Archive for the 'Wireless' Category

Wimax by next year - 3Gs doom?

Published
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Paul
on 19 April 2005
in Wireless
. 0 Comments

BBC NEWS | Technology | Intel reveals Wimax wireless chip

Intel innovates yet again and comes up with an integral Wimax chip (Still early stages but nevertheless something to keep technologists interested) and talk of a launch of a commercial product (in conjunctyion with network providers like BT) sometime in 2006. Via BBC (link above)

Wimax is seen as a method of extending broadband reach to whole cities, rural areas and countries with low net use.

It is also seen by some analysts as a potential competitor to mobile phone networks, although such a clash is still some way off.

Intel and other Wimax supporters will be hoping that the release of a chip will do for the technology what Centrino chips did for the spread of wi-fi.

The implementation of wi-fi-ready chips inside laptops by Intel helped propel the rapid growth of wi-fi networks around the world.

Sean Maloney, head of Intel’s mobility unit, said many trials were under way, but the actual deployment of mobile Wimax would not start this year.

“You’ll probably see things at the back end of 2006, you’ll probably see some… trials earlier than that,” he told the Reuters news agency.

Exciting stuff because despite this being 18 months away, the people now looking at ubiquitous computing applications start to come into their own. Wimax has got to be the competition to mobile networks and must push down the price of Broadband on the move.

Ultimately I could be stood in London and call up info on where to go for lunch, what play to see, guidebooks on the area, purchase a history to read at home and buy some souvenirs. I could also post my thoughts of the area, the restaurant, the museum and my photos. Technically I wouldn’t need to carry anything as it could all be delivered to my home. That’s obviously a consumer perspective, from a business perspective I could receive realtime business information while presenting to clients without having to use their network, or go an work in the park becuase the offie is too stifling. In fact I could be an etailer on the street, showing my wares off by laptop and distributing them via post (hey its an idea security needs to be worked out)

I’m a little bit excited by Wimax - lets hope that there is open competition in the UK access marketplace though - another BT monopoly could be disasterous.

Cost of Wireless Routers

Published
by
Paul
on 14 April 2004
in Broadband, Home Networking, Innovation, WIFI and Wireless
. 0 Comments

Linksys Wireless G Router

I just looked at how much this now is - sub £60 is a fantastic price I can’t believe how much this has been reduced since last year. I think I paid double this…

Its interesting that there has been very little out this year in terms of new developments (well, at least not that I am aware of). Last year lots of media adapters and hushed tones of new and exciting products in this area none of which seem to have emerged. I await optimistically that there will be something interesting later in the year.

In the meantime you can always go look at the Internet Washing Machine

Translation to Go - Wireless style!

Published
by
Paul
on 3 September 2003
in Wireless
. 0 Comments

BBC NEWS | Technology | Digital cam translates in a snap

Most would agree it is handy to have signs which warn you of dangers like shark-infested waters.

If those signs are in a language you do not understand though, life for the traveller can be tricky.

So US researchers have come up with a prototype camera that does away with phrase books and translates signs almost instantly using the internet.

It combines a pocket computer, a digital camera and a wireless internet connection.

Fantastic idea to use a camera and an Ipaq to carry out translation. Of courssse you also need a wireless transceiver and to be able to hook into a wireless network. How many important signs are there in a Starbucks or Mcdonalds?

Still a great idea, and one I hope will be made into a product or service soon.

Point & Connect Wireless Devices

Published
by
Paul
on 31 July 2003
in Creativity, Design, Home Networking, WIFI and Wireless
. 0 Comments

New Scientist

‘Point-and-connect’ links for wireless devices

18:09 29 July 03

NewScientist.com news service

Linking devices via a wireless network could be considerably simplified using a “point-and-connect” technology being developed by Sony.
The camera-based system, developed by researchers at Sony’s Interaction Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, lets users instantly transfer data from a laptop or handheld computer to a device in close proximity connected to the same wireless network.
Researcher Ayatsuka Yuji says the prototype system, dubbed Gaze-Link, removes the need to manually configure networked devices for this purpose.
“It is so troublesome, especially when there are many networked devices,” Yuji told New Scientist. “When you want to send data in your PDA to a printer, for example, you have to input or to select a correct network address.”

Small sticker

A code displayed on a small sticker attached to each device is identified by the laptop’s camera. Software running on the laptop then automatically locates the device on the network. “Gaze-Link is one of the challenges to make connecting more ‘intuitive’,” Yuji says.

Simeon Keates, a computer usability researcher at Cambridge University, UK, says the system could have real benefits if there are a multitude of different devices connected to a network.

“As the home gets more connected, user overload is going to become more of an issue,” he says. “It would certainly be helpful for someone who was nervous of the technology.”

But Keates adds that this benefit will depend largely on the accuracy and reliability of the system. It must also be able to distinguish between different devices stacked next to each other, he says.

Will Knight
Via SmartMobs.

Good idea in principle. Love to see how it works in practice.

802.?

Published
by
Paul
on 21 July 2003
in Broadband, WIFI and Wireless
. 0 Comments

ZDNet |UK| - Comment - Story - Broadband wireless goes to the max

802.16 is to 802.11 what the M25 motorway is to the Basingstoke one way system. Designed to operate over a number of bands from 2GHz to 66GHz, 802.16 can work over 30 miles and pump data at speeds of up to 70Mbps.
Originally intended for ‘last mile’ fixed wireless broadband links, the standard has already grown mesh additions to let stations relay data for others, and work is underway for mobile working. This week, Intel announced it would be designing 802.16 silicon: it’s not alone, and other standards espoused by the chip giant haven’t always taken off, but as a statement of intent it’s very significant. If 802.16 takes off, it’ll change the face of broadband.

I’ve heard it before, but there might be something in this. Could this be a way of improving the link over the last mile without major investment of diggin up roads and replacing infrastructure? Okay there has got to be some investment, base stations for one, however it could be that this is significantly less than fixed solutions. If chipsets and the equipment get to be consumer pricing then who knows where this cold lead?

Surfing on the Beach

Published
by
Paul
on 16 July 2003
in Wireless
. 0 Comments

BBC NEWS | Technology | UK beach gets wireless web

…have set up a wireless network in the English seaside town of Brighton so that you can browse the web or read your e-mails while you soak up the sunshine.

The service, called PiertoPier, is being offered free to anyone who has the right gear and relies on volunteers and donations to keep it alive.

“We all live in Brighton and we want to work on the beach,” explained Alex Studd of internet provider Moving Edge which is backing the project

Priceless, ‘Pier to Pier’!

I have yet to actually take my laptop into my garden and see whether it will connect to the wireless network but then the battery only lasts about ten minutes. Still if I went on the beach I could get sand in it too! Maybe a Handheld device would work better… but would I really want to work on the beach?

Study: Wi-Fi users still don’t encrypt

Published
by
Paul
on 4 July 2003
in Broadband, Mobile, WIFI, Wireless and security
. 0 Comments

The Register

What they found was that users checking their e-mail through unencrypted POP connections vastly outnumbered those using a VPN or another encrypted tunnel. Only three percent of e-mail downloads were encrypted on the first day of the conference, 12 percent on the second day. (The company says it counted all VPN or tunneled traffic as e-mail).

That means the other 88% could easily be intercepted by eavesdroppers using commonly-available tools, compromising both the e-mail and the user’s passwords.

Additionally, 84 out of the 523 users monitored were configured to allow ad hoc networking, and 74 were configured to automatically connect to the access point with the strongest signal strength — a default mode that could leave a laptop prey to a rogue access point.

This is very worrying. People need to understand the risks they run when they don’t encryptusing wireless networks, esepcially if it takes off. We have had some instances of malicous use of wireless networks for bandwidth theft (i.e. leaching off of someone else’s broadband connection) and I expect it is relatively easy to access their PCs etc as most access points are configured for networking rather than simply connection sharing.

I hope the new wireless encruption protocols are secure and perhaps more importnaly easy to use for unexperienced consumers than the current batch.

It is certainly a concern for any services I am involved in developing.

If you go down to the woods today, expect a WIFI surprise!

Published
by
Paul
on 3 July 2003
in Broadband, Education, Hardware, Knowledge Management, Research, Science, WIFI and Wireless
. 0 Comments

BBC NEWS | Technology | Pupils learn in wi-fi wood

Wi-fi wood
For the project, a wireless network has been set up in a wood in Sussex on the south coast of England.

Back at base they can compare notes
Schoolchildren with PDAs and walkie talkies are encouraged to explore the wood, reporting back about wildlife or plants they see along the way.
In the latest trial in late June, pupils from the Varndean school in Brighton spend three days exploring the worlds in pairs.
“When they found something, they described it to someone back at the den, which means they had to verbally describe very carefully what they found,” explained superviser Rowanne Fleck.
“They then got a little message on their screens which gave them a little more information and acted as a record of what they found in the wood,” she told the BBC programme, Go Digital.
The feedback from the children has been overwhelming positive, with the students embracing this new way of learning about the environment.
“It is a brilliant way of linking technology with the ecology,” said technology analyst Bill Thompson.
“It gets away from the idea that using technology in education is about sitting students in front of a computer and getting them typing on keyboards.”

This is superb. I want to go and play! Perhaps they could add a Wifi connected camera? I wonder if there is a webcam?

No there isn’t! But there are some good pics here, which is the Ambient Wood website at Sussex University COGS department.

They are undertaking the following project called Equator

The central goal of the Equator IRC is to promote the integration of the physical with the digital. In particular we are concerned with uncovering and supporting the variety of possible relationships between physical and digital worlds. In doing this our objective is to improve the quality of everyday life by building and adapting technologies for a range of user groups and application domains.

Perhaps I should do this sort of stuff for a living?