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Why We Hate Modem+Router All In Ones

This article was written by special guest and avid deal-hunter, @brclho

Recently, internet providers in my area have been promoting modem+router all in one solution. While this may simplify the process for a lot of end users, I would argue this is the worse mistake for those that at least remotely care about their network. The hardware they offer may actually be quality hardware, complete with wireless N and gigabit ports.

Yuck.

Now what about those stand alone routers? Linksys, Belkin, D-Link? They are big name and should be reliable should they not? I personally have experience with Linksys only, so I am going to extrapolate here, but I will say that I can't bank on that anymore. In recent years, Linksys has been pumping out new routers almost annually, leaving older routers discontinued and without further support. In the perfect world, if the router was perfectly working when shipped that wouldn't be a problem at all, but from what I have been reading and researching so far this is simply not the case, and when support is discontinued you are on your own.

This brings me to aftermarket firmware solutions. My personal choice is DD-WRT, but I have heard equally great things about Tomato Firmware. Why might you care? beyond the aforementioned stability problem, you can add new features to your router that you might other wise not have (ie: xlink kai support, QoS, greater amount of freedom when configuring your network settings). The features that I personally like most are wireless bridging and/or client bridging offered by DD-WRT. This feature allows a DD-WRT router to extend the wireless range of an existing router or bridge 2 routers together wirelessly. This has the potential to enhance the wireless signal and range to cover more grounds. And best of all, DD-WRT is free, adding features where you might previously have had to pay big bucks for.

Ignoring that, stability is still number one on my list; nothing frustrates me more than disconnecting while I am trying to enjoy a good game with a friend over PSN. Another example is downloading big files which will fail should your connection drop out. If you are technological inclined and like to tinker with stuff, give DD-WRT/tomato a shot, you may be pleasantly surprised with what your router can do.

So what do you have to do to use your own router? Kindly ask your provider if they can provide with a standalone modem so that you can use your own router. It may or may not work, but if you find that your network is not spotty with using their router, this maybe something you would want to look into.

[techpocket-blog]

Hackstore On Mac OSX

For developers having difficulty with getting past Apple Mac app stores famed rules, there is now a new hub called "Hackstore." Despite its name, however, creator Andrey Fedotov boldly states "No Piracy Apps Here, Forever and Ever." Although no one is quite sure how piracy will be prevented on a platform that allows as an easy outlet to distribute apps, this is definitely a good idea for those developers looking to get their products out in the open. Similar in theory is the Cydia Store, which allows users to download non-Apple approved applications from their jailbroken iDevices. A word of caution to the user, since the apps aren't approved by Apple, there is no filter for possible malware. The Hackstore is available as a free download and is already up and running since this morning. If you aren't able to get in at the moment, it is probably just a case of growing pains due to the large amount of interest.

Try it out here and let me know what you think.

via Engadget

[techpocket-blog]

Google Drive's Us To Move To The Cloud

While there are many personal cloud storage services such as DropBox, CloudApp and Amazon Cloud Drive, Google is looking to release their own service named Google Drive. This storage service is designed to be integrated into Google services namely Gmail and Google Docs for ease of use. For those using Android smartphones, you may have even noticed the switch from the "Docs" app being replaced by a new "Drive" application. So what does this mean? In short, it means all Google account holders will receive a free 5GB of storage (similar to the Apple product exclusive service, iCloud), and an option to step-up to 25GB for $2.50 a month. This is definitely happy news for users that are looking to get all their files synched and ready to go.

Updated: Users mention that after reading Google's terms and services, this cloud storage service feels not quite so free.

Your Content in our Services: 

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide licence to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.

With that being said however, Google also mentions:

Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.

What it essentially means is that Google does not own the user-uploaded files, but maintains the right to do as they please with them. Although this very well could be Google trying to cover all grounds to make sure they don't get into a lawsuit, if you want to be extra careful, read over the whole terms and services follow this link here. 

[techpocket-blog]

Get Kindle Touch'ed In UK and Germany

After waiting a few months, Amazon has finally released its Kindle Touch in UK and Germany a week earlier than expected. The Kindle Touch, a simple eReader with both 3G and Wi-Fi only models, looks to be the exact same as the version released in the US several months ago. Starting from £109/€129, only British and German pre-orders are being fulfilled with devices showing up at doors starting from launch date.  As for the rest of Europe, it seems you'll have to wait for the previously set date of April 27.