eardrumbuzz: wireless

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 11:38:57 GMT

Phling! connects your phone to your PC and your friends via P2P.

Phling! is a new service for mobile phones that acts as the glue between your phone, your PC, and your IM contact list to enable sending multimedia between the three. It’s not an MMS protocol, so it avoids leaving you with any per-message charges, instead using peer-to-peer technology via the internet connection on your phone to relay the data. You can send pictures, voice and text messages to IM contacts, to your home PC, or to your mobile blog via your phone, all for free — at least, while the phling! service is still in beta. What’s the catch? For now, it only works on three phones, all Nokia: the 6600, the 6620, and the 7610, and you have to have one of the listed data plans from AT&T, Cingular, or T-Mobile. If that’s you, pal, phling! away and post up in the comments if it’s all that and a bucket of chicken. Or not.

[Engadget]

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 21:54:44 GMT

Dartmouth to roll out video over WiFi.

Dartmouth College has already positioned itself as a leader in employing new wireless technologies on campus. They rolled out VoIP over WiFi last year, and now they’re looking to push video to classrooms over 802.11a. They chose the standard as opposed to going with 802.11g because their WLAN-based VoIP phones operate over 802.11b, which shares the same radio frequency as 802.11g. Reserving non-competitive bandwidth for video on 802.11a, which operates at its own radio frequency, is therefore an attractive option. They plan to triple the number of access points and move from Cisco to Aruba hardware because of the latter’s support for intelligent switching. They’ll also step up plans to convert more of their existing VoIP lines to WiFi. The long-term goal? Some pretty sci-fi scenarios in which students will be able to do things like speak queries to a worn Vocera VoIP badge seeking directions to library resources, and receive an automated voice response telling them the location in relation to where they’re standing. Man, do we feel gypped — back when we went to college, they were still working on digitizing the card catalogue.

[Engadget]

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 21:35:55 GMT

Airfoil: Stream Any Audio Over Airport Express.

Rogue Amoeba software, the folks who produce the excellent Audio Hijack Pro, have just announced 'Airfoil,' software for the Apple Airport Express that allows you to stream any sound source over Wi-Fi, not just iTunes. While it still isn't a perfect solution for something like movie playback (where the audio will lag a couple of seconds behind the video, unless you tweak), it fixes an obvious oversight in the Airport Express. I didn't see anything about the audio stream being encrypted, either, so try to skip that WMV file that recites your credit card number over and over.

Airfoil is $25, but on an introductory sale through March for $20. Windows versions might come out later, but right now it's OSX only.

Product Page [RogueAmoeba via MacMerc]

[Gizmodo]

Mon, 15 Nov 2004 21:19:09 GMT

Viagra (and other drugs) getting the RFID treatment.

The FDA and a bunch of the big pharmaceutical companies are about to announce a plan today to cut back on drug counterfeiting by putting RFID tags on bottles for pills like Viagra and OxyContin (which for pretty obvious reasons are among the most abused, counterfeited, and stolen medications in the country). Pharmacists would be able to wave an RFID reader and instantly see whether the bottle has been and whether the medication is counterfeit or not. Privacy advocates are already up in arms, since conceivably you could have a situation where an employer could install an RFID scanner and know which medications their employees were carrying around without actually having to search their bags or whatever (though if you’re that worried about people knowing that you’re popping Viagra, you might want to either leave it at home or put it into a non-RFID tagged bottle.
[Engadget]

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 20:27:12 GMT

Bluetooth's three-year roadmap.

With lots of competition from Ultrawideband (UWB) Zigbee, and even 802.11n on the horizon, the Bluetooth folks want to ensure their spec doesn’t go the way of the dodo, so they’re nearing completion of the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) spec for 2005, which will boost speeds up to 3 Megabits-per-secon (up from the current maximum of 1 Megabit-per-sec of Bluetooth 1.2). Also scheduled for implementation within the next three years (i.e. sometime after we stop caring) are security updates, power optimization, greater range (have they not seen Extreme Bluetoothing?), and multicasting, which would allow a Bluetooth device to communicate to seven devices at once. They say they’ll be able to maintain backwards compatibility for all this, of course.

[Engadget]

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 20:12:23 GMT

Xingtone 4 Gets Around Verizon.

Xingtone has announced version 4.0 of their software that lets you use MP3s as ringtones. The biggest new feature: the ability to use Xingtone to load your own ringtones even on Verizon's 'closed' network. In addition to just MP3 formats, they now also support WMA and OGG Vorbis in their $20 software package. They're really riding this whole 'getting around Verizon' thing, too. They're even offering a promotional short-clip version to Verizon customers.

From the press release:

"We drive users and traffic to these expensive, advanced networks," said Jonathan Schreiber, CEO of Xingtone. "The market should be flooded with entrepreneurs like us who can transform wireless networks into independent economies. With Xingtone as part of the equation, music labels sell more music, carriers adopt more subscribers and fill their pipes, and consumers have more freedom everyone should love Xingtone."

Product Page. [Xingtone]

[Gizmodo]

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 19:27:20 GMT

Largest Free Network?
Panera claims a great title: largest free Wi-Fi hotspot network: In a press release today, Panera says its network of 325 free Wi-Fi hotspots is the largest such free network. They plan to have 500 stores out of 637 current outlets unwired within 12 months. An additional 140 to 150 stores will open this year, and Wi-Fi is planned as part of their design. The press release has metrics on performance: ...the average total online time per bakery/cafe has increased three-fold over the last twelve months. Internal research indicates that of the hundreds of thousands of customer accesses over the last year, the average connect time is one hour. Interestingly, there's no dollars-to-time ratio: are folks spending 10 percent more who use Wi-Fi? 100 percent more? Less? We don't know, but we must expect that they do. Nominations welcome for other free hotspot networks that rival Panera's, but I think they may have the claim.
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Sun, 18 Jul 2004 23:46:45 GMT

From A to RFID: Plumbing 101
In this commentary, IBM says that "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), the next generation supply chain technology is all the rage -- for good reason. The technology is poised to save the distribution, manufacturing and consumer packaged goods industries billions of dollars."
Source: Mark Ouellette, IBM Software Group, for ZDNet, June 12, 2004
[Smart Mobs]

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 22:05:27 GMT

Wi-Fi's Function Starts to Infiltrate Homes.
Wi-Fi isn't just for networking any more: devices hang off home networks for audio, video, voice: Julio Ojeda-Zapata files a round-up of the transformation of a home wireless network from an early adopter's geeky add-on to a mass-market offering with support from companies like Comcast and Qwest. Remember when cable firms threatened users who shared their network connections with their families? Ojeda-Zapata notes the increasing variety of devices that can use Wi-Fi networks as their Internet or local network feed, including Apple's new AirPort Express for beaming music to home stereos, Microsoft's Media Center Extender for their home entertainment hub, and Gateway's streaming DVD player....
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 22:02:31 GMT

Stealth Wallpaper.
Silicon.com reports on BAE Systems's radio frequency blocking wallpaper: It's 50 to 100 microns thick and can adhere to most surfaces. It's a mesh of copper and a polymer created in a manner similar to how circuit boards are laid down. There's no timeline for commercial availability. Some versions can be switched on and off; others are permanent.
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Sat, 24 Apr 2004 00:50:22 GMT

BluePhoneMenu.
BluePhoneMenu is a small application that adds Caller ID functionality to your menu bar and desktop using your Bluetooth enabled phone.
[Backup Brain]

Sat, 24 Apr 2004 00:47:18 GMT

Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet.
Chrysalis previews their WiFi Seeker, a keychain sized device for instant Wi-Fi signal finding: Chrysalis sent me a demo unit of its just-unveiled WiFi Seeker, which they designed to differentiate 80211b/g networks from other devices. Two previous Wi-Fi signal finders fell short in ways the Seeker does not. The Kensington WiFi Finder is relatively large (credit card sized) and scans before displaying the results instead of a constant active scan--but it can tell Wi-Fi from junk. WFS-1 from SMart ID is much cooler offering a no-industrial-design-intended box with instant scanning--but which "hears" all 2.4 GHz signals the same. Push the button on the WiFi Seeker and it scans briefly, often under a second, before displaying a signal strength in zero to four LEDs. Keep the button held down and it's a Wi-Fi dowser, allowing you to move around and see immediate response to different signal strengths. It's more directionally sensitive than the WFS-1. Chrysalis will sell the device starting in June for $29.95.
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 19:58:52 GMT

WiFi Phone Announced.
Zyxel just announced its Prestige 2000W VoIP Wi-Fi Cordless Phone. It's designed to work with 802.11b networks, implements QoS and IP-to-IP call functionality and uses 128-bit WEP encryption. It also scans for 'available APs in [the] hand set's environment'. War driving just became a whole lot more interesting.
[Slashdot]

Tue, 09 Mar 2004 16:41:09 GMT

MIMO: Coming Soon.
Vendors say that access points and PC cards that use MIMO technology will be available by the end of this year: MIMO, which stands for multiple-input-multiple-output, is a smart antenna technology that promises to boost speed and throughput of wireless gear. Some say that MIMO will likely be part of the next Wi-Fi upgrade, 802.11n. This story quotes an unnamed vendor executive who says that in trials, gear using MIMO chips from Airgo produced a 200 percent to 400 percent increase in throughput over standard gear and 150 percent to 300 percent better range. Supporters say that MIMO shouldn't increase the price of gear dramatically. I'm not sure I believe that but I suppose I'll see. Atheros and Broadcom both declined to say if they're working on MIMO. Amusingly, they both pointed out that customers won't want to buy products that don't comply with the IEEE standard. Both companies have products that boost throughput in a proprietary fashion so that argument hasn't stopped them in the past....
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Thu, 04 Mar 2004 01:47:33 GMT

The TDV project: Tribes take to wireless web.
The BBC reports on the Tribal Digital Village (TDV) project which is based in Southern California's San Diego County, home to 18 native American reservations, each a sovereign nation, with a total population of 15,000.A wireless internet connection now spans an area 150 miles long by 75 miles wide.Wi-fi networks cover local government offices, libraries, schools and museums,with over 900 computers connected to the network.
[Smart Mobs]

Sat, 14 Feb 2004 09:22:59 GMT

Donate your unused Airport Base Station.
Tech Superpowers, the Boston company that created NewburyOpen.net - a free Wi-Fi hotspot that covers some parts of Newbury Street - is looking for donations of unused or defective Airport Base Stations for an undisclosed project. According to their request the donated hardware will be "used for the good of the world". Wi-Fi Networking News thinks the project should be something similar to Tech Superpower[base ']s initiative of unwiring the Boston Marathon "but this time somehow related to the community wireless movement". If you think this is a good cause follow this link to know where to ship your unused Airport Base Station.
[Smart Mobs]

Sat, 14 Feb 2004 06:23:10 GMT

Ready For Prime Time?
Is this the little AirPort Monitor Utility that could?

Fri, 13 Feb 2004 16:23:46 GMT

For Outback Hacking
This weatherproof enclosure is the ideal outdoor housing for any Access Point / Base Station. A 15 dBi uni-directional antenna is built into the box lid, allowing the wireless signal to be concentrated in one direction. A compression seal fitting allows a cable to be passed into the box without comprimising the weather protection.
MacWireless

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 18:03:00 GMT

Mac Users Join the "A" List When Apple's AirPort Extreme (IEEE 802.11g) wireless networking system was announced in January 2003, Steve Jobs declared an older, equally fast system dead. He said 802.11a, which uses a different range of frequency from the AirPort (802.11b) and AirPort Extreme standards, would join the dustbin of history, as the lack of backwards compatibility doomed it. A year later, 802.11a has more legs because of additional frequencies allotted to its band, and the large number of wireless cards from non-Apple sources that can handle 802.11a, b, and g. 802.11a doesn't suffer from as much junk radio interference as b and g. But Mac users have been excluded from this revolution so far. OrangeWare is now offering software drivers that they developed for 3Com to support a set of chips from Atheros, a competitor to Apple's wireless source Broadcom. Although the OrangeWare driver lets Mac OS X use Atheros-based wireless cards, Mac users have been able to use 802.11g cards made by Linksys, Buffalo, Belkin, and others that share the Broadcom chips used in the AirPort Extreme line-up ever since the AirPort 3.1 software update was released. With the $15 trialware OrangeWare driver, you can use 802.11a or a/g PC or PCI cards from NetGear, Fujitsu, D-Link and others. OrangeWare has a short list of cards they've tested. [Orangeware]

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 08:11:07 GMT

Linksys' Popular WLAN Signal Booster is Back...
The word from Linksys is that its WSB24 wireless signal booster is once again available for sale, effective immediately. The WSB24 was pulled from the market about three weeks ago while Linksys and the FCC hashed things out. Apparently, they were able to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement on the popular product. While the product was on hiatus, many wireless networkers bought up remaining product on the on-line sites that still offered it and on Ebay and other auction sites.
[Tom's Networking]

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 07:26:44 GMT
New Wireless KVM Switches and KVM Over IP solutions
Avocent's LongView Wireless is the world's first wireless keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) extender that can be used to wirelessly connect monitors (VGA, SVGA, XGA), keyboards, mice and audio devices to any desired computer, up to 100 feet away.
[Avocent]

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 06:06:56 GMT
Hanker'n for Wireless Hack'n?
Buy this book.
[O'Reilly.com]

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 06:00:42 GMT
Vagablog - Blogging for Palm Devices.
Vagablog is a tool for posting updates to blogs directly from your Palm based handheld system over a network connection. Get your blog-on live by sending it directly over 802.11, bluetooth, or cellular.
[Vagablog]

Mon, 05 Jan 2004 01:17:58 GMT
Dedicated games channel on i-mode in Europe.
Macrospace, a provider in wireless gaming, announced the launch of its first dedicated games channel for i-mode subscribers across Europe.
Macrospace's games channel is already available to i-mode users on the WIND network in Italy, and will be rolled out across all European i-mode networks by the end of the year. Macrospace is amongst the first wave of European companies launching dedicated games channels on i-mode.
by way of 3G news
[Smart Mobs]

Tue, 30 Dec 2003 00:56:04 GMT
Keep Your Eyes on MetroFi.
MetroFi doesn't appear to have officially introduced itself to the world: Its Web site is pretty stripped down and only says that the company plans to build a nationwide residential broadband network using Wi-Fi. Most of its leaders come from Covad, though its CTO was the CTO for Metricom. I'll be interested to see what exactly these guys are planning as it seems that WiMAX might be a better technology for such a network.
[Wi-Fi Networking News]