Posted 02/11/10 at 05:58:28 PM by Jason Barry

A professor of electrical engineering at Penn. State and his research team managed to get an infrared signal to transmit data at 1Gbps. Optical networks have a host of potential advantages over traditional radio networks such as more security, less interference, and obviously speed.

Penn State graduate student Jarir Fadullah along with his electrical engineering professor Mohsen Kavehrad developed the system. In a nutshell, a modulating beam of infrared light was focused on the ceiling, while a specifically modified photo detector picked up the reflections.

The research pair seemed to think that by their calculations, there is much more bandwidth to be found using infrared light. The new technology is touted as the future of wireless communications as the RF spectrum continues to be gobbled up and overly congested.

Image Courtesy of Gizmodo

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Posted 01/06/10 at 08:22:56 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Sony has announced yet another product at CES. This one is a bit of a head-scratcher for us, though. The Dash Internet Viewer is a sort of touchscreen widget station. Think Chumby, but with a larger (and frankly, beautiful) 7 inch screen and sleeker design. As it turns out, that’s exactly what it is; the Dash runs the Chumby OS.

Sony is pushing the app angle hard, because well, isn’t everyone? The Chumby OS already has over 1000 apps available, and Sony will be making some new ones of its own. The Dash will have Wi-Fi so you can use it to pull down data for those data-hungry apps. There is no internal battery, so don’t confuse this with a tablet device as some already have.  Is this something you need? If so, the Dash will be shipping in April for $199.

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Posted 01/05/10 at 08:38:14 PM by Ryan Whitwam

LaCie is hitting CES hard right out of the gate announcing a new LaCinema device, network server, and Wuala USB drives. The new LaCinema Mini HD is a DLNA compliant media player capable of 1080p output via an HDMI port. The Mini HD has an internal hard drive that can be loaded up with content over the network or by way of the USB port. It will support 802.11n Wi-Fi and most codecs including DivX, MKV, and AVC.

Next up we have a network server that LaCie is just calling Network Server.It will support five drive bays, gigabit Ethernet, and runs Windows Home Server. Customers will also have access to LaCie’s Wuala backup technology, but no details were available at the time.

Finally we have the new line of CoolKey and WhizKey USB keys (that actually look like keys). They are only USB 2.0 instead of SuperSpeed USB like many devices we’re likely to see around the CES floor this week. LaCie did sate the drives would be capable of 30MB/s transfers and are waterproof. They will be available in sizes up to 32GB. They also come with 4GB of Wuala web storage for two years.

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Posted 12/28/09 at 10:00:00 AM by Will Smith

When you’re ready to step up to the world of cellular broadband connections, there are lots of options. The removable PC Card, USB, and ExpressCard modems deliver great performance and work with pretty much any PC, but they’ll connect only one machine at a time to the Internet—that is, unless you can successfully set up connection sharing in Windows. And while we love the always-on nature of modems integrated in notebooks, their permanent association to a single machine makes the external cards seem positively promiscuous by comparison. Enter the MiFi 2200.

Inside this tiny device—it’s about the same size as a stack of six credit cards—is not only a 3G wireless modem, but also a Wi-Fi access point and a battery to power the whole thing. That’s right, the MiFi 2200 lets you and four of your closest pals connect to the Internet anywhere there’s a 3G cell signal. We tested the MiFi with two computers and a Wi-Fi-enabled phone and were pleased with the results. The battery-powered MiFi seems designed to work with PCs that are no more than 10 feet away. While we had signal further out in some test environments, we found it worked best up close.

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 12/14/09 at 08:27:04 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Who wouldn’t want Wi-Fi in their car? GM is offering up the option to purchase the Autonet Mobile Wi-Fi router for seven Chevy vehicles. The system will run $199, after mail-in rebate. While that may seem a bit steep, keep in mind that the normal price is $500. The system is available in the Equinox, Traverse, Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, and Express. To get the cheap price, perspective customers have to buy one of these vehicles before December 31st.
 
Customers have to agree to a 2 year service agreement running $29 per month. That only comes with 1GB of data, after which the service shuts off until the next billing cycle. A 5GB plan is available for $59. The Autonet service uses the Verizon network to provide data. An interested party could just get a Verizon MiFi and have a Wi-Fi network powered by Verizon everywhere, not just in the car. Still, if your dream is to impress your friends with a Wi-Fi router in your car, the time to buy is now.

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Posted 11/11/09 at 07:34:07 AM by Paul Lilly

By now you've probably seen one of Verizon's ads taking shots at AT&T's comparatively dismal 3G network coverage. Even if you didn't, AT&T has, and the wireless carrier has accused Verizon of not telling the whole story and misleading the public.

AT&T contends it's unfair to show 3G coverage maps from the two carriers side by side because it makes it look like AT&T doesn't have service in most areas. The maps only depict 3G zones, ignoring AT&T's existing 2.5G network, which is sufficient for email and other tasks portrayed in the commercials. The bottom line is, the ads are accurate in terms of 3G, but neglect to tell the whole story. Is that misleading?

AT&T thinks so, and as we previously reported, the wireless carrier has dropped a lawsuit on Verizon's lap. How that plays out will be for the courts to decide. In the meantime, expect the ads to keep rolling, especially with Verizon's Droid attracting so much attention.

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Posted 11/10/09 at 05:55:54 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Just yesterday we told you about the Microsoft’s ad campaign that could get you free WiFi. Google had no intention of taking that lying down apparently. The Search giant has announced plans to offer free wireless internet access in 47 airports across the country now through January 15th, 2010. The program is being facilitated by wireless providers like Boingo Wireless and Advanced Wireless Group.

"We're very happy to extend our Holiday Wi-Fi gift to the millions of people who will spend time in airports over the next few months," said Marissa Mayer, VP of User Experience at Google. With all the travel that comes with the holiday season, many people rely on wireless connectivity to keep in touch.

When a user logs on to the free Google provided WiFi, they will be presented with the option to donate to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Google will match the donations up to $250,000. The Microsoft deal is a straight up promotion, whereas this is just plain charity. Check out the full list of airports here. Happy holidays from Google!

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Posted 11/09/09 at 06:48:48 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Microsoft's Bing and JiWire have a proposition for you. Free WiFi in exchange for using Bing. Interested? The promotion would give users free Internet access at participating hotspots if they do just one search with Bing. In conjunction with JiWire’s advertising network, Microsoft will be extending the offer to various hotels and airports.

The campaign was started in September at several thousand locations. It managed to attract between 30 and 40 percent of visitors to the hotspots. This is extremely high, as most ads only get interaction from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of people. Microsoft reportedly plans to continue with the promotion, which is a part of JiWire’s Ads for Access campaign. The campaign allows companies to give customers something in exchange for their time. This can be taking a survey, watching a video ad, or (in this case) using the Bing search engine.

The next time you’re in an airport, keep an eye out for these ads. It could get you free access courtesy of a certain Redmond software giant.

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