All posts tagged: cables

Romanian gang stole underground BT cables and nearly caused havoc in Birmingham city centre

Romanian gang stole underground BT cables and nearly caused havoc in Birmingham city centre

Published by Sam Flores

Three men have been jailed after stealing underground BT cabling and risking havoc in Birmingham city centre. Altafin Poenaru, aged 49, Marian Agarlita, 37, and Sorin Condrache, 45, were caught red-handed by armed police at a manhole on Great Charles Queensway at the junction with Newhall Street on January 20 this year. They had cut seven live cables which contained nearly 8,000 phone and internet lines serving the area, which includes countless businesses as well as government departments. READ MORE: Mum-of-six jailed for cruel £25,000 Birmingham raid to pensioner who offered her free food One of the risks was that alarm systems would have been disabled causing safety hazards for anyone trapped in a lift or a building fire. BT Openreach, which maintains telecommunications infrastructure, stated the incident involved a complex and dangerous repair operation requiring weeks to put right and costing them more than £96,000. Police arrested three men stealing BT cables from a manhole at Great Charles Queensway in Birmingham -Credit:West Midlands Police / SWNS The three men, all Romanian nationals, arrived in …

The Wybot B1 is a robotic cordless pool cleaner that ditches the cables without blowing out your budget

The Wybot B1 is a robotic cordless pool cleaner that ditches the cables without blowing out your budget

Published by Jenni Sidey

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. Pools are great for relaxing, which is part of why cleaning them feels so laborious. I want to float on my back with a Coke Zero on my stomach, not scoop scum. Robotic pool vacuums can simplify the cleaning process, but the cord causes problems. Feed the cable in, watch it knot up on the ladder, fish the head out from under the steps when it pins itself there. The Wybot B1 is a cordless robotic cleaner that runs on a battery, drops into the water, and goes. It’s so easy to use it almost feels like a toy, but it’s actually a tool. Wybot has been making robots in this category for a few years, and the B1 sits at the entry-level end of its cordless lineup. The pitch is straightforward: a self-contained cleaner for above-ground and small-to-mid-size in-ground pools where running power to …

What Is Ethernet? Everything You Need to Know About Wired Networks

What Is Ethernet? Everything You Need to Know About Wired Networks

Published by skeptic

Before Wi-Fi became ubiquitous, Ethernet was the preferred way to get your devices onto the internet. By running Ethernet cables in a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), you could send data back and forth. It is still widely used because sending data along cables is usually faster, and always more reliable and secure than sending it as radio waves, as Wi-Fi does. If you want to get the best from your internet connection, Ethernet is still a great way to do it, and it’s an obvious choice for any organization that prizes high speed, security, and reliability. Here’s everything you need to know about Ethernet. You may also want to dip into our guides on How to Buy a Router, Best Wi-Fi Routers, and Best Mesh Systems. Updated April 2026: I added more information about Ethernet, including advice on cables, plus a new section on Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) that includes a few recommended products. Jump To: AccordionItemContainerButton History of Ethernet First created in 1973 by a group of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) engineers, including …

Why you shouldn’t buy cheap DisplayPort cables – the ‘Death Pin’ can put your GPU at serious risk

Why you shouldn’t buy cheap DisplayPort cables – the ‘Death Pin’ can put your GPU at serious risk

Published by skeptic

Ugreen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways DisplayPort cables are designed to transfer power to monitors. With cheaper options, misaligned pins may cause power failures. You can avoid this by opting for a VESA-certified DisplayPort cable. The DisplayPort “Death Pin” issue, or more formally known as the Pin 20 Problem, is a well-known manufacturing defect in which the last contact pin on a DisplayPort cable is wired incorrectly.  This creates a direct electrical connection between your monitor and graphics card, allowing power to flow freely between them and causing severe damage. And in a time where GPU prices regularly top $1,500, it’s best to take every precaution to protect your Nvidia or AMD card from becoming a very expensive paperweight. Also: 3 tiny gadgets I trust to block electrical surges, data-stealing software, and more Fortunately, the best solution is as easy as selecting the right DisplayPort cable. But there are a few things we need to understand first in order to see how the Death Pin can wreak havoc on …

Save up to 30% on portable power banks, charging bricks, cables, and other essential accessories during INIU’s spring sale

Save up to 30% on portable power banks, charging bricks, cables, and other essential accessories during INIU’s spring sale

Published by Jenni Sidey

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. Gadgets are worthless without power. Even the fanciest phone isn’t going to help (or entertain) you if the battery is dead. That’s why I consider portable power essential. Right now, INIU has its full range of portable chargers, GaN wall chargers, cables, wireless chargers, and car chargers, on sale for up to 30 percent off. On top of the product-specific deals, the site is automatically stacking tiered cart discounts at checkout: $5 off orders over $50, $10 off over $80, and $20 off over $100. No code needed for those. Browse the full INIU Spring Sale or read on for the best deals organized by category. Editor’s picks INIU Cougar P64 140W Power Bank 25,000mAh — $89.99 (was $106.12, extra 15% off with code P64EXTRA15) See It If you need a power bank that can charge a laptop at full speed, the P64 is the …

UGREEN’s Spring Sale offers huge discounts up to 45% on docking stations, power banks, cables, chargers, and more

UGREEN’s Spring Sale offers huge discounts up to 45% on docking stations, power banks, cables, chargers, and more

Published by Jenni Sidey

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. I have had a UGREEN dock on my desk for the past two years and it has been great. I’m lazy about cable management and having a single cable that plugs into my laptop when I sit at my workstation has prevented it from turning into a nest of cable snakes. UGREEN’s spring sale is live with up to 45% off across chargers, docking stations, power banks, cables, and more. Plus, the savings stack. Spend $69 or more on two or more items and you’ll save an extra $10; hit $99 and the bonus discount jumps to $15. That makes this an ideal time to bundle a charger with a cable or grab a docking station alongside a power bank. Below are all the best deals live right now on UGREEN’s spring sale page. UGREEN Revodok Maxidok 17-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station $390.00 (was $499.99) …

How to Organize Your Tech and Purge That Random Box of Cables

How to Organize Your Tech and Purge That Random Box of Cables

Published by skeptic

While it is an absolute privilege to lay hands on the latest tech, my home as a gadget reviewer often resembles a warehouse. Piled high with cardboard boxes and cables trailing everywhere, just getting to my desk is a battle on some days. Every surface is littered with chargers, security cameras, routers, and phones. To manage the flow of devices and preserve my sanity, I had to get organized. I won’t lie to you. It’s not fun to purge your random cable collection, sorting stuff into labeled boxes, and letting go of old gadgets you no longer use. But you can benefit from my experience, and I promise it will make your life easier. It’s tough to start, but once you have a system, you will never return to the chaos. Start With Your Box of Random Cables Photograph: Simon Hill If you don’t know what it is, you are not allowed to keep it. We all have a box of random cables—a tangled mess that we lug with us on every house move and …

How to Run Ethernet Cables to Your Router and Keep Them Tidy

How to Run Ethernet Cables to Your Router and Keep Them Tidy

Published by skeptic

Cable ties are ideal for keeping multiple cables bound together and making them easier to manage. You probably have a bunch already, but you can buy a pack of 60 ($7) reusable ones cheaply. Alex Tech 10-Foot Cable Sleeve Cable sleeves are even better, since they provide a mesh cover for bundles of cables, making it easy to remove or add cables. Label Your Cables If you have more than one cable, make sure that you label them. This can save you a lot of trouble later. Picking a different color for your Ethernet cables (or at least not black, white, or gray) can help you to immediately tell them apart from other cable types, especially handy if you’re installing them behind walls or under floors. How to Hide Ethernet Cables There are several ways to hide Ethernet cables, and some are much tougher and more invasive than others. Running an Ethernet cable along your baseboard or skirting board can be reasonably neat, and it’s easy to do. Depending on your baseboard style, there might …

The WIRED Guide to Wires: How to Manage the Mess of Cables Around Your Desk

The WIRED Guide to Wires: How to Manage the Mess of Cables Around Your Desk

Published by skeptic

There’s a reason we’re called WIRED. If there’s one thing most of today’s gadgets have in common, it’s that they typically need to be plugged in from time to time. But all those cables, cords, and wires can be tough to manage. They don’t have to end up in a tangled nest under your desk; you can bring order to the cable chaos. As a gadget reviewer, I have more cords than most people, which is why I also have a regimented cable management strategy to keep everything orderly. Here are my tips and product recommendations for hiding those cords and power strips, and keeping your desktop tidy. Jump To: AccordionItemContainerButton Planning and Prep Start by surveying the scene, unplugging and untangling everything, and removing anything that doesn’t need to be there. You might be surprised to find a stray USB-B or Micro-USB you haven’t used in years in the mix. Before you get started on cable management, take a slightly damp microfiber cloth and wipe down all the surfaces and cables. Now, you can …

Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible

Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible

Published by skeptic

Sharks are innocent. Or at least they’re not eating the internet. As a family of cartilaginous fish, sharks are collectively not guilty of most, if not all, charges of biting, chomping, chewing, or otherwise attacking the underwater network of fiber-optic cables. The people who build and maintain the nearly 600 subsea cables that carry almost all of our intercontinental traffic—supporting just about every swipe, tap, Zoom, and doomscroll anywhere on the planet—have a love-hate relationship with this myth, which has persisted for decades. They might even hate that I’m starting this piece with it. If a cable is suspended over the seabed, a shark might gum it as it explores. Sometimes they’ll lunge for a cable that’s being pulled out of the water. But for a shark to actually bite a cable, you’d have to wrap it in fish, much as you’d hide a pill in a hunk of cheese for the dog. Rats can be a threat on land, because their incisors never stop growing, so they like to file them down on semisoft cables. …