Gizmodo: networked

IOGEAR PCPortal Lets You Remotely Control Your Parents' Computer via Hardware KVM

Jason Chen — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:30 EDT

Remotely connecting to your parents' computer to show them how to send email or file their taxes is fine if everything's working correctly, but how about when there's some sort of hardware or operating system error? IOGear's PCPortal actually bypasses the issue entirely by being a hardware solution that hooks directly up to an Ethernet port and to the computer you're trying to connect to like a KVM.

This way, you can control the machine from the comfort of your own home, diagnosing problems that you couldn't otherwise manage (if Windows doesn't boot up all the way, for example). It's also quite efficient for fixing machines that do boot up, but have various software glitches that prevent you from remotely tunneling in. The PCPortal costs $499, but if you're frequently administrating other people's machines, or if you need an easy way to get into your own from the outside world, it's a decent investment. [Iogear]

ONELink Wireless, Networked, Talking Smoke Alarms Tell You When to Get the Hell Out

Sean Fallon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:00:16 EST

If you are ever confronted with a fire or carbon monoxide situation in your home, it goes without saying that you would want an alarm that will give you the best chance to escape. That having been said, the ONELink system from First Alert does just about everything outside of physically carrying you out of the building. Because they can be wirelessly networked (up to 16 units), when one of the devices goes off, they will all go off, giving you more time to take action no matter where you are in a building.

The ONELink can also give you verbal alerts that define whether you are dealing with smoke or carbon monoxide and where the problem is occurring in your home. They can even be tested and/or programmed using your standard television remote. As you might expect, the ONELink is a bit pricey at $99 a unit, but if they work as advertised, it may be a small price to pay. [Smarthome and First Alert via Gizmag]

Neighbor-Networked Christmas Lights Are Four Shades of Awesome

Jason Chen — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:10:22 EST

Whatever Christmas light scheme your dad cooked up as a kid most likely pales in comparison to these four Canadian families, who connected their Xmas lights together in a network-choreographed way. As you can see in the video, the lights go off according to pre-programmed timers (like the water fountains at the Bellagio) that are posted on their website so you can sync your own house up to them. Better yet, you can even log on and change their patterns yourself either from your desktop or your BlackBerry. Best. Lights. Ever. [Calico.whittaker.ca via BlackBerry Cool]

DJ 386 AT Your Service

coinop — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 08:53:21 EST

The TurntablistPC is a funky mashup of a standard turntable with an outdated PC. Embedded servo and stepper motors along with gears in the case control the record s spin while the CPU varies the project s abilities. For instance, one version includes an embedded webserver that allows visitors to scratch the record from a web-based interface. Another version sniffs packets off a local LAN and converts the data into rotations per second. For the touring DJ this might be the perfect way to compose your set from home while your equipment goes on the road.

Turntablist PC [Project Page]

Hitachi Network-Ready LCD Projector

tgrumet — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 10:44:12 EDT

Hitachi's new CP-X443 compact, networked LCD projector weighs in at only 8.4 pounds and measures 13.3 by 10.4 by 3.7 inches. And for such a small product, it's got above average brightness, good color balance and four 3-watt speakers that are pretty sweet (at least for a front projector). And because it can be added to a network, you can hook it up to your wired—or potentially unwired—network and control it from wherever you are (though it can't actually pull images from a network, which is kind of dumb). A large assortment of connections and a network-control program make this a good buy at $2795.

CNET video and photos [Cnet]