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Archive for April, 2006

MapMania Goes Crazy

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 30th, 2006

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.

Google Map [...]

Silicon Valley & New York Clouds

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 30th, 2006

An ambitious plan to blanket Silicon Valley with wireless broadband is expected to dwarf San Francisco’s municipal Wi-Fi initiative, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The proposed project (RFP) will unite cities in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties and stretch over 1,500 square miles when completed. Officials envision a primarily outdoor network that will [...]

802.11w: More Security

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 28th, 2006

Get ready for yet another security standard coming down the pike — 802.11w.
The highly secure IEEE 802.11i standard patched the holes in the original Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) specification by introducing new cryptographic algorithms, now used in WiFi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA 2. It’s standard issue in most current WiFi gear and can encrypt [...]

Cloud for Windy City

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 28th, 2006

Chicago will soon solicit proposals for a WiFi Cloud, reports MuniWireless. Chicago’s Chief Information Officer Chris O’Brien said last week that the city will invite technology companies to submit proposals. O’Brien told aldermen that citywide installation would mean about 7,500 small antennas on light poles about every two blocks. He also estimated the cost [...]

Qualcomm to WiMAX: See You in Court

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 28th, 2006

Qualcomm has signed a licensing agreement for broadband wireless patents, the company said Thursday. The deal covers OFDM/OFDMA, reports Nancy Gohring, and indicates that Qualcomm’s purchase of Flarion was not so much from the technology but from Flarion’s intellectual property, especially around Mobile WiMAX technology.
Qualcomm acquired Flarion earlier this year. Some vendors and observers [...]

MIMO USB

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 28th, 2006

Belkin has a new MIMO USB Network Adapter. It sports a cradle that the smaller USB section plugs into. You can use the Belkin adapter for your desktop or remove the smaller and more compact adapter from the cradle and stick it in your notebook.
The adapter (right) is compatible with 802.11g as well as 802.11b. [...]

WiFi Gets a PERM

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 28th, 2006

At this week’s IEEE’s INFOCOM conference in Barcelona, Spain, a technology to enable end users to pool their Wi-Fi Internet access and monitor for freeloaders was demonstrated.
By pooling all available Internet connections, neighbors can enhance their Internet connectivity at no additional cost. That is, if neighbors are willing to share. And if it’s okay with [...]

The Very Very Large Array

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 27th, 2006

The Atacama desert in Northern Chile is the driest place on Earth. The dry mountains get an average of less than .004 inches of rain a year. Some places haven’t had rainfall in over 400 years. Blocked from moisture on both sides, by Pacific coastal mountains and by the inland Andes, it is virtually sterile.

In [...]

The Cloud Talks

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 27th, 2006

Vonage subscribers in the U.K. will soon be able to make mobile phone calls over the Internet, reports C/Net.
Vonage and Wi-Fi hot spot operator The Cloud are working together to launch the service. Vonage subscribers who have paid for a specially enabled Wi-Fi mobile handset can make calls charged [...]

Satcom Doubles Up

Posted by Sam Churchill on April 27th, 2006

Mobile Satellite Ventures is crowing about its latest patent “Space-Based Network Architectures for Satellite Radiotelephone Systems” from the U.S. patent office. It’s the latest in a long series of patent filings by MSV covering the development and operation of next generation satellite phone systems.
The patent covers satellite networks in which the space-based transmitter and [...]