plugs

DEARBORN, Mich.--Electrification is the biggest change to hit the auto industry in decades. But with little clarity on how the technology will play out in the future, automakers are laying down multiple billion-dollar bets.

After years of talking about plug-in electric vehicles, automakers can finally point to actual products, actual customers, and the beginnings of a charging infrastructure.

Yet automakers still don't know which products will resonate with consumers. The result is a spate of all-electric cars and a spectrum of hybrids built around different-size batteries.

What combination of battery and gas engine will be most popular with … Read more

Visualize yourself holding a USB plug. Now visualize yourself trying to put said USB plug into its port on your computer. Hmm, it didn't go in? You must be holding it the wrong way; try turning it over. Still nothing? Odd, try it the first way again. Oh look, it fits now.

This scenario is something a lot of computer users have gone through at least once. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to spend time fiddling with the USB plug every. Single. Time?

The problem at hand can actually be avoided rather easily. One … Read more

There should be no doubt that Apple's decision to block Flash from iOS in favor of HTML5 has spurred Adobe to make sure that its media-rich content-building tool and player Flash remains competitive. Flash Player 11 brings hardware-accelerated graphics support to the platform.

According to Adobe, the new Stage3D technology in the new Flash Player brings combined 2D and 3D acceleration that is up to 1,000 times faster than the previous Flash iterations. While currently Stage3D is supported only for personal computers, it should make its way to mobile devices in future Flash releases. The advancements offered by … Read more

Toyota detailed pricing for two new members of its hybrid Prius family, including a plug-in Prius which will cost less than $30,000 after a federal tax credit.

The base price of the 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid is $32,000 and a higher-end Advanced trim will cost $39,525. The plug-in will be eligible for a $2,500 federal tax credit, which is calculated by the size of the battery.

Toyota also announced the Prius V, a larger crossover version of the Prius, will cost between $26,400 and $29,990 depending on the model. Mileage for the Prius V … Read more

UPDATE September 19, 2011: This offer has now ended.

It's just about 5:00 on a Friday afternoon and you can't wait to get your weekend started, but you have this one e-mail that keeps lingering over your head and whoever "they" may be, they keep responding. It's an e-mail with your high-level executives cc'ed on it, so you can't say anything to the big group, but you want to be able to vent to one of your colleagues without having to send it to everyone else on that email thread. Now, what … Read more

Microsoft just declared that browser plug-ins' best days are behind them, but Adobe is working hard to disprove the notion with its Flash Player.

Flash, the most widely used browser plug-in, will be barred from the new "Metro" version of Internet Explorer 10 that will ship with Windows 8, IE team leader Dean Hachamovitch announced last night during the company's Build conference. In response, Adobe pointed out that Flash will still work with the more traditional "desktop" interface--but also that the company has other plans for staying relevant.

"If you look a year out, … Read more

The first big blow to Flash was Apple's iOS. Now Adobe Systems' browser plug-in faces another major threat to its relevance: Microsoft has banned it and all other plug-ins from the "Metro" version of Internet Explorer 10.

Metro is the modern "touch-first" interface that plays a starring role in the radically new look of Windows 8, which Microsoft plans to release in 2012. Microsoft will ship the new OS with two versions of IE10, one for Metro and one a brushed-up version of the current Windows 7 interface. While the legacy version of IE10 will … Read more

BMW will be supplying the engines for Fisker's next car.

Fisker Automotive announced today that it's contracted with BMW to supply engines, and a few other components, for its "Project Nina" vehicle.

BMW has committed to build "up to 100,000" turbocharged four-cylinder engines for the car per year.

The yet-to-be-officially-named model is expected to begin selling in the U.S. in 2013, going into production at a former GM plant in Delaware in 2012.

"Project Nina" is the follow-up plug-in hybrid sedan to the company's Fisker Karma four-door plug-in hybrid … Read more

Zyxel announced today that it has now officially joined the Powerline AV+ 500 club with its first adapter, the Zyxel PLA4205.

Similar to the D-Link DHP-501AV and the Netgear XAV5501, this new adapter from Zyxel is designed to offer up to 500Mbps throughput speed via a home's electrical wiring.

In real-world usage, the speed is likely to be much slower than that but probably still faster than a traditional Ethernet connection, which would make it more than fast enough for streaming HD content and other heavy home-networking needs.

Zyxel says its PLA4205 adapter is backward-compatible with previous power-line standards … Read more