Filed under: Networking

Corning announced today that it has overcome a major roadblock in the proliferation of fiber optic lines around the world (or at least where Verizon wants to pay to put them in). For years, providers have been struggling against a deficiency in fiber optic cable which causes the pipe to vent light when bent or curved, or lose it entirely if twisted too far. Now, however, researchers at Corning have developed a new variant to keep data moving: tiny, nanostructure “guardrails” that surround the fiber’s core. The “rails” keep light from seeping out, yet are flexible enough to be wound around a pencil while delivering a signal at full strength. Corning hasn’t put the piping into production yet, but when it does, Verizon says it’s ready to use it — which means pretty soon we’re all going to be talking like that annoying kid from the FiOS commercials.

[Thanks, Larence M]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Home Entertainment

A critical eye is peering in on TiVo‘s personal-flotation-device known as the TiVo HD, a $300 entry-level option into the company’s DVR world, and we’ve got the roundup to prove it. The box, which TiVo hopes will attract thriftier (read, any) users to the previously pricey platform, features HDMI and component outs up to 1080i, dual CableCARD and M-Card compatibility, and Series3-style ATSC and NTSC tuners. It appears that the general feeling on the little black box is positive, with almost everyone loving the price-point, the CableCARD functionality, and all the standard TiVo amenities, though we wouldn’t go so far to say that everyone is a 100% pleased. Most of the reviews take issue with the device’s sluggish UI, lack of TiVo ToGo, and the tempting, yet inactive eSATA port (which the company says it’s planning to activate down the road). Browse on over to the read links for the full reviews.

Read — PC Magazine (4.5 out of 5)
Read — CNET (7.7 out of 10)
Read — PC World (88 out of 100)
Read — TiVo Lovers (Megazone’s massive unboxing and review)

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

“…an entire, lightweight installation of XP — on a self-contained, zero-footprint, USB drive…”

Filed under: Cellphones

First comes the FCC leak, then comes a hunch, and just as fate would have it, now it’s time to celebrate the fact that Samsung‘s SGH-P520 is apparently a tad more than a figment of one’s imagination. Reportedly, this sexy handset will indeed be making its way onto store shelves, and rather than featuring an oh-so-typical keypad, users will rely solely on a touchscreen to navigate the GUI. Specs wise, it will boast a 2.6-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD, GSM / EDGE connectivity, a three-megapixel camera, 50MB of internal memory, Bluetooth / WiFi, and a microSD card slot to boot. No word just yet on pricing nor availability, but do click on for one last shot.

[Via Clubic]

Continue reading Samsung’s touchscreen-based SGH-P520 gets legit

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

We pulled together a desktop that can ably handle today’s average demands, built with easy-to-assemble, off-the-shelf components for a total cost of less than $250.