is Google looking to compete with Apple in the consumer hardware business? Even before the Google-branded Nexus One smartphone has been officially announced, news comes that Google is preparing a muscular Chrome OS-based netbook for release in 2010.

If you're a fan of the Internet music site Pandora.com, you'll want to take a look at the Livio Radio with Pandora.

Sometimes it's just not convenient to listen to your Pandora stations on a computer. Options for a stand-alone radio have been scarce and expensive. In fact, the last Pandora-equipped radio I reviewed cost $500.

The Livio Radio with Pandora is just $199 (or cheaper at Amazon) and does a great job bringing the Pandora experience to your living room or stereo system.

Nortel Networks Corp. said late Wednesday it won court approval in the U.S. and Canada to sell two of its business units.

The larger unit, Nortel's global optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses, is going to Ciena Corp. The business is one of the most sought-after assets of Nortel, a once-dominant network gear maker that is selling itself off in pieces after filing for Chapter 11 protection in January.

The deal gives Ciena all products, contracts, and intellectual property, including technology that improves the speed and capacity of fiber optic networks.

On Friday, Cloud Engines released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely. The company described Pogoplug as "your own personal cloud that broadcasts safely from your home."

You connect Pogoplug to your router by Ethernet, attach hard drives or USB flash drives, and then access files by logging in from anywhere through a browser. You can also securely give access to others for downloading or uploading, the company said.

Drives Can Appear Local

Dell painted a picture in broad strokes Thursday of the company's forthcoming Adamo XPS laptop, which is slated to hit the market in time for the holidays. The new machine -- which is housed in a finely machined aluminum case and comes in the user's choice of pearl or onyx -- is even thinner than the inaugural Adamo laptop that Dell began shipping last March.

Like a cartoon where the main character keeps finding another way to get into the house, Netflix is now popping up on Sony's PlayStation 3. The online rental service will make its library of thousands of movies and TV shows available to be streamed over the game console at no additional cost to Netflix members in the U.S.