UK Will Ban Public WiFi Hotspots
The UK government will outlaw open Wi-Fi hotspots using its Digital Economy Bill copyright crackdown. The affected areas are Universities, MacDonalds, small businesses and even libraries.
Lilian Edwards, professor of internet law at Sheffield University said, This is going to be a very unfortunate measure for small businesses, particularly in a recession, many of whom are using open free Wi-Fi very effectively as a way to get the punters in. Even if they password protect, they then have two options — to pay someone like The Cloud to manage it for them, or take responsibility themselves for becoming an ISP effectively, and keep records for everyone they assign connections to, which is an impossible burden for a small café.
Source: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ in Digital Economy Bill
Google Free Wi-Fi At Airports
Google is temporarily offering free Wi-Fi in airports across US. This is the company’s marketing strategy for the holiday season. Microsoft, eBay and Yahoo are doing the same too.
Google is also providing free Wi-Fi on Virgin America flights for the same period.
Google Adds Free WiFi To Virgin America
Google will provide free in-flight Wi-Fi on Virgin America from Nov. 10, 2009 to Jan. 15, 2010.
Google says, Bring a WiFi-enabled laptop or mobile device and stay connected for free during your flight. The service is available on Virgin America serving the cities listed below. We hope the service makes your holiday travel a little easier.
The included destinations include:
San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Boston, MA (BOS)
Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
New York, NY (JFK)
Orange County, CA (SNA)
San Diego, CA (SAN)
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Washington Dulles (IAD)
New Peer To Peer Wi-Fi Direct Technology
The new Wi-Fi Direct specification will allow peer to peer connections between Wi-Fi devices, no hotspot required and this would certainly rival Bluetooth. Wi-Fi Direct will allow all your Wi-Fi enabled devices such as phones, cameras, printers, computers, keyboards, and headphones talk to each other.
With this new technology each device acts like an access point and there is no need of a wireless router. Imagine using this technology to get internet access to your iPhone using your laptop.
Mingle360 Social Networking On A Stick
Mingle360 is a company that came up with the MingleStick and online software for centralizing your address book and enabling you to manage your social and professional network. Basically the USB device will allow two users to exchange contact details wirelessly. The collected information on the stick can be uploaded to an online application website on Mingle360.
This is going to be a handy device, but with all the iPhones out there, isn’t there an app that can do the same?
Source: Mingle360 Press Release
Bluetooth 3.0 Launched
Bluetooth 3.0 the new version of one of the world’s most popular short-range wireless technology is now official.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group said Bluetooth 3.0 is much faster and has more reliable data transfers. It will speed up transfers at a rate of 24 Mbps by utilizing Wi-Fi via an 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer. Bluetooth 3.0 will also feature Enhanced Power Control (EPC), which will help prevent accidental device disconnections. Consumer products with Bluetooth 3.0 are expected to come out in around 9 to 12 months.
Bluetooth 3.0 Launch On April 21
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group said it would unveil the full details of a faster and more reliable data transfers Bluetooth 3.0 on April 21. It will speed up transfers is by utilizing Wi-Fi via an 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer. Bluetooth 3.0 will also feature Enhanced Power Control (EPC), which will help prevent accidental device disconnections.
TV Tuner For Japanese iPhone
Softbank’s 1-Seg digital created an 80-gram (50 × 85 × 16mm) TV tuner which transmits TV signals through Wi-fi to the iPhone. The add in doubles as a battery extender when plugged into the iPhone 3G’s dock connector giving you three hours of TV time. Available mid December in Japan for around $100.
Source: 1-Seg digital tv tuner for iPhone 3G
Do You Watch Porn On The Plane?
Do you watch explicit porn while having your airline meal? Maybe you can now, but American Airline flight attendants asked management to consider adding porn filters to its in-flight Wi-Fi access to prevent passengers from viewing porn while they are in the air. Could you imagine what would randy passengers do after watching porn on flight. Plane orgy? Do you think American Airlines should introduce porn filters on flight?
Apple’s 2nd Generation iPod Touch
Apple finally revealed today the second generation iPod Touch which features thin contoured metal design, a 3.5-inch widescreen glass display, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi wireless networking, integrated volume control buttons, a built-in speaker for casual listening, a built-in accelerometer and other advanced sensors, and Multi-Touch user interface. The new iPod touch is available for $229 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB and $399 for the 32 GB model.
Source: Apple Introduces New iPod touch
