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Jak streams audio over Wi-Fi into your car

LAS VEGAS--A new means of streaming audio and video from an Android or iOS device showed up at CES 2013 in the form of Jak, a USB dongle that can plug into a car or home stereo, game console, or TV.

Jak is small, the size of a typical USB drive, but can support up to 20 devices through Wi-Fi. WEP and WPA security are built in. The Wi-Fi connection allows for music played at high-bit-rate MP3 quality or video at HD 1080p.

Jak requires an app installed on the connecting device. The app, available for Android and iOS, sets … Read more

LaCie Blade Runner: An external hard drive that wants to be something else

LAS VEGAS--Looking for a one-of-a-kind storage device? LaCie has one for you.

The storage vendor unveiled today at CES 2013 a new USB 3.0 external hard drive, called the Blade Runner, that either screams crazy, or shows off as a statement piece, depending on your mood. LaCie says the drive is designed to look more like a piece of art than a storage device. And it indeed doesn't look like any external drives I've seen before.

The Blade Runner comes in a super-rugged all-aluminum body that is squared but not smooth. The body is designed to look … Read more

SkyDrive, Google Maps and other iOS app faves of 2012

2012 was another year that kept me glued to my iPhone and iPad, checking out the latest batch of iOS games and other apps. So which ones proved to be among my favorites? In alphabetical order...

Angry Birds Star Wars My wife and I love to play Angry Birds, and the Star Wars edition is a great take on the familiar franchise. This app could've easily taken a turn to the dark side. But Rovio knew just how to pair its birds and piggies with the classic Star Wars characters and settings that fans know and love. The challenging … Read more

Why does my external hard drive only show 2.2TB?

External hard drives are exceptionally useful for expanding storage capabilities for both backups and data management. While external hard drives are often sold in preconfigured packages by manufacturers, another popular option is to purchase an external hard-drive enclosure and then use any drive of your choice in it. This is beneficial because as your demands for storage increase, you can replace the enclosure's drive with a larger one.

These days, the availability of hard drives with 4TB of storage are enticing for people to swap into their existing enclosures; however, when doing so they may find that the system … Read more

Get a 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $19.99 shipped

Regular readers know that flash-drive prices have plummeted in the past year. But you know what all those dirt-cheap drives have had in common? A USB 2.0 interface.

What is this, 2001? USB 2.0 is over, man. It's the digital equivalent of the horse and buggy. And yet it's still pretty rare to find flash drives that support the newer, faster USB 3.0 spec.

That's why I'm jazzed about today's deal. While supplies last, Ice Monkey has the Super Talent ST3U32ST1K 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $19.99 shipped. Elsewhere … Read more

How to trick Siri into using Google Maps

Much has been made of the general suckiness of Apple Maps, but, hey, we're stuck with it, right? If you ask Siri for directions, that's gonna be her go-to app.

Turns out, it doesn't have to be. As discovered by JailbreakNation, there's a simple way to trick Siri into using Google Maps for directions. Sort of.

All you do ask for directions like you normally would, but tack on "via transit." So, for example, to find the nearest Starbucks, you'd say, "Take me to the nearest Starbucks via transit."

What happens … Read more

Samsung acquires Nvelo, maker of SSD tech

Samsung Electronics has agreed to purchase storage software firm Nvelo.

The Korean firm announced the purchase of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvelo on Friday. The company develops next-generation SSD storage solutions, and works to manage and optimize the use of solid state drives within subsystems. This kind of "SSD caching" is used in both consumer and enterprise platforms, increasing the speed of retrieving data in a number of devices, including desktops and smartphones, from both hard drives and SSDs.

The acquisition of 2-year-old Nvelo, albeit low-key, means that Samsung will increase its storage space portfolio, and will potentially … Read more

Put your phone into 'car mode' with these dashboard apps

My first Android phone, the original Motorola Droid, was one of the first phones to debut Google Maps Navigation. Now, Google knew that this feature would get drivers interested in using their Android phones in the car and that the tiny virtual buttons and shortcuts that worked well when the device was handheld wouldn't cut it behind the wheel. So, when users popped their Droids into their car docks, they were presented with a simplified interface with large shortcut buttons to car-centric apps, designed for safer use while driving.

Smartphones have come a long way since I retired my … Read more

Crave Ep. 103: Dropping burrito bombs on America

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On this episode of Crave, we check out the Burrito Bomber engineered by Darwin Aerospace that literally bombs burritos into geo-tagged locations. We also get some NASA reassurance that the world may not end this month, which means we may actually get the chance to wear Lacoste's awesome polo shirts of the future. Also, dogs that drive? Yep. … Read more