ASUS today announced Blue Cave, a stunningly designed high-performance AC2600 Wi-Fi router based on Intel's connected home technology that's built to meet the demanding needs of modern smart homes. Winner of a 2017 Computex Best Choice Golden Award, Blue Cave is an easy-to-use, innovatively designed router with stylish good looks and family-friendly features. It's built to cope easily with the increasingly complex and bandwidth-heavy demands of smart home networks, offering superb multi-device performance powered by the Intel Home Wi-Fi chipset, comprehensive commercial-grade security with ASUS AiProtection, and out-of-the-box IoT integration with Amazon Alexa and IFTTT.

"Combining years of ASUS experience in wireless innovation and Intel's connected home technology, Blue Cave delivers ultrafast Wi-Fi speeds throughout the home," said Tenlong Deng, General Manager, ASUS Networking and Wireless Devices Business Unit. "Not only powerful, its eye-catching design with no external antennas blends perfectly with any décor."

D-Link and McAfee today announced the D-Link AC2600 Wi-Fi Router Powered by McAfee (DIR-2680), an all-in-one solution that automatically increases security for devices on the home network and delivers on both companies' vision to address the pressing need for online security as people's lives become increasingly connected. The comprehensive solution includes D-Link's high-performance dual-band 802.11ac router with MU-MIMO technology that enhances network capacity and efficiency for users, McAfee Secure Home Platform that automatically protects all devices connected to the network, and the Intel Home Wi-Fi Chipset WAV500 Series to deliver robust Wi-Fi connectivity to numerous connected devices at the same time, running a range of high-bandwidth applications.

The number of connected devices in the home has skyrocketed - from tablets and gaming consoles, to IP surveillance cameras, smart door locks, and more. By 2020, Gartner estimates there will be 20 billion connected things, and their role and influence is set to dramatically increase over the next 10 years1. They've also raised a new crop of security issues, as Internet of Things (IoT) devices are subject to attacks just like any other connected device like a PC or smartphone. The new D-Link AC2600 Wi-Fi Router Powered by McAfee immediately and automatically helps secure all connected devices at the network level in a home, including non-display IoT devices, providing an additional layer of protection from potential hackers and for members of the home using devices and accessing online content.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory storage products and technology solutions, announced today the launch of Nucleum, a 7-in-1 Type C USB hub. Nucleum is the ideal hub for newer MacBooks as it provides extra USB-C and USB-A ports as well as HDMI and SD/microSD card slots.

Nucleum, with its multiple ports, is built to handle all of the familiar accessories consumers have such as mice, keyboards and even a second monitor. Users can be more productive as all seven ports can be engaged at the same time. Nucleum users can power up a MacBook while also running an external hard drive and charging an iPhone simultaneously.

Linksys at its exhibition alongside the 2018 CES, showed off its latest gaming-grade Wi-Fi router, the WRT32XB. The router comes in two main "variants," one with co-branding from Alienware, Razer, GIGABYTE, and MSI; while another with exclusive Xbox One co-branding, named WRT32XB. Both variants are based on Rivet Networks Killer WLAN processors, and firmware optimization. The WRT32XB comes with a little more firmware fine-tuning that gives your Xbox One console a slight edge in pings and bandwidth prioritization. The router can sense that an Xbox One is seeking traffic (you're playing on it), and automatically run QoS rules that give it priority. The router comes with 802.11AC (2x2 dual-MIMO), with gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and USB 3.0 ports for mass-storage sharing. When it comes out this February, it will be priced at the same USD $299.99 price as the WRT32X.

Vuzix Corporation, a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies for the consumer and enterprise markets, is pleased to announce the official unveiling of the Vuzix Blade, which was awarded four International CES Innovation 2018 awards in the areas of Fitness, Sports and Biotech; Wireless Handset Accessories; Portable Media Players and Accessories as well as Computer Accessories.

The Vuzix Blade AR Smart Glasses provide a wearable smart display with a see-through viewing experience utilizing Vuzix' proprietary waveguide optics and Cobra II display engine. It's like having your computer or smartphone screen information right in front of you, wherever you go. The Vuzix Blade weighing in at less than 3 oz. represents the first pair of smart glasses that provide the wearer with a sizable virtual screen and brilliant pallet of colors via a thin completely see-through lens, in a fashionable form factor. The Vuzix Blade features adjustable FOV location and brightness, and is prescription ready, enabling any wearer both indoors and out to enjoy a comfortable visual experience. The Vuzix Blade, which can be paired seamlessly to Android or iOS phones enables individuals or workers to leave their phone in their pocket while visually presented with location aware content driven by the user's phone. Built for today's world and usable for work or play, the Vuzix Blade AR Smart Glasses offer the wearer heads up and hands-free mobile computing and connectivity, in an unprecedented form factor.

ASUS today announced AiMesh, an innovative feature upgrade for ASUS routers that allows users to easily create a flexible and powerful whole-home Wi-Fi system using any compatible ASUS models.

AiMesh overcomes many of the limitations found in alternative off-the-shelf whole-home Wi-Fi systems, such as mesh-networking systems. Although these systems can be convenient all-in-one solutions, they are often only available in fixed bundles, with a limited choice of Wi-Fi speeds, hardware features and upgrade paths. With AiMesh, users can create a completely flexible whole-home Wi-Fi system tailored to their needs, while continuing to enjoy all the functions of each individual ASUS router, such as extreme Wi-Fi performance and exclusive advanced networking features. AiMesh also offers convenient central management and control via either the ASUS Router mobile app or the ASUSWRT web interface.

TwoEyes Tech is a startup that has developed a binocular 360-degree field-of-view VR camera that captures images using two pairs of fisheye lenses arranged 65 millimeters apart, just like the eyes of a human, thus allowing for a more comfortable VR experience. TwoEyes Tech, a member company of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre, made sure that the VR images it produces mirrors human eyesight by taking the standard distance between human eyes into consideration when capturing the images. As a result, the images show a three-dimensional representation of the world as people see it. In only one filming session, the VR camera captures 360-degree 3D video that can be viewed on VR headsets, smartphones, computer monitors, and 3D TVs. The videos, in full HD, 3D, and red-cyan mode, can be converted from and into 180-degree and 360-degree content, meaning that a single recording can be converted into six different types of content.

Moreover, filming with the camera is quite easy. When held horizontally, the camera records in binocular mode; when held vertically, it records in monocular mode. The recordings it produces can be viewed immediately on a smartphone or uploaded to social media.

Powercast Corporation, the pioneer of radio-frequency (RF)-based long-range power-over-distance wireless charging technology, announced that it will unveil at CES (booth #40268) its FCC-approved (Part 15, FCC ID: YESTX91503) and ISED-approved (Canada IC: 8985A-TX91503) three-watt PowerSpot transmitter which works in the far field (up to 80 feet) for over-the-air charging of multiple devices - no charging mats or direct line of sight needed. Powercast used the experience it gained powering industrial and commercial devices with its initial Powercaster transmitter (FCC and ISED approved in 2010) to develop the new smaller, smarter and less expensive PowerSpot transmitter specifically for the consumer market. The PowerSpot is the industry's first long-range, far-field, power- over-distance wireless recharging transmitter for consumer devices to gain FCC and ISED approval.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. today announced Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) 1.3 certification for the Samsung ARTIK 05x series of modules, the first system-on-module family to be certified using new OCF standards for trust and connectivity for IoT. With the ARTIK 05x series, companies can quickly build Wi-Fi enabled edge products that meet OCF standards for interoperability, and take advantage of the ARTIK platform's built-in hardware and software solutions to ensure reliability, safety and privacy for connected products.

The OCF certification program ensures companies can create products that work seamlessly with other OCF certified IoT devices regardless of their form factor, operating system or service providers. OCF 1.3 certification assures interoperability with OCF specific testing and certification, improving time-to-market, and enhancing the customer experience.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Agile Multiband is a new certification program from Wi-Fi Alliance that enables devices to utilize Wi-Fi network resources better, and networks to adapt and balance load as network conditions change. Wi-Fi Agile Multiband devices dynamically exchange information about a network environment, enabling devices to make smarter decisions and quicker connections in home, enterprise, and managed network environments. Wi-Fi Agile Multiband delivers new capabilities that provide a better experience with both static use cases, such as streaming a high-definition movie, and mobile use cases such as Wi-Fi calling.

Karma Mobility, a leader in internet access technology, announces an initial shipping date of January 15, 2018 for Karma Black. Karma Black is a Personal Security Appliance (PSA) that will encrypt and anonymize your online activity, protecting your identity from invasive tracking, unknown surveillance and sale of your private internet habits. Karma Black has opened device preorders for $149 through the January 15th shipment date. There will be a $19.95 monthly charge for security services. After the preorder period is over, the device will be sold at $249.

PROTECT YOURSELF
"In a time when the F.C.C. has voted to dismantle 'Net Neutrality,' Karma has created a security product that provides an internet 'buffer zone' to protect your identity, activity and location while online," says Todd Wallace, Karma Mobility CEO. "Using Karma's encrypted connection and relay network, all origination data and activity markers are scrambled to ensure that the content provider and others seeking to track users cannot determine the 'what, when, why and how' of your activity via the metadata delivered within the public network."

Samsung Electronics unveiled the concept of the FITT360, a 360-degree wearable camcorder, last year. The K-ICT Born2Global Centre announced that accelerated and spun off from Samsung Electronics with this concept developed, LINKFLOW is bringing this state-of-the-art technology to the market via Kickstarter with full details to be disclosed. FITT360 is wearable around the neck all day with its light and portable design. Ergonomically designed to fit everybody while keeping it unobtrusive with its sleek neckband form, FITT360 is rain-, snow-, heat-, and shockproof to endure users' life. With patented image stabilization, live stitching and streaming functionality, FITT360 opens up possibilities for tele-presence and life streaming scenarios. With life logging in mind, the built-in GPS enables users to keep their personal 360 video-logs within the companion mobile application.

ARRIS International plc today introduced two new, next-generation broadband gateway devices - the NVG578 and NVG558. Both are future-ready, offering a flexible platform for network migration. The platforms are also powered by ARRIS's feature-rich, industry-proven, secure and reliable firmware.

The NVG578 is a customizable Passive Optical Network (PON) Gateway platform. It offers service providers a range of options to capitalize on investments in ultra-high-speed broadband applications. And, the ARRIS NVG578 platform delivers the scalability service providers need as they evolve their networks to meet the demands of new services and faster speeds. This includes today's GPON speeds, as well as next-generation XGS-PON and NG-PON2 speeds of up to 10Gb/s symmetrical.

Increasing numbers of connected devices causes connection drop offs, slow performance and dead spots. Most homes in the UK suffer from these common WiFi problems. The new Nova MW6 Mesh Wi-Fi system from Tenda Technology, a leading manufacturer of networking devices, has been created to optimize your home network, eliminating connection frustration, by blanketing your home with fast, efficient and reliable WiFi coverage. With the Nova MW6 in place, householders will be enabled to start their journey to their Smart Home of the future.

The ideal solution for improving WiFi reception throughout your home, the Nova MW6 kit, which includes three WiFi nodes as standard, provides wireless coverage for spaces up to 6,000 square feet. Powered by the latest True Mesh technology, each node is capable of performing as a router or an extender and connect seamlessly with each other to provide whole home wireless coverage. The nodes have been cleverly designed to look and feel stylish, but more importantly, boast a seamless roaming feature so that you can move freely from room to room without losing WiFi connection for lag-free video calling and internet browsing, and consistent online gaming.

Nothing in life is free, not even the Wi-Fi at Starbucks cafes. That's something Noah Dinkin would discover eventually. While sipping his coffee at a Starbucks coffeehouse in Buenos Aires, the founder and CEO of stensul decided to log onto the Wi-Fi network to get some work done. To his surprise, there was an unusual delay before he was able to access the internet. Noah later found out that a malicious code was working behind the scenes to hijack customer's devices to mine Monero (XMR). He immediately reported the exploit to Starbucks via Twitter. Starbucks was unaware of the issue, but the company immediately contacted their internet provider to remove the code. To their defense, the Wi-Fi service is outsourced to a third-party provider, therefore, Starbucks doesn't own or control the Wi-Fi network. The company claims that this was an isolated case, and their other stores are safe.

Marvell, a leader in storage, networking, and connectivity semiconductor solutions today introduced the industry's most complete 802.11ax wireless product portfolio. The Marvell 802.11ax product family is architected to deliver breakthrough performance, improved network efficiency, low latency and enterprise-grade reliability. Marvell is the first to offer a full MU-MIMO and OFDMA uplink and downlink based on the latest IEEE 802.11ax standards which will help the next generation of high-end users, "Generation Upload," with real-time cloud-based requirements.

Delivering consistent performance and reliability is becoming increasingly difficult for networks already straining to support a dramatic increase in connected devices, high definition streaming video, social media and cloud applications. The average household will have about 50 connected devices by 2022. Major technology advancements are needed to better support today's diverse users that are driving higher end emerging use cases such as virtual and augmented reality, live streaming and smart cities.

Intel delivers industry-leading innovations and creates new experiences across its portfolio products. Today, Intel unveils the all-new Intel Pentium Silver and Intel Celeron processors.

The new Intel Pentium Silver and Intel Celeron processors are based on Intel's architecture codenamed Gemini Lake, and are engineered for a great balance of performance and connectivity for the things people do every day - working on office documents and spreadsheets, browsing online, enjoying favorite shows and movies, and editing photos - with great battery life. And it can all be performed on a range of devices at an amazing value. Pentium Silver will deliver 58 percent faster productivity performance compared with a similar 4-year-old PC.

HTC Corporation, a pioneer in innovative, smart mobile and virtual reality (VR) technologies, today announced that its highly-anticipated premium standalone VR headset for the China market, the VIVE FOCUS, will be available for pre-order at 12:00 a.m. on December 12th (Beijing time) in most of China's major online stores (i.e. Vive.com, JD.com, Tmall.com) and offline sales channels (i.e. Gome, Suning). Initial customer deliveries are expected in January 2018.

"Two years ago, we delivered the first room-scale PC VR solution to the world; today, we're extremely excited to be, once again, the first to bring 6DoF 'world-scale' VR experiences in the form of the VIVE Focus to the VR market," said Alvin Wang Graylin, China Regional President of VIVE, HTC. "The combination of advanced capabilities, usability and comfort in an affordable package is unmatched in the current market. This signals the beginning of VR's entry into the mass consumer space in 2018."

Intel today announced substantial advances in its wireless product roadmap to accelerate the adoption of 5G. Highlights include the introduction of the Intel XMM 8000 series, Intel's first family of 5G new radio (5G NR) multi-mode commercial modems, and Intel's latest LTE modem, the Intel XMM 7660. Intel also announced it has successfully completed a full end-to-end 5G call based on its early 5G silicon, the Intel 5G Modem - a key milestone in its development. Finally, the Intel XMM 7560 modem unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2017 has achieved gigabit-class speeds.

"Intel is committed to delivering leading 5G multi-mode modem technology and making sure the transition to 5G is smooth," said Dr. Cormac Conroy, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Communication and Devices Group. "Our investments in a full portfolio of modem technologies and products are critical to achieving the vision of seamless 5G connectivity."

Researchers have recently discovered a critical flaw that affects all WPA2 protected Wi-Fi devices. This can't be remedied solely by user intervention, or password changes, or even by the usage of HTTPS website; this is a flaw with the core of WPA's protection scheme, and means that an attacker could intercept every single traffic data point that your device sends over Wi-Fi, including passwords, credit card details, images - the whole treasure trove. Adding insult to injury, it's even possible for attackers using this method to inject malware into your devices. The new attack method - dubbed KRACK for Key Reinstallation Attack - basically forces your device's encryption code to default to a known, plain-text all-zero decryption key, which is trivial for hackers to reuse.

Adding to the paranoia, this is basically a device and software-agnostic attack - it's effective against devices running Android, Linux, and OpenBSD, and to a lesser extent macOS and Windows, as well as MediaTek Linksys, and other types of devices. HTTPS isn't the best solution either, simply because some website's implementation of it isn't the best, and there are scripts (such as SSLScript) that can force a website to downgrade its connection to a simple HTTP link - which can then be infiltrated by the attacker.

The first 3-litre PC from Shuttle with a fully-fledged PCI Express x16 3.0 slot virtually spells the end of limitations. This is because almost any expansion card can now be fitted in the Mini-PC, which is only around 7 cm high. Computing power is delivered by new Intel Core processors of the 7th generation and the latest of storage and drive technology.

The XH110G model from the XPC slim category is a compact barebones PC in a 25 x 20 x 7.85 cm (DWH) format. Its mainboard with an Intel H110 chipset can accommodate up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory and Intel processors (LGA1151) with up to 65 W of TDP. Two M.2 slots, one being M.2-2280 and one M.2-2230, may for example accommodate an NVMe SSD and a WLAN module - or also lots of other commercially available M.2 add-on cards.

The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is pleased to announce is pleased to announce the X10 IoT router, a unique next generation smart IoT hub that is designed as an integral part of a smart home environment and essential part a secure domicile. As an IoT router, the ASrock X10 is well equipped to control various "Smart Home" devices, including light systems like smart lighting devices, smart locks, smart water meters, television, air-conditioning units and much more without requiring any additional hubs thanks to its ZigBee controller and advances mesh networking technology.

"We believe a qualified digital l ife is built on a well-connected and user-friendly environment, that's why ASRock created the X10, an all-round Wi-Fi router that integrates IR and ZigBee functions." says Jason Chou, vice president of the ASRock R&D division. "The ASRock X10 will serve your simple and smart life perfectly."

There are two kinds of desktop CPU platforms. The mainstream tier runs from two cores up to eight, and it's great for gaming and general use. Its high-end sibling takes everything up a level with more cores, more memory channels, and more bandwidth for graphics and storage. A considerable upgrade in every regard, this high-end desktop platform appeals to power users, content creators, and prosumers who want to blur the line between desktop and workstation. AMD's Threadripper CPU is the latest addition to the desktop's heavyweight division, and it walks into the ring with an entourage of SocketTR4 motherboards in tow. This guide explains the ASUS and ROG family to help you pick the best X399 motherboard for your high-end desktop or gaming PC.

All of our X399 boards share core DNA that includes one-touch overclocking, refined cooling control, and improved RGB lighting. Yet they each have their own distinct flavor as well. The ROG Zenith Extreme brings Threadripper into the world of premium dream PCs with provisions for custom liquid cooling and 10G networking. With the Strix X399-E Gaming, hardcore gamers can build stylish rigs with power to spare for high-quality streaming. And then there's the Prime X399-A and its well-rounded foundation channeling the professional side of the platform's prodigious power. Which X399 motherboard should you buy for your build? Let's find out.

In a bid to increase options for budget-minded gamers, Acer has introduced the Nitro 5 gaming laptop, whose wealth of configurations start at a respectable $800. Choosing any kind of gaming-focused laptop over building your own desktop will always look like bad business, but how much one values mobility mays edge the decision towards one side or the other.

Specs-wise, it's a mix of respectable with the bare minimum: it features a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display, up to 32 GB of DDR4 2400 MHz memory, and is available in configurations featuring Intel's Core i5 or Core i7 processors paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics card, or your choice of an AMD 7th-gen A-series FX, A12 or A10 APUs, paired a Radeon RX550 GPU. Some models will include PCIe SSDs (up to 512GB) with up to 2TB of optional HDD storage. Ports include 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 ports, and 1x HDMI output. The Nitro 5 also supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi with a 2x2 MIMO antenna. The Nitro 5 will be available in North America starting July 1. Acer did not release detailed pricing, so there's no idea of what the $800 configuration will net you spec-wise (though an AMD and RX 550 are pretty much guaranteed). The Nitro 5 will also be available in the EMEA in August, starting at a much less interesting €1,139.

Shuttle Inc., the global leader in small form factor computer technology, announces the latest Intel Apollo lake platform, XC60J support with 8 COM ports to power highly interactive Kiosk, vending machine, POS and more. The XC60J is the first 3-liter model with fanless design, powered by Intel Celeron J3355. With built-in Intel HD Graphics and processor, the XC60J can support 4K/Ultra HD video playback and HEVC/H.265 high definition video playback.

With one built-in M.2 2280 Type M and one M.2 2230 Type A/E expansion slots, you can easily install an M.2 SSD, Wi-Fi module or other compatible devices. The XC60J is highly connectable with multiple I/O: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, SATA 6Gbps, COM, and Intel Dual Gigabit LAN ports. Seven RS232 and one RS232/RS422/RS485 ports which support 0V/5V/12V. Connect to barcode scanners, receipt printers, keypads, and other peripherals makes XC60J easily configured into peripheral-heavy POS, Kiosk, and Digital Signage systems.