Home networking is a strange place. You can wire up your house with actual Ethernet cable or go wireless with Wi-Fi. Sometimes these options just don’t cut it because you have one spot you can’t get coverage to. That’s where powerline Ethernet adapters become interesting. Today, we’ve got the Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit. Belkin claims speeds of up to 200 Mbps. Gadgetell tested it out to see if you get what they claim.

Windows 7 is just around the corner with its October 22, 2009 release date. The option to do a clean install can be frightening since you can easily lose your customizations that you’ve created over your time on a computer. However, a clean install is often a key to keeping a machine running nice and more »

PCWorld recently published an article about user reviews in the iPhone app store and how some of them are planted. Wired actually had a screen shot of a job post offering $4 to anyone who would post a 5 star review of the SantaLive app. Just a few months ago a Belkin employee was caught offering payment for positive reviews, and Amazon’s Kindle 2 user review section are full of reviews from people who don’t even own the device. Yet, these days more and more people rely on user reviews when deciding to make a gadget purchase, especially these days when every dollar counts. So how do you know what reviews to trust?

Ah, the January doldrums, that quirky time between CES gadget-explosion and the spring cell phone shows. Everyone gets a bit goofy, hoping for a splash of publicity after the big guns have come out or are being prepped. Here is what bugged me this week:

-Sony’s nose dive-Calm Grandma down, DTV transition isn’t happening-You’ve got Mail (and an STD -Sorry)-Microsoft kills off Windows Mobile staff-So Belkin isn’t going to pay me any more?

You may remember that a few days ago, Mike Bayard, a Representative of Belkin that works with online retailers, had been posting jobs on Amazon’s Mechnical Turk asking people to write fake, positive reviews. Since this was discovered over the weekend, Belkin wasn’t able to give any sort of comment until the week started again. Today, the President, Mark Reynoso, issued a letter apologizing for Bayard.

Desperate times call for desperate measures? If a product you manufactured is doing poorly, do you: A. Take it off the market and go back to the drawing board? B. Pay people to write positive reviews about the product even if they never used it for a measly 65 cents? Or C. Refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem with said product?

The correct answer would be A, and maybe even C, but definitely not B, right? Well, some people would turn to option B for any of the other options. A person named Mike Bayard, who’s believed to be the Business Development Representative at Belkin International, recently created a task on Mechnical Turk, asking for people to write a positive review and “give [it] a 100% rating (as high as possible).”

Last night at a Belkin press event, I was shown a new side to Belkin. No long satiated in being a “me too” company, they are taking off in new directions and definately moving upscale and in many cases brilliant products. One such product is the FlyWire. Removing the unsightly cords that must travel to more »

Finally! Someone’s become sober enough to realize that, “Hey, shouldn’t there be USB chargers for wall outlets by now?”, and that pride goes to a company named Belkin. Its new Mini Surge Protector includes three standard wall outlets as well as two built-in USB ports for charging any cellphone, smartphone, or MP3 player, and possibly any other gadget that charges via USB. Say thank you and hallelujah!

Enough, no more for the love of God. Today, thanks to sales of Apple’s wonder gadget, the iPod, there are enough iPod docks for every man, woman and child on the planet to have 2. There is no need to make another one. We must end iPod dock proliferation.

You’ll find these docks in hotels, on TVs, near computers thanks to the likes of companies like Belkin, DLO, JVC and countless others. Literally countless others. You can’t get away from them. The time has come to call for an end of iPod enrichment. We need no more.

Belkin has released three extremely attractive and affordable laptop carrying cases. The whole range looks bright, cheerful and extremely well put together. To be honest a bag is pretty much a bag. You either want a slim one or a road warrior one to carry everything, and you probably already have a preference for style, whether it is a backpack, messenger, etc. Whatever your personal preference is I think you will find something that you like in the Belkin lineup.

My favorite? The Messenger style bag (as pictured to the right).

• Slim and lightweight – multiple compartments provide ample room for your laptop and accessories.
• Hidden handle available when needed.
• Plush inner lining protects laptops from scratches.
• Built-in stability for easy packing—bag stands up on its own.
• Works with 15.4-inch laptops, both widescreen and standard.
• Made with water-resistant nylon.
• Available in colors: black/light grey, grey/lavender, grey/green and grey/blue.

The Messenger bag retails for $49.99 and is available in all regions beginning in late January.

Next up is the Backpack style bag (pictured below), this bag offers: