Networking

Watch Your Home TV Anywhere with HD Slingbox 500Our review of the new champion TV streaming video from home device, the HD Slingbox 500 set-top box

How To Extend Wi-Fi in Your HomeDo Wi-Fi dead spots abound in your abode? Amped Wireless Wi-Fi range extender expands wireless router range

Survey Says: How To Parent in the Social Media AgeHow much do you monitor your child's online activities? Results of a recent survey may help guide you.

Are Cheap HDTVs Okay and Other Tech QuestionsFriends seek my advice on plasma v. LCD, 1080 or 720 HDTV, dubbing old VCR tapes, what's an AC router?

NETWORKINGTECH

How to Handle Cyberbullying and 'Sexting'

By: Sean Gallagher

August 24, 2010

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Your teens are headed back to school, which means it's time once again to face the jungle that is the teenage school social scene. With teens increasingly living their social lives online and in text messages as much as they do in the real world, the jungle has moved into the cyber domain—where it can often fly under the radar of teachers, school administrators, and parents.

NETWORKINGTECH

Keeping Your Files Handy From Anywhere

By: Sean Gallagher

August 13, 2010

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One of the hard parts of the digital lifestyle is keeping track of your digital "stuff". It always seems I need to get to information on whatever computer I don't have with me at the time—when I travel, everything I need seems to be back on my desktop PC. And when I'm at work, it seems I always need some file that's on my home computer. And if all I have with me is my smart phone...well, then I'm really out of luck.

NETWORKINGTECH

'FedEx' for Your Big Digital Files

By: Sean Gallagher

August 13, 2010

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One of the problems I run into frequently with digital photos, videos and audio is finding a way to send them to friends and family without making their digital lives more complicated. There are several software tools out there that simplify file sharing, but a new Internet service makes it as easy as sending an e-mail.

If you take a lot of digital photos and videos, and want to share them with friends and family, you have several options. Most of those options aren't very good, especially if you want to share privately.

FAMILYTECH

Extending the Reach of Household Wireless Networks

By: Sean Gallagher

August 2, 2010

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You don't all have to squeeze into the same room to use your household network.

Once upon a time, we used to fight over the TV remote. Now that entertainment has moved online, the family conflict has become more subtle—it's a fight for household network capacity.

Last night, my 16-year-old son lodged a complaint that my parents certainly never had to field: "I'm not getting enough bars on the network." Apparently, his bedroom is a household WiFi "dead zone", and the stuttering connection to YouTube video streams was driving him nuts.

NETWORKINGTECH

The Tech Battle of the Sexes

By: Sean Gallagher

July 29, 2010

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Boomer women find tech more important in their lives

My son K. works at a high-end entertainment system store in the mall. When he talks about people my age, it generally is accompanied by an eye roll.

K. claims boomers fall into two camps: either they don't want to be bothered at all with anything that involves PCs and the Internet, or they come in and rave about their latest gadget—and then leave without buying anything.

NETWORKINGTECH

A Tech Toolkit for Rebooting With a Work-at-Home Business

By: Sean Gallagher

July 28, 2010

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Boomers have been hit hard in the Great Recession. Those of us who've lost jobs through layoffs, been forced into early retirement, or who have been pushed into looking for a job again because of financial issues are finding the job market unfriendly and unforgiving. And the longer you've been out of a job, the harder it is to find one.

NETWORKINGTECH

Ten Tech Regrets: Gadgets We Wish We'd Skipped

By: Sean Gallagher

July 27, 2010

Today's top tech is tomorrow's trash. Here are 10 technologies that were ahead of their time—and quickly became obsolete.

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NETWORKINGTECH

A Small Office With a View

By: Sean Gallagher

July 8, 2010

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Traveling for business or pleasure often makes keeping in touch more difficult—and more expensive. And while services like Skype provide a way to keep in touch with friend, family and work from overseas, lugging around the weight of a laptop and the tangle of wires for a headset can make those savings seem like a Faustian bargain.

NETWORKINGTECH

Homeland Security for Your Home

By: Sean Gallagher

June 29, 2010

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Inexpensive "web cams" have made it possible for almost anyone to set up a video surveillance system for a home or business. Wireless cameras can use a home network to feed video back to a home computer, or even a web page, giving you a view of what's going on at home from almost anywhere.

GADGETSTECH

How to Wire Your Network Without More Wires

By: Sean Gallagher

May 28, 2010

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If you want to share your broadband Internet connection throughout the house, the obvious first choice is a wireless network. But wireless isn't always practical. Sometimes you need wires—like when you have a desktop computer with no WiFi adapter in another room, or there's radio interference blocking the WiFi signal in parts of your home. Or maybe you just aren't getting enough bandwidth for moving around big chunks of data like high-definition video and music files.