Power company supports powerline networking

Recognizing the tremendous market potential for home networking via in-home power lines, Con Edison has become the first electric utility to join the HomePlug Powerline Alliance.
Con Edison will work with other alliance members, including Cisco Systems, Intel, Motorola, Compaq, and Texas Instruments, to promote the acceptance of powerline networking in the connected home.
Meanwhile, the HomePlug [...]

Voice over data over cordless

Cordless phone usage is growing exponentially over corded phones, so a natural evolution in cordless voice is the development of cordless voice-over-broadband services. Heralding the next step toward fulfilling the promise of a unified cordless voice and data network in the home, Cayman Systems and Siemens have undertaken a cooperative effort in this area. Integrating [...]

ADVANCES: Ready or not, here come networked home appliances

We’ve all heard about a future where our home appliances will be networked and even accessible via the Internet. Whether you find the concept intriguing or just plain scary (a breach of privacy?), not only is the enabling technology available, but a number of recent announcements indicate that it’s being deployed by key players in [...]

Looking toward the next next generation

Even before ADSL is widely available, broadband pioneers are striking out in search of ways to move bits even faster. We cover one such technique, HDSL (high-bit-rate DSL) in this issue (”In & out”). Another scheme, dubbed VDSL (very-high-bit-rate DSL) promises to boost ADSL rates by a factor of five or 10—topping out at 52 [...]

Partnership further obscures TV/PC distinctions

The lines between the PC and TV have become less clear with the just-revealed Microsoft-Thomson-DirecTV partnership. The promised result will be an RCA DirecTV receiver—due for the holiday season—which integrates dual tuners, a hard drive, and PVR (personal video recorder) capabilities, plus Microsoft’s Ultimate TV (formerly WebTV) services.
The dual-tuner design allows simultaneous PVR operation and [...]

STANDARDS: Even more support for IEEE 1394 designs

Despite a cold shoulder from Intel, IEEE 1394, also known as Firewire, continues to grow in popularity, especially in digital-video applications. Most analysts expect the number of 1394-equipped PCs to hit or exceed 30 million by year’s end. Moreover, the DTV industry is poised to begin shipping 1394-ready TVs and VCRs to complement the nearly [...]

STANDARDS: Even more support for IEEE 1394 designs

Despite a cold shoulder from Intel, IEEE 1394, also known as Firewire, continues to grow in popularity, especially in digital-video applications. Most analysts expect the number of 1394-equipped PCs to hit or exceed 30 million by year’s end. Moreover, the DTV industry is poised to begin shipping 1394-ready TVs and VCRs to complement the nearly [...]

Voice over data over cordless

Cordless phone usage is growing exponentially over corded phones, so a natural evolution in cordless voice is the development of cordless voice-over-broadband services. Heralding the next step toward fulfilling the promise of a unified cordless voice and data network in the home, Cayman Systems and Siemens have undertaken a cooperative effort in this area. Integrating [...]