Wednesday, December 17, 2008
On The Go WiFi
I am not a huge fan of the New York Times, but I do like their technology columnist - David Pogue. He has a great write-up this week on three devices that convert your cell phone data service to wifi. The advantage of doing this is that you can use multiple computers on a cell phone data plan, and you are able to use wifi devices that cannot accept a wireless card.
Labels: cell phone, wireless
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Delta In-flight wifi
Delta Airlines is going to be offering in-fight wifi beginning next year. Engadget has more information.
Labels: airline, Delta, wireless
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Nokia 6086
Nerdrobin left a comment regarding problems in syncing my Samsung t409 handset...
I saw that you mentioned issues with syncing with Outlook and that you also switched to the Nokia 6086. I have the same phone and have found a way to sync it directly with Outlook. You need to go to Nokia's website and download the Nokia PC Suite for the 6086 and get a Bluetooth adapter for your PC. After setting it all up, the Nokia PC Suite provides direct syncronization with Outlook through Bluetooth as well as many other nice features.I actually had not switched to the Nokia, but my two sons do use the Nokia handsets. I am going to grab one and try this out. I must say that the Nokia phones are much more open than the Samsung handsets. They are able to easily load custom ringtones, while the Samsung prevents this entirely.
Labels: cell phone, Cellular, Nokia, Samsung, T-Mobile, VOIP, wireless
Monday, November 26, 2007
A, B, G, and N In Your Wireless
If you have ever shopped for a wireless router then you may have noticed that there are different types of wireless protocols beyond just the manufacturers. We will run down the differences and help you make the right choice.
801.11 is the common thread among the four standards. They have been developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). I am glad that we have that out of the way.
The four different protocols are denoted by the letters A, B, G, and N tacked onto the end of 802.11.
A and B were the earliest standards released in 1999. They use separate frequency spectrums and modulation techniques. The "B" protocol allows up to 11 Mbit/s of throughput and the "A" allows up to 54 Mbit/s. The "A" protocol was not really adopted by the wireless device manufactures and "B" is quickly fading into history.
The "G" standard released in 2003 has become the de facto protocol that you will find on store shelves. The throughput speed is up to 54 Mbit/s, and the range is slightly farther than "A". This shares the same frequency spectrum with "B" so you will find most "G" wireless equipment to be backwards-compatible to the "B" protocol.
The "N" standard is the newest protocol on the block. The problem with this standard is that it really does not exist, yet. The wireless manufacturers are taking guesses as to what the final standard will be when it is completed in 2008 or 2009. You may find pre-N and draft-N models on your local store shelves. The throughput of this newest standard is reportedly up to 248 Mbit/s (That is 2.5 times faster than many of today's wired connections). The range is much greater than current standards with distances up to 70 meters.
So what should you purchase? For most that will surfing the web and reading email and only occasionally moving files the current "G" standard is more than sufficient. The "G" protocol routers can be purchased for as low as $35 at big-box retailers. If you will be moving large files in such as watching full-screen movies from an in-home or office file server then the $90+ might be justifiable for the "N" standard. Just remember that all of your equipment must be "N" standard or else the speed will fall back to the "G" standard. Most laptop makers are not taking the plunge to "N" yet so you likely have a "G" built-in wireless card. One more word of warning on using the "N" standard is to stay with one vendor such as Cisco or D-Link because there can be issues with cross-platform compatibility.
801.11 is the common thread among the four standards. They have been developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). I am glad that we have that out of the way.
The four different protocols are denoted by the letters A, B, G, and N tacked onto the end of 802.11.
A and B were the earliest standards released in 1999. They use separate frequency spectrums and modulation techniques. The "B" protocol allows up to 11 Mbit/s of throughput and the "A" allows up to 54 Mbit/s. The "A" protocol was not really adopted by the wireless device manufactures and "B" is quickly fading into history.
The "G" standard released in 2003 has become the de facto protocol that you will find on store shelves. The throughput speed is up to 54 Mbit/s, and the range is slightly farther than "A". This shares the same frequency spectrum with "B" so you will find most "G" wireless equipment to be backwards-compatible to the "B" protocol.
The "N" standard is the newest protocol on the block. The problem with this standard is that it really does not exist, yet. The wireless manufacturers are taking guesses as to what the final standard will be when it is completed in 2008 or 2009. You may find pre-N and draft-N models on your local store shelves. The throughput of this newest standard is reportedly up to 248 Mbit/s (That is 2.5 times faster than many of today's wired connections). The range is much greater than current standards with distances up to 70 meters.
So what should you purchase? For most that will surfing the web and reading email and only occasionally moving files the current "G" standard is more than sufficient. The "G" protocol routers can be purchased for as low as $35 at big-box retailers. If you will be moving large files in such as watching full-screen movies from an in-home or office file server then the $90+ might be justifiable for the "N" standard. Just remember that all of your equipment must be "N" standard or else the speed will fall back to the "G" standard. Most laptop makers are not taking the plunge to "N" yet so you likely have a "G" built-in wireless card. One more word of warning on using the "N" standard is to stay with one vendor such as Cisco or D-Link because there can be issues with cross-platform compatibility.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Google to Bid on 700 MHz Frequency Spectrum
First a bit of history. Over-the-air broadcast television uses three different blocks of frequencies. Fortunately, someone was very bright many years ago to just use channel numbers. Otherwise you would say that The Office is on 55.25 MHz every Thursday evening. Initially, television frequencies were going to be licensed well into the 800 MHz range(Channel 83). That space eventually became cellular telephone and emergency communications spectrum. Because there are relatively few television stations compared to the number of available channels, the FCC has decided that the stations could be squeezed into a smaller number of channels. Any station currently broadcasting on stations 55 to 69 are being moved to lower channel numbers. At the same time the stations can convert to digital to enhance our viewing pleasure with high-definition television. That is why you see the big push for HDTV. Television stations currently broadcast on their new channels and old channels. As of February 2009, they will exclusively broadcast on their digital channels.
Ultimately, the FCC is going to auction off these empty frequencies for wireless services and make billions of dollars of revenue for the federal government. You now see why the government has gotten behind this move. It is not so that I can watch Maria Sharapova in the U.S. Open in high definition.
These frequencies are in high-demand by many carriers, companies, and interests. The reason is that the lower the frequency the easier it is for a signal to penetrate buildings and other obstructions. These frequencies are much lower than current wireless telephone spectrum.
It was conventional wisdom that the big wireless providers such as Verizon and AT&T would be involved in the auction. The surprise is that Google also wants to be involved in the auction. Google did approach the FCC with some requirements including that the spectrum would be "open applications, open devices, open networks, and open services". FCC has agreed to most of Google's demands, so it looks like they will be involved in the auction slated for January 16, 2008. Google and the other bidders will need to post 4.6 billion dollars each for the right to bid on the one of 1,099 licenses.
What does Google plan to do with the spectrum if they win some licenses in the auction? No one outside of Google seems to know. There is much speculation that they could get into the Internet service provider business or even the wireless telephone business. We will have to wait and see.
First a bit of history. Over-the-air broadcast television uses three different blocks of frequencies. Fortunately, someone was very bright many years ago to just use channel numbers. Otherwise you would say that The Office is on 55.25 MHz every Thursday evening. Initially, television frequencies were going to be licensed well into the 800 MHz range(Channel 83). That space eventually became cellular telephone and emergency communications spectrum. Because there are relatively few television stations compared to the number of available channels, the FCC has decided that the stations could be squeezed into a smaller number of channels. Any station currently broadcasting on stations 55 to 69 are being moved to lower channel numbers. At the same time the stations can convert to digital to enhance our viewing pleasure with high-definition television. That is why you see the big push for HDTV. Television stations currently broadcast on their new channels and old channels. As of February 2009, they will exclusively broadcast on their digital channels.
Ultimately, the FCC is going to auction off these empty frequencies for wireless services and make billions of dollars of revenue for the federal government. You now see why the government has gotten behind this move. It is not so that I can watch Maria Sharapova in the U.S. Open in high definition.
These frequencies are in high-demand by many carriers, companies, and interests. The reason is that the lower the frequency the easier it is for a signal to penetrate buildings and other obstructions. These frequencies are much lower than current wireless telephone spectrum.
It was conventional wisdom that the big wireless providers such as Verizon and AT&T would be involved in the auction. The surprise is that Google also wants to be involved in the auction. Google did approach the FCC with some requirements including that the spectrum would be "open applications, open devices, open networks, and open services". FCC has agreed to most of Google's demands, so it looks like they will be involved in the auction slated for January 16, 2008. Google and the other bidders will need to post 4.6 billion dollars each for the right to bid on the one of 1,099 licenses.
What does Google plan to do with the spectrum if they win some licenses in the auction? No one outside of Google seems to know. There is much speculation that they could get into the Internet service provider business or even the wireless telephone business. We will have to wait and see.
Labels: 700 MHz, Cellular, Google, wireless
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Trouble Calling Free Conference Calling Services
If you have experienced problems using free conference call services such as FreeConferenceCall and FuturePhone, you should be able to use them now. The reason for the trouble was that many carriers were blocking access to these services.
Jacqui Cheng has more information in his article.
Jacqui Cheng has more information in his article.
Labels: cell phone, conference call, wireless
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