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AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit

October 22nd, 2008

AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit

AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit


Overview
  • Distribute 802.11b/g wireless signals over standard coaxial cables
  • No more wireless dead spots or interference
  • All antennas include pass-through outlets, so no TV connections will be lost

Essential Info

Does your wireless network limit you to certain areas in your home? Get rid of wireless dead spots using your existing cable lines with the AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit, which distributes 802.11b and 802.11g signals over standard coaxial cables. Setup takes just minutes, and once connected, you’ll enjoy faster file transfers and eliminated interference.

What’s Included

  • 4-way duplexer splitter
  • 3 remote units
  • T-connector
  • 2′ RF cable
  • 3 WiFi antennas
  • Instructions

    • More Info
    The AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit’s 4-way duplexer/splitter screws easily into your cable line where it enters the home. The same wiring that sends cable TV to the rooms in your home will distribute wireless RF signals, as well. Use one of the included extension units to connect your router to the AuraGrid, and wire the additional extensions into the cable entry point of the rooms to be connected. Each comes with an antenna: Rooms that are equipped with an AuraGrid antenna will enjoy maximum wireless signal strength as well as data throughput without interrupting cable TV/Internet services.

    Each AuraGrid room antenna operates like a separate wireless access point. Three are included with the AuraGrid Home Network Extension Kit, but additional antennas are sold separately, so you’ll be able to connect as many as you need to have wireless access in every area of your home or business. All connected AuraGrid antennas operate on the same channel, so you won’t have any channel conflicts.

    Specifications

    Specifications
    Manufacturer: Wireless Garden
    Manufacturer Product No.: AG104-3
    UPC: 857109001007
    Dimensions: Duplexer: 2.57″ L x .74″ H x 3.6″ W (65.4mm L x 18.7mm H x 91.5mm W); antenna: 1.97″ L x 1.57″ H x 1.5″ W (50mm L x 40mm H x 38mm W)
    Weight: Duplexer: 6.53 oz. (185g); antenna: 1.23 oz. (35g)
    Antenna Connection Required: SMA
    Signals Transmitted: 802.11b/g wireless signals
    Duplexer Insertion Loss: 5~65MHz: 9dB; 87~550MHz: 10dB; 550~860MHz: 11.5dB; 2400~2450MHz: 15dB
    Antenna Insertion Loss: 5~65MHz: 1dB; 87~550MHz: 1.5dB; 550~860MHz: 2.5dB; 2400~2450MHz: 3dB
    Duplexer Isolation: 5~65MHz: 18dB; 87~550MHz: 18dB; 550~860MHz: 18dB; 2400~2450MHz: 10dB
    Rejection out of Bandwidth: Low Pass (TV IN, 1-2.5GHz): 38dB; High Pass (RF IN, 5-860MHz): 35dB
    Warranty: 1 year, limited, plus 1 year free technical support

    posted by Editor at 9:14 am & filed under Home Automation Systems | No Comments »


    Sudden Stop Flashing Frame

    October 22nd, 2008

    Sudden Stop Flashing Frame

    Sudden Stop Flashing Frame


    Overview
    • Reduce the chance of a rear-end collision by 60%
    • Red Flashing LEDs activate when you slam on your brakes
    • No wires to attach, easy installation

    Essential Info

    Reduce your risk of being involved in a rear-end collision with a device that installs in minutes. The Sudden Stop Flashing Frame activates automatically when you slam on your brakes, flashing to alert the driver behind you. Studies have shown that flashing brake lights significantly reduce driver reaction time: Only a quarter-second quicker reaction time at 60 miles per hour will equal an extra 20 feet of stopping distance.

    What’s Included

  • License plate frame
  • Batteries (pre-installed)

    • More Info

    Easy Installation

    The Sudden Stop Flashing Frame installs as easily as putting on a license plate: All you need is a screwdriver. This protective device is not part of your car’s electrical or braking system, so there are no wires to attach.

    Click here to see the Sudden Stop in action.

    How it Works

    This flashing license plate frame uses ultra-bright LED technology to attract attention so tailing drivers can stop before it is too late. The Sudden Stop Flashing Frame does not flash on normal braking, only hard panic stops, when its LED lights flash on and off rapidly for three seconds.

    Note:Check with state and local laws on specialty lighting products before installing on your vehicle.

    Specifications

    Specifications
    Woodford Industries Product No.: SS200601
    UPC: 890971001003
    Dimensions: 13 5/8″ x 6 1/4″ x 5/8″
    Lights: Super-bright LEDs
    Power: Pre-installed batteries
    Battery Life: 15,000 hours

    posted by Editor at 9:09 am & filed under General-Home Automation | No Comments »


    Roboquad

    October 22nd, 2008

     
    • Scans and reacts to environment
    • Customizable personality
    • 72 pre-programmed functions
    • Four-layer, full-function remote control
    • Dances and plays

    Essential Info

    Roboquad is a multi-award winning animated robot that will give you & your kids hours of fun. Featuring multi-colored flashing lights & techno sound effects, Roboquad is programmable with up to 40 different moves including dancing and a 360 degree movement range & comes with 72 pre-programmed functions. Roboquad can be remotely controlled and with his sound sensors he reacts to noise, causing him to probe his environment for intruders. He can also be set to autonomous control, using integrated sensors to scan & react to moving objects. You can change his awareness & activity levels, allowing manipulation of his scanning activity, interactive capabilities & “personality” as he responds to environmental cues (lights, sounds, physical objects). The Roboquad, which is designed for children ages eight and older, requires four C and three AAA batteries (not included).

    Roboquad is a four-legged, spider-like robot with unprecedented mobility and awareness. The Roboquad is designed with advanced sensory awareness, helping it react quickly to the surrounding environment and pursue a moving object in any direction, including forward, backwards, and sideways. When a cat or a remote control car passes, the robot’s head swivels around so it can monitor its environment without moving. After it sweeps the room with a tightly focused infrared beam, it makes rapid decisions about how to react to its environment. Once it identifies the object–the sensitive infrared detector can see objects as far as 13 feet away while also identifying their size and spatial details–the Roboquad heads out at one of three speeds, navigating through doorways and detecting table edges in the process. The 4-legged, spider-like Roboquad can pursue a moving object forward, backwards, and sideways.

    The robot offers five scanning sequences: a Smart Scan, which examines the surroundings and then reacts if anything changes; Scan Left and Scan Right, where the robot turns and faces any object within a 3-foot range; Approach Nearest Object, during which the robot looks left and right while ramping up the scanning range, and then moves toward the closest object found; Escape Walk, where the robot selects the largest open space and moves toward it; and Flinch Response, which helps the robot respond to quickly approaching objects. In addition, many of the Roboquad’s decisions are based on its three controllable personality settings, one each for awareness, activity, and aggression. For example, a more aggressive Roboquad will react more quickly to approaching objects than a mellower Roboquad.

    The Roboquad also has four usage modes: Direct Control, Autonomous, Guard, and Sleep. Direct Control allows you to control the robot’s direction, style of walking (crab walk, stomp walk, or rotation walking), and head movements, while in Autonomous mode, the robot interacts with his environment on his own as he moves through it. Guard and Sleep modes are designed for “downtime”. In the former, the Roboquad visually scans the environment and stays alert for noises, then scares off intruders with a series of crazy sound effects. In the latter, the robot automatically falls asleep after five minutes of inactivity and then powers down after 24 hours.

    The robot owes its imaginative movements to its agile rotating legs and articulated neck, all of which respond to Roboquad’s advanced artificial intelligence. And watch out when the Roboquad feels like getting down, as the machine includes a built-in dance demo that will rock your world… or at least, cause you to collapse in giggles!

    Specifications

    Specifications
    Manufacturer: WowWee/BDI Laguna
    Manufacturer Product No.: 8039
    UPC: 771171180395
    Dimensions: 8.5 by 9 by 12.5 inches (W x H x D)
    Batteries Needed: 4 C for the Robot, 3 AAA for the remote
    Warranty: 90-day limited

    posted by Editor at 9:03 am & filed under General-Home Automation | No Comments »


    Essentials of Home Entertainment Software

    October 22nd, 2008

    Essentials of Home Entertainment Software

    Essentials of Home Entertainment Software


    • Software interfaces television with computer media
    • Play MP3s, videos, or slideshows on television using existing remote
    • Control kids’ access through password protection

     

    Unleash the power of your PC from the comfort of your couch. Meedio Essentials Software lets you create a library of all of your computer’s media files and allows you to combine the convenience and simplicity with the power and flexibility of your PC to organize, manage and access virtually any media from your living room sofa. With Meedio Essentials’ powerful media library and intelligent data importers you can manage and display almost any kind of digital information on your TV. Using your TV and existing remote or touchscreen, you’ll be able to watch videos, display photo albums, or listen to MP3s.
    Meedio Essentials Software lets you enjoy the digital media and information on your existing PC with your TV and remote control, keyboard, mouse or touchscreen. Since the software comes complete with integrated media players, you won’t have to worry about buying, installing, and configuring other applications. If you have a compatible DVD codec (sold separately), you’ll be able to categorize, browse, search, and play your entire DVD movie collection from the comfort of your couch. Meedio Essentials’ integrated video player can also play WMV, MPEG, AVI, DivX, XviD, and other popular formats.

    You can manage and listen to all of your digital music files and favorite Internet radio stations using the Meedio Essentials Software, as well. View your library by style, artist, decade, or any other category. The software will play most compressed and uncompressed audio formats including MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, Ogg Vorbis, ShoutCast, and IceCast.

    The Meedio Essentials Software is completely configurable to help you to express your style. Over 130 downloadable themes, plugins and extensions are available to personalize your screens. Personalize different screens for each family member; you can even install optional password protection and restrictions for your family’s younger members.

    Connect an IR or RF receiver (sold separately) to your PC’s USB or serial port, and connect the output from your PC’s video card to your TV’s video input and the output from your PC’s audio card to your TV’s audio input using either cables or wireless transmitters (sold separately). Using your existing remote control, you’ll be able to access all of your digital media through your television.

    Specifications

    Specifications
    WSKA Software Product No.: Essentials of Home Entertainment
    UPC: 181161000020
    Dimensions: 9.6″ x 8″ x 2″
    Playable Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, Ogg Vorbis, ShoutCast, and IceCast
    Playable Video Formats: WMV, MPEG, AVI, DivX, XviD
    PC Requirements: Windows 2000 or XP, 40 MB free hard drive space, 600Mhz processor, 128 MB RAM, DirectX 9.0 or later
    Controller Requirements: Any of the following: keyboard, mouse, and/or touchscreen; StreamZap PC Remote with software version 2.8.0 and higher; Evation Irman IR remote control receiver; HOMElectronics Tira-2 IR remote control receiver; any remote control receiver supported by WinLIRC; or any other device that can emulate keyboard commands and/or Windows Message commands

    posted by Editor at 8:58 am & filed under Home Entertainment Software | No Comments »


    Pioneer DVR-533H-S

    December 20th, 2005

    With dual-layer recording, a host of conveniences, and a slim look, the full-featured Pioneer DVR-533H-S recorder seems like a bargain.

    posted by Editor at 11:59 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Video, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Intel Partners with TiVo

    December 20th, 2005

    The digital home just got a little more cozy — and booming with entertainment options.

    posted by Editor at 11:58 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Tiki Heater

    December 20th, 2005

    This 10,000-BTU propane-powered portable heat lamp sets up in minutes and provides up to a 10-foot circle of warmth. Stick the Tiki Heater’s spike into the ground anywhere for quick heating. Use it in sand, dirt, grass or even in an umbrella base. Sectional poles are included for adjustable height; the Tiki Heater can be raised to a height of 6 feet, 7 inches.

    posted by Editor at 11:56 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Yamaha RX-V757

    December 20th, 2005

    Yamaha’s RX-V757 is an impressive mix of great sound, easy setup, abundant connectivity, and XM satellite radio compatibility.

    posted by Editor at 11:55 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Pioneer VSX 515-S

    December 20th, 2005

    Pioneer’s entry-level, 6.1-channel A/V receiver won’t sway audiophiles but certainly provides value for the money.

    posted by Editor at 11:47 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Pioneer VSX 515-K

    December 20th, 2005

    Pioneer’s entry-level, 6.1-channel A/V receiver won’t sway audiophiles but certainly provides value for the money.

    posted by Editor at 11:46 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    evening ketchup

    December 20th, 2005

    Installed SourceSafe 2005 (just the client tools for now)… nice and easy. picked up my existing 6.0d server no problem, and all my SourceControl bindings in HA! are working peachy again. I guess I’ll wait a while longer on implementing Vault. Now I just need a decent bug tracker. My wife is getting tired of me writing on the wall (ok technically it’s a big whiteboard that I never erase)

    I’m DL’ing the Speech SDK as I type this, along with Win XP Media Center Edition 2005 (CD1 & 2)

    I see the XNA page has been updated with some very cool looking stuff: XNA

    Microsoft’s “Wonder Twins” program ends at the end of this month. What’s that? check it out! (yes there are limitations, but it’s still cool!)

    I’ve ordered a retail kit for checking out Speech Server (2-3 weeks… *sigh*) I wonder if any of my friends can hook me up with a CD to play with… guys? anyone? Bueller?

    transmitted my application to the academy… oh wait, nevermind… wrong fantasy. (48 hours & 6 minutes until I’m sitting on the edge of my seat watching the movie I’ve been awaiting for the last 28 years)

    priced some various X10 starter kits, actually not that pricey although the one kit I was interested in has a serial port thingy instead of USB, which I would prefer. Although it’s not like I actually use my serial ports for anything.

    Would the guy who took a bazillion pics of me giving my talk at Atlanta Code Camp please drop me a line? I figure at least a couple of them had to turn out alright. :)

    Bill has acknowledged my gauntlet, as it were. heh. I’m curious about adding a little twist to it. I’d love to use the (ebay and/or amazon) SDK in conjunction with media center (little popup messages while I’m watching a movie). Throw in a little home automation (via X10) to turn a certain lamp on whenever I’m within 5 minutes of losing an auction and letting me up my bid via voice command (speech server)!! Wow if I could work from home (actually I can) I’d never leave the couch again… (not true actually… my wife would make me)

    I’m trying to get Max Karpov to come visit our group, or my job, either one. He’s up for it, I just have to work out the logistics. I think our core (oops, almost said the “I word”) team would benefit from meeting him.

    posted by Editor at 11:45 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


    Free Music!

    December 20th, 2005

    Electronics retailer CompUSA is offering free eMusic downloads with purchases.

    posted by Editor at 11:44 am & filed under General-Home Automation, Home Audio/Sound, Home Video/Visual | No Comments »


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