cables

Love it or hate it, Apple's new Lightning plug is here to stay.

But the cables and adapters to get some of your old gear working with your new iPhone or iPod that uses the technology? You'll have a wait ahead of you if you want to buy them from Apple's online store.

Apple's USB-to-Lightning adapter, which runs for $19 and comes as a pack-in with the iPhone 5, and the iPod Nano and Touch, has gone from shipping in 1-3 days to 2-3 weeks.

It's potentially an even longer wait for both models of … Read more

Usually, it's hard to get a new computer connector to catch on.

But Apple, which by selling more than 400 million iPhones has plenty of clout, isn't bound by the usual constraints. Thus, you can bet that the Lightning connector that debuts on the new iPhone 5 will be a success. … Read more

More images of Apple's next iPhone dock connector have cropped up ahead of next week's event, which is widely expected to bring the unveiling of a new iPhone.

French blog Nowhereelse posts images from an anonymous tipster claiming to be in possession of the final cable. The images match up with a leak from last month, depicting the smaller plug, which would replace Apple's long-surviving 30-pin proprietary plug.

Rumors that Apple aimed to shrink down the plug first cropped up last October and gained steam with a high-profile report in February. The reasoning has been that Apple … Read more

True story: The cable guy was over just last week, troubleshooting a signal-strength problem with our service. When he saw my CableCard-equipped media center PC, he said, "I've been wanting to do that with my computer, because Windows' channel guide is so much better than ours."

True dat. Windows Media Center offers a mighty sweet 10-foot interface, and when you pair your PC with a CableCard tuner, you've got everything you need for DVR awesomeness.

There are three such tuners on the market, and today's deal is for the most versatile of them. While supplies … Read more

Time Warner Cable announced Tuesday a $25 million investment to expand its fiber broadband network to businesses in New York City.

The new fiber network will be built in Brooklyn as well as to parts of Manhattan such as the Financial and Flatiron districts. Last year, Time Warner and the city of New York reached a franchise agreement in which Time Warner said it would expand its fiber network to areas that don't currently have access.

The new service will offer speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, the company said in a press release (not yet available online). … Read more

If you're waiting for Apple to revolutionize the TV business, you may be sitting on your hands for a while.

Apple executive Eddy Cue, who runs the company's Internet software and services business, downplayed the idea in a chat with Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves. His note, published today, was picked up by Fortune.

Apple wouldn't enter a new business unless it could create a great user experience and fix existing problems, Cue told Pacific Crest. While Apple could make an attractive user interface, it still can't address the problems that stem from the pay-TV system, … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission has approved four separate deals that will transfer wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless, including the $3.9 billion deal between Verizon and a group of cable operators.

The approved deals will allow Verizon to get nearly 20 megahertz of Advanced Wireless Service spectrum from SpectrumCo, a joint venture that includes cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and BrightHouse, as well as AWS spectrum from cable operator Cox Communications.

The agency also gave the green light to transfer spectrum licenses from prepaid provider Leap Wireless. In addition, it OK'd the transfer of wireless spectrum licenses between … Read more

Finding streaming TV shows or movies is a mess. No service or app has a complete collection, and getting what you want often feels like rummaging at the Internet's garage sale.

Some services have risen up to try to help; the Xbox 360 offers excellent Bing-based search of Xbox media apps, while Fanhattan does the same on iOS, although you have to enter the app to begin searching.

Fanhattan lacks one important feature, though: a listing of shows on actual, live TV.

Bridging the cord-cutting and cable/antenna TV landscape is TV Guide, which tries to implement streaming-media hooks into its existing tradition TV listings service.… Read more