Some of my most popular columns have been about my continuing struggle for good Internet service from my home in rural Sonoma County, California. From bad dial-up to bad DSL (IDSL—don’t get it) to Starband satellite Internet to my current set-up, where I use a 10.5 kilometer wireless link to borrow DSL service from a… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Commentary
MeshNetworks Announces Mesh Networking Software
Earlier this week, MeshNetworks, Inc. announced the limited availability of its new MeshLAN Multi-Hopping software solution for industry standard 802.11 (Wi-Fi) based wireless LANs. MeshLAN software extends the range and robustness of existing Wi-Fi networks by adding multi-hopping peer-to-peer capabilities to off-the-shelf 802.11 cards, according to the company.… Continue Reading
Is 802.11a Dead Before It Even Begins?
Wireless networking keeps getting better and better. 802.11a-based devices are more than fast enough for most applications. And assuming you can find them and stomach the possibility that they’ll be obsolete by year’s end, you’ll be a happy camper. Via [eweek.com]… Continue Reading
Home Office: Going Wireless? Consider Cost, Security
Computer security expert Frank Keeney took me for an eye-opening ride around Pasadena, California. Frank brought along a notebook computer, equipped with a wireless PC Card and an antenna mounted on the car’s roof. In a half hour of “war driving” (as he called it), we accessed over 40 wireless networks in homes, real estate… Continue Reading
Mesh Networks – A DiSrUpTiVe Technology?
Mesh Networks, a wireless startup company in Maitland, FL is developing an alternative to 3G, that will carry data, voice and other multimedia streams. Their plan is to be disruptive as possible.… Continue Reading
Wireless Workplaces Asking For Trouble
Corporations across America are opening their doors to hackers when they set up wireless networks–or when their employees set them up behind their backs. Via [news.com.com]… Continue Reading
Wireless Insecurities
It’s a sight that would make any sales manager proud: your company’s top sales rep is dutifully e-mailing detailed reports on the day’s activities over a public wireless 802.11b network as he waits for his lunch across the street from the office. But would your sales manager be quite so happy if she knew the… Continue Reading
Threat Of “Drive-by Hacking” A Myth
The threat of wireless hacking has been greatly exaggerated, according to a top security expert at Computer Associates. Via [software.silicon.com]… Continue Reading
Wireless LANs: Trouble In The Air
As the airline industry scrambles to meet a Jan. 18 deadline to screen every checked bag for explosives, security experts, analysts and government officials are raising serious concerns about the security of wireless technology that’s integral to the effort. Via [computerworld.com]… Continue Reading
802.11b And 3G Synergies For 2002
If 2001 was a year of economic slowdown, retreat from technology and hunkering down, 2002 will be a time of sorting out. Wireless services will seek out new markets, embattled mobile companies will stem a tide of losses and new technologies introduced will begin to flourish — or fail. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]… Continue Reading
Wireless Wrap-up: Carriers Moving To 3G Alternative In 2002
The Wireless Strategies to stimulate the adoption of mobile data among enterprises that were hatched in the boardrooms of major telecommunications carriers in 2001 are likely to take hold in 2002. Via [infoworld.com]… Continue Reading
The Year Ahead: The Year Of Bluetooth?
Bluetooth has suffered one of the most drawn-out launches of any technology in history, but with devices now appearing on the shelves, its time just might have come. Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]… Continue Reading
The Year Ahead: Will Wireless Revive The PDA Market?
Shipments of handheld computers fell throughout 2001. 2002 looks like another lean year: only wireless technologies will boost sales, say analysts. Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]… Continue Reading
Convenience Vs. Annoyance
From etiquette experts to senior executives at Microsoft, a growing number of people say wireless Internet access is becoming an annoyance–a technology that could potentially become more annoying than cell phones or pagers. They point to the alarming number of attendants at technology conferences and even internal office meetings who ignore speakers to focus on… Continue Reading
Wireless 802.11 LAN Demand Soars
Wireless LANs that use the IEEE 802.11b and 802.11a standards stormed the market in the fourth quarter of last year, with revenue worldwide growing 21 percent sequentially from the third quarter, market research company Dell’Oro Group Inc. reported Thursday. Via [wireless.itworld.com]… Continue Reading